Trump delivers ‘a simple message’ on affordability in battleground Pa. congressional district

President Donald Trump kicked off his midterm campaign to retain Republican control of the U.S. House with a rally Tuesday in one of Pennsylvania’s most competitive congressional districts.

Large banners reading “Lower Prices” and “Bigger Paychecks” flanked the stage at Mount Airy Casino Resort in Mount Pocono, Monroe County. That’s in Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District where Republican U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan is running for reelection in 2026.

The rally, Trump’s first since July, was billed as focusing on affordability, a topic that the president dismissed as a Democratic hoax. 

“They say ‘affordability,’ and everyone says, ‘Oh, that must mean Trump has high prices.’ No, our prices are coming down tremendously from the highest prices in the history of our country,” he said. 

Rising energy, food and housing costs, which have dogged consumers since the COVID-19 pandemic, are sure to be a central theme in next year’s congressional campaigns.

“I have no higher priority than making America affordable again, that’s what we’re going to do,” Trump said 13 minutes into his talk. “They caused the high prices, and we’re bringing them down. It’s a simple message.”

But with an apology to his speech writer, Trump delivered a wide-ranging 90-minute discourse on his administration’s first 10 months, including claims that he has ended eight wars and suggesting that the military deployment targeting drug boats in the Caribbean would soon move to land.

Trump also spoke about his 2024 presidential victory in Pennsylvania and the Republicans who flipped two of the commonwealth’s seats in Congress. He said  Chief of Staff Susie Wiles recently told him it was time to start campaigning.

“I said, ‘I won already.’ She said ‘We have to win the midterms, and you’re the guy that’s going to take us there,’” Trump said. 

Bresnahan (R-8th District) defeated Democratic incumbent Matt Cartwright in 2024. In the neighboring 7th District, which covers the Lehigh Valley and includes a sliver of Monroe County, U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie defeated Democratic incumbent Susan Wild.

“We had victories up and down the ballot because people were sick and tired of four years of out of control inflation under Joe Biden, a wide open southern border and chaos all around the world,” Mackenzie said before Trump took the stage. “So what did they vote for? They voted for change.”

Bresnahan and Mackenzie won their contests by 2 percentage points and 1 point, respectively. And Trump carried Monroe County by less than one point, making the region a battleground in the fight for control of the U.S. House next year.

Mackenzie and Bresnahan, who also spoke before Trump, focused on the economic challenges facing their constituents including high prescription drug prices, skyrocketing electricity rates and workforce shortages.

“We know so many people are struggling because of those high prices from Joe Biden’s inflation. That does not mean that prices come down when we say that we tamed inflation, it just means that we have stopped the rate of growth … So we have a lot more work to be done,” Mackenzie said. He added two more years with Trump in the White House and Republicans controlling both chambers of Congress would get the country “back on track.”

Food prices have continued to increase during the first year of Trump’s term. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the price of food was 3.2% more in August than a year earlier. The overall consumer price index, which measures inflation across the economy, increased 2.9%. The USDA’s Economic Research Service predicts food costs will continue to rise in 2026, but more slowly than in the last year.

Bresnahan highlighted the tax cuts contained in the omnibus budget reconciliation bill that Trump signed into law in July. Those included tax exemptions for earnings from overtime and tips, a $6,000 tax credit for seniors and several other deductions and credits.

“The message is the same everywhere we go, lower the cost, support high paying jobs, keep our communities safe, and listen to the people doing the work. They aren’t asking for partisan arguments,” Bresnahan said, adding he was proud to vote for the legislation Trump dubbed his One Big Beautiful Bill. 

Electricity prices have also spiked as a result of fossil fuel power plants being retired as demand driven by the electrification of industry and transportation as the race to develop artificial intelligence drives a proliferation of power-hungry data centers.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright, a former fracking and mining industry executive, described the Biden administration’s energy policy as an “all out war on every form of energy.”

“He called it a war on climate change. But of course, that’s nonsense,” Wright said, noting that Trump’s energy policy prioritizes domestic sources and lower prices.

Shortly after taking office in January, Trump issued a slate of executive orders slashing incentives for renewable energy and directing the elimination of regulations and policies that give preference to wind and solar energy. He also reformed the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which Trump said in July would allow Pittsburgh-based Westinghouse to proceed with construction of new nuclear reactors across the country.

Last month Trump issued another executive order outlining the “Genesis Mission,” described as “a dedicated, coordinated national effort to unleash a new age of AI‑accelerated innovation and discovery.” 

“AI is going to be transformative for our country, and we cannot be second behind China,” Wright said.

Toward the end of his speech, Trump explained how tax exemptions for overtime and tips were putting thousands of dollars back in the pockets of regular Pennsylvanians. He called out a waitress from Stroudsburg, noting that she would keep hundreds of dollars each month that would help her support her daughter’s dream of becoming a veterinarian. 

Another woman accepted Trump’s invitation to take the stage after he described how the tax exemptions helped her and her husband keep more from their jobs.

“No tax on overtime is incredible for my husband, and it all comes back to our family. It saves us, and it’s for the future of our children,” the woman said.