(NewsNation) — President Trump made his first stop last night on a nationwide tour to address the affordability issue in Pennsylvania.
Voters in the state feel Trump is not doing enough to lower costs. The sentiment comes off as surprising considering Trump was able to flip Pennsylvania to help him win the presidential election last year.
Pennsylvania could have been advertised as a “safe” place for Trump to push his rhetoric. So, with his tour kickstarting back up later this month, that’s where Americans should expect to see the commander in chief: states that curry favor to him and his message.
His team will send him to basically safe places for Republicans, keeping him busy and keeping the message out there. They are going to avoid putting him in places like Virginia and New Jersey, which had their gubernatorial elections last month.
Why the selective choices?
Well, because the Republican candidates in those places needed persuadable voters, and they needed Trump-skeptical suburbanites to come on in and say that it was okay. That’s how it works in a midterm year, especially when the party in power is unpopular. Give your vulnerable members as much space as they need. Trump can’t really go places where he is a polarizing or divisive figure.
No one wants to hear about economic problems at end of first year of Trump’s term
The federal government came out and said they expect higher growth in 2026, but nobody wants to hear that at the end of a president’s first year in office.
Remember people complaining about the bad economy in Barack Obama’s first term? Obama responded by saying, “Well, the Republicans put the car in the ditch, and now we’re trying to get it out, and they’re just standing there drinking a Slurpee, and they’re not even trying to help us.”
Trump can’t use that same message because it’s repetitive for any president who is presiding over tough economic times.
In essence, the White House and congressional Republicans are trying to pull Trump, kicking and screaming, to a place where he engages on this question in a way that sounds credible.
And how is that accomplished? Simple — address the tariff problems.
That’s Trump’s heart and soul, his baby. He’s not going to give up on that until someone forces him to.