Trump turns to key swing state to sell increasingly unpopular message

09 December

U.S. President Donald Trump attends the State Department Kennedy Center Honors Medal Presentation Dinner at the State Department in Washington, D.C., U.S., December 6, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

For many years, veteran Democratic strategist James Carville has been emphasizing that two crucial things to pay close attention to in politics are Pennsylvania and the economy.

Carville famously coined the phrase, "It's the economy, stupid" during the 1992 presidential race. And equally famous is his description of Pennsylvania as "Philadelphia and Pittsburgh with Alabama in between."

Referencing the famous 1978 film "The Deer Hunter" (starring Robert De Niro and Meryl Streep), Carville said of Pennsylvania, "They didn't film 'The Deer Hunter' there for nothing. The state has the second-highest concentration of NRA members, behind Texas."

Ten and one-half months into his second presidency, Donald Trump is, according to The Hill, using the Keystone State to sell an economic message that polls are showing to be increasingly unpopular.

Trump's focus on Pennsylvania is detailed in two articles published by The Hill on Tuesday, December 9 — one by Brett Samuels, the other by Jared Gans.

"President Trump is set to travel to Pennsylvania on Tuesday to deliver a speech on the economy, a tacit acknowledgment that he and the White House must do more to address voters' concerns about heightened costs for Americans," Samuels reports. "Trump has, so far in his second term, made sparingly few domestic trips to tout his agenda, traveling more internationally to meet a host of foreign leaders instead. But with the midterms on the horizon and Republicans struggling to sell their signature legislative accomplishment, the president is getting off the sidelines at home."

Samuels adds, "The president has been hounded by questions about what he is doing to bring down costs since elections last month saw Democrats triumph in New Jersey, Virginia and elsewhere by running on a platform focused on affordability."

According to Gans, Trump's Pennsylvania speech reflects his desire to "change the narrative on affordability" despite "rising economic dissatisfaction among the public."

"Trump has recently pushed back against the criticism of his administration over rising prices and an arguably sluggish economy, calling the term 'affordability' a 'Democrat scam' during comments at the White House last week," Gans reports. "But he seems to be shifting his approach with polls showing his approval rating well underwater and Democrats holding a lead in the generic congressional ballot. A Harvard CAPS/Harris poll released Monday showed 57 percent of voters believe Trump is losing the battle against inflation, the issue that respondents said they cared about the most. A majority also said Trump’s signature tariff policy is harming the economy and that the economy is shrinking."

Gans adds, "Trump has repeatedly blamed his predecessor, former President Biden, for the current economic situation, noting that inflation hit its most recent peak in the midst of the previous administration. But the effectiveness of that strategy seems to be waning as Trump approaches one year back in office and takes more ownership of current conditions."

Trump has had both successes and disappointments in Pennsylvania, long considered a must-win state in presidential elections.

After winning Pennsylvania in 2016, Trump lost the Keystone State to Joe Biden in 2020 — only to narrowly defeat Democratic nominee Kamala Harris in Pennsylvania in 2024.

Read Brett Samuels' full article for The Hill at this link and Jared Gans' reporting for The Hill here.

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