{"id":4896,"date":"2026-06-23T22:12:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T22:12:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4896"},"modified":"2026-06-23T22:12:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T22:12:10","slug":"trumps-midterm-liabilities-on-display-in-visit-to-toss-up-district","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4896","title":{"rendered":"Trump\u2019s midterm liabilities on display in visit to toss-up district"},"content":{"rendered":"
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President Donald Trump greets attendees at the Mack Trucks Lehigh Valley Operations facility in Macungie, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday. (Andrew Harnik\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

MACUNGIE, Pa. \u2014 President Donald Trump traveled on Tuesday to one of the tightest congressional battlegrounds in this year\u2019s midterms, but he showed about as much interest in boosting the Republican candidate as the candidate showed in him.<\/p>

Read more What the Reflecting Pool debacle says about Trump and his presidency<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe got to get a certain very talented congressman reelected,\u201d Trump said. \u201cWhere are you? Where are you, Mr. Congressman?\u201d<\/p>\n

After four more minutes of riffing on rigged elections and tariffs, Trump still didn\u2019t name Rep. Ryan Mackenzie. \u201cWe got to make sure you vote for our congressman here,\u201d Trump told the crowd, gathered inside a Mack truck factory. \u201cI\u2019m not doing this for my health.\u201d<\/p>\n

The dynamic at the campaign-like event showed the political bind facing this season\u2019s most endangered Republicans. They still need the support of Trump\u2019s base voters, so they are not asking him to stay away or declining to appear with him, as Democrats did with Joe Biden in 2022. But they are not hewing to the <\/b>unpopular president\u2019s agenda as closely as in past cycles.<\/p>\n

Trump has lost ground with independents and non-college-educated Americans who swung the 2024 election to him, reflecting frustrations with inflation and the Iran war that made it worse. Only 24 percent of Americans think the war was worth the costs, and 63 percent doubt the ceasefire deal will lead to lasting peace, according to a Reuters-Ipsos poll<\/a> conducted in the five days ending Monday.<\/p>\n

When Trump finally called up Mackenzie, almost an hour into his speech, he teased the candidate, whose seat is rated one of 14 GOP-held toss-ups by the Cook Political Report.<\/p>\n

\u201cRun up here,\u201d the president said. \u201cRun fast. Nobody wants to hear you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Onstage, Mackenzie kept it short \u2014 and bland.<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. President, I can\u2019t thank you enough for coming here to the Lehigh Valley, highlighting the great men and women of Mack Trucks, doing all the work that you do in Washington, D.C., for our veterans, our first responders and everybody across this country to continue to maintain America as the greatest country in the world. You are the president that is fighting for all Americans.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Trump was speaking, the Senate voted against<\/a> resuming the war in Iran, with four Republicans joining Democrats to pass the resolution 50-48. The measure probably would have failed if not for the absences of Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky), who is ill<\/a>, and Dave McCormick (R-Pennsylvania), who was with Trump here.<\/p>\n

Absences also allowed the anti-war resolution to pass the House earlier this month after repeated failed attempts. The White House and some Republicans argue the resolution isn\u2019t binding. But it still sets a new high-water mark for Republican pushback on Trump\u2019s unpopular war.<\/p>\n

The president has acknowledged those political stakes, scolding the Republican defectors for undermining his bargaining position in the ongoing negotiations with Iran. On his way here, Trump weighed in on the latest dispute<\/a> in the ceasefire talks, denying the Iranians\u2019 account that they hadn\u2019t agreed to international nuclear inspections, a day after Vice President JD Vance said they did.<\/p>\n

In the speech here, Trump appeared eager to put the Iran war behind him. \u201cWe just achieved a historic peace agreement with Iran to end the conflict in the Strait of Hormuz,\u201d he said of the war he started with the stated goals of regime change and unconditional surrender, which led to the bottling up of world energy supplies in the Persian Gulf.<\/p>\n

Trump cheered for 19 million barrels of oil leaving the strait on Monday, a figure confirmed by ship-tracking firm Kpler for oil and refined products combined. The waterway\u2019s daily traffic averaged<\/a> 20 million barrels in 2025, according to the International Energy Agency. Trump falsely claimed 19 million barrels set a record.<\/p>\n

The president pointed to falling gas prices and surging stock prices to argue the economy was already recovering from the oil price shock, even as tech stocks dropped<\/a> Tuesday. He received only scattered applause for touting 401(k) performances, and about half the audience raised their hands for having a retirement account \u2014 consistent with public polling<\/a>.<\/p>

Read more Brady Tkachuk introduced by Florida Panthers, discusses the trade to his brother\u2019s team<\/a><\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s approval rating fell to 34 percent in the Reuters poll, matching the survey\u2019s second-term low in April.<\/p>\n

While it\u2019s not uncommon for swing-district candidates to keep some distance between themselves and an unpopular incumbent president, \u201cit\u2019s different this time because the president\u2019s job approval is so low,\u201d said Republican pollster Whit Ayres. \u201cThat\u2019s what makes it particularly challenging.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAlmost by definition, if you\u2019re in a swing district, you need a lot of independents to vote for you, and it\u2019s a delicate dance to make sure your base gets out at the same time you get sufficient independents to win a majority,\u201d Ayres continued. \u201cThere\u2019s a reason why the president\u2019s party\u2019s performance in midterm elections is so closely related to the president\u2019s job approval.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chuck Coughlin, a longtime political strategist in Arizona who left the Republican Party after Trump\u2019s first election in 2016, said he recently queried the results of independent voters\u2019 primary ballot requests in the state\u2019s 1st Congressional District \u2014 expected to be a toss-up race come November.<\/p>\n

The independent voters requesting Democratic ballots are outnumbering those requesting Republican ones, Coughlin said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat just doesn\u2019t happen,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s a sign that momentum is moving away from him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn swing states like Arizona, it\u2019s going to be independent voters who make up which way this thing goes. And his base is depressed for all of the reasons we\u2019re well aware, and independents are going to react against that,\u201d he said. \u201cTrump had independents last time \u2014 clearly had them \u2014 and this time that\u2019s not going to be the case.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump on Tuesday sought to energize the crowd by citing specific accomplishments for working Americans, including eliminating taxes on tips and overtime, and investments including a new $3.5 billion Eli Lilly production plant<\/a> in the Lehigh Valley. Before the speech, Trump met with Stephen Roy, president of Mack Trucks, whom he said lobbied him for a 15,000-truck contract.<\/p>\n

Trump appeared to enjoy the speech as a warmup for his rally on the National Mall on Wednesday, which he previewed as a \u201crally to end all rallies\u201d after musicians dropped out of the launch for America\u2019s 250th birthday festivities. He rehearsed several of his go-to bits such as imitating a transgender weightlifter and alleging fraud in elections Republicans lost.<\/p>\n

Trump revealed that he personally called the U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, Bill Essayli, to demand an investigation into California\u2019s primary earlier this month. Essayli announced the probe the day after Trump publicly criticized the slow counting of mail ballots.<\/p>\n

At the start of Trump\u2019s speech, a heckler referencing the president\u2019s past friendship with Jeffrey Epstein was promptly escorted out and drowned out by supporters\u2019 cheers. It was not clear if Trump noticed.<\/p>

Read more Paraguay\u2019s Miguel Almiron gets one-game suspension after red card for covering his mouth<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A campaign-style appearance in Pennsylvania revealed the delicate position of Republicans facing tough reelection fights. 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