PARADISE TWP., Pa. — President Donald Trump delivered a rosy outlook on the U.S. economy during a rally at Mount Airy Casino Resort on Tuesday night, saying his administration has begun to turn around a mess it inherited from former President Joe Biden.
In his signature scattershot style over a 90-minute address, Trump relaunched familiar attacks against his former opponent while highlighting what he viewed as signs of progress that Washington Republicans have delivered over the past year.
The price of eggs has fallen, gas costs have stabilized and Thanksgiving turkeys last month cost less than they had the year before, he said.
"We're bringing prosperity and pride back to this magnificent commonwealth," Trump told the cheering audience of about 1,200 people in Monroe County. "Our country is hot and you're hot. Together we're repairing four years of damage from the radical left and the worst president in the history of our country."
While belittling Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell — a man Trump originally appointed in 2018 — the president pointed to steps that Washington Republicans have taken to strengthen the economy. National coffers are raking in trillions from tariffs — his favorite word, he said — and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will deliver tax relief for millions of Americans.
The law ended taxes on overtime pay, tips and Social Security while introducing new measures such as Trump Accounts — new child saving accounts for infants born between 2025 and 2028. The accounts will come with $1,000 of seed money funded by the federal government.
"We're doing great, and it hasn't kicked in yet," Trump said.
"Our country is hot and you're hot. Together we're repairing four years of damage from the radical left and the worst president in the history of our country."President Donald Trump to crowd at Mount Airy Casino Resort
The logic didn't sit well with many Democrats. During the address, Gov. Josh Shapiro criticized Trump for using the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to push millions of Americans off the social safety net.
"You're actively working to kick 2 million Pennsylvanians off their food assistance," Shapiro posted on X.
You're actively working to kick 2 million Pennsylvanians off their food assistance. https://t.co/Fx7CTxXW0Q
— Josh Shapiro (@JoshShapiroPA) December 10, 2025
Move to the midterms
Restoring consumer confidence in the American economy will be critical for Republicans as the 2026 midterm elections come into focus.
Trump won back the White House last year thanks in part to his messaging that he could lower inflation and fix America's lagging economy.
But Democrats have hammered Republicans for not doing more to control costs over the past few months. The party withheld their support on federal funding for over a month this fall after demanding Republicans extend expiring tax breaks on health care plans under the Affordable Care Act.
The longest-ever federal shutdown ended without Republicans budging, and millions of Americans will see their health care plan premiums double in January unless Congress can quickly find a deal in the next few weeks.
Trump didn't address the impending deadline during his address, instead calling the health care program a scam intended to benefit insurance companies.
A tough fight
But Americans may not share Trump's rosy outlook on the economy.
The November election saw voters break for Democrats by large margins across the country, and political observers say their messaging has taken root. Democratic candidates won gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia, Pennsylvania voters retained three Democratic justices on the state Supreme Court and California voters approved a gerrymandered congressional map that favors Democrats.
Even instances of Republican victories had conservative strategists concerned. Aftyn Behn, a self-described "radical" Democrat, lost a special election for Tennessee's 7th Congressional District by 9 percentage points last week. By comparison, Republican incumbent Mark Green won the same deep-red district by 21 points in 2024 before retiring this summer.
Trump acknowledged the Democratic attacks Tuesday even while downplaying the rhetoric from the podium.
"Yeah, prices are too high. Because they caused them to be too high!" Trump said.
The upcoming midterm elections likely played a role in the rally's setting in the Poconos. The casino lies in Pennsylvania's 8th Congressional District — one of the few competitive seats in the country as politicians on both sides of the aisle ratchet up efforts to gerrymander district maps.
Control of the narrowly divided U.S. House may flow through northeast Pennsylvania.
Close calls
U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan, R-Pa., edged out Democratic incumbent Matt Cartwright by 1.7 percentage points in last year's election. Twenty minutes south of the casino, U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Lehigh Valley, eked out an even closer victory for Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District. Mackenzie carried the Lehigh Valley-based district by 1 percentage point over Democratic incumbent Susan Wild in 2024.
Both districts saw the national parties and their allies spend more than $30 million on each seat last year. Campaign spending may grow even higher in 2026 with fewer competitive races around the country thanks to mid-decade redistricting in California, Missouri, North Carolina and Texas.
While White House officials announced before the rally that the president would focus on economic issues, Trump bounced from topic to topic with the adoring crowd. Throughout his comments, he fell back on familiar talking points, including false personal attacks against U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, railing against immigrants from "s***hole countries" such as Afghanistan and Somalia — and attacking the media.
The crowd ate it up, breaking into chants of "Four more years!" — an impossibility under current standards of the Constitution. While Trump has publicly mused about a third term in the past, he focused on his second term Tuesday night.
"We have three years and two months — an eternity!" he said.
