MACUNGIE, Pa. (AP) — President Donald Trump visited a Mack Truck facility in the swing state of Pennsylvania on Tuesday, attempting to shift attention to the U.S. economy in his first major public event outside the nation’s capital since he signed an interim agreement to end the Iran war.
Trump’s trip to Macungie, in the Allentown suburbs, comes as he works to try to put the conflict — and the higher gasoline prices it caused — in the rearview mirror as November midterm elections draw closer.
It is the president’s fifth second-term visit to Pennsylvania, a key state whose support in 2016 and 2024 helped him to win the White House. The Macungie, Pennsylvania, facility is in the 7th Congressional District, where incumbent Republican Rep. Ryan Mackenzie faces Democratic challenger Bob Brooks in November.
The visit comes amid rising prices that could color the verdict voters render on Trump’s stewardship in the fall. About one-third of U.S. adults approved of Trump’s approach to the economy, according to a June Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll. That’s in line with last month for Trump on the issue.
The Iran war, which began Feb. 28, has also been a politically difficult issue for the president. Most Americans continued to disapprove of his handling of Iran, according to the June AP-NORC poll, which was being fielded as Trump announced a tentative deal with Iran and concluded just before the interim agreement was signed last week. It found about two-thirds, 65%, of U.S. adults disapprove of how the president is handling issues with Iran, unchanged from May.
Still, while most Democrats and independents view Trump’s actions negatively, only about 3 in 10 of Republicans are unhappy.
Trump was in the kind of swing district that may prove pivotal to Republicans holding narrow control of the House, where a loss could hobble the president’s final two years in office. Mackenzie, a freshman lawmaker, is looking to hold onto a district Democrats have targeted to flip. Brooks, president of the state firefighters’ union, has support from Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, who’s also seeking reelection this year.
Trump’s predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden, also visited the Mack Truck facility to highlight regulations aimed at promoting manufacturing jobs. Manufacturing employment peaked in 1979 at nearly 19.6 million jobs. It trended downward after the 2001 recession and the 2007-09 Great Recession. The figure now stands at 12.6 million as of May, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Trump did a private tour of the factory, then gave a speech from a stage erected on the factory floor with rows of workers in fluorescent safety vests standing behind him under a large “America Workers First” banner. Two red and white trucks frame the stage where a lectern bearing the presidential seal has been set up.
“For more than 100 years, this legendary company has been making trucks right here in eastern Pennsylvania, building the heavy duty machinery that keeps our economy rolling, our factories moving, and our industries roaring all across the nation,” the president said.
Trump urged the crowd to support Mackenzie, saying of his trip, “I’m not doing this for my health.”
Trump also said he was pushing policies to promote “America first” and said that he stood up to Iran to ensure that it never developed a nuclear weapon. The president also trumpeted the stiff tariffs he imposed on U.S. trade partners around the world before the Supreme Court found most of them unconstitutional.
In 2025, the truck facility got hit by market uncertainty, including the tariffs Trump imposed, and about 170 people were laid off, according to Mack spokesperson Kimberly Pupillo. She added that by the end of last year almost 150 people were recalled to work and anyone laid off last year was given the chance to return.
There are about 2,800 workers at Mack, Pupillo said.
At a pizzeria down the road from the truck facility, workers and diners said they’d heard about the president’s visit and recalled Biden’s trip to the plant.
George Carver, a retired elementary school principal, said he wasn’t a fan of Trump’s: “I’m looking for a president who’ll clean up this mess,” he said, meaning improve the economy and better handle the war in Iran and immigration.
“I’m looking for someone who’s gonna tell the truth — that could be a Democrat or Republican,” Carver said.
Trump’s visit underscores Pennsylvania’s status as a crucial swing state.
Trump visited Mount Pocono in December to road test messages that he’s addressing affordability; in July 2025, he was in Pittsburgh to tout tens of billions of dollars of recent energy and technology investments in the state; in June 2025, he was in West Mifflin to tell steelworkers he was doubling the tariff on steel imports to protect the industry; and in March 2025 he attended the NCAA wrestling championship in Philadelphia.
Denise Green, a retired software trainer, was among a handful of people protesting the visit at a McDonald’s across the street from the plant. She held a sign that said “Hey DJT Why are you ruining our country?”
Green said she was a former Republican who became a Democrat in 2007 because her original party backed policies where “all the money” was going to the rich.
Green said her key issue was Social Security funding, which she said she’ll need but is worried could run out.
“It’s outrageous,” she said.
Mike Catalini And Seung Min Kim, The Associated Press
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