Trump to pay visit to closely divided Pennsylvania in return to campaigning

US President Donald Trump returns to the campaign trail in Pennsylvania, pitching his jobs-and-reindustrialization agenda to voters amid rising inflation and a nearly four-month US-Israeli war with Iran.

(Adds bullets, background on manufacturing in paragraphs 6-7, dateline) By Jarrett Renshaw and Trevor ‌Hunnicutt

LOWER ​MACUNGIE TOWNSHIP, Pennsylvania, June 23 (Reuters) - P resident Donald Trump returns to the campaign trail for the first time in two weeks on Tuesday, visiting politically divided Pennsylvania to deliver a pitch about the revival of the ‌U.S. Rust Belt to voters feeling inflation’s bite. Trump is due to visit a Mack Trucks assembly plant owned by Sweden's Volvo Group in Lower Macungie Township, Pennsylvania, where he'll shift gears from Iran and pitch his jobs-and-reindustrialization agenda to factory workers who formed the base of his "Make America Great Again" political movement. The U.S. president's Republican ‌Party is seeking to retain control of Congress in November's midterm elections. A nearly four-month U.S.-Israeli war with Iran has complicated Trump's economic message, driving ‌consumer costs up at the fastest rate in three years. The U.S. and Iran are negotiating a potential peace deal in the conflict. Trump is expected to accentuate the positive, especially a steadily growing U.S. economy, resilient labor market data and the possibility that a future resolution to the war could ease energy costs. "Under the President’s leadership, key domestic industries are being revitalized, historic ⁠investments are ​pouring back into communities like Macungie, and ⁠families across the country are securing new, high-paying jobs," said Liz Huston, a White House spokeswoman.

Since Trump's return to the White House in January 2025, U.S. manufacturing employment has fallen by ⁠68,000 jobs, including more than 17,000 jobs lost in the automotive sector, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data through May. Through early 2026, goods production employment appears to have stabilized, ​with upticks in four of the last five months. Production of medium and heavy vehicles like those made by Mack, meanwhile, has been ⁠trending down. In the year through May, Federal Reserve data shows U.S. truck makers produced about 242,000 vehicles a month at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate, the lowest rate of output in ⁠more ​than four years.

Pennsylvania's 7th congressional district, spanning the state's Lehigh Valley, is widely regarded as a toss-up race that can be won by either party. The district includes Allentown, the subject of a Billy Joel blue-collar anthem, and its economy has retained a strong manufacturing base. Pennsylvania will also ⁠be one of the biggest prizes in 2028's presidential election. Freshman Republican Congressman Ryan Mackenzie represents the area, which selected former President Joe Biden over Trump in ⁠2020. The district favored Trump over ⁠Democrat Kamala Harris in 2024.

In an emailed statement, state Democratic Party chair Eugene DePasquale tied local Republican candidates, including Mackenzie, to what he called a "costly war of choice that caused gas prices to skyrocket" and "cruel healthcare cuts" pushed by Trump.