Trump savages rivals, touts economic record at packed NEPA rally

By Jeff Horvath

UPDATED: December 9, 2025 at 10:46 PM ET

PARADISE TWP. — Flanked by banners boasting of “lower prices” and “bigger paychecks,” President Donald Trump claimed to have delivered both for Northeast Pennsylvania during his return to the region to rally the Republican faithful ahead of next year’s midterm elections.Trump’s economic message was occasionally obscured by sporadic asides about old grievances and new controversies.
Addressing a packed and animated ballroom Tuesday at Mount Airy Casino Resort in Monroe County, the president pinballed between issues, mocked his political rivals and savaged his perceived enemies in his characteristic style. When discussing the economy, ostensibly the focus of his remarks, he was bullish, even as many Americans grapple with economic anxieties.

Trump specifically took credit for mitigating an inflation and cost-of-living crisis he and other speakers blamed on his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, with U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, R-9, Jackson Twp., crediting Trump with fixing everything Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris “broke.”An equally enthusiastic U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan, R-8, Dallas Twp., said Trump’s return to the area “reflects our shared commitment to strengthening the middle class, rebuilding American industry and investing in regions just like ours.”
But Trump’s first visit to the region since October 2024 also coincides with continued criticism over his controversial tariffs and their impact on the affordability of certain consumer goods, as well as recent polling that shows declining economic confidence.Gallup’s Economic Confidence Index, which measures Americans’ ratings of current economic conditions and their perceptions of whether the economy is improving or getting worse, dropped seven points in November to a 17-month low. Trump’s approval rating also fell last month, with a November Gallup poll putting his overall approval rating and his approval rating on the issue of the economy at just 36%.

Trump allies attributed Tuesday lingering economic challenges to Biden administration policies, heaping praise on Trump while sometimes acknowledging that work on the issue of affordability remains. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, for example, called Biden “and his autopen” the “chief architects” of the worst inflation in a generation and lauded Trump for “ushering in a golden age economy by making America affordable again.”
Extended applause and cheers greeted the president when he took the stage about 7:09 p.m., an eruption of support from the overflow crowd that braved frigid temperatures to see him speak. The size and enthusiasm of the audience, many of whom held cell phones aloft to record the moment, suggest their support for Trump hasn’t abated.

After wishing the crowd a Merry Christmas, Trump began his scattershot remarks by reflecting on his 2024 victory, telling the crowd they helped save America.
During the meandering speech that followed, he blasted and belittled Biden, asking at one point whether “Sleepy Joe or Crooked Joe” was a better nickname for the former president and Scranton native. He also ripped the “fake news” multiple times; praised “clean, beautiful coal;” called Obamacare “a scam” to benefit insurance companies; joked about his Caribbean boat strikes; touted his border crackdown and derisively raised a number of culture-war issues, from transgender athletes to Somali immigrants, to the delight of the crowd.
“Biden and the radical-left Democrats turned Pennsylvania into a dumping ground for hundreds of thousands of migrants from the most dysfunctional places on earth, like Somalia, and gave them billions and billions of your taxpayer dollars,” Trump said without citing any evidence.

The broader theme of Trump’s address, which lasted more than 90 minutes, was that he is rectifying myriad disasters inherited from the Biden administration. In defending his record the past 10-plus months, Trump also leaned into some of the more controversial actions he’s taken during that time, including his trade war.We Pay the Tariffs, a grassroots coalition of small businesses opposed to Trump’s tariffs, claimed in a Tuesday news release that Pennsylvania companies paid $5.7 billion in tariffs in the year ending August 2025, up significantly from $2.1 billion the previous year. It highlighted tariffs on medical devices, building materials, toys, apparel and other industries.
“These costs are incurred by businesses and passed on to Pennsylvania consumers in the form of higher prices,” the organization said.Trump specifically targeted the “fake news” over media scrutiny of his tariff policy, dismissing criticism while claiming the controversial tariffs have generated hundreds of billions of dollars for the country.“My favorite word is tariff,” he said. “It’s amazing. The smart people understand it. Other people are starting to learn, but the smart people really understand it.”At one point the enthusiastic crowd began chanting: “Four more years!”

“Well you know what, we have three years and two months to go, and you know what that is in Trump time?” the president asked rhetorically. “Three years and two months is called eternity.”
Originally Published: December 9, 2025 at 9:35 PM ET
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