Author: Jarrett Renshaw
PHILADELPHIA, Dec 16 (Reuters) – U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance will travel to Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley on Tuesday to emphasize the government’s economic message, a week after President Donald Trump visited the battleground state and delivered off-topic remarks on the economy.
The visit underscores the White House’s broader efforts to reinforce its economic message as Republicans look to retain power in the midterm elections amid signs that voter frustration with costs is weakening the party’s political standing despite upbeat rhetoric from the administration.
Analysts say Vance’s disciplined, policy-focused approach may allow him to make a stronger economic argument than Trump, who has excelled with the party’s base but struggled to convince others.
Larry Sabato, a political science professor at the University of Virginia, said: “Trump knows one thing: He speaks well to the base. J.D. Vance can actually stick to a theme and a prepared argument. That’s not possible with Trump.”
On December 9, Trump visited a casino in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains and delivered what was billed as the first in a series of speeches by the president in response to criticism that he was not paying enough attention to voters struggling with high prices.
Instead, the 90-minute speech turned to an attack on the term “affordability,” which Trump derided as a Democratic hoax to inflate the cost of living. While Trump did acknowledge that prices are high, he insisted that the economy is booming and people’s wages are increasing.
U.S. economic growth remains stable, but inflation continues to weigh on households. For many Americans, wage growth lags behind living expenses, putting pressure on families.
Vance is expected to visit Uline’s distribution facility near Allentown before speaking. Uline is owned by billionaire founders Liz and Dick Uihlein, who are among Trump’s largest political donors, giving tens of millions of dollars to his campaign and related causes, according to campaign finance records.
Julian Zelizer, a presidential historian at Princeton University, said Vance will focus more on specific economic arguments and try to draw more clearly from the world of right-wing political thought.
“Journalists will focus less on style and erratic presentation and more on the debate itself,” he said.
Zelizer said Vance may be better suited to articulate economic policy, but the stakes are high for the administration and Republicans.
“They are struggling right now because the real-world impact of their economic policies is inconsistent with the positive rhetoric that the government is constantly sending out,” he said.
(Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw; Editing by Caitlin Webber; Editing by Michael Perry)
