ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) — When Idalia Bisbar moved to the Pennsylvania city synonymous with working-class America, she hoped for a cheaper and easier life than she would have had had she stayed in her native New York City.
After about three years, she was deeply disappointed.
“Things are worse now than they’ve ever been,” the 67-year-old retiree, who lives on Social Security, said when asked about the state of the economy. “Prices are high. Everything is going up. You can’t afford food because you can’t pay rent. Utilities are too high. Gas is too expensive. Everything is too expensive.”
Shortly after Vice President J.D. Vance rallied Republicans in nearby suburbs, Bisbal was sipping afternoon coffee at Hamilton Family Diner. During the Trump administration’s second high-profile visit to Pennsylvania in a week, Vance acknowledged the affordability crisis, blaming it on the Biden administration and insisting better times were ahead. He later served meals to the homeless in Allentown.
The visit, in addition to several recent speeches by President Donald Trump, reflects the White House’s increasingly urgent efforts to address the economic anxieties plaguing both parties. Those concerns are a vulnerability for Republicans in hotly contested congressional districts such as the one that includes Allentown that could decide control of the U.S. House of Representatives in next year’s midterm elections.
But there is also a risk of appearing disjointed when dealing with challenges.
An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll shows that only 31% of U.S. adults currently approve of Trump’s handling of the economy, down from 40% in March. Trump, however, called affordability concerns a “hoax” and gave his administration an “A+++++” economic rating. Vance reiterated that assessment at the rally, prompting jeers from Bisbal.
“In his world,” Bisbal, a self-described “straightforward Democrat,” replied. “In the rich man’s world. In our world, believe me, it’s not an ‘A.’ To me, it’s an ‘F’, ‘F’, ‘F’, ‘F’, ‘F’, ‘F’.” “
The agreed price is too high
Allentown, with a population of approximately 125,000, is home to the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania’s third largest metropolitan area. In more than a dozen interviews this week with local officials, business leaders and residents on both sides, both sides agreed on one thing: The price is too high. Some pointed to gas prices, while others said they felt the bigger hit on grocery stores or health care or housing costs.
Few agree with Trump’s unbridled support for the economy.
Tony Iannelli, president and CEO of the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce, called Trump’s rating “exaggerated” and said “we have a strong economy, but I don’t think it has yet reached the next phase of what I would call strong.”
Tom Groves, who founded a health and benefits consulting firm more than two decades ago, said the economy is in “B+” shape, blaming the Affordable Care Act, widely known as “Obamacare,” for rising health care costs, and citing volatility in the stock and labor markets. Lehigh County Republican Committee Chairman Joe Wishaw called Trump’s rating “colloquial.”
Far from the political scene in Washington, there is little consensus on who is responsible for high prices and what should be done about it. However, the seemingly endless political battles leave people with a strong sense of exhaustion.
Pat Gallagher was finishing her lunch at a few stalls not far from Bisbal when she recalled meeting her late husband when they both worked at Bethlehem Steel, a manufacturing giant that folded in 2003. Now that she is retired, she also relies on Social Security benefits and lives with her daughter, which helps keep costs down. She said she’s noticed rising grocery prices and is annoyed by the political climate.
“I get very frustrated hearing about politics,” she said.
Allentown has a front-row seat to politics
That feeling is understandable in a place that often has a front-row seat in national debates, whether it wants that perspective or not. Singer Billy Joel’s 1982 song “Allentown” helped bring the city into the national consciousness, expressing the disillusionment and hope of factory closures.
In the decades since, Pennsylvania has become a must-win state in presidential politics and the backdrop for countless candidate and media visits. Trump and his 2024 Democratic rival Kamala Harris held several campaign events in Allentown, and the then-vice president visited the city on the eve of the election.
“Every game, every moment here,” Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk, a Democrat, recalled of last year’s frantic campaign.
The speed of these visits and the attention they garnered hasn’t faded from many people’s minds. Some businesses and residents declined to comment this week when asked questions about the economy or politics, recalling the blowback they had received when speaking out in the past.
But as attention turns to next year’s midterm elections, Allentown can’t escape its status as a political battleground.
Trump’s victory last year helped propel other Republicans like U.S. Rep. Ryan McKenzie to victory. McKenzie replaced a three-term Democrat and is now one of the most vulnerable Republicans in Congress. To win again, he must vote with Republicans on the ballot in 2024 — many of whom may have been energized by Trump’s candidacy — while appealing to independents.
MacKenzie’s ability to balance was demonstrated on Tuesday when she addressed party faithful before Vance took the stage, lamenting the “failure of Biden economics.” A day later, the congressman returned to Washington to join three other House Republicans in defying the party’s leadership and forcing a vote on extending health care subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year.
Wishaw, the local Republican Party chairman, called McKenzie a “loser” in his re-election bid and said the health care initiative sends a signal to voters that he has “compassion for people who need these services.”
Turn to Trump in 2024
Lehigh County, home to Allentown and the most populous congressional district, flipped to Trump last year. Harris won the county by nearly 2.7 percentage points, the narrowest margin for a Democratic presidential candidate since 2004. But Democrats are confident after a strong performance in this fall’s election, handily winning the county executive race.
Taking back seats in Congress is now a top priority for Democrats. Gov. Josh Shapiro, who faces re-election next year and is a potential presidential contender in 2028, this week endorsed firefighters union president Bob Brooks in the May primary.
Democrats are just a few seats away from regaining a majority in the House of Representatives, and the first midterm election after a presidential election has historically favored the party that fell out of office. Democrats would be happy if the focus remained on the economy.
The Uline supply distribution plant Vance was talking about is owned by a family that has donated heavily to Republican causes and is a few miles from the Mack Trucks plant, which has laid off about 200 workers this year. The company said the decision was driven in part by Trump’s tariffs. Shapiro was eager to point this out in response to Vance’s visit.
But Allentown’s image as a purely manufacturing town was outdated. The downtown area is dotted with townhouses, trendy hotels, and a modern arena, home to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms hockey team and hosting concerts by major artists. Latinos have become the majority of the city’s population in recent years, driven by the growth of Puerto Rican, Mexican and Dominican communities.
“This is a rapidly changing place,” said Tuerk, the city’s first Latino mayor. “It’s constantly changing, and I think we’re going to see a lot more change over the next three years until the next presidential election. It’s going to be an interesting ride.”
