President Trump calls affordability ‘the work of Democratic fraudsters’
President Donald Trump called affordability a “Democrat scam” and “the work of con artists.”
MOUNT POCONO, Pa. — At his first domestic rally in months, President Donald Trump said critics of his frequent international travel are “stupid people” who don’t understand the financial benefits he is securing for Americans.
President Trump issued a brief rebuke at a packed Dec. 9 rally, seeking to allay complaints that he is not focusing enough on the economy. Between 600 and 700 people participated.
“They said you shouldn’t travel, you should focus on your home,” Trump said of complaints from some on the right. “What do they think I’m doing?”
The president said it was “stupid citizens” who were saying people shouldn’t leave the country. “Well, let’s sit down and twiddle our thumbs,” he said.
The White House said the event marks the beginning of a nearly year-long campaign by President Trump across the country ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Republicans hold majorities in both houses of Congress, and the legacy of a term-limited president is at stake.
“This is being reported all over the world, which is weird because I haven’t given a speech in a while,” Trump admitted. “You know, if you win, you can rest now, right?”
Republican strategists and Trump’s senior advisers have warned that if the president does not participate in the polls, voters are likely to stay home, potentially causing losses in areas dependent on high Republican turnout.
Referring to his chief of staff, Susie Wiles, as “Susie Trump,” the president acknowledged at a rally that she was one of the advisers who told him he had to restart his campaign.
“‘They have to win the midterms. You’re going to lead us through the midterms,'” Trump recalled his advisers telling him.
President Trump slammed the opposition’s economic arguments, saying, “When Democrats talk about affordability, it’s like Bonnie and Clyde preaching about public safety.” He called them “enemies of the working class.”
His speech zigzagged from topic to topic, defending his tariffs and calling Democrats like Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz some of the “stupid” state leaders in the country. President Trump also put pressure on Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, who immigrated to the country from Somalia. Omar “has done nothing but terrible things,” he claimed.
“She should be thoroughly kicked out, thoroughly thrown out,” Trump said. This declaration prompted an uncontested chant: “Send her back.”
President Trump also highlighted a fraud and money laundering investigation in Minnesota in which many, but not all, of the defendants are of Somali descent.
“Get them out of here once and for all. They hate our country. And she hates our country, and her friends hate our country, and AOC hates our country, they all do,” he said of Omar and New York State Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
President Trump then said he would permanently halt immigration from “hellholes” such as Haiti, Afghanistan and Somalia. Upon hearing this statement, those in attendance cried out that they were a “s—h—” nation. President Trump brought up the incident from his first term, saying, “I didn’t say, ‘Yeah.’
“Remember, I said those things to the senators,” Trump said during a 2018 White House meeting, referring to the vulgar language, which he suggested he didn’t say at the time. “I said, why do we only accept people from s—h— countries? Why can’t we have some from Norway, some from Sweden, just a few, some from Denmark? … Send us some good people, okay?”
President Trump touts tax plan, praises Philadelphia Eagles
About 45 minutes into Trump’s speech, he turned to a series of graphs and compared the costs he was monitoring to the high inflation rates under his predecessor, Joe Biden.
President Trump then invited to the stage a woman who said she plans to use the savings from Trump’s plan to eliminate the tip tax to pay for her daughter’s tuition, and a firefighter who said she plans to use the savings to buy a home.
“Democrats are saying, ‘Prices are too high.’ Yes, prices are too high because prices have gotten higher,” President Trump said.
But for most of his hour-and-35-minute speech, Trump steered clear of the economy, which was the purpose of the rally.
The rally marked Trump’s return to the campaign trail less than a year after the midterm elections, and he clearly enjoyed being back in a rally setting.
At one point, he talked about his friendship with Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley and praised the Super Bowl champion. But his talk about soccer was met with only a lackluster applause. Perhaps President Trump forgot that the Eagles have lost three games in a row.
