What Trump had to say about economy and immigration in Pennsylvania speech

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(ASSOCIATED PRESS) President Donald Trump road-tested his claims that he’s tackling Americans’ affordability woes at a Tuesday rally in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania — a trip that comes as polling consistently shows that public trust in Trump’s economic leadership has faltered. Following dismal results for Republicans in last month’s off-cycle elections, the White House has sought to convince voters that the economy will emerge stronger next year and that any anxieties over inflation have nothing to do with Trump. Trump on Tuesday summed his message up succinctly: “They caused the high prices and we’re bringing them down.” The president has consistently blamed his predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden, for inflation even as his own aggressive implementation of policies has pushed up prices that had been settling down after spiking in 2022 to a four-decade high. The trip hints the dilemma faced by Trump. He wants to take credit for rewiring the U.S. economy with his large tariff hikes and extension of income tax cuts, but he also continues to blame Biden for the increase nationwide in inflation rates that occurred this year during his own presidency. Overall, inflation is tracking at 3% annually, up from 2.3% in April when Trump rolled out a sweeping set of import taxes. After rattling off a list of wars he claims credit for ending, the president said he would use his sway to end renewed combat between Cambodia and Thailand. The Southeast Asian neighbors recently resumed fighting following a border skirmish. It derails a ceasefire deal that was mediated by Malaysia under pressure from Trump, who threatened to withhold trade unless both sides reached a truce. “Tomorrow I’ll have to make a phone call,” Trump said. “Who else could say, ‘I’m going to make a phone call and stop a war of two very powerful countries, Thailand and Cambodia’?” Earlier, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on both sides to live up to their peace agreement.