The Trump factor: will he help or hurt his party in the midterms?

{"text":[[{"start":7.5,"text":"For the Maga faithful in small-town Pennsylvania, a chance to attend a high-octane Donald Trump rally promises a dose of feel-good energy at an otherwise economically tough time for ordinary Americans."}],[{"start":20.5,"text":"But for first-term Congress member Ryan Mackenzie, attendance is a political gamble in the high-stakes game of holding on to one of the country’s most embattled congressional seats."}],[{"start":30.55,"text":"“I listened to him yesterday, and they are just like two buddies,” said Robert Haughtaling, a 68-year-old retired veteran from Bethlehem about his US representative and the president. "}],[{"start":41.15,"text":"“Just slashing the Dems, saying I did this and I did that. They don’t care about the American people.”"}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":47.9,"text":"Two years ago, Trump’s endorsement propelled Mackenzie to his seat in Washington as the president stormed to a convincing victory across the state of Pennsylvania. "}],[{"start":58.5,"text":"But now appearing on stage with a divisive president whose broader approval ratings are tanking may do little to boost the Congress member’s popularity among the Lehigh Valley’s swing voters who elected Trump in 2016, Joe Biden in 2020 and Trump again in 2024."}],[{"start":76.75,"text":"Republicans hope the president’s star power among his devoted followers can juice turnout for faithful but otherwise unremarkable elected officials such as Mackenzie."}],[{"start":86.95,"text":"But there are questions over whether Trump’s backing will help his faltering acolytes in November or just tarnish them in the eyes of voters such as Haughtaling, ultimately leading to Republicans losing control of Congress. "}],[{"start":99.25,"text":"Trump knows that Mackenzie is in trouble. “We got to get Ryan Mackenzie elected,” he shouted to a packed hall at a rally in Macungie, part of the representative’s district, before begrudgingly inviting him onstage. “Run up here, run fast, nobody wants to hear you.”"}],[{"start":114.85,"text":"The president’s showmanship is playing out against a worsening economic backdrop for ordinary Americans, who are struggling with a high cost of living and stubbornly expensive petrol following the US attacks on Iran."}],[{"start":127.8,"text":"Strolling the streets of Bethlehem — where the FT is undertaking a multiyear reporting project — just a 30-minute drive from Macungie, the same voters who powered Trump to victory two years ago said they were unhappy with his efforts on the economy in his first two years back in office."}],[{"start":145.45,"text":"Lisa Maldonado, a 58-year-old who voted for Trump in 2024, said she was unsure what she would do in November. “It’s hard to choose who to vote for — it’s words, words, words and no action.”"}],[{"start":159.1,"text":"The economy and cost of living had “been getting worse”, she added. “Before your dream was to work and live in a home and have a family. But now you just have to settle for an apartment.”"}],[{"start":170.25,"text":"Ron, who declined to give his last name, said he usually described himself as a Democrat but he voted for Trump in the previous election. "}],[{"start":178.1,"text":"“I was just getting sick of Democratic politics, Trump was trying to do a bit more for the economy,” he said. “But I’m not satisfied. Obviously it’s not where I’d like it to be, the price of everything is still sky-high.”"}],[{"start":191.04999999999998,"text":"The 41-year-old social worker said he mainly voted based on how the economy was doing and did not know much about Mackenzie other than that he supported many of Trump’s policies."}],[{"start":201.79999999999998,"text":"“I’m just so disillusioned, economically and politically. I have to work really hard just to pay my bills.”"}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":208.7,"text":"Such disillusionment risks voters staying home rather than turning out to re-elect Mackenzie. Turnout for midterm elections is already typically up to 20 percentage points lower than for presidential elections, according to figures compiled by the US Elections Project."}],[{"start":225.89999999999998,"text":"Mike Mikus, a Democratic strategist based in Pennsylvania, said Republicans would be challenged to whip up enough enthusiasm among their voters to get them to the polling booth."}],[{"start":237.34999999999997,"text":"“I think that the Republicans always have a problem — especially here in Pennsylvania — when Donald Trump is not on the ballot,” said Mikus. “They’ll come out to vote for him, but they will not necessarily show up for anybody else.” "}],[{"start":249.74999999999997,"text":"Both in his district and in Washington, Mackenzie is best known for his loyalty to Trump — although he faces a serious electoral challenge from a populist Democratic candidate, retired firefighter Bob Brooks. "}],[{"start":262.95,"text":"A Harvard graduate who spent more than a decade in state government, Mackenzie has backed Trump on almost all of his major legislative initiatives. "}],[{"start":271.9,"text":"He told the FT in a statement that he had focused on fulfilling his campaign pledges, such as “cutting taxes for every American, securing the border, and bringing much-needed resources back to our community that will help first responders and increase affordable housing”."}],[{"start":287.59999999999997,"text":"He has separately said that he helped secure a $47mn award of government money for Mack Defense — a subsidiary of Mack Trucks, whose Macungie facility hosted Trump’s rally. The award is part of a five-year contract intended to help the company continue making trucks for the US military. "}],[{"start":306.99999999999994,"text":"The award was granted just a few months after Mack Trucks announced in April 2025 that it would lay off between 250 and 350 people from its Macungie commercial truck manufacturing operations, blaming Trump’s tariffs. "}],[{"start":320.79999999999995,"text":"Mackenzie brushed off suggestions that local residents were unaware of his achievements in office. “Voters are busy living their lives and most won’t tune in to this election until the fall,” he said."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":332.69999999999993,"text":"At his rally, Trump delivered a rousing but rambling speech that touched on his favourite political concerns, lambasting the “fake news”, telling a story attacking a trans athlete, railing against foreigners and securing big cheers for affirming Americans’ right to carry guns."}],[{"start":348.99999999999994,"text":"Aside from being briefly called up to the stage towards the end of the roughly 90-minute performance, Mackenzie watched meekly from the sidelines."}],[{"start":357.44999999999993,"text":"“I’m surprised by it myself,” Doug Heye, a Republican strategist, said of Mackenzie’s efforts to align himself with the president and the Maga base. "}],[{"start":366.74999999999994,"text":"“Typically candidates in swing districts, especially in what look to be difficult cycles . . . when the president is unpopular . . . they don’t necessarily have to run away from the incumbent president, but aren’t running towards him either.”"}],[{"start":379.6499999999999,"text":"But Trump’s supporters at the rally remained enthusiastic about almost everything the president was doing, including on foreign policy. Most said they could put up with what they believed would be temporarily high prices and insisted the president would soon bring down inflation. "}],[{"start":394.99999999999994,"text":"Steven Wolfe, a 37-year-old who was dressed like Trump, said he felt the war in Iran was necessary. “We had to bite the bullet,” he said. “And gas is finally coming down.”"}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":405.3999999999999,"text":"Another devoted voter, David Roxgan, who has been part of the group Bikers for Trump since 2015, agreed that military action was necessary and that “gas prices are going to go down”. "}],[{"start":416.6499999999999,"text":"“You can’t have a safer country if you don’t do the right thing to protect the assets you have to protect,” he added."}],[{"start":423.69999999999993,"text":"As Trump supporters meandered back through the half-assembled trucks strewn around the factory at the end of the afternoon, they were jubilant about the president’s performance. "}],[{"start":433.6499999999999,"text":"At the exit, enterprising Mackenzie staffers forced his campaign flyers, yard signs and small American flags into their hands."}],[{"start":449.1499999999999,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1783948684_5334.mp3"}