Trump traveled to Ohio on Saturday and said his tariff policy was drawing a flood of foreign corporate investment into the U.S.
Speaking at a campaign rally held at an Ohio high school, he said, "We give them a little window of about a year and a half so they can build their plant here," adding, "If they don't do that, we charge them a tariff of 150, 200, 250, 300%." He continued, "In the end they're all building here," and said, "All of this is very simple, and we've done it at a level nobody has ever seen." He claimed the policy was bringing in trillions of dollars for the U.S.
Trump said, "Countries around the world, including China, Japan, Korea and Canada, have used tariffs against the United States for a long time," adding, "We became a laughingstock." The remarks were seen as a defense of his tariff policy.
Ohio is considered one of the key battlegrounds for Republicans seeking to retain their Senate majority, with Republican incumbent Sen. John Husted and Democratic candidate Sherrod Brown locked in a race within the margin of error.
Trump noted that he had won Ohio in all three of his presidential bids — in 2016, 2020 and 2024 — and had recorded the highest vote total in the state's history. He said Republicans must "once again defeat the radical left Democrats" in this midterm election.
"If I had lost the last election, if Kamala had won, I believe our country would have been destroyed," he said, referring to Democratic candidate Kamala Harris. "If Republicans win, each of you will have $5,000 in your pocket, and our country will enjoy unprecedented economic success."
