Trump visits Iowa trying to focus on affordability during fallout over shooting in Minneapolis

CLIVE, Iowa — President Donald Trump on Tuesday made his first big pitch ahead of this year's midterm elections on his administration's economic performance, even as his White House remains mired in the fallout in Minneapolis over a second fatal shooting by federal immigration officers this month.

Trump gave a speech in a suburb of Des Moines where he talked up the tax cuts he signed into law last year and took credit for the soaring performance of the stock market, saying he ''made a lot of people rich,'' including some "that I don't even like."

''If we lose the midterms, you'll lose so many of the things that we're talking about," Trump told Iowans, who are expected to reflect their feelings on his presidency when they vote in two highly competitive congressional races this year.

The trip for the Republican president was part of a White House push to focus more on affordability ahead of elections in November that will determine control of Congress.

But the president once again suggested that concerns about prices were exaggerated by his political opponents, saying, ''They come up with this word ‘affordability.'''

''First time you heard about it was like a few months ago,'' he said.

He went on and added: ''You're not hearing it so much anymore. You know why? Because the prices are coming down so much.''

On the ground in Iowa, Trump first made a stop at a local restaurant, where he met some locals and sat for an interview with Fox News Channel — in which he said he was attempting to ''de-escalate a little bit'' in Minnesota.

The latest effort comes as the Trump administration is grappling with the weekend shooting death of Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse killed by federal agents in Iowa's northern neighbor. Pretti had participated in protests following the Jan. 7 killing of Renee Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer. Even as some top administration officials moved quickly to malign Pretti, Trump said he was waiting until an investigation into the shooting was complete.

Trump calls Pretti killing 'sad situation'

As Trump left the White House on Tuesday to head to Iowa, he was repeatedly questioned by reporters about Pretti's killing. Trump disputed language used by his own deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, who on social media described Pretti as an ''assassin'' who ''tried to murder federal agents.'' Vice President JD Vance shared the post.

Trump, when asked Tuesday if he believed Pretti was an assassin, said, ''No.''

"I'm going to be watching over it, and I want a very honorable and honest investigation. I have to see it myself,'' he said.

He also said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who was quick to cast Pretti as a violent instigator, would not be resigning.

Later, as he greeted diners at an Iowa restaurant, Trump weighed in further with comments that were likely to exacerbate frustration among some of his backers who are also strong Second Amendment proponents.

"He certainly shouldn't have been carrying a gun,'' Trump said of Pretti.

He called it a ''very, very unfortunate incident" but said: "I don't like that he had a gun. I don't like that he had two fully loaded magazines. That's a lot of bad stuff.''

Trump was last in Iowa ahead of the July 4 holiday to kick off the United States' upcoming 250th anniversary, which morphed largely into a celebration of his major spending and tax cut package hours after Congress had approved it.

Trump, speaking Tuesday in Clive, a suburb of Des Moines, talked up the wide-ranging tariffs he imposed on nearly all U.S. trading partners. He also promoted the deals he's struck with drugmakers to get them to lower costs on some prescription drugs.

Republicans are hoping that Trump's visit to the state Tuesday draws focus back to that tax bill, which will be a key part of their pitch as they ask voters to keep them in power in November.

Some attending Tuesday's event said they didn't think immigration enforcement officers in Minnesota were being given a chance to do their job, even as they expressed sympathy over the two shooting deaths that have occurred in Minneapolis.

''You can't interfere with these people when they're trying to enforce the law,'' said 68-year-old Jerry Greif from Vinton, Iowa.

Iowa Democratic Party chair Rita Hart emphasized Tuesday that Trump's tariff policies have hurt Iowa farmers and criticized Iowa's Republican leaders for cheering Trump on ''as he has taken a wrecking ball to our economy.''

''It's laughable that Trump is coming here today to talk about affordability of all things when Iowans are literally paying more because of his disastrous policies,'' Hart said.

Trump last year made stops in Michigan, Pennsylvania and North Carolina to try to talk about affordability as the White House tried to marshal the president's political power to appeal to voters in key swing states.

But Trump's penchant for going off-script has sometimes taken the focus off cost-of-living issues and his administration's plans for how to combat it. In Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania, Trump insisted that inflation was no longer a problem and that Democrats were using the term affordability as a ''hoax'' to hurt him. At that event, Trump also griped that immigrants arriving to the U.S. from ''filthy'' countries got more attention than his pledges to fight inflation.

Competitive races in Iowa

Still, two of Iowa's four congressional districts have been among the most competitive in the country and are expected to be again in this year's midterm elections. Trump already has endorsed Republican Reps. Zach Nunn and Mariannette Miller-Meeks. Democrats, who landed three of Iowa's four House seats in the 2018 midterm elections during Trump's first term, see a prime opportunity to unseat Iowa incumbents.

This election will be the first since 1968 with open seats for both governor and U.S. senator at the top of the ticket after Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds and Republican U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst opted out of reelection bids. The political shake-ups have rippled throughout the state, with Republican Reps. Randy Feenstra and Ashley Hinson seeking new offices for governor and for U.S. senator, respectively.

Democrats hope Rob Sand, the lone Democrat in statewide office who is running for governor, will make the entire state more competitive with his appeal to moderate and conservative voters and his $13 million in cash on hand.

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