HEBRON, Ky. — President Donald Trump touted the economy while visiting the Cincinnati area, visiting two local businesses that have been impacted by his policies.
First, the president toured Thermo Fisher Scientific in Reading to learn more about the biotechnology company's pharma services and hear how recent reshoring efforts have impacted their business.
Leaders at the company thanked Trump, saying his efforts have resulted in Thermo Fisher nearly doubling manufacturing at its Cincinnati facility as the company works with two customers, including pharmaceutical company Merck, amid reshoring efforts.
"(Companies like Merck) are up here faster, and at some time in the future they'll probably be doing a little of what (Thermo Fisher is) doing, maybe a lot, but in the meantime, they can get here a lot faster by using this great company," Trump said.
Watch Trump's full visit to Thermo Fisher Scientific here:
The National Library of Medicine shows there has been "rapid globalization" for U.S. medical product supply chains over the past few decades. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the problems with that chain, specifically when it came to generic medicines.
In May 2025, Trump's administration issued an executive order that streamlined permits and inspections of domestic pharmaceutical facilities to push companies' return. The president also — as he said during his Reading visit — "threatened (countries) with tariffs" to ensure lower prices for his direct-to-consumer website called TrumpRx.
TrumpRx is supposed to reduce the price of prescription drugs to match international rates. The president claimed the work his administration is doing has taken drug prices down "in many cases" by 80%.
Trump also mentioned his time in Cincinnati with his father while speaking in Reading.
"I spent three summers in the Queen City ... and it was a great experience with my father," Trump said. "I was very young, and we had a little apartment, house here — a little complex called Swifton Village — and it worked out very well. It's always good to get off to a good start, right? ... If you don't do a good start, it gets more difficult."
While at Verst Logistics in Hebron, Trump spoke about how his policies have focused on American production. In a March 6 report, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said that employers cut 92,000 jobs in February and a small increase in the unemployment rate to 4.4%.
The president specifically spoke about his tax and spending bill, the "One, Big, Beautiful Bill," claiming that those cuts led to Verst investing more than $10 million in expanding operations.
Trump also mentioned that GE Aerospace, headquartered here in the Tri-State, announced that it would invest another $1 billion in its U.S. manufacturing sites — $115 million of which is focused on the Cincinnati area.
He claimed the renewable energy industry was a "scam," claiming that if there's less wind one day, people who rely on wind energy would not be able to watch TV.
"But I wanna watch myself on television. I wanna watch myself debate," Trump said.
The president had to stop his speech after a person in the crowd behind him appeared to fall to the ground, with Trump calling for a doctor and then later asking if organizers could play "Ave Maria by Pavarotti" as the person was treated. Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, went with first responders to help the person.
As midterms approach, the president claimed Democrats "wanna raise your taxes higher than ever before." He also mentioned a single Republican who voted against his tax bill — Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie.
"What the hell, how did he ever end up in Kentucky?" Trump said.
Trump called Massie, who is up against Trump-backed challenger Ed Gallrein in the May primary, "a nutjub," "the worst person" and "Rand Paul Jr.," though he mentioned that he at least likes Paul "a little."
"He's disrespecting our country. He votes against everything," Trump said.
Gallrein spoke alongside Trump, saying he will "stand with (the president) and the party."
"Tom Massie stands with the ladies of 'The View.' Mr. President, we stand with you," Gallrein said before leading a U-S-A chant.
We spoke with Massie about the president's visit and his race against Gallrein before Trump's visit.
"I'm actually glad to see the president in our district and paying attention to local issues," Massie said. "I suspect he’s also going to try and help my opponent, but you know that’s really all my opponent has going for him. He's promised to be a rubber stamp when he gets to Washington, D.C., and I don’t think people here want a rubber stamp."
The president shouted out several Kentucky leaders, Jake Paul and even former Covington Catholic student Nick Sandmann, who were all in attendance.
During both stops, Trump spoke about war with Iran. He said his administration gave him several names to pick from, with him choosing Operation Epic Fury — "I like that name."
He told media members at Thermo Fisher that the U.S. military is "way ahead of schedule" regarding an "excursion" in Iran.
"It's an excursion that will keep us out of a war. For them, it's a war. For us, it turned out to be easier than we thought," Trump said.
Trump said he wondered why the U.S. didn't capture Iran's warships to use them instead of destroying them, with one of his advisers telling him, "Sir, it's a lot more fun."
The president said that while oil prices rose and the market was impacted, "we'll be back on track in a pretty short while."
"Prices are coming down very substantially, oil will be coming down. That's just a matter of war. That happens, you can almost predict it," said Trump.
