LIMA, Ohio — President Donald Trump returned Wednesday to Ohio, the state that foretold his 2016 victory, with a tour of a tank plant, where he touted its expansion and told cheering workers “we are rebuilding the American military, we are restoring American manufacturing and we are once again fighting for American workers.”
Trump could not resist using the visit to criticize the late Sen. John McCain, saying McCain “didn’t get the job done for our great vets in the VA” and claiming that he badly hurt the Republican Party and the nation with his vote against repealing the health care overhaul put in place under President Barack Obama.
Trump’s visit to Ohio marked his first trip to the state since last year’s midterm election campaign , when the state was a rare bright spot for Republicans in the upper Midwest. But with Trump’s path to another four years in the White House relying on a victory in the state, his nascent campaign is mindful of warning signs that Ohio can hardly be taken for granted in 2020.
Perhaps no state has better illustrated the re-aligning effects of Trump’s candidacy and presidency than Ohio, where traditionally Democratic-leaning working-class voters have swung heavily toward the GOP, and moderate Republicans in populous suburban counties have shifted away from Trump. It’s for that reason, administration officials said, that Trump keeps returning to Ohio — this week’s visit marks his 10th to the state since taking office.