President Donald Trump held a campaign rally outside Dayton, Ohio, on Saturday night, his third consecutive night of rallying in the state, pressing supporters to back Republican Sen. Jon Husted and gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy ahead of the November midterms.
Though his own name is not on the ballot, Trump asked the crowd to treat the election as a referendum on him. “Just pretend that I’m running,” he said. “When I run, we win.” He repeated the request later in the speech: “If you don’t mind, please pretend that I’m on the ballot. And you need to turn out for a midterm victory.”
Trump, who won Ohio in all three of his presidential runs, spent much of the rally citing recent investment announcements in the state as evidence of what he called a new “golden age” for the country. He pointed to a $400 million Stellantis investment in Toledo, an $850 million Electra aerospace investment near Springfield, and Bayer’s planned $2.2 billion pharmaceutical manufacturing campus near Columbus, which the company says will support roughly 600 permanent jobs and 1,500 construction jobs.
“Your state is booming,” Trump told the crowd. “Every state is booming.”
He credited the investments to his tariff policies, arguing they are finally putting the United States on equal footing with countries that have long used tariffs against American goods, while giving companies reason to build domestically.
Data Centers and Electricity Costs
Trump also endorsed Husted’s Ratepayer Protection Act, legislation meant to protect consumers from rising electricity costs tied to data center expansion. The bill failed to advance in the Senate when Husted brought it to the floor days before the rally.
“We want them,” Trump said of data centers. “There’s so much money to be made for Ohio. You can’t just turn them off. They’ll go to China.”
“I will sign this Ratepayer Protection Act into law immediately,” Trump said.
National Economy and Policy Promises
Trump widened his remarks to the national economy, pointing to stock market records, manufacturing growth, investment and employment figures, and drawing contrasts with the Biden administration. “Our nation is doing better now than ever before,” he said.
He also touted GOP tax provisions eliminating taxes on tips and overtime, and repeated his proposal to send $5,000 payments to adult Americans if Republicans hold the House and Senate.
Immigration and Springfield
Turning to immigration, Trump dedicated a recitation of the poem “The Snake” to Springfield, Ohio, the city that drew national attention during the 2024 campaign over the arrival of Haitian nationals. “I dedicate this to Springfield, Ohio,” he said. “They went through hell.” After the poem, which he has long used as an allegory for immigration policy, he said, “That’s what happened at our border,” before praising his administration’s immigration enforcement record.
Trump also briefly addressed Venezuela, claiming the United States had recovered the cost of its military operation against former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro through the country’s oil resources. “We paid for the cost of the war many, many times over,” he said. “We’re making a fortune with it.”
Looking Ahead to November
Trump repeatedly tied his remarks back to the election, now 31 days away, urging attendees to support Husted, Ramaswamy and Republican congressional candidates. He also suggested Ohio could be a strong contender to host the U.S. National Space Academy, citing the state’s aviation history and the Wright brothers.
“If we win the midterms, Ohio will be very, very strongly considered for this,” Trump said. “I really want you to go out and vote again for John Husted and for Vivek.”
