On June 23, President Trump held a campaign event at the Mack Trucks plant in Macungie, Lehigh County. He was there to boost Ryan Mackenzie, the Republican congressman from Pennsylvania's 7th District, who is fighting to keep his seat this November.

Here's the part nobody on that stage wanted to talk about: this is the same plant that announced hundreds of layoffs last year — and the company blamed Trump's tariffs.

The plant the tariffs hit

Rewind to spring 2025. Right after Trump rolled out his tariffs, Mack Trucks announced it would lay off 250 to 350 workers at the Macungie plant, pointing to market uncertainty and the impact of the tariffs. The company ultimately laid off about 170 people, and recalled nearly 150 later in the year.

The plant isn't back to where it was. It now employs 2,800 people — down from 3,050 in April 2025, when the layoffs were announced.

Even on the day of Trump's visit, a Mack spokesperson repeated it plainly: heavy-duty truck orders in 2025 "were negatively affected by market uncertainty about freight rates and demand, possible regulatory changes and the impact of tariffs."

So when Trump stood in front of those workers and bragged about his trade policy — 50% tariffs on foreign copper, aluminum and steel, and 100% or more on finished goods from dozens of countries — he was bragging about the very policy the company says helped cost some of those workers their jobs.

What Mackenzie said — and what he didn't

Ryan Mackenzie took the stage next to Trump and told the crowd:

"You are the president that is fighting for all Americans."

He thanked Trump for the work he does "for our veterans, our first responders, and everybody across this country."

What Mackenzie didn't do — not at the rally, and not when the layoffs were announced — is ask Trump to lift the tariffs squeezing his own district.

He had the chance, back when the layoffs were announced. His response then? He blamed the company. In a statement to LehighValleyNews.com, Mackenzie said he was "disappointed" in Mack's decision, pointed a finger at "the previous administration," and criticized the company for building plants in Mexico. The tariffs — the thing Mack itself blamed — went unmentioned.

He voted to protect the tariffs. Repeatedly.

This isn't just about staying quiet. When Congress had chances to rein in the tariffs, Mackenzie voted to protect them:

• In April 2025 — the same month Mack announced the layoffs — he voted for the budget rule that blocked the House from forcing a vote to repeal the tariffs.
• In 2026, he voted against ending the "national emergency" Trump declared to impose the tariffs in the first place.

So the chain of events is simple. Trump imposed tariffs. Mack Trucks announced layoffs and blamed the tariffs. Mackenzie protected the tariffs with his votes. Then he stood next to Trump at that same plant and called him "the president that is fighting for all Americans."

Tell that to the workers who got layoff notices.

Why this rally happened at all

Mackenzie's seat is one the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has marked as a top target in its push to retake the House. He faces Bob Brooks, president of the Pennsylvania Professional Firefighters Association, in November.

That's why Trump flew in. "We got to get Ryan Mackenzie elected," he told the crowd — right before telling Mackenzie, "Run up here, Ryan, fast. Nobody wants to hear you."

That one line says a lot. Mackenzie wasn't there to speak for Lehigh Valley workers. He was there as a prop — to stand quietly, praise the man whose tariffs cost his constituents their jobs, and hope voters don't connect the dots.

His district deserves a representative who fights for its workers, even when it means standing up to his own party's president. Mackenzie has shown us — with his silence and with his votes — that he won't.

Source

This post is based on reporting from the Pennsylvania Capital-Star: "Trump campaigns with Mackenzie at Mack Trucks plant affected by tariff layoffs" by Peter Hall, June 23, 2026, with additional reporting from LehighValleyNews.com. Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images, via the Pennsylvania Capital-Star.