LA CROSSE, Wis., and POTTERVILLE, Mich.—As part of what he called a “pro-family” emphasis, former President Donald Trump revealed a new pledge to help couples who are trying to conceive children using in-vitro fertilization.
“I am announcing today that, under the Trump administration, your government will pay for—or your insurance company will be mandated to pay for—all costs associated with IVF treatment,” Trump said during a speech in Potterville, Michigan, on Aug. 29.
“We want more babies,” he said, adding that, if he wins reelection, his administration would allow new parents to deduct “major newborn expenses” from their taxes.
During the Potterville speech, and hours later in a second campaign stop in La Crosse, Wisconsin, the Republican presidential nominee also reiterated his plans for improving the U.S. economy and reducing inflation.
Gabbard Divulges Struggle
Speaking to a capacity crowd at Wisconsin’s La Crosse Center, which holds 8,000 people, former congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard joined Trump onstage for his Aug. 29 town hall. She disclosed her personal struggle with infertility.Gabbard said she and her husband wanted to start a family; they tried IVF as “the only option and the last resort.”
“It’s a pretty difficult process and it’s very, very expensive,” she said. Then still serving as a congresswoman representing Hawaii, Gabbard said she would sometimes need to self-inject treatments in airport bathrooms as she traveled.
Although those efforts proved fruitless, Gabbard said this “life-changing” option should be available for those who want to become parents.
“I didn’t know about your situation,” Trump said, adding, “it’s tough stuff.”
Although Gabbard’s attempts failed, “It’s really worked out well for a lot of people,” Trump said. “It gave them a child when they would not have had a child.”
“I’m very much for it [IVF],” he said.
Young Man Queries Trump
Gabbard served as moderator for a town hall format; four attendees were able to ask Trump a question before time ran out. One question came from a young man who identified himself as Luke, who will be a first-time voter this November. He is researching the candidates’ positions to help decide how he will cast his ballot.While supporting himself and buying his own gasoline and groceries, Luke said he is feeling an economic pinch, and that so many things seem unaffordable to him, including purchasing a home.
“What’s your plan to make life more affordable...for someone like me?” he asked.
Trump replied that unwise energy policies are part of the problem. The Biden-Harris administration has favored wind and solar power rather than gasoline, oil, and coal. Those policies have caused upward pressure on energy prices, Trump contended.
He also blamed out-of-control government spending for causing inflation. He promised Luke that the United States would “become the energy capital of the world,” and the nation would pay down its debt.
Minnesotans React
The La Crosse event was broadcast live via multiple TV agencies the same day Harris was doing a prerecorded sit-down interview with CNN.Harris has faced criticism for refusing to grant news interviews for more than a month since Biden exited the race on July 21 and threw his support to Harris.
“Why are we doing it live, and she’s doing it taped?” Trump said as he chuckled, and the audience responded with ripples of laughter.
Although the 40-minute town hall was about half the length of Trump’s usual rally speeches, Tracy Hartmann said the La Crosse event was well worth the three-hour drive from her home in Shafer, Minnesota.
“It’s been a great experience, with so much energy; just look around you,” she told The Epoch Times. “I know people say he’s got a lot of money, but he’s like us; he’s for us.”
Her “significant other,” John Goodroad, said Trump impresses him because “he’s got a plan” for improving the economy. Because Goodroad works for an independent construction company, he noticed that Trump’s policies requiring the use of U.S.-made steel quickly helped lower costs during his presidency, 2017-21.
Hartmann and Goodroad both said they dislike the job that Harris’s running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, has done in their state. “He’s so far out there to the left,” Goodroad said, noting that the governor imposed strict lockdowns on businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“And another thing: Trump doesn’t have to do any of this,” Hartmann said. “He’s been shot, he’s been indicted, impeached, and he’s fighting—and we need to fight.”
Economic Remedy Proposed
Prior to the La Crosse town hall, about 1,000 people gathered for a Trump rally at Alro Steel in Potterville, Michigan.The family-run metal and plastic fabrication business, which was started in 1948, and has plants also in Cincinnati, Ohio, and in Milwaukee and Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
Flanked by banners touting job growth, Trump delivered an economic message directed at manufacturing workers, particularly those in the automobile industry. “I’m here today with a simple message for the American auto worker and for the American worker: your long economic nightmare will very soon be over,” Trump said.
The former president promised to revive the American auto industry, which he said was near collapse. He proposed to block the importation of Chinese electric vehicles from a plant he said was under construction in Mexico.
“[The Chinese automakers are] not going to have any cars coming into this country. If they want to build a plant, they can. They’re going to build it in Michigan, or at least someplace in our country,” Trump said.
Trump repeated his promise to spur the economy by increasing American energy production.
Brandon Reitz, 22, of Eaton Rapids, Michigan, attended the rally to hear Trump’s economic message. “Manufacturing and inflation...that’s my main worries,” the Alro Steel employee told The Epoch Times, adding that high gasoline prices bother him most.
Kevin Kusnick, 69, of Decatur, Michigan, agreed that the economy, especially inflation, is the top issue of this election.
Kusnick, who is semi-retired from the excavating business, told The Epoch Times that the price of diesel fuel is his greatest concern. “They’re probably using 500 gallons a week at least,” Kusnick said. “Fuel has cost us another 50 grand a year now,” he added. That money could have been used for debt reduction or capital investment.
The former president’s rally in Michigan and town hall in Wisconsin will be followed by a planned Aug. 30 rally in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
She is performing best in Pennsylvania, with a lead of 2.3 percentage points, followed by 1.9 percent in Wisconsin and 0.8 percent in Pennsylvania. Trump is ahead of Harris by less than 1 percent in four other coveted swing states: Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina, and Georgia.
The race remains a statistical dead heat because all those leads are within the margin of error for most polls.
