President Donald Trump visited two local businesses that have been impacted by his policies, Thermo Fisher Scientific in Reading, Ohio and Verst Logistics in Hebron. 

In both Reading and Hebron on Wednesday, Trump spoke about the war with Iran.

“We’ve knocked out just about everything there is, including their leadership,” Trump said. 

He told the crowd at Thermo Fisher that the U.S. military is “way ahead of schedule” concerning the “excursion” in Iran. According to Trump, the excursion will keep us out of a full-fledged war. 

“For them, it’s a war. For us, it turned out to be easier than we thought,” Trump said. 

According to Trump, Iran had thousands of missiles, but the U.S. “got them before they got to launch.”

While rising oil prices have impacted the market, the president noted that he believes, “we’ll be back on track in a pretty short while.”

“Well, I think it would be hit a little bit, but we were hit probably less than I thought, and we’ll be back on track in a pretty short while,” Trump said. “Prices are coming down very substantially. Oil will be coming down. That’s just a matter of war that happens so often you could almost predict it. I would say, it went up a little bit less than we thought. It’s going to come down more than anybody understands.” 

At Thermo Fisher, Trump took a tour to learn how his work in bringing manufacturing and service efforts has affected the biotechnology company’s pharmaceutical services. 

Trump also spoke about his direct-to-consumer website called TrumpRx, claiming the work his administration is doing has caused drug prices to drop by 80%. 

Many countries were against this, so to ensure lower prices for TrumpRx, he “threatened them (countries) with tariffs.”

“I used some very strong negotiating talent to get every single country to almost immediately approve. ” Trump said.

Additionally, Trump mentioned his time in Cincinnati with his father. 

“I spent three summers in the Queen City. And it was a great experience with my father. 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?” Trump said. 

At Verst Logistics in Hebron, Trump spoke about his tax and and spending bill, the “One, Big, Beautiful Bill,” claiming that because of the 92,000 jobs cut in February and 4.4 percent increase in unemployment rates nationwide, Verst Logistics is investing more than $10 million into expanding its operations in 2026. 

Trump also announced that thanks to the “One, Big, Beautiful Bill,” there will be no tax on overtime. 

“So you can take home 20-30 percent more to those beautiful children,” Trump said. 

He also mentioned that Apple has invested $2.5 billion to make 100% of the glass for iPhones and Apple watches in Kentucky. 

Also, G.E. Aerospace, headquartered in Cincinnati, announced it would invest $1 billion in its U.S. manufacturing sites, he said.

Trump claimed the renewable energy industry was a “scam,” saying if there is less wind one day, people who rely on wind energy would not be able to watch television. 

During his speech, a person in the crowd behind him appeared to fall to the ground, causing Trump to pause and call for a doctor, later asking if organizers could play “Ave Maria” by Pavarotti while the person was being treated. Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, went with the EMTs to help the person. 

With the midterm elections coming up, the president claimed Democrats want to raise taxes higher than ever before.

“We have to win, the midterms are going to be very, very important to keep it going,” Trump said. 

While talking about how terrible Democrats are, he said that every Democrat voted against, “no tax on kids, no tax on Social Security — no tax on overtime.”

The only Republican who voted against the tax bill was Kentucky Representative Thomas Massie. 

“He’s the worst person. What the hell, how did he ever end up in Kentucky?” Trump said. 

Massie, who is up against Trump-backed challenger Ed Gallrein in the May primary, was called, “Rand Paul Jr.,” “the worst person,” and “a nutjob,” by Trump. Though he specified that he at least liked Rand Paul “a little.”

“He’s unbelievable,” Trump said of Massie. “He’s disrespecting our country. He votes against everything.,I can give him the best things in the history of a Republican voter, and he votes no. There’s something wrong with him.”

Gallrein came up to speak with Trump, saying, “I will stand with you in the party to put America first in Kentucky, always.”

“Tom Massie stands with the ladies of ‘The View.’ Mr. President, we stand with you,” Gallrein said before leading a U-S-A chant with the audience. 

Gallrein, a farmer and veteran, has had the full support of the president thrown behind him. 

“There’s a farmer right here. He’s a central casting. I said, this is the guy I wanted. I want to just give myself somebody with a warm body to beat Massie and I got somebody with a warm body but a big, beautiful brain and a great nature,” Trump said. 

Trump shouted out several Kentucky leaders, such as Jake Paul, American professional boxer and influencer, who grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, Dr. Oz and many more. 

He said he could see Paul “in the not too distant future running for political office.”

“You have my complete and total endorsement,” Trump said.

Trump talked about wanting to stop all payments to big insurance companies. Instead, the money should be given directly to the people so that “they can buy their own health care, which will be better health care,” he said. 

He talked about how his administration has fixed the “mess” it  inherited a year ago. And he claimed the U.S.  now has the most secure border in U.S. history and the murder rate has had the biggest drop ever recorded. 

“The lowest in 125 years before my father Fred was born. And that’s despite the fact that we have a lot of people that’ve just been allowed here,” Trump said. 

He claimed that inflation is lowering, incomes are growing, “the economy is roaring back,” and America is respected again. 

Trump’s visit to Hebron, Reading and Cincinnati drew both enthusiastic supporters and vocal critics, underscoring the continued political divide surrounding the former president. 

As local leaders and residents reflect on the event, the visit adds another chapter to the region’s role in national political conversations ahead of upcoming elections.