WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on President Donald Trump’s visit to Pennsylvania (all times local):
3:35 p.m.
President Donald Trump says he called Apple CEO Tim Cook to thank the company for announcing its plans to invest $350 billion in the United States in the coming years.
Trump says, “They are going to build plants, they are going to build a big campus, they’re really going to town.”
Speaking in Pennsylvania to promote the tax cut law passed in December, Trump is highlighting the nearly $250 billion that Apple is repatriating from overseas under a one-time break on offshore profits. The company has announced it will build a second headquarters in the U.S., build new datacenters, and hire 20,000 U.S. workers.
But most of the $350 billion reflects money that Apple planned to spend with its suppliers and manufacturers in the U.S. anyway.
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3:07 p.m.
President Donald Trump is promising to return to Pennsylvania to campaign for a state lawmaker who’s vying to keep a U.S. House seat in the Republican column.
Trump says the candidate, Rick Saccone, is a “great guy” and a “special person.”
Says Trump: “I’ll be back for Rick.” He promised to fill a stadium for Saccone, which suggests Trump may return for a campaign rally.
Saccone is running for the seat that opened up when the incumbent, GOP Rep. Tim Murphy, resigned after admitting to an extramarital affair.
Saccone faces Democrat Conor Lamb, a former Marine, in the March 13th special election.
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2:52 p.m.
President Donald Trump has arrived in the Pittsburgh area to push the benefits of the tax cuts he signed into law before Christmas.
But the trip also has big political overtones.
Trump is visiting the H&K Equipment Co. in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania. While there, he will lend his support to a Pennsylvania lawmaker who’s trying to keep a House seat in the Republican column.
It’s the first congressional race of the year, and it follows the embarrassment Trump suffered in December when a Democrat won a Senate seat in deeply Republican Alabama.
Trump’s official mission is to sell the public on the tax cuts. He also plans to appear with the candidate, Rick Saccone.
Trump pledged “total support” for Saccone before leaving the White House. The White House later said Trump was traveling to promote the tax law, not to campaign for Saccone.
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11:45 a.m.
The White House says that, despite the president’s tweet, he is not going to Pennsylvania Thursday to campaign for a congressional candidate there.
President Donald Trump tweeted earlier that he was headed to the state “to give my total support” to Rick Saccone, a Republican running in a special election.
Now press secretary Sarah Sanders says the purpose of the visit is actually to promote Trump’s agenda, especially the Republican tax overhaul.
Sanders sent out a statement noting that Trump supports GOP candidates across the U.S.
Trump’s visit to the H&K Equipment Company in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania has been billed as an official event, rather than a campaign stop. A campaign event which would require that taxpayers be reimbursed for some of the expenses.
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8:25 a.m.
President Donald Trump is offering enthusiastic support for a Republican congressional candidate in Pennsylvania. Trump’s headed there today.
The president tweets Thursday: “Will be going to Pennsylvania today in order to give my total support to RICK SACCONE, running for Congress in a Special Election (March 13). Rick is a great guy. We need more Republicans to continue our already successful agenda!”
The president is heading to southwestern Pennsylvania to talk about his tax overhaul. The White House says Saccone will greet the president at the airport and attend Trump’s tour of a local factory. But Trump is not expected to mention Saccone in his remarks.
Trump’s event also is in the Pittsburgh-area district where Saccone is running. The special election there is March 13.
-This story has been corrected to show that Trump’s event is inside the district where the special election will be held; an earlier version said it was not.
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12:05 a.m.
President Donald Trump is tiptoeing around the first congressional election of 2018 as he heads to Pennsylvania to hail the recently enacted tax cuts.
Trump is set to appear with the Republican nominee for a Pittsburgh-area House seat being decided in March. But the White House says Trump doesn’t plan to mention candidate Rick Saccone in his remarks.
And the event isn’t actually in the congressional district being contested.
Democrats aren’t necessarily any more confident in the chances that lawyer and former Marine Conor Lamb can pull off an upset in a district Trump won by almost 20 points.
The handling of the race shows both sides’ reluctance to put too much emphasis on one contest amid the high stakes of this midterm election year.
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