Trump to visit Ohio and Kentucky to downplay war's effect on economy and target a top GOP antagonist

President Donald Trump is visiting Ohio and Kentucky as he tries to steady voters' concerns about the economy and to derail the reelection bid of a Republican rival

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump plans to visit Ohio and Kentucky on Wednesday to argue that his policies can steady an economy facing shock waves from the war on Iran and to try and defeat one of the few congressional Republicans who has dared to defy him.

In Cincinnati, the president is touring Thermo Fisher Scientific, a pharmaceutical company. There, he'll tout efforts to lower prescription drug prices, a key part of his attempts to show his administration is focused on making the cost of living more affordable for many Americans ahead of November's midterm elections.

After that, Trump will visit a logistics packing facility in nearby Hebron, Kentucky, part of the district of Rep. Thomas Massie. Trump is backing a primary challenger to Massie.

The trip presents an early test of Trump's ability to cleanse his party of those who oppose him, but also to try and stay on an economic message increasingly strained by the military action launched by the U.S. and Israel against Iran. He’ll be “talking about the economy, which is, of course, the utmost importance to him,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

Polls showed that Americans were increasingly wary of Trump's handling of the economy even before the conflict with Iran began, and fighting there has derailed Trump’s messaging, as the low gas prices he once bragged about are now surging and stocks that had set record highs have slipped.