Trump tells Pennsylvania voters that trade war has helped economy

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump walks down the steps of Air Force One as he returns to Washington from a trip to New York City at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S., May 17, 2019. REUTERS/Leah Millis

WASHINGTON/MONTOURSVILLE, Pa. (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump, facing a potentially difficult path to winning a second term in November 2020, on Monday told supporters in Pennsylvania that his trade war had strengthened the battleground state's steel industry and jobs.

Although Trump does not launch his re-election bid officially until next month, his appearance at a raucous rally in an airport hangar in northeastern Pennsylvania, using Air Force One as a backdrop, had the hallmarks of a campaign event.