WATCH LIVE: Trump promotes his economic agenda in Rep. Massie’s Kentucky district

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump plans to visit Ohio and Kentucky on Wednesday to say his policies can stabilize an economy facing shock waves from the war on Iran and to try to defeat one of the few Republicans in Congress who has dared to challenge him.

The president is expected to deliver his remarks at 4:25 p.m. EST. Watch the live stream in our video player above.

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

Read more: A new poll shows that Americans are increasingly concerned about voting

Next, Trump will visit a logistics packaging facility in nearby Hebron, Kentucky, part of Rep. Thomas Massie’s district. Trump supports Massie’s primary challenger.

The trip represents a test of Trump’s ability to purge his party of those who oppose him, but it is also an attempt to stay true to an economic message that has been increasingly strained by the military action launched by the United States and Israel against Iran. Trump “will talk about the economy, which of course is of the utmost importance to him,” White House press secretary Carolyn Leavitt said.

Read more: Inflation stabilized last month before the attack on Iran led to higher energy costs

Polls have shown that Americans were increasingly concerned about Trump’s handling of the economy even before the conflict with Iran began, and the fighting there has derailed Trump’s messaging, as the low gas prices he once boasted are now rising, and stocks that hit record levels have tumbled.

Employers also unexpectedly cut 92,000 jobs in February, and revisions cut another 69,000 jobs from payrolls in December and January — which the White House previously praised as “remarkable.”

None of that has stopped Trump from continuing to insist that the country is thriving, and blaming Democrats for everything else.

“They are the ones who caused the problem,” he told a Florida House Republican Party meeting on Monday. “But we’re actually lowering prices significantly.”

Read more: Iran is targeting commercial ships, Dubai airport and oil facilities as concerns grow over global energy

Democrats offer a sharp contrast to Trump’s portrayal of the nation, saying costs remain high for many Americans more than a year into his second term, and that families are still struggling under his policies.

Trump’s affordability tour meets his opposition to Macy

After Democrats won gubernatorial elections in Virginia and New Jersey in November, the White House announced that Trump would travel to the country to show that he takes kitchen table issues seriously and to reassure voters concerned about continued high prices and economic growth.

Since then, the president has made stops in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina and Texas — though his speeches have sometimes been more focused on his political grievances than his plans to try to help cut everyday costs across the country.

He watches: Trump calls Republican Rep. Massie, who fought for the release of the Epstein files, a “moron”

However, the trip marks the first time this primary cycle that Trump has sought to make good on his promises to punish members of his own party who oppose him on key issues. The president has endorsed Ed Gallerin, a farmer, businessman and retired Navy SEAL, who is running in Kentucky’s May 19 Republican primary against Massie. Trump and Gallerin will appear together on Wednesday.

Massie is an outspoken critic of Trump who has opposed White House-backed tax and spending measures and has opposed Trump by pushing for the release of files related to the sex trafficking investigations into Jeffrey Epstein. He also opposed the US strike on Venezuela that ousted then-President Nicolas Maduro, and more recently the war in Iran.

“This is not America First,” Massie posted on Channel X on Sunday, blaming the war for causing gas prices to rise.