Trump rails on affordability ‘hoax’ and immigrants in rally-style speech

President sought to rehab image after criticism of being out of touch, but speech aimed at midterms took different turn

• Fact-checking Trump's speech

Donald Trump has sought to reboot his ailing US presidency at a rally-style event with a blitz of false claims about the economy and xenophobic attacks on immigrants and shithole countries".

In the wake of Republican election defeats and criticism that he is out of touch with America's affordability crisis, Trump's speech at the Mount Pocono casino in north-eastern Pennsylvania on Tuesday was billed as an opportunity to reclaim the economic narrative.