President Donald Trump promised a $100 million investment in pharmaceutical manufacturing in Kentucky on Saturday but appeared to condition the funding on Republicans winning November's midterm elections.
“If the Republicans win, the Department of War will be investing $100 million in the pharmaceutical company Antheia to revitalize [a] gigantic drug manufacturing facility in Winchester, Kentucky,” Trump said during a rally in Highland Heights. “That's a big one.”
Trump spoke at Truist Arena on Northern Kentucky University's campus as part of a midterm campaign push for Republicans ahead of the November 3 election. Kentucky Republicans expected at the event included Republican Senate candidate Andy Barr and 4th Congressional District candidate Ed Gallrein. Gallrein defeated incumbent Republican Representative Thomas Massie in this year's GOP primary after receiving Trump's backing.
The president's wording appeared to explicitly tie the $100 million investment to the outcome of the midterms. Details about how the proposed investment would be structured, when it would be made, and the precise status of the Winchester facility were not immediately clear.
Newsweek has reached out to Antheia for comment and further details about the proposed investment.
The announcement came as Trump made manufacturing and the economy central themes of his speech. He predicted economic improvements as new plants come online.
“Those plants are going to be opening in a year, and when they open you're going to see numbers that nobody's ever seen before,” Trump said.
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What Does Antheia Make?
Antheia, a California-based pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturer, produces key starting materials, or KSMs, and active pharmaceutical ingredients, or APIs, used in essential medicines. The company says its biosynthesis technology offers an alternative to pharmaceutical supply chains dependent on agricultural sources, which can be vulnerable to poor yields and other disruptions.
The company's first commercial product is thebaine, a starting material used to manufacture medication for severe and postsurgical pain, overdose reversal, and addiction treatment. Antheia announced its first commercial delivery of thebaine in 2024 and has also been developing ingredients including oripavine and scopolamine.
Trump's announcement comes amid a broader federal push to increase domestic production of critical pharmaceutical ingredients.
In March, the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response announced a $9 million award to Antheia to expand domestic production of thebaine. The agency said the ingredient is used to manufacture medicines for pain management, alcohol use disorder, and opioid overdose reversal, while citing reliance on foreign supply chains as a potential vulnerability.
Antheia had previously received another government-backed project agreement valued at up to $12 million through a program funded by HHS' Defense Production Act Title III program.
The $100 million figure Trump announced Saturday would therefore be considerably larger than either of those previously announced federal commitments, although details about the proposed Winchester project and what would be manufactured there have not yet been established publicly.
Trump Addresses Iran, Protesters at Kentucky Rally
Trump also addressed the ongoing conflict with Iran during Saturday's rally, saying: “It's going to end very quickly.”
At another point, he called the U.S. action against Iran an “excursion,” saying: “When I did the little excursion to the beautiful Islamic Republic of Iran, we beat the s*** out of 'em.”
The rally was briefly interrupted by a protester who was removed by security. Trump accused the person of being a paid protester, saying such demonstrators receive $250, before weighing whether the person should face charges.
“We shouldn't ruin his life and press charges, right? Just let him go,” Trump said before responding to people in the crowd: “Oh, no? Let's think about it.”
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Trump was distracted later by another person in the arena and asked whether the individual was a “friend or foe.”
“I think he's a friend. Are you friend or foe?” Trump asked. “Because being a foe in this arena can be a very dangerous thing.”
The protester episodes came during a wide-ranging speech in which Trump also discussed Venezuela, saying: “You know how much money we're taking out of Venezuela? Hundreds of billions of dollars we're taking out of Venezuela.”
What Are the Most Competitive Kentucky Races?
Trump's visit comes as Kentucky voters prepare to choose a successor to longtime Republican Senator Mitch McConnell, who is not seeking another term.
Barr is running against Democrat Charles Booker for the open Senate seat. Public polling in the race has been limited. A Global Strategy Group poll released by Booker's campaign found Barr leading Booker 49 percent to 40 percent among 600 likely Kentucky voters. The survey was conducted August 24 to 27 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
A closer battle is unfolding in Kentucky's open 6th Congressional District, which Barr is vacating to run for Senate. Republican Ralph Alvarado faces Democrat Zach Dembo for the seat. A Change Research poll conducted online from September 29 to October 5 for Kentuckians Not Corruption, which is affiliated with Dembo, according to the New York Times, found Dembo leading Alvarado 47 percent to 38 percent, with 8 percent undecided. The survey included 524 likely voters in Kentucky's 6th Congressional District and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.
Trump held Saturday's rally in the 4th Congressional District, where Republican Ed Gallrein faces Democrat Melissa Strange. Recent public polling of that general-election matchup was not available.
Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here.