“Will be going to Pennsylvania today in order to give my total support to RICK SACCONE, running for Congress in a Special Election (March 13),” President Donald Trump tweeted Thursday morning. | Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo Trump gives shout-out to special election candidate at Pennsylvania speech

President Donald Trump on Thursday endorsed Republican Rick Saccone in the upcoming Pennsylvania special election and gave the state lawmaker a shout-out during a speech near Pittsburgh billed as a discussion of the economy.

Speaking at H&K Equipment Company, Trump called Saccone “special.” Earlier on Thursday, he tweeted that he was heading to the state to “give my total support to RICK SACCONE, running for Congress in a Special Election (March 13).”


“Rick is a great guy. We need more Republicans to continue our already successful agenda!” he wrote.

The tour was planned as an official event, but Trump put a political spin on it. POLITICO previously reported that members of Trump's political affairs office had met with Saccone, and Trump told reporters he would return to the state to help the candidate ahead of the special election to replace former Rep. Tim Murphy .

The White House said Trump’s trip was not considered a political event. Trump echoed that during his visit to the manufacturing plant, saying that Saccone is a “great guy” but that his trip was focused on the tax plan Congress passed late last year.

“I think he’s going to do really well,” Trump said. “He’s a great guy — loves this area, loves this country. He just met me at the plane and he’s here someplace. But actually, this is about tax cuts. This is about economic reform. But Rick is a great guy. He’s a special person."

Saccone, a longtime supporter of the president, has referred to himself as “ Trump before Trump was Trump .” He is running against Democrat Conor Lamb, a former federal prosecutor, in Pennsylvania’s 18th Congressional District.

The line between official and political events by presidents is often blurry, but the party reimburses the government for the portion of travel that stems from political events.

The White House has found itself in hot water in the past for melding official and political actions. In November, former Office of Government Ethics Director Walter Shaub filed a complaint alleging that White House counselor Kellyanne Conway violated the Hatch Act by appearing to oppose Democrat Doug Jones during his Alabama Senate campaign against Republican Roy Moore.

Legal experts said Trump’s comments fit a pattern of casting doubt on the official status of events, potentially requiring campaign committees or Republican Party groups to pick up part of the cost of the president’s travel and other costs associated with his appearance.

At what was billed as an official event in Missouri in August, Trump went after Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill, urging voters to oust her if she did not back the GOP tax cut plan.

“She must do this for you, and if she doesn’t do it for you, you have to vote her out of office,” Trump declared to uproarious applause. “We just can’t do this anymore with the obstruction and the obstructionists.”

Richard Painter, who served as an ethics lawyer in President George W. Bush’s White House, said an “off-the-cuff” remark on stage was not enough to convert an official event into a political one.

POLITICO Playbook newsletter Sign up today to receive the #1-rated newsletter in politics Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

But Trump’s statement on Twitter on Thursday was more problematic because it suggested in advance of his visit that the main purpose was political, the former ethics counsel said.

“Everyone’s got to be on the same page,” Painter said. “The decision needs to be made in advance and you need to stick with it. It’s political, it’s nonpolitical or it’s mixed.”

While Trump is not personally covered by the Hatch Act, his statement causes legal headaches because others involved in staging official events are, potentially opening them to accusations that their participation violated the law.

“If it then turns out the whole point of going was political, then you’re in deep doo-doo,” Painter said. “It’s kind of a set-up because the president has thrown his whole staff under the bus.”

A spokeswoman for the Office of Special Counsel, which investigates Hatch Act violations, had no immediate comment Thursday. In any event, the office has no effective mechanism to punish violations involving White House personnel.

If the office finds a violation, it typically asks the president to take appropriate action, but he is not obliged to do so.

Josh Gerstein contributed to this report.