President Joe Biden returns to his childhood hometown of Scranton on Tuesday to open three straight days of campaigning in Pennsylvania, capitalizing on the opportunity to work the battleground state while Donald Trump spends the week in a New York City courtroom for his first criminal trial.
Quick Read
- Campaign Trail in Pennsylvania: President Joe Biden will start three days of campaigning in Pennsylvania by visiting his childhood hometown of Scranton. This visit is strategic, as it occurs while Donald Trump is in court in New York City.
- Economic Pitch in Scranton: In Scranton, a city emblematic of the working class, Biden will argue for higher taxes on the wealthy. He aims to contrast himself with Trump, painting the latter as aligned with the interests of the rich.
- Biden’s Strategy on the Economy: The backdrop of his speeches will be the current economic discontent among Americans due to high inflation and interest rates, despite low unemployment. Biden’s messaging will focus on the economy and his tax policies, particularly his plans to impose higher taxes on the wealthy and maintain certain tax breaks for those making under $400,000.
- Itinerary Details: Biden’s itinerary includes an overnight stay in Scranton, followed by a visit to Pittsburgh and a return to the White House, before heading to Philadelphia later in the week. This intense focus on Pennsylvania underscores its critical role in his reelection aspirations.
- Pennsylvania’s Political Importance: According to Daniel Hopkins from the University of Pennsylvania, no Democrat has won the presidency without Pennsylvania since Harry Truman in 1948. Biden’s frequent visits to the state highlight its significance in his campaign strategy.
- Personal Connections: Scranton holds personal importance for Biden, where he spent his early years before moving to Delaware. His narrative often includes references to his modest beginnings in Scranton, contrasting with Trump’s wealthier background.
- 2020 Campaign Themes Revived: Echoing his 2020 campaign themes, Biden’s team frames the 2024 race as “Scranton versus Park Avenue,” emphasizing Biden’s working-class roots against Trump’s elite status.
- Local Political Dynamics: Scranton is seen as a test of Biden’s appeal in areas that have shown Republican gains during Trump’s tenure. Biden won Scranton and its surrounding county in 2020, a trend he aims to continue amidst challenges in rural regions.
- Trump’s Legal Troubles and Campaign Impact: As Trump deals with his criminal trial, Biden’s campaign sees an opportunity to draw a stark contrast by focusing on substantive economic issues rather than personal scandals. Trump’s trial could potentially distract from Biden’s campaign if it dominates national attention.
- Republican Perspective: Local Republican leaders argue that despite Democratic assurances, the economy has deteriorated under Biden’s presidency, with increased living costs affecting families. Trump continues to attack Biden’s policies, including tax plans, during his appearances in Pennsylvania.
The Associated Press has the story:
Biden returns to his hometown Scranton, PA, to pitch tax plan
Newslooks- WASHINGTON (AP) —
President Joe Biden returns to his childhood hometown of Scranton on Tuesday to open three straight days of campaigning in Pennsylvania, capitalizing on the opportunity to work the battleground state while Donald Trump spends the week in a New York City courtroom for his first criminal trial.
The Democratic president plans to use Scranton, a working class city of roughly 75,000 people, as the backdrop for his pitch for higher taxes on the rich. At the same, he will portray Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee and a billionaire himself, as a tool of wealthy interests.
It’s all aimed at reframing the conversation around the economy, which has left many Americans feeling sour about their financial situations at a time of stubborn inflation and elevated interest rates despite low unemployment.
Biden plans to spend Tuesday night in Scranton before continuing to Pittsburgh on Wednesday morning. He then goes back to the White House, only to return to Pennsylvania on Thursday, this time visiting Philadelphia.
By the time the week is over, Biden or Vice President Kamala Harris will have visited the state eight times this year, reflecting its importance to Biden’s hopes for a second term.
“It’s hard to draw paths to Biden winning the White House that don’t involve Pennsylvania,” said Daniel Hopkins, a political science professor at the University of Pennsylvania. No Democrat has become president without winning the state since Harry Truman in 1948.
Scranton, the president’s first destination, will blend the personal and the political for Biden. He grew up in a three-story colonial home in the Green Ridge neighborhood until his father struggled to find work and moved the family to Delaware when the future president was 10.
Although Delaware eventually became the launching pad for Biden’s political career, he often returned to Scranton and grounded his autobiography in the city. He visited so often, he was sometimes called “Pennsylvania’s third senator.”
In 2020, Biden described the presidential campaign as “Scranton versus Park Avenue,” and his reelection team is framing this year’s race in a similar way.
“You’ve got Joe Biden, who sees the world from the kitchen table where he grew up in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and Donald Trump, who sees the world from his country club down in Mar-a-Lago,” said Michael Tyler, the campaign’s communications director.
Christopher Borick, director of the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion, described Scranton as a “mythical place in political culture,” and it will provide a test for Biden’s political appeal.
“It’s an area that, on paper, aligns perfectly with the populist gains of the Republican Party during the Trump era,” Borick said.
However, Biden won the city and the surrounding county in 2020. If he’s able to carry Scranton and similar places again this year, as well as limit Trump’s winning margins in rural areas, Biden may be able to secure another victory in Pennsylvania.
“Everything is on the margin. Everything that we talk about are small shifts,” Borick said.
Biden’s pitch on taxes is a key part of his effort to blunt Trump’s populist allure.
When Trump was president, he signed into law a series of tax breaks in 2017 that disproportionately benefit the rich. Many of the cuts expire at the end of 2025, and Biden wants to keep a majority of them to fulfill his promise that no one earning less than $400,000 will pay more taxes.
However, he also wants to raise $4.9 trillion in revenue over 10 years with higher taxes on the wealthy and corporations. His platform includes a “billionaire’s tax,” which would set a minimum rate of 25% on the income of the richest Americans.
Biden’s travels in Pennsylvania overlap with the start of Trump’s first criminal trial, presenting an opportunity and a challenge for the president’s campaign.
Trump is defending himself against criminal charges for a scheme to suppress allegations of affairs with a porn actress and a Playboy model. Biden’s team has quietly embraced the contrast of the former president sequestered in a courtroom while the current president has free rein to focus on economic issues that are top of mind for voters.
However, the juxtaposition becomes less helpful if Trump soaks up the country’s attention during the first-ever criminal trial of a former president.
Biden campaign officials said they weren’t worried about the trial.
“No matter where Donald Trump is, whether it’s in Mar-a-Lago or a courtroom or anywhere else, he’ll be focused on himself, his toxic agenda, his campaign of revenge and retribution,” Tyler said. “That’s going to be a continuation of the contrast the American people have been able to see since this campaign began.”
Sam DeMarco, chair of the Republican Party in Allegheny County, where Pittsburgh is located, said Democrats’ message is that “the economy is good, we’re just not smart enough to realize it.”
However, DeMarco said, “across the board, it costs more to live today than it did when Joe Biden came to office.”
“These are the things that families feel,” he said. “And a scripted appearance by the president is not going to change that.”
Trump was last in Pennsylvania on Saturday night in Schnecksville, where he described Biden as a “demented tyrant” and blamed him for all of the country’s problems, in addition to his own legal woes.
“All of America knows that the real blame for this nightmare lies with one person, Crooked Joe Biden,” Trump said.
He attacked Biden’s tax plans, falsely claiming that “they’re going to raise your taxes by four times.”
Trump also went on an extended riff about the Civil War battle in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, calling it “so vicious and horrible, and so beautiful in so many different ways,” and suggesting that the Confederate General Robert E. Lee is “no longer in favor.”
