Biden Kicks Off Campaign With Economic Populism

Wealthy need to pay their share in taxes, president tells Philadelphia rally
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jun 17, 2023 5:30 PM CDT
Biden Kicks Off Campaign With Economic Populism
People cheer for President Biden to arrive at a political rally at the Philadelphia Convention Center on Saturday.   (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

President Biden delivered an unapologetically economic populist message Saturday during the first rally of his reelection campaign, telling an exuberant crowd of union members that his policies had created jobs and lifted the middle class. Now, he said, is the time for the wealthy to "pay their fair share" in taxes, the AP reports. Biden spotlighted the sweeping climate, tax, and health care package signed into law last year that cut the cost of prescription drugs and lowered insurance premiums—pocketbook issues that advisers say will be the centerpiece of his argument for a second term. "I'm looking forward to this campaign," Biden said to cries of "Four more years!" before adding, "We've got a record to run on."

His choice of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania for his first official campaign stop reflected their crucial role in his reelection effort. The city was the site of his 2020 campaign headquarters, and the state was one of a handful that had voted for Republican Donald Trump in 2016 but flipped back to Democrats four years later. Until the rally, Biden's primary reelection campaign activity had been fundraising. On Saturday, he spoke to more than 1,000 union workers representing such occupations as carpenter, airport service worker, entertainer, and heavy service equipment engineer. Most wore T-shirts bearing their union's logos and chanted "Let's go, Joe!" and "We want Joe" and blew whistles hours before the president arrived.

Biden did not mention any of his potential Republican opponents by name but said many in the GOP "oppose everything I've done." Pointing to high inflation rates, Republicans have criticized "Biden-omics," a term the president tried to turn back on his opponents on Saturday. "I don't know what the hell that is," he said, "but it's working." Several of the nation's most powerful unions—including the AFL-CIO, American Federation of Teachers, and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees—officially endorsed Biden on Friday. The joint endorsement was the first of its kind.

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Biden argued in his remarks that if Wall Street bankers went on strike, no one would notice. But if unions members walked off the job, he said, "the whole country would come to a grinding halt." Biden also criticized those worth more than $1 billion for paying, he said, as little as 8% in federal taxes. The wealthy must "pay their fair share," he said repeatedly. Clark Hamilton, a 63-year-old retiree and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers member, said Biden embraces union values but sometimes "plays it like most politicians, in the middle." He referenced Biden's urging Congress last year to prevent a rail strike, which the president said could cripple commerce nationwide. "That's a shame," Hamilton said. "But he was trying to save the economy."

(More President Biden 2024 stories.)

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