Biden hits campaign trail to support Mcauliffe

ARLINGTON: US President Joe Biden led the kind of campaign rally that was impossible last year because of the pandemic, speaking before nearly 3,000 people in support of a fellow moderate Democrat whose race for Virginia governor could serve as a test of Biden’s own strength and coatails.

Biden motorcaded across the Potomac River on Friday night to back Terry Mcauliffe, a former governor looking for a second term whose centrist leanings in many ways mirror those of the president.

The race is seen as an early measure of voters’ judgement on Democratic control of all branches of the federal government.

The president stood before an enthusiastic and largely unmasked crowd who gathered around a park pavilion and playground on a warm July night.

He emphasised that he shared the same vision as Mcauliffe about the need for greater public investments in order to drive economic growth. But Biden was also focused on the political stakes.

“You’re not gonna find anyone, I mean anyone, who knows how to get more done for Virginia than Terry,” Biden said. “Off-year election, the country’s looking. This is a big deal.”

Biden pointed to his management of the pandemic and highlighted the economic recovery during the first six months of his term, providing a window into his party’s messaging as it tries to maintain narrow margins next fall in both houses of Congress. He also highlighted the relative popularity of his $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill and called for action on his infrastructure plan, much as he has done in official visits to congressional districts expected to see close races next year.

It was a clear return to politics as normal ater 2020, when Biden had to speak to supporters who stayed in their cars at drive-in rallies or give remarks in front of sparse and socially distanced audiences.

The rock songs and tightly packed people standing before center stage suggested that Democrats will not be waging campaigns via

Zoom meetings and conference calls this year.

Protesters against an oil pipeline interrupted Biden and the president took a shot at his 2020 opponent as he told the crowd to not shout them down.

“It’s not a Trump rally,” Biden said. “Let them holler. No one’s paying atention.”

Mcauliffe’s win in his state’s gubernatorial primary was one of a string of recent victories by self-styled pragmatic candidates in relatively low-turnout elections — which tend to draw the most loyal base voters — and his race is being carefully watched by Democrats looking to shape their messaging for next year.