Biden blasts poll rival on trip to childhood home
SCRANTON: Joe Biden made a campaign trip to his beloved birthplace on Tuesday in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where he unleashed a blistering condemnation of Donald Trump as the tycoon languished in court.
The 81-year-old US president even visited his childhood home in the former mining town as he contrasted his blue-collar roots with the election rival he branded a self-obsessed billionaire.
In a speech calling for the wealthy to pay more taxes, Mr Biden said he “learned a lot here in Scranton.”
“I learned that money doesn’t determine your worth.”
“People like Donald Trump learned very different lessons... he learned that telling people ‘you’re fired’ is something to laugh about,” he added, referring to Mr Trump’s catchphrase on the reality TV show The Apprentice.
Democrat Biden made no reference to Mr Trump’s historic hush money trial in New York, which is keeping the Republican off the campaign trail.
But he repeatedly drew broader contrasts with Mr Trump, saying November’s vote was a battle between “Scranton values or Mar-a-Lago values,” in a reference to Mr Trump’s luxury Florida mansion.
“Donald Trump looks at the world differently to you and me,” a fired-up Biden said.
“He wakes up in the morning in Mar-a-Lago thinking about himself, how he can help his billionaire friends gain power and control and force their extreme agenda on the rest of us.”
The Scranton visit kicks off a three-day swing through Pennsylvania, a key swing state Mr Biden narrowly carried in the 2020 election against Mr Trump.
Also known as the setting for the US version of hit TV comedy The Office, Scranton has long been at the heart of the political mythology Mr Biden has cultivated about his hardscrabble upbringing there.
During his visit he drove down an expressway named in his honour and visited his wood-paneled childhood house, where large crowds including school children were cheering.
There were also some Palestinian flags flying, as protests continue against Mr Biden’s support of Israel’s war in Gaza.
Mr Biden’s campaign earlier released a social media ad featuring Scranton locals, including a cousin, bashing Mr Trump as rich and selfish.
His homecoming trip rides on recent momentum in polls that show him catching up with Trump, after months of trailing the Republican.
Mr Biden meanwhile mocked Mr Trump for his recent fundraising advantage over his rival, quipping that if stock in Mr Trump’s media group “drops any lower, he might do better under my tax plan than his.”
On a more serious note Mr Biden angrily attacked Mr Trump as a threat to democracy, returning to a theme Democrats hope will resonate with voters.
However, he made no mention of the trial occupying Mr Trump’s time this week.
The White House said Mr Biden would not be following the proceedings in New York.