President Biden celebrates union gains during speech at Milwaukee's Laborfest, continues broadside against 'MAGA Republicans'
President Joe Biden praised unions in a speech at Milwaukee's Laborfest and used the event Monday to continue his broadside against the "MAGA Republican" wing of the GOP.
"I'm here because of you — the middle class built America, but the unions built the middle class — that's a fact," Biden said. "Laborers are the single greatest technicians in the world. People forget, you go four, five years to school, in an apprentice, build a better product, it lasts longer, it's cheaper for the business, it's better for the country."
Wisconsin Democratic and labor leaders, including Gov. Tony Evers and U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, welcomed Biden who visited just two months before the high-profile midterm elections in the battleground state.
Biden thanked Milwaukee and Wisconsin elected officials, including Barnes saying, "he couldn't be here, but he's going to be your next United States senator."
Biden then carried a political message as he said the country was at an inflection point, whether it wanted to move forward or backward, to build a future "or obsess about the past."
"Not every Republican is a MAGA Republican, not every Republican embraces that extreme ideology," Biden said, a followup to his speech five days ago in Philadelphia and referring to the acronym for Trump's campaign slogan Make America Great Again. That same speech was attacked by Republicans for condemning backers of former President Donald Trump.
"But the extreme MAGA Republicans have chosen to go backwards, full of anger, violence hate and division. But together we can and we must choose a different path."
Unlike in the Philadelphia speech, Biden didn't mention the former president by name, instead referring to "the last guy" and "Trumpies."
Biden targeted Sen. Johnson saying he wants to put Social Security and Medicare on the "chopping block."
"This guy never stops," he said, referring to Johnson.
Evers, who is in a tight race with Republican challenger Tim Michels, has pledged to support Biden if he launches a reelection campaign for a second term.
Introducing Biden Monday, Evers called the president an important partner to states like Wisconsin.
"Fortunately, we have a president who understands the challenges facing working families and (is) willing to work with us to find common sense solutions," Evers said.
AFPBiden blasts "extreme" GOP in Labor Day trip to WisconsinWASHINGTON — President Joe Biden excoriated "MAGA Republicans" and the extreme right on Monday, pitching personal Labor Day appeals to union members in two key swing states that he hopes will turn out in force for his party in November.
"The middle class built America," Biden told a workers' gathering at park grounds in Milwaukee. "Everybody knows that. But unions built the middle class."
Later Monday, he flew to West Mifflin, outside Pittsburgh — returning to Pennsylvania for the third time in less than a week and just two days after his predecessor, Donald Trump, staged his own rally in the state.
The unofficial start of fall, Labor Day also traditionally starts a political busy season where campaigns scramble to excite voters for Election Day on Nov. 8. That's when control of the House and Senate, as well some of the country's top governorships, will be decided.
On Monday, Biden said "Not every Republican is a MAGA Republican" but singled out those who have taken Trump's "Make America Great Again" campaign cry to dangerous or hateful lengths. He highlighted episodes like last year's mob attack on the U.S. Capitol.
He told the Milwaukee rally that many in the GOP have "chosen to go backwards, full of anger, violence, hate, division."
"But together we can, and we must, choose a different path forward," Biden said. "A future of unity and hope. we're going to choose to build a better America."
The crowd jeered loudly as Biden repeatedly chided Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin for voting against a Democratic-backed measure meant to lower prescription drug prices. The president also suggested Johnson and other congressional Republicans were wiling to undermine Social Security.
Unions endorsements helped Biden overcome disastrous early finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire to win the 2020 Democratic primary, and eventually the White House. He has since continued to praise the labor movement as president.
Mary Kay Henry, president of the 2-million-member Service Employees International Union, called Biden's championing of unions heading into the midterm elections "critical" and said workers must "mobilize in battlegrounds across the country to ensure that working people turn out."
"We're really excited about the president speaking directly to workers about, if he had the opportunity, he'd join a union," Henry said. She added: "This president has signaled which side he's on. And he's on the side of working people. And that matters hugely."
AFP
