SCRANTON, Pa. — With just a few days until voters decide his successor, President Joe Biden returned to his childhood hometown Saturday in hopes of tipping Pennsylvania’s crucial electors toward his vice president.
“The stakes couldn’t be higher,” Biden told a crowd of supporters at a South Scranton union hall. “The choice couldn’t be clearer.”
Biden’s return to Scranton marked his first appearance in northeast Pennsylvania to stump for Vice President Kamala Harris, who replaced Biden on the ticket when Biden announced in July that he would not seek a second term.
Polls show Harris and former President Donald Trump virtually tied in Pennsylvania, where the 19 electoral votes up for grabs could determine who sits in the White House.
Biden, who spent part of his childhood living on Scranton’s North Washington Avenue, sought to buttress support for Harris in the state’s northeast by courting blue-collar labor in a town long dear to him.
“Scranton becomes part of your heart,” Biden said. “It crawls into your heart. It’s real. It’s not hyperbole. It’s not a joke. It’s real.”
Biden arrived at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport soon after noon and spent just more than three hours in the area.
Biden made two stops at two labor halls. As the motorcade rolled by, people stood outside of their homes and waved. Many held up Harris signs. A few held up signs supporting Trump.
People stood outside their homes along the way waving at the motorcade. Many were holding Harris signs. There were also a couple of people holding Trump signs.
At the hall of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Biden posed for photos and sang along “Happy Birthday” to a union member, according to pool reports. And at the United Brotherhood of Carpenters & Joiners of America Local Union 445, on Pear Street, he sought to make the case that local laborers throw their support behind Harris.
Doug McCarron, general president of the union, introduced Biden and said they, “need a leader with ideas and solutions.”
“Leaders like President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris,” McCarron said.
In a 22-minute speech, Biden characterized Trump as a plutocrat who would slash benefits and cut the federal Department of Education to underwrite lucrative tax cuts for wealthy Americans. Trump repeatedly tried to end the Affordable Care Act during his presidency and his policy platform does call for the Department of Education’s end.
Biden presented himself and Harris as a pro-labor contrast by pointing to his solidarity with striking autoworkers and his efforts to safeguard pensions.
Harris, he said, shares his views.
“I wouldn’t have picked her if I didn’t think she had the exact views I do about hardworking people,” Biden said.