On the occasion of Labor Day, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are participating together on Monday in a campaign event in Pennsylvania, a “swing” state likely to swing the presidential election.
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The Democratic duo will meet with union leaders in Pittsburgh for a day focused on defending the middle and working class.
It will be their first official campaign event since Biden’s shock withdrawal from the White House race on July 21, and after a first joint trip in mid-August as part of their official duties.
Joe Biden, who still enjoys a certain amount of sympathy among white working-class voters, is expected to emphasize his economic record and his defense of unions, while presenting his vice president, Kamala Harris, as his worthy successor.
Traveling earlier Monday to Detroit, Michigan, another key state, the Democratic candidate warned against a new mandate for her rival Donald Trump.
The former president “intends to take us back, particularly to a time when workers did not have the freedom to organize,” she said, surrounded by representatives of teachers’ and automobile unions.
“We will not go back!” the crowd shouted back, repeating one of his campaign slogans.
Donald Trump accused her, just like Joe Biden, of having “undone” all the “major successes” he boasts of in terms of the economy and employment during his term (2017-2021), in a publication on Truth Social.
The Republican candidate, also courting the working-class vote – which has gradually shifted to the right in recent years – had not planned a campaign event on Monday. Donald Trump will travel this week to Wisconsin, another key state, where he will talk about the economy.
Steel and hydrocarbons
In Pittsburgh, Kamala Harris is expected to say that Pennsylvania-based steel giant US Steel should remain a national company, as the group could be bought by Japanese rival Nippon Steel.
A takeover that worries the local population and which Donald Trump also opposes.
Another cause for concern in this highly coveted state: the issue of hydraulic fracturing, a method of extracting hydrocarbons denounced by environmentalists, but notably used in Pennsylvania, where the sector is a major provider of jobs and income.
Kamala Harris said Thursday in her first interview as a candidate that she would “not ban” the technique, which she had previously opposed.
“We can grow and develop a thriving clean energy economy without banning fracking,” she said.
Two months before an election that promises to be very close, the 59-year-old Democrat and her 78-year-old Republican rival are increasing their trips to these strategic states, where the election will be decided.
After her recent entry into the race, which sparked a wave of enthusiasm, the Democrat must take up the challenge of charting her own course, without denying the action led by the president whom she has supported since January 2021.
Joe Biden has only appeared at his side on rare occasions in recent weeks, but has assured that he wants to do his best to help him.
“I promise to be the best volunteer the Harris and Walz camp has ever seen,” he said in August at the Democratic convention in Chicago, before sharing a long hug with Kamala Harris, to cheers from the audience.
