President Joe Biden's Milwaukee visit touts 'Bidenomics' as 2024 election cycle heats up
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President Joe Biden hailed “Bidenomics” as the path to strengthening the middle class and boosting the American economy during his visit on Tuesday to a state that will likely play a critical role in his reelection chances in just 15 months' time.
“It’s working,” Biden told a group of about 150 workers and supporters inside a manufacturing plant in Milwaukee. “We’re investing in America… My plan is leading to a boom in manufacturing and manufacturing investment as we're seeing right here in this factory," Biden said.
He delivered his remarks at Ingeteam Inc., a manufacturer that specializes in electric power conversion, one day before the anniversary of the signing of the Inflation Reduction Act, legislation passed last year that made historic investments in clean energy.
“When I think climate, I think jobs,” Biden said.
While billed as an official visit, Biden’s trip to Milwaukee carries significant political weight. It falls just one week before the nation’s top Republicans converge on the same city for the first GOP presidential primary debate Aug. 23. And he comes to Wisconsin at a time when the electorate is reluctant to see a rematch between Biden and the current Republican frontrunner, former President Donald Trump.
Recently, some Democrats have proposed alternatives to Biden and floated the idea of a Democratic primary challenge. But Biden and his supporters on Capitol Hill see the administration’s investments in infrastructure and manufacturing as a path to winning over voters.
“I came to office determined to move away from trickle-down economics, to focus on the middle class,” Biden said. “Because, as I said, when the middle class does well, everybody does well.”
He mentioned various projects across Wisconsin aided by federal funding, including $80 million to replace an interstate bridge in Columbia County, as he sought at times to contrast himself with Trump. “You know, the last guy talked about infrastructure month,” Biden said, repeating a line he’s used in past remarks. “We got infrastructure decade, baby.”
Republicans, meanwhile, have been consistent in their criticisms of Biden’s economic plans. Top Wisconsin GOP officials have called Bidenomics “disastrous” and cited high prices that many Americans saw at the beginning of the year.
"I think people in Wisconsin are going to be scratching their head about this alternative universe that this president lives in,” Republican Party of Wisconsin Chairman Brian Schimming said Tuesday morning. “Bidenomics is the latest rendition of economic failure for this White House.”
“There's gonna be no amount of political spinning the president can do in Milwaukee today that is gonna pull Wisconsinites,” Schimming added.
Many of the state’s top Democrats were also present in Milwaukee Tuesday. Gov. Tony Evers, U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley greeted the president when he landed.
Before the president’s remarks, Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, Evers and Moore joined Biden as he met with eight Ingeteam employees in a wing of the facility that stores parts for wind turbine generators and EV charging stations.
Valentino Collado, an assemblyman at Ingeteam and an immigrant from the Philippines, introduced Biden at the event. Collado said being part of the union has given him opportunity, stability and job security.
“America’s union workforce is the backbone of this country,” Collado said. “That’s something President Biden understands at his core. When it comes to creating jobs, rebuilding the middle class and respecting the dignity of workers, Joe Biden has delivered (for) the American people.
Since Biden took office, Wisconsin companies have committed more than $3 billion to manufacturing and clean energy investments, according to a White House official. That figure includes $1.5 billion from Alliant Energy to build utility-scale battery storage facilities at solar farms across the state, a move the administration estimates will create 2,000 construction jobs.
Ingeteam, a favorite campaign stop for Democrats, earlier this year announced it would increase production of electric vehicle chargers to help meet the Biden administration’s goal of establishing 500,000 EV charging stations along highways. The company, the White House said, expects orders of wind turbine generators to double next year due to incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act.
Inside the facility Tuesday, Biden spoke from a small stage surrounded by light blue parts of turbine generators. He was flanked by a handful of workers in vests and hardhats and stood in front of a large blue banner with the words: “Bidenomics. Investing in America” as he touted the Inflation Reduction Act, the CHIPS and Science Act, which made investments in domestic manufacturing, and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Biden criticizes Sen. Ron Johnson on manufacturing jobs
On multiple occasions during his remarks, Biden took aim at Wisconsin Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, whom he accused of supporting outsourcing manufacturing jobs. Johnson in 2020 advocated for shipping some jobs overseas, describing the ability to outsource manufacturing jobs as one of the benefits of the global economy.
“Between the year 2000 and the year 2021, Wisconsin alone lost more than 136,000 manufacturing jobs alone,” Biden said. “I’d like to see Sen. Johnson talk to those 136,000 people and tell them it doesn’t matter whether you manufacture things at home or overseas. It sure as hell does, man.”
The president’s visit came as fires have devastated Maui, Hawaii, in recent days. Hawaiian officials have said 99 people have been killed, and that total could increase. Biden said nearly 500 federal personnel have been deployed to Maui to assist survivors and families and claimed he and the First Lady plan to travel to the island.
“We're gonna coordinate, continue to coordinate relentlessly with the people on the ground and make sure that critical work continues,” Biden said of rescue and aid efforts in Hawaii. “Every asset, every asset they need will be there for them. We’ll be there in Maui as long as it takes.”
While Biden took centerstage Tuesday, Republicans plan to make their own mark on Milwaukee as they flood the city for the first GOP presidential debate next Wednesday. Nearly all of the top Republican candidates plan to attend the debate, though it remains unclear whether former President Donald Trump will attend.
On Tuesday, Biden made no mention of the debate and only referenced his predecessor when he spoke of his own infrastructure investments.
He used his final remarks to speak directly to a crowd he will need behind him in order to win in 2024.
“Let me tell you, America's best days are ahead, not behind us,” Biden said. “Not because of me, (but) because of you. This isn't about the past. It's about the future. It's about each of us writing the next chapter in American history.”
“I can honestly say,” he added, “I’ve never been more optimistic, and I mean this from the bottom of my heart, I’ve never been more optimistic about America’s future…”
“We’re the United States of America. There’s nothing, nothing beyond our capacity when we do it together, so let’s do it together, God love you.”
Tyler Katzenberger of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed reporting from Madison.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Biden's Milwaukee visit touts 'Bidenomics' as 2024 cycle heats up
