Biden Discusses Trump, the Economy, and Unions on Labor Day

Facts

• Pres. Joe Biden gave a Labor Day speech in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, criticizing former Pres. Donald Trump and touting his administration's economic policies.¹
• Speaking to a crowd of union workers in Philadelphia, Biden said, “Bidenomics is a blue-collar blueprint for America." He focused on job growth under his administration, saying that he added 13.5M jobs while the US recovered from the pandemic.²
• Refusing to call out Trump directly by name, Biden continuously referred to the former president as “the last guy” and said: “The guy who held this job before me was just one of two presidents in history...who left office with fewer jobs in America than when he got elected to office.”³
• In his speech to the Sheet Metal Workers’ Local 19, Biden accused Trump’s administration of shipping jobs to China while saying that his admin. is bringing manufacturing back to the US. He also called Trump, “a great real estate builder…who really didn’t build a damn thing.” His speech also sought to rally the support of unions ahead of the 2024 election.⁴
• Despite Biden’s satisfaction with his economic record, a new Wall Street Journal poll showed that 63% of people viewed the economy negatively, with 36% calling it poor. Biden's approval rating sits at just 42%, with many voters concerned about the 80-year-old’s age.⁵
• Monday was Biden’s seventh trip to Philadelphia this year and his 14th since taking office. Pennsylvania is one of the most important election battleground states.⁶

Sources: ¹Reuters, ²ABC News, ³NBC, ⁴CNN, ⁵CNBC, and ⁶Inquirer.

Narratives

• Democratic narrative, as provided by Vanity Fair. President Biden is going back to his roots and showing his commitment to unions and the working class to the American people. The president has a record of defending workers that spans decades, and he made sure to let everyone in the audience know that his predecessor was no champion of the working class. Unlike the “last guy” who was all talk and no action, Biden has a plan that is working for all Americans.
• Republican narrative, as provided by Daily Caller. While Joe Biden may try to tell Americans that he has made the economy stronger than it was when he took office, the overwhelming evidence suggests that “Bidenomics” has failed and the American people know it. The Trump economy was soaring at a record pace before the entire world was shut down, and Biden completely botched the COVID recovery. The only record Biden has is making the economy he ruined slightly less awful.

Predictions