Biden: Trump has ‘no idea’ about working-class struggles

Joe Biden cast President Donald Trump on Wednesday as a fraudulent populist whose tax policies, ecomic stewardship and erratic leership have hurt U.S. workers and betrayed voters in critical battleground state of Pennsylvania.

After scrapping with fellow Democrats for weeks, Biden returned to his hometown of Scranton to focus on his ultimate foe: Trump. former vice president sought to dent Trump’s argument that regardless of what working people may think about him personally, actions of his ministration have helped m.

“This ministration has idea what hard-working, decent, ordinary Americans are going through,” Biden said of middle-class struggle in a growing but uneven ecomy.

“Go back to your old neighborhoods and ask m how y’re doing,” Biden said, lamenting that rising cost of health care, college and housing deny “breathing room” that should define middle-class security. “Too many middle-class and working-class folks can’t look ir kids in eye any longer and say it’s going to be OK and mean it.”

Trump appeared later in day in Pittsburgh, at opposite end of state, but me mention of Biden.

speech, which was billed as an ecomic policy dress, is of forum where Biden often has his strongest moments in a campaign that has contended with verbal missteps and inconsistent debate performances. But it’s becoming increasingly difficult for Biden or any or Democratic White House hopefuls to compete with daily cacophony of Washington as Trump rails against House impeachment inquiry.

Biden was reminded of that on eve of his speech. On same day that a top U.S. diplomat offered damning testimony against president , Trump scrambled conversation by saying Democrats are effectively “lynching” him. When Biden’s campaign joined resulting chorus of critics , president’s re-election campaign revived a 1998 video of n-Sen. Biden using same “lynching” metaphor when discussing impeachment proceedings against President Bill Clinton. Biden tweeted an apology for his choice of words Tuesday night, but me mention of matter Wednesday in Scranton.

Inste, he highlighted his plans on a host of issues, including repealing Republican tax cuts, taking action on climate change, strengning gun regulations, spending more on education and expanding government health insurance.

visit is an early effort to block a Trump victory in Pennsylvania next year and narrow his path to re-election. president won state by about 44,000 votes in 2016, taking a state that h sided with Democrats in presidential races since 1988. Reclaiming Pennsylvania, along with Michigan and Wisconsin, would put eventual Democratic minee on track to winning White House.

Biden recalled stories from his childhood in Scranton, including his far’s “long walk” up stairs of ir home to tell 10-year-old “Joey” that family h to move to Delaware because elder Biden h lost his job.

Turning to Trump, he said, “I think longest walk his far ever me was to drop off $400 million in his trust account,” Biden said. It was a reference to reports that Fred Trump steered hundreds of millions of dollars to his son as future president built his real estate and promotions business.

Biden argues that he’s Democrat best positioned to defeat Trump by reassembling President Barack Obama’s winning coalition to reclaim some working-class whites who sided with Trump while also reversing Democrats’ decline from 2012 among n-white voters in cities like Philelphia, Detroit and Milwaukee.

For his part, Trump takes credit for an ecomy that has continued a stey urd trend since recovery from 2008 crash began during Obama’s ministration. Trump touts a 50-year low in unemployment, but reality is more complicated, with ever-widening income inequality, a rising national debt and uncertainty of Trump’s multi-front tre wars.

Still, Americans’ assessment of how Trump handles ecomy has been consistently been higher than his overall job approval rating.

Biden railed against escalating corporate profits and salaries for CEOs. He held up deces after World War II, when w increases reflected rise in U.S. productivity, in contrast to last 40 years, when inflation-justed ws remained relatively flat for all but highest w-earners, and investment class amassed fortunes reminiscent of Gilded .

That span covers nearly all of Biden’s career as a U.S. senator and vice president.

In using ecomy as an argument against Trump, Biden also indirectly highlighted differences with progressive Democratic rivals Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.

Biden touted tax changes that would treat capital gains on investments essentially as ws — a move that would bring tax increases for wealthiest Americans. That’s short of Warren’s proposed direct tax on personal net worth exceeding $50 million and Sanders’ tax on Wall Street transactions.

Biden also pitched his public option health insurance plan as competition against private insurers. Warren and Sanders want single-payer government insurance to supplant private insurance altoger. Biden called for tuition-free two-year college and technical training. Warren and Sanders want to extend taxpayer investment to all four-year public schools.

Even as Biden kcked corporate excess Wednesday, he slipped in a caveat: “I think corporations can do a lot of good things.”

For at least one member of hometown crowd, Biden struck right tes.

“All se young people want drastic change,” said Elaine Sparko, a 65-year-old retired teacher who came to hear Biden. “I think he is a person who could stand toe to toe with Trump. I think we need a moderate.”

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Barrow reported from Atlanta.

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Follow reporters on Twitter at https://twitter.com/BillBarrowAP and https://twitter.com/MichaelRubinkam .