President Biden will begin a three-day tour of Pennsylvania, a key battleground state, with a speech on Tuesday that focuses on taxes and aims to contrast his policies with those of former President Donald J. Trump.
In his hometown of Scranton, Mr. Biden is expected to talk about the tax code in the context of economic justice, arguing that Mr. Trump’s tax cuts benefited billionaires while his own agenda helped working and middle-class families. .
The president “will outline how Trump’s tax plan is a handout for the rich and leaves the middle class holding the bag,” Michael Tyler, the Biden campaign’s communications director, said during a call with reporters. “The address will drive home a simple question: Do you think the tax code should work for rich people and corporations or for the middle class?”
This is all standard election year fare. But the backdrop of Mr. Biden’s campaign couldn’t be more unusual. In an unprecedented trial, Mr. Trump is spending most of this week, and much of the next month or two, in a Manhattan courtroom facing criminal charges. Democrats hope Mr. Biden’s opposition to campaigning and serving as president, while Mr. Trump’s lawyers insist he is innocent, will highlight the choice voters will face in November.
And Mr Biden must also deal with the fallout from Iran’s attack on Israel at the weekend, which raised fresh fears of a wider regional war in the Middle East.
On Tuesday, the day after Tax Day, Mr. Biden is likely to advance his plans for changes to the tax code, including expanding the child tax credit, enacting a tax credit for first-time home buyers and permanent tax credits for those who buy health insurance under the Affordable Care Act.
He often asks his audience on the campaign trail, “Does anyone think the tax code is fair?”
Pennsylvania is a key target for both the Biden and Trump campaigns. Mr. Biden’s easiest path to re-election includes winning Pennsylvania, as well as Michigan and Wisconsin, the so-called blue wall. In 2020, he narrowly defeated Mr. Trump in Pennsylvania by about 80,000 votes. Polls suggest another tight race is likely in the state, the nation’s most populous battleground.
Mr Trump held a large rally in eastern Pennsylvania on Saturday. Both he and Mr. Biden, who spent much of his childhood in Scranton, have sought to highlight their ties to the state. “This is where I went to school, right?” Mr. Trump, a graduate of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, reminded his audience. “I went to school in Pennsylvania. I love Pennsylvania.”
While Mr. Biden’s campaign has invested heavily in opening offices and hiring staff across the state, Pennsylvania Democrats have urged him to expand his travel beyond Philadelphia, a major Democratic voting hub that is also convenient for him to visit. They say Mr. Biden’s campaign is imperative in western Pennsylvania, as well as in areas such as Erie County, which Mr. Biden flipped in 2020.
This week, Mr. Biden is doing just that. After leaving Scranton, he will visit Pittsburgh on Wednesday to give an official address at United Steelworkers headquarters. Unions are an important constituency for Democrats, and Mr. Biden has signaled his opposition to a Japanese company’s bid to buy US Steel, a move also opposed by the steelworkers’ union, which has backed him.
On Thursday he will campaign in Philadelphia.
Although the economy will be a focus for Mr. Biden during his tour, Democrats are also trying to keep the issue of abortion front and center, seeking to tie Mr. Trump directly to bans on the procedure in many states. , most recently in Arizona.
Ahead of Mr. Trump’s visit to Pennsylvania over the weekend, the Democratic National Committee unveiled billboards in the eastern part of the state.
“Because of Trump, over 20 states have extreme abortion bans,” the billboards read in English and Spanish. “If he gets his way, Pennsylvania could be next.”
Abortion is legal in the state until the 24th week of pregnancy with exceptions after that, and with a Democratic governor in office, restrictions seem highly unlikely. Democrats have argued that Mr Trump would sign the federal abortion ban if re-elected. Mr Trump said last week he would not, reversing a position he held during his time in the White House.
Michael Gold contributed reporting from Schnecksville, Pa.
