New Delhi: On Saturday, President Joe Biden made a plea to blue-collar workers to back his bid for reelection and assist him in getting the wealthiest Americans to pay higher taxes. In Pennsylvania, a heavily industrialised state, Biden addressed hundreds of union members, saying, “It’s about time the super wealthy start paying their fair share.”
The AFL-CIO, a union federation that represents 12.5 million American workers, hosted the campaign event. A day earlier, the AFL-CIO had publicly endorsed Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. ()
Before the Saturday rally, Biden has not yet held any significant campaign events in his 2024 reelection campaign. ()
The president delivered his remarks as a crowded field of Republicans fought for the party’s nomination, with Donald Trump emerging as the overwhelming favourite despite being accused of mishandling US government secrets, having twice been impeached over allegations of misconduct while in the White House, and a tangle of other legal issues.
In Philadelphia, Biden made a distinctively populist plea, touching on a variety of topics meant to stop the exodus of working-class voters from the Democratic Party. According to Biden, not all elected persons in Washington hold pro-union views.
You know I’m not one of the many politicians in this nation who can’t use the term “union.” The most pro-union president in American history, I’m pleased to say that, he declared.
He questioned how it could be just when 55 of the biggest American firms pay no federal income tax on $40 billion in profits. The US now has around 1,000 billionaires, according to Biden. He claimed they pay an average of 8% in federal income taxes.
They paid less in taxes than anyone in this room, including firefighters and teachers. They need to start paying a little tax. Being millionaires is OK with me. Man, just do your fair share.
Biden conducted an airborne tour of the Philadelphia bridge that collapsed last Saturday after a tanker truck caught fire earlier in the day. He promised the federal government would give the bridge’s reconstruction full backing.
(With agency inputs)