International Desk, Bangladesh Global:US President Joe Biden
will draw a stark contrast with Donald Trump on Tuesday when he visits his
birthplace in Scranton, Pennsylvania -- while his election rival is stuck in
a New York courtroom.
The 81-year-old has long traded on his blue-collar image as "Scranton Joe" to
reach out to middle- and working-class voters, but his rally in a key
battleground state in November's election is even more symbolic.
Biden will be relishing the split screen as he tours America's industrial
heartland while his Republican real estate tycoon rival is kept off the
campaign trail, making unwanted history as the first ex-president ever to
face a criminal trial.
The Democrat has refused to comment on Trump's legal woes -- shaking his head
at the White House on Monday when asked if he was following the trial -- but
the messaging of the trip will speak for itself.
Biden often references the former coal-mining boomtown where he was born in
1942 to hardscrabble circumstances, which he frequently recalls in folksy
stories about his family designed to appeal to voters struggling with the
cost of living.
But this time he will also be giving a speech about how billionaires need to
pay more in taxes.
"The address will drive home a simple question: Do you think the tax code
should work for rich people or for the middle class?" Biden's campaign said
in a statement.
"The president has made it clear what he thinks the answer is, and so has
Donald Trump."
Biden himself released his tax returns on Monday -- dubbed "Tax Day" in the
United States, the deadline for most Americans to file their tax returns --
and drew a contrast with Trump who broke presidential precedent by refusing
to do so while in office.
- 'I prefer Biden' -
In Scranton, news of Biden's homecoming had not yet done the rounds though.
One of the first sights off the interstate from New York -- along the
President Joe Biden expressway named after Scranton's most famous son -- is a
huge trailer truck with a sign for Trump.
It's towns like Scranton that Biden will need if he is going to hold
Pennsylvania, a crucial swing state that he took from Trump in 2020.
"I just prefer Biden," said Debra Hodges, 66, who does volunteer work and
moved to the town from New York City about 20 years ago.
"His age is not a problem for me. I mean, we're all gonna get older."
Biden's age is one of the key concerns for voters in opinion polls, despite
the fact that he's only four years older than Trump.
Recent polls have had Biden drawing largely level with Trump in spite of low
personal approval ratings, though he has been shown lagging in swing states.
Hodges said she wasn't planning to attend Biden's rally on Tuesday.
"I'll probably do some groundwork, some volunteer work for him," she said.
"Get young people to register to vote."
She mentioned a series of key issues for voters such as herself including
abortion, which Democrats regard as a vote-winner as they bash Trump for
bragging about his role in denying the procedure to millions of women.
But Joshua Davis, 33, who makes items like keyrings and pendants using
recycled plastic, and like Biden was born in Scranton, was not impressed by
Trump or Biden.
He's not alone -- polls show a majority of voters are unenthused by the
choice between the two candidates.
"They're both puppets," he said. "So whoever we elect is just the corporate
interest."
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