In Scranton, Pa., it’s as though President Biden never left.
In the final weeks of the presidential campaign, Mr. Biden has been cast in the shadow of Vice President Kamala Harris amid concerns that his unpopularity could be a liability in her race against former President Donald J. Trump. But as he rallied union members in his hometown on Saturday during one of his last campaign events in office, Mr. Biden was in one of the few places Democrats feel he can still help Ms. Harris on the campaign trail.
“When he comes into this town, he is the top of the ticket,” said Sam Kuchwara, a 70-year-old retiree and veteran who is a native of Scranton. “He’s definitely more popular here than Harris.”
Scranton is certainly the exception in that respect. Mr. Biden rattled Democrats this week when he appeared to call supporters of Mr. Trump “garbage” while denouncing racist comments made by a comedian at a Trump rally. Even though Mr. Biden later explained that he had meant that the comedian’s “hateful rhetoric” was garbage, Ms. Harris had to spend time on the campaign trail distancing herself from the comment.
Ms. Harris’s rallies are far more enthusiastic and energetic than Mr. Biden’s, with crowds of thousands dwarfing those at his events. But Harris campaign officials believe that the incumbent president can still provide a key benefit to Ms. Harris by rallying working-class white voters and union members in battleground states.
Enter Scranton Joe.
“Scranton becomes part of your heart,” Mr. Biden said to union members cramped inside a carpenter’s union hall. “It crawls into your heart. It’s real.”
Mr. Biden used the speech to argue that Mr. Trump would repeal much of his domestic agenda if he beat Ms. Harris, including efforts to invest in unions. He said that even those in the crowd who disagreed with Ms. Harris should vote for her if they wanted to keep aspects of his agenda.
“I’m not just asking for me,” Mr. Biden said. “I’m going to be gone. I’m asking you to do something for yourself and your families.”
It was Mr. Biden’s second day rallying union workers in Pennsylvania, a pivotal battleground state. But Mr. Biden’s frequently garbled words and verbal miscues provided a reminder of why Democrats had grown so concerned about his ability to defeat Mr. Trump.
While speaking to another union in Philadelphia on Friday, Mr. Biden appeared as though he could not remember the name of his longtime ally, the former Pennsylvania congressman Robert Brady, until someone in the crowd shouted his name. Whatever the reason, his pause prompted nervous laughter.
Still, Mr. Biden has appeared liberated in the final stretch of the campaign, particularly in Scranton, where he has been a frequent visitor while in office. After acknowledging that some in the union hall may like the former president’s tough-guy image, Mr. Biden said, “Now I know some of you guys are tempted to think it’s macho. I’ll tell you what, when I was in Scranton, we used to have a little trouble going down to the plot every once in awhile.”
He added, in a quote that was quickly picked up by news sites and social media accounts: “These are the kind of guys you want to smack in the ass.”
Paul Begala, a Democratic strategist who has worked on multiple campaigns in Pennsylvania, said the Harris campaign was right to distance itself from Mr. Biden in the final stretch of the race. “This is the time for a change election,” Mr. Begala said. “People really do want to do turn the page.”
But he said Mr. Biden’s personal roots in Scranton made him the ideal person to address a vulnerability of Ms. Harris’s.
“Kamala definitely needs help with high school-educated white men, which is the heart of Trump’s appeal and for Biden, a group he is very strong with,” Mr. Begala said. “She will make it up with the women, but if you can send Biden over there, there’s no downside.”
Jonathan Young, the political director for the Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters, said some of his union members across six states remained hesitant to vote for Ms. Harris. He finds himself still emphasizing Mr. Biden’s policies when selling Democrats to the members.
“There’s no secret, our membership is like the rest of America, right? We’re kind of divided on it,” Mr. Young said.
Mr. Kuchwara, the veteran from Scranton, feels politics are more divided than ever. But he said this town still appreciates a visit from the former Scranton resident-turned-president who has often emphasized reaching across the aisle.
“I’m glad that he came here,” Mr. Kuchwara said. “He’s got some old friends that are still here.”
The post Biden Returns to His Home Turf to Make Final Pitches for Harris appeared first on New York Times.
