WATCH: Biden announces tax plan at campaign event in Scranton, PA

Source: PBS News Hour/AP

Updated on Apr 16, 2024 6:48 PM EDT — Published on Apr 16, 2024 11:56 AM EDT


SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) — President Joe Biden on Tuesday made a nostalgic return to the house where he grew up in working-class Scranton, kicking off a multi-day swing through Pennsylvania where he called for higher taxes on the rich and tried to cast Donald Trump as an out-of-touch elitist — part of an attempt to blunt the populist appeal of his predecessor’s comeback bid.

Biden appeared to savor his trip down memory lane, lingering longer than expected at his childhood home. An American flag waved softly in the wind on the front porch as neighbors crowded the nearby sidewalk under flowering trees and a pale blue sky. The president later posed for photos with children, some wearing school uniforms, in the backyard.

Biden is looking to gain ground in a key swing state while his opponent spends much of the week in a New York City courtroom for his first criminal trial. A city of roughly 75,000, the president used Scranton to argue that getting rich in America is fine, but should come with heftier tax bills. He dismissed Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee and a billionaire, as a tool of wealthy interests. It’s all aimed at reframing the conversation around the economy, which has left many Americans feeling sour about their financial situations at a time of stubborn inflation and elevated interest rates despite low unemployment.

“When I look at the economy, I don’t look at it through the eyes of Mar-a-Lago. I look at it through the eyes of Scranton,” the president said in a speech before visiting his family former house. He was contrasting his modest upbringing with the Florida estate where the former president now lives. Biden has proposed a 25% percent minimum tax rate for billionaires. He added that taxes are “how we invest in the country.”

Read more: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-live-biden-announces-tax-plan-at-campaign-event-in-scranton-pa