President Joe Biden delivers a speech Wednesday on his “American Investment Program” at Gateway Technical College in Sturtevant, Wisconsin.
Morry Gash/Associated Press
STURTEVANT, Wis. — President Joe Biden on Wednesday criticized Donald Trump for a failed effort by the previous administration to create thousands of new jobs in southeastern Wisconsin and touted new economic investments under his leadership that will come to the same place.
This location in the battleground state will now be home to a new Microsoft data center, which the president has attributed to the Biden administration’s economic policies for paving the way for new investment. For Biden, it presented another point of contrast between himself and Trump. who had promised a $10 billion investment by Taiwan-based electronics giant Foxconn, which never materialized.
“In fact, he came here with his senator, Ron Johnson, literally holding a golden shovel, promising to build the eighth wonder of the world. Are you kidding me?” Biden told a cheering crowd of about 300 people. And he clapped his hands loudly as he spoke. ” Look what happened. They dug a hole with those golden shovels, and then they fell.
Noting that 100 homes were destroyed to make way for the project, which wasted many millions of dollars, Biden added: “Foxconn turned out to be just that: a scam. Imagine. “
Biden in Sturtevant, Racine County, to promote Microsoft’s $3. 3 billion knowledge center, which the Democratic president says will employ about 2,300 union structural employees to build it, and then 2,000 permanent employees to endow it.
Later Wednesday, Biden will travel from Wisconsin to Chicago to speak at a fundraiser, before returning to Washington.
Microsoft President Brad Smith said in an interview with The Associated Press that Microsoft has a “strong commitment to under-promise and more-deliver” and praised Biden’s administration and the state’s Democratic governor, Tony Evers, for their bar-setting economic policies. for the progress announced on Wednesday.
But Biden was willing to take credit and seize the opportunity to continually attack Trump, arguing that his potential Republican rival had embraced the same kind of “economic consequences” that Biden abhorred and had failed to revive domestic production. his 4 years in the cargo. la White House.
“My friends, under the past administration, my predecessor made promises, which he more than delivered, leaving many other people in communities like Racine,” Biden said. “Under my leadership, we make promises and keep our promises. “
President Joe Biden speaks Wednesday at Gateway Technical College in Sturtevant, Wisconsin.
Evan Vucci/Associated Press
Trump’s crusade didn’t affect Foxconn, but the former Republican president claims the economy was in a much better position when he was in office and will return if he wins in 2024. Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley said Biden’s vacation was an attempt to “save face in Racine County while Wisconsinites feel the pain of Bidenomics. “
“Manufacturing is at a standstill, family farms are closing their doors, and prices for everything from electric power and fuel to food and housing are rising,” Whatley said. “It’s no wonder Biden is squandering in Wisconsin and in battleground states. “Across the country: His policies have failed, and others need President Trump back in office. “
Meanwhile, Foxconn said its existing Wisconsin operations “contribute greatly” to the company, which has invested about $1 billion in the state and now employs more than 1,000 people at Foxconn Wisconsin.
Wisconsin Republican Rep. Bryan Steil, who represents the district Biden visited Wednesday, said Microsoft’s announcement was smart for painters. But Steil said Biden was using it to hide his record of failure in the face of emerging inflation and said Biden was borrowing for the personal sector. paintings in the region that began a decade ago, largely for the Foxconn project.
As for Trump, he returned to Florida on Wednesday for his day off after his secret trial in New York, meeting at his Mar-a-Lago club with other people who, as part of a promotion, bought NFTs of virtual trading cards, or non-fungible tokens, according to a user familiar with the matter who is not legal to talk about it publicly. The “MugShot Edition” NFTs featured photographs of Trump as a cowboy, with lightning bolts coming out of his hands, marching beyond the U. S. U. S. Capitol and taking Lincoln’s stand at the Lincoln Memorial.
Biden later met with about 50 Black supporters and volunteers at a network center near Racine, noting that he first indulged in politics “because of the African-American network. “
President Joe Biden meets with volunteers at the Dr. John Bryant Community Center in Racine, Wisconsin, on Wednesday.
Evan Vucci/Associated Press
He also briefly laid out what’s at stake in the election, the warning about the potential threat to democracy, and Trump’s threats to “get rid of everything that’s been done. “
Racine County is a critical location. So far, five of the 33 winning presidential candidates have used it. Trump is one of the five. He won Racine County but lost the election. Biden is the first Democrat since 1976 to win Wisconsin without winning Racine County.
The race is expected to be close in Wisconsin, where 4 of the last six presidential elections have passed by less than a percentage point. Biden won with just under 21,000 votes in 2020. A recent Marquette University poll showed that the Republican electorate in Wisconsin is somewhat more enthusiastic about the election than Democrats.
Biden’s visit to Wisconsin, his fourth of the year and his 11th as president, came as his re-election also strengthened his outreach to minority voters on the airwaves. He announced the launch of a new $14 million virtual and television blitz that follows the $30 million ban. effort presented after his State of the Union address in early March.
President Joe Biden arrives at Milwaukee’s Mitchell International Airport on Wednesday.
Evan Vucci/Associated Press
One of the new classified ads in the new ad crusade focuses on Trump’s failed but determined attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act. A major portion of the $14 million crusade that begins Wednesday will also target black and Hispanic media. such as print media and Asian-American radio, according to the crusade.
By the end of May, Biden’s re-election efforts will have more than 200 offices and about 500 members, according to Dan Kanninen, the campaign’s director on the battlefield. Those numbers come from offices in spaces that have historically received no investment from Democrats in the portfolio. from Michigan, Arizona, and North Carolina.
As Microsoft accelerates the framing of AI-based knowledge centers around the world, “this one is more vital than many others because there’s more land and ultimately access to electrical power available,” said Smith, who as a child lived in the Domain where the medium is under structure.
However, once up and running, even the most complex knowledge centers typically employ a small organization of full-time staff to oversee them. Microsoft will have about 500 of them, drawn from highly professional staff in the hallway between Milwaukee and Chicago, Smith said.
Associated Press editors Michelle L. Price in New York, Scott Bauer in Wisconsin and Matt O’Brien in Providence, Rhode Island, contributed to this report.
President Joe Biden is greeted by Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, Racine Mayor Cory Mason, Milwaukee County Superintendent David Crowley and Racine County Superintendent Jonathan Delagrave as he arrives at Milwaukee’s Mitchell International Airport on Wednesday.
Evan Vucci/Associated Press
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