CNN
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President Joe Biden spoke at a union hall in northern Virginia Thursday afternoon, attempting to cast himself as a defender of the middle class by leaning into his economic accomplishments and contrasting them with the Republican proposals he says would be catastrophic for Americans’ pocketbooks.
“We’re moving in the right direction. Now we’ve got to protect those gains … that our policies have generated, protect them from the MAGA Republicans in the House of Representatives who are threatening to destroy this progress,” Biden said.
As Washington has been gearing up for a standoff over the debt ceiling and the potential for a global economic fallout later this year, the speech gave Biden a chance to turn the focus away from news of the discovery of classified documents in unsecured areas in his home and office. The unfolding story has been a magnet of Republican scrutiny and press attention. But in his speech to union workers in Springfield – a Virginia suburb just outside Washington, D.C. – Biden offered a preview of his potential reelection messaging strategy, turning focus back to what the White House really wants to be talking about.
In his remarks, Biden contrasted his administration’s work with Republicans’ plans to cut entitlement programs and impose a 30% national sales tax. He also discussed progress on wage growth and unemployment, as well as key legislation, such as the CHIPS Act and the bipartisan infrastructure law.
“Here’s the deal: they want to cut your Social Security and Medicare … beyond that they’re actually threatening to have us default on the American debt,” the president said.
“I have a rhetorical question: (Why) in God’s name would Americans give up the progress we’ve made for the chaos they’re suggesting? I don’ …