Biden touts investments, economy during Raleigh visit as 2024 Trump rematch looms

Biden spoke at Abbotts Creek Community Center on Durant Road in Raleigh, delivering remarks for about 20 minutes.

Biden announced $82 million in new investment to expand internet broadband to an additional 16,000 North Carolina homes and businesses, moving closer to his goal of ensuring all Americans have reliable and affordable access by 2030.

"High-speed internet isn't a luxury anymore," Biden said. "It's an absolute necessity."

"When you see shovels in the ground, cranes in the sky, people hard at work on these projects, I hope you feel pride in America, pride in America," Biden said. "Pride in knowing we can get big things done when we work together."

He also took aim at former President Donald Trump, though not by name, and said congressional Republicans who voted against his infrastructure package often want to highlight the projects in their districts.

Biden made reference to recent Trump comments about hoping the stock market crashes.

"To put it very politely, he doesn't know what he's talking about," Biden said.

Parts of Durant Road and Falls of the Neuse Road to Millbrook Road will be closed until 5:30 p.m. Thursday and drives should anticipate extended traffic delays. The visit will also impact other streets, including Strickland Road, Harps Mill Road, Newton Road, and Spring Forest Road.

Drivers are advised to seek alternate routes by Raleigh police.

Some Wake County Public School System schools in the area may have a delayed dismissal.

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"We know from anyone who went through the pandemic that the internet is no longer a luxury," White House principal press secretary Olivia Dalton said before the speech. "It's a requirement to do your job, to go to school and be a student. It's a requirement of everyday life just to stay in touch with friends and family.

"And so we know that this is a critical, critical announcement that the president is making in North Carolina today that's going to improve people's lives. It's going to lower costs and by the way, it's going to create jobs, making this cable right here in America."

"That cable will be made in America," Biden said. "Even better a lot of that cable was made in North Carolina."

That's at the heart of Biden's election-year campaign pitch to voters in North Carolina, which could be a critical state in 2024 for both major parties. Trump carried North Carolina in his successful 2016 campaign and his 2020 loss to Biden.

"It’s a state that they [Democrats] have tried very hard to flip over the last several years and they're not going to be able to do it again this cycle, because, again, our voters understand that Republicans care about the issues that they care about," said Michael Whatley, chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party.

Americans' opinions about the economy are mixed as the stock market has made gains in the past year and as unemployment numbers are at record lows. But higher interest rates and inflation impact many — issues the GOP plans to highlight as it seeks to steer voters away from Biden.

Fifty-seven percent of Americans believe it is a good time to find a quality job, but 68% of Americans believe economic conditions in the country are getting worse, according to recent Gallup polls. That 68% number is down from the mid 80s in June 2022.

Biden talked about job creation and low unemployment numbers during his speech.

"America has, in fact, the strongest growth rate of any and the lowest inflation rate of any major economy in the world," Biden said.

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Although the increase in prices is moderating from inflationary highs in 2022, many Americans are still feeling the pinch of higher prices — and that's not lost on Republicans.

"We have gasoline prices that are substantially higher, food prices that are substantially higher, and rent and mortgage prices that are substantially higher because of interest rate increases — those are things that affect every single family," Whatley said. "And those are going to be the number one issues they're going to care about."

It is a tough issue for the president and the administration, even if some other indicators are pointing in the right direction.

"Their Achilles heel is inflation," said Michael Walden, economic professor emeritus at N.C. State University.

He said the Biden administration could gain ground with some voters if it is straightforward with the public, recognizing that prices are going up but letting voters know things are getting better.

"Meet people where they are and say, hey, we know that a lot of grocery items are still higher than you like, but we're trying to make progress, we have made progress, we're trying to get us to go in the right direction," Walden said. "I think that would go a long way toward getting people's views of the president's performance on the economy, which I think most polls show is rather low, getting that performance rating higher."

The president used a similar line during his speech.

"Costs are still too high, but inflation continues to fall," Biden said in Raleigh.

State House Speaker Tim Moore, who is running for Congress, credited Republicans in the state legislature with North Carolina's economic success, turning a budget deficit into a budget surplus. Republicans have had majorities in both chambers in the statehouse since 2011.

"Perhaps President Biden should take notes from North Carolina Republicans and our economic success rather than spend taxpayer dollars touting failed Bidenomics," Moore said in a statement after the speech.

The economy and voters' perceptions of it often play a critical role in presidential elections, said Catawba College politics professor Michael Bitzer.

"Biden has to come to the states, go on the campaign trail and make the case that his administration and his economic policies are working for Americans," Bitzer said. "Perhaps remind them of some of the good news in terms of what has been happening in the economic world and really lay the foundation for his general campaign coming this fall."

Biden's visit comes just days after Trump romped to victory in the Iowa caucus, the first 2024 nominating contest for Republicans. Trump, who lost to Biden in 2020, trounced Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley in Iowa, cementing his place as the GOP front-runner despite a host of legal troubles.

Trump carried North Carolina in his successful 2016 presidential campaign as well as in 2020 when he edged out Biden by fewer than 75,000 votes.

Thursday marks Biden's first visit to the state in 2024. He and members of his administration are expected to visit the state more as the election nears. Vice President Kamala Harris was in Charlotte last week to discuss mental health funding and gun violence. And U.S. Agriculture Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small visited North Carolina A&T State University on Wednesday.

"You've seen the president in North Carolina before, you're going to see him again," Dalton said.

"Americans all across the country and certainly in North Carolina are going to continue to see a lot of him this year as he talks about really what is at stake, what his agenda for our country is, how it's delivering lower costs, delivering jobs for people all around the country."

The Biden campaign has signaled it will compete in North Carolina in 2024, offering the president alternate paths to the necessary 270 electoral college votes. North Carolina Democratic Party chair Anderson Clayton called it "the battleground state of this election cycle." On Wednesday, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee named North Carolina House Democratic leader Robert Reives to its board, signaling further party interest in the state.

Cooper, who won election and re-election at the same time Trump was carrying the state, introduced Biden on Thursday.

"If there is a ground game operation in place and ready to target North Carolina, it can certainly be a swing battleground state, as we have seen in the past," Bitzer said.

The last Democratic ticket to carry the state was Barack Obama and Biden in 2008. But Democrats, even those who are not overly enthusiastic about Biden, could be eager to vote against Trump and likely GOP gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson, the state's outspoken lieutenant governor who has referred to LGBTQ issues as "filth" and has been accused of making antisemitic remarks.

"This power of negative partisanship is driving a lot of voters," Bitzer said. "It's not so much that voters are necessarily geared or supportive of their party's candidates. They simply don't want the opposition. ... Having a top of the ticket of Donald Trump and Mark Robinson, that will give fuel to Democrats to be able to engage and inspire and motivate their base to show up."

Whatley said Republicans are best positioned to solve the nation's problems and voters in the state will recognize that.

"Our candidates have heard what issues the voters care about and they've put real solutions on the table regarding those issues," he said. "And it really does go back to jobs in the economy, education and security that people care about – and that’s what they’re going to vote on."