Biden heads to North Carolina in next step of his 2024 warm-up tour to bash MAGA Republicans

He may not have declared that he is running for re-election, but President Joe Biden’s trip to North Carolina looks and sounds like a campaign stop.

Officials say he will tout the $435 billion in private sector manufacturing commitments made since he took office, while warning voters that everything is at risk if MAGA Republicans in Congress repeal the Energy Reduction Act. Inflation and cut funds.

It’s part of a three-week push involving other senior administration figures to highlight legislation that has boosted the economy, contrasting Biden’s plan with that of Republicans as they battle over budget priorities.

Your tour will take you to Wolfspeed, a sprawling semiconductor manufacturing facility in Durham.

He announced plans in September to build a $5 billion manufacturing plant in Chatham County that is expected to create 1,800 jobs.

The budget dispute has given Biden ammunition to attack after two years on the defensive.

That came shortly after the Biden administration steered the CHIPS Act through Congress, which was designed to advance the nation’s semiconductor industry and scientific research.

There is nothing unusual about Biden touting his successes in office. But he has leaned toward attacks on Republicans in recent weeks amid growing expectations that he is about to announce a re-election effort.

“While in North Carolina, President Biden will also highlight what is at stake if MAGA Republicans in Congress get their way by repealing the Cut Inflation Act and cutting funding for manufacturing, research and innovation to give tax breaks to the super-rich. North Carolina, along with Arizona, Georgia, Ohio and New York, is among the states that stand to lose the most private sector investment under the reckless proposals of MAGA Republicans,” a White House official said.

Biden has said he intends to run for a second term, but has yet to formally launch his re-election campaign.

It comes amid a concerted push to promote management’s work in the economy.

Vice President Kamala Harris, First Lady Jill Biden and other top officials will travel to 20 states over the next three weeks, according to the White House.

In recent weeks, the White House’s messaging has grown bolder and more aggressive after two years of being on the defensive.

Republicans have used Biden’s handling of the economy, amid record inflation and a border security crisis, to launch the attack.

Rendering of Wolfspeed’s silicon carbide materials manufacturing facility to be located in Chatham County, North Carolina. Construction of phase one should finish next year

Administration officials have now focused on Republican demands to cut budget spending to illustrate what they say would be steps backwards.

At the border, they say the number of border patrol agents would inevitably be reduced if the GOP intends to keep the money for defense and social security programs.

“The MAGA plan would deny the men and women of Customs and Border Protection the resources they need to secure our borders,” White House Communications Director Ben LaBolt said in a memo earlier this month.

“It would mean fewer agents and less technology to combat fentanyl trafficking, disrupt criminal organizations and stop illegal border crossings.”

Officials have repeatedly used the specter of extremist Republicans, Donald Trump allies like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene or the House Freedom Caucus, to paint the entire GOP as a far-right fringe.

On Monday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that with his visit, Biden wanted to show “what is at stake if the MAGA Republicans in Congress get away with repealing the Tax Reduction Act.” inflation, raise taxes on working families and cut funding for manufacturing innovation. and research.’