PHILADELPHIA (CBS/AP) — President Biden He said Sunday that his goal was to “bring America together again” during a speech at Mt. Airy Church of God in Christ in northwest Philadelphia.
Mr. Biden’s remarks came during the first of two stops today in Pennsylvania, a key swing state. After speaking in Philadelphia, the president and first lady Jill Biden will travel to Harrisburg for an event at a local union hall.
“I’ve been doing this for a long time, and honestly, I’ve never been more optimistic about the future of America … if we stick together,” the president told the nearly 300 worshipers in attendance. “We have to bring dignity and hope back to America.”
Mr. Biden did not directly address the critical phase of his campaign that he is entering after a faltering debate performance that led a handful of Democratic lawmakers to call on him to step down. But he said he had been “called on the basis of [God’s] “We are all called to be actors” and “I think we just have to work together.”
CBS Philadelphia
Mr Biden joked about his age, saying that although he looks “40 years old”, he has “been around a long time”.
“The bishop and I were talking about it – it’s almost 40 years,” Mr. Biden said.
According to CBS News reporters inside the church, the crowd began chanting “four more years” after Mr. Biden finished his speech and returned to his place on stage.
Mr. Biden and first lady Jill Biden arrived in Philadelphia around 10 a.m. ET, where they were greeted at the airport by Mayor Cherelle Parker and Sens. Bob Casey and John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, both Democrats. The president also plans to meet with Gov. Josh Shapiro, Lt. Gov. Austin Davis and others throughout the day, according to the Biden campaign.
CBS Philadelphia
Mr. Biden, who recently traveled to Philadelphia in May US President Donald Trump, who spoke with Vice President Kamala Harris to launch the “Black Voters for Biden-Harris” initiative, was originally scheduled to deliver a speech on Sunday at the NEA’s annual conference in Philadelphia. That speech was canceled after the NEA’s union, the National Education Association Staff Organization, announced a strike and set up picket lines around the Pennsylvania Convention Center in downtown Philadelphia.
Mr. Biden, who is fighting to save his re-election, had planned to speak at the NEA conference, but his campaign said the president is a “strong supporter of labor unions and will not cross a picket line.”
The picketing effectively ended the weeklong agreement, canceling the final three days of programming, the NEA said.
The NEA, which has affiliated school employee unions in every state, has endorsed Biden.
The union said it has filed two unfair labor practice complaints over what it says is the NEA’s failure to comply with basic union requirements, and accuses the NEA of unilaterally eliminating holiday overtime and failing to provide information about $50 million in outsourcing contracts.
In a statement, the NEA said it remained fully committed to a fair negotiation process. It also said it was “deeply concerned that misinformation has been disseminated” that has distorted the contract negotiations.
Mr Biden’s two-city visit on Sunday comes as the president strives to strengthen support for his re-election campaign following a unstable debate performance against former President Donald Trump last month.
According to a CBS News source, after the debate and Mr. Biden’s suggestions that he withdraw, the president told his campaign team unequivocally that he had no intention of leaving the race. “Let me say this as clearly as I can and as simply and directly as I can: I am running. I am the nominee of the Democratic Party. Nobody is pushing me to leave. I am not leaving,” he said, according to a source.
