President Biden held his first major 2024 re-election campaign rally to a receptive Philadelphia audience on Saturday, boasting his administration’s accomplishments and naming himself the most pro-labor president ever.
The president picked Philadelphia and a friendly union-affiliated audience for the rally, made up of over 1,000 union workers chanting encouraging cries like “We want Joe!” and “Let’s go, Joe!”
Biden touted accomplishments such as the Build Back Better Act, claiming the bill cut insurance premiums and lowered the cost of prescription drugs.
“I’m looking forward to this campaign,” Biden said confidently. “We’ve got a record to run on.”
US President Joe Biden delivers remarks during a political rally hosted by union members, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on June 17, 2023. (Photo by JULIA NIKHINSON/AFP via Getty Images)
According to rally organizers, the unions at the rally represented 18 million laborers across the U.S. Biden was endorsed by AFL-CIO, American Federation of Teachers and other significant unions Friday.
The Philadelphia speech marks the first major non-donor event Biden has hosted on the 2024 campaign trail. He recently held a fundraiser in Greenwich, Connecticut and plans on more in Illinois, New York, California and Maryland.
An optimistic Biden supporter told the Associated Press that she was confident about the president’s re-election chances.
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US President Joe Biden addressing union members at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, June 17, 2023. (JULIA NIKHINSON/AFP via Getty Images)
“I’m very optimistic. I fear that the Republicans are going to get caught in their cycle that they did last time and people aren’t going to buy it this time, so Joe’s going to sweep right in,” librarian Jennifer McKinnon said.
Another union worker, a 63-year-old retired electrician named Clark Hamilton, was generally supportive of the president but criticized Biden for urging Congress to block last year’s potential rail strike.
“That’s a shame,” Hamilton stated. “But he was trying to save the economy.”
Biden touted accomplishments such as the Build Back Better Act at his Saturday rally. (JULIA NIKHINSON/AFP via Getty Images)
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
