Syracuse (United States) (AFP) - President Joe Biden touted giant investments in semiconductor manufacturing Thursday in a bid to seize back the narrative for Democrats as the party best at managing the economy ahead of midterm elections.
Biden got a piece of good news before leaving the White House for Syracuse, New York: a rebound in GDP growth in the third quarter, staving off fears that the world's biggest economy is sliding into recession.
"Things are looking good!" he said, jogging up to journalists with a beaming smile.
Biden underlined that message in Syracuse at the site of a future $100 billion Micron manufacturing plant for semiconductors -- a crucial, high-tech product that Biden has prioritized as the cornerstone of a rebirth in US manufacturing.
Democrats are forecast to lose the House of Representatives and possibly also the Senate in the November 8 election.But Biden is leading a late push to attack Republicans on the economy, an area where Democrats have been on the defensive as Americans struggle under four-decades high inflation.
Numerous big investments in the semiconductor and electric vehicle sectors are taking off around the country with encouragement from incentives through multi-billion dollar bills passed under the Democratic-led Congress.
Biden says that shows he is rebuilding the kind of blue collar communities that went for Donald Trump and the Republicans in the last few years, in part because of disillusion after decades of industries ebbing out to foreign countries.
Central New York, physically and culturally far from the glitz of New York City itself, used to be a "heartland of manufacturing," Biden said.Now the "region is poised to lead the world in advanced manufacturing" again.
The Micron plant will "ensure that the future is made in America," he said, and is "part of a broader story about an economy we're building, one that works for everyone."
In an indication of how difficult the environment is for Democrats less than two weeks before voting day, even longtime stronghold New York is creaking.Governor Kathy Hochul, who was with Biden in Syracuse, is among those finding herself in an unexpectedly tough race.
Economy dominates
Democrats had hoped that anger over Republican restrictions on abortion access in much of the country would fuel a backlash saving their party from a long-predicted pounding in the midterms.However, inflation and other economic concerns have returned to dominate the agenda, according to polls.
With time running out, Biden is leading an intensified campaign to paint Republicans as reckless and readying to slash social spending for the poor, while protecting the very richest.
Biden enumerated what he said was a list of achievements, ranging from low unemployment, rising exports, higher salaries, and a series of measures to lower healthcare costs, student debt and other bread-and-butter issues.
Meanwhile, "Republican friends in Congress seem to be hoping for a recession, many of them," Biden said.
He noted that Republican leaders have opposed many of his populist measures and are also suggesting they could try to force cuts in social security by threatening to trigger a US debt default, something that would cause "chaos" and "take down the economy."
"I can't tell you what they're for," he said of the Republicans, only "what they're against."
Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel mocked the Democrats and Biden's trip north.
“We're less than two weeks out and Biden is parachuting into New York to save Democrats," she said."It will backfire.Families cannot afford Biden and Democrats' failed economy, and voters everywhere are eager to vote Biden Democrats out of office."
