President Biden attempted to attract union workers on Friday by criticizing former President Trump for inheriting his wealth.
The president talked at a conference in Washington, D.C., for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), a labor group that has endorsed his re-election, and compared his upbringing to Trump’s.
“Some people learn very different things growing up than you and I did,” the president said. “They learn, and my opponent learned, the best way to get rich is inherit it. I can’t argue much with them but, eh—”
Trump famously began his business ventures with a $1 million loan from his father, Fred Trump. He reportedly received at least $413 million from his father over time.
“They learn that paying taxes is for working people, not the super wealthy. They learn that telling people you’re fired is something to be laughed about. Not where I come from. Not where I was raised,” Biden said, raising his voice at the podium.
On Trump’s popular reality show “The Apprentice,” he would fire contestants with his signature style in a boardroom.
“I guess that’s how they look at the world from Park Avenue and Mar-a-Lago, but I grew up in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and Claymont, Delaware. Working-class and middle-class towns like many of you did as well,” Biden said, speaking to the union workers.
“Nobody handed you anything, you paid your taxes, and being told you were fired wasn’t entertainment, it was a devastating nightmare to a family,” the president added.
He took more jabs at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Fla., to compare it to Scranton. The president traveled there earlier this week to campaign, during which he argued that Republicans want to raise taxes for working-class Americans.
“Folks, where we come from, it matters. That’s why when I look at the economy, I don’t see it through the eyes of Mar-a-Lago, I literally see it through the eyes of Scranton, where I grew up and my grandpop’s kitchen table,” the president said. “I see it through the eyes of working people like you and the basic values that you represent — honesty, decency, hard work, faith. It matters.”
Biden has worked to rebuild the coalition that brought him to the White House in 2020, with an eye on union workers. In 2016, union households had started to shift from blue to red, leading to Trump’s victory in states like Michigan, which Biden then won in 2020.
The president often says he’s the most pro-union president in history, and he made history last year when he joined a picket line to strike with autoworkers.
