President Joe Biden spent his Labor Day working. He made campaign stops in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to push for Democratic candidates and policies in those key battleground states.
The president repeated the message from his speech Thursday night at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, saying MAGA Republicans are a threat, and people should vote Democrat to protect democracy.
“It’s clear which way the new MAGA Republicans are. They’re extreme. And democracy is really at stake,” Biden said while in Pittsburgh. “Trump and the MAGA Republicans made their choice. We can choose to build a better America or we can continue down this sliding path of oblivion to where we don’t want to go.”
Because it was Labor Day, the president also delivered a pro-union message. He said he knows support from unions around the country got him into the Oval Office. Biden appeared to cite a new Gallup poll that found public approval for labor unions is at 71%, its highest point since 1965.
“Wall Street didn’t build America. The middle class built America, and unions built the middle class,” Biden said. “Most people don’t realize, to join a lot of the trade unions, you have to have four or five, six months – six years of training. It’s like going to college. You get paid while you’re there, but not very much. But it’s – you’re the best in the world.”
Both Wisconsin and Pennsylvania feature key Senate races. In Wisconsin, Lt. Governor Mandela Barnes, D, is trying to oust incumbent Sen. Ron Johnson, R, and in Pennsylvania, Dr. Mehmet Oz, R, and Lt. Governor John Fetterman, D, are vying to replace retiring Sen. Pat Toomey, R.
Pennsylvania’s governor’s race between Doug Mastriano, R, and Attorney General Josh Shapiro, D, has attracted national attention, as well. The winner will replace current Gov. Tom Wolfe, D, who is term limited.