President Joe Biden will be in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, on January 5, his first campaign stop of the new year, explaining what he sees as the stakes of the 2024 presidential election: democracy and freedom.
The campaign had previously announced the event would be held on Jan. 6, but it was moved to Wednesday due to “inclement weather expected in the Philadelphia area this weekend,” advisers said in a release.
“This Saturday marks three years since a violent mob, encouraged by Donald Trump, invaded our nation’s capital, as the president sought to prevent a peaceful transfer of power,” Biden said. This is the first time in our country’s history.” – Harris campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez told reporters during a conference call before the date was changed to Jan. 5.
Chief Deputy Campaign Manager Quentin Fawkes said Valley Forge was chosen for its historical significance. “It’s the same place that turned us into a united coalition united in the fight for.” It was the ultimate precedent and experiment in American democracy, where General Washington marshaled the power of America’s will and continued to lead this country as commander and president before relinquishing power. ”
In Friday’s speech, Biden is expected to explain in his official campaign stance the stakes of the 2024 election as he gears up for a rematch with former President Donald Trump.
“So the President believes that democracy and freedom – two powerful ideals that united the 13 colonies and for which generations fought and died for throughout our nation’s history – are at the heart of the fight we are in today. It’s going to be a direct statement of what’s going on,” Fulks said.
The campaign announced last month that it plans to hire “thousands of staff dedicated to Team Biden-Harris across the country” by mid-January, including leadership teams in each battleground state.
Pennsylvania is one of these battleground states and holds the key to the presidential bid. In 2020, Biden won by just over a point, which helped him cross the electoral college finish line. Trump and he will still be dead in 2024, according to the latest polling average of 538 companies.
After his visit to Valley Forge, Biden will continue to deliver that message in Charleston, South Carolina, on Monday, as ABC first reported. It will be his fourth visit to the Palmetto State as president and the first as a 2024 candidate, having previously only stopped at fundraisers in key battleground states and Democratic strongholds such as California. He is scheduled to speak at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, the site of a mass shooting in 2015, where he will “talk directly to the voters who propelled him to the highest office in this land four years ago,” a campaign official said. said the person. .
Prior to Biden’s visit, Vice President Kamala Harris made her seventh visit to South Carolina on Saturday, speaking at the 7th Episcopal District AME Church and marking Martin Luther King Jr. Day on January 15th. He will return to headline an event in South Carolina. State Capitol.
These visits come as the campaign pushes to attract Black, Latino, women and young voters as Biden’s numbers begin to decline among these districts the team drew back in 2020. It was held inside.
Asked by reporters whether his trip to South Carolina was aimed at solidifying support among black voters, Fawkes said the trip was not coming from a “place of anxiety” but “from what we preach.” He said that this comes from the idea of ”practicing being present.”
Harris will begin her official reproductive freedom tour later this month in Wisconsin on January 22, the anniversary of Roe v. Wade.
Referring to President Trump’s fellow Republicans, Chavez Rodriguez said, “2024 supporters should not just accept President Donald Trump’s anti-democratic and anti-freedom statements and actions, but should fully support them. “We have made it clear many times that we are doing so,” he said. presidential candidates. “The choices Americans make in November 2024 will protect our democracy and the fundamental freedoms of all Americans.”