President Joe Biden will return to Philadelphia next week
The Philadelphia Inquirer: President Joe Biden will be back campaigning in Philadelphia on Wednesday, May 29 in what will be his fifth visit to the area and seventh to Pennsylvania this year.
Biden’s frequent stops in the commonwealth underscore the importance of the Philadelphia region — and the swing state as a whole — in a tense, competitive, and rugged race between the current president and former President Donald Trump.
Biden was just in North Philadelphia last month meeting with community leaders and touting an endorsement from the Kennedy family, despite Robert F. Kennedy Jr. mounting an independent bid in the race. The visit was part of a three-day tour in the state, during which he also made stops in Pittsburgh and Scranton.
Vice President Kamala Harris campaigned for Biden at an SEIU convention in Philly this week in her second campaign visit to the area just this month. Harris spoke about reproductive rights with Abbott Elementary star Sheryl Lee Ralph on May 8 in Montgomery County and promoted the Biden administration’s student debt relief plan at a Philly elementary school last month.
Pennsylvania’s importance in the 2024 election was evident since the start of the year: Biden visited the state three times within 10 days in January.
On Jan. 5 he delivered his first major 2024 campaign speech at Montgomery County Community College and visited Valley Forge National Historical Park. Just a week later, he visited the Allentown area to tout his economic efforts, and just days later he volunteered at Philabundance in South Philly alongside Mayor Cherelle L. Parker on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
In early March, Biden visited Delaware County the day after delivering the State of the Union, where he held a campaign rally at a middle school and made a surprise visit to a family’s home.
Despite his frequent visits, Biden narrowly lagged Trump in the state in a poll released earlier this month by The Inquirer, New York Times, and Siena College. The poll showed voters favored Trump to handle the economy.
The details of his visit next week are currently unclear.