Biden hammers Trump in Philadelphia rally as he courts Black voters with familiar remarks
President Joe Biden on Wednesday laid forcefully into rival and former President Donald Trump as he and Vice President Kamala Harris courted Black voters at a rally in Philadelphia -- delivering a speech during which he ticked off what he views as accomplishments and tying them to Black voters.
"Because Black Americans voted, Kamala and I are president and vice president of the United States. Because of you. That's not hyperbole," Biden told a crowd gathered at Girard College, a majority Black boarding school for first grade through 12th grade. "Because you voted, Donald Trump is defeated former president. And with your vote -- with your vote in 2024, we're gonna make Donald Trump a loser again."
Biden touted his accomplishments: a low unemployment rate, lowered costs for prescription drugs and student debt forgiveness -- all items he regularly talks about in speeches, but this time mentioned the benefit to Black voters.
"Supreme Court blocked me from relieving student debt, but it didn't stop me. So far, I've relieved student debt for nearly 5 million Americans, a significant number are Black borrowers," Biden said. "So, you can chase your dreams, start a family, by your first home, start a business and so much more."
A recent ABC News/Ipsos poll found Biden's support among Black voters down by double digits from his share of the vote in 2020, with 74% saying they currently back the president compared to 87% who said they voted for him is the last election.
Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, has made attempts to directly court Black voters. He held a rally in the heavily Black and Brown South Bronx, New York, last week, had pre-planned photo ops at fast food restaurants, and has suggested his criminal indictment will help him connect to Black voters -- something Biden's team called "blatantly racist" earlier this year.
Biden recycled some of his attack lines against Trump, hitting the former president for calling the "insurrectionists who stormed the capital 'patriots,'" and saying he would pardon them.
"Let me ask you: What do you think he would have done on Jan. 6 if Black Americans had stormed it? Think about this. What do you think would've happened if Black Americans had stormed the Capitol? I don't think he'd be talking about pardons," Biden said, echoing what he said in Detroit earlier this month.
The Biden campaign released an ad highlighting Trump's involvement in the Central Park Five case, which he mentioned in the rally.
"The same guy who still calls the Central Park Five 'guilty,' even though they were exonerated," Biden said about the five men wrongfully convicted in the 1989 rape of a Central Park jogger.
Biden hammered Trump, saying he wouldn't say "Black Lives Matter," and "evokes Neo-Nazi third-Reich terms" -- a reference to a social media video on Trump's account that referenced the phrase "Unified Reich." Trump removed the post after his critics said the phrase mirrors that of Nazi Germany. The Trump campaign claimed it was not a campaign video, but rather a random online video reposted by a staffer who did not see the word.
Biden on Wednesday also slammed Trump as being antithetical to American ideals.
"And I'll be damned if I'm going to let Donald Trump be the reason we stop being Americans," Biden said to cheers. "I'll be damned if I'm going to let Donald Trump -- we're not going to let Donald Trump turn America into a place that doesn't believe in honesty, decency and treating people with respect. And I'll be damned if I'm gonna let Donald Trump turn America into a place filled with anger and resentment and hate."
The rally marks the start of the Biden campaign's national Black voter outreach program, which they're calling Black Voters for Biden-Harris. The effort is coupled with an eight-figure investment, but the campaign did not provide ABC News with a specific dollar amount.
The campaign said it "believes that Black voters deserve to hear from Team Biden-Harris, and they deserve to have their vote earned, not assumed."
After the Philadelphia rally, Biden visited a local Black-owned business for an organizing event with the Black Chamber of Commerce. There was also a phone banking event featuring Rep. Barbara Lee.
The campaign's Black outreach will continue into the weekend, the campaign said, with events in battleground states, including Black church engagement in Arizona, barber shop and hair salon events in Michigan, and a block party-style celebration in Nevada. And over the summer, the campaign said it will partner with civic organizations to put on voter education and registration drives.
This follows a multi-day effort by Biden last week to outreach to Black voters, attending a Detroit NAACP dinner, announcing grants to further desegregate magnet schools on the landmark Brown v. Board case's anniversary, taking formal initial steps to reschedule marijuana, and delivering the commencement address at Morehouse College.
