HOWELL, Mich. (AP) — Calling opponents “complicit in America’s decline,” President Joe Biden is making the case for his ambitious social spending and building plans by framing them as key to America’s global competitiveness and future success.
With his agenda in jeopardy on Capitol Hill, Biden on Tuesday visited the Michigan district of Rep. Elissa Slotkin, a moderate Democratic lawmaker who has urged him to promote his proposals more aggressively to the public.
Speaking at a union training center, Biden said he wanted to “set some things straight” about his agenda and cut through what he dismissed as “noise” in Washington.
"These bills are not about left versus right, or moderate versus progressive or anything that pits Americans against one another," he said. "These bills are about competitiveness versus complacency. They're about opportunity versus decay. They're about leading the world or continue to let the world pass us by, which is literally happening."
Biden's visit to Michigan wasn't just met with fanfare. Trump supporters lined the street. Some had profane signs. Others had flags that said Trump won the election.
Slotkin said she was embarrassed to see some of the signs so close to a school, according to the Detroit Free Press.
"He said, 'I guess I'm still surprised when people — even if they don't like me — are willing to be that profane around children,'" Slotkin is quoted in the Detroit Free Press.
Biden beat Trump in Michigan by 154,000 votes, according to The Associated Press.