President Biden to speak in Allentown area Friday
President Joe Biden will be in the Allentown area on Friday to make a case for how his economic policies are helping small businesses, communities and families.
No details of the visit were available Tuesday afternoon but Armchair Lehigh Valley will post more information as it comes in.
The Lehigh Valley will be the Democrat’s second stop in Pennsylvania in a week, following a visit to Montgomery County for his first campaign speech of 2024. There, on the day before the third anniversary of the Jan. 6 breach of the Capitol, Biden questioned former President Trump’s commitment to democracy.
The two visits underscore the importance of the state and the Lehigh Valley in Biden’s bid for reelection on Nov. 5 – one that, for now, looks likely to be a rematch with Trump.
In 2020, Biden won in Pennsylvania with 50.01% to Trump’s 48.84%. The Lehigh Valley aided in that win. In Lehigh County, Biden took 53.21% of the vote to Trump’s 45.62%. In Northampton County, Biden captured 49.78% to Trump’s 49.05%.
In an announcement, the White House said Biden will speak in the “Allentown area.” The White House said he will discuss “how communities across America are coming back thanks to Bidenomics and his Investing in America agenda, which have ushered in a small business boom, created good-paying jobs with rising wages, strengthened local economies, and lowered costs for hardworking families.”
Since Biden was elected, the White House said, the U.S. has added more than 13 million jobs and saw $10 million new applications for new small businesses. In the past year, inflation has fallen by half and the stock market has recovered.
But polls show Biden struggling to convince Americans that the economy is improving and their lives are better off.
State Rep. Joshua Siegel, a Democrat whose 22nd District includes Allentown, said the Lehigh Valley is important in driving home Biden’s message.
“Our region is an economic success story that the entire commonwealth has held up as an example of how to revitalize communities and create opportunity. It’s only natural the president would choose the swing region of the swing state to bring his message to Pennsylvania,” Siegel said.
Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk, a Democrat, said in a statement that Allentown is seeing the results of Biden’s efforts.
“Allentown residents have seen their wages increase under President Biden's economic agenda as the Lehigh Valley economy has grown through investment in small business,” Tuerk said.
Biden last visited the Lehigh Valley in 2021, when he spoke about the importance of American manufacturing during a tour of Mack Trucks in Lower Macungie Township.