President Joe Biden hoped to shore up a Democratic “blue wall” as he announced millions of dollars for projects in Milwaukee during his campaign stop in Wisconsin – but his new, tougher rhetoric against his opponent, Donald Trump, got most of the attention.

Biden was beginning a two-day swing through Wisconsin and Michigan in Milwaukee as he attempted to shore up a Democratic “blue wall” and build momentum for his re-election campaign after a fiery State of the Union address in early March.

To show voters that his administration has made their lives better, Biden used this campaign stop to announce $3.3 billion for infrastructure projects in underprivileged communities, including $36 million to reattach parts of Milwaukee’s 6th Street, which was divided due to highway construction in the 60s.

“We’re rebuilding the roads, we’re filling in the cracks in the sidewalk, we’re creating spaces to live and work and play safely, and to breathe clean air, and to shop at a nearby grocery stocked with fresh and healthy food,” he declared.

“You’ve lived and felt decisions made decades ago,” Biden then stated. “Today, today, we’re making decisions to transform your lives for decades to come.”

The money comes from the bipartisan infrastructure law that Biden had signed in the first year of his presidency.

The $3.3 billion in grants covers 134 projects in every state.

He visited the opening of his campaign headquarters in Milwaukee, where nearly 40% of residents are black, rather than Madison, the state capital that typically serves as the fulcrum for Democratic campaigns.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said some of the projects are fairly modest and can be completed in “short order,” while others are “massive and ambitious undertakings that will take many years.”

Biden mentioned that volunteers and staff in places like Milwaukee would help guarantee his victory over Trump.

“This is how we are going to win again,” he declared. “A lot of you helped me in 2020, and we made sure he was a loser and is a loser and we’re going to make sure that happens again, right?”

He told voters that Trump promised infrastructure improvements but never lived up to his word.

“He didn’t get a single thing done,” Biden stated. “Not one.”

On March 12, Biden and Trump secured their parties’ nominations after decisive victories in the primaries.

Most of the campaign rematch between the two candidates will take place in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, the president’s first stop after his State of the Union, as they are expected to be the most competitive states.

Trump flipped all three states to become president in 2016, but Biden took them back four years ago and might need to hold them to secure another term.

The president also plans to travel to North Carolina and other battleground states in the approaching weeks. He has been overseeing field office openings as his campaign hires and trains organizers as well as assemble volunteers.

Biden’s re-election campaign hopes its on-the-ground organization can neutralize his low approval ratings and polling showing that most voters — even most Democrats — do not want him seeking re-election.

March 13 marked Biden’s ninth visit to Wisconsin as president and fifth visit to Milwaukee.

On March 14, he headed to Saginaw, north of Detroit, which has many black and union-affiliated voters. It was once Democratic, but swung to Trump in 2016 and only narrowly backed Biden four years ago.

During a campaign rally in Rome, Georgia on March 9, Trump mocked Biden’s stutter again.

He also attacked the president’s physical and mental health, as well as his increasing list of grudges with various enemies. 

Trump received heavy criticism from disability advocates who labeled his behavior a form of bullying.

John Hendrickson, a staff writer at The Atlantic and a lifelong stutterer, stated that if Trump’s followers acted shocked and disgusted whenever he mocked disabled people, he might stop, but their laughter encourages him.

In a 2024 Presidential Greatness Project Expert Survey, Biden was ranked the 14th best president.

He was in the top third along with Woodrow Wilson and Ronald Reagan. Trump was ranked last at 45.

This ranking came from 154 historians and presidential experts. The survey was conducted from November 2023 to December 2023.

The presidents’ successes and failures were considered when given ranks. Presidents were each given ratings from 0 to 100. Half of them were given a 50 or lower. Trump received a 10.92.

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