In his second trip to the political battleground region since taking office, President Joe Biden visited the Lehigh Valley on Friday afternoon to tour a handful of small businesses and tout a message of an American economy on an upswing as he vies for a second term.
The Democrat stopped in three stores along Main Street in Emmaus, greeting business owners, employees, and residents — many cheering, some jeering — and later appeared at the new fire training academy in Allentown that was built using federal stimulus funds.
Biden, who was born and spent his early years ago 80 miles away in Scranton, told reporters the goal of his visit was to “make sure what we’re doing” on the economy — what his administration calls “Bidenomics” — is “making some sense” and “affecting people’s attitudes.”
“Starting a new business is an act of hope,” Biden said at the Allentown Fire Training Academy. “And a lot of people came out of the last several years kind of down.”
“I just came away from this really reassured that what we’ve done has had an impact. Not just here in Pennsylvania but throughout the country.”
The economy is a topic of close scrutiny for Biden. Opponents frequently attack him for his handling of it, and polls show many Americans are dissatisfied. Supporters say he doesn’t get enough credit as unemployment and inflation numbers have improved in recent months.
The White House also stressed Friday a record 16 million new business applications have been filed in the U.S. over the last three years.
Biden last visited the Valley when he appeared at the Mack Trucks plant in Lower Macungie in July 2021 to promote manufacturing.
His return Friday comes as Pennsylvania, a swing state, could play a big role in November’s election, and the Valley in particular is a critical area. Biden defeated Trump in the state in 2020, winning 53% of the Valley’s vote.
Polls so far show Biden and Trump close in a potential 2024 rematch, including in Pennsylvania. A Jan. 10 Quinnipiac University survey found the state is a dead heat between them.
Among the stores Biden visited in Emmaus was Nowhere Coffee Company, which began in 2021 with the help of federal small business loans and now has two locations in the area.
“Anybody want a coffee? It’s on me,” Biden said, according to the press pool report.
The president ordered a smoothie for himself and took selfies and chatted while he waited for the drink. He paid cash for it.
“By the way, we’re almost in heaven,” Biden said as he left the store. “We’re almost in Scranton.”
Before that, Biden stopped at South Mountain Cycle, a bike shop in the same building. It’s owned by Borough Councilman Chad Balliet and wife Heather Balliet. Also on the tour was Emmaus Run Inn, a running store.
“When are you opening a store in Delaware?” Biden asked the owners in reference to the state where he’s lived for years after his family left Pennsylvania.
He also pointed to the press and joked: “Would you give them running shoes so they can take off?”
Sean Linehan, one of the shop’s owners, said Biden was “extremely personable,” speaking to staff and some customers about his initiatives and “how the strength and hope of our economy starts with small businesses like ours.”
“The White House advance team told us that initially it was going to be in Allentown, but they thought Emmaus had a nice small-town feel,” Linehan told lehighvalleylive.com.
Biden later traveled to the Mack Southside Fire Station in Allentown, home of the fire academy that opened in August with $2.3 million in American Rescue Plan funds.
There, the president told reporters business owners Friday relayed to him they’re still worried about their pocketbooks. But he noted the owners of the coffee shop said they have “started to gain faith” after seeing their business grow.
Asked about polls showing many Americans still have a sour view of the economy under his presidency, Biden said: “If you notice, they’re feeling much better about how the economy is doing. What we haven’t done is letting them know exactly who got it changed.”
But Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel released a statement Friday countering that view.
“With out of control crime and heartbreaking job cuts, Allentown is another unfortunate victim of Democrat control,” McDaniel said. “Today, Biden will have to face the very people his policies hurt. In November, small business owners, like ones he meets today, will vote for economic relief and safety in our Republican nominee.”
Republican state Sen. Jarrett Coleman, who represents part of Lehigh County, including a section of Allentown, was also dismissive.
“Bidenomics? Does anyone think that’s working? The thing about a healthy economy is that if we had one, the President wouldn’t have to convince people to get excited about it,” Coleman said in a statement. “Many of my constituents are struggling to make ends meet due to inflation.”
Dressed in a black coat and his trademark aviator sunglasses, Biden arrived at Lehigh Valley International Airport shortly after 1 p.m. aboard Air Force One.
He was greeted on the tarmac at their airport by several top Pennsylvania officials, all fellow Democrats: Gov. Josh Shapiro, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, U.S. Rep. Susan Wild of the Lehigh Valley, and Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk. Casey and Wild also are running for another term this year.
In Emmaus, a throng of about 100 people stretched along Main Street behind barricades to catch a glimpse of the president as he arrived in town. Someone handed out American flags. One man held a different flag: It compared Biden to a donkey. Hundreds more people mulled about sidewalks in town.
When Biden arrived via motorcade, a handful of supporters of former President Donald Trump — Biden’s one-time and possibly future rival — yelled “Let’s go Brandon!” or “F**k Joe Biden!” Onlookers sitting on the deck of a house near the bike shop shouted at Biden: “Go home, Joe!” and “You’re a loser!”
There were plenty of Biden backers, too. And because Emmaus High School was released early Friday, there were pockets of high schoolers lingering.
One man on the porch of his business told a portion of the crowd: “Thank you all for coming to see me. Happy New Year!” Laughs ensued.
The presidential motorcade later took Biden to the Allentown Fire Academy, where dozens of pro-Palestine protestors lined the street chanting “Peace right now!” and “We will remember in November!” as the war between Hamas and Israel continues in the Middle East. There was a large police presence, with officers carrying shields.
After the Allentown stop, the motorcade traveled along Interstate 78 and Route 22, closed to other traffic, before arriving back at Lehigh Valley airport at 5:37 p.m., with Biden ascending the steps for takeoff en route to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, the press pool reported.
This was Biden’s second trip to Pennsylvania in a week, after he delivered a speech in Blue Bell last Friday. There, he painted Trump as a threat to democracy for his efforts to overturn and cast doubts on the 2020 presidential election.
He is also scheduled to visit Philadelphia on Monday for a Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service event, the White House said.
Friday’s trip comes as more than 70 Valley businesses closed last year. Several told lehighvalleylive.com they continued to face post-pandemic challenges and staffing shortages and expressed frustration by growing inflation costs.
But inflation in the U.S. has cooled more or less, falling to 3.4% after from a high of 9.1% in June 2022.
Meanwhile, the nation’s unemployment rate in November was 3.7%, down two-tenths of a percentage point from October.
Unemployment remains at a historic low in Pennsylvania, the state Department of Labor and Industry said in December. Adjusted for seasonal fluctuations, the statewide rate was unchanged in November, remaining at the record low of 3.4% from October.
The Lehigh Valley’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in November was at a 20-year-low of 3.9%, according to the department, representing the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ Metropolitan Statistical Area that covers Carbon, Lehigh, Northampton and Warren counties.
The Valley also just celebrated a record gross domestic product of $50.2 billion in 2022, with manufacturing representing its biggest sector, according to the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp. That GDP ranks 68th among the nation’s metro regions, with 12,100 jobs added over the last five years and 15,000-plus companies calling the Lehigh Valley home, the LVEDC said.
Among the area’s iconic brands are Mack Trucks, Martin Guitar, Olympus, Crayola, Air Products, B. Braun Medical, Lutron, and Just Born, maker of marshmallow Peeps and other candies.
Kurt Bresswein, Saed Hindash, and Alan Sylvestra contributed to this report.
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Connor Lagore may be reached at clagore@njadvancemedia.com.
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