President Trump is due to embark on a busy schedule of counterprogramming as the Democratic convention begins, criss-crossing the country before arriving in Joe Biden’s hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania, on Thursday.
Officials say they want to contrast the president’s travels with the presumptive nominee staying close to home to deliver his convention speech.
On the day that Biden is due to accept the nomination, the president’s visit to Pennsylvania, they say, will highlight residents’ allegations that Biden touts his blue-collar roots without having delivered much for Scranton.
“What you’re going to hear about is how his policies left those people behind and how the policies he’s pursuing now show how out of touch he is with his hometown,” said one official.
The campaign has had to retool in the time of the coronavirus. Gone are the mass rallies in indoor arenas so beloved by Trump. Instead, next week’s swing through battleground states will see the president appear at airfields where hangars will allow dispersed audiences.
On Monday, he is due to attack Biden on jobs and the economy, first in Mankato, Minnesota, a state where the campaign is hoping to overturn a narrow Hillary Clinton win in 2016, and then Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where an upset win helped Trump clinch the Electoral College votes he needed last time around.
On Tuesday, he will appear at the Joe Foss Hangar in Yuma, Arizona, to tackle immigration and border security.
“He’ll be talking about how Joe Biden is bad on the economy, on jobs, on immigration, border security, and then on trade and energy,” said the official. The speeches will focus on Biden’s record of more than 40 years in Washington as well as the “crazy liberals” responsible for his platform.
While the president and vice president are both going to be on the road, Biden is due to give his convention speech in Wilmington, where he lives, the official noted.
“The president’s going to be out there, talking about what he’s done and what Joe Biden hasn’t done. He’ll be talking to voters, while Biden is hiding from them.”
Trump has visited Scranton several times. He appeared there in July 2016 and again for an eve of an election rally that state officials believe was one of the crucial moments that helped them snatch the state by about 44,000 votes.
He returned this year for a Fox News town hall in March.
Pennsylvania has been a busy destination for both campaigns, which see it as crucial for victory.
Biden visited last month for a campaign appearance just beyond the Scranton city limits at a metalworking plant. Afterward, he swung by his childhood home for a photo opportunity.
Rob Gleason, former GOP state chairman, said times had changed since each party would let the other have the limelight for convention week. Scranton, he added, carried huge symbolism for Biden.
“He is always saying Scranton is Biden country. It’s not. Not many people really remember him, and he’s never really done anything for Scranton,” he said.
“People always remember what politicians have done for them, and he never really did anything for Pennsylvania.”
