President Joe Biden brings ‘Bidenomics’ tour to Philly Shipyard

In his sixth trip to the City of Brotherly Love so far this year, President Joe Biden visited the Philly Shipyard on Thursday to tout his record on manufacturing and clean energy jobs, and the economy in general.

“I’m here today to talk about what we’re doing to invest in America, invest in Pennsylvania, invest in our clean energy future, and to talk about the progress we’ve made building an economy from the middle out and the bottom up,” Biden said.

It was the second time a Biden has visited the Keystone State this week: First Lady Jill Biden stopped in Pittsburgh on Tuesday as part of the Investing in America tour. Pittsburgh is one of five regional workforce hubs the White House identified in May, along with Augusta, Columbus, Baltimore and Phoenix, which will be used to train employees for in-demand jobs.

“We’re beginning to come back, folks,” President Biden told the audience of union workers and elected officials in Philadelphia on Thursday. “We can, because we’re giving workers a chance.”

The president has struggled with low approval ratings despite strong economic indicators. He noted that the term “Bidenomics” originated among his critics, but he’s embraced it of late, pointing out the low unemployment rate rate as evidence that the national economy is strong. According to the Bureau of Labor statistics, the national unemployment rate was 3.6% in June; Pennsylvania was 4% in May.

“I don’t think they started off trying to be complimentary,” Biden said. “But our plan is working.”

He also applauded the quick reconstruction of I-95 in Philadelphia, where a portion collapsed last month after a fiery crash.

“When I-95 shut down last month, nobody thought we’d have it back open in less than two weeks. Well, with American ingenuity, American workers, we proved everybody wrong,” Biden said “I don’t know about you, but it filled me with pride of what we can do when we work together.”