In Wisconsin, Biden touts 'deal' with Republicans on Social Security
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[February 09, 2023]
By Steve Holland and Trevor Hunnicutt
DEFOREST, Wis. (Reuters) -Fresh off a State of the Union speech to
Congress that challenged opposition Republicans to help unite the
country, President Joe Biden embarked on a tour of U.S. states crucial
to his expected 2024 re-election bid.
In Wisconsin, the Democratic president told workers at a union training
facility "it looks like we negotiated a deal last night" on Social
Security.
He was referring to a moment in the 73-minute speech when Republicans
who had jeered him for saying they wanted to cut Social Security and
Medicare benefits, stood up and clapped to show they support these
benefits instead.
Deal or no, Biden reasserted that Republicans want to cut the popular
old-age and healthcare programs in Wisconsin, pointing to statements by
some Republican lawmakers.
Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy called the State of the Union
"one of the most partisan" he had ever heard.
Senator Rick Scott of Florida, who backs a plan to have federal social
safety net programs lapse unless they are reauthorized, said on
Wednesday that Biden was intentionally misinterpreting his proposal.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Feb/09/images/ads/current/library_lda_EDUCATION_2023.png)
Biden vowed Wednesday to use his "veto pen" to make their dream to cut
the programs a nightmare.
Biden is reviving U.S. presidents' tradition of taking their State of
the Union message on the road, and will travel to Florida on Thursday, a
state that at one time could favor either party but which Democrats have
not won in a presidential election since 2012.
Democrats hope Biden can turn the economy - a perceived weakness among
some independent voters despite record-setting job creation - into a
selling point during his expected re-election campaign. In Wisconsin, he
told workers at a union training facility that his policies are building
"an economy that works for working people."
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![](../images/020923PIX/news_p95.jpg)
President Joe Biden talks with people
after the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress
at the Capitol, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023, in Washington. Jacquelyn
Martin/Pool via REUTERS
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Feb/09/images/ads/current/atlantabank_quarter_LUAL_2022.png)
The president's public approval rating was 41% in a Reuters/Ipsos
opinion poll that closed on Sunday, close to the lowest level of his
presidency, a possible hurdle to any re-election bid. White House
aides have cast doubt on the relevance of the figures more than a
year before any ballots are cast.
Biden's travel in coming months will focus heavily on the handful of
competitive states that his political aides believe will determine
whether he can win a second four-year term.
Wisconsin is a closely contested state that flipped from supporting
Republican former President Donald Trump in 2016 to favoring Biden
in 2020.
Vice President Kamala Harris, meanwhile, spent Wednesday in Georgia,
another state that flipped to Democrats in 2020 and also delivered
the party narrow control of the Senate.
Biden is expected to address Social Security and Medicare in
Florida, a state where more than 20% of the population is 65 years
and older.
In Arizona, where Biden in 2020 pulled off Democrats' first victory
in a presidential race in more than two decades, his wife Jill Biden
is expected to appear at the National Football League Super Bowl on
Sunday.
It is not yet clear whether Biden will engage in another
presidential tradition of sitting down for a television interview
during the game. His spokesperson, Karine Jean-Pierre, declined to
comment.
The State of the Union tour will test the endurance of Biden, 80,
who would be expected to travel more intensively in a re-election
campaign after conducting most events remotely from his Wilmington,
Delaware, home during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
Biden has signaled that he plans to run and an announcement is
expected in coming weeks.
(Reporting by Steve Holland and Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Heather
Timmons, Howard Goller and Jonathan Oatis)
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