SCRANTON — President Joe Biden returned to his hometown Saturday to make a final campaign stop in support of Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee.
Speaking to the Carpenters Local Union 445 on Pear Street in South Scranton, across town from his childhood home on North Washington Avenue in Green Ridge, Biden emphasized the importance of rewarding hard work and supporting the middle class.
“Unions built the middle class,” he said. “There are politicians who find it difficult to say ‘unions’, but I am not one of them, and neither is Kamala.”
Biden, who famously and often refers to his early upbringing in Scranton, introduced his granddaughter Natalie Biden, the daughter of Biden’s late son Beau. When Natalie heard her grandfather was coming to Scranton, she asked if she could come with him, and he was more than happy to take her, Biden said.
Frank C. Lauri
A member of the U.S. Secret Service Counter Sniper Team climbs a ladder onto the roof of the Carpenters Local Union 445 building in Scranton before an event with President Joe Biden on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. (Christopher Dolan / Staff Photographer)
CHRISTOPHER DOLAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Children listen to President Joe Biden’s speech at the Carpenters Local Union 445 in Scranton on Saturday, November 2, 2024. (Christopher Dolan / Staff Photographer)
Kathleen Batten
The U.S. Secret Service walks past signs in support of President Joe Biden before an event with the president at the Carpenters Local Union 445 building in Scranton on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. (Christopher Dolan / Staff Photographer) A member of the U.S. Secret Service Counter Sniper Team climbs a ladder onto the roof of the Carpenters Local Union 445 building in Scranton before an event with President Joe Biden on Saturday, November 2, 2024. (Christopher Dolan / Staff Photographer)
Kathleen Batten
Union workers wear bright green shirts as they arrive for an event with President Joe Biden at the Carpenters Local Union 445 in Scranton on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. (Christopher Dolan / Staff Photographer)
Jack Dempsey
President Joe Biden greets union workers after a speech at the Carpenters Local Union 445 in Scranton on Saturday, November 2, 2024. (Christopher Dolan / Staff Photographer)President Joe Biden greets union workers after a speech at the Carpenters Local Union 445 in Scranton on Saturday, November 2 2024. (Christopher Dolan / Staff Photographer)
CHRISTOPHER DOLAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
President Joe Biden speaks with union workers at Carpenters Local Union 445 in Scranton on Saturday, November 2, 2024. (Christopher Dolan / Staff Photographer)
Kathleen Batten
President Joe Biden greets union workers after speaking at the Carpenters Local Union 445 in Scranton on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. (Christopher Dolan / Staff Photographer)
CHRISTOPHER DOLAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER,
President Joe Biden shakes hands with United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America General President Doug McCarron during an event at the Carpenters Local Union 445 in Scranton on Saturday, November 2, 2024. (Christopher Dolan / Staff Photographer) President Joe Biden speaks with union workers at the Carpenters Local Union 445 in Scranton on Saturday, November 2, 2024. (Christopher Dolan / Staff Photographer)
CHRISTOPHER DOLAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
President Joe Biden speaks with union workers from Carpenters Local Union 445 in Scranton on Saturday, November 2, 2024. (Christopher Dolan / Staff Photographer) President Joe Biden walks onto the stage before speaking to union workers at Carpenters Local Union 445 in Scranton on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. (Christopher Dolan / Staff Photographer) Union workers wear bright green shirts as they arrive for an event with President Joe Biden at the Carpenters Local Union 445 in Scranton on Saturday, November 2, 2024. (Christopher Dolan / Staff Photographer)
Kathleen Batten
President Joe Biden speaks with union workers at Carpenters Local Union 445 in Scranton on Saturday, November 2, 2024. (Christopher Dolan / Staff Photographer) President Joe Biden greets union workers after speaking at the Carpenters Local Union 445 in Scranton on Saturday, November 2, 2024. (Christopher Dolan / Staff Photographer)
Times-Tribune FILE
President Joe Biden hugs his granddaughter, Natalie Biden, during an event at the Carpenters Local Union 445 in Scranton on Saturday, November 2, 2024. (Christopher Dolan / Staff Photographer)
Rebecca Blackwell
President Joe Biden speaks with union workers at Carpenters Local Union 445 in Scranton on Saturday, November 2, 2024. (Christopher Dolan / Staff Photographer)
Biden told more than a hundred union workers from several states that Scranton was more than just a place, but a reflection of the family values and traditions that built the country.
“Families stayed together, we took care of each other,” he said.
He encouraged voters to stay strong during the three days leading up to the election and to encourage others to vote for Harris, who he said will preserve Social Security benefits and Affordable Care Act protections and avoid tax cuts for the wealthy .
Billionaires, he said, pay only 8.2% of their income in taxes.
“(Republican candidate Donald) Trump prioritizes tax cuts for the wealthy over Social Security,” he said.
Biden asked those in attendance to continue the work he has done in his four years as president and vote for Harris, whom he hand-picked as his vice president.
“The choice couldn’t be clearer,” he said.
Biden pointedly avoided personal attacks on Trump and the Republican party, instead repeating several times that he simply opposed Trump’s policies, which he believed were not in the best interests of the country.
“Workers should be given a fair chance, that’s all, a decent chance to get a good education and health care so they can sleep at night,” he said.
Douglas McCarron, general president of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters, said it was the grit and spirit of the workers that made Scranton great, not “Dunder Muffin.”
“Scranton is knocked down, but not taken out,” he said.
McCarron said it was Biden’s third visit to the carpenters’ union, once during his 2020 campaign and twice as president.
After the Pear Street visit, Biden stopped at the AFSCME union hall in Dunmore, where he again expressed support for Harris.
Many attendees said this was likely Biden’s last visit to Scranton during his presidency. Most recently, Biden visited the area in September for the funeral of his childhood friend Thomas Bell.
A contingent of local elected officials were in the audience, including Scranton Mayor Paige G. Cognetti.
