Biden Returns to Campaigning, Hoping to Refocus on the Basics

[Pelican Press 0]

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Biden Returns to Campaigning, Hoping to Refocus on the Basics

President Biden will intensify efforts on Tuesday to court ****** and Latino voters, using a two-day swing through the crucial battleground state of Nevada to try to return to the campaign that might have been.

As he resumes politicking after a pause following the ************** attempt on former President Donald J. Trump this weekend, the president plans to focus on core issues like the economy and lowering housing costs, an attempt to reset the conversation after an extraordinary three weeks that has also included a dismal debate performance and calls from panicked Democrats to withdraw from the race.

The trip will also provide Mr. Biden an opportunity to try to draw attention away from Republicans, who polls show are making gains with ****** and Hispanic voters and are holding their national convention in Wisconsin this week, as he sells his vision for a second term.

On Tuesday, Mr. Biden is set to speak at the annual convention for the N.A.A.C.P., be interviewed by ****** Entertainment Television and participate in an economic summit with Representative Steven Horsford of Nevada, the chairman of the Congressional ****** Caucus. On Wednesday, he will speak before UnidosUS, a Hispanic civil rights and advocacy group.

They are the kinds of campaign stops Mr. Biden has long made. But everywhere he goes, the events of recent weeks are sure to shadow him.

Nervous fellow Democrats have called on Mr. Biden to show that he can campaign aggressively, and his performances will be closely scrutinized for any miscues or signs that he is not up to the job he is seeking to hold until age 86.

And even as Mr. Biden focuses on the economy, his administration has made clear that it will continue to frame Mr. Trump as a threat to democracy and the civil liberties of ****** and Latino Americans. But after a would-be *********’s bullet grazed Mr. Trump’s ear at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, Mr. Biden will be treading newly perilous ground.

Although the gunman had no known strongly held political beliefs, some Republicans have accused Mr. Biden’s rhetoric of contributing to the *********. Mr. Biden defended his descriptions of his rival on Friday, and Democrats have balked at the criticism from allies of a former president who warned there would be a “bloodbath” if he lost the election in November.

Mr. Biden hopes to shift the conversation, in part, by introducing two new plans to rein in housing costs. On Tuesday morning, he called on Congress to pass legislation giving “corporate landlords” — defined by the White House as those with over 50 rental units — a choice to cap annual rent increases on existing units at 5 percent annually or lose federal tax breaks based on property depreciation.

In a direct appeal to Nevadans, Mr. Biden also said his administration would repurpose federally owned land that officials deem unused or underused to create 15,000 affordable housing units in Nevada, a state where the president is trailing Mr. Trump and voters have been especially frustrated over housing costs. Executing that proposal would not require congressional approval.

While traditional metrics indicate that the economy is strong, and Americans are spending like it is, consumer confidence ******** low and polls show inflation ******** one of voters’ top concerns, even as it has ebbed recently.

Housing costs, in particular, have fueled frustrations over the economy and have caught Mr. Biden’s attention. He often asks his senior aides for updates on mortgage rates.

The average 30-year mortgage rate jumped to nearly 8 percent last fall from below 3 percent in 2021. It has since settled back to a little under 7 percent. Monthly payments have also soared.

Mr. Biden’s housing plan is likely to face a hostile reception in Congress. Large homebuilders and housing construction companies have balked at the proposal, citing a need instead to increase the supply of housing, and many economists say rental caps do not work.

Nonprofit groups focused on tenants’ rights, however, said they were encouraged by the announcements. But they wondered why the push could not have happened sooner — and whether the rollout is mostly driven by an administration looking to shore up re-election support.

Derrick Johnson, the president of the N.A.A.C.P., said on Monday that ****** voters are interested in hearing “policies, not politics.”

“We deserve a candidate with a platform that centers the issues that matter most to our community,” Mr. Johnson said. “This means addressing the rising cost of living and embracing diversity, equity and inclusion as a pathway for ****** Americans to have access to all jobs, not just ‘****** jobs.’”

Mr. Johnson was referring to a comment Mr. Trump made in last month’s presidential debate that immigrants entering the ******* States illegally were taking “****** jobs.” The remark prompted backlash from many ****** political strategists, elected officials and grass-roots leaders who questioned what, exactly, a “****** job” is.

But Republicans are making inroads with both ****** and Latino voters, causing anxiety among top Biden aides. Among other things, Republicans focused on wooing ****** voters during the first day of their convention in Milwaukee on Monday.

Talmon Joseph Smith and Zach Montague contributed reporting.

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