WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden heads to Cleveland today looking to reassure Americans the economy is rebounding and sell his infrastructure plan as the White House remains in a stalemate with Senate Republicans over negotiations for a bipartisan deal.
In an economic-themed speech, Biden will counter a narrative pushed by Republicans, who have pointed to rising inflation as a sign he is moving the economy in the wrong direction with his big-spending measures.
The president will use the speech to “make a clear case that his economic plan is working,” White House principal deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday. She said Biden will discuss “how far we have come as a country” because of the president’s actions and how the U.S. is “turning the tide on the pandemic.”
Biden will speak from Cuyahoga Community College, the planned site of the final campaign rally he was set to make as a presidential candidate in March 2020 before the pandemic shut down the country. It’s meant to symbolize that “after 14 months of darkness, America is emerging into the light with the pandemic in retreat and our economy reopening,” according to a White House official who discussed the speech on the condition of anonymity.
Although the U.S. added a disappointing 266,000 jobs in April, below projections, the White House has stressed an…
