Takeaways from President Joe Biden's trip to Milwaukee
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President Joe Biden visited Milwaukee Wednesday to highlight a multi-million dollar investment toward the city's "complete streets" initiative and stop at the campaign's new Wisconsin headquarters in the critical swing state.
Wednesday marks Biden's second visit to Wisconsin after a trip to the border city of Superior in January. On Thursday, Biden will head to Saginaw, Michigan, after staying overnight in Milwaukee.
Here are the takeaways from Biden's visit, the "complete streets" project, and why the campaign is narrowing in on Wisconsin.
Biden continues economic message with 'complete streets' investment
During his visit, Biden highlighted $36.6 million in federal funds being allocated from the Infrastructure Act for a project to convert a 2.6-mile section of Sixth Street to a "complete street."
Milwaukee's complete streets efforts seek to make streets safe and convenient to pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users and anyone else who wants to use them, regardless of age or ability.
At the Pieper-Hillside Boys & Girls Club, Biden said the project is for the "future" of the children who utilize the community center. He lamented the effects of interstate infrastructure of decades ago splitting predominantly Black neighborhoods in Philadelphia, where Biden grew up.
"The same thing happened here," Biden said of Milwaukee. "Imagine all those homes, those mom and pop stores, that could have been passed down (to other generations)."
He added:
"The story of Bronzeville here in Milwaukee is one that we see all across the country. Our interstate highway system laid out in the 50s was a groundbreaking connection of a nation's coast to coast," Biden said at Pieper-Hillside Boys & Girls Club on Sixth Street W. Cherry.
"The purpose of it was to transform the way people live, work and travel. Instead of connecting communities, it divided. These highways actually tore them apart."
Past visits from the administration have focused on building up the economy through infrastructure, including Vice President Kamala Harris' stop at a future Madison Metro Transit facility last week, where she announced an executive order to promote apprenticeships.
Republicans responded by knocking 'Bidenomics'
Republican Party of Wisconsin chairman Brian Schimming this week blasted Biden's decision to tout the federal investment in the Sixth Street corridor.
“Instead of paying us a visit to brag about his abysmal record, the President should be offering working families an apology for Bidenomics," he said in a statement.
Republicans in the state have responded to administration visits by citing how the lingering effects of inflation impact voters. During Harris' visit, Schimming called the visits "rescue missions" to the Democratic base in Wisconsin.
Former President Donald Trump, who is all but certain to face Biden in a rematch this November, has not yet visited Wisconsin this election cycle.
More: In Marquette's latest poll of Wisconsin voters, a parade of red flags for Biden and Trump
Campaign putting an emphasis on Milwaukee
Biden is also expected to stop at his campaign's new headquarters in Milwaukee, located at 252 E Highland Ave. This year is the first time a Democratic presidential nominee has made Milwaukee a state campaign headquarters in at least two decades.
Campaign officials have said the location reflects the campaign's focus on Black and Latino voters and suburban women in the Milwaukee area. First lady Jill Biden visited Waukesha earlier this month to speak to women voters about abortion and health care.
At the headquarters, Biden spoke to supporters and highlighted the opening of more than 40 other campaign offices in the state.“Here in Milwaukee specifically, but Wisconsin generally and several other states, it’s going to get down to knocking on doors the old-fashioned way,” Biden said.
“Folks, look, you’ve got a lot to do. There’s an awful lot at stake in this campaign,” Biden said.
Biden also visited Milwaukee in December, where he spoke at the Wisconsin Black Chamber of Commerce to announce new directives intended to support small businesses and highlight his administration's support for Black-owned businesses.
Black voters in Milwaukee have expressed a lack of enthusiasm for a rematch of 2020 between Biden and Trump.
Protesters of the war in Gaza made their presence felt
Protesters gathered in Milwaukee's Red Arrow Park, a couple of blocks from the Biden campaign headquarters, to demand Biden push more strongly for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Echoing movements in Michigan and Minnesota, they said they would not vote for him in Wisconsin's April 2 primary as a demonstration of their outrage over the United States' handling of the Israel-Hamas war and the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.
"They will definitely lose this election if they don't listen to their constituents," said Janan Najeeb, president of the Milwaukee Muslim Women's Coalition.
Molly Beck and Sophie Carson contributed to this story.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Takeaways from President Joe Biden's trip to Milwaukee
