Inside Joe Biden’s whistle-stop tour of Ohio and Pennsylvania
ByAnnie Linskey
September 29, 2020 at 6:00 a.m. EDT
WILMINGTON, Del. — Joe Biden plans to leave the Cleveland presidential debate via one of his favorite modes of locomotion: a train. The Biden “Build Back Better Train Tour” departs from Cleveland on Wednesday and will make five stops, including in Alliance, Ohio; Pittsburgh; Greensburg, Pa.; and Latrobe, Pa., and ending in Johnstown, Pa., according to the campaign. The trip is meant to help Biden connect with voters who supported Trump in 2016 and to give the Democratic nominee a chance to “talk about what he will do as president to create jobs, support working families and build our economy back better,” according to the Biden campaign.
It also sets up a packed day of public events for Biden, who has been criticized for running a low energy campaign that rarely includes more than one public event per day. And it provides the former vice president with time for a victory lap if the debate Tuesday night goes well for him or for multiple chances to change the conversation if it goes poorly for him.
Trains have been an important part of Biden’s identity. He was known for being a frequent passenger on the Amtrak when he was in the Senate. The train station in Wilmington, Del., is named after him — and he accompanied Barack Obama on a train ride from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C., ahead of their inauguration.
This train tour will help Biden drive home the “Scranton vs. Park Avenue” contrast that he’s been trying to draw to highlight his humble roots and Trump’s privileged upbringing. During the tour, Biden is set to meet with workers, including union members, to hear “how they have struggled to get ahead in Trump’s economy,” according to the campaign.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/inside-joe-bidens-whistle-stop-tour-of-ohio-and-pennsylvania/2020/09/28/d2868f30-01f3-11eb-897d-3a6201d6643f_story.html
Appearances -
After departing Cleveland, Biden’s train is scheduled to stop in Alliance, Ohio, with a tentative time of 11:45 a.m., according to WFMJ-TV. While Biden will make five appearances in Pennsylvania, news reports differ on the number of those that will be part of the train tour. Tentatively scheduled, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, are:
— Pittsburgh, 2:20 p.m. (train stop)
— Greenburg, Pa., 3:45 p.m. (train stop)
— New Alexandria, Pa, 4:30 p.m. (apparently not a train stop)
— Latrobe, Pa., 5:20 p.m. (reports conflict on whether this is a train stop)
— Johnstown, Pa., 7:30 p.m. This is a drive-in event.
https://trn.trains.com/news/news-wire/2020/09/29-biden-plans-short-whistle-stop-tour-of-ohio-pennsylvania
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