Biden swipes at GOP for impeachment talk as he makes his economic pitch in Maine
President Joe Biden swiped at renewed impeachment talk by top Republicans as he sold his agenda in Maine on Friday, suggesting his economic record was a threat to opponents.
“Republicans may have to find something else to criticize me for now that inflation is coming down. Maybe they’ll try to impeach me because it’s coming down,” Biden said at a textile manufacturing facility in Auburn.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy this week escalated talk of launching an impeachment inquiry into Biden and his family’s business dealings, prompting some backlash from moderate Republicans. Later, McCarthy appeared to back off somewhat.
The White House has dismissed the prospect, suggesting the president was focused on his economic agenda and not threats from Republicans.
That was his focus in Maine, where he also signed an executive order – “Invent it here and Make it Here” – incentivizing American manufacturing of goods invented in the US.
But he saved some ire for Republicans in Congress who’ve sought to stymie his administration’s legislative priorities, singling out Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama for touting federal funding for his home state under legislation he voted against.
“He voted against it! He voted against it. I could go on, but I won’t,” Biden joked. “But I made a commitment when I ran that I’d be president for everybody, whether they voted for me or against me. A vast – a majority of all this money is going into red states, because they’ve been so badly hurt, a majority of it. I’m not picking winners and losers based on who they voted for. I’m picking winners and losers based on the need they have in their communities.”
“I’m not here to declare victory on the economy. We have more work to do, we have a plan for turning things around,” the president acknowledged. “Bidenomics is just another way of saying restoring the American dream. Forty years of trickle-down economics limited that dream to the very top.”
Maine, once peppered with factories, textile mills and paper plants, has experienced a significant drop-off in manufacturing over the last several decades. The White House said the state lost more than 42,000 manufacturing jobs between 1990 and January 2021. Maine has created 1,200 new manufacturing jobs since Biden entered office – only modest growth, though the president hopes to build on it through incentives and cutting red tape.
It’s Biden’s first trip to Maine as president, and he’s planning to attend a high-dollar campaign fundraiser in Freeport while he’s here.
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