Scranton And Pennsylvania Play Key Role In Run-Up To Joe Biden's Acceptance Speech
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Thursday is the last night of the Democratic National Convention when Joe Biden officially accepts his party's nomination.
But a short time ago, President Trump spoke at a kitchen and bath remodeling company just outside Scranton, where Biden was born.
It reinforces how important Pennsylvania is to both candidates.
Traditionally when one presidential candidate speaks to his Convention, the other candidate lays low. But President Trump is anything but traditional.
On Thursday, he was in Scranton just hours before a Scranton-born native accepts the Democratic nomination to be President. His visit as one of Scranton's political sons, Joe Biden, speaks to the Nation brought swift reaction from another Scranton-born native.
"We know what the President's visit is all about. The President is coming to Old Forge, Lackawanna County, to smear Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. There's just no question about that. They've already told us that.," said U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, a Scranton Democrat.
But the President's visit highlights the importance of this state.
"If the president wins Pennsylvania again, as he did four years ago, he will in fact be reelected," Tim Murtaugh, the communications director for the Trump/Pence campaign, told KDKA political editor Jon Delano on Thursday.
Both sides agree with that, and that explains why the Democrats will hype Biden's Pennsylvania roots while the Trump campaign minimizes them.
"Joe Biden was born in Scranton, but he left Scranton 70 years ago and for the last half century has been working every single day on economic failure for the people of Pennsylvania and the rest of the country," says Murtaugh.
"Now they're really going to make an argument that Joe Biden doesn't have real roots in Scranton? Here are the facts. Joe Biden was about 10 years old. He had family that remained here," responds Casey.
Casey says Biden spent summers in Scranton growing up, and, he adds, "He spent a lot of time here as a United States senator and sometimes actually helping our region as a senator from Delaware."
That debate aside, Thursday evening is Joe Biden's night at the Convention, following remarks from runners-up like Corey Booker, Pete Buttigieg and Andrew Yang.
And nobody should be surprised if Biden pays homage to Scranton, Pennsylvania, in this must-win state for the presidency.