Biden Counters Trump’s ‘America First’ With ‘Build Back Better’ Economic Plan

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Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, here at a health care event in June, is rolling out a series of planks in his economic plan before the Democratic National Convention.





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Senior campaign officials previewed Biden’s economic proposals in a call to reporters Wednesday, saying the «aggressive plan is not just a response to Trump’s «mismanagement of the coronavirus crisis.

«Even before COVID-19, the Trump administration was pursuing economic policies that rewarded wealth over work, and corporations over working families, a senior Biden official said.

Earlier this week, Biden spoke about the need to onshore more American goods — especially vital medical equipment and pharmaceuticals — for the U.S. to deal with future crises without relying on goods from China or elsewhere.

That’s an issue Trump has also stressed, with his «America First economic and trade policies.

Trump’s reelection campaign on Thursday launched a new television ad blasting what the campaign called «Biden’s dangerous and foolish record of supporting disastrous trade deals, resulting in the destruction of millions of American jobs.

The Biden campaign says his plan will also tackle structural economic inequalities.

«Vice President Biden truly believes that this is no time to just build back to the way things were before, with the economy’s same old structural weaknesses and inequalities still in place, a senior Biden official said. «This, he believes, is the moment to imagine and build a new American economy for our families and next generation, an economy where every American enjoys a fair return for their work and an equal chance to get ahead.

Thursday’s speech is the first in a series of planned rollouts in the lead-up to the Democratic National Convention in August. Biden subsequently will address other planks of his economic plan, including infrastructure, child care and racial inequality.

On Wednesday, Biden’s «unity task forces with Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont released a 110-page policy wish list of recommendations for the former vice president. The document was the result of six joint task forces appointed by Biden and Sanders in May.