(The Center Square) – Drumming up support for his reelection bid, and distributing taxpayer money approved three years ago, President Joe Biden campaigned in North Carolina on Thursday afternoon.
The first-term Democrat’s signature move for the quick visit was announcing an $82 million investment that would enable 16,000 households to get connected to high-speed internet. The president, under investigation by the Oversight Committee in the House of Representatives for business deals involving his family, is seeking to join former Presidents Jimmy Carter (1976) and Barack Obama (2008) as the only Democrats to win the state since Lyndon Johnson 60 years ago.
A release from the White House says the overall investment is “$3 billion in North Carolina to lower costs for families and connect everyone in the state to affordable, reliable high-speed internet.”
The $82 million comes from the American Rescue Plan, part of the $1.9 trillion stimulus package of 2021 that included $1,400 checks to most Americans during the pandemic. The $3 billion is from the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed in November 2021.
“It’s just as essential today as electricity was a century ago,” Biden said of high-speed internet, and access to it by all. “High-speed internet isn’t a luxury anymore. It’s an absolute necessity.”
He pledged his administration would bring “universal high-speed internet in all of North Carolina by the end of this decade.”
Biden’s award is going to a state whose 16 Electoral College votes he covets and his campaign says will be among its most sought.
The administration believes 300,000 more residents will be able to access the internet by the end of 2026. Biden is asking Congress to not allow the Affordable Connectivity Program to sunset in April. Customers save $30 to $75 a month on internet bills through the initiative.
Biden spoke from the Abbotts Creek Community Center in Raleigh. He shared his ideas on America’s infrastructure, lowering costs and supporting small businesses. The president said unemployment has achieved a consistency not seen in 50 years, household wealth is up, and said “mortgage rates are falling and they’re going to fall more.”
A 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 2.7% when Biden took the oath of office. It is 6.6% today.
The president’s campaign says Bidenomics is working well. Of more than 2,500 likely voters polled Jan. 2-4, some 59% disapproved of the job Biden is doing, and 58% disapproved of the job he is doing handling the economy. Results are in The Center Square Voters’ Voice Poll, a national sampling recognized by industry leaders RealClear and FiveThirtyEight.
America’s worst inflation in 40 years has come under this president’s watch. In January 2021, he inherited 1.4% inflation, changed a number of policies immediately, and the percentage rose eight times by November 2021 to 7.0%. It peaked at 9.1% in June 2022, decreased as low as 3.1% this past October, and has risen each of the last two months to 4.1%.
“I’m optimistic,” Biden said as his speech drew to a close. “I’ve been around for awhile. I’ve never been more optimistic about America’s prospects than I have been for the last three years. Nothing is beyond our capacity when we work together.”
