On Thursday, President Joe Biden announced a new initiative for North Carolina to receive $82 million in funding to increase access to high-speed internet for 16,000 households and businesses. This is part of the ongoing efforts to improve the state of the United States, according to Biden.

Biden, the current Democratic leader seeking re-election, intertwined his economic platform with some criticisms of his predecessor, Donald Trump, who is currently the frontrunner for the Republican nomination and expected to be his main opponent in the future.

Biden mentioned a recent statement made by Trump in which he expressed a desire for the economy to collapse before the November election, as he does not want to be responsible for any job losses if reelected. Biden compared Trump to Herbert Hoover, who was in office during the 1929 stock market crash.

According to Biden, Trump is the only president to serve a four-year term and experience job losses.

According to Biden, the efforts of his administration in North Carolina, such as improving high-speed internet and infrastructure, are also taking place in other communities throughout the nation, regardless of political affiliations.

“The actions we are taking in North Carolina are just one part of a larger narrative,” he stated. Biden reiterated his commitment to being a leader for all of America, regardless of who voted for him.

During his speech, Biden discussed the importance of high-speed internet for individuals working remotely, businesses seeking to connect with customers, and students completing their school assignments.

He stated in the capital city of Raleigh that high-speed internet is no longer a luxury, but a vital requirement. He also emphasized that investing in high-speed internet can lead to better employment opportunities.

The focus of Biden’s campaign for reelection is to secure victory in the state of North Carolina and its 16 electoral votes. In the previous election, the Democrat narrowly lost to Trump by a margin of 1.34 percentage points. It is anticipated that they will compete against each other once again in the upcoming November election.

North Carolina, a rapidly developing state, is seen as a key state in presidential elections. However, only two Democratic candidates have secured the state’s electoral votes in the past four decades: Jimmy Carter in 1976 and Barack Obama in 2008.

In both 2016 and 2020, Trump emerged as the victor in the state. This was largely due to a significant increase in rural and non-urban Republican voter turnout, which helped overcome the growing Democratic dominance in Raleigh and Charlotte.

The state legislature is controlled by a slim majority of Republicans, who also hold a veto-proof power. The state Supreme Court is also mostly comprised of Republicans. Despite this, voters seem to be content with having a Democrat as the state’s chief executive, even if they oppose the GOP’s recent actions such as implementing stricter abortion laws and promoting private school vouchers. Since 1993, Democrats have held the governorship for a majority of the time, with only four years of Republican leadership.

Governor Roy Cooper, a Democrat who is unable to run for re-election this year due to term limits, addressed Biden on Thursday, offering his support and condemning Trump.

Cooper expressed his desire for a president who prioritizes the well-being of the American people over their own personal interests, rather than one who is self-centered.

Recent polls indicate that the state of the economy has been a challenge for President Biden, likely due to the sharp rise in inflation in June 2022, the highest in 40 years. Despite some improvement in inflation rates, Biden’s approval ratings have not returned to their initial levels when he first took office. While the president has acknowledged the struggles of Americans dealing with increased inflation, he has also emphasized that his policies are aimed at creating well-paying jobs in manufacturing and construction for the middle class.

Biden highlighted the correlation between job growth and overall economic growth as he discussed the impact of his pandemic relief package and the recent infrastructure legislation on federal project funding.

The president then went to Cook Out and purchased a burger, fries, and shake. Following this, he hosted a “kitchen table conversation” at the home of a family who had benefited from the administration’s programs for forgiving student loans.

The government is allocating $3 billion towards constructing and financing internet access in North Carolina. It is projected that an extra 300,000 people in the state will have the ability to connect to the internet by the end of 2026.

The administration claims to have decreased expenses for families by offering reduced internet rates to 880,000 households in North Carolina. However, they are urging Congress to extend the Affordable Connectivity Program, which is currently projected to run out of funding in April. According to the administration, this program has aided 22 million individuals in saving $30 to $75 on their monthly internet costs.

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This report was contributed to by writers Gary D. Robertson in Raleigh, North Carolina and Darlene Superville in Washington, D.C.

Source: wral.com