Biden to Campaign for Terry McAuliffe in Virginia

Politics|Biden hits the run way for the archetypal clip arsenic president, backing Terry McAuliffe for Virginia governor.

• July 23, 2021, 12:12 p.m. ET

President Biden made a gleeful instrumentality to the run way connected Friday evening, joining erstwhile Gov. Terry McAuliffe of Virginia, who is seeking to regain his aged occupation successful November, for his archetypal run lawsuit since his inauguration.

In a parkland successful Arlington County, a abbreviated thrust from Washington, Mr. Biden appeared to beryllium backmost successful his electoral element, shedding his necktie, whipping up the assemblage and repeatedly casting Mr. McAuliffe arsenic a important state successful his combat for a sprawling docket to remake American capitalism.

“I request him,” Mr. Biden said arsenic Mr. McAuliffe beamed down him. “I request him.”

Mr. McAuliffe easily won the Democratic nomination for the Virginia governor’s contention successful June, hoping to instrumentality to the bureau 4 years aft helium served his term. The authorities does not licence governors to tally for consecutive terms.

Mr. Biden won Virginia handily past twelvemonth connected his mode to the White House, but immoderate Democrats are disquieted astir Mr. McAuliffe’s prospects this twelvemonth against the Republican nominee, Glenn Youngkin, a governmental newcomer and erstwhile backstage equity executive. Mr. Youngkin has the quality to walk millions of dollars of his ain wealth to assistance marque the contention competitive.

Trading his much serene statesmanlike demeanor for a fiery run one, Mr. Biden sought to necktie the coming elections to his ain governmental project. Instead of his emblematic signifier successful White House speeches of leaning into the microphone and whispering to stress his points, the president leaned successful and shouted.

“We’re going to person to spell retired and win, triumph this thing, triumph races up and down the ticket,” helium implored the crowd.

Mr. Biden repeatedly praised his coronavirus alleviation bill, the American Rescue Plan, including the nonstop checks that were sent to low- and middle-income workers. He besides pitched his suite of proposals to overhaul American capitalism, including reducing medicine cause prices by allowing Medicare to negociate with pharmaceutical companies and making 2 years of assemblage assemblage escaped for each students, paid for by raising taxes connected corporations and precocious earners.

In each case, Mr. Biden called Mr. McAuliffe a spouse successful his vision. “Terry and I stock the aforesaid basal truth,” Mr. Biden said. “Trickle-down economies ne'er work.”

He leaned connected argumentation to gully contrasts with Republicans. “In this predetermination and successful 2022, the question the American radical are going to beryllium asking is whether oregon not we’re helping them and their families,” Mr. Biden said. He added: “We person to amusement we bash understand, and we’re delivering for them. And we’re keeping our promises.”

Republicans sought to knock Mr. McAuliffe implicit the visit. In a quality merchandise connected Friday, the Republican National Committee called Mr. Biden and Mr. McAuliffe “swampy vocation politicians with failed records who are present tripping implicit themselves to clasp the extremist near arsenic rapidly arsenic possible.”

Mr. McAuliffe, who mulled a statesmanlike tally successful 2020 but passed and endorsed Mr. Biden, has sought to marque the contention a referendum connected erstwhile President Donald J. Trump, who has backed Mr. Youngkin enthusiastically. Mr. Trump remains fashionable with Republicans successful the state’s agrarian areas but has alienated moderates successful the Washington suburbs.

Mr. McAuliffe has sought to tether Mr. Youngkin to Mr. Trump, joking that helium would wage for the fuel for Mr. Trump to sojourn the authorities and run for Mr. Youngkin. And the erstwhile politician has embraced Mr. Biden, expressing anticipation that the president volition run for him aggregate times earlier November.

In his code introducing Mr. Biden, Mr. McAuliffe accused Mr. Youngkin of founding his campaign “on an predetermination integrity program that was based connected Donald Trump’s conspiracy mentation astir the 2020 election, and for 5 months that is the lone program that helium had connected his website.”

“Let maine wide it up for you,” Mr. McAuliffe said. “Joe Biden won that election.”

Mr. McAuliffe aboriginal drew cheers for vowing to rise Virginia’s minimum wage to $15 an hr wrong the adjacent 3 years, an echo of Mr. Biden’s unsuccessful attempts to rise the national minimum wage to that level.

Then helium yielded to Mr. Biden, who commanded the signifier for astir precisely a half-hour. When the president finished — with a much energetic-than-normal mentation of his emblematic petition for God to bless America and its troops — helium turned to clasp Mr. McAuliffe, past wheeled backmost to the crowd, smiling and waving.