Biden argues key to fighting inflation is buying American

President Biden on Wednesday argued that a key action to combatting rising inflation in the U.S. is making more goods in America.

“We have a choice. One way to fight inflation is drive down wages and make Americans poor. I have a better way to fight inflation: lower your costs, not your wages,” Biden said in remarks at the University of Wisconsin-Superior.

The visit to Minnesota and Wisconsin comes a day after he delivered the State of the Union address, which focused largely on tackling rising prices, an issue that has taken a toll on Biden’s approval ratings and puts Democrats at risk of losing their congressional majorities in the midterm elections. 

“We’re going to make more cars and semiconductors in America, more infrastructure innovation in America, more goods moving faster and cheaper in America, more jobs that you can earn a living, a good living by here in America. Instead of relying on foreign supply chains, let’s make it in America again,” he added.

The president mentioned his “Buy American” initiative and companies that are building factories in the U.S., like Intel, which invested $20 billion to build chip factories in Ohio.

“I am truly more optimistic about America today than I’ve ever been, and I really mean it. We’re on a path to win the economic competition of the 21^st century that we face with the rest of the world,” he said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Biden and first lady Jill Biden visited the John Blatnik Memorial Bridge in Duluth, which connects Minnesota and Wisconsin, and spoke to ironworkers and members of Congress.

In his remarks, Biden said that the bridge is 61 years old and “the corrosion over the years has lowered the weight it can sustain and safely handle.”

He compared it to the bridge in Pittsburgh that collapsed in January, just hours before he was set to visit the city to discuss the infrastructure law. 

“For the same reasons, this bridge is in trouble,” he said. 

He said that 979 bridges in Wisconsin and 661 bridges in Minnesota are in poor condition, and nearly 7,000 miles of highway between the two states need repair. 

The bipartisan infrastructure law, which the president signed in November, funds $400 billion total in bridge repairs and $12.5 billion to fix the most economically significant bridges, like the Blatnik Bridge.

“I sure don’t want you to miss any of the Vikings and Packers game. Oh man, you guys talk to one another? We don’t much in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, but that’s another story,” Biden quipped. 

Over the next five years, the infrastructure law is expected to provide Minnesota and Wisconsin with $5.4 billion each in funding for highway and bridge repairs.

“Now after years of talking about infrastructure, we’re finally getting it done. Finally,” Biden said.

“By the way, instead of infrastructure week, we’re going to have an infrastructure decade. Decade,” he added, repeating a line from his State of the Union address. 

Biden began his remarks in Wisconsin talking about the “premeditated and unprovoked” Russian invasion into Ukraine and the coordinated response from the U.S. and allies against Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“He thought the West and NATO wouldn’t respond, he thought they could divide us at home, but he was wrong. We were ready,” he said. “Now the free world is holding him accountable.”