Biden responds to Trump saying he ‘deserted’ Pennsylvania

Former Vice President Joe Biden hit back at President Trump for saying the 2020 presidential candidate “deserted” Pennsylvania when he moved to Delaware. 

“Well folks, I’ve never forgotten where I came from. My family did have to leave Pennsylvania when I was 10 — we moved to Delaware where my Dad found a job that could provide for our family,” Biden said in a fundraising email to supporters on Tuesday

{mosads}“Let’s be clear: this isn’t just about me. This is proof that Donald Trump doesn’t understand the struggles working folks go through.”

Trump, who has focused more of his attacks on Biden than any other Democratic presidential contender, slammed the former vice president during a rally Monday for leaving Pennsylvania for Delaware, which he represented in the Senate for over 30 years. 

“Don’t forget: Biden deserted you. He’s not from Pennsylvania. I guess he was born here, but he left you, folks. He left you for another state. Remember that, please,” Trump said at a rally in Pennsylvania. “This guy talks about ‘I know Scranton.’ Well, I know the places better.” 

Biden has played up his Scranton roots and “Middle-Class Joe” nickname to suggest he understands the struggles of America’s blue-collar workers. He has sought to angle his campaign’s appeal to working-class voters in the Rust Belt. Democrats hope they will help them win Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin in 2020. 

Multiple reports have emerged that Trump and his allies believe Biden could pose the strongest threat to the president’s reelection out of the two dozen Democrats running in the primary.

Biden has swiftly emerged as the primary field’s pacesetter, topping every national poll since he announced his White House bid last month and hauling in millions of dollars in donations. Casting himself as the presumptive nominee, the former vice president has declined to attack his Democratic challengers and instead often directs his ire at Trump. 

“If the American people want a president to add to our division, to lead with a clenched fist, closed hand and a hard heart, to demonize the opponents and spew hatred, they don’t need me. They’ve got President Donald Trump,” he said Saturday at his official campaign launch.