Now as the stretch run to the midterms begins, the White House is looking to aim big. The president over the next week will frame the stakes of the upcoming election as a referendum on democracy itself, while trying to push Democrats over the November finish line and lay the groundwork for himself in 2024.
It’s part of a blitz of upcoming travel, with aides wanting Biden to hit the road two or three times a week. Already, three stops have been planned for Pennsylvania alone, showcasing the importance of the battleground state for Democrats in both their 2022 state house and Senate bids, as well as in 2024 for, potentially, Biden’s own. It will culminate in what has become a totem for the president: the Labor Day parade in Pittsburgh. Biden marched there twice before when presidential speculation swirled around him, in 2015 and 2018. His appearance Monday, aides concede, will be closely watched for any possible hints about one last campaign.
Among Biden’s aides, the belief has begun to form that the worst may indeed be behind them. Even the president’s bout with Covid was seen, internally, as having a positive side effect: providing planners with far more leeway to get him on the road — the fear of infection having now been put off, at least, the next few months.
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