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President Joe Biden on Friday was visiting the Cincinnati area to talk up priorities such as a China competition bill and a new 3D printing program, but a key fellow Democrat — the party’s Ohio Senate nominee Tim Ryan — wasn’t expected to take part in Biden’s events.
Ryan’s absence likely reflects how Democrats in tough races feel the need to keep their distance from the president, who is facing low approval ratings and getting blamed for high inflation.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki played down the lawmaker’s absence and noted the involvement of Ohio’s two senators in the day’s events — Democrat Sherrod Brown and Republican Rob Portman, whose upcoming retirement has led to the race between Ryan and GOP nominee J.D. Vance.
“My understanding is Congressman Ryan has to attend a funeral and had other events he needed to attend,” Psaki told reporters on Air Force One on Friday.
“The president remains in close touch with him and is obviously very supportive of him, and he’s looking forward to having both senators from Ohio there today.”
A Republican win is expected in Ohio’s Senate race, with betting market PredictIt giving an 84% chance of victory for the GOP. Vance, the author of “Hillbilly Elegy,” won the GOP primary on Tuesday, buoyed by Donald Trump’s endorsement in a race that was a test of the former president’s position in the party.
In a speech at United Performance Metals in Hamilton, Biden repeated his call for Congress to pass a bipartisan innovation and competition bill. Such legislation is expected to include more than $50 billion in subsidies for chipmakers
SMH,
SOXX,
along with billions more for other industries to build out U.S. manufacturing capacity.
“Pass the damn bill and send it to me,” Biden said.
The president also touted a new 3D printing initiative that involves GE Aviation
GE,
Honeywell
HON,
Lockheed Martin
LMT,
and other big companies. It’s called AM Forward, with AM standing for additive manufacturing.
“AM Forward will help lower costs for American families by improving the competitiveness of America’s small-and-medium-sized manufacturers, creating and sustaining high-paying manufacturing jobs, and improving supply-chain resilience through adoption of additive manufacturing,” the White House said in a news release.
DJIA,
traded sharply lower Friday, a day after enduring their biggest daily drop since 2020.
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