Joe Biden takes his first jab at Donald Trump over hush-money trial

WASHINGTON ― With the slightest of jabs Wednesday, President Joe Biden publicly acknowledged former President Donald Trump’s ongoing criminal trial in New York for the first time since it got underway.

“Under my predecessor − who’s busy right now,” Biden said in Pittsburgh, before comparing his Pennsylvania jobs record versus that of Trump, the Republican presumptive nominee.

There was little doubt what Biden was referencing. And the line, delivered during a speech at the United Steelworkers union’s headquarters, drew laughter in response.

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It’s the most attention Biden has given in public to Trump’s trial that began Monday involving hush-money payments he allegedly made to a former porn star. The trial could last as long as six to eight weeks, limiting Trump’s movements on the campaign trail.

During the first two days of a three-day campaign swing in the Granite State, Biden attacked Trump aggressively. He slammed Trump’s “Mar-a-Lago values,” referred to “Donald ‘Herbert Hoover’ Trump” and poked fun at the cratering stock performance of Truth Social, Trump’s social media company.

But he has refrained from discussing Trump’s trial, which picks back up Thursday, when jury selection will continue.

Biden has used his Pennsylvania campaign blitz, which includes a trip Thursday to Philadelphia, to make an economic case to working-class voters who both he and Trump are courting in Pennsylvania and key Midwest battleground states. Biden has sought to cast Trump as an out-of-touch elitist who cares about the rich and didn’t deliver on the manufacturing boom he promised.

Biden, in Pittsburgh rally, promises survival of US steel industry

Addressing steelworkers in Pittsburgh, Biden put his weight behind the survival of the long-battered U.S. steel industry, vowing that Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel Corporation will remain American-owned and threatening to raise tariffs on Chinese imports of steel and aluminum.

“I stand by you, the Americans steelworker,” said Biden, reiterating his opposition to the planned $14.9 billion sale of U.S. Steel − an iconic American brand for more than a century − to Japanese-based Nippon Steel Corporation.

“It should remain a totally American company: American-owned, American-operated by American union steelworkers, the best in the world,” Biden said. “And that’s going to happen, I promise you.”

Ahead of the November election, Biden is looking to improve Democratic performance with white working-class voters who lack college degrees, who have increasingly moved to the Republican camp in the Trump era.

On Wednesday, he turned his attention to China, embracing a trade tactic often deployed by Trump during his presidency by threatening to triple the 7.5% tariff rate on Chinese steel and aluminum to 25%.

Biden accused China of overproducing steel, flooding the global markets at artificially lower prices and undercutting American steel, which is subject to higher environmental standards during production.

“They’re not competing − they’re cheating. And we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said.

Biden ordered his United States trade representative, Katherine Tai, to conduct an investigation into China’s trade practices in shipbuilding following a petition by United Steelworkers that alleged China is pursuing aggressive non-market policies that have allowed it to dominate the global market.

Biden said if the investigation confirms “anti-competitive trade practices,” then he will advise Tai to triple the tariff rates.

Still, Biden sought to differentiate his tariff approach with his predecessor’s, slamming Trump’s proposals for “across-the-board tariffs on all imports from all countries that could badly hurt American consumers.” Biden said Trump’s tariff plan would cost the average American family an average of $1,500 a year.

“Trump simply doesn’t get it,” Biden said. “I’m not looking for a fight with China. I’m looking for competition, but fair competition.”

President Joe Biden speaks to members of the United Steel Workers Union at the United Steel Workers Headquarters on April 17, 2024 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Biden announced new actions to protect American steel and shipbuilding industries including hiking tariffs on Chinese steel.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Joe Biden takes his first jab at Donald Trump over hush-money trial