July 06, 2024
Max Correa/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
President Biden will speak at a church in Philly on Sunday. His campaign canceled a stop at the National Education Association's annual conference after NEA staffers announced a strike. Above is Biden at a campaign stop in Madison, Wisconsin on Friday.
President Joe Biden has new plans to speak at a predominantly Black church in Philadelphia on Sunday after his reelection campaign canceled initial plans elsewhere.
The campaign said that Biden will give remarks after Sunday services in the morning, though it did not specify which church or what time the speech will take place. In the afternoon, Biden will then travel to the Harrisburg area for an ice cream social at a Biden-Harris campaign office.
Biden was originally going to speak at the National Education Association's annual conference, pulling out because the union representing NEA's staffers declared a strike. NEASO, the staff union, is picketing outside the Pennsylvania Convention Center and the NEA has halted its remaining programming.
Sunday's campaign stop comes at a crucial time for Biden, who is facing calls from within his own party to drop out from the presidential race after a highly criticized debate performance on June 27.
On Friday, Biden appeared in Madison, Wisconsin, telling the crowd at a campaign speech that he would not step down. Also that night, ABC News aired an interview with Biden, with George Stephanopoulos asking the president questions about his age, cognitive ability and polling against former President Donald Trump.
Speaking to Stephanopoulos, Biden characterized the debate as a "bad night" and had a "really bad cold," and that his poor performance was "nobody's fault" but his own. As to what would convince him to stand aside from the race, Biden said only "the Lord Almighty" could do so.
As of Saturday morning, five Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives have called for Biden to exit the race.
Biden has campaigned in Philadelphia several times for the 2024 presidential race, most recently at Girard College in May with Vice President Kamala Harris in an effort to court Black voters. Recently, Trump made a speech at Temple University on June 22.
