Joe Biden received a not-so-warm welcome upon his arrival to his hometown of Scranton, Penn. on Wednesday. Biden was serenaded with boos and expletives yelled by angry residents as his motorcade drove through the town.
Biden has proclaimed for nearly five decades that he was born and raised in Scranton, Penn. before he and his family moved to Wilmington, Del. when he was 10 years old.
Despite his roots in the blue-collar town, his fellow residents did not offer him well wishes as the presidential motorcade made its way through town.
Biden spoke to workers at the Electric City Trolley Museum to promote the $3.5 trillion infrastructure bill that he claimed will cost Americans zero dollars. During his speech, Biden embarrassingly attempted to claim that he was Vice President of the United States for 36 years despite the fact that he served two terms for eight years.
Although he was certified as the winner of Pennsylvania in 2020, polling has indicated that Biden is strongly disliked by the residents of his proclaimed home state. A Civiqs poll from October reported that only 40 percent of Pennsylvanians approved of Joe Biden, while 52 percent did not.
Biden is blatantly unpopular nationwide as well. According to RealClearPolitics, less than 43 percent of Americans support Biden, while more than 51 percent dislike him. Biden’s approval ratings have been dismally low considering he allegedly received more than 81 million votes in the 2020 presidential election, which would be the most votes for any candidate in the history of the United States.
Scranton residents expressed their distaste for Biden during his visit to his blue-collar hometown. Dozens of residents turned their backs on him as his motorcade drove through the town, citing that he has failed the country with the border crisis, eliminating thousands of jobs with the cancellation of the keystone pipeline, increasing gas prices, and vaccine mandates.
“We do not have a king or a monarch here, we have a president that is elected, and we are able to criticize our elected officials, and that’s what we’re here to do,” said Dave Ragan, a Scranton resident. “We’re here to let them know that there is another side to this and he is not the most popular president in the history of our country.”
Nearly 270,000 Pennsylvanians work in the energy sector according to the state’s 2019 energy employment report. Biden has promised to eliminate fossil fuels, including a provision in the multi-trillion dollar bill that punishes facilities that use them.
Amid Biden’s growing unpopularity in the Keystone State, rising inflation and supply shortages have affected residents throughout the swing state. The 2022 senate and gubernatorial election results will be largely decided based off of the ongoing crisis surrounding the Biden administration.
