News & Politics
Five for Friday: Pennsylvania’s presidential power
Biden’s State of the Union and campaign plans have the commonwealth written all over them
US President Joe Biden delivers his annual State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress in the House chamber at the Capital building on March 7, 2024 in Washington, DC Photo by Shawn Thew - Pool/Getty Images
There is no slow news Friday following a State of the Union address, especially in a critical election year.
President Joe Biden delivered an hour-plus stemwinder Thursday night that touched on domestic and foreign policy achievements and setting the stage for the November election against former President Donald Trump.
Intrinsic to the spectacle: the many guests, gripes and guesses that go into and come out of the president’s nationwide speech. And this year in particular, Pennsylvanians and the commonwealth itself were and will continue to be in the headlines heading into the general election.
City & State has your Five for Friday, breaking down the connections to the commonwealth that may have been missed during last night’s State of the Union address.
Parker and O’Rourke’s moments
Two of Philadelphia’s newest officeholders got their moment in the spotlight last night. Mayor Cherelle Parker was the guest of Philadelphia U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans. Parker reportedly spent Thursday afternoon meeting with the Pennsylvania delegation and Democratic leadership.
A third party got involved, too. Newcomer Philadelphia City Councilmember Nicolas O’Rourke delivered the progressive rebuttal to Biden’s speech on behalf of the Working Families Party, which also sees O’Rourke as a rising star within its ranks. O’Rourke, mentioning his upbringing in a “proud, Black, working-class union family,” gave congressional Democrats praise for investments in communities and jobs but said more progress was thwarted by “corporate Democrats” working “alongside Republicans to block some of our most needed fixes.”
He ended by stating that systemic change is possible but not without “a president that listens to the people – and a united movement of working people, standing together across differences to create change.”
Bobby Casey
The commonwealth’s senior senator got a direct shoutout from the president, with Biden referencing Sen. Bob Casey’s legislation that seeks to crack down on corporations shrinking products without reducing prices – a dynamic that’s become known as shrinkflation.
“Snack companies think you won’t notice when they charge you just as much for the same size bag, but with fewer chips in it,” Biden said. “Pass Bobby Casey’s bill and stop shrinkflation.”
Congressional companions
Parker wasn’t the only noteworthy guest invited by a member of the state’s congressional delegation.
Special guests from across the commonwealth traveled to Washington, D.C. for Biden’s State of the Union, including educators, first responders and various advocates. Democratic U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright brought Scranton Police Detective Kyle Gilmartin, who was injured in a January shooting in Scranton and is currently recovering. Republican U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick invited Pennsbury High School senior Jake Woodard, and U.S. Rep. Glenn Thompson, the chair of the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture, brought Pennsylvania Farm Bureau President Chris Hoffman to the event.
Summer Lee makes a statement
There were several outfits worn by members of Congress that were meant to make a statement at Thursday’s State of the Union. There was Republican U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who donned buttons, a red jacket and a “Make America Great Again” hat, which drew a viral response from the president. Many women in the House Democratic Caucus wore white in support of reproductive rights. And three progressive Democrats – Reps. Rashida Tlaib, Cori Bush and Pennsylvania’s Summer Lee – wore black-and-white keffiyehs, a type of traditional Palestinian scarf, to bring attention to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war and the Palestinian people, according to Yahoo News.
Biden’s visit
Stop us if you’ve heard this before – Pennsylvania will play a pivotal role in the presidential election. The commonwealth’s clout is apparent given that Biden’s first public appearance following Thursday’s State of the Union address will be in the Keystone State. Biden is traveling to the Philadelphia suburbs Friday to hold a rally at Strath Haven Middle School in Wallingford.