President Joe Biden gives speech at NHTI in New Hampshire
President Joe Biden visited New Hampshire on Tuesday to tout health care and prescription drug cost savings through legislation passed during his term.
The event the New Hampshire Technical Institute in Concord came in the context that Tuesday’s trip is likely the last visit Biden will make to New Hampshire as president.
>> See raw video of Biden’s speech in Concord
Before the president took the stage, there were a lot of familiar faces — longtime allies of the president — who spoke, including members of the congressional delegation who aren’t currently running for reelection.
Part of the warm-up act was Sen. Bernie Sanders, of Vermont, who was right at home railing against big pharmaceutical companies.
>> Arrival raw videos: Air Force One flies over Manchester | Air Force One lands safely, Biden steps off plane
Sanders said one out of four Americans can’t afford the drugs their doctors prescribe and that taking action to cut prescription drug costs will lower cost of care, lower insurance costs and lower out-of-pocket spending on health care.
When the president took the stage, he covered a lot of the same ground and even though this was an official White House event and not a campaign event, he couldn’t resist taking a shot at former President Donald Trump, going after his former opponent on the issue of health care.
“I’m trying to be a very good fellow. I’m not letting my Irish get the best of me. But my predecessor, the distinguished former president, he wants to replace the Affordable Care Act with what he calls, this is how he refers to it, a concept of a plan. I’ve heard that ‘concept of a plan’ now for almost eight years. ‘A concept of a plan.’ What the hell is a ‘concept of a plan’? He has no concept of anything,” Biden said.
After wrapping up his remarks, Biden visited New Hampshire Democratic Party headquarters for a campaign side event in support of Vice President Kamala Harris.
There, Biden threw his support behind the Democratic ticket up and down the ballot in New Hampshire.
Former Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig, the Democratic candidate for governor, and Maggie Goodlander, a Democrat running in the 2nd Congressional District, introduced the president.
Biden thanked the crowd for their work to elect Democrats.
He said right now is a critical moment, saying that if Trump wins the White House, all the work that Democrats have done over the last four years could unravel.
“If Trump wins, this nation changes. There’s only two things we can do, guarantee that he doesn’t, or if he does, make sure that we have the strongest Democratic majority we can get,” Biden said.
Biden is headed back to Washington, D.C. He’s set to travel back to the White House on Tuesday night.
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The visit was Biden’s third to the state this year. In March, he visited Goffstown and Manchester, while later in May, he stopped by Nashua and Merrimack.
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