MILWAUKEE — Get ready... 2024 will be here before you know it. President Joe Biden was in Milwaukee Wednesday. It was his third visit to a state he narrowly won in 2020.
It's not every day the presidential motorcade rolls through a Milwaukee neighborhood.
But President Biden's stop at a small business on 27th and Atkinson wasn't coincidental - it was intentional.
“It's good to see him in our neighborhood," said LaShonda Jordan, a single mom raising three children. "He can see what we are dealing with and what we are going through."
The city of Milwaukee overwhelmingly voted for Joe Biden in 2020 - but only by a few thousand more than Hillary Clinton in 2016 in her loss to Donald Trump. Voter turnout was about the same in the city in both elections.
In 2024, Biden is hoping for better.
The Biden-Harris team is already putting up political ads touting investments specifically in Milwaukee and surrounding neighborhoods about safer drinking water, bridge repairs, street improvements, and upgrades to Century City.
Bidenomics is a big part of the president's economic agenda. TMJ4'S Chief Political Reporter Charles Benson talked with Gene Sperling, a senior advisor to the president, about why Biden continues to get low job approval marks for his handling of the economy in poll and poll.
This year, inflation has fallen sharply, gas prices are down - wages are up and the labor market has been resilient, but the cost of living is still expensive.
Sterling believes working families are benefiting from big investments in infrastructure and American Rescue dollars to help with a post-COVID recovery.
"We take people's frustrations about prices very seriously," said Sperling. "The President considers lowering prices for working families at the very top of his agenda. And we're just going to keep doing everything we can to win those battles."
A battle that will be center stage in 2024. Republicans like Senator Ron Johnson pushing back on Biden's agenda.
"The dollar you held at the beginning of the Biden administration is now worth 85 cents," Johnson said. "So even though inflation is down, that damage is done, it's permanent, and wages aren't keeping up with the Biden inflation."
For Lashonda Jordan - inflation remains a concern but she's planning to vote for Biden next year.
"I feel like he's doing a great job," said LaShonda. "It's just like they say, everything takes time before you start seeing the results."
Results that could determine who wins Wisconsin and the White House next year.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
