During the Labor Day speech in Philadelphia, Biden exacerbated the differences with Trump

President Joe Biden capped his Labor Day speech Monday with several targeted attacks on former President Donald Trump, calling him the worst-jobs president since the Great Depression and ridiculing his reputation as a real estate mogul.

“The guy who held that post before me was just one of two presidents in history… to have left office with… less jobs in America than when he was elected to office,” Biden said, addressing union members before a parade in Philadelphia. “By the way, do you know who the other one was? Herbert Hoover. Isn’t that coincidental?”

Minutes later, the Democratic incumbent was boasting about his bipartisan infrastructure deal and setting a victory lap for an achievement Republican Trump eluded during his tenure.

“Guess what? The big real estate entrepreneur, the last one, he didn’t build anything,” Biden said. “Under my predecessor, infrastructure week became the punchline. Under my oversight, infrastructure is a decade ago and it’s a headline.”

Biden never mentioned Trump by name, although his target was obvious. At one point, viewers booed when he referred to “the last guy.” The president’s comments offered a glimpse of a new strategy that an adviser told NBC News will include a “more direct contrast” to Trump after Labor Day.

“When the last man got here, we shipped orders to China,” Biden said Monday. “Now we are bringing jobs home from China. When the last man got here, your pensions were in jeopardy. With your help, we have helped save millions of pensions. When the last man got here, he looked out at the world from Park Avenue. I’m looking at it from Scranton, Pennsylvania, I’m looking at it from Claymont, Delaware.

Steven Cheung, a spokesman for Trump’s campaign, responded by defending the former president’s record.

“President Trump created a booming economic recovery, and Record low unemployment for African Americans, Hispanics, Asian Americans and women,” Cheung said. “Joe Biden is the destroyer of America’s jobs and continues to fuel runaway inflation through reckless high government spending.” President Trump’s vision for America’s economic revival is lower taxes, higher paychecks and more jobs for American workers.”

youngest Survey of a hypothetical rematch between Biden and Trump in 2024 have shown an effective tie between the two. Both have a large lead over their declared main competitors.

Biden’s remarks on Monday focused heavily on economic and kitchen issues, repurposing common lines from his 2020 campaign speeches while belittling the accomplishments of his first term.

“All I hear from my friends on the other side is what they say America is wrong,” Biden said. “They keep telling us that America is failing. You are wrong. I have news for you: America has the strongest economy in the world right now and today.”