It took former Vice President Joe Biden until the day before Michigan’s primary election to make his first campaign stop in Flint of the 2020 election cycle.
But should he win the nomination, Biden says voters can expect to see him in Flint more often.
“I take nothing for granted, I’ve seen all these polls, I remember Hillary [Clinton] was up 22 points, I don’t take anything for granted,” Biden said. “Rest assured, though, that if I get the nomination, you’re going to be seeing a lot of me in Flint and all across Michigan.”
Biden cited his past visits to Detroit and other areas of the state during the campaign stop as evidence that he understood the issues facing Michigan.
“I’ve been coming to Michigan for a long, long time. You’ve sent us an awful lot of really, really talented people. And, you know, I haven’t forgotten Flint either, and I’ll always be with you,” Biden said.
But Biden said problems like the ones facing Flint aren’t unique to Michigan.
“Every state I’m in they have a problem,” Biden said. “That’s why, for example, in this infrastructure proposal I have, we’d spend $100 million making sure we went to every school in the country to make sure the environment in that school, the water we drink is good, the air we’re breathing is solid. We have to invest. We have to invest in our people.”
Still, Biden said voters don’t want a revolution like his opponent, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), proposes. Instead, they want a president who will focus on fundamentals.
“We’re not looking for a revolution. What we ought to be able to do is trust the water that comes out of the pipes,” Biden said.
U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), who ended his presidential campaign in January and endorsed Biden on Monday, joined Biden at the event.
Booker said he endorsed Biden because they share a vision for bringing the nation together.
“With a wounded nation, it’s obvious to me that Joe Biden is a healer. It’s obvious to me that, at a time when our nation seems to be more about building walls, we need a president who is going to be a bridge builder,” Booker said. “We have had enough of a president that does demeaning. It’s time that we have a president that does redeeming.”
“This election is not about right or left, it’s about right or wrong,” Booker continued. “So I am with a person that I know will be about right doing.”
While Biden agreed healing the nation is important, he warned that it may not be possible if President Donald Trump is re-elected.
“We can handle four years of Donald Trump if we do it the right way. Your children and grandchildren will look at this time period as a historical aberration,” Biden said. “But eight years of Donald Trump would fundamentally alter the nature of who we are as a country.”
Sanders also made his first campaign stop in the city of the 2020 election cycle over the weekend, where he was scheduled to deliver remarks on race that he scrapped just before the event began.
Michigan voters will cast their ballots in the Democratic primary on March 10.