2024 election is about character, not age, Jill Biden says at Charlotte campaign event
The 2024 presidential election is not about the age of the candidates, first lady Jill Biden said at a campaign event in Charlotte Tuesday.
Speaking to a lively but intimate crowd at a home in the Sedgefield neighborhood, Biden said the election is about character, wisdom and ability. She said her husband, President Joe Biden, 81, wakes up thinking about the lives of the American people, but former President Donald Trump, 78, wakes up thinking of himself.
The first lady was joined by Mayor Vi Lyles at the event, which was attended by around 70 people. Attendees enjoyed refreshments and mingled while they waited for Biden’s remarks, which took place in the home’s living room.
Over a 12-minute speech, Jill Biden described her husband as a resilient and strong leader who will shoulder any burden for the country. She described Trump as a danger to women and families.
“MAGA Republicans are trying to drag us back to a dark and dangerous past,” Biden said. “Courts are stripping away our most basic freedoms, states are gutting voting laws and banning books. Extremists are waging battles over our choices and our futures.”
The Biden-Harris campaign has prioritized organizing in North Carolina, and in Mecklenburg County, to defeat Trump in the 2024 election.
Biden’s visit to Charlotte was her second this year. In February, she visited Atrium Health Levine Center to speak about the Biden Cancer Moonshot Program, an effort to fight cancer.
The first lady will be back in North Carolina later this week during a campaign event Friday in the Raleigh area. The event comes the day after the president and Trump debate each other in the first presidential debate.
Last month, Vice President Kamala Harris visited Charlotte to discuss a federal proposal to eliminate medical debt on credit reports. In April, Harris announced the opening of a campaign office in uptown.
NCGOP Communications Director Matt Mercer emailed a statement Tuesday evening about the first lady’s visit.
“In yet another visit to Charlotte, the First Lady was unable to explain why North Carolina families are paying more for gas and groceries or why letting 10 million illegals immigrants into our nation through the open Southern border was good for our nation,” Mercer wrote. “President Biden has a lot to answer for when he comes out of hiding Thursday night.”
In 2020, Trump beat Biden by 1.3% in North Carolina. Recent polls show Trump leading Biden in the state by 5.7%.
Near the end of her remarks, Jill Biden asked attendees to remember the morning after Trump was declared the winner of the 2016 election. Many people sighed and moaned.
“We cannot let that happen again, because I cannot wake up with that feeling again,” she said.
