In Nevada, Biden defends his promise to cut rent while criticising Trump

LAS VEGAS: US President Joe Biden used the previous president’s catchphrase to criticise Republican candidate Donald Trump’s policies and to emphasise promises to reduce housing prices during trips around Nevada on Tuesday. Biden also took aim at high rents.
“Affordable housing is necessary,” said Biden in Las Vegas. “For too many people, the dream of having a home – it feels out of reach.”

Biden borrowed the catchphrase of his Republican opponent, “make America great again.” Promoting a minimal tax on billionaires, he said, “we could invest in things that make America great again: childcare, a whole range of things we could do.”
Subsequently, Biden visited Arizona, another battleground state that may be significant in the rerun of the presidential race in November.

“This election isn’t a referendum on me, it’s between me and a guy named Trump,” Biden said.
Since sharply criticising Trump’s politics in his State of the Union address this month, Biden—who is facing a formidable opponent in Trump—has been touring a number of battleground states and outlining policies he hopes to carry out if granted a second, four-year term. According to the most recent Reuters/Ipsos poll, Biden leads Trump by one percentage point among registered voters.
White House officials accused Trump’s government of not doing enough to address housing expenses, citing concerns about rising rents and mortgage interest rates as factors in voters’ pessimistic opinions about the economy.
Trump, for his part, has criticised Biden for his economic policies and for being in charge of inflation, which has hurt people all throughout the country. Although the yearly rise in inflation was the lowest in three years, prices increased in January. Trump has suggested creating new “freedom cities” on federal property, in part to expand the availability of housing.
Republican National Committee spokeswoman Rachel Lee said, “The two biggest barriers to home ownership are high interest rates and skyrocketing costs of living, both driven by Joe Biden’s failed economic policy.”
In an attempt to increase housing inventory at the lower end of the market, Biden’s housing plan, which would need congressional passage and might be difficult to accomplish in an election year, includes a $10,000 mortgage relief tax credit for first-time homebuyers and a $10,000 tax credit for those selling “starter” homes.
According to the White House, his proposal also calls for tax credits to support the construction of more housing units, actions against “rent gouging by corporate landlords,” and an extension of the low-income housing tax credit programme.
Following the agreement last week by the National Association of Realtors to settle fees-related antitrust action, Biden urged real estate brokerages to “follow through and lower commissions.”
After speaking at a Mexican restaurant in the Phoenix region, Biden launched an organisation aimed at involving Latino voters, which he did after visiting Reno and Las Vegas.
If Biden is to win in swing state contests that are predicted to be tight and determine who wins the November election, he will need the unwavering support of Democratic and Black voters.
Younger voters and Arab Americans have taken offence at the president for backing Israel in the Gaza War. In the previous two months, it led to large-scale, symbolic protest votes cast by Democrats in “uncommitted” races in Michigan, Minnesota, Hawaii, and North Carolina.
The Abandon Biden campaign in Arizona encouraged people to vote for writer Marianne Williamson in Tuesday’s Democratic primary since “uncommitted” is not an option there. Last Thursday, Biden was able to earn the delegates required to win his party’s candidature.
Arizona was narrowly won by Biden in the general election of 2020 by 10,457 votes, and research indicates that Muslims account for 1% to 1.5% of the state’s almost 8 million residents. In Nevada, Biden prevailed by 33,596 votes. More over thirty percent of people in both Western states are Latino.