First Lady Jill Biden launches new veteran initiative in Wilmington
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — First Lady Jill Biden took to the stage at Hi-Wire Brewing in Wilmington on Monday. Dr. Biden was in the port city to announce the formation of Veterans and Military Families for Biden-Harris, an initiative aimed at gaining traction with veteran voters.
The first lady also made stops in Tampa, FL and Columbus, GA on Monday. All three states have among the largest veteran and military family populations in the country. In her remarks, Dr. Biden touted her husband’s commitment to veterans and their families.
“Members of our military honor their oath to support and defend the constitution. We cannot trust Donald Trump to do the same. The military community deserves better,” Biden said.
The first lady’s visit follows President Biden’s visit to Wilmington in May, and Former President Trump’s planned rally in April that was postponed due to weather. Both candidates have made clear that campaigning in the state is a top priority.
North Carolina House Representative Deb Butler said this year North Carolina is the state to watch.
“We are a battleground state,” Butler said. “You’re hearing it more and more and more and so, so goes North Carolina is going to go to the White House I believe.”
Veteran and Third Vice Chair of The New Hanover County Democratic Party Ian Appling feels that Trump did not uphold his commitment to veterans during his time in office.
“Trump did not live up to his promises,” Appling noted. “Not to mention after January 6th, which we feel, especially as veterans, feel like that was a big dig at what we had fought to defend.”
As calls for President Biden to step down from the nomination grow, Biden supporter Sonya Patrick said now is the time for the party to rally.
“We have too much at stake for him to step aside. It’s better now to just focus and move forward, that’s just one debate,” Patrick said.
Representative Butler agrees.
“Good debate performance does not a president make. We know historically that debate performance is not a variable, it’s not a factor,” Butler said. “Just look at Ronald Regan. He was old, and didn’t do well in debates either. So, you know what, we’ll judge the man on his character, we’ll judge him on his policies, we’ll judge him on integrity and honesty.”
In response to the first lady’s visit, the New Hanover County Republican Party released a statement that reads:
“First Lady Jill Biden owes members of our military an apology after her husband lied when he said in front of 50 million Americans that no U.S. service members died ‘on his watch.’ That lie dishonors the soldiers killed at the Abbey Gate due to his disastrous and weak withdrawal from Afghanistan.”
The statement continues…
“The Biden administration has lied, ignored the pain of those families’ soldiers, and as we all know, has committed the coverup of the century with the president’s own health. Those are the questions reporters should be getting answers to today.”
