Here are 6 takeaways from Biden's visit to Milwaukee and what it means for 2024

President Joe Biden visited a crucial voting bloc for Democrats on Wednesday, making a stop in Milwaukee to highlight his administration's support for Black-owned businesses in the battleground state of Wisconsin.

Biden's visit comes as Democrats are looking to shore up support among Black voters in Wisconsin as enthusiasm is in short supply for a potential 2020 rematch next fall, according to recent polling.

The president visited the Wisconsin Black Chamber of Commerce in Milwaukee to announce new directives intended to support small businesses. He pointed to progress made through legislation like the American Rescue Plan and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in remarks to a historically Democratic audience.

Here are takeaways about his visit and what it highlights about the importance of Black voters in Milwaukee as the 2024 presidential election draws closer:

Biden blasts Trump on immigrant comment

In Milwaukee, Biden promised Black workers would benefit from his administration's economic strategy that he described as a shift from former President Donald Trump's focus on cutting tax burdens for wealthy Americans.

"This a fundamental break from trickle-down economics ... economics that was supercharged by my predecessor, the guy who thinks we're polluting the blood of Americans," Biden said, referring to a comment Trump recently made about immigrants who enter the U.S. illegally.

"... illegal immigration is poisoning the blood of our nation," Trump wrote in all caps in a post on his social media site Truth Social on Dec. 16.

"I don't believe as ... the former president said again yesterday, that immigrants are polluting our blood," Biden said. "The economy in our nation is stronger when we're tapping into the full range of talents in this nation."

Largest cheers for efforts to reduce Black child poverty

Biden said he would continue to pursue an extension to pandemic-era child tax credits that he credited with cutting poverty rates for Black children in half, which drew the most applause.

"I've tried to extend it and every single Republican (congressperson) in Congress voted against continuing the program but I'm not giving up until we get it back," he said.

Biden stopped at Hero Plumbing before his speech

Biden first made a stop in the Garden Homes neighborhood to visit Hero Plumbing owner Rashawn Spivey, who demonstrated his work in replacing lead pipes.“This was a really nice neighborhood before the manufacturing left,” Spivey said, noting the loss of a high-rise corporation just blocks away.Biden later highlighted the loss of manufacturing in his speech at the chamber and said "we're making sure Milwaukee is coming back, and all of Milwaukee is coming back."

"Tens of thousands migrated from the South to the middle of the country, to Milwaukee, for good-paying manufacturing jobs. Then decades of discrimination and trickle-down economics left communities like this one behind," Biden said.

Residents of the neighborhood stood on a nearby street corner filming and taking photos. As the president departed in his motorcade, one waved and held a “Biden-Harris” sign.

Democrats looking to engage Black voters after stagnant turnout

In addition to focusing on the loss of manufacturing, Biden called efforts to ban books about Black history "unconscionable."

"These attacks hurt all Americans, because investing in Black economic prosperity lifts everybody up. We always believe diversity is our strength as a nation," Biden said.

Turnout in Milwaukee for Biden in 2020 was virtually the same as the presidential election in 2016, and slightly worse in wards where the majority of voters are Black.

Biden picked up about 5,100 fewer votes than then-Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in wards where at least 50% of residents were Black. And in the most predominantly Black wards, where more than 90% of residents are Black, Biden got almost 2,900 fewer votes than Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Pro-Palestine protesters demonstrated near Biden's speech

A number of demonstrators gathered outside of the Wisconsin Black Chamber of Commerce to protest Biden's refusal to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. The group is part of a so-called "Abandon Biden" campaign launched by Muslim leaders nationally.

The group says its goal is to "guarantee Biden's loss" in 2024.

Biden has not called for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip but has warned Israel it was losing international support because of its bombing of civilians in Gaza as part of its war against Hamas. The United Nations has called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.

Republicans harnessing lingering economic discontent

Blue and green banners at the Wisconsin Black Chamber of Commerce advertised "Bidenomics," though state Republicans called out the president's economic agenda as a failure.

"It's pretty clear (Biden) is not going to a grocery store and talk to people checking out who are paying 20% more per groceries, 17% more for everything they’re buying this year," U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil, who represents the First Congressional District, said in a morning call with reporters.

In Wisconsin, voters have a largely pessimistic view of the state of the U.S. economy, according to a Marquette University Law Poll released last month. Just 27% of respondents described the economy as “excellent” or “good” while 36% described it as “not so good” and 37% labeled it “poor.”

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Biden's visit to Milwaukee: 6 takeaways and what it means for 2024