Trump, Biden spar over economy, workers in Labor Day blitz

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and President Donald Trump spent Monday diminishing each other’s credentials on the economy and understanding of the American worker as the presidential campaign entered its final, post-Labor Day stretch. Trump, meanwhile, tried to put the halting economic recovery under the best light in a White House press conference where he said Biden and his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, would “destroy this country and would destroy this economy.” Labor Day typically marks the unofficial start to the fall campaign season as candidates accelerate their activity for the final sprint to Election Day. Harris also met with Black business owners in Milwaukee, where she said her day of campaigning was focused on “the dignity of work and the dignity of human beings.” Biden spoke to a small group of labor leaders in a backyard in Lancaster, where he criticized Trump for “refusing to deal with the problems that affect ordinary people” and called for strengthening unions. Later, at an AFL-CIO virtual town hall with union President Richard Trumka, Biden called Trump’s alleged remarks about fallen soldiers being “losers” and “suckers” un-American and said Trump would never understand why Americans serve. He alleged Biden and Democrats would “immediately collapse the economy.” The day marked Harris’ first solo foray onto the campaign trail for in-person events since she became Biden’s running mate nearly a month ago.