Biden campaigns in Westchester

President Biden was in Westchester Sunday for a Democratic “get out the vote” campaign rally supporting the candidacy of Gov. Kathy Hochul who is seeking a full four-year term and other Democratic Party candidates in Tuesday’s election.

Biden flew to Westchester County Airport from Wilmington, Delaware, on board Air Force One, arriving at 4:35 p.m. He chatted with invited guests who had gone to the airport to greet him and then traveled by motorcade to Sarah Lawrence College in Yonkers, which also is identified as being in Bronxville. He arrived on the campus at 5:34 pm.

About 1,300 people, including many Sarah Lawrence students, had gathered on the South Lawn of the campus, on which a stage had been set up along with platforms for news media and a section for invited guests that included local, county and state officials.

Before entering the area where the rally was taking place, President Biden participated in a private photo session during which he posed with Gov. Hochul, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Rep. Jamaal Bowman, Attorney General Letitia James, Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano, State Senate Majority Leader Andrew Stewart-Cousins, State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli and County Executive George Latimer. All of those elected officials spoke at the rally and fired up the audience with pro-Democrat and anti-Republican rhetoric. They warned that in New York and nationwide what happens on election day could have a dramatic impact on the future of democracy in the U.S.

Spano told the crowd that Biden’s visit to Yonkers marks the first time in 50 years that a president of the U.S. has been in the city. It actually was 46 years ago, on October 13, 1976, that President  Gerald R. Ford visited Yonkers City Hall and signed a bill providing federal revenue sharing funds to states and localities. Before that, in October 1972, President Richard M. Nixon visited Yonkers during his reelection campaign. A crowd of about 10,000 was on hand to see him in Getty Square.

Latimer warned that there are people in politics these days who would take the country back to 1791 when slavery was big business, when women were considered the property of their husband and the country was not like the way it is today.

Lawrence College President Cristle Collins Judd welcomed those in attendance to the campus and praised students and student  organizations that have been active in dealing with important issues.

Biden took the stage at 6:26 p.m. to loud cheers while the song “Higher Love” played on the sound system. He hugged Gov. Hochul, and both of them waved to the crowd.

Biden had sharp and direct criticism for Hochul’s opponent in the gubernatorial race, Rep. Lee Zeldin.

“Gov. Hochul’s opponent talks a good game on crime. But it’s all talk,” Biden said.

The president chided him for being a Trump supporter, voting against the infrastructure bill, wanting to take away women’s rights and denying that the 2020 election was fair and Trump lost.

“For these election deniers, there are only two outcomes for an election,” Biden said. “Either they win or they were cheated.”

Biden said that when the Republicans were in control of Washington, they raised the national debt.

“We’re the ones bringing down the debt. They’re the ones who raise it,” Biden said about Republicans.

Toward the end of his speech, Biden noticed a disturbance of some sort in about the middle of the audience. He stopped what he was saying and, realizing that an audience member appeared to be ill, called for medical assistance for the woman who apparently had collapsed. The woman was moved to a chair near a fence, appeared to have recovered and was drinking water provided by an emergency medical technician.

Biden blasted Republicans for making jokes about the attack on Paul Pelosi, husband of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

Biden drew cheers from the audience when he pointed out that under his administration $10,000 had been forgiven from student loans, with $20,000 forgiven for those who received Pell Grants.

After concluding his speech, Biden took time to meet students and others in the audience who had pressed forward against barricades. He posed for photos with audience members, including holding students’ cellphones to take selfies with them.

After the event, Biden’s motorcade took him back to Westchester County Airport for a flight to Washington. He arrived at the White House just after 9 p.m.