(NewsNation) — President Joe Biden’s re-election message came to Democrat-friendly Chicago Wednesday, where supporters are looking to hear what he may do to keep one of his biggest promises of 2022.
“I’m really hoping he speaks on student debt cancellation,” Dontae Freeman said before the event.
The Supreme Court has yet to issue a decision on the president’s student loan forgiveness plan. Samer Hassan also hoped to hear a plan for student loans going forward as well as help for young Americans in general.
“We’ve seen how little support college students get,” he said.
Affirmative action, also an issue before the Court, was part of what drew Ayo Agunbiade to the event, which he said was the first of its kind he’s attended. Working in healthcare consulting, he said was concerned about the impact it would have on those hoping to go into medicine.
“That affects the demographics of some of our physicians in healthcare and race-based evaluation affects the people that are working in health care and who gets to be a doctor,” Agunbiade said.
Economically, most said Biden has done a successful job in the face of challenges including the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
“President Biden has met all the challenges and we’ve seen good growth in the economy,” said Bob Reiter, president of the Chicago Federation of Labor.
Deborah Cosey-Lane, with Amalgamated Transit Union Local 308, said she wants to know what Biden will do to get Americans back to the office.
“People are just not so eager to come back to work,” she said. “We need that to keep America moving.”
Most hoped Biden would be the Democratic nominee for the 2024 presidential race, even as the president is facing a challenge from Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
“Biden has the proven record, to prove that even in a crisis he can run the country and that age is no factor,” Cosey-Lane said. “He has the proven record, so why should we push the reset button right now?”
Sharad Kumar said he didn’t view the challenge as a serious obstacle for Biden.
“I think his positions on many issues are out of step with the party faithful,” Kumar said, referring to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “I think if he did not have his family name, he would not be enjoying any kind of popular support.”