‘The contrast could not be more clear’: Suburban Philly Democrats respond to RNC speeches, affirm support for Biden

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Democratic elected officials from Delaware, Chester and Montgomery counties held a press conference Thursday as a rebuttal to the Republican presidential ticket’s platform on display this week at the Republican National Convention.

The support comes amid growing calls at the national level for President Joe Biden to step aside.

Jamila Winder, chair of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, said as the presumptive nominee, she is continuing to support Biden and the administration.

“We have a responsibility as leaders to continue to demonstrate why President Biden is the right guy for the job,” Winder said. “I spend my time really helping to educate voters, helping to be empathetic to those concerns, but then also giving the cold hard facts about what a four years would look like, with Donald Trump versus President Biden.”

Winder and fellow Montco Commissioner Neil Makhija, Chester County Commissioners Marian Moskowitz and Josh Maxwell and Dr. Monica Taylor, chair of Delaware County Council, highlighted Biden’s support for abortion rights, affordable health care and student loan relief as key issues in the upcoming elections.

“Joe Biden has promised to make Roe [v. Wade] the law of the land once again,” Moskowitz said. “The contrast could not be more clear, whether you elect a president who will protect reproductive freedom, or one who will gut it.”

Taylor, who led the charge to establish Delco’s first health department in 2022, outlined what she said would be the impacts on health care in Pennsylvania if Trump wins in November.

“Trump’s Project 2025 will put Medicare on the path to privatization, jeopardizing quality, reliable care for nearly 3 million seniors in Pennsylvania,” Taylor said. “The plan also calls for repealing the Inflation Reduction Act, which will cause Medicare enrollees to see their out of pocket costs for prescription drugs to rise.”

The elected officials criticized Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, who gave his first speech as the Republican vice presidential nominee at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday night. 

“Two hours after the assassination attempt, which was horrific, President Trump’s chosen vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance, blamed that act of violence directly on Joe Biden and Democrats,” Makhija said. “So, instead of toning down the temperature, instead of speaking up, and recognizing that we needed to reject violence as a whole in our politics, and to come together, the vice presidential nominee … used that moment to incite and further exacerbate hatred and division between Americans.” 

The Philadelphia suburbs are crucial to winning the swing state of Pennsylvania. Biden won Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties in the 2020 elections over former President Donald Trump. Hillary Clinton also won all three counties in the 2016 elections over Trump. 

The Democrats said they’re working in voter outreach on behalf of the Biden-Harris campaign. 

Winder, the first Black woman commissioner in Montgomery County’s history, said she is focused on reaching voters who have been disenfranchised in the past. 

“Where we’re focused is on, how do we engage people that have historically been on the margins, right? Or feel as though their vote doesn’t count?” Winder said. “So I’m going to do my part as a Black American to ensure in our communities of color throughout Montgomery County that I’m out in front, talking about the reasons why Joe Biden is working for Black and brown friends and neighbors.”