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Biden takes fight to Trump ally in Colorado / Photo: © AFP
Biden takes fight to Trump ally in Colorado
US President Joe Biden took his reelection bid onto Donald Trump's turf Wednesday, visiting a Colorado district held by a hard-right supporter of his likely Republican rival in 2024.
The Democrat traveled to a wind turbine factory to tout his plan to rebuild the US economy by focusing on green energy -- but his real target was gun-toting Congresswoman Lauren Boebert.
"She's one of the leaders of this extreme MAGA movement," Biden, 81, told workers at CS Wind in Pueblo, Colorado, the largest wind tower manufacturer in the world.
The devout Catholic president also jokingly made the sign of the cross after mentioning Boebert's name.
Boebert has backed Trump's false claims to have beaten Biden in the 2020 election, and is a key member of the populist tycoon's Make America Great Again movement.
Biden slammed her for opposing his so-called Inflation Reduction Act, which is channeling billions of dollars to the green economy, including investment in the Colorado factory he visited.
"She called this law a massive failure," Biden said. "Tell that to the 850 Coloradans to get new jobs in Pueblo and see us win thanks to this law."
Recently Biden has stepped up direct attacks on Trump as he slips behind in the polls despite efforts to sell Americans on the post-pandemic economic recovery he dubs "Bidenomics."
By traveling to Colorado he was also singling out one of Trump's more vulnerable supporters, as Boebert faces a tough rematch for her House seat in next year's election.
Boebert recently drew negative publicity when she was recently thrown out of a performance of "Beetlejuice: The Musical" in Colorado in September after openly vaping and being disruptive at the family show.
An outspoken gun rights activist elected in November 2020, the first-term congresswoman has previously called for the institution of a theocratic government in the United States.
She owns a restaurant called "Shooters Grill" in the town of Rifle, Colorado, where the employees openly carry firearms.
Soon after her arrival in Washington, Boebert announced her intention to carry a gun to work and she has criticized the deployment of metal detectors at the entrances to the House chamber.
B.Ziolkowski--GL
