WASHINGTON — As Pennsylvania voters prepare to go to the polls Tuesday for their presidential primary, Gov. Josh Shapiro said Sunday that President Joe Biden has a great story to tell about his first term in office, but isn't telling it.
Mr. Shapiro said on CBS' "Face the Nation" that Mr. Biden's low poll ratings, especially among young voters, are due to the president's failure so far to highlight everything he's done.
"I think the case needs to be made," Mr. Shapiro said. "There's a wonderful track record. There's a wonderful body of work. They need to make that case, and I'll be helping make that case alongside the president."
Mr. Biden, for example, has acted to provide student loan relief to millions of borrowers, and enacted a major climate change bill over unanimous Republican opposition — two issues of particular concern to younger voters.
"When it comes to infrastructure investments, when it comes to the kinds of investments that are going to help spur on a clean energy economy, President Biden has been there," the governor said. "Now, we have to make that case. And we've got to make sure folks understand that and hear that. That's why you run a campaign. That's why you'll see stark differences when it comes to combating climate change between the policies of President Biden and what Donald Trump has done in the past and wants to do in the future."
An NBC ÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±¼Ç¼ poll released Sunday had Mr. Biden with just a one-point lead among voters aged 18-34 over former President Donald Trump, 44% to 43%. Mr. Biden received 60% of the vote among 18 to 29-year-olds in 2020 while Mr. Trump received 36%, and bested his opponent, 52% to 46% among voters aged 30 to 44, according to CNN exit polls.
Mr. Shapiro said the president regains that support "by doing exactly what he's doing: showing up, talking about his record, addressing things like climate change, which are incredibly important issues for young voters, along with many others, obviously. Making sure that young people feel included in the conversation, not just as a vote, but as part of the governing coalition going forward."
Mr. Biden spent three days last week in Pennsylvania, the most populous swing state, including a stopover in Pittsburgh.
"I think part of the frustration by young people is that they oftentimes don't feel heard, and they feel like their voices and their votes are taken advantage of come election time," Mr. Shapiro said. "This is a moment where the young people deserve to be at the table. And the fact that the president is showing up in these communities and talking about these issues that are going to help young people in the future, I think is a really important step."
Mr. Biden also temporarily paused construction of new liquefied natural gas export terminals, saying his administration wanted to review their impact on climate change. The action does not affect the eight terminals operating today, the seven now being built, or the 10 already approved for construction.
That has given Mr. Trump a new line of attack that he used against the president in Schnecksville last weekend.
"Biden has imposed a savage natural gas export ban that's putting countless Pennsylvania jobs at risk," Mr. Trump said. "He's risking your lives, he's risking your jobs. ... I'll end Joe Biden's natural gas export ban on behalf of the people of Pennsylvania."
Mr. Shapiro said Mr. Biden's energy policies have been good for Pennsylvania, noting that the state is the only one in the nation with two regional hydrogen hubs to develop clean energy, even as he said he hoped the pause on new liquefied natural gas export terminals would be short-lived.
"I've been very clear with the White House, and publicly, I hope that this policy that they put in place is very quick, and then we move forward," he said on CBS. "If the pause goes on for a long time, it has the potential to cost us jobs. That's why I want this to be as quick as possible. And what I went on to say, though, is we have an opportunity here in Pennsylvania to be the center of the clean energy economy."
One hub, the Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub, would involve Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky and receive up to $925 million to combine the production of hydrogen from natural gas with carbon capture and storage. A second project, the Mid-Atlantic Clean Hydrogen Hub, involves Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey and would receive up to $750 million to develop a project to generate hydrogen from renewable and nuclear sources and use it for chemical manufacturing and transportation.
Besides the hydrogen hubs, Mr. Shapiro said the president has provided funds to cap methane emissions from oil and gas wells in the state, and tax credits to help move to clean energy alternatives.
"We're showing that we can both protect the jobs that exist today and create more energy jobs tomorrow," Mr. Shapiro said. "Energy is critical to the future of our commonwealth. Now, listen, the bravado and the bluster from the former president do nothing to actually create jobs in Pennsylvania. He's got an abysmal track record when it comes to that. President Biden has a strong record. And we're going to continue to lead on energy here in Pennsylvania."