SCRANTON, United States, April 16, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - US President Joe Biden 
will draw a stark contrast with Donald Trump on Tuesday when he visits his 
birthplace in Scranton, Pennsylvania -- while his election rival is stuck in 
a New York courtroom.

The 81-year-old has long traded on his blue-collar image as "Scranton Joe" to 
reach out to middle- and working-class voters, but his rally in a key 
battleground state in November's election is even more symbolic.

Biden will be relishing the split screen as he tours America's industrial 
heartland while his Republican real estate tycoon rival is kept off the 
campaign trail, making unwanted history as the first ex-president ever to 
face a criminal trial.

The Democrat has refused to comment on Trump's legal woes -- shaking his head 
at the White House on Monday when asked if he was following the trial -- but 
the messaging of the trip will speak for itself. 

Biden often references the former coal-mining boomtown where he was born in 
1942 to hardscrabble circumstances, which he frequently recalls in folksy 
stories about his family designed to appeal to voters struggling with the 
cost of living.

But this time he will also be giving a speech about how billionaires need to 
pay more in taxes.
 
"The address will drive home a simple question: Do you think the tax code 
should work for rich people or for the middle class?" Biden's campaign said 
in a statement.

"The president has made it clear what he thinks the answer is, and so has 
Donald Trump."

Biden himself released his tax returns on Monday -- dubbed "Tax Day" in the 
United States, the deadline for most Americans to file their tax returns -- 
and drew a contrast with Trump who broke presidential precedent by refusing 
to do so while in office.

- 'I prefer Biden' -

In Scranton, news of Biden's homecoming had not yet done the rounds though.

One of the first sights off the interstate from New York -- along the 
President Joe Biden expressway named after Scranton's most famous son -- is a 
huge trailer truck with a sign for Trump.

It's towns like Scranton that Biden will need if he is going to hold 
Pennsylvania, a crucial swing state that he took from Trump in 2020.

"I just prefer Biden," said Debra Hodges, 66, who does volunteer work and 
moved to the town from New York City about 20 years ago.

"His age is not a problem for me. I mean, we're all gonna get older."

Biden's age is one of the key concerns for voters in opinion polls, despite 
the fact that he's only four years older than Trump.

Recent polls have had Biden drawing largely level with Trump in spite of low 
personal approval ratings, though he has been shown lagging in swing states.

Hodges said she wasn't planning to attend Biden's rally on Tuesday.

"I'll probably do some groundwork, some volunteer work for him," she said. 
"Get young people to register to vote."

She mentioned a series of key issues for voters such as herself including 
abortion, which Democrats regard as a vote-winner as they bash Trump for 
bragging about his role in denying the procedure to millions of women.

But Joshua Davis, 33, who makes items like keyrings and pendants using 
recycled plastic, and like Biden was born in Scranton, was not impressed by 
Trump or Biden.

He's not alone -- polls show a majority of voters are unenthused by the 
choice between the two candidates.

"They're both puppets," he said. "So whoever we elect is just the corporate 
interest."