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Biden adviser in Portsmouth touts infrastructure, takes shots at Trump

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Biden adviser in Portsmouth touts infrastructure, takes shots at Trump

PORTSMOUTH — Mitch Landrieu, senior adviser to President Joe Biden, said Biden “delivers” on infrastructure while Donald Trump merely “talks” about it.

Landrieu, infrastructure coordinator for Biden, joined Portsmouth Mayor Deaglan McEachern on Wednesday to tout millions of dollars in federal funding that has flowed to several New Hampshire infrastructure projects. This includes the completed expansion of the Portsmouth Harbor shipping channel.

“56,000 projects like that going on around the country. And the first question I get is, ‘When is the money coming in and when is it gonna get done? And the answer for you guys is it’s already got here, it’s already done,” Landrieu said. “Thank you, Joe Biden, because some people deliver, and some people talk.”

When in office, former President Donald Trump touted an “Infrastructure Week,” proclaiming the building of bridges and roads and other infrastructure “is going to take off like a rocket ship.” Despite stated intentions, he disbanded an infrastructure advisory council and backed off on other efforts.

Chris Ager, the chair of the New Hampshire GOP, said Trump was able to pass some “very good items” like the border wall, but that he needed both houses of Congress. He also questioned the importance of Biden’s $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law.

“How has that improved American lives so far? And I think you would be hard-pressed to say how,” said Ager. “Just passing a bill with a lot of money and adding debt alone, that’s not progress.”

Piscataqua River turning basin project complete

Biden’s infrastructure law, signed into law in 2021, allocated $1.6 million in federal funding to expand and dredge the Piscataqua River. The project, conducted by the Army Corps of Engineers, was to widen the uppermost turning basin of the river from 800 feet to 1,200 feet for large shipments coming into Portsmouth.

“It’s been completed, the blasting has been done, and so we’re able to turn those boats quicker,” said McEachern, adding the funding has also allowed delivery of more road salt for the winter months. “We’ve been lucky enough to have that.”

Landrieu, a former mayor of New Orleans, another port city, said dredging “forces commerce to function better, it gets goods from ships to shelves, and produces jobs.”

McEachern said funding has also been allocated for the Mechanic Street pump station and sewage systems in the area. 

There are more than 118 infrastructure projects underway in New Hampshire, using $1.6 billion in public investments.

Other projects on the Seacoast include replacing lead service lines in Rollinsford.

State Sen. Debra Altschiller, D-Stratham, Rep. Jaci Grote, D-Rye, and community leaders Larry Drake and Joan Jacobs also joined the conversation on a hot morning at Peirce Island.

Landrieu says New Hampshire is ‘critical state,’ criticizes Trump

Landrieu’s visit was part of a Biden campaign infrastructure tour in New Hampshire. He also visited Rollinsford, Lebanon, Claremont, and finally Keene to open another Biden campaign office. 

Landrieu used the small event in Portsmouth to criticize former Trump, saying the possibility of another Trump presidency should “scare the pants off people” and that, while in office, he didn’t get “a whole lot done.”

“The people who know Donald Trump the best like him the least, and the people who know Joe Biden the best love him the most,” said Landrieu, adding that some of Trump’s former associates “share the moniker” of convicted felon. 

Ager said the “unfairness” against Trump leading to his criminal conviction last week “is so blatant it’s palpable.”

“He’s being unfairly treated,” said Ager. “But people know that the country was better off with President Trump than President Biden.”

Since skipping the New Hampshire primary in January, Biden has visited the state twice, once in March to talk about lowering health care costs in Goffstown and again in May to talk about the PACT Act at the Westwood Park YMCA. Landrieu said he has visited New Hampshire five times.

Landrieu said that he thinks people know that all the “pregame stuff” is over, referring to the primary, and that the “real game” is coming soon.

“[Trump is] a convicted felon, and he’s a twice impeached president, he’s all of those things. None of those things are going to do the job that only the American people can do, which is why this election is so important,” Landrieu said. “New Hampshire is a swing state, New Hampshire’s motto is live free or die. I can’t think of a more stark choice.”

Editor’s note: State Sen. Debra Altschiller, D-Stratham, is the wife of Howard Altschiller, executive editor of Seacoast Media Group.

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