President Biden will travel to Racine County, Wisconsin, on Wednesday to unveil a $3.3 billion investment by Microsoft to build a new artificial intelligence data center, according to Biden officials.
Why it matters: It's another high-profile announcement from the president on how he's helping to create jobs with private sector investment — but with a twist.
- He'll be taking a not-so-subtle shot at former President Trump in the same location where Trump touted a $10 billion Foxconn facility, which he called the "eighth wonder of the world" seven years ago.
- That facility was scaled back and never fully materialized.
Driving the news: The White House is inviting voters in the crucial swing state to make a direct comparison between the Microsoft and Foxconn deals.
- The message it wants to drive home is clear: Trump promised jobs that were never delivered.
- Biden officials say the Microsoft project will lead to 2,300 union construction jobs, followed by 2,000 permanent jobs in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin.
- Microsoft has said it will partner with Gateway Technical College to develop an academy that hopes to train 1,000 Wisconsinites for data center jobs.
The big picture: It's all part of Biden's post-State of the Union strategy to combat what officials call "Trump amnesia," where voters give Trump more credit for the economy than Biden officials think is due.
- Biden and his cabinet have been hitting swing states to convince voters that Biden's three signature pieces of legislation — his infrastructure, clean-energy and CHIPs bills — are creating thousands of good-paying jobs.
- That allows Biden and his surrogates to swoop into battleground states, and tout new projects in places that could help him win re-election.
Flashback: In March, Biden announced some $20 billion in grants and loans for Intel to expand its semiconductor production in Chandler, Arizona.
