White House plans PR blitz to sell coronavirus relief bill

The White House is mounting an all-out push to sell President Biden’s newly signed coronavirus relief bill to the public, starting with trips to multiple states in the coming week.

A key facet of the strategy will be to highlight components of the measure that impact Americans directly, like the $1,400 stimulus payments.

The White House is also trying to underscore the broad bipartisan support among voters for the legislation, even though it received no votes from Republicans, who consistently called the $1.9 trillion package partisan and too expensive.

Where they’ll go: Next week, Biden will host an event at the White House on implementation of the rescue plan before traveling to Pennsylvania and Georgia as part of what the White House has branded the “Help is Here” tour.

Vice President Harris will travel with her husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, to Nevada and Colorado, while first lady Jill Biden will travel to New Jersey and New Hampshire. More trips could be announced in the coming days.

Won’t make the same mistakes: Administration officials say Democrats fell short during the Obama era of selling the 2009 economic recovery bill. Whether Democrats can maintain popularity for the newly enacted COVID-19 relief bill will play a key role in determining the party’s fortunes in the 2022 elections.

The trips across the country — many of them targeting swing states — are the center point of the White House’s campaign to highlight the tangible deliverables of the American Rescue Plan Act, including the $1,400 direct payments going to the majority of Americans and funding for vaccine distribution and school reopenings.