Biden in Florida for final push before the midterms

US President Joe Biden, seen here greeting supporters in Hallandale Beach, Florida, has struggled amid soaring inflation to present himself as a leader for middle-class America

Former US president Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis have received plaudits for their work on courting the Hispanic vote

Joe Biden scolded Republicans on social spending issues Tuesday in popular retirement spot Florida as the US president makes his closing pitch ahead of next week's midterm elections.

Facing signs of a growing "red wave" that could sweep the opposition Republicans to power in the House and Senate, Biden portrayed himself as "middle-class" Joe as he attempts -- with mixed success -- to court the blue-collar vote.

"You earned it," he said, referring to the benefits program for retirees. "Now these guys want to take it away. Who in the hell do they think they are?"

Biden, 79, had been promising since a trip was canceled by a hurricane to go to Florida, a traditional "swing state" that has leaned more solidly into the conservative column in recent cycles, and where 21 percent of residents are older than 65.

"They are a promise. A promise we made as a country: if you work hard and contribute when it comes time to retire, we're going to be there for you."

Later during an address at Florida Memorial University in Miami, he laid out his administration's reforms on drug and hearing aid prices, airline hidden fees and student debt forgiveness, while hammering Republicans as being in the pockets of "Big Pharma" and the rest of corporate America.

"It's reckless, it's irresponsible, it will make inflation worse, (and) it will badly hurt working class and middle class Americans." 

"We know what it's like when hard times hit," he said. "We get it."

The White House hopes the visit will nevertheless help in portraying the Republican Party as a threat to middle-class households and seniors. 

Former president Donald Trump and Governor Ron DeSantis, his one-time protege turned rival, have shrewdly played on Hispanics' fear of communism, the University of Central Florida professor told AFP.

"That got a certain percentage of Hispanics who thought, 'We didn't come to this country and flee Cuba or South America to come here and get the same thing.'"

Reproductive rights once appeared to be the issue that would decide the election. Voter registrations, particularly among women, surged after the US Supreme Court ended federal protections for abortion access in June.

The party has tried to pivot in the closing weeks of the campaign, but soaring consumer prices -- up 8.2 percent in a year -- have undermined Biden's attempt to sell himself as the president for the American worker.

The pair are scheduled to appear together Saturday in hotly-contested Pennsylvania. 

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