On Thursday, the Democratic president will head to upstate New York to celebrate Micron Technology's plans to build a campus of computer chip factories made possible in part with government support. The initial phase of the project would open the first plant in 2028 and the second plant in 2029, with more time expected for the next two factories to be completed. Biden, who is gearing up for a potential rematch with Republican Donald Trump, is asking voters to believe in a vision for the U.S. economy that is still largely a promise.

At a time when voters are most concerned about high inflation, Biden is campaigning on the future, while Trump is tapping into a past when U.S. manufacturing was the world standard. Biden is trying to convince voters to think about how historians will later recall his presidency. He recently told unionized electricians, "We"re going to look back on this 20 years from now and be talking about what a revolutionary period this was for the country. We"re going to make a real gigantic difference."

Biden's administration helped kickstart the Micron project by agreeing to provide $6.1 billion in government support, which will also cover a memory chip factory in Idaho that is set to be operating in 2026. The funding is part of the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, which has boosted factory construction spending to record levels. Intel, TSMC, Samsung, and other chipmakers are also planning factories that will power artificial intelligence and electric vehicles.

However, Trump has been critical of Biden's economic policies, warning that they will hurt jobs tied to making gasoline-powered autos and ultimately send work to China. He recently vented about how the rising value of the dollar against foreign currencies would harm U.S. manufacturing. Trump has also lamented the loss of factory jobs that once made the United States the "greatest country in the history of the world."

Despite past promises of a manufacturing boom, factory employment has steadily declined over the years due to automation, outsourcing, and closures. In celebrating the Micron project, New York Sen. Chuck Schumer noted the failure of Foxconn's project in Wisconsin during Trump's presidency, which fed cynicism about government initiatives. Schumer believes that this time is different and that the United States will pull ahead of China in essential technologies, allowing more jobs and technology to stay in America.