Inflation front and center as President Joe Biden tours a Kankakee farm and speaks at electrical workers convention

(Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)Soaring inflation and food prices were front of mind during President Joe Biden’s Chicago area visit Wednesday, where during his first stop at a farm outside Kankakee he blamed escalating costs on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and offered relief to farmers.Later, speaking to thousands of union electrical workers at their convention at McCormick Place, Biden pledged “we’re going to beat inflation” as he delivered an homage to labor and its role in creating middle-class “dignity” while lashing out at “the great MAGA king” Donald Trump and the Republicans who back him.At his first stop, speaking in front of a sign that read “Lowering Costs for American Families,” Biden acknowledged the challenges facing American farmers after taking a brief tour of the 800-acre corn, wheat and soybean farm accompanied by its owners, Jeff and Gina O’Connor.“Right now, America is fighting on two fronts: at home, as inflation and rising prices, and abroad, as helping Ukrainians defending democracy and feeding those who are left hungry around the world because Russian atrocities exist,” Biden said in a short speech on the farm. “The American farmers understand the war has cut off critical sources of food.”Russian warships have obstructed access to Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea, leaving to starve those nations reliant on Ukraine for food supply, Biden said.The president’s visit came as a report out Wednesday showed inflation slowed in April after seven months of relentless gains, a tentative sign that price increases may be peaking while still imposing a financial strain on American households.Still, the report contained some cautionary signs that inflation may be becoming more entrenched.Biden stressed that his administration was promoting ways to help farmers in keeping costs down. Farmers in the U.S., including the O’Connors, are helping on both fronts, Biden said, by cutting the cost of food at home and feeding those abroad.“We have to keep investing in our farmers to reduce costs and ditch prices for consumers,” Biden said.