On a visit to Ohio, Biden declares his desire to rename the “Rust Belt” the “Silicon Heartland.”

‘It’s time to bury the term Rust Belt and call it, as Pat says, the Silicon Heartland,’ the president said, referencing Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, who gave him a tour of the active worksite in Licking County, near Columbus.

Biden – and a number of both Democratic and Republican elected officials – attended the groundbreaking for Intel’s state-of-the-art $20billion semiconductor facility around lunchtime Friday.

‘The industrial Midwest is back,’ Biden proclaimed. ‘That’s what you’ll see in this field of dreams.’

Heavy machinery kept working throughout the president’s speech.

Biden said there’s ‘kind of a tradition here’ about innovation coming from the Buckeye State. ‘The Wright Brothers, Neil Armstrong, John Glenn – they defined America’s spirit, the spirit of daring innovation,’ Biden said.

The president gave shout-outs to both retiring Republican Sen. Rob Portman and the state’s GOP Gov. Mike DeWine, who is running for re-election against Democrat Nan Whaley.

‘I want to thank Rob Portman for being the gentleman and the decent man that he is and for showing that Democrats and Republicans can work together to get big things done for our country. I really mean it,’ Biden said. ‘You’re leaving a h**l of a legacy as you leave.’

To DeWine he joked, ‘Thanks for the passport to get to the state, guv, appreciate it.’

Biden also name-dropped Democratic Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan, who’s seeking the state’s open Senate state, being vacated by Portman.

Prior to Biden’s arrival, Ryan told Youngtown’s  WFMJ station that he was ‘campaigning as an independent.’

And then, when asked if Biden should run for re-election, Ryan – who is 49 years old and briefly ran for president in 2020 – answered: ‘My hunch is that we need new leadership across the board, Democrats, Republicans, I think it’s time for like a generational move.’

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked about Ryan’s comments on Air Force One Friday morning on the flight to Ohio and refused to engage.

‘I’ll just let Congressman Tim Ryan speak to that and explain that further,’ Jean-Pierre told reporters.

‘As you know congressman Tim Ryan is going to be attending along with several other elected officials from across the aisle will be joining us as well, because this is something … that is critically important to our economy and to our national security,’ the press secretary added.

Later, on-site at the Intel event, Ryan told reporters, ‘The president said from the very beginning he was going to be a bridge to the next generation, which is basically what I was saying.’

But when asked if Biden should run again, Ryan wasn’t definitive.

‘That’s up to him,’ the Ohio Democrat said.

During his remarks, Biden thanked Ryan for his leadership and for ‘always representing working people.’

Overall, the trip was a victory lap for the president, who steered a bipartisan bill through Congress to put $52 billion into the U.S. semiconductor industry – as a way to compete with China.

Additionally, Intel announced nearly $18million the company plans to invest in Ohio colleges and universities to put toward workforce development.

‘This includes partnering with community colleges across Ohio, the state’s oldest historically Black university, and other institutions to train thousands of workers to work in Ohio’s growing semiconductor industry,’ a senior administration official said.

Intel and the National Science Foundation will invest $100 million to go toward similar programs across the country.

The company had started investing money into an Ohio-based facility as the CHIPS bill worked its way through Congress.

The White House said Thursday the facility will be built by union labor, creating more than 7,000 construction jobs – and will create 3,000 full-time jobs producing semiconductors.

The trip to Ohio comes as campaigning for the midterms has kicked off in earnest.

While Ohio has been friendly to Republicans in recent years – former President Donald Trump won the state over Hillary Clinton and Biden – the Senate race is surprisingly competitive.

Ryan is giving Republican J.D. Vance, the author of the widely read Hillbilly Elegy, a run for his money.

FiveThirtyEight.com has Ryan ahead in its polling index by 1.9 percent – within the margin of error in surveys.

DeWine recently received an endorsement from Trump despite the ex-president initially trying to recruit a Republican to run in a primary against the Ohio governor.

During an appearance on CNN, DeWine acknowledged that Biden had won the 2020 election and encouraged Trump to engage in a peaceful transition of power.

‘Biden’s agenda has crushed Ohio families and small businesses, and Democrat Tim Ryan’s priority, aside from rubberstamping Biden’s failed agenda, is banning gasoline-powered vehicles,’ Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel said in a statement. ‘In November, voters will ensure Biden-Democrat Tim Ryan is nowhere near the Senate, as Ohio is ready to elect a leader like J.D. Vance.’