President Joe Biden is set to visit Utah next week as part of a three-state tour of the American southwest.
Biden will visit Utah, Arizona and New Mexico from Aug. 7 to Aug. 10, the White House said Monday morning. Details on the visit are still forthcoming.
During his tour of the West, the president is expected to address his administration’s response to climate change, like the Inflation Reduction Act, The Associated Press reported. Months after record snowpack, summer temperatures in Utah have also reached record highs this year.
A source with knowledge of Biden’s visit who was not authorized to speak publicly told The Salt Lake Tribune that Utah will be the last stop on the trip and will include a fundraiser for his 2024 reelection campaign.
“We are thrilled to welcome President Biden to Utah next week as he tours the southwest and highlights the importance of the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes historic investments in fighting climate change and creating clean energy jobs in our state and across the nation,” Utah Democratic Party Chair Diane Lewis said in a statement.
This will be the first presidential visit to Utah since Donald Trump spoke at the Utah Capitol and signed a proclamation to reduce the size of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Escalante national monuments. Biden has since reversed that move by Trump.
Biden came to Salt Lake City as Vice President in 2016 to tour the Huntsman Cancer Institute as part of the Obama administration’s “Cancer Moonshot” initiative seeking a cure for the disease.
In 2021, first lady Jill Biden made a three-hour visit to Salt Lake City, where she visited a west-side elementary school.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) First lady Jill Biden completes an assignment, writing a statement about herself, at Glendale Middle School in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, May 5, 2021.
Of the three states Biden is scheduled to visit next week, Utah is the only one where the state government is completely under Republican control.
Utah GOP Chair Rob Axson said in a statement to The Tribune that he welcomes Biden’s visit to the Beehive State.
“I hope he comes with a sincere desire to listen and not just check a box. While stepping out of D.C. is a great start, it won’t matter if the purpose is just to merely lecture,” Axson said. “Ideally, he looks to learn from many diverse and talented Utahns. There is much he can gain in Utah to better represent the American people if he is willing to do so.”
This story is breaking and may be updated.
