Biden arrives in Arizona for first stop on Western trip
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GRAND CANYON VILLAGE, Arizona — President Joe Biden arrived in Arizona on Monday as part of a three-state, multi-day trip out West to highlight his administration’s climate and conservation responses, announce a new national monument and fundraise.
Biden is expected to speak Tuesday morning about conservation and climate resiliency at the Grand Canyon, according to the White House, and National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi said Biden will announce a national monument.
The monument will be Biden’s fifth as president and was requested by tribal leaders, Zaidai said. It will include nearly 1 million acres and hundreds of cultural sites and will allow existing mining rights but ban mining in future development, he said.
Biden’s Western swing through Arizona, New Mexico and Utah comes following Colorado River water cuts in the region and record heat last month, including the hottest July ever in Phoenix while Salt Lake City hit a record 106 degrees.
“Over the last few weeks and even today, we have seen how extreme weather events impact the way we live day to day,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told the press aboard Air Force One en route to Arizona. “President Biden understands how critical this moment is.”
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The temperature was a balmy 78 degrees when Air Force One touched down at Grand Canyon National Park Airport in northern Arizona on Tuesday, while Phoenix some 200 miles south baked at 105 degrees.
At a virtual event last month with Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, Biden said, “experts say extreme heat is already costing America $100 billion a year” and that extreme heat was harming Americans’ health and livelihoods, “but none of this is inevitable.”
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Biden won Arizona in 2020 by about 10,000 votes, and the trip is his second to the Grand Canyon State since taking office. Biden last came to Arizona in December when he visited a Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. semiconductor plant under construction in Phoenix to discuss infrastructure, manufacturing and supply chain investments.
Vice President Kamala Harris visited the state in January and July, and first lady Jill Biden’s last trip to Arizona was in February, when she attended the Super Bowl and spoke at Mesa Community College.
Arizona is expected to be a battleground in next year’s election. Early polling suggests former President Donald Trump could again be competitive with Biden in Arizona and shows Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis beating Biden in the state. Biden’s approval nationally remains underwater, with 54.5% disapproval, according to FiveThirtyEight’s poll average.
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Biden also plans to raise money while on the trip, with fundraisers in Albuquerque and Park City. His campaign said last month it had raised $72 million in the second quarter of the year with the Democratic National Committee and their joint fundraising committees.
