President Joe Biden landed in Utah on Wednesday afternoon for a one-day visit to the state, his first as president. Biden’s arrival came hours after federal agents shot and killed a man in Provo who, according to court documents, had threatened to kill the president.
Air Force One landed at Roland R. Wright Air National Guard Base adjacent to Salt Lake City International Airport at around 4:25 p.m. While the White House has not confirmed where Biden would spend the night, there were security barriers and police around the Hotel Monaco in downtown Salt Lake City on Wednesday.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, first lady Abby Cox, Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall and Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson were at the airport to greet the president to the Beehive State.
After disembarking Air Force One, Biden spent about six minutes speaking with the local political leaders before being joined by the Coxes in the motorcade.
“He identified with the fact that he had a bipartisan group there to greet him and the conversation really was about his time in the Senate and the days of really productive, bipartisan relations and working together,” Wilson said.
Mendenhall said she was surprised Biden took as much time on the hot, noisy runway as he did, and “it felt a lot more collegial and warm” than expected.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) President Joe Biden departs Air Force One after landing at Roland R. Wright Air National Guard Base, Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023.
“He went right into talking about his great experiences as a young congressman, building bipartisan relationships, how productive that is and how much more we needed that in the nation,” Mendenhall said. “I think we all felt the translation being that that’s the Utah Way here, keep working together.”
Wilson said that Biden also mentioned that he had learned to ski in Utah.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Air Force One lands at Roland R. Wright Air National Guard Base as President Joe Biden visits Utah on Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023.
On Thursday morning, the commander in chief will go to Salt Lake City’s Veteran Affairs Health Center to highlight the first anniversary of the PACT Act. Also known as the Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act, the law extended benefits to military veterans who were harmed by exposure to toxic burn pits at military posts worldwide.
(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) President Joe Biden's motorcade arrives at the Hotel Monaco in downtown Salt Lake City for a one-day visit to the state, Aug. 9, 2023.
(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) Onlookers line 200 South to watch the scene after President Joe Biden's motorcade arrived at the Hotel Monaco in downtown Salt Lake City for a one-day visit to the state, Aug. 9, 2023.
Later in the day, the president will attend a high-priced fundraising event for his re-election campaign in Park City. Tickets range from $3,300 to $100,000, with those who donate $50,000 getting the opportunity to speak with and have a photo taken with the president. Sponsors are Mark and Nancy Gilbert and John and Kristi Cumming. Mark Gilbert is a former U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa. The Cummings own Powdr Corp., which owns ski resorts in the U.S. and Canada, including Snowbird.
In the 2020 presidential election, 58% of Utahns voted for Trump, while 38% supported Biden
[READ: Provo man killed in FBI raid suspected of threatening Biden ahead of Utah visit]
The Utah visit is the last leg of a three-state western swing for the president, who defeated the incumbent, Donald Trump, in 2020 and is headed for a possible rematch next year.
Biden was in Arizona Tuesday to announce his designation of the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni — Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument. Just over the state line from Utah in an area called the Arizona Strip, the monument was sought by 13 Indian tribes in the area and is intended to stop mining uranium deposits.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) President Joe Biden is greeted by Gov. Spencer Cox and his wife Abby along with Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall and Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson after departing Air Force One and landing at Roland R. Wright Air National Guard Base, Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Air Force One lands at Roland R. Wright Air National Guard Base as President Joe Biden visits Utah on Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023.
As with previous designations, the announcement drew complaints from Utah politicians, including Gov. Spencer Cox, that monument designation should not come by executive order and instead should be done by acts of Congress in consultation with local leaders. Utah ranchers also worried that the designation would limit their grazing rights in the area, but grazing will still be allowed in the monument.
The next stop was in New Mexico, where he promoted the administration’s efforts to generate clean-energy jobs through the Inflation Reduction Act and “Bidenomics,” the Sante Fe New Mexican reported.
Earlier Wednesday, a Provo man died as the FBI was attempting to serve an arrest warrant. The warrant was issued after a man had sent out a tweet about Biden’s Utah trip and added he was “CLEANING THE DUST OFF THE M24 SNIPER RIFLE.”
Robert Gehrke contributed to this story.
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