President Biden will visit Philly again this week. Here are all the times he’s come since taking office.
The president has personal ties to Philly. It’s also a big city in a swing state that will be key to the 2024 presidential election.
President Joe Biden is due back in Philadelphia on Thursday, less than a month since his last visit here. It will be the sixth time Biden has come to the city this year and at least the 13th since he took office in January 2021.
The White House hasn’t released details about the event except that Biden will talk about “Bidenomics,” his term for his economic agenda. He argues his approach will bolster the economy and the middle class.
Sixteen months before the general election, Biden has ramped up some travel but nowhere outside of Washington, D.C., and Delaware has gotten more presidential attention than Philadelphia. This year, Biden is averaging about one trip to the city each month.
The president, who spent his early years in Scranton, is no stranger to Philadelphia. Not only did he represent nearby Delaware in the Senate for 36 years, first lady Jill Biden was born in Hammonton, N.J., and grew up in Willow Grove in Montgomery County. Several of the Bidens’ granddaughters graduated from or currently attend the University of Pennsylvania, which has also brought the Bidens back to town.
More than personal ties, though, it’s a big city in a swing state that’s convenient to get to from Washington. And as the birthplace of democracy, it’s got built-in symbolism for various political messages.
It’s been heavily reported that Biden’s reelection campaign will be based in Wilmington, but campaign finance reports list no office rental space. Most of Biden’s travel recently has been on official White House business, not for his campaign. But as president, he can effectively campaign through his official business of running the country.
Here is a timeline of Biden’s trips to Philadelphia during his tenure as president, starting with the most recent.
June 2023: Biden took an aerial tour of the rebuilding underway to repair I-95. Then he kicked off his reelection campaign at a rally with union members at the Convention Center.
May 2023: The Bidens returned to the University of Pennsylvania, this time to attend his granddaughter Maisy’s graduation.
April 2023: Biden traveled to the University of Pennsylvania to attend a senior art show for his granddaughter. While in town, he and the first lady dropped in for brunch at Parc.
March 2023: Biden announced his $6.8 trillion budget blueprint at the Finishing Trades Institute in Northeast Philadelphia.
February 2023: Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris attended the winter meeting of the Democratic National Committee and visited the Belmont Water Treatment Plant, where he unveiled $500 million in funding for lead pipe replacements in Philadelphia.
November 2022: Biden attended a Democratic campaign rally at the Liacouras Center in North Philadelphia ahead of the midterm elections, where he was joined on stage by former President Barack Obama.
October 2022: After delivering a speech on infrastructure in Pittsburgh, Biden traveled to Philadelphia to attend a fundraiser for then-Senate candidate John Fetterman at Union Trust.
September 2022: Biden warned that former President Donald Trump and his allies in Congress were an existential threat to democracy in a fiery speech outside Independence Hall.
June 2022: Biden addressed labor leaders at the AFL-CIO Constitutional Convention at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.
March 2022: Biden spoke at the House Democratic Caucus Issues Conference at Penn’s Landing and toured Luis Munoz-Marin Elementary School.
January 2022: The Bidens volunteered at Philabundance, a food bank based in South Philly, to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
April 2021: Biden, a well-known fan of Amtrak (the train station in Wilmington is named after him), traveled to a rail yard in Philadelphia to celebrate the railroad company’s 50th anniversary.
July 2021: Biden delivered a 25-minute speech at the National Constitution Center, where he called on Americans to protect voting rights and called out Republican efforts to change election laws.