PORTLAND, Ore. — First Lady Jill Biden arrived in Portland on Thursday for a quick stop during a whirlwind tour of three western states.
The first lady arrived at Portland International Airport before 1 p.m. on Thursday. Oregon Governor Tina Kotek, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson, along with local military members, greeted the first lady at the airport.
"It is rare, and to be honest, in all my years in elected office, I’ve never met a first lady before," said Mayor Wheeler. "It’s nice to see the first lady be here and supporting our city and taking an interest in what we do here."
After being whisked away from the airport, the first lady appeared at a "political finance event" near Lake Oswego. It was held at a private residence with about 80 people in attendance. She stayed for about half-hour, encouraging those gathered to talk to their friends about the stakes of the upcoming presidential election.
According to the White House, that was her only Portland-area appearance. By 6:15 p.m. Thursday evening, she was scheduled to be in Marin County, California, for another political finance event.
The first lady will spend the next two days in California and Arizona, attending several political events and finally delivering remarks at a community college commencement ceremony in Tempe, Arizona.
President Joe Biden will also be in the Northwest this week. His campaign said he'll be in Seattle on Friday for a campaign fundraiser, and he'll also be stopping in California.
Multiple high-level Biden administration officials have visited Oregon within the last year. Joe Biden himself last visited twice in 2022; first in April to promote infrastructure investments and again in October to stump for then-gubernatorial candidate Tina Kotek and to discuss lowering health care costs.
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