President Joe Biden visits Dallas for campaign fundraiser
DALLAS - President Joe Biden visited Dallas on Wednesday for two private fundraisers.
And as we've seen at presidential events across the country, pro-Palestinian protesters tried to disrupt the president's plans.
Wednesday evening, Air Force One touched down at DFW Airport ahead of President Biden’s fundraisers in Dallas.
The president's trip to North Texas is short with stops only to pick up campaign donations from Democrats ahead of the November election.
The president was greeted on the runway by Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins. Texas is not a battleground state, so he's not campaigning or making any public appearances.
From the airport, the president headed to two private fundraisers in his motorcade.
The first stop was at a home in Highland Park near Preston Road and Armstrong Avenue.
According to Dallas Morning News, the event was hosted by trial lawyer Russell Budd and Dallas lawyer Regina Montaya. The other event was put on by Dallas businessman Keeland Youngblood.
Th visit caused the streets of the Preston Hollow neighborhood to be shut down all day Wednesday.
Secret Service and Dallas police officers were staged at the corner of Inwood and Northaven.
Special guests and workers were searched before entering the blocked-off street.
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Protestors also stood along Inwood holding Palestine flags.
Some spectators waited hours just to catch a glimpse of the president passing by, like 18-year-old Jordis Lee.
"I have never seen a presidential motorcade period. I'm very excited," he said.
While Arizona and Nevada are considered battleground states in November, Texas is not.
Donald Trump won the state in 2016 and 2020 with roughly 52 percent of the vote.
A January poll from the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston showed Trump with a 49 to 40 lead over Biden in Texas.
Polling shows many Americans have a negative perception of the economy, and changing that is a big focus for Mr. Biden's re-election campaign.
Biden toured the Intel Campus in Phoenix, Arizona, on Wednesday. While there, he announced a preliminary agreement with Intel for a major CHIPS and Science Act Award.
Last August, Biden signed the Federal CHIPS and Science Act, allocating $52 billion to spur semiconductor manufacturing in the country. The law seeks to encourage private investment in the sector by offering subsidies for companies that build new or expand manufacturing facilities and by helping pay for new research and development projects.
Tuesday, Gov. Greg Abbott was in North Texas talking about the state's $1.4 billion investment in growing the state's semiconductor industry with funds from the state's own CHIP Act passed in the Texas legislative session last year.
"There's not a damn thing America can't do if we set our mind to it," Biden said. "It's going to put us on track to manufacture 20% of the leading world's leading-edge chips by the end of the decade right here in the United States."
As for the Dallas fundraising trips, Texas has favored Trump in the last two elections. But SMU Political Scientist Dr. Matthew Wilson says that money raised in Texas by Biden can be spent in battleground states like Nevada and Arizona, where Biden has been spending some time campaigning.
"There are some very well-heeled Democrats who can be a significant boost to President Biden's re-election bid," Wilson said. "The other thing is that there's a competitive Senate race here, and he'll want to encourage donations to Colin Allred. He'll want to encourage party building and support for the Democratic Senate effort in the fall. So there are a couple of things that he can do by visiting here in Texas."
Reports say Biden's re-election campaign's fundraising efforts so far have dwarfed those of Trump. But Wilson pointed out that Hilary Clinton out-fundraised Trump in 2016, and Trump still won the election.
President Biden will spend the night in Dallas. He plans to fly to Houston on Thursday morning.
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