Famous stops of the President in Mississippi

JACKSON, Mississippi (WJTV) – It’s not every day that a president comes to the Magnolia State, but when it does happen, it’s rarely forgotten.

From Roosevelt to Biden, visits by U.S. presidents typically have no impact on Mississippi’s elections. Yet among Mississippians, visits have often become an integral part of their heritage. Even insignificant trips to small towns have changed the state’s – and even the country’s – view of the commander in chief.

Theodore Roosevelt

• Year: 1902
• Location: Next, Mississippi

During a hunting trip with Mississippi Governor Andrew Longino, President Roosevelt refused to shoot a captured bear, saying it would be unsportsmanlike. The story quickly spread throughout the country, and a toy store owner in New York soon began calling his stuffed bears “teddy bears.”

The name stuck and today the teddy bear is the state toy of Mississippi. The nearby town of Rolling Fork hosts an annual celebration called “The Great Delta Bear Affair.”

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

• Year: 1934
• Location: Amory, Mississippi

Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s legacy in the northeast Mississippi city weighs much more than a welfare check or a teddy bear. He arrived in town on a steam locomotive and spoke to a crowd of about 15,000 people, more than twice the city’s current population. The railroad company donated the train to the city of Amory in 1953.

Today, the locomotive, which weighs over 28 tons, is one of six trains of its kind still in existence. Almost 90 years later, the locomotive is still a source of pride for the small town.

Ronald Reagan

• Year: 1980
• Location: Neshoba County, Mississippi

Then-California Governor Ronald Reagan was nominated by the Republican Party for president in July 1980. In early August, he gave a speech at the Neshoba County Fair. However, the speech about states’ rights was overshadowed by the location of his speech: a county with a difficult history of race relations.

Yet the state and country remember the fair most as the place where President Reagan launched his campaign. Reagan defeated incumbent Jimmy Carter, and Mississippi has voted red in every presidential election since.

George W. Bush

• Year: 2005
• Location: Mississippi Gulf Coast

President Bush’s repeated visits throughout the Gulf Coast and Mississippi followed the unprecedented destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina. The federal government provided billions of dollars and countless man-hours to help Mississippi and surrounding states rebuild.

However, the federal government’s initial response angered many Americans. Bush’s public image began to crumble, and when he left office he was one of the most unpopular presidents.

Bill Clinton

• Year: 2016
• Location: Jackson, Mississippi

More than 15 years after leaving the White House, President Bill Clinton visited Cups Coffee Shop in Fondren and Jackson State University while on the campaign trail to help his wife, Hillary Clinton, become the 45th President of the United States.

That year, American politics underwent a dramatic shift. Clinton won the Democratic nomination but lost to Donald Trump in the general election. Nearly eight years later, her defeat remains one of the biggest political upsets in modern American history.

Donald Trump

• Year: 2019
• Location: Tupelo, Mississippi

A few days before the Mississippi state election, President Donald Trump held a rally for Republican candidates at the Bancorp South Arena in Tupelo. Trump focused primarily on bolstering support for then-Lieutenant Governor Tate Reeves (R-Miss.), who was running against then-Attorney General Jim Hood (D-Miss.). Reeves won the gubernatorial election the following week.

It is unclear what impact Trump’s support had on Reeves’ victory, but his presence in the state did gain him support among party loyalists for the upcoming 2020 presidential election. Since then, that support has largely remained in Mississippi and nationally.

Joe Biden

• Year: 2023
• Location: Rolling Fork, Mississippi

Midway through President Biden’s term, tornadoes in the Mississippi Delta have turned the lives of many people in the Magnolia State upside down. Biden toured the devastation with state and local leaders, including Governor Reeves.

The visit had no noticeable impact on his approval ratings in the state or nationally. Given the recent nature of the visit, only time will tell how Biden’s trip to the Delta will affect his legacy in Mississippi and nationally. However, there probably won’t be any stuffed animals named after him.