First Lady Jill Biden arrives at Grand Rapids Airport ahead of community events

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – First Lady Jill Biden arrived at Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Michigan on Tuesday to attend several events this week following the first presidential debate of the year.

Biden landed in Grand Rapids at around 5:35 p.m. on Tuesday, July 2, and was greeted on the tarmac by Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss, U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-Grand Rapids) and her two sons. She will be in Middleville on Wednesday to support child nutrition and military family programs.

According to her office, the First Lady plans to visit a YMCA in Middleville to raise awareness of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s summer nutrition programs for children.

She will also visit a Hidden Helpers summer camp in Middleville as part of Biden’s Joining Forces initiative to support military families to recognize and support children of wounded, ill or injured military-connected soldiers or veterans.

Biden will fly to Traverse City later Wednesday for a community event, but her office did not provide immediate details on what or where the event will take place.

Early Tuesday, she was in Pennsylvania, another swing state, where she discussed education and job opportunities for the Hispanic community with elected officials in Allentown.

Her office said the First Lady had no events or meetings planned in Grand Rapids for Tuesday evening.

On Thursday, June 29, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump met for the first of two scheduled debates. Biden’s weak performance heightened concerns among some about whether the 81-year-old is capable of leading the country and defeating Trump.

Since then, there have been calls for Biden not to run for re-election because another Democrat would have a better chance of defeating Trump. National media and pundits have floated possible candidates to succeed him at the top of the Democratic ticket.

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Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s name has surfaced on the list of possible successors, but the governor insists Biden can still win the election and Michigan, and released a statement Monday reiterating her support for the president, the Associated Press reported.

“I am proud to endorse Joe Biden as our nominee, and I stand behind him 100 percent in the fight to defeat Donald Trump,” she said in her statement. “Not only do I believe Joe can win Michigan, I know he can because he has the revenue: He has reduced health care costs, brought back manufacturing jobs, and is committed to restoring the reproductive freedom women lost under Donald Trump.”

Trump and Biden have both recently campaigned in the Mitten State to make their case to key voters. Trump made a campaign stop in Detroit on June 15, while Biden visited Detroit on May 19 for an NAACP dinner.

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The First Lady was last in Grand Rapids in April when she attended the First Lady Luncheon hosted by the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation.