LOS ANGELES (CNS) — President Joe Biden concluded an approximately 68 1/2-hour visit to Los Angeles Saturday, boarding Air Force One at LAX bound for Albuquerque, New Mexico where he was scheduled to receive a briefing on the New Mexico wildfires.
The president boarded the Marine One helicopter at Dodger Stadium shortly after 10 a.m. for the short ride to LAX, arriving at 10:17 a.m., according to a pool report. He boarded Air Force One at 10:29 a.m., taking a few questions from the press about this weekend’s nationwide rallies against gun violence, the fires in New Mexico and a possible trip to Saudi Arabia.
On Friday, Biden was among the leaders of 20 nations attending the Summit of the Americas who signed the “Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection,” described as a pact to pursue a “comprehensive” approach to addressing the crisis; spoke at the Port of Los Angeles at the Battleship Iowa on inflation and the actions the administration has taken to try to lower prices and address supply chain challenges, hosted a “leaders retreat” and a luncheon with various summit delegates; and spoke at two Democratic National Committee fundraisers.
The introduction of the declaration states the agreement reiterates a collective will “to strengthen national, regional, and hemispheric efforts to create the conditions for safe, orderly, humane, and regular migration and to strengthen frameworks for international protection and cooperation.”
The declaration highlights commitments to assist and promote stability in communities of destination, origin and transit of migrants; regular pathways for migration; management of “humane” migration; a “shared approach” to reducing and managing “irregular migration”; and ensuring coordinated emergency response to mass migration and refugee movements.
“With this declaration, we’re transforming our approach to managing migration in the Americas,” Biden said during the signing event. “Each of us — each of us is signing up to commitments that recognizes the challenges we all share and the responsibility that impacts on all of our nations.
“And that, that will take all of our nations. ... I’ve learned by significant experience, it’s going to take all of our nations working together in partnership to address this migration issue.”
Biden later added, “Unlawful migration is not acceptable, and we’ll secure our borders, including through innovative, coordinated actions with our regional partners.”
The first fundraiser was at the Brentwood home of Andrew Hauptman, chairman of the Andell Holdings investment firm and a major Biden fundraiser. According to a statement on behalf of Hauptman, the event was expected to raise nearly $2.5 million from roughly 30 donors for the DNC, with the money bound for various state Democratic parties and grassroots infrastructure.
“With the Senate and House in play and so many other critical races this November up and down the ballot, we need to do all we can to support President Biden right now,” Hauptman said.
Movie producer Jeffrey Katzenberg was a co-chair of the event.
The second was at the Beverly Hills home of Haim Saban, the chairman and CEO of the Saban Capital Group, Inc., the private investment firm that manages a globally diversified portfolio of investments across public equities, venture capital, private equities, credit, alternative investments and real property assets.
Biden was preceded in speaking by DNC Chair Jamie Harrison, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank, and Saban, with speakers touting the importance of the 2022 midterm elections.
“We are going to live with this inflation for a while,” Biden said hours after the Labor Department said the consumer-price index increased 8.6% in May from the same month a year ago, its fastest pace since December 1981. “It’s going to come down gradually, but we are going to live with it for a while.”
Hallie Balch, the Republican National Committee's California director of communications, told City News Service that Biden "isn't even hiding the fact that he has no clue how to help Americans. Biden has continued to hurt families by instituting policies that have created record-high inflation, doing nothing to bring down costs at the pump and now he is flat out telling Americans that they have to live with the mess he's created."