President Biden is postponing his first trip to Africa as president because of Hurricane Milton, the White House announced Tuesday.
The president was scheduled to head to Germany then Angola this week to fulfill a promise that he’d visit the Africa as president. But as Hurricane Milton barrels toward Tampa, Florida, as a powerful Category 4 storm, the president will remain in Washington, D.C. to oversee the federal response to the storm.
“Given the projected trajectory and strength of Hurricane Milton, President Biden is postponing his upcoming trip to Germany and Angola in order to oversee preparations for and the response to Hurricane Milton, in addition to the ongoing response to the impacts of Hurricane Helene across the Southeast,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
The decision to remain in Washington comes as communities across the Southeast are still reeling from Hurricane Helene.
The president was scheduled to leave for Germany on Thursday, before leaving for Angola later in the week. Mr. Biden was expected to be in Angola’s capital city of Luanda from Oct. 13 to Oct. 15 to discuss economic partnerships and a vision for Africa’s first transcontinental open-access rail network connecting the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, among other issues.