Middleville — First lady Jill Biden visited West Michigan on Wednesday amid calls that her husband, President Joe Biden, should withdraw from the presidential race following a poor performance in last week’s debate.
But the looming presidential election seemed hardly the forefront of the minds of kids at YMCA Camp Manitou Lynn in Middleville, who danced and sang to songs including “Party in the USA” and “Firework” as Biden wandered the dining hall and interacted with students.
Biden visited the camp and introduced the “SUN Meals” program, which provides free meals and snacks to children at schools, parks and other locations during the summer when regular school lunches are not available.
“For many kids, summer vacation is stolen from them by hunger,” Biden said. “Many children rely on school lunches. But summer vacation doesn’t mean parents get an extra paycheck. That means hard choices.”
As Biden made the rounds at the dining hall, he asked students what the best part of attending camp was. One student said it was the food. YMCA Camp Manitou Lin smokes its meat on-site, and Steve Sallies, the camp’s food director, said it’s more nutritious than the highly processed foods kids typically eat.
Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Lansing) joked about her concern that she smelled the delicious aroma of pulled pork with Michigan cherry barbecue sauce but wasn’t able to sample it.
Other responses included swimming activities at camp, taking naps, making new friends and meeting the First Lady.
Biden visited “Hidden Helpers” campers — military-connected children of wounded, ill or injured service members and veterans — who are enrolled in the Camp Corral program as part of the “Joining Force” effort to support military families.
The small group of campers, who Jill Biden met with privately on the porch, were working on a mural that will be displayed in the White House after the Fourth of July holiday to raise awareness of the 2.3 million children of wounded, ill or injured military personnel and veterans.
The first lady’s visit was not without election-year politics.
Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Caledonia) cited data from the American Agriculture Council that shows a Fourth of July barbecue will cost 30% more than it did five years ago and blamed the Biden administration for the inflationary increase in costs.
But Biden blamed rising costs on companies continuing to raise prices even as they make record profits.
“Kids should have the chance to play like kids, to learn and grow, to discover their dreams in school and beyond,” said Jill Biden, “and every parent should be able to provide for their kids and give them the best start possible for the rest of their lives.”
Jill Biden’s visit to Michigan included a stop in Traverse City.
more:Biden vows to keep campaigning after crushing debate defeat: “Nobody’s trying to get rid of me.”
The first lady has been increasingly seen in recent days as one of Biden’s top advisers assessing his performance in the June 27 debate amid growing pressure to drop out of the presidential race.
“We want to welcome the real President Biden to Michigan,” Victoria LaCivita, a spokeswoman for Trump’s Michigan campaign, said in a statement. “At least at this point, the lack of explanation for the Democrats’ failed policies is deliberate, not a sign of any apparent cognitive decline.”
Texas Democrat Rep. Lloyd Doggett on Tuesday became the first Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives to publicly call on Biden to end his campaign.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who is increasingly being seen as a possible successor to Biden as the leading Democratic presidential candidate, did not appear in Middleville with the first lady and did not greet her at the airport when she arrived in Grand Rapids on Tuesday evening.
The president was scheduled to meet with Democratic governors at the White House on Wednesday after they reportedly expressed concerns about Biden’s campaign. Whitmer plans to personally attend the meeting with Biden and other Democratic governors at the White House, her spokesman said Wednesday.
Whitmer has denied telling the Biden campaign that she could no longer win Michigan, and a person close to her potential 2028 rival said her message to Politico was intended to “hurt her by portraying her as disloyal to Biden.”
“Anyone who claims I say we can’t win Michigan are lying. Let’s keep trying,” Whitmer tweeted on Monday.
But Democrats hoping for a younger candidate were quick to point out that Whitmer did not specify who “we” she referred to in her tweet, and linked to her own federal political action committee rather than the Biden campaign or the Democratic National Committee.
Nearly a week after the debate, the president has stepped up his activity and begun taking steps to recover from it, scheduling his first in-person interviews with major news networks in months on Friday, planning visits to the battleground states of Wisconsin and Pennsylvania on Friday and Sunday, and announcing plans to hold a solo press conference at the White House next week.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a potential successor to Biden if he drops out of the race, is scheduled to campaign in Michigan on Biden’s behalf on Thursday. The Van Buren County Democratic Party is hosting a Fourth of July event in Southaven, inviting the two-term Democratic governor to attend.
