President Joe Biden traveled to Minnesota on Wednesday to tout the impact of his economic agenda on rural communities.
The visit comes a day after the White House announced more than $5 billion in funding for agriculture, infrastructure and economic development in rural areas.
The funds come from legislation including the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act, the White House said. Of that money, $1.7 billion will go toward "climate-smart agricultural practices," $1.1 billion will go to loans and grants for upgrading rural infrastructure, and $2 billion is set for economic development projects.
The White House is also funneling millions of dollars into expanding high-speed internet and improving energy efficiency in rural areas, according to a fact sheet.
Speaking at family farm in Northfield, south of Minneapolis, Biden talked about steps his administration is taking to strengthen local food systems, "so rural communities have better access to affordable locally grown food, so the farmers who provide that food actually benefit.”
"It's about basic fairness," Biden said. "Right now, the farmers and ranchers who actually grow the food only to see a small percentage of the profit when the food is sold."
Biden also addressed the Israel-Hamas war at the top of his remarks, specifically the opening of the Rafah border crossing from Gaza to Egypt for certain foreign nationals and injured civilians.
“We’ll see more of this process going on in the coming days. We’re working nonstop to get Americans out of Gaza as soon and as safely as possible,” he said. “This is the result of intense and urgent American diplomacy with our partners in the region.”
Biden's trip to Minnesota is the first time he's traveled to the state since Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., announced he is challenging Biden for the Democratic nomination for president.
On Wednesday evening, Biden will participate in a campaign reception, the White House said.
The campaign portion of the Minnesota trip was months in the making, planned before Phillips jumped into the race, a Biden campaign source said. The official side of the trip was also months in the making, according to White House spokesperson Emilie Simons.
Phillips jumped into the race on Oct. 26 after months of criticizing Biden's re-election bid and urging fellow Democrats to challenge the incumbent.
During Tuesday's press briefing, a reporter asked White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre why the White House chose to have the president speak in Minnesota, and whether the decision had anything to do with Phillips' primary challenge.
Jean-Pierre said she would not speak to next year's election, citing the Hatch Act, which prevents government officials from taking part in campaign-related activities.
"I said this last week, and I’ll say this again: We are very proud of — or very thrilled and thankful to — to the congressman for voting with the president almost 100% of the time in the last two years, and I’ll leave it there," Jean-Pierre added.
Biden won Minnesota in the 2020 presidential election, securing 52.4% of votes to Donald Trump's 45.3%.
"We are treating these 2022 newly Democratic voters as key persuasion targets for 2024 and are not taking any vote (rural/suburban/urban) for granted," a source close to the Biden campaign told NBC News ahead of the president's campaign event said in an email. "Dem successes in 2022 and 2023 have shown that rural voters are paying attention to the issues and the candidates and are turned off by GOP extremism."
While the president on Wednesday highlighted Bidenomics — a term the administration has embraced to encompass Biden's economic agenda — Biden has faced consistently low economic approval ratings.
A September NBC poll showed 59% of respondents disapproved of Biden's handling of the economy, and 37% approved.
