Biden kicks off a fresh appeal to rural Americans in Minnesota

President Joe Biden travels to Minnesota Wednesday to kick off a series of events by the administration aimed at connecting with rural America, a visit to the home state of a political rival where he will appeal to a voting bloc often ignored by Democrats.

During a visit to a family farm in Northfield, Minnesota, Biden, the White House said, “will announce over $5 billion in new investments from his Investing in America agenda – including the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act – to advance rural prosperity, economic development, competition, and sustainability.”

That includes funding for climate-smart agriculture techniques, rural infrastructure awards, rural economic development projects, an expansion of high-speed internet infrastructure and other efforts to boost access to renewable energy and lower energy costs, the White House said.

The choice of Minnesota to kick off the rural outreach is notable; Biden will be in the home state of Rep. Dean Phillips, who recently announced a long-shot presidential primary campaign against the president.

Over the next two weeks, Biden, Cabinet members and other senior officials will travel across the country as part of this event series, the White House said.

Biden’s message in these rural parts of the country, the White House said, is that “rural Americans do not have to leave their hometowns to find opportunity.”

Biden is also set to attend a campaign fundraiser in Minneapolis later Wednesday.

The trip comes amid inflamed tensions as Israel launches deadly strikes in Gaza. There has been frustration in the Muslim American community over the White House’s handling of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, and Minnesota has a sizable and growing Muslim population.

The state is also home to the largest Somali population in the US. The state elected the first Muslim member of Congress, former Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison in 2006, and he was succeeded by one of the first two female Muslim members of Congress, Rep. Ilhan Omar, also a Democrat.

Omar, who represents a district that includes parts of Minneapolis, is among a group of progressive Democrats in the House calling for a ceasefire and has been vocally critical of Israel.

“Make no mistake: these human rights abuses are being carried out with U.S. weapons, U.S. funding, and with ‘no red lines.’ And now we are set to vote on an additional $14 billion with no restrictions or conditions. The United States Congress should not fund violations of U.S. and international law,” she said in a post to the social media platform X following a strike on Gaza’s largest refugee camp this week.

And Ellison, who is now Minnesota’s attorney general, was present at a private meeting last week where a group of Muslim-American leaders told Biden he and his administration needed to show more empathy toward Palestinian lives and pushed back on his comment this week casting doubt on civilian death figures in Gaza provided by the health ministry there, according to two of the attendees. The meeting, described as frank and productive, also included calls for a ceasefire in Gaza.