ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – President Joe Biden will become the second sitting American chief executive to deliver Morehouse College’s commencement address.
Biden follows in the footsteps of his former boss – then-President Barack Obama – who delivered Morehouse’s 2013 commencement address.
Sunday’s commencement is Morehouse’s 140th such graduation exercise. Biden’s Morehouse address is his second time delivering a commencement address to an HBCU. Last year, Biden spoke at Howard University, the alma mater of Vice President Kamala Harris.
This weekend marks the president’s first visit back to the Peach State after a March campaign rally.
Several politicians, including Senators Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, Mayor Andre Dickens, Rep. Nikema Williams, Fulton County Commission Chairman Robb Pitts and more, greeted Biden on the tarmac before he left in a motorcade.
Biden then attend an event for Black voters Saturday evening, according to his campaign team.
RELATED: President Biden arrives in Atlanta ahead of campaign event, Morehouse commencement speech
The president is set to depart from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport at 11:30 a.m. Sunday.
Atlanta News First will stream the entire Morehouse College commencement, including President Biden’s remarks. Watch live at 9 a.m. by downloading the ANF+ app on Roku, AppleTV, FireTV or YouTube. Just search “Atlanta News First” anywhere you stream!
Last month, Morehouse announced it had invited Biden to deliver the address, but almost immediately after the announcement, students, faculty and alumni began expressing concern over Biden’s visit to the campus.
Morehouse faculty voted to give Biden an honorary degree before his commencement speech. Several people who met him on the tarmac, including Warnock, are Morehouse alumni.
But Biden’s appearance at Morehouse isn’t without controversy. On May 8, several students from historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) gathered at Morehouse, a nationally acclaimed HBCU, to protest his speech.
The protesters said they disagree with Biden’s support of Israel in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
Biden and former President Donald Trump will also be in Atlanta on June 27, 2024, for a historic presidential debate hosted at CNN’s Atlanta’s studios.
The debate will air live on CNN, CNN International, CNN en Español, CNN Max and CNN.com, at 9 p.m.
Both Biden and Trump are the respective, presumptive Democratic and GOP nominees for president, setting the stage for a historic rematch of their 2020 campaigns. They have been polling well within the margins of error for every poll thus far in the election season, making Georgia a virtual toss-up.
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