Road Closures, Schedule Ahead Of President Biden's Montgomery Co Visit

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PA — Details of President Joe Biden's visit to southeastern Pennsylvania on Friday have thus far been wrapped in secrecy and muddled by conflicting reports, but a few hard specifics have now emerged about what will mark the President's first campaign speech or speeches of 2024.

The speech, originally scheduled to coincide with the three year anniversary of the Jan. 6 Capitol riots on Saturday, was rescheduled to Friday due to incoming winter storm.

Biden officials said from the beginning that the event would be at Valley Forge, with spokespersons later amending their language to say "near" Valley Forge. But it appears that at least some presidential activity will take place within the National Park itself early Friday afternoon.

Both the Tredyffrin Township Police Department and Valley Forge National Park have confirmed this, with road and park closures in place from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The President's own public schedule has him traveling from the White House to Joint Base Andrews to arrive in New Castle, Delaware by late Friday morning. He'll travel to the Philadelphia area by 1:20 p.m., where his Marine One chopper will land at Valley Forge, before traveling to Wings Field Airport in Blue Bell. The visit to Valley Forge is believed to be first, followed by a speech — it's not clear exactly where — which is slated to begin at 3:15 p.m.

Spokespersons for both Biden Montgomery County Community College confirmed to Patch that he would also appear at the school's Blue Bell campus, as well. Whitpain Township Police warned that there will be traffic in the area due to the motorcade.

"Residents and motorists should expect short traffic delays, especially mid and late afternoon," Whitpain Township said in a statement Friday morning. "Residents should have access to their homes. We ask for your patience during POTUS' visit to Whitpain."

Nearby, Wissahickon High School is also dismissing students early due to Biden's visit.

It's still unclear exactly what will happen at Valley Forge, but Washington’s Headquarters, the National Memorial Arch, and the Muhlenberg Hut area will all be closed to the public for several hours.

Both Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will be in attendance at both events. Other speakers are slated, according to materials issued by the campaign, but they had not been publicly identified as of Friday morning.

The Bidens will leave the area on Marine One to return to New Castle at 5:50 p.m.

What the event means for the 2024 election

The Biden campaign has repeatedly referred to this speech, as well as his speech Monday at Mother Emanuel AME Church in South Carolina, as "setting the stakes" for the 2024 election.

Symbols of the Revolutionary War and America's founding are fertile ground for the metaphors invoked by leading in Democrats in recent years, as they seek to paint themselves as defenders of the nation's founding values which are under existential assault by former President Trump.

Setting the event at Valley Forge, the site of one of the most fragile moments in American history, near the anniversary of Jan. 6, is meant to remind voters of the consequences of another Trump presidency, Biden's campaign said.

"Look, when we're talking about the president going near Valley Forge to deliver remarks, that's not an accident," Biden's Principal Deputy Campaign Manager Quentin Fulks told MSNBC this week. "It's because it's the place where George Washington brought a lot of colonial militias together to fight for democracy. And that's exactly what we need to do to voters, we have to bring these constituencies together to fight for our democracy, and the threat that Republicans led by Donald Trump and his agenda pose to it."

Both Trump and Biden have issued a new slate of ads ahead of his Friday speech as the campaign intensifies. Biden currently trails Trump, by 2.2 points nationally and 1 point in Pennsylvania., according to a RealClearPolitics aggregate of recent polls.

Road and park closures at Valley Forge

All closures are in place from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

• Route 252 northbound at Yellow Springs Road
• North Inner Line Drive, East Inner Line Drive, West Inner Line Drive, South Inner Line Drive, South Outer Line Road and Valley Creek Road, portions of North Outer Line Road, Gulph Road, Valley Forge Road, and River Road
• Washington’s Headquarters, the National Memorial Arch, the Park’s Administrative Parking Lot, and the Muhlenberg Hut area
• First Amendment Area at the the National Memorial Arch

Officials warned any visitors to the park to follow established protocol and guidelines.

"These park areas will be closed to the public to provide for operational activities related to security and to ensure visitor safety," the National Park Service said in a statement. "Violating a closure, designation, use or activity restriction, schedule of visiting hours, or public use limit is prohibited."

The park's Visitor Center area as well as the rest of the park will remain open.