Biden postpones foreign trip as Hurricane Milton expected to hit Florida

WASHINGTON -- US President Joe Biden has postponed a planned trip overseas that will bring him to Germany and Angola later this week and will instead focus on the preparations for the expected landing of Hurricane Milton in Florida.

"Given the projected trajectory and strength of Hurricane Milton, President Biden is postponing his upcoming trip to Germany and Angola in order to oversee preparations for and the response to Hurricane Milton, in addition to the ongoing response to the impacts of Hurricane Helene across the Southeast," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement on Tuesday.

The president spent the morning in the White House, first receiving a briefing on the federal government's response to Hurricane Helene and the preparations for Hurricane Milton, and then providing an update on those efforts.

"We're going to stay focused on what's ahead of us right now," Biden said in remarks explaining the postponement of his foreign trip.

According to the original plan, Biden was scheduled to depart Thursday for Berlin, where he will convene the Ukraine Defense Contact Group for a meeting to coordinate support for Ukraine. After, he would travel to the southern African nation of Angola.

The president said he is still planning on going to both Germany and Angola, and will work out another schedule with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.