Biden to survey US wildfire damage, make case for spending plan

Slumping in the polls, the US president seeks to boost public support for his spending and climate proposals.

President Joe Biden is heading to California to drum up political support in the largest US state, hit by devastating wildfires, for the Democrat’s massive spending plans that include measures to combat climate change. Biden will also use the West Coast trip beginning on Monday to support fellow Democrat, embattled California Governor Gavin Newsom, who faces a recall vote on September 14. More than 6,800 wildfires large and small have blackened an estimated 689,000 hectares (1.7 million acres) within California alone this season. The blazes have been stoked by extremely hot, dry conditions and chronic drought that experts have said are a consequence of climate change.