Sacramento’s train station was a popular location for presidential visits before air travel became common. Scroll to the bottom of this gallery to find out who this is.
Bee file via the Center for Sacramento History
President Joe Biden is visiting Sacramento on Monday for his first time in office to view wildfire damage in the region, after stopping in Long Beach to appear with Gov. Gavin Newsom on the day before California’s recall election. Here’s a look at past presidential visits to the Sacramento region:
Donald Trump
President Donald Trump speaks to the media before he meets with California Gov. Gavin Newsom and officials to discuss recent wildfires in the western states at Sacramento McClellan Airport on Monday, Sept. 14, 2020, in Sacramento. Paul Kitagaki Jr. pkitagaki@sacbee.com
President Donald Trump tours the damage by the Camp Fire in Paradise in November 2018 with then-Gov.-elect Gavin Newson, FEMA Director Brock Long, Paradise mayor Jody Jones and then-Gov. Jerry Brown. Paul Kitagaki Jr. pkitagaki@sacbee.com
Barack Obama
President Barack Obama talks about the environment during the 20th Annual Lake Tahoe Summit at Harvey’s Lake Tahoe Hotel and Casino on Wednesday Aug. 31, 2016 in South Lake Tahoe. Paul Kitagaki Jr. pkitagaki@sacbee.com
George W. Bush
President George W. Bush, right, campaigns for Rep. John Doolittle, R-Roseville, left, at the Serrano Country Club in El Dorado Hills on Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2006. Renée C. Byer Sacramento Bee file
President George W. Bush tours the California Fuel Cell Partnership to view advanced transportation technology in the West Sacramento on Saturday, April 22, 2006. Paul Kitagaki Jr. Sacramento Bee Staff Photo
Bill Clinton
President Bill Clinton speaks to the crowd gathered at McClellan Air Force Base in North Highlands with a F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter on May 10, 1995. José Luis Villegas Sacramento Bee file
President Bill Clinton talks with Lt. Gov. Gray Davis in front of the Archway Frostie in Rio Linda on Jan. 17, 1995. Clinton and Davis were in Rio Linda to assess damage from flooding. Mitch Toll Sacramento Bee file
President Bill Clinton, center and Vice President Al Gore, left, observe tiny organisms from the waters of Lake Tahoe during a two-day environmental summit meeting to assess preserving the Lake Tahoe Basin from pollution. Conducting the lake tour is UC Davis professor Charles Goldman, right. Jay Mather Sacramento Bee file
President Bill Clinton, works the crowd after the dedication of the 3,700-acre Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area near Davis Saturday, Nov. 15, 1997. Hector Amezcua Sacramento Bee file
President Bill Clinton arrives in Sacramento, followed by Congressman Vic Fazio, Congressman Robert Matsui, Sacramento Police Chief Arturo Venegas, and Sacramento Mayor Joe Serna. Randy Pench Sacramento Bee Staff Photo
George H.W. Bush
Gov. Pete Wilson introduces President Bust at a $1,000-a-plate luncheon Tuesday at the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco. Between them is Katie Boys, one of the event’s organizers, and a Secret Service agent. Bush later traveled to Los Angeles for more fund raising. Lois Bernstein Sacramento Bee file
Gov. George Deukmejian , left, introduces President George Bush at the Capitol in Sacramento. Sacramento Bee file
Ronald Reagan
President Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan visit the California Capitol for a campaign rally on Nov. 5, 1984. Dick Schmidt Sacramento Bee file
Jimmy Carter
President Jimmy Carter walks to rally in K Street Mall on Nov. 4, 1978, with congressional hopefuls Robert Matsui, left, and Vic Fazio, behind Matsui. Mervyn Dymally, right, is incumbent candidate for lieutenant governor. Harlin Smith Sacramento Bee file
A large crowd awaits President Jimmy Carter outside the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in downtown Sacramento during his visit in November 1978. Skip Shuman Sacramento Bee file
Gerald Ford
Sacramento Police and Secret Service men handcuff Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme under a Capitol Park tree after she tried to shoot President Gerald Ford on Sept. 5, 1975. Dick Schmidt Sacramento Bee file
Herbert Hoover
California Gov. James Rolph introduces President Herbert Hoover on Nov. 7, 1932, in front of the Southern Pacific station in Sacramento. The Republican presidential candidate was on his way home to vote in his home city of Palo Alto. At Rolph’s left is Mrs. Hoover. The Bee noted that it was the first visit to the city by a Republican president since Howard Taft in 1911. The crowd was estimated at 5,000, and the reception was described by a cameraman as the coldest of any in his trip across the country. Bee file via the Center for Sacramento History
This story was originally published September 13, 2021 at 8:53 AM.
Bee visuals editor Nathaniel Levine joined the staff in 2003. His work has received awards from the Society of News Design, the Best of the West journalism competition and the California News Publishers Association, among others. A native Californian, Levine grew up in Grass Valley and attended UC Davis.
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