Why US President Joe Biden canceled his visit to Italy

US President Joe Biden has canceled his visit to Italy to focus on responding to the wildfire disaster at home. (Source: Getty Images)

According to the White House announcement, on the same morning, Mr. Biden traveled to Los Angeles County in California to meet with police, firefighters and emergency responders battling historic fires in the area as well as approve a major disaster declaration for the state.

White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said: “President Biden has decided to cancel his upcoming visit to Italy to continue to focus on leading the entire federal response effort in the coming days.”

CNN news agency said that at the time of the announcement, six fires had broken out across Los Angeles County and were still not under control.

California Governor Gavin Newsom said that as of the night of January 8, there were “five deaths and there could be more.”

Last December, the White House announced President Joe Biden's visit to Italy from January 9-12, 2025 to meet with Pope Francis, President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of the host country.

The visit to Italy is expected to be Mr. Biden's last foreign trip as US President, before US President-elect Donald Trump takes office on January 20.

Before announcing the cancellation of his visit to Italy, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that Mr. Biden had planned to “discuss efforts to promote peace around the world ” with leaders in Italy.

This is not the first time domestic issues have forced President Biden to postpone a foreign trip. In October, Hurricane Milton forced the 46th White House chief to postpone a scheduled trip to Germany and Angola.

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