Nation's initial second gentleman visits Albuquerque on Friday

On the heels of the Thursday’s State of the Union address, a member of President Joe Biden’s team visited Albuquerque to tout the president’s infrastructure policies, which Biden has hailed as big job producers, and announce more funding for airport renovations.

The nation’s first second gentleman, Doug Emhoff, joined Mayor Tim Keller on Friday for a tour of renovations at the airport terminal and afterward braved a sudden downpour of sleet and rain to address a rally of about 40 supporters on a tarmac at the Albuquerque International Sunport.

Amid the constant drone of jet engines, Emhoff spoke after touring the airport with the mayor, New Mexico Lt. Gov. Howie Morales and other officials and seeing work that Emhoff said was made possible by Biden’s policies.

Emhoff, who is Vice President Kamala Harris’ husband, declared he was undaunted by the weather, since he was not a stranger to Albuquerque. He visited back in 2021 in his first solo trip as the country’s first second gentleman.

“New Mexico was the first official visit I made as second gentleman of the United States,” he said.

Emhoff in his remarks praised Biden for rebuilding the post-pandemic economy.

“This economy is jamming folks. This economy is booming and it’s going to continue to boom as we move forward,” Emhoff said, recapitulating the president’s full-throated defense of his policies in the State of the Union address less than 24 hours earlier, which Emhoff had attended.

“(Biden) talked about how our economy has been built from the middle out and the bottom up, not the top down, which means that we’re investing in all of America to make sure that everyone has a fair shot and nobody’s left behind,” Emhoff said, “and as part of President Biden’s and Vice President Harris’ commitment to the economic growth of our country, our Biden-Harris administration is investing in infrastructure all across the nation, which impacts the entire community.

“And we’re providing funding for airport terminals ... and that’s why we’re here today.”

In 2022, the city and Sunport officials announced a major renovation project aimed at upgrading the airport’s safety and security infrastructure and bettering its food, beverage and retail offerings. The airport is also getting new carpeting, lighting and furniture. The project is estimated to cost $87 million.

Emhoff said the airport received $7 million in 2022, another $7 million in 2023, and most recently a $5.8 million grant, administered through the Federal Aviation Administration, for the renovation work under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that Biden signed in November 2021. The latter grant was awarded for baggage system upgrades.

The entire airport project is known as “Dream of Flight: Sunport Reimagined” and is expected to be finished in December.

“You rarely get to see behind the scenes,” Emhoff said about the renovation work. “You rarely get to see the people that make it all happen. ... But I got to see what’s happening here. ... First of all, there’s a lot of union jobs building all this, 100 to 200. There’s going to be a whole new set of vendors here, most of them local, there’ll be about 500 new jobs right here at the airport.”

The jobs theme also fits well into the mayor’s message about his own efforts to boost the image of Albuquerque as a thriving metropolis.

“Our airport is in the midst of a generational renovation,” Keller said in his remarks, thanking Emhoff and the administration for helping to fund the project. “Thanks to the second gentleman and his team and the team at the FAA, we are able to finally fix our jet bridges. ... What our president has done for infrastructure is absolutely incredible.”

To the applause of supporters gathered, Keller repeatedly said, “Thank you, President Biden.”

After speaking at the Sunport, Emhoff planned to tour parts of the city to further highlight what he said are President Biden’s successes.

Republican Party of New Mexico Chairman Steve Pearce said Emhoff’s visit to Albuquerque didn’t really dig into the state’s problems, despite Biden’s high-sounding claims. Pearce said the Biden message was simply on repeat in the airport visit.

“Our state is dealing with major problems, such as the cost of living due to inflation and the influx of fentanyl and crime pouring through the open border,” Pearce said.

“Doug Emhoff did not address any of the key issues affecting New Mexicans. Instead, he repeated the President’s out-of-touch rhetoric about how good the economy is, ignoring the reality that many here are experiencing.”