Amid increasing violence in the Middle East and questions still swirling around the aircraft shot down over Ukraine last week, the White House is not considering canceling President Obama’s upcoming trip to the West Coast for Democratic party fundraisers.
Mr. Obama is scheduled to leave Washington Tuesday and headline a party event in Seattle later that night. He will then attend Democratic fundraisers in California before returning to Washington on Thursday.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters Monday that Mr. Obama effectively can do his job while on the road, and that he will be capable of monitoring the conflict between the Israeli military and Hamas, the investigation into the downed plane and any other foreign crises that may arise.
“When the president travels, he travels with an array of staff and advisers and communications equipment that allows him to do his job,” Mr. Earnest said. “If it becomes clear there’s a need for him to come back to the White House … then we’ll make a change to the schedule.”
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
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