How Many U. S. Presidents Have Visited El Paso?

Don't stop at the most recent presidential visits, you have to go way, way back to get the total.

El Paso's proximity to the Border and it's vast military presence alone make us an ideal spot for the President of The United States to campaign and/or take care of business.

Throughout history, going back at least as far as the point where travel between here and Washington D. C. became doable, we have attracted Presidents from both the United States and Mexico.

I mean, why wouldn't we? The Border runs right through here and our area military bases are handling some of the country's most vital ... and super secret ... defense work. Plus, the Mexican food around here is the bomb.

The first POTUS to hit town was Benjamin Harrison in 1891. He was greeted by a "great and motley throng" according to this article and he gave a speech at the County Courthouse according to this one. He barely beat the 2nd one, William McKinley, who showed up in 1901.    .

Next up, "William the 2nd", aka William Howard Taft who showed up in 1909 to meet with Mexican President Porfirio Diaz. The first time Presidents from these two countries ever met in person.

Herbert Hoover stopped by in 1932 but he didn't stay long. About 15 minutes according to this story. Next came Harry Truman in '48, followed by John F. Kennedy in '63. JFK's Texas tour eventually led hm to Dallas. Sadly, he would go no further.

His successor, Lyndon Johnson, set a record for POTUS visits to El Chuco, dropping by in '64, '67 and '68. The '67 visit was to officially mark the end of the land dispute that is memorialized at the Chamizal.

Next came Gerald Ford in '76. He would be remembered for, among other things, his clumsiness. A trait which inspired a number of Chevy Chase pratfalls on SNL Ronald Reagan came by in 1983 and became the first Commander In Chief to speak before a hispanic organization.

The modern era has seen Bill Clinton, ('96), George "Dubya" Bush, (2005) Obama, (2010) and Donald Trump, (2019), in El Chuco.

So, for now, 13 is the magic number for Presidents and 15 for total visits since LBJ was here 3 times. That's the number of Presidential visits that we know of anyway. Who knows who may have slipped in "unannounced".

Presidents can be secretive and even "shady", if you will, when they want to be.