Joe Biden is in Tampa today. Here’s what you need to know.

President Joe Biden is making a campaign stop in Tampa this afternoon, where he plans to emphasize his support for abortion rights.

It will be the first official stop for the Biden campaign in the Tampa Bay area during the 2024 election season, and it comes as his campaign looks to make the case that an increasingly conservative Florida is still winnable for Democrats.

Here’s what you need to know about Biden’s appearance.

Where and when is the event?

Biden will speak about abortion rights at Hillsborough Community College’s Dale Mabry campus in Tampa, according to an event invite circulated to supporters of the president. Attendees have been asked to arrive between noon and 2 p.m., per the invitation.

Why Florida, and why now?

In a call with reporters Monday afternoon, Biden’s team emphasized that he plans to invest in Florida ahead of this November’s rematch against presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

“With our enormous financial advantage, the Biden-Harris campaign can afford to invest in many paths to victory, and that includes Florida,” Biden spokesperson Michael Tyler said on the call.

At the same time that voters pick the next president, Floridians in November will decide on a ballot initiative that would enshrine abortion rights in the state Constitution. The Biden campaign is betting that abortion will prove to be a winning issue, highlighting the differences between Trump’s record on the issue and Biden’s.

For example, the Biden campaign is quick to note that Trump appointed three of the conservative U.S. Supreme Court justices who voted in 2022 to overturn federal abortion protections. As a result of that decision and the actions of Republican leaders, Florida is set to see a six-week abortion ban go into effect at the beginning of May.

“Trump will do everything he can to ban abortion nationwide,” Tyler said. “Whenever Trump has had power, he’s used it to take away rights from women.”

When asked about the Biden campaign’s criticisms, the Trump campaign said the president has made the country less safe for women.

“Joe Biden and the Democrats are radically out of touch with the majority of Americans in their support for abortion up until birth and even after birth and forcing taxpayers to fund it,” said Trump National Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. (The Biden campaign has said it supports abortion until the point of fetal viability.)

Biden staffers are using Florida as an opportunity to talk about abortion as a national issue. The impending six-week abortion ban here will affect the entire southeast, Tyler noted on the call.

Will there be protesters?

Demonstrators who are against the United States’ support of Israel’s war on Hamas plan to make their voices heard today.

In an Instagram post last week, the Tampa Bay Area Dream Defenders called Biden “Genocide Joe,” writing, “The people of Tampa stand with Palestine and refuse to let this warmonger roam our streets!”

At least five other groups plan to have a presence as well: Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society, Tampa Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Young Lords Florida chapter and the Restorative Justice Coalition.

Several groups are planning to gather at the corner of Lois Avenue and Tampa Bay Boulevard at 1 p.m. today, according to a social media post.

Laura Rodriguez, an organizer with Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society, said Democrats need to replace Biden on the 2024 ballot.

“They need to pick a new candidate or suffer the consequences, Rodriguez said. “We’re done picking between the lesser of two evils.”