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President Obama To Visit Detroit Auto Show

DETROIT (WWJ) - Detroit is getting set for a lot of visitors who'll check out the 2016 North American International Auto Show and this time around, one of those visits will be Presidential.

President Barack Obama used his weekly address to announce that he's coming to Detroit on January 20 to visit the auto show. He said his trip to the Motor City will highlight progress made in the region since the auto industry bailout, adding that when the crisis came several years ago, he wouldn't turn his back on Detroit.

"Some said it was too late to turn things around. But I refused to turn my back on so many of the workers that I'd met. Instead, I placed my bet on American workers. I placed my bet on American manufacturing," he said.

Some criticized his plan as a "road to socialism" or a "disaster" waiting to happen, but Obama said he would "make that bet again any day of the week."

"Since our plan went into effect, our automakers have added more than 640,000 new jobs. We've cut the Detroit-area unemployment rate by half. The big three automakers are raising wages," Obama said. "Later this month, I'll visit the Detroit Auto Show to see this progress firsthand, because I believe that every American should be proud of what our most iconic industry has done."

Obama's visit comes during the second week of the event, which is open to the public.

The last president to visit the auto show was Bill Clinton in 1999, but WWJ Auto Beat Reporter Jeff Gilbert said Obama's visit will be far different.

"[Clinton] visited on a Friday, the last day of the preview week, during a time when the show was closed because of supplier days, so security was relatively easy," said Gilbert. "During the public days it's going to be very difficult because there are two things that they do for a presidential visit: One, they've got to sweep the whole building to make sure nothing threatening is left there, and then after they sweep the building they've got to make sure that everybody who goes through is screened with a metal detector, bomb sniffing dogs, things of that nature."

Gilbert said his best guess is Obama will visit the Auto Show first thing in the morning.

"Maybe they can do their sweep overnight and open the show to the public a little bit later," he said. "I can't imagine him taking a tour of the show with thousands of unscreened people in Cobo Hall at that time. That just doesn't make sense."

Whatever the case may be, Obama's visit to Detroit will be one to remember.

"He's going to be here on the 20th with very interestingly will be one year to the day before he departs office and is succeeded," said Gilbert. "So, that could very well make this President Obama's last trip to Detroit and it's very symbolic that he would come to the North American International Auto Show."

It's not yet clear if Obama plans to make any other stops during his trip to Detroit.

 

 

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