Phil Matier: President’s Visits To The Bay Area Always Eventful

By Phil MatierNovember 25, 2013 at 8:01 pm

Filed Under:Code Pink, Fundraisers, Ju Hong, Phil Matier, President Barack Obama, Protesters, San Francisco, Undocumented Immigrant

US President Barack Obama speaks on immigration reform at Betty Ann Ong Chinese Recreation Center in San Francisco, California, on November 25, 2013. (JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images)

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) — It was a whirlwind day for President Barack Obama as he made three stops in San Francisco on Monday. Things always seem to be lively when he comes here, as this trip marked the ninth time the president visited the Bay Area in the past two and a half years.

Mr. Obama was heckled when he spoke about immigration reform in Chinatown. Then it was the usual coalition of Code Pink, along with young protesters that greeted him at the SF Jazz Center.

San Francisco has never been shy when it comes to expressing its feelings towards the visiting president. When undocumented grad student Ju Hong called on the president to stop deportations, it definitely made the highlight reel for CNN and all the other cable news networks.

Phil Matier: President’s Visits To The Bay Always Eventful

But you have to give props to the president for how he handled the situation. When the Secret Service approached Hong, Obama called them off which got a round of applause.

When I spoke with Hong, he said he didn’t buy the president’s answers and felt like he was being lectured to.

Most of the president’s events here recently have been private fundraisers and this is the first one where he had a public event in a while.

So will he have a 10th visit? I’m sure it’s already in the works. The president raised millions of dollars by talking politics with his supporters at Salesforce.com, namely with CEO Mark Benioff.

The snake may have bit in San Francisco this time, but I’m sure next time the president will be a little tighter with who he allows on stage with him.

Phil Matier

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