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President Biden Visits Northern Michigan Cherry Orchard

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President Joe Biden made an Independence Day weekend top in Northern Michigan, touring a cherry orchard on the start of the National Cherry Festival.

The president and his entourage avoided the hectic crowds of downtown Traverse City instead to tour King Orchards near Central Lake.

It was just the third time since 1992, where a sitting US president visited Northern Michigan, the first of those not actively campaigning for re-election.

“What is it about Michigan on the eve of Independence Day, what brought you here?’ he was asked,  “Cherry pie,” he answered.

He didn’t say much to the media on his stop but it can be assumed he spoke a lot to his hosts, Senators Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters, as well as Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

“I’m the ‘fix the damn roads’ governor so I talk about infrastructure with everybody including the president,” said Whitmer, “We haven’t had conversations about specific projects but certainly with the incredible flooding that we suffered a week and a half ago, infrastructure is on everyone’s mind.”

Juliet King McAvoy, one of the family namesake of the orchard, guided the first half of the tour.

King McAvoy was talking to him about “the clean energy infrastructure” and said she was excited about it. She told Biden she saw him test drive the Ford F-150, saying, “I can’t wait, I can’t wait to get one.”

The president approached a tree with red cherries that four workers were at, two on ladders in the tree, and two standing on the ground.

He greeted the four workers, “Good to see you,” he said, giving one of the workers a hug.

King said they had been working at the farm for 35 years after arriving from Guatemala. She said they now have grandchildren here and children who have gone to college. “What they do for the orchard is invaluable,” she said. She said they are skilled laborers.

She said that citizenship offers them protection and security.

Biden could be heard telling her, We’re a nation of immigrants, every one of us.” He picked a cherry out of one of the baskets and ate it as the tour continued.

The president and his Michigan hosts then began to work a lengthy rope line behind which attendees held various signs, including one that had a water droplet on it and said “WATER LIFE” and another that said, “Thank you Gov. Whitmer.”

They cheered as the press and advance approached ahead of the president and cheered again later as the president bent down to take a photo with some of them.

Whitmer was the lead in the line and spoke t the press about the conversations they were having.

“I think there is more to come. I know that we are all focused on ensuring that we have the infrastructure to support electric vehicles, smart vehicles, shared and autonomous,” said Whitmer, “I mean there’s so much investment that’s going to have to happen to support electric vehicles.”

The president didn’t take many direct questions about the trip but Whitmer says the talks do not end this weekend.

“The president and I have had ongoing conversations about a lot of this,” said Whitmer, “And will probably talk about it a little more later today.”

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