President Barack Obama visits Fort McHenry
President Barack Obama visited Fort McHenry in Baltimore on Friday as Star-Spangled 200 events are underway.
Video: President visits Fort McHenry | Protesters
The president arrived at the fort around 4 p.m. Friday as dozens of onlookers lined the city streets, snapping pictures and waving American flags. After being led inside, the president viewed the original manuscript of the Star-Spangled Banner.
Burt Kummerow, president and CEO of the Maryland Historical Society, and Ranger Vincent Vaise, of the National Park Service, led the tour. The president said, "What do we have here?"
"If the Declaration of Independence is the birth certificate of the United States, that's the high school diploma," Vaise told the president.
Touring the fort with the president were Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Sen. Barbara Mikulski, Sen. Ben Cardin, Rep. Elijah Cummings, Rep. John Sarbanes and Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger.
After touring the fort, the president went to a private fundraiser for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee at a house in Baltimore. Tickets for the event range from $10,000 to $32,400. DSCC Chairman Michael Bennet, Mikulski and Cardin are also attending.
Obama came to the microphone at 5:15 p.m. He noted the Maryland congressional delegation, individually, and then spoke for about 10 minutes, standing.
"We live in deeply troubled times internationally -- challenging times," the president said.
He mentioned his ISIL speech from this week, saying that group has displayed brutality that has "redefined the standards of terrorists." He said he was confident that with the new Iraqi government in place that "we're going to be able to push them back and ultimately destroy them."
Still, Obama said, "it's a sobering time."
"What also is a silver lining in the terrible mayhem that ISIL has wrought throughout the region is that it has focused attention, I think, for the first time in a long time in the Muslim world with great clarity about the need to completely distance from and ultimately snuff out this particular brand of Islamic extremism," the president said.
Obama also mentioned Ukraine. Domestically, he touted progress on job growth, deficit reduction, energy production, the auto industry and college accessibility.
"Despite a few bumps along the way we've got millions of people who have health care who didn't have it before," the president said. "So we've made unbelievable progress."
"We are the envy of the world but in order to actually fully realize that potential we've got to have a government that works," Obama said. "The reason you’re here today is you recognize that."
Read the president's full remarks
The president wrapped up with questions and was headed back to The White House around 6:30 p.m.
Along the way from the fort to the fundraiser, the motorcade passed plenty of onlookers, including a few protesters, who held signs that read, "Stop fundraising - fight terrorism" and "Let Israel defend itself."
Some of the protesters said the president reneged on a promise to grant relief to suffering families. The group CASA de Maryland wants the president to refocus his decision on immigration.
Feeling betrayed, about 20 protesters claimed the president broke his promise to take action on immigration before the end of the summer.
"I think it's treating Latino voters like pawns on a chess board," said Andrew Reinel.
Recently, the president said he is postponing any movement until after the midterm congressional elections in November.
"I'm going to act because it's the right thing for the country, but it's going to be more sustainable and more effective if the public understands what the facts are on immigration, what we've done on unaccompanied children and why it is necessary," Obama told NBC's "Meet The Press."
"I think it's pure politics to be honest. Every day, 1,100 people are deported from this country, so we believe he needs to think about the repercussions. Every day that he waits it means 1,100 families are separated," Reinel said.
Protesters wanted to make sure the president, financial donors and other Democratic supporters understood how bitterly disappointed they are with the president's latest stance on immigration reform.
"I think we need to do everything we can, we need to take every opportunity we can to make sure he gets the message," Reinel said.
Star-Spangled 200 festivities are underway this week at the fort and in the Inner Harbor.