President Barack Obama to Attend Fundraisers, Talk Energy Efficiency During Bay Area Visit

President Barack Obama touched down in the Bay Area Thursday as part of a two-day visit to attend campaign fundraisers and discuss energy efficiency.

The president arrived at Moffett Field in Mountain View just after 4 p.m. PT after visiting Southern California.

From there, Obama traveled to a roundtable discussion for the Democratic National Committee at a private residence in Los Altos and a fundraiser at the Fairmont Hotel at 170 S. Market St. in San Jose, according to the White House.

The visit marks Barack Obama’s 17th visit to the Bay Area during his presidency.

Obama was greeted by protestors as he arrived at the Fairmont Hotel at 6:38 p.m. Members of the group 350 Silicon Valley were on hand to call on the president to reject plans for the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, a controversial project opposed by environmental groups.

Other demonstrators wanted to put an end to "drone warfare."

On Friday, Obama will visit a Walmart in Mountain View to talk about the importance of energy efficiency. The retail giant employs 1.3 million Americans and has been criticized for low pay and opposing labor unions.

Walmart has been telling customers the company is working on saving energy.

The speech is scheduled to begin at about 10 a.m.

Walmart employee Pam Marley plans to attend Friday's visit. She is hoping to hand Obama a letter she wrote about what it's like living pay check to pay check in the Silicon Valley.

Marley said Walmart's low wages, inadequate benefits and unreliable work hours make it tough to get by.

Protesters from "Raise the Wage Mountain View Coalition" also plan to attend Obama's Walmart visit. The group said it does not make sense for a president who is supporting an effort to raise minimum wage to have a photo opportunity at Walmart.

After visiting Walmart, Obama will depart the Bay Area from Moffett Field later that morning, White House officials said.

Obama during his Bay Area visit also is scheduled to be the guest of honor at two fundraisers for the Democratic National Committee.

One fundraiser is an exclusive round table event in Los Altos with a $32,400 per person price tag for attendees.

The other fundraiser will be held in Mountain View, with tickets for the event starting at $1,000 and ending up to $32,000 a piece.

Bay Area commuters should anticipate traffic backups as a result of the president's visit.

Bay City News contributed to this report.

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