Politics & Government

UPDATE: Mitt Romney Stops in Birmingham Friday Ahead of CBS Broadcast

GOP presumptive nominee Mitt Romney was in Birmingham Friday afternoon, giving an interview for CBS Evening News that will air at 6:30 p.m.

Birmingham's Mitt Romney's fans got a sneak peak of the Republican presumptive presidential nominee Friday afternoon, during a surprise downtown visit.

Romney and his wife Ann stopped by downtown Birmingham Friday for an interview with CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley and 60 Minutes.

In addition, CBS Evening News will be airing live from Birmingham from 6:30-7 p.m. Friday, featuring a portion of the Romney interview. According to Downtown Birmingham/Bloomfield, the show will be filmed from the top floor of the condo building at 250 Martin St., overlooking .

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According to CBS Detroit, the interview with Romney will be his first with a national news anchor since as his running mate earlier this month.

During the show, airing locally on CBS 62, CBS will air an excerpt of Friday afternoon's interview with Romney. The rest will broadcast during CBS News' coverage of the Republican National Convention during the week of Aug. 27.

Find out what's happening in Birminghamwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Selecting a Metro Detroit backdrop for the news broadcast is no coincidence: . The trip is Romney's first to Michigan since selecting Ryan as his running mate.

According to Birmingham Police Cmdr. Terry Kiernan, Romney visit was last-minute.

"We got the call last night," he said after Romney and his motorcade had pulled away, accompanied by a helicopter flying overhead. "I was dealing with the Secret Service at 9 a.m. this morning."

Romney first spent the afternoon inside the , where he interviewed with 60 Minutes. The downtown Birmingham theater was also the site of Romney's first date with his wife, Ann.

Romney then walked down South Old Woodward, all the while clusters of on-lookers watched from behind police barricades on the sidewalks. Police shut down South Old Woodward between Maple and the Birmingham 8 for a short time around 3 p.m.

Romney and his wife made time to visit with fans, a crowd of whom gathered across from the theater to cheer him on. Crowd members shouted "You're our hope!" and "We need you to be elected!"

The visit even took City Manager Bob Bruner by surprise. Bruner said he came downtown to wait for Romney but stopped by Einstein Bros. Bagels for a cup of coffee. While he sat at a table outside, he said Romney pulled up and police gave him the option of moving or staying put.

"He walked by me and he even bent down to shake the old woman's hand who was sitting with me," he said.


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