One Detroit man’s ride with Joe Biden in the presidential motorcade

When Air Force One touched down at Selfridge Air National Guard Base Thursday afternoon, Darren Riley found himself standing on the tarmac in the bitter Michigan cold, waiting for President Joe Biden.

Earlier in the day, the 32-year-old Detroit native had gotten an unexpected question from the Biden campaign: Would he want to go for a ride in the presidential motorcade? Riley readily accepted, and just hours later he was shaking Biden’s hand and climbing into a heavily armored SUV.

Speaking to CNN afterwards, Riley was initially apologetic as he searched for words to describe the encounter.

“It was a shock,” he said. “I’m still processing it.”

First, Biden was eager to show Riley some of the trappings of the presidential SUV, turning on the seat massager for him to enjoy during the ride.

As the motorcade began to make its way through the Detroit suburbs to They Say – a local restaurant in Harper Woods – Riley said the president wanted to dive in right away. During the course of the half-hour ride, Biden inquired about Riley’s upbringing and childhood, education and his business.

“He really asked me who I really am, and what I’m about,” he said.

Riley – who runs his own environmental tech company called JustAir – said he never could have imagined having a conversation with the president. Then with little warning, he found himself with the surreal opportunity to ask the president of the United States for some advice, on everything from his company to how he could be a better leader.

“He grabbed my hand and looked at me in the eye,” Riley said. The president, according to Riley, told him that it didn’t matter whether the issue was something significant, like politics, or a little more…