Pool Reports of August 24, 2021

WH pool report 1

Good morning. The White House press office passed this along a few minutes ago:

From a White House official:

From August 23 at 3:00 AM EDT to August 24 at 3:00 AM EDT, a total of approximately 21,600 people were evacuated from Kabul. This is the result of 37 US military flights (32 C-17s and 5 C-130s) which carried approximately 12,700 evacuees, and 57 coalition flights which carried 8,900 people.

Since August 14, the U.S. has evacuated and facilitated the evacuation of approximately 58,700 people. Since the end of July, we have re-located approximately 63,900 people.

WH pool report 2

Per the WH:

The President's meeting with G7 leaders began at 9:45 AM.

WH pool report 3

From the WH press office:

Update:

The President's meeting with G7 leaders began at 9:37 AM. The President began speaking at 9:45 AM, and concluded his remarks at 9:52 AM.

Attending virtually:
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, United Kingdom
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Canada
President Emmanuel Macron, France
Chancellor Angela Merkel, Germany
Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Italy
Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide, Japan
President Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission
President Charles Michel, European Council
Secretary-General António Guterres, United Nations
Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, NATO

Attending in the South Court Auditorium:
Secretary Antony Blinken
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan
Daleep Singh, Deputy National Security Advisor and Deputy Director of the National Economic Council
Amanda Sloat, Senior Director for Europe
Sumona Guha, Senior Director for South Asia
Andy Rabens, Director for Global Engagement and Multilateral Diplomacy

WH pool report 4

At 1122, the WH press office reports that "The G7 meeting has ended."

WH pool report 5 -- Biden remarks

Good afternoon from the White House, where the weather is exactly as you might expect 29 long days shy of the autumnal equinox. If you can be in northern New England right now, you should do it.

Careful readers of the WH Daily Guidance will note that the president was supposed to deliver remarks starting at noon, yet there are no remarks to be listened to right now.

Will advise when I know more.

WH pool report 6 -- daily briefing postponed to 1445

The press office advises that the press briefing has been moved from 1300 to 1445.

Still no word about the president's remarks, scheduled for noon.

WH pool report 6a -- COVID briefing still at 1400, at this moment

The press office clarifies that the COVID briefing is still on for 1400, for the time being.

Will advise if there is a change.

WH pool report 7 -- lunch lid, new COVID briefing time 1345

The White House press office just announced a lunch lid until 1345, which is now the scheduled start of the COVID briefing, as well.

WH pool report 8 -- Biden remarks set now at 1400

Updated guidance from the WH just now:

2:00 PM THE PRESIDENT delivers remarks on our ongoing efforts in Afghanistan to evacuate American citizens, SIV applicants and their families, and other vulnerable Afghans, and his meeting with fellow G7 leaders on how our nations can come together in support of the Afghan people
Roosevelt Room
In-House Pool (Gather 1:50 PM – Brady Press Briefing Room)

WH pool report 9 -- briefing delayed

The WH press office advises that the press briefing rescheduled for 1445 will now take place after the president's remarks.

(Which were rescheduled to 1400, but which have not happened yet.)

WH pool report 10 -- briefing resked, remarks delayed

The latest from the press office:

The press briefing will now be at 1530.

The president's remarks, which will not include the House vote, will take place at 1630.

WH pool report 11 -- 1545 briefing

That 1530 briefing? Make it 1545.

WH pool report 12 -- Psaki starts briefing

Briefing began at 1543.

WH pool report 13 -- press briefing over

Press Sec Jen Psaki's briefing ended at 1624.

WH pool report 14

Pool was brought into the Roosevelt Room, in the interior of the West Wing across from the Oval Office, at 1648.

The president was scheduled to deliver remarks at 1630 and is expected to arrive shortly. They are being carried live on the White House web site and possibly some cable networks and stuff.

WH pool report 15 - 2 min warning

We have a 2 min warning for the president's remarks.

WH pool report 16 — Biden remarks begin

The president entered the Roosevelt Room at 1703 to begin his speech.

He stood at a lectern set in front of the fireplace and a painting of Theodore Roosevelt riding a horse. The FDR portrait is directly to his right.

The meeting table ordinarily here is gone, with the press pool arranged in front of Biden behind a blue velvet rope.

The teleprompter is directly ahead of the president, below the TV cameras.

The remarks are being carried on the WH web site and elsewhere.

WH pool report 17 - Biden finished — says leaving by Aug 31 depends on Taliban cooperation, also lid

The president concluded his speech at 1715.

He said he expects the evacuation to wrap up by Aug 31, and hopes it will, but that it depends on the Taliban's cooperation.

"It's a tenuous situation."

Said that "every day that we're on the ground" is a day US forces could be attacked by ISIS K.

"I'm also mindful of the increasing risk."

He added that how the Taliban are treated by the international community going forward will depend on how they behave right now.

The press office declared a travel/photo lid at the conclusion of his speech, at 1716.

More complete quotes coming ASAP.

WH pool report 18 -- Some quotes from Biden's speech

Biden spoke for 12 minutes and did not take questions afterward.

Some quotes:

"We are currently on pace to finish by August the 31st. The sooner we finish, the better. Each day of operations brings added risk to our troops."

"I've asked the Pentagon and the State Department for contingency plans to adjust the timetable should that become necessary. I'm determined to ensure that we complete our mission."

Regarding his discussion with the other G7 leaders this morning:

"We agreed that we will stand united in our approach to the Taliban. We agreed that the legitimacy of any future government depends on the approach now taken to uphold their international obligations, including to prevent Afghanistan from being used as a base for international terrorism. And we agreed that none of us are going to take the Taliban's word for it. We will judge them by their actions."

Biden opened his remarks by praising the votes in the House to advance his infrastructure proposals.

And with that, until next month, barring any late night updates on various things the press office has been updating poolers on, have a good evening.

WH pool report 19 -- stats in Biden's speech

The WH sent this out for distribution just before the president's remarks, which I only saw just now. My apologies:

From a White House official:

From August 24 at 3:00 AM EDT to August 24 at 3:00 PM EDT, a total of approximately 12,000 people were evacuated from Kabul. This is the result of 19 U.S. military flights (18 C-17s and 1 C-130), which carried approximately 6,400 people, and 31 coalition flights, which carried 5,600 people.

Since August 14, the U.S. has evacuated and facilitated the evacuation of approximately 70,700 people. Since the end of July, we have relocated approximately 75,900 people.

Okay. NOW have a good evening.

WH pool report 20 -- Para-Olympics lighting

From the WH:

Tonight, the White House is lit up in red, white, and blue in support of Team USA and all of the Paralympians proudly representing our country in Tokyo. Go Team USA!