Pool Reports of December 1, 2024

In-town pool report #1

Pool is gathering for World Aids Day event on South Lawn.

In-town pool report #2

The commemoration of Worlds AIDS Day has ended.

The President and the First Lady emerged from the Oval Office at 2:48. THe program began at 2:51 with Dr. Daniel Driffin. He was followed by Jill Biden at 2:53 and the mother of Ryan White at 2:57. She introduced the president who spoke from 3 p.m. to 3:11 at which point he and the first lady walked hand in hand back to the Oval Office.

To mark the day, a large red ribbon was hanging over the South Portico and the Truman Balcony along with Christmas decorations. Most moving, the national AIDS quilt was arrayed over the South Lawn, the first time since its debut in 1987 that it has been on the South Lawn in its entirety. The quilt was artially shown at the White House East Wing in 2012.

The more than 50,000 panels with the names of more than 105,000 people was dramatic testament to the decades-long fight against both HIV and the discrimination often felt by victims and their families.

A White House official told the Advocate the the red ribbon was "a tribute to the past and a call to action for the future." It also cited HHS estimates that today more than 1.2 million American older than 13 live with HIV.

The president was introduced by Ryan White's mother who said when she first came to Capitol Hill to lobby for the bill that would be named after her son the first senator she met was Joe Biden, who greeted her with tears and promises of support.

That scene repeated itself Sunday, with the now-President embracing her while she was crying.

When he started speaking, his voice was noticeably husky. "Sorry, I have a cold," he explained as he dabbed at his nose with a handkerchief and had a small cough.

He praised the several hundred gathered in the cold of the South Lawn. "After all these years," he said, they have made the world better. "Love you," he said. Referencing his own loss of children he said, "to the families here... we know how hard it is. We know.

He said it was his honor to "use this sacred place to make sure everybody is seen." He singled out Dr Anthony FAuci who was in the crowd, drawing strong applause and calling him "a true hero here today, a good man." He added, "AS my mother said, God love you, Anthony."

He noted that the quilt weighs 54 tons and is "the largest community arts project in the entire world." He praised the families, saying, "Together, we have the spirit of resilience." :"We stand united in this fight" against what he called "stigma and misinformation.," which he said were "horribly, horribly wrong." He praised former President George W. Bush for his PEPFAR program to fight HIV. He also called for the repeal of "outdated HIV criminalization statutes."

Praising those who have fought for decades, he said, "I know it's a fight we're going to win" because of "the power of this movement; the power of memory." He said of the people there, "You're changing the world." When he concluded, one man shouted "WE love you."

When he departed, the crowd was free to roam among the rows of quilts. The weather for the event was cold with blue sky over the president's right shoulder and dark clouds to his left.

From the White House:

The President and the First Lady are delivering remarks at an event to commemorate World AIDS Day with survivors, their families, and advocates, and discuss the Administration's historic work to advance policy solutions to the HIV/AIDS epidemic at home and abroad.

Speaking Program
Dr. Daniel Driffin, Creator, D3 Consulting
The First Lady
Jeanne White-Ginder Mother of Ryan White, Namesake of the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act & Introducer
The President

Travel Pool Report #1 // Rolling to JBA

Hi all, I'm Abby. I'll be your print pooler through 12/2.

Your pool was loaded into the vans at 9:25pm. We did not see the President.

Motorcade started rolling to Joint Base Andrews at 9:53pm.

Travel Pool report #2 // AF1

Travel pool arrived at Joint Base Andrews at 10:11pm. The ride was uneventful.

The President walked up the stairs of Air Force One, tail # 29,000. He turned back and gave a salute and thumbs up. He ignored shouted questions about why he changed his mind about pardoning Hunter Biden.

The White House sends the following list of people who are traveling with the President to Angola:

Annie Tomasini, Assistant to the President & Deputy Chief of Staff
Mike Donilon, Assistant to the President & Senior Advisor to the President 
Ben LaBolt, Assistant to the President & Senior Advisor to the President & Director of Communications
Karine Jean-Pierre, Assistant to the President & Senior Advisor to the President & Press Secretary
Jon Finer, Assistant to the President & Principal Deputy National Security Advisor
Richard Ruffner, Assistant to the President & Director of Oval Office Operations
Ryan Montoya, Assistant to the President & Director of Scheduling & Advance
Amos Hochstein, Deputy Assistant to the President & Senior Advisor to the President for Energy and Investment, National Security Council
Ashley Williams, Deputy Assistant to the President & Senior Advisor to the President & Director of Strategic Outreach 
Curtis Ried, Deputy Assistant to the President & NSC Chief of Staff & Executive Secretary
Charles Fromstein, Special Assistant to the President & Senior Director for Visits & Diplomatic Affairs, National Security Council
Jacob Spreyer, Special Assistant to the President & Personal Aide to the President

Travel pool report #3 // Wheels up

Wheels up at 10:25pm.