Pool Reports by Jonathan Lemire, Politico
| Sent: | Reports: |
| February 10, 2023 08:44 |
White House Pool #1: Checking In + Briefing Good morning, I'll be your substitute pooler today. It will be a busy day at the White House, where POTUS will host a meeting of the nation's governors and then, later, he will welcome the President of Brazil. Ahead of call time, the WH advises that NSC Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby will join Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre at the press briefing today. The day's schedule: 11:15 AM THE PRESIDENT and THE VICE PRESIDENT welcome the nation's Governors to the White House during the National Governors Association Winter Meeting 3:30 PM THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY welcome President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Ms. Janja Lula da Silva of Brazil to the White House to further strengthen the close relationship between the United States and Brazil 3:50 PM THE PRESIDENT holds a bilateral meeting with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil Briefing Schedule 1:30 PM Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre |
| February 10, 2023 09:04 |
White House Pool #2: Brunch Lid The WH has called a brunch lid until 10:45 am. |
| February 10, 2023 11:04 |
White House Pool #3: Gathering for governors The WH has called the pool for the president's remarks to the nation's governors. |
| February 10, 2023 11:37 |
White Pool Report #4: Governors Event Begins POTUS entered the East Room at 11:33 for a reception for the nation's governors. The list of attendees is below. The bipartisan group of governors, seated at tables set up in a large rectangle, all stood to applaud as Biden entered the room Wearing a blue tie, POTUS told the governors that they had a lot to tackle, and joked that they had "a problem with all the money we're sending you." He added that they have "a lot to do." The VP is sitting to his right. The program is now beginning and is being live-streamed on the White House website. The WH sends along the bipartisan attendees: The President and the Vice President will welcome the nation's Governors to the White House. In attendance for the National Governors Association Winter Meeting:
Run of show:
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| February 10, 2023 11:59 |
White House Pool #5: Governors Event Ends POTUS began his remarks at 11:45 am, having been preceded by Gov Spencer Cox (R-UT), the VP, and Gov Phil Murphy (D-NJ). The event was live-streamed. POTUS saluted the governors "for making the trains run on time" and said they all have "a lot that has to get done," including implementing the funding from laws already passed. "We can disprove that we are a broken system, that we are too extreme and divided to get anything done," said POTUS, saluting the bipartisan nature of the group Speaking quietly, he touted projects on which the White House and the governors have worked together: vaccinations, infrastructure, mental health challenges, etc. POTUS also underscored some of his proposals from the State of the Union and reiterated his stances on upcoming budget negotiations. He concluded at 11:56. Pool is being escorted from the room |
| February 10, 2023 13:37 |
White House Pool #6: Briefing delayed The White House advises that the press secretary's briefing has been delayed until 2:00 pm. |
| February 10, 2023 14:14 |
White House Pool #7: 2 minutes to briefing At 2:13 pm, the White House issued a two minute warning for the press briefing. |
| February 10, 2023 14:16 |
White House Pool #8: Briefing begins At 2:14 pm, the White House press briefing began. It will feature Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and John Kirby from the NSC. It is being live-streamed on the White House website. |
| February 10, 2023 15:15 |
White House Pool #9: Briefing ends + Gather for Lula arrival A very newsy press briefing ended at 3:14 pm. The pool is now gathering for the arrival of Brazilian president Lula. |
| February 10, 2023 15:56 |
White House Pool #10: Lula arrives + Object comment POTUS stepped out of the White House South Portico at 3:51 pm. He said "it was a success" in response to a shouted question about the object shot down over Alaska. An SUV carrying Brazilian President Lula rolled up on the driveway a minute later, passing a number of flag-bearing Marines Lula stepped out of his vehicle and the two men shook hands, exchanged a few words and smiled for the cameras They stepped inside the White House at 3:54. Pool is now gathering outside the Oval Office for the leaders' bilat |
| February 10, 2023 16:21 |
White House Pool #11: Oval Office The two leaders walked the Colonnade at 4:02 pm and a smiling POTUS ignored further questions about the object shot down over Alaska Pool entered the Oval Office two minutes later. His words translated, Biden welcomed Lula and said "both of our democracies have been tested of late," referring to the insurrections in January 2021 in the U.S. and last month in Brazil, but said that "democracy prevailed" in both nations. POTUS said the two nations "reject political violence" and affirmed his commitment to "stand together" to adhere to democratic values around the world. POTUS notes that the US and Brazil are the two largest democracies in the hemisphere. POTUS added that he was "looking forward" to their discussions Lula, also using a translator, thanked POTUS and said Brazil had "isolated from the world itself for four years," referring to the tenure of his predecessor. He said his predecessor despised international relations and lived "fake news morning, afternoon and night." POTUS jokes: "sounds familiar." Lula continued, saying that the acts of violence at the Capitol in Washington and the government buildings in Brazil can never be repeated. He then stressed the need to work on climate change, particularly in the Amazon, again criticizing the policies of Bolsanaro. Lula, who spoke at much greater length than POTUS, concluded with an urgent call to rally the nations to rally for democracy and to preserve the rainforest. The two men then ignored a lot of loud, shouted questions. Pool exited the Oval at 4:19
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| February 10, 2023 16:45 |
White House Pool #12: POTUS-Lula Bilat Attendees From the White House: The President is holding a bilateral meeting with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil. U.S. Manifest • The President Brazil Manifest • His Excellency Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva, President of the Federative Republic of Brazil |
| February 10, 2023 18:16 |
White House Pool #13: Lid POTUS' bilat with Lula has ended and the White House called a lid at 6:12 pm. As flagged earlier, Lula is expected to gaggle at the sticks shortly. Have a good night and weekend. |
Pool Reports below by Raquel Krähenbühl, Globo News - Brazil
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| February 10, 2023 15:34 |
Foreign Pool Report #1 - Visit of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil - Background Boa tarde! This Brazilian will be your foreign pooler during President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's visit scheduled for 3:30pm. This is Lula's second international trip (third country) since taking office on January 1. He went first to Argentina, January 23-24, and Uruguay, January 25. President Joe Biden met Lula for the first time in 2009, when he was vice president. This is going to be their first in-person meeting as presidents. The two leaders spoke twice since Lula was elected on October 30, 2022. POTUS called the day after the election to congratulate Lula, and again on January 9 to offer solidarity after Bolsonaro's supporters attacked the buildings of Brazil's government in Brasilia. (POTUS never had a phone call with former President Bolsonaro) Last week, after meeting President Lula, the new US Ambassador to Brazil, Elizabeth Bagley, said both presidents have "very engaging personalities" and that she is "fully confident they will be best friends". Bagley told Lula that Biden sees him "as not only a leader in his own country, but a regional leader and a global leader". The engagement between the two administrations started soon after Lula was elected. On December 5, the National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan, visited Brazil and extended the invitation for the visit. Both sides expect the meeting between the two presidents today will resume and strengthen the relationship between Brazil and the US. They hope it will set their agendas for the years ahead. Previewing the meeting, a US Senior Administration Official said the objective is for the "two leaders to really get to know each other to align on priorities" and "set the stage for additional high-level engagements between the two countries". The SAO added the "focus is not going to be on deliverables". ON THE AGENDA: The Brazilian government offered some details on the agenda and what Lula's focus will be: "Climate change (strengthening governance to favor more effective decisions by international forums); defense of democracy (international cooperation, fight against extremism, hate speech and misinformation, internet governance, human rights); economy (trade and investment, energy transition, supply chain, food security); global issues (negotiated discussion of peace in Ukraine, including the participation of more neutral global players in the conflict) and regional issues (relationships between South America, and Mercosur)". - Democracy: This is an issue that is very close and crucial for Biden and Lula. In two years, both leaders of the biggest economies in the Western Hemisphere suffered coup attempts. Lula wants to discuss with Biden how to fight extremism and misinformation. He said he wants to hear President Biden's experience in the US, and to propose an international forum to discuss how to tackle extremists to not allow the "resurgence of fascism" in the world. Biden is planning to hold the second Summit for Democracy in March. The first summit was focused on defending against authoritarianism, fighting corruption, and advancing human rights. - Climate Change: The two presidents put climate and environment in the center of their agenda. They are hoping to revive cooperation on climate, especially to protect the Amazon rainforest. There's an expectation that President Biden could announce the US will join a multilateral fund –funded by Norway and Germany– to help fight Amazon deforestation–the Amazon Fund. A Senior Administration Official said they "want to find ways to be as supportive as possible on this but also in other areas of Brazil's climate leadership". After Lula's election, Sullivan said the presidents will talk "about a variety of forms of assistance, not just technical assistance, but financial assistance as well". Biden has defended that the United States and other major economies have the obligation to help Brazil protect the rainforest. Since taking office, Lula has started to crack down on illegal deforestation in the Amazon and restore relationships with countries that finance forest protection. - War in Ukraine: This could be a trickier discussion for both presidents. Lula's position on the war contrasts to Biden's. Last week, the Brazilian president said "if one doesn't want to, two can't fight". During the campaign, Lula came to say Zelensky is "as responsible as Putin for the war", and "the U.S. and the E.U. are also guilty" for not asserting that Ukraine would not join NATO. Lula is against the adoption of sanctions on Russia and rejected a request to send ammunition to Ukraine arguing Brazil is "a country committed to peace". The Brazilian leader stated he wants to propose to President Biden a group of nonaligned countries, like Brazil, China, and India, to mediate peace between Ukraine and Russia. BIO: Lula is a former labor leader who helped found the Workers' Party (Partido dos Trabalhadores). In 1986 he was elected to Congress, and in 1988 was one of the congressmen who signed Brazil's new Constitution after the dictatorship. After running for president unsuccessfully three times, Lula became the president of Brazil for the first time 20 years ago, serving two terms - from to 2003 to 2010. His social welfare programs lifted millions of Brazilians out of poverty. In 2018, Lula was convicted of corruption and money laundering and sentenced to 12 years in jail. He was released after one year and a half when his charges were annulled by a Supreme Federal Court decision that found the judge of the case was biased. Lula decided to run for a third term claiming he was the only one who could defeat Bolsonaro. He campaigned on very similar issues than Biden: tackling climate change and deforestation, expanding social welfare programs, increasing taxes on the rich. Last week, the president suggested that if he has "good health" and the "energy of a 40-year-old man", he might run for re-election at the age of 81 years old. |
| February 10, 2023 16:04 |
Foreign Pool Report #2 - Lula's Visit - Arrival + Delegation President Joe Biden welcomed President Lula and First Lady Rosângela (Janja) Lula da Silva at 3:53pm at the south grounds of the White House. The First Lady Jill wasn't there because she is feeling under the weather. She tested negative for COVID. The presidents greeted each other warmly. Lula was wearing a blue dark suit and a Brazil color tie. The first lady had a gray coat and blue dress. After posing for the official photo, and waving to the press, they entered the White House. Two presidents then walked slowly along the colonnade to the Oval Office where they are scheduled to meet for about 15 minutes. They ignored shouted questions. After that, they are scheduled to have an expanded meeting in the Cabinet Room for about 40 minutes. The Brazilian delegation includes: Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauro Vieira This is Lula's 7th visit to the White House. He was welcomed by President George W. Bush four times (2002 as president elect, 2003, 2007 and 2008) and by Barack Obama twice (2009 and 2010), according to the Brazilian government. It will be the first time President Biden has welcomed a Brazilian president in the White House. He had a bilateral meeting with Bolsonaro last year on the sidelines of the Summit of the Americas, in Los Angeles. The last time a Brazilian President met an American President in the White House was almost three years ago – when President Donald Trump welcomed Bolsonaro March 19, 2019. Before that, Obama welcomed President Dilma Rousseff June 30, 2015. |
| February 10, 2023 17:11 |
Foreign Pool Report #3 – Lula's Visit - Oval Office Meeting Pool stayed for about 15 minutes in the Oval. The presidents didn't answer any questions. The focus of their remarks were democracy and climate change - topics they both are aligned. Biden started saying that "both of our nation's strong democracies have been tested… In both democracies prevailed" "When we spoke in January, I affirmed my commitment to our relationship. And when we spoke about our mutual agenda, they sound very similar". President Lula - who doesn't speak English- improvised his remarks in Portuguese. He spoke the most. Lula said he is "repositioning Brazil the new world geopolitics, because brazili isolated itself for the last four years" He thanked president Biden for acknowledging his election, for defending democracy. And congratulated him for his State of the Union address: "It would fit very well if the speech would be make in Brazil" President Biden smiled at that comment. Without mentioning Bolsonaro, Lula said Brazil had marginalized itself for the last four years. "The last president didn't enjoy to keep international relations with any country. His world started and ended with fake news in the morning, afternoon at nigh" President Biden responded "it sounds familiar" and laughed. Lula: "Brazilians like peace, democracy, carnaval, samba and joy..... POTUS smiled and first pumped the air. Please check against the official transcript. More to come |
| February 10, 2023 18:02 |
Foreign Pool Report #4 – Lula's Visit - More Oval Meeting + Schedule The end of Lula's remarks were focused on : More Lula quotes: "We have some issues that we can work out together. First, never allow a new chapter of capitol invasion, and never more should happen what happened in Brazil.... The second issue we have to work together on is inequality, and racial issues.... " " The third issue is the climate change issue.... In the last years the rainforest and the Amazon were invaded by political lack of rationality, human irrationality, because we had a president who would send people to deforest, would send illegal gold diggers entering the indigenous reserves" "I took a pledge that until 2030 we will reach zero deforestation in the rainforest in the Amazon. We will take all the endeavors to transform the Amazon not as a shrine to humanity, but as a center for research so we can share with the rest of the world, so we can benefit from the biodiversity that exists in the Amazon. So we can transform this wealth to benefits. To take care of the Amazon today is to take care of planet earth. We have the obligation to leave to our sons and daughters and grandsons a better world that the one we live in. " " We need to establish a new conversation to establish a new global governance that can make decisions that all countries will abide by. If we dont do that, it's not going to work. I dont know the forum for that, I dont know if it is at the UN, G20, G8. But something we have to try so that countries, congress, and the business sector will obey the decisions we make at the global level. If this does not happen, all our discussion on climate change will be damaged" "I can reassure you and the rest of the world that you can count on Brazil in the fight for democracy and in the fight for the preservation of the Amazon rainforest. This is not a government program, this is a faith commitment of someone who believes in humanism, someone that believes in solidarity. I dont want to live in a world where humans become algorithms. I wanna live in a world where human beings are human beings. And we need to take care very carefully of what god gave us, that is the planet earth" The oval meeting was scheduled to last about 15 minutes, but it lasted 50 minutes. They are now at the expanded meeting. A joint statement is expected after the meeting. SCHEDULE: After the meeting, Lula will come to the stakeout position to talk to the press. The Brazilian president arrived last evening in Washington. This morning he met with Senator Bernie Sanders, and later with representatives Sheila Jackson-Lee, Pramila Jayapal, AOC, and Ro Khanna. Lula will stay in the Blair House until tomorrow morning when he will fly back to Brasilia. |
| February 10, 2023 18:14 |
Foreign Pool Report #5 – Lula's Visit - gaggle about to start President Lula is coming to the the stakeout position now. It's possible to hear Lula's supporters outside. |
| February 10, 2023 19:06 |
Foreign Pool Report #6 – Lula's Visit - gaggle part 1 President Lula spoke for about 12 minutes. He took questions on the Amazon Fund, the War in Ukraine, abortion and Angola. Lula said he and Biden discussed "the need to create a group of countries that are not involved directly or indirectly in the war with Russia in order to find a way to make peace. I'm convinced we have to find a way to end this war. You need to have partners able to build a group of negotiators with credibility on both sides who can end the war" He said the "thinks " the US will join the Amazon Fund, but confirmed they " did not discuss specifically the Amazon fund" Full gaggle: " First I would like to congratulate you because this job as a journalist must be very complicated, being in a cold like this one waiting to ask a question. Journalism is a profession that should pay well. The second thing is to tell you that it is with great joy that I return to Brazil after having a long conversation with President Biden about various problems of interest to the USA and Brazil both in the field of social equality, racial equality and in the field of democracy, the field of clean energy, the climate issue above all and the strengthening of democracy. I think everyone knows the importance of a good relationship between Brazil and the USA, whether from an economic-commercial point of view, whether from a political point of view, or from a cultural point of view. It is very important that we are together. And I am sure that the US, with president biden, is very convinced of the need to help so that the world can be cared for with a little bit of affection, especially for countries that have many forest reserves, such as the countries of south america, brazil , congo, other african countries. I think it's important to take into account that we need to transform the richness of our biodiversity into something that can be of benefit to the Brazilian people who live in the Amazon. I really wanted President Biden to participate in building a Fund with all the developed countries in the world so that we can take better care of our planet You are aware of our commitment in Brazil to reach zero deforestation by 2030. It will be a very delicate job. We are going to have to talk with many governors, with many mayors. Instead of prohibiting it, we're going to have to help encourage cities not to have to deforest. We are going to be very tough with loggers who cut forests without any authorization or prospectors who do not even have signs to prospect or research. I am convinced that we are in another era, Brazil returns to the international scene, using its political power, the respectability that Brazil has conquered so that we can, with other countries, fulfill the task that we have to fulfill with humanity. One very important thing that I think needs to happen is that we have to have a global governance with more authority, that other countries can participate in the security council so that some decisions related to climate change can be taken at an international level. I felt the willingness of the American president to contribute to this, our teams will continue talking, in all areas so that we can have a very important evolution for Brazil and for the United States." Your pooler asked if the US will enter the Amazon Fund. Lula : "I THINK THEY WILL. Not only do I think, but I think it is necessary for them to participate. Brazil does not want to transform the Amazon into a sanctuary for humanity, but Brazil also does not want to give up the fact that the Amazon is a territory over which Brazil is sovereign. What we really want is to share science from all over the world, a profound study on the need to maintain the Amazon, but to extract from the richness of the Amazon's biodiversity something that can mean an improvement in the quality of life of the people who live there, who there are more than 25 million people. And by doing this we will be ensuring that there is greater security in relation to the planet because now everyone knows that the planet is round, that it rotates, and that therefore it passes everywhere, and no one escapes the distribution that we do on the planet. I did not specifically discuss an Amazon fund, I discussed the need for rich countries to assume responsibility for financing all countries that have forests, and only in South America, in addition to Brazil, do we have Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, the Guyanas, we have several countries that we have to take care of." More to come |
| February 10, 2023 21:15 |
Foreign Pool Report #7 – Lula's Visit - gaggle part 2 " The second thing is that I spoke with president Biden what I had already said to president Macron, what i had already said to German chancellor Olaf Scholz about the need to create a group of countries that are not directly or indirectly involved in the war of Russia against Ukraine so that we can find the possibility of making peace. That is to say, I am convinced that a way must be found to put an end to this war. And I felt the same concern from President Biden because nobody wants this war to continue and it is necessary to have partners capable of building a group of negotiators that both sides believe in and that both sides can understand and end this war. The first thing is to end the war then it is to negotiate what will happen in the future, but you have to stop shooting if there is no solution." |
| February 10, 2023 21:26 |
Foreign Pool Report #8 – Lula's Visit - JOINT STATEMENT The brazilian government released this joint statement following the meeting between President Biden and President Lula : That's all for today, folks. Boa noite!! |
Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Pool Reports of February 10, 2023 Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/359650