Pool Reports of January 24, 2020

White House in-town pool report 1/

Good morning. It's a grey day at the White House and thus far quiet. I'm your in-town pool.

The president has two public events scheduled today: the March For Life address on the Mall at mid-day and a meeting with mayors at the White House in the 4 pm hour.

Some details from the organizers on his address to the March For Life are attached, including a link to their Facebook livestream. Event will also be live-streamed at whitehouse.gov/live/ (as will be the mayors event.)

Pool will send color and top-line quotes. Hit me w/ any questions.

White House in-town pool report 1a / text of MFL info

Attachments don't go through on the WH distro, so here is text of the MFL press packet stuff, for those interested. Offered as a courtesy only:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marchforlife/ *event will be livestreamed
• 2020 March for Life Theme Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9a4mEoX-bUs

47^TH ANNUAL MARCH FOR LIFE FAST FACTS

March for Life on January 24, 2020:

• Theme - "Life Empowers: Pro-Life is Pro-Woman"
•  • The early suffragists understood the value of all life, including the unborn. Alice Paul, one of the leading suffragists, called abortion "the ultimate exploitation of women."
   •True female empowerment comes with celebrating all that womanhood entails, including the distinguishing characteristic of bringing new life into the world.
• High-profile speaker list includes bi-partisan lineup and abortion survivors:
•  •Representative Steve Scalise (R-LA)
   •Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ)
   •State Representative Katrina Jackson (D-LA)
   •Donna Edwards, First Lady of Louisiana
   •Jim Daly - President, Focus on the Family
   •Marjorie Dannenfelser - President, Susan B. Anthony List
   •Elisa Martinez - Founder, New Mexico Alliance for Life
   •Catalina Scheider Galinanes - student speaker
   •David Platt - Pastor, McLean Bible Church
   •His Grace Bishop Apostolos of Medeia
   •Melissa Ohden, survivor of a failed saline infusion abortion
   •Claire Culwell, survivor of a failed surgical abortion

 

• Pro-life victories since Trump administration began:

 •Mexico City policy reinstated and broadened
 •Nomination and confirmation of Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh to SCOTUS
 •Excellent judicial nominations at a record pace at the appeals and district courts
 •Returning Title X funding decisions to the state
 •DOJ launching formal investigation into Planned Parenthood
 •Expanding religious and conscience exemption of HHS mandate
 •VP Pence becoming first sitting VP to address MFL in person; President Trump recognizing MFL on national TV interview
 •President Trump speaking via video at the 2019 March for Life
 •President Trump nationally condemning late term abortion and infanticide

Abortion Stats:

• Marist Polling:
•  •Strong majority wants to elect candidates who support substantial abortion restrictions
     ·65% of Americans and the same percentage points of registered voters say they "are more likely to vote for" candidates who would limit abortion to at most the first three months of pregnancy.
        ·This includes about nine in 10 Republicans (88%), more than six in 10 independents (62% percent), and more than four in ten Democrats (44%)
   •62% say that if the Supreme Court revisits Roe v. Wade it should rule to allow states to determine restrictions (46%) or make abortion illegal (16%).
     ·The 62% majority includes about four in 10 of those who identify as Democrats (39%) or as "pro-choice" (40%).

 

• Planned Parenthood (2018-2019)
•  •Planned Parenthood performed a record-high number of abortions from 2018-2019 with 345,672 babies aborted. The number is 12,915 higher than last year.
   •Adoption referrals were less than 1% of services (0.044%).

  History:

• The March for Life was founded by a woman named Nellie Gray and has always been run by women; now Jeanne Mancini is the President of the March for Life.
•  •Nellie Gray
     ·Founded the March for Life in 1974 and ran it out of her Capitol Hill townhouse for 39 years
   •Jeanne Mancini: President of the March for Life
     ·Previously worked at Family Research Council and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
   •Traditionally held during the week of the anniversary of Roe v. Wade - January 22^nd
     ·The first March was on the one-year anniversary on Jan. 22, 1974
     ·The March for Life plans to continue ever year until Roe v. Wade is overturned
   •The largest human rights demonstration in the world
     ·Approximately one hundred thousand participate from across the country. Other countries are also represented.
     ·This estimate is based on bus permits, DC metro (WMATA) estimates, crowd counts from major activities (such as Archdiocese of Washington morning Mass)
     ·March for life brought in over $13 million for DC businesses in 2017 alone.
   •Past speakers include:
     ·President Ronald Reagan (telephone address, 1987)
     ·Dr. Bernard Nathanson, founder of NARAL, turned pro-life activist (1998)
     ·Norma McCorvey, plaintiff in Roe v. Wade, turned pro-life activist (1998, 2000, 2005)
     ·President George W. Bush (telephone address, 2008)
     ·Vice President Michael Pence (2017)
     ·President Donald Trump (via satellite from the Rose Garden, 2018; via video, 2019)

 

• This is a bipartisan event, as a Democratic member of Congress has spoken at the March for Life 36 out of the past 47 years.

White House In-town pool report 2/ departure for the march

POTUS motorcade rolling at 12:07 pm for the March For Life a few blocks away.

Pool had a brief glimpse of the president boarding the motorcade at 12:06.

White House in-town pool report 4/ March site color and speech start

Last report should have been labeled #3

President Trump is wearing a dark navy overcoat and red tie.
Walked out at 12:25 to "God Bless the USA" and shook hands with rally organizers and others on stage. He applauded along with the music and loud cheering.
At 12:27 he is beginning.

Some color tidbits:

Lots of MAGA hats in the crowd, and pro-Trump signs along with pro-life slogans.
Selections among signs and placards:
"Trump 2020" in the front row
"I vote Pro-Life First"
"Save The Baby Humans"
"Make Unborn Babies Great Again" (carried by a kid in a Nats beanie)

Pool spotted a kiosk selling Trump gear about a block away.
Before Trump took the stage there was a crowd chant of "Trump-Trump-Trump" but it was not very loud and ended quickly.

"House of the Rising Sun" was among pre-speech tunes

White House in-town pool report 5/ speech bits and pieces

The president drew loud applause for noting he is the first president to address the march, and again for mentions of his confirmation of two Supreme Court justices and a listing of anti-abortion and religious liberty policy actions.
"We all know how to win. You've been winning for a long time," Trump said, prompting a chant of "Four More Years."
He linked the centennial of women's suffrage to pro-life voting and praised pro-life charity work.

"You stand for life each and every day," Trump said.

"You make it your life's mission to spread God's grace."

"Mothers are heroes"

"Every person is worth protecting."

As he wrapped up a guy shouted "I Live You!" Really loud.

He wrapped at 12:40 and "You Can't Always Get What You Want" began playing.

Pool is loaded for return to WH.

As always check quotes against broadcast and transcript.

White House in-town pool report 6/ march attendees

From the White House

Today, President Donald J. Trump will deliver remarks at the 47th Annual March for Life. It is fitting that President Trump would be the first President in history to attend the March on the National Mall because no other president has done more for the pro-life community. President Trump continues to keep his promise to appoint pro-life judges, cut taxpayer funding for abortions, and fight against disgusting late-term abortions liberals now support. Today, President Trump personally reaffirms his commitment to Life with thousands of fellow Americans.

The following individuals are expected to attend:

The White House
President Donald J. Trump

Trump Administration
Secretary Alex Azar, Department of Health and Human Services
Members of Congress
Representative Steve Scalise, House Minority Whip, Louisiana 1^st
Representative Chris Smith, New Jersey 4^th

External Participants
First Lady Donna Hutto Edwards, First Lady of Louisiana
His Grace Bishop Apostolos, Bishop of Medeia
Jeanne Mancini, President of the March for Life Education and Defense Fund
Patrick Kelly, Deputy Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus
Penny Nance, President, Concerned Women for America
Alveda King, Director, Civil Rights of the Unborn
Marjorie Dannenfelser, President of Susan B. Anthony List

White House in-town pool report 7/ return to WH

Motorcade rolled at 1 pm and reached the White House South Lawn driveway at 1:06 pm. Pool did not see the president disembark.

White House in-town pool report 8/ lunch lid until 2:30

White House in-town pool report 9/ Kellyanne Conway gaggle

Counselor Conway stuck around in the briefing room following interviews with Fox and WTN.

Approx 13-minute gaggle

just wrapped around 3:09 with a scrap between KAC and CNN.

Topics covered included impeachment, USMCA signing, the March for Life and the coronavirus.

No news but some good quotes TK

White House in-town pool report 10/ KAC selected quotes

Selected Kellyanne Conway quotes in a gaggle in the James A. Brady Briefing Room:

"Too many people have read into the call words that aren't there, because it fits their own convenience. I don't see the word Ôaid.' I don't see the word Ô2020.' I don't see any mention of Joe Biden as his spooky political opponent. That would be foolish. Have you seen this guy? He doesn't know if he's in Iowa or Ohio, he's screaming at Ed O'Keefe, who's a great reporter for CBS News the other day, and he can't even get an endorsement from the resident he served for eight years in the building. It's sort of embarrassing."

"if anybody should be interested in investigating corruption in Ukraine, it's probably the members of Congress who are wasting their time investigating the president instead and have just whistled right past the fact that Hunter Biden got $83,000 a month. If that's true, it's over $1 million a year. His father has no energy, but Hunter Biden has no energy experience."

Q: did impeachment play a role in decision to address the March For Life?

A: "Zero. It has to do with the fact that he's pro-life and the march is right outside the door, right around the corner."

"To be the first president was very special for this president"

"Impeachment has nothing to do with anything he's doing, because if it did he wouldn't go to Davos, he went to the March For Life, He went to Doral yesterday, we are on the way to Wildwood N.J."

"He's just going to continue to do what he's doing, barreling through and he's doing his job as president. I think the real question is why is Congress not doing its job. If they had gotten this excited and this animated and sent this much time on infrastructure we'd have a package. On drug pricing, it would be lower. On keeping this economy gong. there is so much unfinished business by this congress and this is how they choose to spend their time."

Refers q on the ABC audio about Yovanovitch to Grisham statement from earlier today.

Says she does not know when he will sign USMCA but that he looks forward to doing so.

On coronavirus: "We're monitoring it."

Went back and forth at the end about whether she had heard a question from CNN, and said CNN analysts had lied on air in recent days.

White House in-town pool report 10a / corrects typo

Room:

"Too many people have read into the call words that aren't there, because it fits their own convenience. I don't see the word Ôaid.' I don't see the word Ô2020.' I don't see any mention of Joe Biden as his spooky political opponent. That would be foolish. Have you seen this guy? He doesn't know if he's in Iowa or Ohio, he's screaming at Ed O'Keefe, who's a great reporter for CBS News the other day, and he can't even get an endorsement from the president he served for eight years in this building. It's sort of embarrassing."

White House in-town pool report 11 / mayors event

Pool and precredentialed media were escorted to the East Room at 4:10 for the event with visiting mayors.
Event is open to credentialed media and live-streamed. Pool will effort color, etc.
From the White House:

Today, President Donald J. Trump will host a bipartisan group of the Nation's mayors to highlight Administration priorities and accomplishments for transforming American communities through innovative approaches to urban revitalization and rural prosperity. The meeting is a continuation of the President and his White House's unprecedented outreach and engagement with State and local elected officials through the State Leadership Days Initiative.

The Initiative has welcomed a bipartisan group of over 5,000 county and municipal officials to the White House for briefings and discussion with Senior Administration Officials around shared Federal-State-local priorities. Attendees will discuss Opportunity Zone implementation, criminal justice reform, combatting the opioid/drug crisis, reducing crime, addressing homelessness and housing affordability, and nurturing economic growth in our Nation's cities and towns.

The President will sign H.R. 2476, Securing American Nonprofit Organizations Against Terrorism Act of 2019, which appropriates $75 million per year, for the next five years ($375 million total), to protect our houses of worship and other nonprofits from terrorist attacks through target hardening and enhanced security measures.

The following individuals are expected to attend:

The White House
President Donald J. Trump
Kellyanne Conway, Assistant to the President & Senior Counselor
Larry Kudlow, Assistant to the President & Director, National Economic Council
Joe Grogan, Assistant to the President & Director, Domestic Policy Council
Jennie Lichter, Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy
Ja'Ron Smith, Deputy Assistant to the President & Deputy Director, Office of American Innovation
Doug Hoelscher, Deputy Assistant to the President & Director, Office of Intergovernmental Affairs
William Crozer, Special Assistant to the President & Deputy
Director,Office of Intergovernmental Affairs

Trump Administration
Secretary Alex Azar, Department of Health and Human Services
Secretary Ben Carson, Department of Housing and Urban Development
Acting Secretary Chad Wolf, Department of Homeland Security
Administrator Jovita Carranza, Small Business Administration
Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Claire McCusker Murray, Department of Justice

External Participants
Bipartisan group of approximately 170 mayors from nearly 40 States
Eric Fingerhut, President and CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America
Rabbi Levi Shemtov, Executive Vice President of American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad)
Pastor Jack Graham & Mrs. Deb Graham, Prestonwood Baptist Church
Howard Friedman, Chairman of the Board of the Orthodox Union

White House in-town pool report 12/ mayors event tidbits

President Trump was announced at 4:37 pm and entered the East Room to a sea of raised phones.

He largely read his remarks from three screens arrayed around the foyer side of the room but as-libbed a bit too.

The room was full.

As of this writing the White House has not provided a list of attending mayors, but NYC Mayor Bill DiBlasio was not here.

He thanked those in attendance and noted "a few people didn't accept."

His remarks touched on, among other things; the China trade deal; sanctuary cities; border security; charter schools/school choice; what he said is the "best economy" in US history; childcare affordability; paid family leave for government employees; the cost of prescription drugs; housing regulation; mental health; antisemitism and religious bigotry; infrastructure and speedier approval for infrastructure projects; "you may get rejected but it's going to go quickly," he said to applause.

The signing took place at 4:58 pm but pool could not see it over the standing crowd.

Trump then posed for pictures with several mayors and shook hands along a line of them as he moved out of the room.

At 5 pm he was out of the room.

White House in-town pool report 13/travel-photo lid

Called at 5:18 p.m.

That's it for me, unless there are evening statements or other updates to pass along.

Cheers,

White House in-town pool report 14/ Boris Johnson call

From the White House:

Today, President Donald J. Trump spoke with Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom. The two leaders discussed important regional and bilateral issues, including working together to ensure the security of our telecommunications networks.