Pool Reports by Kevin Robillard, HuffPost
| Sent: | Reports: |
| July 11, 2022 10:48 |
Pool report #1 - gathering Hello, all. Pool has gathered at the Palm Room doors for a ceremonial bill signing of the Safer Communities Act. It is a sunny and warm day in DC. Also on the schedule today: A 3:45 pm press briefing with KJP and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, and 5 pm event with NASA. |
| July 11, 2022 11:14 |
Pool report #2 - big crowd/Guerrero speaks The crowd gathered for the bill signing ceremony on the South Lawn is substantial. (Your pooler is estimating at least 300 people, but is trying to get an official crowd count.) Uvalde, Texas pediatrician Roy Guerrero spoke first, noting it has been 40 days since the massacre at an elementary school there, and that a makeshift memorial to the massacre has been taken down. "These parents seek a safe and secure environment for their children," Guerrero said. "It's tough being a pediatrician in a community where kids don't want to go back to school and their parents don't want to send them." He said it is difficult to reassure scared children while the weapons used in the massacre are still available. "Hopefully, this is the start of a movement toward banning assault weapons," he said to applause from the crowd. He then introduced VP Kamala Harris. |
| July 11, 2022 11:33 |
Pool report #3 - Harris speaks/Whitfield speaks Vice President Kamala Harris spoke next, praising the Safer Communities Act as a historic accomplishment and praising the dedication of members of Congress to passing gun legislation. "We would not be here without the vision, the courage and unwavering determination of one man in particular: Joe Biden," Harris said, noting his decades of work on the issue. She then introduced Garnell Whitfield, Jr., who began by ticking off the names of the victims of the Buffalo shooting. Whitfield thanked Harris for attending his mother's memorial service, adding she was a big fan of the Vice President and was "dancing in heaven" knowing Harris was in attendance. Whitfield said the country needed to do more to combat racism and white supremacy. "They are a leading threat to our homeland and way of life," he said. He then introduced President Biden as "the person we the people, but more importantly, God, as chosen to lead us at a time such as this." |
| July 11, 2022 | [APP Note: Report #4 does not exist or was not received by the APP.] |
| July 11, 2022 11:52 |
Pool report #5 - More details from ceremonial Safer Communities Act signing The event began on time, and ran until roughly 11:40 a.m. Biden's speech lasted for about 20 minutes. The White House also provided this list of attendees for the event. Of note, it appears two Republican members of Congress were in attendance: Sen. John Cornyn, and Rep. Tony Gonzales, whose district includes Uvalde. Joining the President and the Vice President for the Celebration of Bipartisan Safer Communities Act • The Second Gentleman Speaking program: |
| July 11, 2022 12:26 |
Pool report #6 - lunch lid We have a lunch lid until 3:45. |
| July 11, 2022 15:51 |
Pool report #7 - press briefing The press briefing with KJP and Jake Sullivan began at 3:50 p.m. |
| July 11, 2022 16:45 |
Pool report #8 – briefing over The press briefing ended at 4:40 p.m. The Q&A with National Security Adviser Jake Sulllivan took up most of the briefing, ending at 4:22 p.m. One point of clarification: Karine said from the podium there were more than 2,000 people on the South Lawn today for the Safer Communities Act event. As usual, transcripts will be available from the WH later today. |
| July 11, 2022 16:53 |
Pool report #9 - NASA briefing delayed White House says the NASA briefing, scheduled for 5 p.m., has been delayed. They will update us with a new call time. |
| July 11, 2022 17:47 |
Pool report #10 - gathering for NASA briefing Pool has gathered at the stakeout location for the NASA briefing. |
| July 11, 2022 18:28 |
Pool report #11 - NASA event Pool was ushered into the South Court auditorium at 6:10 p.m. Vice President Kamala Harris, who chairs the National Space Council, said she and Biden often discuss their "mutual passion" for NASA's work. "This telescope is one of humanity's great engineering achievements," Harris said, referring to the James Webb telescope that took the pictures being unveiled today. She then introduced Biden, who said the event was starting late because he was preparing for his trip to the Middle East. Biden repeatedly expressed his amazement at the satellite's technology and work. "This is the oldest documented light in the history of the universe from 13 billion — let me say that again, 13 billion — years ago," Biden said. Biden said the images generated by the telescope shows the power of American scientific leadership. "The federal government must invest more in science and technology than it has in the past," he said. (These are rush transcriptions, check quotes against transcript.) Biden then unveiled the image, and introduced NASA Director Bill Nelson, who discussed the image in more detail. When Nelson said the technology could determine whether other planets were habitable, Biden responded with a "Whoa." Pool was ushered out of the South Court Auditorium at 6:24 p.m. Some info from the WH: Joining the President and the Vice President for a briefing on James Webb Space Telescope Images: |
| July 11, 2022 18:35 |
Pool report #12 - Lid We have a lid for the day at 6:30 p.m. Have a good night, everyone. |
Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Pool Reports of July 11, 2022 Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/356821