Pool Reports by Todd Gillman, The Dallas Morning News
| Sent: | Reports: |
| July 8, 2020 11:08 |
pool report #1/all quiet ahead of AMLO visit Good morning. Just checking in as your pooler today. Nothing on the president's public schedule until the 2pm arrival of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. The pool was given COVID-19 tests in Lower Press and is taking full advantage of the air conditioning in anticipation of sweltering in the Rose Garden later for the presidents' signing of a joint declaration. |
| July 8, 2020 12:05 |
pool report #2/lunch lid Lunch lid until 1pm. |
| July 8, 2020 12:40 |
pool report #3/heads up! briefing at 1:30 Also stay tuned for gaggle notes from national security adviser Robert O'Brien |
| July 8, 2020 | [APP Note: Report #4 does not exist or was not received by the APP.] |
| July 8, 2020 13:21 |
Pool report #5/briefing cancelled Meanwhile a military honor guard is set up on the north driveway as we await AMLO. |
| July 8, 2020 14:16 |
Pool report #6/AMLO arrival The Mexican president's black SUV pulled into the driveway, passed the military honor guard and came to a stop outside the West Wing. POTUS was waiting just outside the door. They each waved to the press and were inside around 2:07 pm. Inside the briefing room, trade adviser Peter Navarro was speaking with Newsmax. Asked why Canada PM didn't join the USMCA celebration he said: "I have no idea why Mr. Trudeau chose to stay in Canada." |
| July 8, 2020 15:22 |
pool report #7/briefing is back on! 4:30PM Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany holds a briefing The Rose Garden joint signing event is scheduled to begin in 15 minutes. |
| July 8, 2020 15:54 |
Pool report #8/Rose Garden The sun is blazing on the Rose Garden as the Mexican and US delegations file in. Secretary Wilbur Ross is a notable exception. Trump and AMLO are at the lectern at 3:45. Livestream and check the transcript. Beforehand, Mexico's ambassador told reporters that all members of the delegation were given COVID-19 tests. Including the president? All, she repeated in Spanish. Press corps is spaced out and sweating profusely. POTUS promised to keep it short due to the heat. AMLO has an earbud in his right ear to follow along. Three rows set up for VIPs in front with 5 empty seats on US side and 7 on the Mexican side. |
| July 8, 2020 16:19 |
pool report #8b/Rose Garden event over Nothing else to report. After Presidents Trump and Lopez Obrador signed two copies of the Joint Declaration, each stood and displayed it to the VIPs and press and then they returned to the Oval Office. Next up: briefing at 4:30 with the press secretary, unless I missed an email while switching into a fresh mask. Never really thought about soaking through a face mask but can now check that off my to-do list. |
| July 8, 2020 18:36 |
Pool report #9/awaiting Trump-AMLO remarks in Grand Foyer The Grand Foyer is set with two lecterns facing the north door. Dinner will be in the East Room. Four rows of 12 seats on each side in the foyer. A Marine pianist in red dress uniform, close haircut and black mask played easy listening in the corner as dinner guests filed in. Mnuchin elbow bumped a greeting with someone your pooler didn't recognize. Spotted: Stephen Miller. Wilbur Ross (not wearing a mask now). Robert O'Brien. Carlos Slim, 5th wealthiest person in the world at last check, chatted briefly with Mike Pompeo as the pianist played "Something in the Way She Moves" The US and Mexican guests seem to be intermixed. Not bride side/groom side seating. Uniformed military in back masks are escorting them in. |
| July 8, 2020 18:51 |
Pool report #10/Trump and AMLO remarks VP Pence is now here in the front row. Kushner, too, in row 2 in POTUS' side. Two guests seated in row 3, behind Stephen Miller, are wearing masks. Both men. One white mask, one light blue. No other guests are masked, unlike the Secret Service and press. The presidents left at 6:49, 10 minutes after arriving. Trump ignored shouted questions about CDC guidelines and reopening schools, and about whether they discussed immigration. In his remarks, Trump said the visit has been "exceptional" and calls President Lopez Obrador, at his right, a "great friend" and a "great president." AMLO spoke in Spanish. Translation devices were on the guests' seats but not provided for pool, and this periodista's Spanish is not trustworthy enough to provide quotes. Will expedite. Mark Meadows stood behind the pool near the hallway the press takes when entering the East Room. |
| July 8, 2020 18:57 |
pool report #11/AMLO quote and dinner guests President Lopez Obrador concluded his pre-dinner remarks by saying, in Spanish, "The forecasts failed. We didn't fight. We are friends, and we're going to keep being friends." (Thanks for that go to Lucía Leal of EFE, our foreign pooler, who will provide more quotes in her foreign pool report.) And the press office has provided this: This evening, President Donald J. Trump and Administration officials will host a working dinner with President of the United Mexican States, his Excellency Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, his delegation, and business leaders from the United States and Mexico. President Trump and President Obrador's visit is part of their continued partnership on trade, health, and other issues central to regional prosperity and security. The two leaders will recognize the historic United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) that entered into force on July 1, 2020, and their shared effort to ensure North America continues strengthening its economic ties while working to combat the coronavirus pandemic. The following individuals are expected to attend: The White House Trump Administration External Participants |
| July 8, 2020 19:15 |
pool report #12/final remarks and lid A bit more from remarks by Mexican President Lopez Obrador in the Grand Foyer ahead of dinner. He called POTUS his “friend.” “We want to maintain a good relationship – economic, trade, commercial … socially and culturally as well. And that's the purpose of this visit… This is the beginning of a new stage. We have signed a new agreement for free trade agreement among Canada, the United States and Mexico. And with this new agreement, we are going to strengthen the economy of our region." (Per the simultaneous translation. Thanks to VOA's Patsy Widakuswara for grabbing that.) And a longer version of Trump's comments. Lid declared at 7:03 pm, with the presidents' working dinner underway.Good evening to all. |
Pool Reports below by Lucía Leal, Efe News
| Sent: | Reports: |
| July 8, 2020 14:11 |
Foreign pool report #1 Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador arrived to the West Wing entrance of the White House at around 2:07 pm. President Trump was there to greet him. AMLO waved to reporters before entering the West Wing with President Trump. Lopez Obrador arrived yesterday in a commercial plane (in which he wore a mask) with a layover in Atlanta. He tested negative for Covid-19 on Tuesday. He's accompanied by the Mexican Foreign Minister, Marcelo Ebrard; the Secretary of Economy, Graciela Márquez; the head of the office of the Presidency, Alfonso Romo; the presidential advisor Daniel Asaf; and the Foreign Ministry's director for North America, Roberto Velasco; as well as the Mexican Ambassador to the US, Martha Barcena. All of them plan to attend the extended bilateral meeting at the Cabinet Room. Lopez Obrador sees this visit as an opportunity to reaffirm the importance of the USMCA at a complicated time for the Mexican economy, and to strengthen cooperation against the pandemic. His government has tried to distance the visit from topics related to immigration. After the meetings and joint statement, Lopez Obrador will participate in a dinner with President Trump and around 20 Mexican and American businessmen and women. The list of Mexicans invited include the 5th richest man in the world, Carlos Slim, from Grupo Carso. Also attending from the Mexico side will be: Patricia Armendáriz Guerra (Financiera Sustentable), Carlos Bremer Gutiérrez (Grupo Financiero Value), Daniel Chávez Morán (Grupo Vidanta), Bernardo Gómez Martínez (Grupo Televisa), Francisco González Sánchez (Grupo Multimedios), Carlos Hank González (Grupo Financiero Banorte), Miguel Rincón Arredondo (Bio Pappel), Ricardo Salinas Pliego (Grupo Salinas), Marcos Shabot Zonana (Arquitectura y Construcción) and Olegario Vázquez Aldir (Grupo Empresarial Ángeles), according to the Foreign Ministry. [Image removed by sender.] Romanian President Klaus Iohannis arrived to the South Portico of the White House at 2:08 pm. President Trump was there to greet him. |
| July 8, 2020 16:41 |
Foreign pool report #2 The joint statement by the Presidents was streamed live. Please let me know if you have any questions about Lopez Obrador's remarks. He ended his statement with three "Viva Mexico!" in a row. |
| July 8, 2020 19:13 |
Foreign pool report #3 - AMLO remarks at dinner President Lopez Obrador spoke in Spanish during his pre-dinner remarks, and he didn't take questions, nor did President Trump. His most newsy remark came at the end, when he said: "The forecasts failed. We didn't fight. We are friends, and we're going to keep being friends." He also called President Trump "my friend", saying: "I come to this dinner, which my friend President Trump invited me to, joined by (Mexican) businessmen (and women)". Trump had said earlier: "In Mexico they learned not to bet against us", referring to his "great relationship" with AMLO. Some more remarks from Lopez Obrador: "We are countries, we are peoples (who are) neighbors, brothers, who want to keep good relations, in the economic, commercial, social and cultural realms. This is the purpose of this visit" USMCA will "enhance the economies of the region, of North America". He stressed two elements within the treaty that are important to him: the requirement to have "high content from the region" in the goods that are traded between the countries, and the push for "better salaries and better working conditions" for workers in all three countries. The members of the Mexican delegation and the Mexican businessmen and women are included in foreign pool report #1. Here's the list that the White House provided: And the press office has provided this: This evening, President Donald J. Trump and Administration officials will host a working dinner with President of the United Mexican States, his Excellency Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, his delegation, and business leaders from the United States and Mexico. President Trump and President Obrador's visit is part of their continued partnership on trade, health, and other issues central to regional prosperity and security. The two leaders will recognize the historic United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) that entered into force on July 1, 2020, and their shared effort to ensure North America continues strengthening its economic ties while working to combat the coronavirus pandemic. The following individuals are expected to attend: The White House Trump Administration External Participants |
| July 8, 2020 19:50 |
Foreign pool report #4 Just a quick correction: someone brought to my attention that at the end of pool report #1, I included a line mentioning the President of Romania. I apologize for the mistake, probably caused by the incredible heat we all experienced today! Have a good night, |
Donald J. Trump (1st Term), Pool Reports of July 8, 2020 Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/336633