Pool Reports by Andrew Restuccia, The Wall Street Journal
| Sent: | Reports: |
| June 11, 2021 13:26 |
Travel pool report #1 St. Ives I’ll be your POTUS pooler for the first full day of the G7 summit here in Cornwall The pool has arrived in St. Ives, where we are waiting for POTUS to leave his hotel at Tregenna Castle for the G7 venue in nearby Carbis Bay. He’s scheduled to leave at 1:55 pm local time and the pool is expected to fold into his motorcade. The pool went through security and we presented officials with cell phone photos of the results of the self-administered Covid-19 tests that we are required to take every morning. A couple notes: service here is spotty, but I’ll do my best to get the reports out in a timely manner. Pool access will also be very limited today, but as always, we’ll push for as much access as we can get. Upon arrival in St. Ives, the pool spotted a couple dozen activists holding signs that called on the G7 leaders to take action on climate change. It’s 60 degrees and cloudy here. But the views of the sea are nonetheless spectacular. |
| June 11, 2021 14:06 |
Travel pool report #2 St. Ives At 2:04 pm local time, the motorcade began rolling |
| June 11, 2021 14:11 |
Travel pool report #3 Carbis Bay Motorcade arrived at 2:10 pm We have not seen POTUS today Uneventful motorcade ride. Onlookers snapped photos and police lined the streets along the way as we navigated the winding streets of Cornwall |
| June 11, 2021 14:29 |
Travel pool report #4 Carbis Bay After getting out of the vans, the pool hustled down a steep hill where we were stopped by security twice. With the help of our Downing Street minder, we made it to a beach where a stage was set up at around 2:20 pm. The British prime minister and his wife greeted world leaders as photographers and journalists looked on. We watched world leaders greet the prime minister and his wife one by one. "Why don't we just do a group photo," Mr. Johnson said as the world leaders left the podium one at a time. At 2:23 pm, POTUS and FLOTUS arrived and greeted Johnson and his wife and posed for photos "I feel like I'm at a wedding," FLOTUS said as she walked across the beach in a red dress. "Everybody in the water," POTUS said, presumably joking, as he faced the press. Pool asked: what's your message to Putin. Biden responded, "I'll tell you after I deliver it." |
| June 11, 2021 14:33 |
Travel pool report #5 Carbis Bay At 2:30, the world leaders returned to the stage on the beach—this time without their spouses. "Okay, here we are folks — right. Everybody here? Alright, we've got it," Johnson said as photogs snapped pictures. Biden stood to Johnson's right in the front row. As the leaders walked away, Macron put his arm on Biden's back and the two leaders engaged in a conservation that the pool couldn't hear. At 2:32 pm, the leaders entered a nearby building. |
| June 11, 2021 15:07 |
Travel pool reports #6 Carbis Bay Following the family photo, the pool held in a media room. Only one photographer from the pool was allowed into the first session of the G7 on the recovery from the coronavirus. Print, wire and video journalists from the pool were barred from the event, as were other photographers. I’m told part of the event was carried live on a video feed, but Biden did not make any remarks. I should also note that only six members of the pool were allowed to be present for the family photo. The other members of the pool were left in a van. Despite the restrictions, there were several dozen journalists from other countries at the family photo. The pool is now making the long walk back up a steep hill to the press vans. We don’t expect to see the president again for the rest of the day. I’ll send updates if that changes. |
| June 11, 2021 16:26 |
Travel pool report #7 Carbis Bay The White House passes along this bit of Biden trivia on background from a White House official: The President previously met with Her Majesty The Queen in 1982. |
| June 11, 2021 16:36 |
Travel pool report #8 Carbis Bay to St. Ives The motorcade started rolling from the G7 venue at 4:29 pm. Another uneventful ride. Lots of onlookers snapping photos and waving. Police again lined the streets. We arrived at the Treganna Castle property at 4:34 pm. We’re now holding here in the vans. We did not see the president get into the motorcade. |
| June 11, 2021 17:23 |
Travel pool reports #9 St. Ives to Bodelva The motorcade started rolling at 5:16 pm. We’re on the way to Bodelva for the event with world leaders and the royal family at the Eden Project. More on the Edeb Project here: |
| June 11, 2021 18:11 |
Travel pool report #10 We’re still on the motorcade. But here’s some background from the White House on tonight’s events. As of now, we don’t expect to have any access to them. Background: This evening, the President and the First Lady will participate in a reception with fellow G7 leaders and their spouses hosted by the Royal Family at the Eden Project. The President will also participate in a family photo with other G7 leaders and Her Majesty The Queen. Later, the President and the First Lady will participate in a dinner with fellow G7 leaders and their spouses. |
| June 11, 2021 18:45 |
Travel pool report #11 Bodelva The motorcade arrived at the Eden Project at 6:37 pm. We're holding in a parking lot and cannot see POTUS or any of the other dignitaries here. The Eden Project is an eco-park with several giant domes housing what the project's website calls "the largest rainforest in captivity." We're told we won't have any access to tonight's events. |
| June 11, 2021 20:48 |
Travel pool report #12 Bodelva Pool is still holding in a parking lot at the Eden Project. No update on POTUS’s activities. The pool is nowhere near tonight’s events, but we saw the queen’s motorcade drive by. The following is from the White House. Your pooler has asked that this statement be put on the record. From a White House Spokesperson: President Biden had a pull-aside with President Macron today in advance of their bilateral meeting planned for tomorrow. The Leaders discussed a range of regional and bilateral issues, including COVID-19 and counterterrorism efforts in the Sahel, and affirmed the importance of the U.S.-France partnership and the Transatlantic alliance. President Biden enjoyed a positive and productive first day of discussions at the G7, focused on ways we can collaborate to build a more inclusive and fair global economy. |
| June 11, 2021 20:51 |
Travel pool report #12b Quick update: the White House statement in pool report number 12 can be attributed to White House press secretary Jen Psaki |
| June 11, 2021 21:59 |
Travel pool report #13 Bodelva The motorcade started rolling at 9:56 pm We’re heading back to the Tregenna Castle, where Biden is staying |
| June 11, 2021 23:17 |
Travel pool report #14 — lid St. Ives At 11:15 pm, we have a lid. The motorcade arrived back at the Tregenna Castle resort at 11:15 pm We did not see POTUS The motorcade ride was uneventful. |
| June 12, 2021 01:30 |
Travel pool report #15 A post-lid addendum from the White House: Background: The President and the First Lady also joined a dinner with the other G7 leaders and their spouses. |
Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Pool Reports of June 11, 2021 Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/350361