Pool Reports by Chris Johnson, Washington Blade
| Sent: | Reports: |
| May 25, 2020 8:55 |
In-town pool report #1 Good morning from the White House! I'll be your in-town pooler this Memorial Day. It's a cloudy 72 degrees befitting the somber holiday. Pool this morning undertook the now customary COVID-19 test. As before, White House officials said pool will only be informed of the result if it comes out positive. Events on the president's public schedule are the annual wreath-laying at Arlington Cemetery and a visit to Fort McHenry in Baltimore. Your pooler will let you know if anything changes. |
| May 25, 2020 9:59 |
In-town pool report #2 Motorcade started rolling en route to Arlington Cemetery at 9:58. Spotted on the South Lawn awaiting entry into the motorcade: White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, National Security Adviser Charles O'Brien, Chair of Citizens United David Bossie and others. No sighting of POTUS but pooler is confident he's in the presidential limo. |
| May 25, 2020 10:07 |
In-town pool report #3 - arrival and correction Motorcade arrived at Arlington Cemetery at 10:05 after passing dozens of onlookers along the way. Correction from previous report: Robert O'Brien, not Charles O'Brien. |
| May 25, 2020 10:17 |
In-town pool report #4 Driving through Arlington Cemetery in the motorcade, pooler could hear the repetition of booming gun fire in military salute. Defense Secretary Mark Esper was spotted as motorcade passed. Pool hastened to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at 10:14 and is now holding. |
| May 25, 2020 10:26 |
In-town pool report #5 - ceremony info From Judd Deere: Today, President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump will participate in a Wreath Laying Ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery to commemorate Memorial Day and honor those who have died for our great Nation while serving in the US Armed Forces. The following individuals are expected to attend: The White House Trump Administration |
| May 25, 2020 10:41 |
In-town pool report #6 - Arlington ceremony FLOTUS, wearing a white suit coat and white heels, entered the area at 10:19 and stood at the steps of the ampitheater. POTUS, wearing a dark suit and red, entered the grounds at 10:31, followed by VPOTUS and Esper, who stood beside him in a line. POTUS saluted as a military band played the National Anthem, while VPOTUS, FLOTUS and Esper placed their hands on their hearts. When the band was finished, POTUS approached the wreath positioned at the tomb, then touched the wreath before returning to the line with VPOTUS and Esper. This tweet has images to give you an idea: https://twitter.com/status/1264929245639442432?s=21 As a trumpeter played "Taps," POTUS saluted again, while VPOTUS and Esper places their hands on their hearts. A moment of silence followed. Spotted observing the ceremony on the ampitheater steps were Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and Treasury Secretary Mnuchin. Flag bearers in the honor guard for five military services were also present. At 10:36, a military officer escorted POTUS, VPOTUS and Esper away from the tomb. FLOTUS and her entourage followed as pool was escorted back to motorcade. |
| May 25, 2020 10:56 |
In-town pool report #7 - departure from Arlington Motorcade started rolling en route back to the White House at 10:54, again to the sound of booming gunfire in military salute. No sighting of POTUS. |
| May 25, 2020 11:11 |
In-town pool report #7 Pool now assembled on the South Lawn awaiting POTUS departure. Engine for Marine One was roaring, then subsequently turned off. |
| May 25, 2020 11:04 |
In-town pool report #8 - arrival at WH Motorcade arrived at the White House at 11:03 after passing onlookers on an uneventful trip. Per request, pool has placed an inquiry in with the White House on why the Arlington ceremony was delayed 30 minutes. |
| May 25, 2020 11:22 |
In-town pool report #9 POTUS, still wearing red tie and dark suit, exited the Oval Office at 11:18 with FLOTUS, still wearing white suitcoat. POTUS gave a brief wave from the distance to reporters in response to a shouted call to answer a question. POTUS boarded Marine One shortly afterward. Following POTUS into Marine One was O'Brien, Meadows and others. Marine One lifted off at 11:21. Handing things off to out of town pooler. |
| May 25, 2020 11:28 |
In-town pool report #10 - clarification Two pool reports recently were both labeled number seven. Apologies for any confusion. Please follow the sequencing for in-town reports at No. 10 here going forward. |
| May 25, 2020 12:56 |
In-town pool report #11 - WH arrival, No Qs Marine One touched down on the South Lawn at 12:50. Moments later, POTUS emerged, still wearing his dark suit and red tie, followed by FLOTUS, still wearing her white suitcoat. No news. Reporters shouted questions about 100,000 deaths from COVID-19 and China, but POTUS just responded with a wave, entering the South Portico at 12:55. Following him were Meadows and O'Brien. |
| May 25, 2020 12:59 |
In-town pool report #12 - lid The White House called a travel-photo lid at 12:58. Enjoy the rest of your holiday. |
Pool Reports below by Francesca Chambers, McClatchy
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| May 25, 2020 10:55 |
Out of town pool report #1: pool lifting from McNair Good morning, I'm your out of town pooler today for President Trump's visit to Baltimore. Because the president is helicoptering to Fort McHenry from the White House, the travel pool will be meeting him on site. We are lifting from Fort McNair in southwest Washington, D.C. in an Osprey soon for the flight that is expected to take about 20 minutes. I have no other information on the trip to share at this time, other than what was in the daily guidance. It's below for your convenience. 11:15AM THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY depart the White House en route to Baltimore, MD South Lawn In-House Pool 11:40AM THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY arrive at Fort McHenry Landing Zone Baltimore. MD Out-of-Town Travel Pool 11:50AM THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRS LADY depart Fort McHenry Landing Zone en route to Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine Baltimore, MD Out-of-Town Travel Pool 11:55AM THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY arrive at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine Baltimore, MD Out-of-Town Travel Pool 12:00PM THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY participate in a Memorial Day Ceremony at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine Baltimore, MD Out-of-Town Travel Pool 12:50PM THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY depart Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine en route to Fort McHenry Landing Zone Baltimore, MD Out-of-Town Travel Pool 12:55PM THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY arrive at Fort McHenry Landing Zone Baltimore, MD Out-of-Town Travel Pool 1:05PM THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY depart Baltimore, MD, en route to the White House Baltimore, MD Out-of-Town Travel Pool 1:30PM THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY arrive at the White House South Lawn In-House Pool |
| May 25, 2020 11:37 |
Out of town pool report #2: speech excerpts Out of town pool is positioned at Fort McHenry, awaiting POTUS' arrival. Will send some color from the event in a few minutes. For now, here are the speech excerpts the White House sent the pool: SPEECH EXCERPTS (AS PREPARED FOR DELIVERY) "I stand before you at this noble fortress of American Liberty to pay tribute to the immortal souls who fought and died to keep us free." "Tens of thousands of service members and national guardsmen are on the frontlines of our war against this terrible virus. [...] We mourn alongside all of the families who have lost a loved one – including the families of our Great Veterans." "As our Brave Warriors have shown us from our nation's earliest days – in America, we are the captains of our own fate." "Every time we sing our anthem – every time its rousing chorus swells our hearts with pride— we renew the eternal bonds of loyalty to our fallen heroes. We think of the soldiers who spent their final heroic moments on distant battlefields to keep us safe at home. We remember the young Americans who never got the chance to grow old but whose legacy will outlive us all." "Today, we honor the heroes we have lost. We pray for the loved ones they left behind. And with God as our witness, we renew our vow to love and protect and cherish this land they gave everything to defend." |
| May 25, 2020 11:52 |
Out of town pool report #3: color from Fort McHenry The pool is pre-positioned inside the Memorial Day event at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine, and not in the landing zone where Marine One touched down at 11:44am EDT, which means we will not get a visual of POTUS exiting the helicopter. As M1 was making its approach, a fife and drums corps entertained attendees. Pool doesn't have an official crowd count yet, but an approximate 200 people are gathered at the outdoor complex that has been decorated with red, white and blue banners for the event. An American flag is flying overhead near the president, and one has also been affixed to a building to the left of the press section. Attendees are in socially distanced white chairs, about half wearing masks, behind a row of bike racks separating them from the president, who will speak from a podium more than six feet back from the guest seating area. Press is some 75 feet away from the podium in a filing area. More TK. |
| May 25, 2020 12:13 |
Out of town pool report #4: POTUS remarks The president and first lady at 12:00 pm EDT entered the fort. The fife and drum corps promptly played the national anthem, the president and first lady standing with their hands over their hearts throughout. The president is delivering televised remarks now on the "determination" of the American people in the context of the War of 1812, telling the story of Francis Scott Key and The Star Spangled Banner. Before he entered the fort his national security adviser and chief of staff came in and mingled with a few attendees. Rep. Andy Harris, a Republican from Maryland, came over to Mark Meadows and greeted his former colleague with an elbow bump. Harris is wearing a face shield that is produced by a company in his district. The director of PPE for the company, Hardwire, told reporters that he brought the face shields to get them on the radar of the White House and the president. Will send direct quotes from him as soon as possible. Pool is already packing up, 13 minutes into the event, for our departure. |
| May 25, 2020 12:32 |
Out of town pool report #5: departure The pool was brought back stage, so to speak, as the president finished his remarks and then rushed on foot to the landing zone for his departure in M1. He wrapped up at 12:20 pm EDT and traveled by car around the monument to the helicopter, where he and the first lady -- who was wearing cream heels that matched her cream coat --- were dropped off as close to the helicopter --- in the grass -- as allowable. He gave two sets of fist bumps to onlookers behind him as he exited the vehicle, then turned to press and waved twice. He did not come over. At 12:28 PM, the president and first lady were airborne. M1 and its accompanying helicopter did an intentional lap overheard before heading back to Washington. Pool will be lifting off in Ospreys imminently and heading in the same direction. |
| May 25, 2020 13:10 |
Pool report #6: other information and color from the event Pool is back at McNair, loaded up in vans that will deliver us back to the White House. A few remainders from the event. -- BOATS HONKING: during the president's speech, and while he was doing his fly over, a boat or boats could be heard honking in the harbor. --- REP. HARRIS: Before the president arrived, Congressman Harris, who was seated in the last row of chairs for attendees, up against the bike rack that separated press from the rest of the event, was seen engaging in a dispute with a White House advance staffer. The context of the conversation between Harris, who raised his voice at the advance person, was not clear, but members of the press overheard Harris yelling "bulls***" at the staffer loudly. --- FACE SHIELDS: Daniel "Charles: Harris, director of PPE sales, told reporters that Hardwire's facilities have been manufacturing the face shields that Rep. Harris and other attendees were wearing for about two months. "Our competition right now, not only for federal contracts, but also, hospitals and things like that, is mostly Chinese," he said. --- MASKS: the president and the first lady, O'Brien and Meadows did not wear masks to the event. https://www.dropbox.com/sh/hovp3x7kd7ibqmv/AACECABzGyLYRWnpXMsv3di-a?dl=0 PHOTOS: Here are some photos from the event. EVENT BACKGROUND: Below is background on the event, c/o Judd Deere: Today, President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump will participate in a Memorial Day Ceremony at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine. The following individuals are expected to attend: The White House President Donald J. Trump Trump Administration Secretary Mark Esper, Department of Defense |
Donald J. Trump (1st Term), Pool Reports of May 25, 2020 Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/351243