Pool Reports of May 7, 2020

WH in-town pool report #1/ Putin call

Hello everyone,

White House Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere sent out the following message:

'Today, President Donald J. Trump spoke with President Vladimir Putin of Russia to commemorate and reflect upon the 75th^ anniversary of Victory in Europe Day. President Trump and President Putin discussed progress on defeating the coronavirus pandemic. President Trump reiterated that the United States is working hard to care for Americans at home and is also ready to provide assistance to any country in need, including Russia. President Trump reaffirmed that the United States is committed to effective arms control that includes not only Russia, but also China, and looks forward to future discussions to avoid a costly arms race. The two leaders also covered other bilateral and global issues.'

WH in-town pool report #2/ Lunch lid

The White House called a lunch lid until 1.45pm.

WH in-town pool report #3/ Chile call

White House Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere sent the following:

'Today, President Donald J. Trump spoke with President Sebastián Piñera of the Republic of Chile. The two leaders discussed the approaches their countries are taking to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. President Trump offered United States assistance to help Chile provide critical care to its citizens. The President praised Chile's proactive and balanced approach to protecting the health and livelihoods of Chileans. President Trump also thanked President Piñera for Chile's unwavering support for democracy and freedom in the region.'

WH in-town pool report #4/ Pool gathers

Restricted in-house pool is gathered at the briefing room doors. Temperatures are being taken.

WH in-town pool report #5/ Pool still holding

At 2.25pm pool is still holding at the colonnade outside the Oval Office. Chairs have been placed in the rose garden, spaced well apart, for the later event. It's a sunny day.

WH in-town pool report #6/ Meeting with Texas Governor

Pool went into the Oval Office at 2.36pm. POTUS is sitting with Texas Governor Greg Abbott. Details to follow.

WH in-town pool report #7/ POTUS on valet and Flynn

POTUS said of the valet who tested positive for COVID-19: "I've had very little contact with this person." He said internal White House testing will change from once a week to once a day.

POTUS said he himself was tested yesterday and today and was negative.

POTUS was told about the justice department's decision to drop the case against Michael Flynn. He said: "He was an innocent man... Now in my book he's an even greater warrior."

He criticised the Obama administration and said: "They're human scum... It's treason."

He demanded that the media's Pulitzer Prizes be taken back.

Q&A is ongoing. More to follow.

WH in-town pool report #8/ Wuhan lab

POTUS on Wuhan lab: "Something happened... Probably it was incompetence. Somebody was stupid."

WH in-town pool report #9/ End of comments

POTUS finished the Q&A at 3.14pm. More details of his comments to follow.

WH in-town pool report #11/ More detail of comments about Flynn

A reporter informed POTUS of the breaking news about the Department of Justice dropping its case against Michael Flynn.

POTUS said: "I didn't know that was happening at this moment. I felt it was going to happen just by watching and seeing, like everybody else does. He was an innocent man. He is a great gentleman. He was targeted by the Obama administration and he was targeted in order to try and take down a president.

"And what they've done is a disgrace and I hope a big price is going to be paid. A big price should be paid. There's never been anything like this in the history of our country. What they did, what the Obama administration did, is unprecedented. It's never happened. Never happened. A thing like this has never happened.

"And I hope a lot of people are going to pay a big price because they're dishonest, crooked people. They're scum and I say it a lot, they're scum, they're human scum. This should never have happened in this country.

"A duly elected president and they went after him by going after fine people and those fine people said, 'No, I'm not going to lie, I can't lie'. He's not the only one. There are many of them. They could have said something like, 'Oh, make up a lie, Trump loves somebody or something or some country'. And they said, 'Oh, you wouldn't have any problem.

"That's what they were trying to do and it's a disgrace. The Obama administration Justice Department was a disgrace and they got caught. They got caught. Very dishonest people. But much more than dis - it's treason, it's treason.

"So I'm very happy for General Flynn. He was a great warrior and he still is a great warrior. In my book, he's an even greater warrior.. What happened to him should never happen again and what happened to this presidency, to go through all of that and still do more than any president has ever done in the first three years.

"It's pretty amazing when you think of it with what we've done with regulations and tax cuts and the Second Amendment and all of the things we've done. It's never happened and, until two months ago, we had the greatest economy in history and unfortunately we had to close it."

More to follow.

WH in-town pool report #12/ National Day of Prayer Service

Pool is now in the White House Rose Garden for the National Day of Prayer Service. VPOTUS is speaking at the lectern with the Second Lady standing to his right. By my estimate, 22 guests are sitting on spaced out seating in the sunshine.

WH in-town pool report #13/ Prayer Service attendees

White House Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere sent the following:

'Today, President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump will deliver remarks at the White House National Day of Prayer Service in the Rose Garden.

The following individuals are expected to attend:

The White House
President Donald J. Trump
First Lady Melania Trump
Vice President Mike Pence
Second Lady Karen Pence
Pastor Paula White, Advisor to the White House Faith and Opportunity Initiative

External Participants
Pastor Brittany Akinsola, Nurse, Samaritan's Purse
Mr. Mario Salerno, Landlord and Auto Shop Owner
Sister Eneyda Martinez, Poor Sisters of St. Joseph
Pujari Harish Brahmbhatt, B.A.P.S. Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Robbinsville
Bishop Dwight Green, Board of Bishops, Church of God in Christ (COGIC)
Chaplain Ibraheem A. Raheem, U.S. Army Chaplain, Walter Reed
Sister Debbie Marriott Harrison, Washington, DC Public Affairs
Advisory Council of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Rabbi Ariel Sadwin, Executive Director, Agudath Israel of America Mid-Atlantic Region
Spirit of Faith Christian Center Choir

WH in-town pool report #14/ POTUS and FLOTUS enter

POTUS and FLOTUS came out of the Oval Office at 4.03pm.

FLOTUS said "let us take a moment to express deepest sympathies to those who have lost their loved ones to Covid-19". The guests rose and stood as FLOTUS said a prayer with POTUS standing sombrely to her right.

POTUS, wearing dark suit, white shirt and red tie, is currently speaking. "America is engaged in a fierce battle against a very terrible disease," he said. "We pray for every family stricken with grief and devastated with tragic loss. We pray for the doctors, nurses and first responders waging war with an invisible enemy."

There is a livestream here:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/live/

WH in-town pool report #15/ National Day of Prayer Service is in progress

POTUS introduced faith leaders who each gave remarks from a separate podium and lectern to his right. Pastor Paula White, Advisor to the White House Faith and Opportunity Initiative, turned to POTUS and recalled the story of David. She said the word for this administration is: "You will recover all."

POTUS's own words included: "We will prevail again. We will vanquish the virus. We will defeat the invisible enemy. We will not fail... Once again, we call on our Creator to guide us through these very complex steps... We will never forget, however, those who have been lost, those incredible souls... May God forever bless the United States of America."

WH in-town pool report #16/ National Day of Prayer Service ends

A choir sang, then POTUS and FLOTUS departed back to the Oval Office at 4.41pm. The guests applauded.

WH in-town pool report #17/ More from the earlier Oval Office meeting

Turning back to the earlier meeting in the Oval Office, where POTUS sat beside Texas Governor Greg Abbott, while VPOTUS and Deborah Birx were also present. Some highlights from POTUS's answers to reporters' questions.

On media coverage of Michael Flynn:

"They're not journalists. They're thieves. All of those journalists that we see with the Pulitzer Prize should be forced to give those Pulitzer Prizes back because they were all wrong. You saw it today, more documents came out saying there was absolutely no collusion with Russia.

"Pulitzer Prizes should all be returned because you know what, they were given out falsely. It was fake news, they're all fake news. Those Pulitzer Prizes should be given back immediately and the Pulitzer committee, or whoever gives the prizes, they're a disgrace unless they give those prizes back because they got Pulitzer Prizes for what turned out to be false stories.

"Pulitzer Prizes should be given to the ones that got it right and I could give you a long list of those names too, and you know who I'm talking about."

On today's call with Vladimir Putin:

"We are helping various countries, as you know. Russia's having a hard time with the same Covid-19. They got hit like everybody else got hit and we had a long talk and also the 75th year, you know what the 75th year means, it was very nice. He called me because we were partners, so to speak, for a very big successful war. And it was very nice he called as a congratulatory call, as a call of celebration, because it was the 75th year.

"And also, I suggested if they need - because we have a lot of ventilators - if they need ventilators, we'd love to send them some and we will do that at the appropriate time. We'll be doing that and no, it was a very nice call.

"And remember this, the Russia hoax made it very hard for Russia and the United States to deal with each other. They are a very important nation, we're the most powerful nation. They're a very powerful nation. Why would we not be dealing with each other? But the Russia hoax, this absolute dishonest hoax, made it very difficult for our nation and their nation to deal.

"And we discussed that. I said, it's a very appropriate time because things are falling out now and coming in line showing what a hoax this whole investigation was. It was a total disgrace and I wouldn't be surprised if you see a lot of things happen over the next number of weeks. This is just one piece of a very dishonest puzzle."

More to follow.

WH in-town pool report #18/ More from the earlier Oval Office meeting

POTUS on the origin of the coronavirus:

"It came out of China. Whether people like to say it or not, everybody knows that. I think that's pretty much - they tried to blame Europe. They were saying it came out of Europe. It came out of China, went to Europe, went to 184 countries, probably more than that now. That was a week ago, 184 countries, can you believe it?

"It could have been stopped at the point, it could have been stopped right at the source, and it would have been easy to do but something happened. Something happened. It's either they made a terrible mistake, probably it was incompetence, somebody was stupid and they didn't do the job that they should've done."

WH in-town pool report #19/ More from the earlier Oval Office meeting

On the killing of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia:

"So I'm getting a full report on it this evening. My heart goes out to the parents and to the loved ones of the young gentleman. It's a very sad thing. But I will be given a full report this evening."

Asked if he had seen the video of the incident, POTUS replied: "No, I haven't."