Pool Reports of May 7, 2024

In-Town Pool Report #1 - Pool gathering

Good Morning from the Palm Room Doors...

Pool has been called to gather for POTUS' departure to the U.S. Capitol

In-Town Pool Report #2 — Rolling toward Capitol

11:18am -- Motorcade is rolling toward U.S. Capitol for the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Days of Remembrance Ceremony.

For those who want to follow along, POTUS' remarks will be livestreamed at whitehouse.gov/live

From Press Office:

Traveling with the President via motorcade en route to the United States Capitol Building:

Annie Tomasini, Assistant to the President & Deputy Chief of Staff
Vinay Reddy, Assistant to the President & Director of Speechwriting
Ed Siskel, Assistant to the President & White House Counsel
Ryan Montoya, Assistant to the President & Director of Scheduling & Advance
Stephen Benjamin, Assistant to the President & Senior Advisor to the President & Director of the Office of Public Engagement
Ashley Williams, Deputy Assistant to the President & Senior Advisor to the President & Director of Strategic Outreach
Jen Daskal, Deputy Assistant to the President & Deputy Homeland Security Advisor
Aviva Feuerstein, Special Assistant to the President & Senior Presidential Speechwriter
Herbie Ziskend, Special Assistant to the President & Deputy Director of Communications

In-Town Pool Report 3 — Arrival at Capitol

Motorcade arrived at U.S. Capitol 11:24am

In-Town Pool Report 3a— Arrival Greeter

Greeting the President upon arrival to the United States Capitol Building:

William McFarland, Sergeant at Arms of the United States House of Representatives

In-Town Pool Report 4- Remarks begin

POTUS took the stage of the U.S. Capitol building's Emancipation Hall at 11:51am

House Speaker Mike Johnson, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum Chairman Ambassador Stuart Eizenstat each spoke before his arrival.

From the Press Office:

The President is delivering the keynote address at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Annual Days of Remembrance ceremony.

Pre-Program
Processional of the Holocaust Survivors
Allen Holt, Vice Chair of the US Holocaust Memorial
Processional and Presentation of Division Flags by The US Army Band and 3d US Infantry Regiment
Presentation of the Colors by 3d US Infantry Regiment
The National Anthem, sung by Staff Sergeant Paul Grosvenor, The US Army Band
Retirement of the Colors by the 3d US Infantry Regiment
Speaker Mike Johnson
Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries

Speaking Program
Ambassador Stuart Eizenstat, Chairman of the US Holocaust Memorial Council
The President

Pool Report 5- Remarks Conclude @ 12:06pm

POTUS was greeted with a standing ovation when he arrived, audience applauded through various parts of his speech. After walking off stage he shook hands with some seated up front, then sat next to Speaker Johnson.

Some excerpts, please check against official transcript…

"We know hate never goes away it only hides"

"We must give hate no safe harbor against anyone"

"There is no place on any campus in America for antisemitism or hate speech"

Message to Jewish Americans: "I see your fear your hurt and your pain...let me reassure you as your president, you are not alone, you belong."

In-Town Pool Report 6 — Ceremony Departure

Three Holocaust survivors, carrying photos and momentos recounted their memories of loved ones, then invited audience to stand and raise black and white photos of Holocaust victims placed on audience chairs. POTUS held photo up to chest.

Pool was escorted out 12:19 before POTUS left the audience.

Motorcade started rolling back to WH at 12:44pm

In-Town Pool Report 7 - WH Arrival

Motorcade arrived at WH at 12:50pm amid a slight drizzle. PoTUS entered Oval

In-Town Pool Report 8 - Gathering for Oval

Pool is gathering for POTUS' Oval Office meeting with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis. Running behind, original call-time was 1:15pm

In-Town Pool Report 9- Oval Office Meeting

Pool was escorted into the Oval at 2:15p

POTUS greeted Romanian President Iohannis

Spoke about the strength of NATO

"The help you provided Ukraine is…significant"

"The united states is committed to standing with you."

Iohonnis:

"We will discuss things we still have to achieve"

Cites VISA waivers for Romania

"The most important issue is to find a way to reinstall peace in the world"

Pool escorted out at 2:21pm

POTUS did not answer questions shouted by reporters

In-Town Pool Report 10 -2 min warning

2 min warning for briefing called at 2:40pm

In-Town Pool Report 11 - Briefing Ends

The briefing concluded at 3:25pm

In-Town Pool Report 12-- Lid

At 5:03p.m. a lid was called...

Foreign pool report #1 – Background Ahead of Meeting with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis.

Good morning,

I will be your foreign pooler today for President Biden's meeting with President Klaus Iohannis of Romania. The bilateral is scheduled at 1.30pm.

Previous visits:

President Iohannis visited Washington in 2016 to attend the Nuclear Security Summit. Donald Trump welcomed him twice to the White House, in 2017 and 2019.

Schedule:

The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, is on a working visit to Washington DC from Tuesday to Thursday. On Wednesday, he will received the Distinguished International Leadership Award for the year 2024, during the Atlantic Council Distinguished Leadership Awards gala, as a recognition of his career and his role as a transatlantic and European leader. Per Romanian officials, President Klaus Iohannis is the first European head of state honored with this distinction, in the 24 years since the award was established. https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/distinguished-leadership-awards/

On Thursday, he will have a meeting with the President of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson.

The official delegation traveling with the President of Romania includes the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Luminiţa Odobescu, and Deputy Prime Minister Cătălin Predoiu, the Minister of Internal Affairs.

Agenda and priorities for the bilat:

The leaders will celebrate Romania's 20th year as a member of the NATO Alliance. Per the White House, "President Biden will thank President Iohannis for hosting U.S. service members in Romania, and recognize the many contributions that Romania, a stalwart NATO Ally, has made to security on NATO's eastern flank, particularly in the Black Sea region. The leaders will underscore their continued support for Ukraine as it continues to defend itself against Russia's aggression. They will also review the many areas in which Romania and the United States work together, including energy, economic cooperation, and our shared democratic values".

Per Romanian officials, the conversation will focus on the situation in Ukraine and the Black Sea, as well as the strengthening of security in the Euro-Atlantic area. "The high-level dialogue will be a good opportunity to raise the profile of the Strategic Partnership with the United States and reconfirm the privileged bilateral relations between the two states and multi-sectoral cooperation. The visit of President Klaus Iohannis to the USA will be a good opportunity to reaffirm Romania's role as a security provider and active actor in the management of international crises and respected by the partners of the North Atlantic Alliance".

Bio:

Klaus Werner Iohannis is the President of Romania since 2014. He was re-elected in 2019. 2024 will be his last year as President, as the Romanian Constitution stablishes a maximum of two terms. He is the country's fourth president since the fall of communism in the bloody 1989 revolution. A former secondary school physics teacher, he rose to prominence after being elected mayor of Sibiu, a Transylvanian city which he transformed into a leading tourist attraction. In 2014, he became the leader of the centre-right National Liberal Party (PNL) and was nominated as candidate for President of Romania. Then, he inflicted a shock defeat to leftist Prime Minister Victor Ponta, on a promise to fight corruption and be a unifying leader. Ideologically a conservative, he is the first Romanian president belonging to an ethnic minority, as he is a Transylvanian Saxon, part of Romania's German minority. He was often referred to within his own country simply as "the German", according to AFP news agency.

As president, he boosted ties with the United States.

Romania, a NATO member since 2004, borders Ukraine and the Black Sea and has played an increasingly prominent role in the alliance throughout Russia's full-scale invasion, including hosting a NATO meeting of foreign ministers in November 2022. In November 2023, Romania inaugurated an international training hub for F-16 jet pilots from allied countries and other partners, including Ukraine. It has raised defense spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product and is host to a U.S. ballistic missile defense system and more than 5000 NATO troops.

In March, Iohannis announced he would enter the race to succeed Jens Stoltenberg and become the next leader of NATO, emphasizing his country's proximity to Ukraine and the threat from Russia.