Pool Reports by S.V. Dáte, HuffPost
| Sent: | Reports: |
| November 30, 2021 10:02 |
WH pool report 1 -- Greetings, overview Good morning from a damp, occasionally odd, pellet-like-snow-inflicted Washington, D.C., home to the White House, where President Joe Biden is holding a bill signing this morning and then traveling to Minnesota to promote the recently enacted infrastructure law. Per the daily guidance, the signing event is to take place at 1045 and will be live-streamed from the White House web site. He is to depart the White House aboard Marine 1 at 1130, at which point coverage will be picked up by the travel pooler for the trip. |
| November 30, 2021 10:34 |
WH pool report 2 -- details on signing Per the WH press office: REPORTABLE: Today, the President will sign four bipartisan bills, which build on his strong record of support for our veterans:
|
| November 30, 2021 10:56 |
WH pool report 3 – Eisenhower Building for bill signing Pool and a group of WH reporters were escorted to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. We are in the South Court Auditorium there and awaiting the president’s arrival. Again, the event is to live-streamed here: |
| November 30, 2021 11:24 |
WH pool report 4 -- more details Per WH press office: Joining the President, the Vice President, and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs on stage for the following signings: S. 1031: Requiring GAO to Report on the Disparities of Race and Ethnicity in Administration of VA Benefits:
S. 894: Hire Veteran Health Heroes Act of 2021:
S. 1095: Colonel John M. McHugh Tuition Fairness for Survivors Act of 2021
S. 796: Protecting Moms Who Served Act of 2021
|
| November 30, 2021 11:26 |
WH pool report 5 – Remarks begin President Biden entered the room at 1125, came to the lectern and began speaking a few seconds later. The tiny bill signing desk has been arranged slightly ahead and to the left (from the president’s point of view) of the lectern, and has stacked on it four black folders. Just to the right of the lectern is a small stand on which a tumbler of water, covered with a paper lid, has been placed. |
| November 30, 2021 11:43 |
WH pool report 6 – bill signing finished The president opened by remarking that the full room made it seemed there was a quorum present, and that he missed having quorums. He then briefly described what each of the four bills did, who sponsored them in Congress, and finished his remarks at 1133 and moved to the bill signing desk. He invited congressional sponsors and proponents onto the stage for each of the bills. He joked, as he has previously, that he had only one pen and son couldn't hand out one to everyone. The music – "God Bless America," an instrumental version – came up as he finished, cutting off the president's exchange with an 11-year-old audience member. The president remained on the stage, posing for photos with his guests, until 1143. |
| November 30, 2021 12:04 |
WH pool report 7 President Biden, having walked right past pool on the way back from the EEOB but, engrossed in conversation He did not stop for questions. The helicopter was aloft at 1203. Handing off to travel pool. |
| November 30, 2021 12:07 |
WH pool report 7a Per the White House press office: Traveling with the President on Marine One: |
| November 30, 2021 14:02 |
WH pool report 8 -- two minute warning for AF1 gaggle Per the press office. |
| November 30, 2021 20:29 |
WH pool report 9 The lights of Marine 1 swooped past the illuminated Washington Monument on its return to the White House, with the helicopter settling onto the South Lawn at 2024. President Biden climbed out the forward hatch three minutes later, waved to the pool but did not stop to speak, and entered the residence at 2027. From the WH press office: Returning on Marine One with the President: |
| November 30, 2021 20:32 |
WH pool report 10 — lid At 2028, the pool was given a travel/photo lid. Have a good rest of the evening. |
Pool Reports below by Todd J. Gillman, The Dallas Morning News
| Sent: | Reports: |
| November 30, 2021 11:55 EST |
travel pool #1/AF1 gaggle info and entourage Greetings from JBA as we await POTUS. The gaggle is expected to start about an hour after takeoff for Minnesota, and will be livestreamed. Pool will not provide extensive notes on landing. Upon arrival at Joint Base Andrews, the President will be greeted by Col. Matthew E. Jones, Commander, 89th Airlift Wing. Traveling on Air Force One with the President to Rosemount, Minnesota: Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona |
| November 30, 2021 12:20 EST |
Travel pool #2/JBA departure Marine One pulled to a stop off the nose of Air Force One at 12:12 pm. It is brisk at Joint Base Andrews. The sun escaped from the clouds just before President Biden walked off the helicopter. The breeze gave some trouble as he tried to get his mask on. His suit jacket also was flapping. He saluted at the bottom of the stairs, walked up alone, turned and saluted again, then waved at the head-on camera and then at the pool. He was aboard at 12:15. Aides and advisors followed. Next stop Minnesota. Taking off soon. |
| November 30, 2021 13:38 CST |
Travel pool #3/arrival in Minnesota Air Force One touched down in Minnesota at MSP at 1:37pm CT. Press Secretary Jen Psaki gaggled from 1p to 1:30p. Q&A covered omicron, WHO, Russia, inflation, vaccines, Mississippi abortion case, Taiwan, Afghan aid, Covid conspiracy theories, oil prices, Biden agenda in Congress and more. One off camera comment to clarify: when Jen said nothing is broken, the door behind her, at the front of the press cabin, had swung open unexpectedly. Taxiing. |
| November 30, 2021 13:56 CST |
Travel pool #4/MSP greeting President Biden walked down stairs, saluted, and walked to Gov. Walz, hand outstretched for a handshake. Lots of chatting. The Sens. Klobuchar and Smith followed POTUS down, with Secretary Cardona and Rep. Craig. The foursome waited at the bottom for a bit then came and joined the greetings. Rolling at 1:50p CT for Rosemount. From press office: Upon arrival at 934th Airlift Wing, Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, the President will be greeted by: |
| November 30, 2021 14:39 CST |
Pool report #5/Rosemount MN protests Motorcade pulled to a stop at 2:20p at Dakota County Technical College in Rosemount, Minn. The half hour drive was uneventful until the last couple of minutes when knots of onlookers appeared along the route to dispel the "Minnesota friendly" myth. Closest to the college were maybe 100 anti-Biden folks. Trump flags waved. A green sign said "Build Back Broke" One woman in a green hat held a sign with a red line across a hypodermic needle and the message "STOP THE EXPERIMENT NOW!" Other signs, some hand drawn, read: "FJB" "You Suck" "High Gas - C'mon man" "Trump still president" At least one woman was wearing a navy shirt with "Let's Go Brandon" in white letters -- a message that also appeared on placard sized signs and one oversized flag. A less coded version just outright said "Fuck you Biden" with the U in the F word cleverly drawn to look like a middle finger. A real middle finger attached to a somewhat rough looking middle age man with a beard was upraised as motorcade passed. A bit more before arrival a handful of Biden supporters held nice signs such as "Let's Go Joe" and "Welcome to Rosemount." Pool finally got on the wifi and is about to join POTUS for a tour. His schedule showed a photo line before the tour that pool did not witness. By the way it is mid-40s here, maybe a bit warmer than at JBA departure. Blue skies. |
| November 30, 2021 15:07 CST |
Travel pool #6/Michigan school shooting From Press Secretary Jen Psaki: In advance of a tour and remarks at Dakota County Technical College, President Biden was was told of the school shooting in Oxford, Michigan by his National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. The traveling team will remain in close touch with the team back at the White House and provide regular updates to the President as new information surfaces. |
| November 30, 2021 15:29 CST |
Travel pool #7/color Dakota College visit Awaiting Biden remarks after his brief indoor tour of Dakota County Technical College in Rosemount, Minn. With a truck behind him and tractors on either side, he spoke with a couple of students. Sam Ngeth, a student in the Class A Commercial Driver License program at DCTC, talking about a "hot shot" small business he was starting, which left the president a bit puzzled. He got Sam to clarify that it's a trucking business. "I used to drive a tractor-trailer," Biden told him. Sarah Riviere-Herzan, Heavy Construction Equipment student and a member of the National Guard, was next to Sam. Biden asked her "What kind of pay?" she expected. Biden chatted with them for a bit then moved to a few other students, where he reminisced about a 2016 drag race he did, when he was VP, against Colin Powell, and struggled to recall the name of late night host Jay Leno, who had arranged for the race. Program now underway. Gov. Walz, then Sens. Klobuchar and Smith, then Rep. Craig. Before Biden's tour, they and the students were waiting and Gov. Tim Walz chatted with pool while he, the senators and others waited for President Biden. "I've got 660 bridges that are substandard, 5,000 miles of road. This changes everything," Walz said. "It's huge. As a 12-year member of Congress this would have been a top five bill in my careers." The I-35W bridge that collapsed in 2007 isn't far from where Air Force One landed at MSP, Walz noted. After that, "the rest of the country started taking a look at these deficient bridges. And there's literally decades of backlog, we can now start to have a plan to attack that." "I supported this bill when President Trump put it up as a Democratic member of Congress…. This used to be nonpartisan entirely. We would get almost unanimous votes in the Transportation Committee …This is simply one of those things that if the President says it's Tuesday, they'll say no, it's not. And that's very unfortunate, because this is huge." |
| November 30, 2021 15:49 CST |
travel pool #8/Biden on Michigan school shooting President Biden began speaking at 3:36pm CT. He quickly mentioned the school shooting: "I was informed after the tour -- I learned about a school shooting in Michigan. We learned -- as we learn the full details, my heart goes out to the families enduring the unimaginable grief of losing a loved one. Apparently there was somewhere in the order of 9 people shot and several – or three I think are dead. And the young man as I understand it from staff, about 15 years old, and he turned himself in. He claimed his right against self-incrimination and handed over his pistol. That's all that we know about it. But you've got to know that that whole community has be just in a state of shock right now." Per the White House: In attendance: approximately 90 guests, including Members of Congress, local elected officials, labor leaders, representatives from Dakota County Technical College, and tour participants. There's a white rig behind him with a big blue "Bipartisan Infrastructure Law" sign. He was introduced by Sarah Riviere-Herzan, the Heavy Construction Equipment student. She got applause when she mentioned she'd been deployed to Kuwait for 13 months in the National Guard and again when she said she plans to start an all-women trucking company. President still speaking. |
| November 30, 2021 16:34 CST |
travel pool #9/remarks ended President Biden stayed quite a while after his remarks, shaking hands and chatting and posing for photos with a whole lot of folks at Dakota Community Technical College who were showering him with the Minnesota nice that was not so much in evidence outside and across the street. There were boom mics and perhaps someone captured some of the interactions. Print pool was way too far to hear anything through the din. The schmoozing ended at 4:24p. Motorcade rolled at 4:33 headed back to MSP. |
| November 30, 2021 17:08 CST |
Travel pool #10/back at MSP President Biden schmoozed for 15 minutes after his remarks. The president departed DCTC at 4:33pm CT and arrived at Air Force One at MSP at 5:02pm. He spoke to pool Tk The sunset motorcade was uneventful, once we got past protesters off campus at Dakota County Technical College in Rosemount, Minn. (NOTE: Some previous pool reports referred to DCTC as Dakota "Community" Technical College. Apologies.) There were fewer protesters than when we arrived and somewhat more police. Officers were standing in the road spaced apart and facing the several dozen people with Trump signs and an assortment of anti-Biden signs. Some of those signs included foul language. This time pool spotted a neon yellow trio of signs, each with one letter: F and J and B. Also spotted in the crowd of shouting potty mouthed adults: some children. From the press office: Upon arrival at 934th Airlift Wing, Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, the President will be greeted by: Returning with the President to Joint Base Andrews on Air Force One: Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona |
| November 30, 2021 17:13 CST |
Pool report #11/Biden gaggle MSP tarmac Please check against tape and transcript. Biden came over to pool before boarding AF1. Engines revving now. Sorry for rush job here. Build Back Better Vaccines Michigan shooting. Not sure if he'll go. Talked to Debbie Dingell. Q. Will he coordinate with allies on any further travel restrictions: "Unlike Trump I don't shock our allies." |
| November 30, 2021 20:04 EST |
Travel pool #12/arrival at Andrewa Air Force One touched down at Joint Base Andrews at 7:59pm. Brian Deese, director of the National Economic Council, and press secretary Jen Psaki spoke off the record with the pool from 7:32pm until about a minute before landing. Taxiing. |
| November 30, 2021 20:15 EST |
Travel pool #13/JBA departure President Biden walked down the carpeted staircase at Joint Base Andrews at 8:08p and headed straight for Marine One with Col. Matthew E. Jones, Commander, 89th Airlift Wing. He boarded a minute later as aides filed down the stairs and followed him to the helicopter. Marine One rotors came to life eight hours after departure for Rosemount, Minn. It was wheels up at 8:14. Handing off to intown pool. |
Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Pool Reports of November 30, 2021 Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/353599