Pool Reports by Zolan Kanno-Youngs, The New York Times
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| September 14, 2021 09:53 PDT |
Travel pool report #1 rolling to Long Beach airport ?Hello all, Back at it this morning. Special thanks for WHCA pooler Alex Leary for his efforts yesterday. The president's motorcade left the Westin for Long Beach airport at 9:49 am. Bonus detail: Alan Ruck, who plays Connor Roy in HBO's succession, is one of our volunteer drivers in the motorcade. Will circle back. |
| September 14, 2021 10:13 PDT |
Travel pool report #2 Long Beach Airport AF1 POTUS exited the Beast and boarded AF1 at 10:06 AM PT. Wearing a navy blue suit and black mask, he turned and waved before entering the plane. Karine Jean-Pierre, deputy press secretary, is expected to gaggle on AF1 at 11 am PT/ 2 PM ET. Will be streamed on whitehouse.gov/live Passing along from a White House official—> Traveling with the President today and yesterday: |
| September 14, 2021 13:22 MDT |
Travel pool report #3 arrival in Denver/rolling to Golden Air Force One landed at Denver International airport at 12:58 PM local time. The president exited at 1:13 PM wearing sun glasses, a navy blue suit, light blue tie and black mask. He then took his glasses off and chatted with Gov. Jared Polis, Colorado and Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock for about four minutes before shaking both of their hands and entering the Beast. While on Air Force One, White House deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre gaggled with reporters for about 17 minutes. She touched on The Woodward book, the upcoming sept. 18 protest, climate change, reconciliation package, the pay-fors, Joe Manchin, freedom to vote act, the drone strike in Afghanistan and whether Biden would attend the COP26 summit. Asked about Woodward and Costa's reporting that Gen. Milley took steps to restrict Trump's ability to take a strike or whether Milley spoke to Biden about it, Ms. Jean-Pierre referred to the joint chief's of staff and the department of defense. Asked whether the president was briefed on the possibility of violence on Sept 18 protests and what the White House was doing about it, Jean-Pierre said, "federal law enforcement agencies and the D.C. metropolitan police department are in a heightened state of alert and actively sharing information to ensure appropriate protective measures and operational response plans are in place. The US Capitol Police have a comprehensive security plan, which has been briefed by congressional leadership." The gaggle was streamed on whitehouse.gov/live. I'll send some more quotes soon. We're rolling now to Golden at 1:20 PM. We've got about a 40 minute drive. |
| September 14, 2021 13:52 MDT |
Travel pool report #4 CORRECTION on next location White House sends this along: We are going to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory Flatirons Campus in Arvada, Colorado, which the President is visiting and is the location for his remarks. *** WH official tells pooler the previously stated location (Golden) that was in the official guidance is rather the headquarters for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. |
| September 14, 2021 14:14 MDT |
Travel pool report #5 arrival at NREL ///background///Karine quotes We arrived at NREL at 2:03 PM. The motorcade was greeted outside the facility with a large cluster of people waving Trump flags and signs that read, variously: Biden is a fraud / /Impeach and Arrest / Taliban Joe. There also appeared to be anti vaccine messages. The president is currently out of sight of the pool doing a photo line. Below you'll find background from the White House and rough quotes from the Jean-Pierre presser. I'm told transcript should be out soon. They are in order so should be easy to check against audio. Background: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Flatirons Campus: Tour Stop 1: Overview and Demonstration of Wind Turbine POTUS will observe a demonstration of the wind turbine, known as "The Blade," and hear from representatives from NREL and IBEW. Participants this stop will include: Jean-Pierre quotes: Sept 18 continued "We hope Saturday remains peaceful. To the extent needed, executive branch law enforcement agencies are postured, prepared and ready to assist Capitol Police," Jean Pierre said about Sept. 18th. On whether POTUS is planning a COVID summit to set a vaccination target of 70 percent worldwide. "We don't have anything to formally announce but it is safe to assume we are actively planning on COVID-19 engagements for the president on the margins of the UN general assembly high-level week," Ms. Jean-Pierre said. "As part of President Biden's ongoing effort to rally the world to end this pandemic, I anticipate there will be an opportunity for the president to engage with his counterparts during UNGA week." Are you encouraging states to do vaccination mandates? "We're encouraging everyone, as you can imagine, Steve, from the private and public sector to take actions to require vaccinations," Ms. Jean-Pierre said. What tax changes would the President like to see from the senate that weren't included in the House Ways and Means proposal? "The way that we see it is the ways and means proposals are critical steps towards accomplishing just that so we're looking forward to continuing to work with our partners in Congress, to reform the tax code so that the highest income Americans, richest corporations pay their fair share and to finance critical investments in this country's future. So we're going to continue to work with them and continue to move forward." Has the president spoken to Joe Manchin lately and does the White House have any reaction to the Freedom to Vote Act? No calls to read out. "The president strongly supports voting rights protections. We're encouraged by the momentum were seeing in the state, sorry the senate," Ms. Jean-Pierre said, adding the White House is working with Schumer and Pelosi. Booster shots for POTUS or VP? Nothing to share. Has the president been briefed on Al Qaeda militants returning to Afghanistan. what's he prepared to do? "The president is always briefed, normally briefed during his PDB on national security issues," but nothing specific. Biden and Austin have talked about "over the horizon capabilities...which is something that is critical as we talk about counterterrorism and that we've seen work in Yemen and Syria so that is the posture we're going to continue to have as we look at what's happening and focus on Afghanistan." Is 3.5 trillion a hard and fast number for Biden or is he willing to take on a lower figure like others want? "He supports 3.5 trillion which is a bill that he proposed, a legislation he proposed and he will continue to work with Congress to push that agenda through. I'm not going to clearly negotiate from here." But is it fair to say 3.5 trillion is not a line in the sand? Jean-Pierre said she can say the Build Back Better agenda and bipartisan infrastructure proposal is important to the president. "That's what we're going to continue to focus on and again I'm not going to negotiate frm here." On Jean-Pierre's mention of "over the horizon" strikes, a reporter followed up and asked about the Times and Post's visual investigations showing the potential that the drone strike in Afghanistan did not hit a terrorist target? Jean-Pierre said US central command is continuing to assess that strike. "I don't want to get ahead of that assessment," referring to DOD. If climate measures were slimmed down in the reconciliation package, would Biden still sign it? "We're committed strongly to climate components both in reconciliation and the infrastructure deal. You saw the president speak to this the entire trip," Jean-Pierre said. "This administration feels we can play a key role in preventing it from getting worse but the Biden climate agenda doesn't hinge on just reconciliation or infrastructure package alone, rather it's integrated as you all know, throughout both and is a key part of everything we do in the whole of government effort launch." Does that mean it's not a red line? If it's slimmed down would he potentially sign and pursue measures through regulatory action? "He's committed to climate components in both the reconciliation and infrastructure deal and he'll continue to talk about that and push that forward," she said before talking about the Paris climate agreement. |
| September 14, 2021 15:21 MDT |
Travel pool report #6 Biden tours wind turbine// brief POTUS gaggle Two minute warning until Biden's speech. It is streamed on WH live. Here's a recap on the first stop on his tour. The president came out of the NREL at 2:35 PM flanked by energy secretary Jennifer Granholm to his left and Dr. Martin Keller, director of NREL and president of alliance for sustainable energy. The president was led to the wind turbine, known as "The Blade," where a group of union officials (all names in previous report) stood waiting. As secretary Granholm led the president to Jeremy Ross, IBEW Local 68 Business Manager/Financial Secretary, Biden pumped his right fist. His comment to Mr. Ross was just out of earshot of your pooler. Mr. Ross responded "it doesn't go unnoticed." The conversation between Biden and union members was very hard to hear. At one point the president told the union members "we have to train more people." Representatives Jason Crow, Ed Perlmutter, and Joe Neguse then joined the group. "You know these guys, don't you?" Mr. Biden asked the union members. "They're the ones getting it all through in Congress." "The jobs are in clean energy," Mr. Biden told the union members. Mr. Biden was then led to the tip of the turbine. At one point, the president pushed against the turbine multiple times. "By the way, they tell me the ones that are going to be offshore are going to be 100 meters." Reuters Steve Holland then asked what the president has learned on the trip. The president replied, "I've learned on this trip that we made a great investment in this laboratory. I was out here in 2011 and it's expanded considerably. He said wind and solar had brought down the cost of energy — "cheaper than the cost of a new coal plant." Turning to the union official and slapping the man's chest he said, "these guys are changing the world, man." "By the way, they tell me the ones that are going to be offshore are going to be 100 meters." Granholm quickly added, "twice as big." Your pooler then asked if POTUS would sign a reconciliation package with slimmed down measures to address climate change. "I'm up for more climate measures," Biden said while pumping his fist. POTUS then visited made two more stops along the tour. No news. I will send details in the next report. Participants during the first stop included: |
| September 14, 2021 16:07 MDT |
Travel pool report #7 Biden speech/// More details on tour A reminder that this is all in Arvada, not Golden. POTUS's speech ended at 3:44 PM. A couple quotes on it below. But first more details from his tour: The attendees on the second stop of his tour included: Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm On Biden's second stop of his tour, Secretary Granholm led Biden to meet Johney Green, Associate Laboratory Director for Mechanical and Thermal Engineering Sciences, NREL. The president observed Research Pads and heard from representatives from NREL and Xcel. "It's really here to help us build out the future and decarbonize the energy system," Mr. Green told Mr. Biden. "This has like a hundred thousand iPhone batteries," Mr. Green said. Biden then reflected back on his days as vice president. "There was this notion that we wouldn't be able to use wind and solar," the president told Mr. Green. His next sentence was hard to hear. But the president then told him, "None of us knew about how difficult that would be and difficult it would be to get people to agree," Biden said. "And how susceptible to weather changes and so on." Biden then told Mr. Green, "One of the things I'm really anxious to learn more about is how we integrate the entire grid." Biden was then led to the Structural Technology Laboratory to hear from other representatives of NREL. The list of attendees on his third stop included: Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm A smaller blade was on display. "What is the fundamental change in the material?" Biden asked Mr. Laird as he looked at the turbine. Mr. Biden asked what was different in the composition of the blade on display and the official talked about a plastic resin, saying the goal was a fully recyclable blade. He also asked how much stress the blade could endure. We were hustled out of the Lab after just a couple minutes at 3:06 PM. Pol was then led to a set space for Biden's remarks. A backdrop of mountains. A green sign saying "Build Back Better." You likely watched but here's some details. In the audience were folks from DOE, the lab and IBEW workers. Speakers before Biden included Governor of Colorado Jared Polis, Ben Fowke, Executive Chairman of Xcel Energy, Julian Aguilar, IBEW Local 68 Member. In that order. Towards the end of the speech it started to rain. Some quotes from Biden: "When you work for a power company or small construction, everyone, everyone has a role to play," Biden said. "We need everyone's contributions, everyone's contributions," Biden said. He repeated the line about climate change and natural disasters reaching "code red." "Even if it's not in your backyard, you feel the effects as you mentioned earlier," Biden said. He said parents are worried their children might have asthma attacks. "The bottom line is it's everywhere. It's everywhere. Communities that nearly one in three Americans call home have been struck by weather disasters in just last the three months," Biden said. "We have to invest in more resilience because of the impacts of climate," Biden said. "Here's the good news, something that is caused by humans can be solved by humans," Biden said. "We can do all of this in a way that creates good jobs and makes us global leaders in an entirely new industry," Biden said. "Members of both parties have recognized that clean energy is an economic imperative," Mr. Biden said before turning to his spending packages. "Because of the years of work that have taken place here these technologies aren't science fiction," Biden said. "We don't have the time now. The goals are different. Because the necessity is there. We don't have much more than 10 years. For real," Biden said. "You can see why with climate change, when I think of it, I think jobs," Biden said. "It's not about red states or blue states," Biden said. "It doesn't give a damn which party you are." "Yes we face a crisis. But we face a crisis with an unprecedented opportunity," Biden said. "To create jobs for the future." Biden stopped speaking at 3:44. We were loaded into the motorcade almost immediately and we're rolling to the airport. |
| September 14, 2021 16:36 MDT |
Travel pool report #8 Arrival at Denver Int. More details from tour Motorcade pulled into Denver International Airport at 4:29 PM. POTUS chatted briefly and took a photo with a volunteer before walking up AF1. Before entering AF1, he raised his left hand to wave. He entered the plane at 4:30. We're about to take off to JBA. More details from the tour below. Another shoutout to the WSJ's Alex Leary for the hustle. From earlier… The blade at the first stop of POTUS's tour was 49 meters. Attendees at POTUS's remarks included participants from the earlier photo line and tour. Here's the list of attendees from the photo line POTUS had before his tour. Jason Crow, U.S Congressman (CO-06) |
| September 14, 2021 21:46 EDT |
Travel pool report #9 JBA arrival AF1 landed at 9:27 PM ET. POTUS exited AF1 at 9:38 PM. He saluted Col. William C. McDonald, Vice Commander, 89th Airlift Wing. They then walked to marine one. Marine one took off at 9:44 PM. Handing it off to in-town. Thanks again to WSJ's Alex Leary for the work! Until next time. From the White House: Returning to the White House with the President on Marine One: |
Pool Reports below by Alexander Nazaryan, Yahoo News
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| September 14, 2021 21:59 |
In-house pool #1 Marine One alighted on the South Lawn at 9:54 pm and President Biden emerged from the helicopter into a balmy Washington night, after first appearing to shake hands with the pilot. He buttoned his coat and took of his mask, then spoke briefly with the pool, now with the mask back on. More coming shortly. |
| September 14, 2021 22:13 |
In-house pool #2 As he crossed the South Lawn, the president stopped to briefly speak to the in-house pool. He put his mask back on. [please note that it was extremely loud, and both poolers and White House staff struggled mightily to decipher what the president said.] Asked about what lessons could be gleaned from the recall campaign against Gov. Newsom, he asked if there "results yet." (There were not.) The President did say that he believed that there was "positive support for mandates" but that there's "always going to be a small percentage who say 'no.'" Continuing on this topic, he noted that he would have business leaders at the White House tomorrow to "talk about that." In response to a question about reports that President Xi of China refused to meet with Biden, and whether he was disappointed at the lack of such a meeting the president said "not true," though it was unclear if the report was not true or his purported disappointment was not true. The president did not answer a shouted question about his own coronavirus vaccine booster shot. He then walked into the White House. |
| September 14, 2021 22:15 |
In house pool #3 Lid was called by the White House at 10:09 pm. Thank you once more to Shelby Talcott of the Daily Caller for helping your pooler through both presidential and vice presidential pooling duties. |
| September 14, 2021 22:16 |
In-house pool #4 But wait, there's more! From the White House: Arriving on Marine One with the President: |
Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Pool Reports of September 14, 2021 Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/352575