Vice Presidential Pool Reports of February 14, 2025

VPOTUS pool report #1 Feb. 14, Rolling to Munich Bilateral Meetings

Guten morgen from Munich. We're rolling at 9:02 AMto the Commerzbank, where VPOTUS is expected to have bilateral meetings with world leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. 

VPOTUS is scheduled to deliver a speech at the Munich Security Conference at 2:30 PM local time. It should live-streamed here: https://securityconference.org/en/msc-2025/agenda/

VPOTUS pool report #2 Feb. 14, NATO Bilateral Meeting

At 9:25 AM, press was escorted into a bilateral meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. VPOTUS, wearing a blue tie, and Rutte sat in chairs in front of a navy curtain and four flags -- two U.S. and two NATO. 

VPOTUS said this was his second meeting with Rutte, and he said they would discuss POTUS's desire to see NATO spend more on defense as well as a "negotiated settlement" in the Ukraine/Russia conflict. 

"I mean, my high level argument to these folks is, look, Europe is of course a very important ally in the United States. NATO is a very important military alliance, of course, that we're the most significant part of. But we want to make sure that NATO is actually built for the future, and we think a big part of that is ensuring that NATO does a little bit more burden sharing in Europe, so the United States can focus on some of our challenges in East Asia."

Rutte responded that VPOTUS was "absolutely right" about Europe needing to step up as part of NATO.

"We have to grow up in that sense and spend much more," he said.

He also said that they needed to discuss how to bring Ukraine to "a lasting peace, and no Minsk again." 

As press was escorted out of the room, a reporter asked whether Europe should be involved in the peace negotiations among the United States, Russia and Ukraine. 

"Sure they should. Of course." 

Still no update on timing for the Zelensky bilateral. Will update you if that changes.

VPOTUS pool report #3 Feb. 14 Steinmeier Bilateral

First an update on the last report: VPOTUS was the one who said: "Sure they should. Of course." Apologies for not giving clearer attribution. 

The pool briefly covered a bilateral meeting with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at 11:04 AM. VPOTUS and Steinmeier were seated across from each other at the center a long table, flanked by their respective staffs. The flags of the European Union, Germany and United States were displayed behind them. 

VPOTUS said the leaders were in the middle of a conversation when the pool entered. He began by offering condolences to the victims of the attack in Munich yesterday, after a car drove into a crowd here. He mentioned that he and his wife had vacationed in Munich and were deeply sad about the report. VPOTUS also said that  Europe is a key ally and that the president envisions it playing a bigger role in its own security. 

"And obviously, Germany, being the biggest economy in Europe, is going to have a major role to play there," VPOTUS said. 

Steinmeier thanked VPOTUS for his condolences. "Indeed there is a need for an exchange," he said. 

"We are opening a new chapter in our transatlantic, American and German relations," Steinmeier said. 

He said that Germany and the United States are "deeply connected," and he recounted a conversation he had with POTUS at the re-opening of Notre Dame about Trump's deep German roots. 

"We should continue to build our relations, and we should continue to take responsibility in our common security," Steinmeir said. (h/t to NBC for helping with audio of this exchange.)

A member of the pool asked whether we'll get a rare earth deal with Ukraine today. "Well, let's see," VPOTUS responded. 

Another member of the pool asked Steinmeier if Elon Musk is wrong about AFD. He did not respond. 

Also, I have received your requests about timing on the Zelensky meeting. Just an update that the pool has repeatedly asked VPOTUS team about timing, as well as reports that the meeting has been moved to 5 PM. They have not returned our texts, and comms staff has not come to our holding room to discuss. Will let you know if we get any updates.

VPOTUS pool report #4 Feb. 14 UK Foreign Secretary Bilateral

The pool joined our third bilateral of the day at 12:07 PM with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy. 

VPOTUS said he and Lammy spoke several years ago about their shared view Europe should take a bigger role in their own security, and he said he expected they would speak about that and other issues of "common agreement." He also said that they would discuss Russia/Ukraine. 

"The special relationship, the Anglo-American relationship, is more than just an alliance. It's a covenant," Lammy said. 

"Right," VPOTUS said. 

Lammy said the core issue was about how to support Ukraine at this "tough moment." On the topic of European security, Lammy said the UK is committed to increasing its defense and that it would encourage "friends" across the continent to do the same. 

VPOTUS did not answer questions about whether Russia should rejoin the G7 or whether they would talk about Gaza.

VPOTUS pool report #5 Feb. 14 Grenell Gaggle

Richard Grenell, Trump’s special missions envoy, stopped by the press room at 1:26 PM. Grenell told us that he would consider running for California governor if former vice president Kamala Harris enters the race. Trump has tapped Grenell to work on the administration's response to the California wildfires. 

Grenell praised Vance's foreign policy expertise and said he was pleased European leaders have expressed willingness to increase their share of spending on European security. He declined to share which meetings he joined today, saying some had not been reported. He did not have a sense of where negotiations stand over a rare earth deal with Ukraine. 

"What makes me very pleased is to hear the Germans say, 'We should have done this years ago, and I'm holding myself back from saying, 'I told you so, Donald Trump was right,'" Grenell said.

"I'm shocked that there is an actual belief, and it's now being articulated, not just something that they think -- but an actual articulation that they should have done these things a long time ago," said the former German ambassador. "Within the foreign policy establishment of Europe there is a inward look to say, 'Did we bring this war on ourselves?' Were we too close to Russia?" 

On Trump's style of foreign policy curveballs:

"I love the fact that Donald Trump, and I would say JD Vance, both just make it about normal, commonsense policies that affect people every day," he said. "If you've worked with Trump long enough, you know to just keep up and read and there's ideas coming out."

He said it was a significant shift from Bush administration, where policy ideas bubbled up from staff.

"You'd go to the president kind of at the end," he said. "That's not how we do it."

On California governor race:

Grenell said Harris had too much political baggage. 

"If Kamala Harris runs for governor ... It's a new day in California and that the Republican actually has a shot, and I wouldn't say no," he said. 

The pool just moved across the street to the venue for VPOTUS's speech, which is expected to start at 2:30 local time. It can be streamed on the MSC website. Pool is holding in hallway, and I will update you when the speech is starting. 

Full Otter of Grinell here: https://otter.ai/u/mBlT-A71um5rtlBM7kL_XcMEV5E

VPOTUS pool report #6 Feb. 14 Speech Soon

VPOTUS speech at Munich Security Conference is briefly delayed, after the preceding speaker started late. We're now moving into the auditorium and expect the speech to start imminently. 

You can stream it on the MSC website: https://securityconference.org/en/msc-2025/agenda/

VPOTUS pool report #7 Feb. 14 VPOTUS Speech

VPOTUS's remarks were already underway when the pool entered the room. The large auditorium was packed, with people standing on two levels of balconies that encircled the room. Attendees also stood on large staircases, which faced VPOTUS. 

"In Washington, there is a new sheriff in town," Vance said to relatively weak applause. 

Only a handful of people — mostly Republican lawmakers — clapped when he downplayed Russian meddling in elections on social media

There was a soft laughter after VPOTUS said that Europe could survive criticism from Elon Musk if the United States could survive Greta Thunberg. 

As the speech ended, only a few Republican senators stood to applause. Most attendees remained seated. 

We were seated on a balcony next to a contingent of US lawmakers. Pool spotted: 

Sen. Chris Coons 
Rep. Dan Crenshaw
Sen. Richard Blumenthal
Sen. Lindsey Graham 
Sen. Michael Bennet

VPOTUS pool report #8 Feb. 14 Mystery Hold

VPOTUS's remarks were already underway when the pool entered the room. The large auditorium was packed, with people standing on two levels of balconies that encircled the room. Attendees also stood on large staircases, which faced VPOTUS. 

"In Washington, there is a new sheriff in town," Vance said to relatively weak applause. 

Only a handful of people — mostly Republican lawmakers — clapped when he downplayed Russian meddling in elections on social media

There was a soft laughter after VPOTUS said that Europe could survive criticism from Elon Musk if the United States could survive Greta Thunberg. 

As the speech ended, only a few Republican senators stood to applause. Most attendees remained seated. 

We were seated on a balcony next to a contingent of US lawmakers. Pool spotted: 

Sen. Chris Coons 
Rep. Dan Crenshaw
Sen. Richard Blumenthal
Sen. Lindsey Graham 
Sen. Michael Bennet

VPOTUS pool report #9 Feb. 14 Gathering For Spray

The pool is now gathering for a spray of a bilateral meeting. The VPOTUS team will not confirm who the meeting is with, but we were told we were cleared from the room for a Ukrainian delegation and we are lined up next to Ukrainian reporters.

VPOTUS pool report #10 Feb. 14 Zelensky Meeting

Wires have reported that VPOTUS's meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has started, per Zelensky's press secretary (h/t to video pooler Tara Prindiville). The pool is still holding outside the meeting room, waiting for the spray.

VPOTUS pool report #11 Feb. 14 Zelensky Spray

Spray it started at 6:08 PM with VPOTUS and  Zelensky seated at a table, across from each other with their respective delegations. VPOTUS was flanked by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Presidential Envoy for Russia and Ukraine Keith Kellogg. 

"And fundamentally, the goal is, as President Trump outlined it, we want the war to come to a close, we want the killing to stop, but we want to achieve a durable, lasting peace, not the kind of peace that's going to have Eastern Europe in conflict just a couple years down the road," VPOTUS said.

VPOTUS said they had "good conversations" about how they might accomplish this and that they would have more "in the days, weeks and months to come."

Zelensky said that VPOTUS said everything and was absolutely right. 

"We have good conversation today, our first meeting, not last, I'm sure," Zelensky said. 

A reporter asked how this conversation moved negotiations forward if Zelensky was not ready to come to the table with Putin.

"Well, look, I think the way that this conversation moves us forward is, first of all, you have great members of the Ukrainian delegation," VPOTUS said. "You have our incredible Secretary of State, Marco Rubio here. We have General Kellogg. It's important for us to get together and start to have the conversations that are going to be necessary to bring this thing to a close. That's all I'm going to say for now, because I want to preserve the optionality here for the negotiators and our respective teams to bring this thing to a responsible close."

VPOTUS did not answer questions about the timeline for reaching a deal or whether they had reached a deal on rare earth minerals. 

Pool is now dropping bags, preparing for departure.

VPOTUS pool report #12 Feb. 14 Rolling to Munich Airport

Motorcade rolling to Munich International Airport at 7:50 PM.

VPOTUS pool report #13 Feb. 14 Alice Weidel

VPOTUS met with the leader of AFD, Alice Weidel, today during his trip to Germany, according to an official in the VP's office.

The official said Vance met with all leaders of major German political parties. He also met with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Friedrich Merz today in Germany. 

VPOTUS met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz earlier this week in Paris, the official said. 

The motorcade arrived at the airport at 8:25 PM.

VPOTUS pool report #13 Feb. 14 Departure from Munich

VPOTUS and his family arrived at the Munich airport at 9:23 PM. (To clarify earlier note, that was just staff and press rolling. Full motorcade here now). VPOTUS did not talk to press. 

The Vance kids exited the car and ran up the stairs to Air Force Two. Ewan and Vivek appeared unbothered by the freezing temperature, wearing t shirts and swinging their jackets. 

VPOTUS was greeted on tarmac by James Miller, consul general of Munich, and German law enforcement officers who assisted with security this week. He briefly posed for pictures with them before boarding the plane. He waved to the press before entering the cabin. 

Consider this your wheels up from Munich, and we'll see you on the other side!