Vice Presidential Pool Reports of March 5, 2025

VP Pool Report #1: taking off for the border

Good morning!

I am your print pooler for the Vice President's trip to the border. Vance has loaded AF2 and we will be taking off shortly.

I will have a full schedule once we touch down in about four hours but a rough schedule was shared below by a WH official:

The VP is expected to tour the border hold a roundtable with local, state, and federal officials Tour a detention facility.

Traveling with the VP:

Sec Pete Hegseth
Director Tulsi Gabbard
Congressman Tony Gonzales

Also per WH official, it's unclear if Vance has gotten his ashes today. He may get them while we are on the trip.

More to come in Texas!

VP Pool Report #2: touched down, loading into helicopters

AF2 took off at 9:18 AM EST. Our ascent and the first hour of our trip was rather bumpy. It smoothed out and the rest was uneventful.

Your Pooler spotted the VP at about an hour and a half into the trip. He did not come back to the press area, but was talking to someone briefly further up the plane. He did this again two-ish hours into the trip.

Two hours into the trip, Gabbard also was spotted in the front of the cabin talking to staff. Three hours in, Hegseth did the same and then he walked to the back of the plane to grab a cup of coffee.

After that trip to get a coffee, your pooler spotted Hegseth and Gabbard talking to each other for 20-30 minutes at the front of the cabin.

AF2 touched down at 11:55 AM CT

From now on my pool reports will be in central time until we return.

The pool is loading now into helicopters. The press is in Army 6, Vance is in a Blackhawk, for the arial tour of the border.

A complete schedule will come once we are back on the ground.

VP pool report #3: border fact sheet provided by WH

A White House official passed out a border fact sheet right as we were taking off. It highlights Trump's border accomplishments thus far, see attached.

VP pool report #4: resending border fact sheet provided by WH

It was brought to my attention the fact sheet did not go through. Retrying here.

VP Pool Report #5: more detailed schedule of the trip

Around 1PM CT VP Vance will arrive at Eagle Pass Border Patrol Station South.

Shortly after, the VP will participate in a tour of a Detention Facility.

From there the VP will participate in a Roundtable Discussion with local and national participants.

We also expect the VP to hold a press availability.

VP pool report #6: arrival at border patrol station

Once the aerial tour was complete, the vice president, Hegseth and Gabbard motorcaded to Eagle Pass Border Patrol Station South. The motorcade arrived at 1:33 PM CT.

The press vans went in a different entrance and so your pooler did lay eyes on anyone.

Here the trio will visit the office and participate in the round table. Your pooler will send a report when the roundtable begins, we are setting up now.

On our drive there, a string of cars donning Trump-Vance flags passed and beeped their horns.

A handful of supporters were stopped waiting at the motorcade.

VP pool report #7: round table beginning

The roundtable is beginning.

Present is the mayor of Eagle Pass, the NBPC President, AG Paxton, Gov. Abbott, Chief of the Border Patrol.

VP Pool report #8: brief remarks, press leaves

Hegseth and Gabbard entered the roundtable room first. Vance entered almost right after at 1:48PM CT.

He gave brief remarks, about 2 minutes long, before asking the press to leave so he could have a private conversation with the leaders.

He briefly recapped the president's joint Congressional speech and commented on the border wall he saw today.

"We took the helicopter ride over here, and we saw a big chunk of border wall. And I said, is that the federal government's border wall? And they said, well, it was ordered during the first Trump administration that Joe Biden wouldn't let us actually build it."

My otter to the remarks below:

https://otter.ai/u/b-d1Nm5hcw65StbswTNveTdMsY0

The pool is holding outside.

VP Pool Report #9: arrival at press conference

The motorcade left the border patrol station at 2:55 CT. Your pooler did not lay eyes on Vance, Hegseth or Gabbard.

On our way to the press conference location, we drove right past a long stretch of border wall.

We arrived at the press conference location. No update on when that should be starting, but presumably soon.

VP pool report #10: press conference begins

The vice president's press conference at Shelby Park is beginning.

VP pool report #11: presser ends, and notes

Vice President Vance held a press conference alongside Hegseth and Gabbard for 17 minutes. He was also accompanied by border patrol agents and members of the military.

He opened with remarks.

"I have some bad news and some good news. And the bad news is that because of what Joe Biden did at the southern border, for four years, we had record increases in migrant crime, in fentanyl deaths and in just floods and floods of people who shouldn't be in our country, who came into the United States of America."

"The good news is, as President Trump said last night at the State of the Union, it turns out we didn't need new laws. We didn't need fancy legislation. We just needed a new President of the United States."

Please check all quotes against the transcript.

He then took several questions.

Vance told reporters that the administration plans on finishing the border wall by the end of Trump's term.

On Mexico tariffs, he said that there are other industries reaching out for exceptions. If Mexico shows sustained effort to take border security seriously, the U.S. tariffs will go away, Vance said.

He said there are no talks or thoughts of sending U.S. military forces into Mexico.

My otter to the presser is below. Please check all quotes!

https://otter.ai/u/dOontm5TDaRm8dYqoIyZEXfo_4g

VP pool report #12: departure and ashes

After the helicopters dropped the pool off at Air Force Two, Vance got out and shook hands with all of the service members who piloted the trip.

Prior to departure, a priest greeted the vice president at Air Force Two and gave him his ashes for Ash Wednesday. A WH official shared that it was Chaplain Lambert Ulinzwenimana Captain, USAF.

Your Pooler also received ashes.

Vance has loaded onto the plane. We will be departing shortly. Your cooler will let you know when we touchdown in DC.