Pool Reports of July 7, 2021

In town pool report #1 -checking in

Press is gathered on the South Lawn for POTUS's Marine One departure for Illinois. Waiting for POTUS to walk out to the helicopter. It's sunny, 87 degrees and humid in Washington today.

In town print pool #2 - comment on Haiti

POTUS walked out of the West Wing at 10:45 am.

Biden walked near the press corps very briefly and gave a couple short answers to questions on the deadly attack on the Haitian President and on cyber.

Comment on Haiti: "We need a lot more information." "Very worrisome."

He was asked what his message to Putin is after meeting with advisors on ransomware this morning. Your pooler could not hear his response.

Marine One took off at 10:52 am.

In town pool #3 - fuller quotes from departure, officials traveling on Marine One

On Haitian President:

"We need a lot more information but it is very worrisome about the state of Haiti."

On his message for Putin after meeting with advisors on ransomware today:

(There wasn't a mic in position to pick this up. This is what it looks like Biden said.)

"I'll deliver it to him."

From the White House press office---

Traveling with the President on Marine One:

• Bruce Reed, Assistant to the President & Deputy Chief of Staff
• Susan Rice, Director of the Domestic Policy Council
• Jen Psaki, Assistant to the President & Press Secretary
• Kate Bedingfield, Assistant to the President & Director of Communications

Out of Town Pool Report #1 - WH Background

Background from the WH on today's trip to Illinois:

BACKGROUND MEMORANDUM

TO: Out-of-Town Travel Pool

FROM: White House Press Office

DATE: July 7, 2021

RE: Background for the President's Visit to Illinois

The Biden-Harris Administration's Build Back Better Agenda

When taken together with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework, the Biden-Harris Administration's Build Back Better (BBB) Agenda is a once-in-a-generation investment in our nation's future.

At McHenry County College, which has workforce training programs and onsite child care, the President will underscore the specific, game-changing impacts that the Build Back Better Agenda will have on Americans' lives and how, from an economic growth and competitiveness standpoint, we can't afford to wait to deliver on it.

The Build Back Better Agenda will:

• Revitalize our education system by adding four years of free schooling for the first time in a century, and invest in teachers and next generation training programs.
• Deliver affordable, high-quality child care for families with children and home-based care for elderly parents and adult children with disabilities, boosting wages of care workers across the sector.
• Provide tax cuts to middle class families, by extending the child tax credit for 39 million households.
• Invest in communities by constructing, rehabilitating and improving the energy efficiency of more than two million homes; upgrading, and building new public schools; and modernizing veterans' hospitals and federal buildings.
• Expand free meals to an additional 9.3 million children during the school year and provide assistance for families to purchase nutritious foods during the summer; Invest in research, development, and breakthrough technologies, and retool and restore American manufacturing, as part of the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act.
• Permanently lower health insurance premiums for those who buy coverage on their own, saving 9 million people an average of $50 per person per month, and helping 4 million uninsured people gain coverage.
• Meet the climate moment, creating good jobs, modernizing our energy system, and improving public health, putting us on an irreversible path to meet the administration's goal of 100 percent carbon pollution-free electricity by 2035.

Economists across the board agree that these are among the highest-value investments to generate stronger, more sustainable economic growth for years and decades to come—and no one earning under $400,000 will pay a penny more in taxes.

In Crystal Lake, Illinois, the President will focus on:

Community College, Workforce Training, and Pell Grants

Growing evidence suggests that 13 years of school is no longer enough to prepare our students for success in today's economy. And yet the cost of education beyond high school has become unaffordable to too many.

The Build Back Better Agenda will:

Provide Free Community College

• The Build Back Better agenda will ensure that first-time students and workers wanting to reskill can enroll in a community college to earn a degree or credential for free. This could mean that as many as 5.5 million students would pay $0 in tuition and fees.
• Free community college could boost the earnings of low-wage high school graduates by 21 percent. That comes out to nearly $6,000 more per year.

Increase Pell Grants

• While nearly 7 million students rely on Pell Grants, the grant has not kept up with the rising cost of college. The BBB Agenda will increase the maximum Pell Grant award by nearly $1,500, a down payment on President Biden's commitment to double the maximum award. Among students of color, nearly 60 percent of Black, half of American Indian or Alaska Native, almost half of Latino, and over one-third of Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students rely on Pell Grants to pay for college.

Invest in Workforce Development

• The BBB Agenda invests in training programs that will prepare millions of American workers for high-quality jobs in fast-growing sectors like public health, child care, manufacturing, information technology, and clean energy.
• The BBB Agenda will make a historic investment in Registered Apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs, creating 1 to 2 million new Registered Apprenticeship slots and creating pathways for underserved groups.

Child Care, including at Community Colleges

One in four community college students are parents, and lack of access to affordable, quality child care poses a significant barrier to college completion. Only 18% of student parents complete their degree within six years, compared to 60% of all students. More broadly, 57% of children under six-years-old have parents who report there are no good choices for child care where they live. Child care workers are among the most underpaid workers, and more than nine in ten child care workers are women and nearly half are women of color. Access to affordable child care also gives parents the flexibility to keep working, take a promotion, study, save, and retire more securely. By capping child care costs and letting more parents go to work, it's estimated parents' employment will increase to 20 percent.

The Build Back Better Agenda will:

Lower Child Care Costs

• Fully cover the costs of high-quality child care for young children for the most hard-pressed working families across America. Families earning 1.5 times the state median income will pay no more than 7 percent of their income for children under five.
• Increase access to high-quality, affordable child care for community college students and for low- and middle-income Americans.
• Provide community colleges with funding to provide wraparound supports like child care.
• All employees of these early childhood education programs will make at least $15 per hour. And the BBB Agenda will invest in training for educators—which means better, more stable care for our kids.

Increase the Child Tax Credit

• Provide parents the option to use the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit, returning to their pockets up to half of what they spend on child care for children under age 13—up to $4,000 for one child and $8,000 for two or more.

Expand Universal Pre-K

• Ensure that all 3- and 4-year-olds have access to free, high-quality, preschool in the setting of their choice. Every dollar invested in high quality preschool leads to an estimated $3 return for children, families, and the economy - with even larger gains for low-income students - as children do better in school and are more likely to graduate high school and attend college.

Create a National, Comprehensive Paid Family and Medical Leave Program

• The program will provide a total of 12 weeks of leave per year for parental, family care, and personal illness/safe time, as well as 3 days of bereavement leave per year so that workers aren't forced to choose between their jobs and their caregiving responsibilities.

The Need for the Build Back Better Agenda in Illinois

• Higher Education. The average cost of a two-year degree in Illinois is $4,189/year, and just 63% of students in Illinois are able to complete a postsecondary degree of any kind within six years of enrolling. BBB will provide at least two years of free community college. It will also increase the maximum Pell Grant awards by almost $1,500 to support over 220,000 students in Illinois who rely on Pell for their education. In addition, the AFP will provide support to 44 minority-serving institutions (MSIs) in Illinois.
• Universal Pre-School. Only 130,735 (42% of the 307,771 three- and four-year-olds in Illinois) are enrolled in publicly-funded pre-school. BBB will provide access to free, high-quality pre-school to all three- and four-year-olds in Illinois, helping them prepare for kindergarten and boosting their lifetime educational outcomes.
• Child Care. The average annual cost of a child care center for a toddler in Illinois is $9,876, i.e., a two-parent household would on average need to spend 20% of its income annually on care for two children. 52% of Illinoisans are living in areas without sufficient child care options. BBB will enable low- and middle-income families to pay no more than 7% of their income on high-quality child care for young children, generating lifetime benefits for 325,268 children under the age of five in Illinois and allowing more parents to work, take a promotion, and save more
• Paid Leave. In Illinois and across the Nation, more than 110 million workers lack access to paid family leave, and nearly 84 million lack access to paid medical leave. For the country's lowest-wage workers, many of whom are women and workers of color, 95% are without paid family leave, and 91% without paid medical leave. BBB will create a national, comprehensive paid family and medical leave program.
• Health Care. The ARP provides two years of lower health insurance premiums for those who buy coverage on their own; BBB will make those premium reductions permanent. In Illinois, that means 136,000 uninsured people will gain coverage, and 150,100 will on average save hundreds of dollars per year on premiums.
• Housing. In Illinois and across the nation, more than 10 million renters pay more than 50% of their income for rent. In part due to a lack of available and affordable housing, in the Chicago region just under 568,000 renters pay more than half their income for rent. BBB will provide Illinois with tax credits and subsidy to build more affordable housing and lower housing costs for these renters.
• Child Nutrition. A nutritious diet is critical to a child's health and ability to succeed in school, but 14% of children in Illinois live in food insecure households and 29% are obese. BBB will ensure that the nutritional needs of Illinois' children are met by expanding access to free school meals to an additional 357,000 children during the school year and providing over 1.1 million children with assistance to purchase food during the summer.
• Tax Cuts for Illinois Families and Workers. There are 352,000 children (12% of children under the age of 18) in Illinois who are considered poor.
  
  • BBB will extend through 2025 the ARP's Child Tax Credit (CTC) increases of $3,000 per child age six and above, and $3,600 per child under six. This extension will benefit 1,968,000 children in Illinois, including 669,000 children of color. This proposal is estimated to lift 114,000 children out of poverty in Illinois and reduce child poverty in the state by 44%.
  • BBB will also make the Earned Income Tax Credit Expansion (EITC) for childless workers permanent. This will benefit 620,700 workers in Illinois, many of whom are essential workers, and 43% of whom are people of color.

McHenry County College

McHenry County College (MCC) is a community college with two satellite facilities—a workforce development and training facility and a Welding Boot Camp—all of which are located in McHenry County, Illinois.

According to the Department of Education, approximately 7,473 students attend MCC, not including the thousands of students enrolled in non-credit programs. About a quarter of students attending MCC are Latino/a, and the college is a designated Hispanic-serving Institution (HSI). The majority of students at MCC are low-income students or working learners: 16% of students who attend receive a Pell Grant and 72% enroll part-time. Tuition and fees for a full-time student in 2020-21 cost $3,862, which is below the national median and below the average community college tuition in Illinois. Only 6% of students at MCC take out federal student loans.

MCC received approximately $17 million through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) and Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSSA), and will receive approximately $9 million through the American Rescue Plan (ARP). MCC offered flexible formats of class delivery in the spring, offering in-person classes, online courses, or a blend of both.

McHenry County College has an on-site child care facility – the Children's Learning Center – that provides child care and preschool for both community college students and community members.

And here's some data points about the impact of the American Rescue Plan and the President's agenda in Illinois:

President Biden's American Rescue Plan provides Illinois with:

• $8.13 billion in state fiscal relief
• $5.93 billion in local fiscal relief
• More than $5.2 billion in relief for K-12 schools
• Economic impact payments of up to $1,400 per person (above the $600 per person provided in December) for more than 7.5 million adults and 3 million children. This is 85% of all adults in the state and 83% of all children in the state.
• Additional relief of up to $1,600 per child through the Child Tax Credit to the families of 2.5 million children, lifting 153,000 children out of poverty
• Additional relief of up to nearly $1,000 through the Earned Income Tax Credit to 620,000 childless workers, including many in frontline jobs
• Marketplace health insurance premiums that are $1,266 lower per month for a 60-year old couple earning $75,000 per year

Illinois economy is surging back

• Illinois has added more than 390,000 jobs since this time last year
• Illinois' unemployment rate plummeted from 15.4percent in May 2020 to 7.1 percent in May 2021.
• While Illinois' GDP fell 6.6 percent during the first quarter of 2020, it rose 6.6 percent during the first quarter of 2021.
• Last year, 868,000 Illinoisans reported that children in their household did not have enough to eat. Since then, that number has fallen by 626,000 (or 72 percent).
• Last year 673,000 renters in Illinois were behind on payments. Today, 217,000 fewer Illinoisans are behind on payments.

Travel pool report #2 — POTUS arrival at Andrews

POTUS arrived at JBA at 11:01 am Eastern time on Marine One and boarded AF1 for today's quick trip to Illinois. We should be rolling soon.

Your pooler is looking forward to a bit of a break from the swampy weather in DC, where temps were already nearing 90 degrees when POTUS landed.

No comments to the press here, but we are expecting an on-board gaggle from Jen Psaki that should be streaming back to the White House.

From the WH:

Greeting the President at JBA:

Col. William "Chris" McDonald, 89th Airlift Wing Vice Commander

Traveling with the President to Illinois:

• Susan Rice, Director of the Domestic Policy Council
• Bruce Reed, Assistant to the President & Deputy Chief of Staff
• Jen Psaki, Assistant to the President & Press Secretary
• Kate Bedingfield, Assistant to the President & Director of Communications
• Reema Dodin, Deputy Assistant to the President & Deputy Director of Legislative Affairs
• Ashley Williams, Special Assistant to the President & Deputy Director of Oval Office Operations
• Travis Dredd, Special Assistant to the President & Trip Director
• Stephen Goepfert, Special Assistant to the President & Personal Aide to the President
• Sasha Baker, Special Assistant to the President & Senior Director for Strategic Planning for the National Security Council
• Jeff Nussbaum, Senior Presidential Speechwriter

Travel pool report #2a — AF1 taxiing

We are rolling at 11:14 am eastern.

Next stop, Chicago.

Travel Pool Report #3 — arrival in Chicago.

AF1 landed in Chicago at 11:38 am central time after an uneventful flight.

Press secretary Jen Psaki gaggled for about 20 minutes toward the end of the flight. You should have heard the audio feed.

No big news. Psaki offered a brief readout of the meeting on cyber that POTUS held before this morning's flight. She provided an overview of POTUS comments to come later this afternoon and touched on the administration's efforts to increase vaccinations. On violence, she said the administration is in touch with the mayor of Chicago about the shootings overnight and offered condolences for the families.

Your pooler will provide quotes soon. Please check against transcript as usual.

More to come.

Travel report #4 — POTUS Deplanes

POTUS deplaned at 11:46 am central time and was greeted by Chicago mayor lightfoot and the Cook County board president Toni Preckwinkle.

They talked briefly on the tarmac before POTUS walked to Marine One.

Pool is boarding the ospreys for the flight to Crystal Lake.

Travel Pool #5 - Gaggle

POTUS arrived at McHenry County College at about 12:10 pm central time. Pool was very far away in a bus when Marine One touched down. We are now holding.

Jen Psaki gaggled for about 20 minutes.

Here are highlights: (as always, check against transcript.)

• On the trip to Illinois: "The President will make the case for generational investments in human infrastructure and other critical priorities like clean energy" as part of his Build Back Better agenda. "You will also hear him talking about the fact that as a former single father, he will stress that his plan is to help boost childcare affordability by building new childcare centers and ensuring that no middle class family pays more than 7% of their income on high quality care for children up to age five. He will also note that the Build Back Better plan will invest in childcare and workforce provide parents with an up to an $8,000 tax credit to cover their childcare expenses to 12 weeks of paid family medical leave and extend extend the expanded child tax credit from the rescue plan."

• She announced that "1 million Johnson and Johnson doses will be headed to Bolivia on Thursday, 1 million doses and Pfizer will be sent to Paraguay.

• On whether politics is a consideration in terms of the Illinois visit: "The President is visiting this district in Illinois today in part because Congresswoman Lauren Underwood is a registered nurse. She's a champion for healthcare and expanding access to affordable health care. And that certainly is part of what's under discussion and what is part of his build back better agenda." She added that POTUS sees himself as the "explainer in chief."

• On the cyber attacks: "On the RNC report, because I think some of the reporting got a little ahead of where the administration is and where actual attribution is. I'd also note that the RNC put out a statement saying this was a third party vendor, and that none of their data was accessed. So we of course, are investigating the FBI system are in touch with the RNC and with whom we will determine attribution and make a decision accordingly."

• On the cyber meeting: "The President and the Vice President, I should say, at this morning with our national security team, as a part of an internal update briefing on our across whole of government effort to address ransomware attacks. Now, I would remind all of you that ransomware attacks are not new, they log in predated this administration. What is new is this level of engagement at the at a high level of highest level, ongoing, high level and patient from our national security officials with the Russian government, and expert level talks about cyber and ransomware attacks. So in this meeting, they provided an update on their ongoing work, surge capacity, resilience and recording addressing payment systems and our ongoing efforts to combat ransomware. We don't have anything new to report in terms of attribution, nor do we have anything to do with you in terms of operational actions or considerations."

• On opec: "We don't have any update from yesterday, I just reiterate what we're not a party of OPEC, we are in touch with key participants in these discussions. were encouraged to their continuing but we don't have any update."

• On potential cyber sanctions related to the RNC attack: "It's not in our interest to review those or preview our punches. As I like to say the President has a range of options should he determine to take action."

• Asked about continuing to offer assistance to Afghanistan after the withdrawal: "We intend to continue to have a diplomatic presence on the ground in Kabul, even after they bring the servicemen and women home at the end of August. So that is a mechanism for that."

• On Covid and vaccinations: "Let me tell you what this is and what it is not. What this effort is the continuation of what we have seen as an impactful effort that we've had by local public health officials and volunteers in a range of communities." On whether they should do more to support vaccine mandates: "That's not currently the role of the federal government. And our role is to provide supply provided information, provide public health experts, as to your point, there are a number of private sector entities, universities, institutions that are are starting to mandate, and that's an innovative step that they will take and they should take."

• On violence in Chicago: "We are closely monitoring the situation and coordination with the Department of Justice and ATF, we stand ready to provide any assistance needed. Our thoughts go out to the to ATF agents in the Chicago Police Department officer who were wounded, as well as their families and fellow agents and officers." She talked about POTUS efforts to combat rising crime: "Chicago is also one of the five cities we announced recently. That's going to be we're going to be working with the Department of Justice going to be working with and launching a gun trafficking strike force."

• On why there hasn't been scoring of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework: "I think the order of events here, as you're alluding to is they need to write the legislation first, which they're working on over the coming days."

• She confirmed this morning's Playbook report that White House officials refer to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework as "Bif."

Travel pool report #6 — POTUS tour

Pool was brought into the manufacturing lab at McHenry Community College. There are big pieces of equipment including several drill presses and other pieces of industrial equipment. The White House hung an American flag and two BUILD BACK BETTER signs on the wall behind POTUS, who met with workers and employees.

According to school officials: The lab teaches both manual machining and computer controlled machining, including a turning center and a milling center. The equipment makes things out of metal, including medical supplies and forged metal for NASA, DOD and others.

One student said she will graduate with a manufacturing management degree. The tour guide today is the President of McHenry County College, Dr. Clint Gabbard, who introduced the students and talked a bit about the school.

POTUS arrived at 1:10 pm. He received a description of the lab, and was told the school is building a new, 50,000 square foot lab for the same purpose.

POTUS notes that his wife is a community college professor. He said: "It's amazing what a degree can do it just makes a gigantic difference, opens doors."

Mr. Gabbard told POTUS that the college made the tires for the Mars rover.

Then the pool was led out as POTUS continued talking to the other students in the lab.

From the WH, those meeting with POTUS are:

Joining the President at tour stop 1, the Manufacturing Lab:

• Heather Zaccagnini, Applied Technology Department Co-Chair, McHenry County College
• Christopher Stabla, McHenry County College graduate
• Jason Boring, student
• Steel Blew, student
• Jerrid Schadd, student
• Erin Mihelich, student and Career and Technical Education (CTE) Teacher at Harvard High School
• Patrick Casper, student
• Madison Loewe, student
• Tom McGee, Dean of Career and Technical Education, McHenry County College
• Gaylord Rodeman, member of MCC Faculty
• Catherine Jones, Associate Vice President of Workforce Development, McHenry County College

Previously, POTUS met with others, but the pool was not with him at the time. From the WH:

Upon arrival at McHenry Community College, the President is greeting with:

• Governor JB Pritzker
• Senator Dick Durbin (IL)
• Senator Tammy Duckworth
• Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (IL-14)
• Clint Gabbard, President of McHenry County College

Participating in a photo line with the President:

• Congresswoman Robin Kelly (IL-02), Chair of the Illinois Democratic Party
• Congressman Sean Casten (IL-6)
• Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-8)
• Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton
• State Representative Emanuel "Chris" Welch, Speaker of the Illinois House
• State Senator Craig Wilcox, State Senator
• Mayor of Crystal Lake Haig Haleblian

Travel Pool report #7 — tour stop #2

POTUS next came into a child learning center, a room with toddlers/pre-school aged children, on the floor with blocks, dolls, potato heads and other toys.

POTUS greeted some of the adults and the children.

"So good to see you guys," he said.

POTUS was told that the center is for college students who are parents, to allow them to do their studies, and also serves as a place for student teachers to work and study.

"I personally was a single parent for five years.

I could not afford child care. But I had a family to help.

People can't make it by themselves. This is really important"

Pointing to Lauren Underwood, POTUS said: "This woman here, hang on to her."

Speaking to the parents in the room, POTUS said: "You're about to get a big check.

I was able to get passed a child care tax credit.

It's time that you guys get a tax break."

As always, check against transcript.

Asked about Mitch McConnell, POTUS said that he " loves our program… 1.9 trill program

Look it up man, he's bragging about it in Kentucky. "

From the WH:

Joining the President at tour stop 2, the Children's Learning Center

• Lisha Linder, Department Chair, Early Childhood Education, McHenry County College
• Britny Quintana, student
• Dawn Katz, Dean, Social Sciences and Public Services, McHenry County College
• Jessica Massman, Preschool Teacher, Children's Learning Center, McHenry County College
• Katherine "Kate" Midday, Professor, McHenry County College
• Tara Dean, McHenry County College graduate
• Shereen Hammad, student
• Amber Meyer, McHenry County College graduate, current student at Lake Forest College
• Briana Alexander, student
• Grace Schwartzlow, student
• Governor JB Pritzker
• Senator Dick Durbin (IL)
• Senator Tammy Duckworth (IL)
• Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (IL-14)

Travel Pool Report #7a - Trump protesters

Your pooler did not notice earlier a group of maybe 100 people holding TRUMP signs on a grassy area some distance from the auditorium that POTUS is set to speak in. In addition to the TRUMP signs, one big sign said "Make America Proud Again." There was some hooting and yelling that your pooler could not make out.

Travel Pool Report #8 - two minute warning for remarks

[APP Note: No additional text was included in this report.]

Travel Pool Report #9 -- POTUS remarks begin

POTUS began speaking at 1:46 pm central time. The remarks are open press and streamed at Whitehouse.gov/live. He was introduced by Edith Sanchez, a student at McHenry County Community College.

POTUS is speaking in Lucent Auditorium, a gymnasium at the college. There are BUILD BACK BETTER signs behind him, along with American and Illinois flags. There are about 200 people in the audience, including students, teachers, family members and children sitting in folding chairs.

Travel pool report #10 — speech ends

?POTUS speech ended at about 2:15. Pool has loaded into a bus for the short ride back to the ospreys.

Travel pool report #11 — conversation with mayor lightfoot

From the WH:

Statement from Press Secretary Jen Psaki:

During a greet with Mayor Lightfoot on the airport tarmac, President Biden expressed his personal support for the two ATF officials and the Chicago police officer who were shot earlier today. He reiterated his commitment to working with the Mayor and leaders in Chicago in the fight against gun violence and conveyed that the Department of Justice would soon be in touch about the strike force announced just a few weeks ago that will be working with cities like Chicago.

Travel pool report #12 — POTUS boards AF1

Marine One landed at 2:45 pm central time at the Chicago airport and POTUS quickly boarded AF1 for the flight back to DC. We are running almost an hour ahead of schedule.

We are rolling at 3:00 pm, central time.

Next stop: DC.

Travel pool report #13 — JBA Arrival.

AF1 landed at JBA at 5:25 pm eastern time after a quiet flight from Chicago. There were no visitors to the press cabin during the flight and POTUS did not talk to the press after deplaning.

POTUS boarded Marine One at 5:33 and is headed back to the White House. Handing off to in-town pool now.

WH passes along:

From Press Secretary Jen Psaki:

"Tomorrow morning, President Biden will meet with his national security team to receive a periodic update on the progress of our military drawdown from Afghanistan. Early tomorrow afternoon, the President will make comments on our continued drawdown efforts and ongoing security and humanitarian assistance to the ANDSF and the Afghan people."

Thanks to my co-pooler Tina Sfondeles of Politico for her help today on her maiden AF1 trip.

Stay cool and safe.

In town pool report #4: gathering for POTUS arrival

?Good evening! We are gathering now for POTUS arrival on the South Lawn.

In town pool report #5: Marine One Landing

POTUS stepped off Marine One at 5:48 p.m. and briefly stopped to talk to press. Asked if Russia was responsible for the attack on RNC, and said he was briefed this morning and will know more tomorrow. Asked if he was worried about Kabul falling to the Taliban and he said he will talk about Afghanistan withdrawal tomorrow.

Audio obviously hard to hear over helicopters but will circulate once we head back.

Lid and fuller quotes

We have a lid. Fuller quotes from remarks, which clocked in at roughly 40 seconds.

On RNC attack:

"The FBI is working with the RNC to determine the facts. … I will know what I am going to do tomorrow"

Are you worried about Kabul falling?

"I'll speak to that tomorrow"

Have a good night!