Pool Reports by Nikki Schwab, Daily Mail
Additional reports numbered 6a, 7, & 8 sent from Japan on July 22, 2021 can be found on the Jully 22 First Lady Pool Reports page.
| Sent: | Reports: |
| July 21, 2021 09:05 EDT |
FLOTUS Pool Report No. 1 - White House departure Good morning from the White House! I'll be your print pooler for first lady Jill Biden's first solo global adventure. We're flying to Anchorage, Alaska today and then onto the Tokyo Olympic Games. The motorcade departed from the driveway of the South Lawn at 8:57 a.m. Here's the release from the East Wing about the first lady's itinerary: First Lady Jill Biden will be leading the U.S. delegation to the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. The President and First Lady want to show the highest level of support for our Olympic Athletes and the Games, while following strict protocols and precautions set by the White House COVID team, the government of Japan, and the Olympics to keep the public, athletes and the delegation safe. As part of her travels, she will also visit Alaska and Hawaii where she will continue the Administration's on-going efforts to encourage all Americans to get vaccinated against COVID-19, as well as honor the work and service of military families. Schedule Prior to the First Lady's arrival in Tokyo, she will land at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson where she will greet with military and veteran families who are staying at Alaska Fisher House. She will then visit the Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage and encourage all Alaskans to get vaccinated against COVID-19. The First Lady will land in Tokyo on Thursday afternoon at Yokota Air Force Base where she will be greeted by the Foreign Minister and U.S. and Japanese base officials. After, she will have dinner with Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and Mrs. Mariko Suga at Akasaka Palace. On Friday, July 23rd, Mrs. Suga will host the First Lady for a bilateral engagement at the Akasaka Palace. The First Lady will then hold a virtual get-together with members of Team USA before greeting with Emperor Naruhito of Japan at the Imperial Palace. In the evening, she will attend the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony at the Olympic Stadium as head of the U.S. delegation. On Saturday, July 24th, the First Lady will dedicate a room in the Chief of Mission Residence to Irene Hirano Inouye and Daniel K. Inouye. She will then host a U.S. vs. Mexico Softball watch party with foreign service officers and their families at the U.S. Embassy. After, the First Lady will cheer on American athletes at several Olympic events before departing Tokyo. After Tokyo, the First Lady will head to Honolulu, Hawaii where she will visit a vaccination clinic at a local high school before returning to Washington, DC. Portions of this trip will be pooled press. Additionally, your pooler created a DropBox folder where she'll be posting photos from the trip: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/xi6eryhktq28sy7/AABHmjJExdCsYaW60Q1hJDiIa?dl=0 |
| July 21, 2021 10:30 EDT |
FLOTUS Pool Report No. 2 - JBA departure FLOTUS' motorcade arrived at the tarmac of JBA at 9:21 a.m. Dr. Biden got out of her SUV at 9:22 a.m. She's wearing a a dark and white striped dress with a white sweater and spent several moments taking photos on the tarmac. She boarded Executive One Foxtrot at 9:24 a.m. We'll be wheels up to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson shortly. Greeter: Joint Base Andrews Protocol Officer |
| July 21, 2021 13:17 AKDT |
FLOTUS Pool Report No. 3 - Alaska arrival Executive One Foxtrot was wheels up at 9:41 a.m. EST. We landed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson at 12:54 p.m. local time. (-4 hour time difference from D.C.) Flight was uneventful, with pooler spotting Dr. Biden mingling with staff twice during the trip, but she didn't make it all the way back to the press pool. However, your pool was treated to beautiful snow-capped mountain ranges for the final hour of the flight. Now it's drizzling and 61 degrees. Dr. Biden disembarked E1F at 1:09 p.m. She's wearing the same white and Navy dress, but now with a Navy blazer. She's greeting people on the tarmac. More details TK. Here's info from the East Wing: BACKGROUND The Fisher House Foundation builds comfort homes where military and veteran families can stay free of charge while a loved one is in the hospital. The First Lady has worked with Fisher House over the past decade to help improve the quality of life for military members, veterans, and their loved ones as they navigate medical challenges. Throughout her time as Second Lady, Dr. Biden and the then-Vice President hosted Fisher House families at the Vice President's Residence for holiday meals, visited the Walter Reed Fisher House facility multiple times, and supported Fisher House's work in support of families of service members and veterans competing at the Invictus Games. Base Leadership After, the First Lady will leave the base to visit the Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage. She will be greeted by Ms. Valerie Davidson, President of the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, and Dr. Anne Zink, the State of Alaska's Chief Medical Officer. FLOTUS will receive an overview of the Alaska Native Medical Center (ANMC) and how they serve Alaska Natives who live in Anchorage and rural communities across the state. She will also learn about the ANMC's role in the COVID-19 response and vaccination effort. FLOTUS will also be briefed on telehealth in Alaska and its importance for rural health care access, especially during the pandemic. She will be briefed by Dr. Joseph Park, a cardiologist at the Alaska Native Medical Center, and Dr. Cate Buley, the Medical Director of Primary Care Clinics at SEARHC (Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium). Dr. Park will be in the room and Dr. Buley will join virtually from Juneau, Alaska. The ANMC is a 173-bed hospital that offers comprehensive medical services and acute, specialty, primary, and behavioral health care to Alaska Natives across the state. The ANMC works in close partnership with Alaska's rural tribal health facilities to support a broad range of health care and related services. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the ANMC worked with tribal health organizations across the state to deploy a quick, flexible, and coordinated response for Alaska Native communities. FLOTUS Traveling Staff |
| July 21, 2021 14:10 AKDT |
FLOTUS Pool Report No. 4 - Alaska Native Medical Center color FLOTUS entered her SUV at 1:19 p.m. after greeting Fisher House families and taking some photos on the tarmac. Motorcade pulled out of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson at 1:21 p.m. We arrived at Alaska Native Medical Center at 1:38 p.m. About a dozen supporters were waiting outside the entryway with signs that included support for the For The People Act. Dr. Biden, now masked up, started her tour at 1:40 p.m. Valerie Davidson, the president of the Alaska Tribal Health Consortium and Dr. Anne Zink greeted her. Davidson showed Biden a collection of dolls on display, dressed for the various Alaskan tribes. Davidson also pointed out a garbage can outside where they recently spotted a bear. "Maybe it will come back for my visit," Biden said. Pool was pulled to pre-set for the next stop, as Davidson told Biden about how 32 Alaskan villages still don't have running water - problematic in the pandemic when health experts were telling people to wash their hands. In the next room Biden was given a tele-health demonstration. A map showed some of the distances communities are spread - with some as far as the distance from California to Georgia. Dr. Joseph Park, a cardiologist at the center, walked Biden through how people can see their EKG via computer. Dr. Cate Buley, beaming in from Juneau, said, "the silver lining to the pandemic has been the explosion of this tele-medicine service." She talked about how tele-medicine has led to cancer discoveries and healthy baby births. Biden asked Buley how much mental health services she provides. Buley responds that "it's increased a drastic amount." Biden asked Buley, "are most of your patients receptive to getting the vaccine?" "Yes we have extremely high vaccination rates," Buley answered. Buley then told FLOTUS "we delivered some vaccines in some whale-watching boats," adding that it was "nothing I ever expected." "Or you want to do again," Biden said laughing. Now we're pre-setting for FLOTUS' remarks. More TK |
| July 21, 2021 15:04 AKDT |
FLOTUS Pool Report No. 5 - remarks at Alaska Native Medical Center At 2:21 p.m. Dr. Biden stopped into a room with a podium set up at the center that said Vaccines.Gov – Anchorage, AK on the front. The backdrop read Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. Valerie Davidson, the President of the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, introduced the first lady, first speaking in a native Alaskan tribal language and then switching to English. "In some of our communities we have 100 per cent vaccination," Davidson said. Dr. Anne Zink, the chief medical officer for the state of Alaska, also gave welcome remarks. Dr. Biden took off her mask to speak. Biden noted how Zink works out of a yurt. Biden took the podium and tried several times to repeat the name of the Alaskan tribe that originally held the land – Dena'ina "See I'm getting it," Biden said after a few attempts. "So as you know I'm heading for the Tokyo Olympics," she told the small group of reporters in the room. "I asked if I could just stay a little bit longer," she said of the stopover in Alaska. "This state really is special to Joe and to me," she added. She talked about traveling the state with the late Sen. Ted Stevens, who served with President Biden in the U.S. Senate. "We traveled all over this state by plane – well, mostly by plane," Biden remarked. She also talked about how she and Catherine Stevens were pregnant at the same time, when Biden was pregnant with daughter Ashley. "And it was really a big deal in the Senate because here there hadn't been in a baby in the Senate for a long time," Biden said. "So most of them were, I guess, old men," she said to laughter. She heralded the center "which has helped lead this state in vaccinating not only natives but non-natives as well." Biden talked about how she met a woman at her exercise class in Washington. "Jill she said I want to thank you for what you're doing." "She said I lost four members of my family to the virus and she started to cry. And she said, you know what I did. I said what did you do Jackie And she said I went and I got 140 people to get the vaccine." "I just felt so terrible for her," Biden continued. "This this is our path forward, reaching out to those who are still undecided, persuading them to protect themselves and others. And we need to make this care, person by person," she said, calling this the "last push." "I'm asking all of you who are listening right now to choose to get vaccinated," Biden said. "COVID is more contagious than ever and it continues to spread. Even one hospitalization, only one life lost, is one too many." Biden wrapped up her remarks at 2:20 p.m. and we boarded the motorcade a moment later. Pooler spotted some geese and also mountains peaking up behind the clouds outside. |
| July 21, 2021 15:17 AKDT |
FLOTUS Pool Report No. 6 - Alaska departure FLOTUS' motorcade arrived back on base at 3 p.m. She stopped to chat with the greeters and was asked if she was looking forward to Tokyo, turning around as she walked up the stairs. "Yes aren't you? I'll see you there," Biden said. We'll be wheels up to Japan shortly. |
Jill Biden, First Lady Pool Reports of July 21, 2021 Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/336998