Pool Reports of April 24, 2025

In-town pool note #1 Norwegian PM arrives

Norwegian Prime Minster Jonas Gahr Støre arrived at the White House at 12.10 and was greeted by POTUS. (POTUS stood waiting at 12.09 as the car rode up.) 

They shook hands. 

Trump responded to a shouted question with "I do" think Putin will listen to him about the Ukrainian attack. 

They went inside together.

In-town pool note #2 - gathering

Pool is gathering for the bilateral lunch.

In-town pool note #3 - bilateral lunch

Pool entered lunch at 12.20pm. 

POTUS is joined by secretaries Bessent ,Rubio and Hegseth, and NSA Mike Waltz. Chief of staff Susie Wiles is also here. 

He welcomed Støre. With the PM is finance minister Jens Stoltenberg, former secretary-general of NATO. 

Trump said both Russia and Ukraine want peace, but that we need to get them to the table. 

He said he believes they want to make peace, despite the hatred and bad blood there. 

He says he has "my own" deadline for a peace deal — "we want it to be fast", adding that Støre is helping. He did not specify a timeline. 

Norway should just "keep doing what they're doing", Trump says, calling it a great country with a good relationship with the US. 

Trump says NATO is important for Europe, saying Stoltenberg did a great job at the helm. Also says NATO wouldn't have as much money without the US.

Trump says Norway has a trade surplus with the US. 

"Norway's always been an ally" that the US is close to. "Always been a friend". 

Trump says they will discuss trade at this meeting and come to solution quickly.

Støre praised POTUS's efforts in the war in Ukraine and said there needs to be a ceasefire. 

When asked about China's fake news tariff comments, Trump said "they" met today but wouldn't say who. 

Pool was escorted out at 12.28pm.

In-town note #4 - lunch Otter

There is video up now but here is the Otter in case it's useful: https://otter.ai/u/xoaf2PJ2rbSNymOLOqitrwDVq3Q?utm_source=copy_url 

In-town pool note #5 - gathering for Oval

Pool is gathering for the bilateral meeting between Trump and Støre at 1.43pm.

The White House told your pooler this meeting will be carried live, so you should be able to find it in all the usual places.

In-town note #6 - Oval

Pool entered the Oval at 1.54pm. POTUS started speaking at 1.55pm. 

POTUS and Støre are sitting beside each other in the golden upholstered chairs. 

Also in the room are Stoltenberg, Hegseth, Rubio, Bessent. 

POTUS said he and the PM talked about the war and trade. 

The PM said this year marks the 200th year of Norwegian immigration to the US. He said he saluted Trump for his initiative for trying to end the war in Ukraine. It needs " political will and push", the PM said, adding that they exchanged ideas on this. 

Trump said the US and Norway understand each other on trade and that they should be able to reach a deal without issue. 

The PM said POTUS is welcome to visit Norway. 

Trump said, when it comes to the war in Ukraine, he has "no allegiance". 

Here is the otter if you'd like to follow along that way: 
https://otter.ai/u/SVW7SSNXeILuLlsOIsCKaYCS_Os

In-town pool note #6 - Ukraine + trade

[APP Note: This is Report 7. See reporter's note in Report #8 below.]

Trump said he was "not happy with" Russia's strikes on Ukraine last night, when asked about his level of frustration. 

When asked if he'll put additional sanctions on Russia, Trump said to ask again in a week. 

Rubio said "the war is endable" and that

Trump said he and the PM found common ground on the war in Ukraine and that the PM will help end the war. Trump added that the PM also thinks a peace deal is close. 

"Both parties have to know that they have to deliver" and feel the "pressure", the PM said. 

Stoltenberg said there was a good, extensive conversation on Ukraine. The finance minister said it is important to still support Ukraine. 

"This isn't my war, it's Biden's war" Trump said, and that he is now "putting out the fire." 

Trump adds that he'll meet other world leaders in Rome. "They all want to meet". He didn't specify who exactly he'll see on this upcoming trip. 

Bessent says there was a good negotiation with South Korea today, and an agreement with them is coming faster than he thought. "They came with their A game", Bessent said of the South Koreans.

In-town pool note #8 - Iran

On Iran, he said "I think we're doing very well on that, an agreement with Iran". 

Pool was escorted out at 2.21pm. More TK.

Apologies, I sent you two #6 notes—the previous one should have been #7. 

In-town pool note #9 - more Ukraine

When asked what concessions Russia has offered, Trump said "stopping the war, stopping taking the whole country", which he called a "pretty big concession."

When asked whether Ukraine needs to give away territory to win peace, Trump said: "t depends what territory they've been fighting. They've lost a lot of territory, and we'll get we'll do the best we can, working with Ukraine, we'll do the best we can, but they lost a lot of territory."

He blamed Obama for the annexation of Crimea, saying it was just "handed over". 

Trump said Ukraine getting Crimea back would be "a very difficult thing to do."

POTUS said "we are using a lot of pressure on both" Russia and Ukraine.

In-town pool note #10 - Mark Rutte

Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte gaggled for about six minutes at the sticks. He said he had a good meeting with Trump and his team, that huge steps have been taken in the last several days on a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, that the ball is in Russia's court, and that he doesn't see the US withdrawing from peace discussions. 

Full lines:

He said he had a "very good meeting" with Trump, Waltz, Rubio and Hegseth, during which they discussed the war in Ukraine and the upcoming Nato summit in the Hague.

He said they are "all very excited about the fact that you see a Nato which is spending so much more on defence, particularly the European and Canadian side", making sure that the other members equalise what the US is spending. "This is really a Nato which is stronger, which is fairer, which is also more lethal".

On the war in Ukraine, he said that under Trump's leadership, "this could be brought to a positive end" and that he doesn't see the US withdrawing from discussions: "I think when you look at the outcome of the meeting yesterday in London, we can be quite positive on where we are. So I'm not seeing a situation where the US is walking around under President Trump's leadership."

When asked if he thinks Vladimir Putin wants peace, Rutte said "I don't know." He said. that he worked with Putin from 2010 to 2014, when he was PM of the Netherlands, "and I stopped trying to read his mind."

About discussions between Moscow and Kyiv, Rutte said "there is something on the table now, I think, where Ukrainians are really playing ball, and I think the ball is clearly in the Russian court".

He reiterated that Nato members should be spending "considerably higher" than 2 per cent of GDP on defence. "It has to be considerably north of 3 per cent."

He declined to get into details of what concessions Russia or Ukraine might be willing to offer, saying doing so would not be helpful to talks. Ditto on whether Ukraine will be able to get back Crimea.

Rutte said "I really believe that some huge steps had been taken over the last couple of days, and the London meeting yesterday was successful."

In-town pool note #11 - EOs

Trump has signed a series of executive orders. The signing stayed closed press. The White House will circulate the orders shortly.

In-town pool note #12 - gathering for POTUS departure

Pool is gathering at 6.24pm for POTUS's departure to his Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, VA via Leesburg, VA.

In-town pool note #13 - M1 departure

Pool rushed (read: ran) onto the South Lawn at 6.29pm, POTUS had already exited the White House. 

He did not stop for questions. 

M1 took off at 6.33pm for Leesburg.

Handing off now to the in-town travel pool.

In-town pool note #14 - POTUS arrival

M1 landed on the South Lawn at 10.09pm. 

POTUS got off the helicopter at 10.12pm. 

He then walked across the lawn and waved to the pool three times but did not stop for questions. He walked into the White House also at 10.12pm. 

That's it from the White House—we have a travel/photo lid at 10.14pm. 

God natt.

Foreign Pool Report #1 - Background on Norwegian PM Støre

Hi folks,

I will be your foreign pooler today, covering the visit of the Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre (pronounced "Stir-eh") on this Bring Your Kids to Work Day. This will be the first in-person meeting between the two leaders although there will be one very familiar face for Trump in the room, in the form of former Nato Secretary General, nowadays Finance Minister of Norway Jens Stoltenberg.

Here is a brief background that I hope will be helpful to your coverage of today's events:

Background

Jonas Gahr Støre has been Prime Minister (or 'statsminister' in Norwegian) since October 14, 2021, following the Norwegian Labour Party's victory in the 2021 parliamentary elections. He has been the leader of the Labour Party since 2014 and served 8 years as minister of Foreign Affairs, in part when Mr. Stoltenberg was Prime Minister. In 2010, Støre notably helped resolve a decades long dispute between Norway and Russia regarding offshore borders in the Arctic. In 2008 he was targeted in a Taliban attack while visiting Kabul. Seven people were killed in the attack on Serena Hotel, but Mr. Støre survived unharmed.

Støre's background, born into a wealthy shipbroker family on August 25, 1960, has not always helped his political ambitions in the Labour Party, a traditional worker's party in Norway, with Reuters one time dubbing him a "millionaire socialist".

The PM also has experience from the Navy, pursuing naval officer training at the Royal Norwegian Naval Academy in Bergen from 1879 to 1981. He is also fluent in French after studying political science at the Institut d'etudes politiques de Paris from 1981 to 1985. Today he is married to Marit Slagsvold, and they have three children.

Previous meetings

In November 2024, Støre spoke to President Trump on the phone following his election victory, noting in a press release that Norway is "aware that the change of government in the US may affect cooperation in areas of importance to Norway". 

In 2022 Jonas Gahr Støre briefly met with then President Joe Biden in Washington, just a few weeks before Russia's full scale invasion of Ukraine, indicating in a readout that they discussed how Nato should address the Russian military build up on the Ukrainian border.

Expected topics

The bilateral meeting is expected to focus on the war in Ukraine, and comes at a pivotal time as President Trump has threathened to withdraw the US from the role of peace broker, while other NATO allies, such as Norway has reiterated their support for Ukraine. PM Støre in a statement said "The United States is our most important ally, and in a turbulent and demanding security policy time, the close contact between our two countries is very important." 

Trade will be another issue of the discussions as President Trump imposed 15% tariffs on Norway before temporarily bringing the rate down to 10% for 90 days. Norway in turn decided not to retaliate against the US.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Sv: Foreign Pool Report #2 - PM Støre Arrival

The Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre arrived to the White house at 12.10. A lot of press, many Norwegians amongst the reporters.

He was greeted with a handshake by President Trump, and they both briefly turned towards the press. Trump was seen answering "I believe he will" on a question about whether Putin will listen to his plea to stop attacking Ukraine. They then proceeded into the West Wing.

Your pooler did not see Jens Stoltenberg who is supposed to join the bilat shortly. Pool, including some 20 Norwegian journalists are now gathering for bilateral.

Sv: Foreign Pool Report #3 - Bilat quotes from Støre (and Trump on peace deadline)

The Press was allowed in to the Roosevelt room as the bilateral meeting started.

Newsworthy: Trump said he has "his own deadline" for when he needs Ukraine and Russia to agree to a US proposal before pulling the US out.
"I have my own deadline, and we want it to be fast." 

Jonas Gahr Støre answered two questions.

On tariffs and whether the US considers Norway a potential ally:
"That is a very strange question actually, because the US is our lead ally, and we build on the relationship, which we will talk about now, Mr. President, it's of high relevance. And I'm very happy that we have the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense here, so this is a stron tie."

On whether the Prime Minister Støre thinks President Trump deservers a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in Ukraine and elsewhere:
"I salute President Trump for having been taking very important initiatives to get this conflict towards and end, which both parties deserve. We need to have a ceasefire to save lives and move towards something which is more secure for Europe and the people concerned. On that we are working together. And I look forward to going into some details, because we are at a critical moment. On that prize, you know, that is a committee taking care of that which is completely working on its own terms. And I don't have any opinion on that.

Foreign Pool Report #4 - Norwegian bilat delegation

First, a correction. The bilat was in the Cabinet room and not Roosevelt room as my previous report stated.

Your pooler saw the following people in the Norwegian delegation:
Jonas Gahr Støre, Prime Minister of Norway
Jens Stoltenberg, Finance Minister of Norway
Anniken Huitfeldt, Norway Ambassador to the United States
Trine Skarbøvik Heimerback, Special Adviser to the Prime Minister of Norway
Kristoffer Thoner, State Secretary to the Prime Minister of Norway
Ellen Reitan, State Secretary to the Finance Minister of Norway

Pool expects to gather for Oval shortly.

Foreign Pool Report #5 - Norwegian PM in the Oval

Some 40 people from the pool and the Norwegian press was ushered into the Oval Office at 1.55 PM for a presser that lasted around 28 minutes. It was carried live.

Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre was flanked by Jens Stoltenberg, Finance Minister of Norway, Anniken Huitfeldt, Norway Ambassador to the United States and others. Trump was flanked by Sec of State Rubio, Sec of Treasury Bessent and others.

Jonas Gahr Støre said in his remarks that it is 200 years since the first Norwegians immigrated to the US.
"We are allies. We look after security in the north, in the Arctic."

They spoke in "detail" about Ukraine, and they "exchanged ideas" on how to end the war.
Jonas Gahr Støre took questions about several topics, and Stoltenberg also spoke.

Some quotes on Ukraine: 
"To move towards an end of this war, US engagement is critical, and President Trump made that possible. That is clear" 

"Both parties have to know that they have to deliver, and they have to feel the pressure to deliver Ukraine is under attack. They are defending themselves. Lives are being lost, and we believe very firmly that there needs to be a ceasefire initiative taken by the US some time ago, needs to be respected and then to move on to something which both parties can own. That is the complicated part in such a dramatic war."

More quotes tk.

Foreign Pool Report #6 - More quotes Stoltenberg/Støre

Stoltenberg on Ukraine:
"We had a very good and extensive discussion about Ukraine and the path forward to peace."
"We commend the US for pushing forward to try to find a negotiated solution. At the same time, we need to continue to support Ukraine"
"If there's a peace and there will be a peace, we have a common responsibility in securing democratic Ukraine for the future, and the best security guarantee they can have is the ability to defend themselves".

On Norway's oil fund, which seems to have drawn the attention of President Trump, Jonas Gahr Støre said that half of the fund's investments has been into the US. He also said Norway "can share experiences and techniques and ways of working in how we have organized our fund"

Jens Stoltenberg added:
"We are ready to sit down with the US, to also work with them if they want to establish a sovereign wealth fund."

Foreign Pool Report #7 - NATO Sec Gen Rutte gaggle

Nato Secretary General gaggled with the press for about six minutes taking questions on Ukraine and on his meeting with President Trump and Sec. Hegseth.

On NATO role changing if US pulls out of Ukraine-Russia talks:
"What I'm seeing here is a United States and a leader in President Trump who was first to brake the deadlock. I think when you look at the outcome of the meeting yesterday in London, we can be quite positive on where we are. So I'm not seeing a situation where the US is walking. I'm seeing a situation that under President Trump's leadership could bring this to a positive end."

"There is something on the table now, I think, where the Ukrainians are really playing ball, and I think the ball is clearly on the Russian court now."

On US potentially decreasing military presensce in Europ:
"US has to take care of many theaters, including the Middle East, including Indo Pacific."
"Since President Obama, there has been a pivot towards Asia. The question here is, how do you make sure that the US is capable of making sure that you take care of all these areas, and at the same time that collectively, we defend the euro, Atlantic area? That's exactly what we're working on. So there is a total commitment of the US to NATO, a total commitment to the famous article five about an attack on one is an attack on all, but also clearly a commitment that we have to speed up the spending in Europe, do more ourselves, so that it is possible for the US to spend more time and resources on the Indo Pacific, which I think is logical."

On whether Putin wants peace:
"I don't know. I worked with him for four years between 2010 and 2014 when I was Prime Minister in the Netherlands and I've stopped trying to read his mind."

On NATO summit in Hague this summer:
"We are all really exited" about increased spending and fairness.
"This is really a NATO which is stronger, which is fair, which is also more lethal in terms of being able to defend NATO territory"

Supplemental report #1: Leesburg landing zone

Good evening from Leesburg, Virginia, where Marine One landed at 6:53 p.m. and taxied a short distance. President Trump stepped off at 6:57 p.m. and waved to the pool before climbing into the Beast. We were hustled over to vans before your pooler could spot any other aides who are traveling with the president.

Motorcade is rolling from the Leesburg Executive Airport at 6:59 p.m.

Supplemental report #2: Golf club arrival

The motorcade arrived at Trump National Golf Club in Sterling at 7:20 p.m. after a drive along Route 7 and through suburban Virginia. 

There were several dozen onlookers scattered along the route, many holding their phones up as the motorcade passed. Your pooler spotted multiple Trump and American flags. Multiple people raised their fists as the motorcade passed.

A couple dozen protesters were gathered across the street from the club entrance chanting "Lock Him Up." They also had a large banner that read "Welcome to the Golf of Mexico."
Your pooler did not spot POTUS exiting his vehicle. The president is participating in a MAGA Inc. dinner, per the public daily guidance. We are holding on the property.

Supplemental report #3: Departing golf club

The motorcade is rolling from Trump National Golf Club in Sterling at 9:15 p.m. Pool did not see POTUS enter his vehicle.

Supplemental report #4: Leesburg departure

Motorcade arrived back at the Leesburg airport at 9:37 p.m. after an uneventful drive. About 20 Trump supporters had gathered across the street from the airport entrance.

POTUS boarded Marine One at 9:38 p.m., just as pool was getting over from the vans. Marine One lifted at 9:45.

Handing off to the in-town pool.