Pool Reports of August 28, 2023

In town pool report #1

From the White House:

President Biden spoke to Governor DeSantis this morning. He told him that he quickly approved the Emergency Declaration for Florida as they prepare for Hurricane Idalia. FEMA has pre-deployed personnel and assets, including multiple Incident Management Assistance Teams, in preparation for response efforts. FEMA's National Response Coordination Center has also been fully activated to support any requests for federal assistance. President Biden said Florida will have his full support as they prepare for Idalia and its aftermath. President Biden also expressed his commitment to ongoing support for the people of Jacksonville following the horrific shooting on Saturday.

In town pool report #2

Pool is gathering for motorcade to school event.

Intown pool report #3

Motorcade departed White House at 11:52 in a light rain and arrived at Eliot-Hine Middle School on Constitution between 17th and 19th streets NE at 12:10.

In town pool report #4

All color; no news committed. Color in next report. Pool was back in vans be 12:31 after seeing some presidentiL interactions with some very excited students.

From the White House

At 2:30pm, the President and Vice President will meet with organizers of the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington and members of the King Family. This meeting in the Roosevelt Room will have an in-house pool spray at the top

In town pool report 5

From the White house:

Traveling with the President and the First Lady via motorcade en route to Eliot-Hine Middle School in Washington, DC:

Annie Tomasini, Assistant to the President & Senior Advisor to the President & Director of Oval Office Operations
Anthony Bernal, Assistant to the President & Senior Advisor to the First Lady
Ryan Montoya, Assistant to the President & Director of Scheduling & Advance
Marc Gustafson, Special Assistant to the President & Senior Director for the White House Situation Room
Jordan Montoya, Special Assistant to the President & Personal Aide to the First Lady
Vanessa Valdivia, Special Assistant to the President & Press Secretary for the First Lady

Press briefing two minute warning

Issued at 1:24

In town pool report 7

(the two minute warning should have been numbered 6, so this is 7)

Motorcade departed school at 12:52, back on campus at 1:05. Rain had stopped.

At the school, there was lots of squealing by excited students, enough that one school staffer marveled out loud, "This is like the Beatles." The president had two stops in the school. First was greeting seventh graders at lunch. The president and first lady stood at the bottom of a stairwell and greeted the kids when they came down to the lunch room. As noted before, lots of squealing. From there, the president went up two flights to Ms. Heather Thomas' eighth grade math class. Also there, though not seen by the pool in its brief time in the classroom, were Mayor Muriel Bowser and DCPS Chancellor Dr. Lewis Ferebee and principal Marlene Magrino.

The lunchroom had a big banner touting Excellence, Responsibility, Integrity and Communications as traits valued at Eliot-Hine. A large display on the side of the lunchroom outlined "100 years of school history." We could not hear anything the president said to the students. (Did we mention there was squealing?)

As he walked into the Math classroom, the president waved to the pool and said "Hi." Entering the classroom, one student proclaimed loudly, "Joe Biden!" Cue the squealing. He hugged one excited student and talked about whether or not she could someday become president. The prospect clearly delighted her. One student shouted, "Oh my God!" The teacher explained that she in today's class wants "to see what they remember." The president noted that he always found "the hardest thing is to come back after three months of not doing anything and no homework" and immediately get thrown back in classwork. He asked the students, "What's your hardest subject?" They shouted, "Math." To that, he noted, "I married a teacher." The first lady said, "I wish you a great school year." She asked them if they had heard of NOVA where she teaches. Several said they had. "My first day is next Tuesday," she said, adding that she is "working on my lesson plans." She said, "The night before you can hardly sleep you are so excited." She told them that if they are struggling with math, "you know you can go to your teacher." She said if they are "struggling at home," "you can trust your teachers."

At that, the pool was ushered out.

As far as the history of the school. Hine Jr High was opened in 1923; Eliot Jr High in 1931. Both were designed only for white students, with a separate junior high for black students opened in 1932. In 1952, the schools were desegregated. This is not the school's first brush with presidents. In 1993, the Hine Junior High band marched in Bill Clinton's inaugural parade. The schools merged in 2008.

In town pool report 8

Pool gathering for 2:30 event.

Briefing ended at 2:44 after 48 questions to Karine

In town pool report 9

The President's meeting in Roosevelt Rom with organizers of the 60th anniversary march concluded at 3:08.. Pool entered the room at 3:01.

Better quotes to follow. He took two questions at the end, talking about how you overcome hate and noting that he has checked to see if the families of the Jacksonville victims want to be contacted.. Noting that :everyone deals with profound loss in different ways," he reported that two are prepared to talk but one doesn't want to be contacted. This came after, he said, he asked if it would be appropriate to contact them now.

He was seated at the end of the table in front of the Teddy Roosevelt picture. To his right was the vice president; to his left was Rev. Al Sharpton.

He said the point of the meeting was to "thank them and tell them what they tell us... We have a lot of work to do." He said, sadly, that "a lot is happening," involving hate "You can't let hate prevail.Silence is complicity and we're not going to remain silent."

He lamented some organized efforts to rewrite history. "We have to speak out" when groups are "trying to erase history" and "ban books." He concluded, "We're going to get it done."

AT that, Vice President Harris called for "moral clarity." She warned that "there are those.. trying to divide us." She said it was "a duty not to let factions divide our unity." She stressed the importance of building coalitions. Addressing the threats, she said, "We have to understand this is serious," calling it as serious a turning point negatively as the original march was positive. "This is a critical time."

On the way out, a pooler asked how to stop hate. Will send that answer in next pool report since I could not hear it

From the White HOuse:

In attendance for the President and Vice President's meeting with organizers of the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington and members of the King Family:

Neera Tanden, Assistant to the President & Domestic Policy Advisor
Stephen Benjamin, Assistant to the President & Senior Advisor to the President & Director of the Office of Public Engagement
Reverend Al Sharpton, Founder and President of the National Action Network
Martin Luther King III, Chairman of the Board of the Drum Major Institute & Son of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mrs. Coretta Scott King
Arndrea Waters King, President, Drum Major Institute & Wife of Martin Luther King III
Yolanda King, Granddaughter of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mrs. Coretta Scott King
Reverend Dr. Bernice King, CEO, The King Center & Daughter of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mrs. Coretta Scott King
Ambassador Andrew Young, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations
Carolyn Young, Philanthropist & Wife of Ambassador Andrew Young
Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO and National Director of the Anti-Defamation League
John Yang, President and Executive Director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice
Marc Morial, President and CEO of the National Urban League
Melanie Campbell, President and CEO of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation
Damon Hewitt, President and Executive Director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
Janai Nelson, President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund
Shavon Arline-Bradley, President and CEO of the National Council of Negro Women
Fred Redmond, Secretary-Treasurer of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO)
Sonia M. Pérez, Chief Operating Officer of UnidosUS
Benjamin Sax, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Anti-Defamation League

In town pool report #10

There is a lid until 5:30.

Looking back at the Roosevelt Room event, you should still rely on the official transcript because it was difficult to hear everything that was said. But here is a stab at some transcribed comments. Thanks to pooler Anita Powell for her tape.

"Kamala and I wanted to convene this incredible group of civil rights leaders and tell them what they tell us: We know that we've got a lot more work to do. And also remind them that what they do matters more than I think they even appreciate… The bottom line is that a lot's happening. Things that you didn't think would be happening today around the anniversary of 60 years after the march. I spoke to the governor and the mayor and black community leaders in Jacksonville, Florida…the sheriff… And as I've said to the country, you can't let hate prevail and it's on the rise, not diminishing.. Silence is complicity and we're not going to remain silent. So we have to act against this hate-fueled violence."

…

"We have to speak out. There is a whole group of extreme people trying to erase history. Trying to walk away from… The idea that we are sitting here…I never thought I would be president and having a discussion about why books are being banned in America's schools. … Continue to march forward…we are going to get it done. So I want to thank the group."

Vice President Harris then spoke briefly:

"…requires moral clarity on behalf of every American about what is at stake right now. The vast majority have so much more in common than what separates us. Yet there are those who are intentionally trying to divide us as a nation. I believe each of us has a duty to not allow factions to sever our unity. Our diversity is our strength…"

The president then responded to a question posed by April Ryan about what he can do to prevent hate. He responded, "By talking directly to the American people. The vast majority of the American people.…We have to understand this is serious…This is as serious a potential turning point to the negative as it was a turning point to the positive when your dad organized that march. I really think this is a critical time. We have groups, a significant minority, that I think they want to change the direction we've been working on so hard and making such significant progress for so long.. We can't let that happen."

In town pool report #11

Folks are gathering to go to the East Room for the civil rights event. A reminder that this is open to all pre-credentialed media and will be streamed. So will not be doing a transcript.

In town pool report #12

Not to bury the lede: A lid was declared at 6:49.

Now back to the East Room event. The president spoke from 6:15 to 6:35. He drew a laugh early on when he looked toward Attorney General Merrick Garland and said, "Attorney General Garland, I haven't seen you in a long while." When someone in the audience reacted to that, the president said, "You think I'm kidding. I'm not."

He told the group that "what you do matters so much." He likened "racist violence today" to cross burnings, called white supremacy "a poison" and "the greatest threat" to the nation. He warned that "hate never dies, it just hides." He added, "All of us need to say… hate will not prevail." On guns, he said, "With your help…we must not stop until we ban assault weapons with high capacity magazines."

He urged Americans to "speak up when history is being erased and books being banned" and called civil rights "the unfinished fight of the 21st century." He boasted about the number of women in his administration and among his judicial appointees and closed quoting John Lewis: "Keep pushing, keep going, set the record straight."

Exiting the East Room, there was a shouted question about whether or not he would release financial records. He ignored the question.

From the White House:

n attendance for the President's remarks to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law:

Attorney General Merrick Garland, Department of Justice
Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Department of Homeland Security
Rep. Glenn Ivey (MD-04)
Kristen Clarke, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, Department of Justice
Stephen Benjamin, Assistant to the President & Senior Advisor to the President & Director of the Office of Public Engagement
Damon Hewitt, President and Executive Director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
Lawyers' Committee board members, staff, and members of the Biden-Harris Administration

Speaking Program
Damon Hewitt, President and Executive Director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
The President

In town pool report #13

from the White House:

The President is tracking the incident in North Carolina and will continue to be briefed as updates become available.