Pool Reports by Nikki Schwab, Daily Mail
| Sent: | Reports: |
| January 28, 2022 09:21 |
White House Pool Report No. 1 - Pittsburgh bridge collapse Good morning! I'll be your in-town print pooler today. The White House sends along the following statement: The President has been told of the bridge collapse in Pittsburgh. Our team is in touch with state and local officials on the ground as they continue to gather information about the cause of the collapse. The President is grateful to the first responders who rushed to assist the drivers who were on the bridge at the time. The President will proceed with trip planned for today and will stay in touch with officials on the ground about additional assistance we can provide. |
| January 28, 2022 10:54 |
White House Pool Report No. 2 - departure delayed The White House informs us that POTUS’ departure has been delayed until 11:30 a.m. |
| January 28, 2022 11:46 |
White House Pool Report No. 3 President Biden walked out of the Oval at 11:40 a.m. He boarded Marine One at 11:41 a.m. He waved at pool several times but did not answer questions about whether he would visit the bridge site, how new cat Willow was doing and how his call went with Ukrainian President Zelensky. It's 39 degrees here at the White House and just started snowing. Marine One was wheels up at 11:45 a.m. Traveling on Marine One with the President: Bruce Reed, Assistant to the President & Deputy Chief of Staff |
| January 28, 2022 18:02 |
White House Pool Report No. 4 - lId, JBA to White House President Biden's motorcade was rolling from JBA at 5:29 p.m. The snow, which had turned to rain for part of the afternoon, is now sticking - making for a slushy drive back to the city. Otherwise, ride was uneventful. The motorcade pulled into the driveway on the South Lawn at 5:58 p.m. We have a lid as of 6 p.m. Have a great weekend! |
Pool Reports by Sean Sullivan, The Washington Post
| Sent: | Reports: |
| January 28, 2022 11:58 |
Travel pool report #1 - JBA arrival/departure Hello from a chilly JBA. I'll be your pooler for the president's trip to Pittsburgh today. POTUS landed at JBA on M1 at appx 1151 am, disembarking at 1156. He walked to AF1 and boarded at 1157. at He did not engage with the pool. (We're on the small AF1 today so sending this before boarding, since we don't have reliable cell reception inside.) Below is a schedule of the trip, and background, as provided by the White House. Karine Jean-Pierre's gaggle en route will be piped through on the WH's YouTube page (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uzBUMpvzMjk&feature=youtu.be), so please tune in there if interested. Also flagging that a bridge in Pittsburgh collapsed this morning. The WH released a statement on it earlier distributed by the in-town pool. Traveling to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with the President, per the WH: Upon arrival at Joint Base Andrews, the President was greeted by Colonel William "Chris" McDonald, 89th Airlift Wing Vice Commander. ### The schedule, which is running a bit behind at this point: 11:30 AM THE PRESIDENT departs Joint Base Andrews en route West Mifflin, Pennsylvania 12:20 PM THE PRESIDENT arrives in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania 1:25 PM THE PRESIDENT visits Carnegie Mellon University at Mill 19 2:00 PM THE PRESIDENT delivers remarks on strengthening the nation's supply chains, revitalizing American manufacturing, creating good-paying, union jobs, and building a better America, including through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law 3:05 PM THE PRESIDENT departs West Mifflin, Pennsylvania en route Joint Base Andrews 4:00 PM THE PRESIDENT arrives at Joint Base Andrews 4:20 PM THE PRESIDENT arrives at the White House Briefing Schedule Principal Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre will gaggle aboard Air Force One en route West Mifflin, Pennsylvania The preview below is attributable to a White House official: Tomorrow, President Biden will travel to Pittsburgh, PA – the Steel City, and the site of the first event of his campaign in 2019 – to speak to the American people about his vision to rebuild America's economy for the 21st century. Tomorrow, the President is going to visit Mill 19 in Pittsburgh, which was built around 1943 and at one point produced more than one million tons of metal per year. Today, Mill 19 is ushering in a new era of manufacturing, research and development, with a focus on artificial intelligence, automation, and robotics. The mill is home to Carnegie Mellon University's Manufacturing Futures Institute (MFI), which the President will tour. The President will talk about the remarkable economic progress we've made over his first year in office – including the fastest single year of job growth in American history, the biggest unemployment drop on record, and as we learned on Thursday, the fastest economic growth in 2021 in almost four decades. The President will highlight the 367,000 manufacturing jobs that our economy has created since the President took office – including the recent announcements of new manufacturing plants in Ohio by Intel and Michigan by GM. We're making the future in American again, with American workers. And, he'll underscore the vital role that the federal government plays in bringing workers and businesses together, and in catalyzing big investments in our industrial base. Right now our country has a unique opportunity to position ourselves to out-innovate, our-build, and out-compete the rest of the world in the 21stcentury through those sorts of investments – just like we did in decades past with the interstate highway system under Eisenhower or the Moonshot under JFK - in places like Pittsburgh and across the country, not just on the coasts. To make that a reality, the President will talk about how his Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is already strengthening in our supply chains and critical infrastructure – our roads, bridges, ports, airports, and more – giving us an edge in producing more in America and exporting it to the world. And the President will call on Congress to act on the competitiveness legislation that has been introduced now in the House and Senate, and which will invest in American innovation, R&D, manufacturing, and addressing supply chain bottlenecks like semiconductors that are raising prices for working families. |
| January 28, 2022 13:02 |
Travel pool report #2 - Biden newsy comments on bridge and arrival in PA News: Your pooler asked POTUS whether he planned to visit the collapsed bridge. He responded "Yeah, you're going to see it in a minute." AF1 was wheels up from JBA at 1207 pm. We were wheels down Allegheny County Airport at 1244. Principal Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre gaggled en route. Motorcade rolling at 1258. |
| January 28, 2022 13:05 |
Travel pool report 2a — greeters in PA Per WH: Upon arrival at Allegheny County Airport, the President was greeted planeside by: |
| January 28, 2022 13:12 |
Travel pool report #3 - gaggle audio I have been told that the audio feed of the gaggle cut out before the end. Below is a link to an Otter file of the audio I used to record it. |
| January 28, 2022 13:29 |
Travel pool report #4 - bridge Motorcade has arrived at the site of the collapsed bridge. POTUS spoke with what appeared to be emergency personnel and local officials/politicians. Smell of gas is in air. More details TK. He's still here. Along the way, the pool passed a man saying, "Let's go Brandon!" on a bullhorn. |
| January 28, 2022 13:47 |
Pool report #5 - POTUS comments at bridge site POTUS made brief comments toward the end of his tour of the damaged bridge. POTUS put his hand on shoulder of a police officer and said, "these guys deserve an incredible amount of credit." He asked the officer questions about the situation and the gas leak and surveyed the damage from afar. "I've been coming to Pittsburgh a long time," POTUS said, adding that there are more bridges than any other city in the world. "And we're going to fix them all," he said. Pool now loaded in vans and awaiting next movement as of 144. More TK. |
| January 28, 2022 13:49 |
Travel pool report #6 — more color from bridge stop (With many thanks to co-pooler Michael Shear): POTUS stopped at one end of the collapsed bridge to visit with first responders and local and state officials for an impromptu briefing on the collapse. He was accompanied at the site by Sen. Bob Casey, Rep. Conor Lamb, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman and others. POTUS spent time looking across the snow-covered chasm where the bridge once stood. The red bus that was on the bridge when it collapsed could still be seen from the edge, which has been roped off with yellow police tape. A pickup truck with a crumpled front end was also sitting on top of the collapsed bridge deck, along with a black sedan and two other overturned cars. There was no smell of gas, though police told POTUS that they were unsure whether the bridge collapse was caused by an explosion in the gas line or if the gas line leaked after the collapse. Light snow was falling as the motorcade made its way to the edge of the bridge. POTUS greeted some police and fire officials in front of yellow earth moving equipment parked along the side of the road. |
| January 28, 2022 14:55 |
Travel pool report #6a - clarification on gas smell at bridge site Your pooler and several other members of the pool indeed smelled gas at the bridge site earlier. Sent conflicting info about whether there was a smell and wanted to clarify. |
| January 28, 2022 14:10 |
Travel pool report #7 -- More complete POTUS quotes from bridge site Please check quotes against transcript. "First of all, these guys deserve an incredible amount of credit, going down here" he said as he praised officers. He asked a uniformed officer to tell him about a gas leak and the noise. "Were you worried there had been an explosion or a [gas] leak?" POTUS asked. "How long did it take the company to shut off the gas?" About a half hour or 45 mins, POTUS was told. "It was probably too early for joggers to be down there," POTUS said at one point. There were a few, he was told. "I've been coming to Pittsburgh a long time, and as a former Pennsylvanian, but I didn't realize they're literally more bridges in Pittsburgh than any other city in the world. Did you know? More than in Venice," POTUS said. "We're going to fix them all. Not a joke, this is going to be a gigantic change. There's 43,000 nationwide. And we're sending the money. And by the way, we're going to give you guys more money too - the cops." Snowflakes fell as POTUS spoke. HE wore an overcoat and a dark facemask, Will aim to tweet pictures and video of this exchange. Pool has arrived at the site where POTUS will give remarks. Awaiting next movement as of 204. |
| January 28, 2022 14:52 |
Travel pool report #8 — POTUS tour at Mill 19 POTUS started a tour at appx 236. (Mill 19 is a former steel mill that is now at a CMU R/D facility.) It was hard to hear what POTUS was saying but he asked several questions as he toured welding-based 3D printing machinery and tools. "How long would this take?" He asked at one point. "What is this?" he said at another. "What do you plan on doing for a living?" he asked one young man showing him around. The man responded that he was interested in being an astronaut. A "Building a Better America" sign was placed on one table. Later, POTUS observed a robotic arm at work. Pool was ushered out at 248 pm. Tour Stop 1 participants, per WH: Dr. Sneha Prabha Narra, Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering William Friedan Templeton, Student, Carnegie Mellon University And elected officials in attendance, per WH: Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo The tour guide, per WH, was Dr. Sandra DeVincent Wolf, Senior Director of Research Partnerships, College of Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University. Photos I took below - will also tweet them.
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| January 28, 2022 14:54 |
Travel pool report #8a: more tour participants Tour Stop 2 participants, per WH: Dr. Changliu Liu, Assistant Professor, Robotics Institute |
| January 28, 2022 15:22 |
Travel pool report #9 -- POTUS starts speech at Mill 19 POTUS came out at 318 pm. He started speaking at 321. Introductory speakers referenced the collapsed bridge and the importance of infrastructure. You can watch live here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3Z-d0GNaZU. Will send color from the room. Per the WH, in attendance for the President's remarks are approximately 80 attendees including elected officials, local leaders, labor leaders, and Carnegie Mellon University leadership and staff. Speaking Program: A couple of odds and ends: -I tweeted some photos of the day's stops to help paint a clearer picture of the scene and in case the photos don't come through on email. All of it is here: https://twitter.com/WaPoSean -Someone asked whether the gas smell at the bridge site was gasoline or natural gas. It was natural gas. |
| January 28, 2022 15:56 |
Travel pool report #10 -- POTUS speech ends POTUS speech ended at 354 pm. He spoke against a large American flag backdrop in a big, industrial-style space. Large "Building A Better America" signs were set up on both sides of him. POTUS referenced the bridge collapse at the top of his speech. "There are another 3,300 bridges here in Pennsylvania, some of which are just as old and just as in decrepit a condition as that one was," he said. He touted his infrastructure plan, and later said, "We've got to move. The next time, we don't need headlines saying that someone was killed." He said, "We're going to rebuild that bridge." He also mentioned the presence of Rep. Conor Lamb and LG John Fetterman, competing Dem Senate candidates in PA. And he addressed inflation, which he said is "a problem." Photos I took of the scene:
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| January 28, 2022 16:04 |
Travel pool report #11 — motorcade rolling Motorcade rolling at 402 pm. |
| January 28, 2022 16:21 |
Travel pool report #12 - Back at Allegheny County Airport Motorcade arrived at airport at 418 pm. POTUS boarded AF1 right away. Pool boarded AF1 at 419. (Sending this report before boarding, due to lack of reception on the small AF1.) |
| January 28, 2022 17:31 |
Travel pool report #13 — Return to JBA/POTUS comments/week ahead guidance AF1 was wheels down JBA at 516 pm. We were ?wheels up from PA at 431 pm. POTUS disembarked at 527 pm. POTUS made brief comments to pool but your pooler could not immediately hear what he said. Efforting more clarity. POTUS is motorcading back to the WH due to the weather. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, infrastructure czar Mitch Landrieu and Principal Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre spoke to the travel pool off the record during the flight. From Principal Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre: A preview of the week ahead. On Sunday, the President will attend the National Governors Association Black Tie Dinner. And on Monday, the President will host the National Governors Association at the White House for a meeting. On Monday, the President will welcome His Highness the Amir of the State of Qatar to the White House for a bilateral meeting. The President looks forward to this important visit and affirming the strong partnership between the United States and Qatar. On Thursday, the President will travel to New York and join with Mayor Eric Adams to discuss his Administration’s comprehensive strategy to combat gun crime, which includes historic levels of funding for cities and states to put more cops on the beat and invest in community violence prevention and intervention programs, as well as stepped up federal law enforcement efforts against illegal gun traffickers. And on Friday, the President will deliver remarks on the January jobs report. Handing off to the in-town pool for the remainder of the day. Many thanks to all my co-poolers for their tremendous help on this trip! |
| January 28, 2022 17:44 |
Travel pool report #13a — POTUS comments on Ukraine after deplaning AF1 With many thanks to our TV colleagues for sharing usable audio: Q: "Any update on the situation in Ukraine?" |
Related Images
Joseph R. Biden, Pool Reports of January 28, 2022 Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/354304