Pool Reports of July 3, 2025

WH in-town pool report #1 – Lunch lid

Good afternoon. The White House has called a lunch lid until 12:30 pm ET.

WH in-town pool report #2 – POTUS motorcade

Your pooler saw POTUS emerge from the White House north portico at 4:47 pm wearing a white hat. He loaded into the motorcade and is headed for JBA.

Handing over to the travel pool. Have a good afternoon.

Travel Pool Report # 1 Rolling to JBA

Hello,

I'll be your out-of-town pooler for today's trip to Iowa. The motorcade is rolling to JBA as of 4:48 p.m.

Your pool was already loaded in the vans when Trump exited the White House, but we could see he was wearing a white hat and a red tie.

WH Travel Pool Report #2: JBA Arrival

The motorcade arrived at JBA at 5:06 PM after an uneventful drive. Some people waved and took videos of the vehicles as we drove away from the White House.

The White House shared the following list of people who are traveling with Trump to Iowa:

Sec. Doug Burgum (DOI)
Sec. Kristi Noem (DHS)
Admin. Lee Zeldin (EPA)
Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks
Rep. Ashley Hinson
Rep. Randy Feenstra
Rep. Zachary Nunn

WH Travel Pool Report #3 JBA Gaggle

President Trump briefly gaggled with reporters under the wing of Air Force One. He said he would sign the One Big Beautiful Bill tomorrow at 5 PM, as B2s and other military planes fly overhead.

"We'll be signing with those beautiful planes flying right over our heads," he said.

He described the legislation as "the biggest bill ever signed."

He also said he would begin sending letters tomorrow to countries to dictate tariff rate.

He said he discussed Iran and Ukraine with Putin, adding, "I'm not happy about that."

Otter attached: https://otter.ai/u/d_uQpq3fj03MH1jdI9V-gZQd1ks

Wheels up at 5:26 PM.

WH Travel Pool Report #4 Iowa Arrival

Wheels down in Iowa at 6:20 PM local time.

We had a short, informal conversation with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who said President Trump signed two executive orders during the flight related to the 250th anniversary of the country's founding. One is related to improving national parks, she said. The White House distributed the two orders in an email while we were in flight without internet access.

Secretary Rollins, Secretary Kristi Noem and Iowa AG Brenna Bird are expected to speak at tonight's event prior to POTUS's remarks, she said.

When asked whether the White House is planning any events to commemorate the anniversary of the Butler shooting in July, she said Trump will be pretaping an interview on Monday with Lara Trump.

WH Travel Pool Report

POTUS exited AF1 at 6:33 PM. He changed his hat on the plane and is now wearing a red USA hat. NATO rep. Matt Whittaker was among the people who greeted him on the ground.

He did not gaggle with the press, saying "thank you" to us as he entered the Beast.

We are rolling to the Iowa Fair Grounds at 6:38 PM.

The White House shares the following fact sheets for the EOs signed on AF1 this evening:

PUTTING AMERICANS FIRST:
Link [whitehouse.gov]

MAKING AMERICA BEAUTIFUL AGAIN:
Link [whitehouse.gov]

WH Travel Report #6 Iowa Fair Grounds Arrival

The motorcade arrived at the Iowa Fair Grounds at 7:02 PM. A giant American flag is flying over the crowd, held on a crane. Attendees are holding signs that say "Make Agriculture Great Again." Many are wearing red MAGA caps or American flag clothing.

Even though the Iowa State Fair doesn't start until later this summer, it appears some food stands are operating. Stands selling foot-long corn dogs and "original" cheese curds are open for business.

Monica Crowley, the chief of protocol of the United States, just finished speaking and walked off the stage to "Gloria," a staple of Trump's political events.

WH Travel Pool Report #7 Trump begins speech

President Trump walked out at 7:19 PM to a cheering crowd as country singer Lee Greenwood performed "God Bless the USA." He stood on the stage, watched Greenwood perform and occasionally clapped. He appeared to sing along at the end of the song. The crowd began chanting "USA" as the song ended.

He kicked off the event in the 90-degree temperatures, recalling how his supporters came out in freezing temperatures to vote for him in the state's caucus.

Stream the remarks here:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/live/

WH Travel Report #8 Trump Speech and Rolling

Trump ended his speech at 8:28 PM , closing on his political slogan "Make America Great Again." Pool loaded into the van as POTUS was still onstage with "YMCA" playing.

Most in the crowd stood up and chanted "USA" as Trump said he had kept his promise to kick off the 250th birthday celebrations of America in Iowa.

He announced the "Great American State Fair," which he said would kick off in Iowa. The celebrations will culminate in a celebration on the National Mall next year. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will lead the "Patriot Games," a nationally televised athletic competition.

Trump also said a UFC bout at the White House will be part of the celebrations. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said he is "dead serious" about those plans.

He also announced plans to celebrate the 250th anniversaries of the Marines and the Navy this fall.

He recognized many members of his administration, including Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and the cabinet secretaries who joined him on the plane. He also asked for a standing ovation for the veterans in attendance.

At about 7:40 PM, a bang went off. Another sounded from a greater distance a couple of minutes later.

"Don't worry, it's only fireworks. I hope," Trump, who stood behind a glass barrier, told the crowd. "Famous last words."

The motorcade is rolling at 8:35 PM. We could hear the bangs of fireworks as our bus pulled away and see some smoke in the bright sky.

WH Travel Report #9 Wheels Up

POTUS boarded AF1 just after 9 PM local time, heading up the stairs while the pool was still in the vans.

We are wheels up at 9:11 PM local time, en route back to Washington.

WH Travel Report #10 JBA Landing

Wheels down at JBA at 11:59 PM. We had an uneventful flight with no visitors to our cabin.

WH Travel Report #11 Gaggle and Rolling

The motorcade is rolling to the White House at 12:23 AM.

President Trump gaggled with the press for about nine minutes, discussing Ukraine, tariffs, CBS and addressed his use of the word "shylocks" during the rally.

Trump confirmed that he would speak with Ukrainian President Zelensky later this morning.

Asked whether Hamas has agreed to the latest framework for a ceasefire and hostage deal, Trump said: "We'll see what happens."

"We'll know in the next 24 hours."

Starting tomorrow, he plans to begin sending letters dictating tariff rates to 10-12 countries a day. He anticipates that all countries will be "fully covered" by July 9, the date the Liberation Day tariffs expire. Countries will start paying the tariffs Aug. 1, he said.

"They'll range in value from maybe 60 or 70% tariffs to 10 and 20% tariffs," Trump said.

He said that he has "never heard that" the word "shylocks" is linked to antisemitism. He used the word during his rally speech in Iowa.

"I've never heard it that way," he said. "The meaning of Shylock is somebody that's a money lender at high rates. You view it differently. I've never heard that."

He also spoke about his deal with Paramount to settle the lawsuit over the editing of "60 Minutes."

"But we did a deal for about $16 million plus 16 million, or maybe more than that in advertising. So it's a combination of 16 plus 16 plus. So it's like $32. maybe $35 million.

He addressed the ongoing negotiations with universities.

"I think we're going to probably settle with Harvard."

"They want to settle very badly. There's no rush."

How much? "A lot of money"

The motorcade returned to the White House at 12:45 AM.

Here's an Otter of the exchange:

https://otter.ai/u/Y8h3R9vFsh0nNLbyDvtU30PSArw

WH Travel Pool Report #12 Lid

We have a lid. Have a great July 4, and a thank you to Tyler Pager for helping with the transcription of Trump's last gaggle.