Pool Reports of November 13, 2023

Out of town pool report #1 - Rolling

Good morning from a bright and cold Wilmington. Motorcade is rolling from President Biden’s house. Pool has not yet laid eyes on POTUS.

Out of town pool report #2 - DANG

President Biden could be seen leaving an SUV and boarded M1 at 9.00. He was too far away for questions. Pool then loaded onto Osprey and didn’t see M1 lift.

From the WH:

Traveling with the President and the First Lady aboard Marine One en route to the White House:

Anthony Bernal, Assistant to the President & Senior Advisor to the First Lady
Curtis Ried, Deputy Assistant to the President & NSC Chief of Staff & Executive Secretary

In-town pool report #1 — gathering

Pool is low gathering for POTUS’ South Lawn arrival, scheduled for 10:00am.

Tktktk

In-town pool report #2 — arrival

M1 touched down on the South Lawn at 9:58am.

At 10:00am POTUS, wearing a dark coat over a navy suit, hopped off the heli and walked toward the Oval Office.

POTUS did not stop for shouted questions on the Middle East, vetoing the CR and potentially retooling his campaign.

In-town pool report #3 — gathering for Golden Knights event

As of 11:14am…

Tktktk

In-town pool report #4 — event begins

POTUS strode into the East Room at 11:23am for his ceremony with the Vegas Golden Knights, the 2023 Stanley Cup champions.

You can stream the event here:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=CEUWb3MZKzo

In-town pool report #5 — attendees/run of show

Passing along from the White House

In attendance for the President's remarks celebrating the Vegas Golden Knights' 2023 Stanley Cup championship:

The Vice President
Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (NV)
Rep. Susie Lee (NV-03)
Rep. Steven Horsford (NV-04)
Nevada Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar
Nevada State Senator Fabian Donate (District 10)
Nevada State Senator Nicole Cannizzaro (District 6), Majority Leader of the Nevada Senate
Brittney Miller (District 5), Nevada State Assembly
Howard Watts III (District 15), Nevada State Assembly
Cameron Miller (District 7), Nevada State Assembly
Cecelia Gonzalez (District 16), Nevada State Assembly
Venicia Considine (District 18), Nevada State Assembly
David Orentlicher (District 20), Nevada State Assembly
Tracy Brown-May (District 42), Nevada State Assembly
Ngoc "Duy" Nguyen (District 8), Nevada State Assembly
Max Carter II (District 12), Nevada State Assembly
Shea Backus (District 37), Nevada State Assembly
Commissioner Justine Jones, Clark County Commissioner
Councilmember Cedric Crear, Las Vegas City Council
Members of the Vegas Golden Knights organization, including players & coaching staff

Run of Show
The President delivers remarks
Mark Stone, Team Captain & Right Wing, Vegas Golden Knights, delivers remarks
Mark Stone and George McPhee, President of Hockey Operations, Vegas Golden Knights present a team jersey and hockey stick to the President

In-town pool report #6 — event over

POTUS exited the East Room at 11:36am without taking questions from the press.

In-town pool report #7 — Golden Knights at the stakeout

Passing along from WH

At approximately 11:50am, the Vegas Golden Knights Coach Bruce Cassidy and players Mark Stone (Captain), Alex Pietrangelo, Jack Eichel, Alec Martinez, Jonathan Marchessault will head to the stakeout location.

In-town pool report #8 — no gun violence talk in Oval

Pool asked Mark Stone and Alex Pietrangelo at the sticks if POTUS broached the topic of gun violence and reform during their closed door meetings... Biden had mentioned the Vegas mass shooting in his East Room remarks.

Both players said the topic did not come up, and Pietrangelo added that the discussion focused on non-political issues.

In-town pool report #9 — lunch lid

... until 1:45pm.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will hold a briefing at 2:00pm. You can stream here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPeigcb4NFc

In-town pool report #10 — gathering for memorandum signing

As of 2:02pm…

Tktktk

In-town pool report #12 — event bg/participants
[APP Note: This is Report #11. See reporter's note in Report #12 below.]

Passing along from WH

The President is signing a Presidential Memorandum that will establish the first-ever White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research.

Participants
The First Lady
Secretary Xavier Becerra, Department of Health and Human Services
Director Shalanda Young, Office of Management and Budget
Jen Klein, Director of the White House Gender Policy Council
Dr. Carolyn Mazure, Chair of the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research
Maria Shriver, Founder of the Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement and former First Lady of California
Dr. Victor Dzau, President of the National Academy of Medicine
Dr. Monica Bertagnolli, Director of the National Institutes of Health
Dr. Janine Clayton, Director of the NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health

In-town pool report #12 — misnumbered report

Apologies, but your pooler accidentally titled the previous report, which should have been #11, #12

We’re back on the correct numbering and still holding for event

In-town pool report #13 — event begins

Pool entered the Oval Office at 2:18pm. POTUS, FLOTUS and other participants were gathered behind the Resolute Desk upon our arrival

Tktk

In-town pool report #14 — event concludes

POTUS signed the memorandum at 2:21pm.

FLOTUS specifically thanked Maria Shriver for supporting the women's health initiative

FLOTUS: "women deserve better, and now we're going to get"

POTUS added that he didn't know of the "imbalance"

POTUS took 1 question on the shutdown… "I don't know what the outcome will be… we'll see what happens"

Another question on the cr… POTUS said he had not made a decision on vetoing and wanted to "wait and see" what ends up in it

On the hospitals in Gaza, Biden said he had not expressed his concerns to Netanyahu. Said he hoped for "less intrusive" operations from IDF

Full transcript of q&a to follow

In-town pool report #15 — full Q&A

Please check against the pool camera for accuracy. Press briefing with KJP scheduled to begin here shortly.

On the shutdown, sir, what's your level of concern that there will be a shutdown at the end of the week?

POTUS: "I understand that the new speaker of the House has a new proposal that's being negotiated with the other leaders of the House and Senator Schumer and the Republican leader [inaudible[.

I don't know what the outcome will be. They're meeting today around four or five o'clock on the Rules Committee, and we'll see what happens."

Will you veto the laddred CR?

POTUS: "I'm not going to make a judge on whether I'd veto or I'd sign. Let's wait and see what they come up with."

On Gaza hospital. Have you expressed any specific concerns to Israel on that sir?

POTUS: "Well, as we know, I have not been reluctant expressing my concerns with what's going on. My hope and expectation is that there will be less intrusive action, and we remain in contact with the Israelis. Also there is an effort to get this pause to deal with the recent , and that's being negotiated, and the Qataris are being engaged [inaudible]. The hostages" must be released

In-town pool report #16 — press briefing starts

At 2:43pm

Stream here: https://youtube.com/watch?v=uPeigcb4NFc

In-town pool report #17 — Gaza quote correction

Thank you to Kelly O'Donnell for providing a cleaner transcript of POTUS' response to the question on the Gaza hospital. See below.

POTUS: "Well, as we know, I have not been reluctant expressing my concerns with what's going on. My hope and expectation is that there will be less intrusive action relative to hospitals and we remain in contact with the Israelis. Also there is an effort to get this pause to deal with the release of prisoners and that's being negotiated, as well with the Qataris are being engaged [inaudible]. So I remain somewhat hopeful but hospitals must be protected."

In-town pool report #18 — briefing over

At 3:39pm

We'll be gathering for the bilat soon.

In-town pool report #19 — Widodo greeting background

Passing along from WH

The President will greet President Joko Widodo of the Republic of Indonesia at the West Wing portico.

In-town pool report #20 — gathering for Widodo arrival

As of 4:16pm

Tktktk

In-town pool report #21 — Widodo arrival/gathering for bilat

President Widodo’s motorcade pulled into the WH grounds at 4:18pm.

He exited his SUV at 4:19pm, and POTUS walked out of the West Wing portico to greet him with a hand on the back before the two leaders walked back into West Wing.

Pool is now gathering for bilat

Tktktk

In-town pool report #22 — bilat

Pool entered the Oval Office at 4:22pm.

POTUS and Widodo next to each other and communicated through translators.

Biden: "I'm grateful for the hospitality you showed me in Bali, and I'm grateful to have you here"

"Today we're talking about taking our relationship to the highest level of cooperation. A comprehensive strategic partnership. This will mark a new era of relations between the United States and Indonesia across the hard, affecting everything"

POTUS specifically noted the need to cooperate on regional security and fighting the climate crisis.

POTUS also thanked Widodo for his leadership with ASEAN this year

"I'm looking forward to our conversation today and our continued cooperation with ASEAN" later this week

Widodo said it was an honor to accept Biden's invitation to visit DC, adding that the US is a top partner of Indonesia.

He noted the need to cooperate on supply chains and regional and "global peace and prosperity"

Widodo also directly called on Biden to "do more" to stop the fighting in Gaza.

Biden joked that during the welcome, the leaders had a very important conversation on climate… Widodo said he was "cold"

Pool was ushered out at 4:29pm. POTUS did not answer a question on whether or not he had spoken to Naomi Biden following Sunday night's incident.

Full transcript to follow

In-town pool report #23 — bilat participants

Passing along from WH

The President is participating in a bilateral meeting with President Joko Widodo of the Republic of Indonesia:

U.S. Manifest
The President
T.H. Antony Blinken, Secretary of State
T.H. Xavier Becerra, Secretary of Health and Human Services
T.H. Jennifer Granholm, Secretary of Energy
T.H. Jake Sullivan, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs
T.H. Kurt Campbell, Deputy Assistant to the President and Coordinator for the Indo-Pacific, National Security Council
T.H. Sung Kim, Ambassador of the United States to the Republic of Indonesia
T.H. Yohannes Abraham, Ambassador of the United States to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
T.H. Amos Hochstein, Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor to the President for Energy and Investment
T.H. Daniel Kritenbrink, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs
T.H. Mira Rapp-Hooper, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for East Asia and Oceania, National Security Council
Mr. Peter Lohman, Director of Southeast Asia, National Security Council

Indonesia Manifest
President Joko Widodo of Indonesia
H.E. Retno L.P. Marsudi, Minister for Foreign Affairs
H.E. Airlangga Hartarto, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs
H.E. Erick Thohir, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment ad interim
H.E. Nadiem Anwar Makarim, Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology
H.E. Budi Gunadi Sadikin, Minister of Health
H.E. Zulkifli Hasan, Minister of Trade
H.E. Arifin Tasrif, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources
H. E. Rosan Perkasa, Ambassador of the Repulic of Indonesia to the United States
H.E. Umar Hadi, Director General for American and European Affairs
H.E Andy Rachimianto, Chief of State Protocol
Mr. Syarif Muhammad Fitriansyah, Aide-de-Camp to the President

In-town pool report #24 — full transcript

POTUS: Mr. President, welcome. Welcome to the White House. We've spent a lot of time together in the last several years, and it's really wonderful that you're here.

I'm grateful for the hospitality you showed me in Bali, and I'm delighted to have you here.

Today we're talking about taking our relationship to launching the highest possible level of cooperation. A comprehensive strategic partnership

This will mark a new era of relations between the United States and Indonesia across the board, affecting everything.

The inclusion of [inaudible] security cooperation, particularly maritime security, and it includes explaining how to work together to build a secure and resilient supply chain. It includes deepening our collaboration to combat the climate crisis.

You know, I've told you this before, but Indonesia is a critical player — critical — in clean energy transitioning the world.

And we're going to continue to work with ASEAN to advance a free, open, secure, and prosperous Indo-Pacific.

I want to thank you, I mean this sincerely, for your leadership in ASEAN this year.

As we mark nearly 75 years of cooperation between our nations, I believe our partnership is stronger than it's ever been.

I'm looking forward to our conversation today and our cooperation with APEC summit in San Francisco later this week.

As we used to say in the place I worked for a long time, the United States Senate, I yield the floor.

WIDODO: It is an honor for me to fulfill the invitation from President Biden to visit Washington, DC.

The US is one of the most important partners for Indonesia, and we agreed to elevate our partnership into comprehensive strategic partnership.

But most importantly, we have to give a real meaning to it. For Indonesia, economic cooperation is [inaudible], including on supply chains issues.

Indonesia also wishes our partnership contributes to regional and global peace and prosperity. So Indonesia appeals to the US to do more to stop the atrocities in Gaza. Ceasefire is a must for the sake of humanity. Once again, thank you for your invitation, President Biden. Thank you.

POTUS: Thank you, and as we met outside to you get out of your automobile, we had a very important discussion on climate. The president said, "I'm cold."

I told him, "I can take care of that immediately." Thank you all so much.

In-town pool report #25 — LID

... called at 5:25pm.

Have a great Monday, y'all!

Foreign Pool Report #1

Good morning

Welcome to the week before Thanksgiving.

I am your foreign pooler on this chilly November day.

On the schedule today:

10:05 AM THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY arrive at the White House
South Lawn
Open Press (Gather 9:55 AM – Palm Room Doors)

11:30 AM THE PRESIDENT welcomes the Vegas Golden Knights to the White House to celebrate their 2023 Stanley Cup victory. THE VICE PRESIDENT attends
East Room
Pre-Credentialed Media & Pooled for TV (Gather 11:15 AM – Palm Room Doors)

4:00 PM THE PRESIDENT hosts a bilateral meeting with President Joko Widodo of Indonesia
Oval Office
In-House Pool Spray (Gather 3:50 PM – Brady Press Briefing Room)

Briefing Schedule

EST

2:00 PM Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan

Background on the US-Indonesia bilateral meeting coming up in my next report.

Foreign Pool Report #2 -- Background Note on US-Indonesia bilateral meeting

Below please find some background on today's US-Indonesia bilateral meeting.

Today President Biden is meeting with President Joko Widodo of Indonesia for a bilateral meeting at the White House. This meeting was announced by the White House on Tuesday, November 7. The official announcement said that "[d]uring the visit, President Biden will reaffirm the U.S. commitment to deepening our nearly 75-year-long partnership between the world's second- and third-largest democracies. The leaders will explore opportunities to enhance cooperation on the clean energy transition, advance economic prosperity, bolster regional peace and stability, and reinforce our people-to-people ties. The two leaders will also coordinate on efforts to reinforce ASEAN centrality and uphold international law and promote a free and open Indo-Pacific". At his daily briefing on Wednesday, November 8, NSC Spokesman John Kirby said, in response to a question, "I have no doubt that the situation in the Middle East will come up". Given that Indonesia is the world's largest Muslim country, this comes as no surprise. Kirby did go on to say, "I don't think you should read anything into the fact that it wasn't in the announcement".

Widodo, known popularly as Jokowi, won a second five-year term as president in 2019. He is stopping into the White House prior to attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco from November 15 to 17. This is Biden's first visit with Widodo since the two met in Bali last year at the G20 Summit. This will be Jokowi's second visit to the White House since the US-ASEAN summit in Washington, DC, in May last year. During that trip, the Indonesian president also traveled to Texas, where he met with billionaire Elon Musk to discuss potential investments in Indonesia.

Indonesia's vastness, large population, rich natural resources, and strategic location in the South China Sea make it a desirable partner for any country seeking to expand bilateral relations. In that sense, Indonesia can be viewed as the rope in a tug of war between the United States and China. Indonesia's thousands of islands and sea lanes would make it a vital location in the event of a conflict between China and Taiwan.

In an effort to strengthen security partnerships with regional powers in the Indo-Pacific to contain China in the region, the US is intensifying its security relationship with Indonesia. This can be seen in the expansion of the Garuda Shield joint military exercise, which has been expanded to Super Garuda shield. Garuda Shield began in 2006 and Super Garuda Shield was held for the second time in 2023. This year, troops from Australia, Japan, Singapore, France, and the United Kingdom participated, in addition to the US and Indonesia, with other countries present as observers. Also, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin visited Indonesia last year following a $14 billion deal to sell 36 F-15 fighters to Jakarta. He is currently on his ninth official visit to the Indo-Pacific, to include a visit to Indonesia for the 10th ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting. Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh described this visit to the region as "com[ing] at a time when the department continues to do more than ever, alongside allies and partners, to deliver on a shared regional vision of peace, stability, and prosperity".

On the other side of the defense relationship, Indonesia has opposed AUKUS and the US plan to bring to Australia nuclear-powered submarines. Indonesia would prefer a nuclear free-zone around its territory. Also, Indonesia's historic non-aligned position could complicate Washington's efforts to counter China in Southeast Asia.

While Indonesia may prefer the US as a defense partner, China remains a more attractive economic partner for Indonesia. In fact, there seems to be an affinity between Widodo and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, with both leaders making infrastructure investments a priority. As a developing country, Indonesia prioritizes economic growth. China's significant investments in Indonesia's natural resources industries and infrastructure have helped to give China the edge in cultivating Indonesia. In exchange, Indonesia has voted in favor of China's positions on the Uyghurs at the United Nations and Indonesia encourages Chinese investment in southeast Asian nations.

Regarding President Biden, the Jakarta Post writes, "Jokowi and Biden respect and like each other, although traditionally Indonesia prefers to deal with Republican presidents because the Democrats are too demanding, especially on the issues of human rights, labor protection, freedom of speech and religious freedom".

The State Department's Country Reports on Human Rights details a variety of human rights issues in Indonesia including, but not limited to: unlawful or arbitrary killings by government security forces; torture by police; harsh prison conditions; arbitrary arrest or detention; political prisoners; restrictions on free expression and media; interference with the freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of association; government corruption; and laws criminalizing consensual same-sex sexual conduct between adults.

While the Indonesian government took steps to investigate and prosecute some officials who committed human rights abuses and engaged in corruption, impunity for historic and recent serious human rights abuses and corruption remains a significant concern.

In 2023, Indonesia took some steps towards confronting its record of human rights violations with President Widodo publicly expressing regret for past human rights violations committed by previous regimes. In March, the Indonesian government said that it would support 205 of 269 recommendations of the United Nations Human Rights Council. This was characterized as a testament to the Indonesian government's steadfast commitment to continuously improve and ensure the rights of Indonesian people. Critics including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, however, say in reality, the government continues to violate basic civil and political rights of Indonesians.

President Widodo comes to Washington after a stop in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for an international summit on the Israel Hamas War. Widodo said he would convey to President Biden the outcome of that summit. It has been reported that President Widodo said, "I will be delegated to tell President Joe Biden that the Hamas-Israel war should immediately be stopped," although he did not provide further details. Indonesia has joined many countries in calling for an immediate ceasefire and has sent humanitarian aid to Gaza.

For the record, your foreign pooler's valiant efforts to get comments from the Embassy of Indonesia about their goals for the visit, etc., went unanswered. The response of the Embassy to repeated questions about why the press office never answered their phones and didn't have a voicemailbox, your foreign pooler was told, "We are very busy! The delegation is already here."

Finally, just in case you did not have a chance to listen to yesterday's conference call in advance of today's bilateral meeting, here is a recap of some of the salient points.

• There are a number of issues that we will seek to discuss in terms of foreign policy and national security: South China Sea, China's diplomacy and engagement, areas of engagement as part of ASEAN, Burma.
• It will be critical to hear from Indonesia about the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
• We don't really have anything at this time around critical minerals. We are looking at a future pathway towards cooperation on critical minerals, but we're in the very early stages of that. What we are expecting to be able to say is that we are moving forward together on an agreed pathway.
• We are going to be announcing a number of initiatives related to our combined efforts to combat the climate crisis.
• We will also have a number of security initiatives which precede the announcement of strengthened defense cooperation arrangements, and kick off new Coast Guard cooperation between our two countries, in addition to closer cybersecurity partnership.
• We are expecting to be able to say that we're making substantial progress towards growing the defense relationship in general.
• We are going to have a couple of consequential people-to-people initiatives. Indonesia will be working with Georgetown University School of Foreign Service to announce the first satellite program in Jakarta; it is going to be the first American university that has a campus in Indonesia, and only the second international university.
• We will be partnering to help restore Indonesia's National Museum, which suffered a devastating fire in September.
• Not only are we on the cusp of our 75th year of diplomatic relations with Indonesia, but we will be taking our partnership to a truly new level, announcing a comprehensive strategic partnership.
• We're likely to hear from the Indonesians not just about the ceasefire issue, which of course is extremely important and immediate, but we'll also be talking about medium-term and long-term goals and objectives, a just peace, a two-state solution, and substantial resources that will be necessary to rebuild and give hope to shattered lives.
• We are confident that through these engagements we are better able to sit down with President Xi and present a kind of common front on matters of mutual interest across the board. The countries in ASEAN and elsewhere want closer communication between the United States and China. They want a situation that is not risking global conflict. They want communication; they want dialogue.

• The President has had several interactions with Indonesia over the last three years.
• Today marks the beginning of the presidential campaign in Indonesia. So this is likely one of the last meetings that the two leaders will engage in.
• They enjoy a warm relationship.

• It is basically going to be like a high tea in which the President and President Widodo will meet privately in the Oval Office with a small group of aides. They will talk about some sensitive issues there. They will then move across the hallway to the cabinet office with a larger group of key players from both of our administrations.

Foreign Pool Report #3 - - Pool is gathering

Pool is gathering for arrival

Foreign Pool Report #4 -- Arrival

Marine One touched down at 958 am with the President alighting shortly thereafter at 1000.

The First Lady followed behind him and they held hands as they descended the short stairway.

They took a few steps away from the helicopter, kissed, and then separated, with the President walking towards the Oval Office and the First Lady walking towards the residence.

The President entered the Oval Office at 1002 with the doors closing behind him.

Question, which your pooler could not hear over the whirs and in of the rotors, were shouted but the President was too far away from the pool to hear them and did not even react, let alone respond.

Foreign Pool Report #5 Vegas Golden Knights, no foreign news

In an East Room event, the President welcomed the Vegas Golden Knights to the White House to celebrate their 2023 Stanley Cup victory.

No foreign news.

Foreign Pool Report #6

418 pm President Widodo' vehicle arrived at the West Wing Portico

Headed to bilat now

Foreign Pool Report #7

President Widodo said, "I appeal to the US to do more to stop the atrocities in Gaza and have a ceasefire, for the sake of humanity".

Please check against transcript

More TK

Foreign Pool Report #8 -- Widodo remarks

Pool entered the Oval at 422 PM with both presidents seated in chairs.

I will focus on Widodo’s comments, articulated in accented English, and leave President Biden’s remarks to the domestic pooler.

It is an honor for me to fulfill the invitation from President Biden to visit Washington, DC.

The US is one of the most important partners for Indonesia and we agreed to elevate our partnership into comprehensive strategic partnership, but the most importantly ly we have to give a real meaning to it.

For Indonesia economic cooperation is priority, including supply chain issues.

Indonesia also wishes our partnership contributes to regional and global peace and prosperity.

So Indonesia appeals to the US to do more to stop the atrocities in Gaza , ceasefire is a must for the sake of humanity.

Once again, President Biden, thank you for your invitation. Thank you.