Pool Reports of October 26, 2020

Print pool report 1 -- Mark Meadows

?Mark Meadows spoke to reporters briefly at about 8:30 a.m. He had this to say when asked about whether POTUS was "waving a white flag" on the virus: "Well, the only person waving a white flag along with his white mask is Joe Biden. We're going to defeat the virus; we're not going to control it. We will try to contain it as best we can, but if you look at the full context of what I was talking about, we need to make sure that we have therapeutics and vaccines, we may need to make sure that when people get sick, that, that they have the kind of therapies that the President of the United States had. Then we can provide those emergency using authorizations; hopefully they'll be coming in very short order."

He also said he had not himself taken one of the experimental vaccines.

Re. tonight's event after the Amy Coney Barrett confirmation: " Tonight we'll be doing the best we can to encourage as much social distancing as possible."

Asked whether VP Pence would be at the Senate for the confirmation vote: "I think that is in flux."

Meadows, who said he has two children living in Georgia, also said the state will be "an uphill battle" for Joe Biden.

In-town print pool 2 - South Lawn scene

?Folding chairs are spaced about six feet apart on the South Lawn for the constitutional swearing-in of Amy Coney Barrett as a Supreme Court justice. The Marine Band is playing, and there appears to be a crowd of a few hundred gathered, mostly in silence. No notables spotted yet.

In town print pool report 3 — more color

?Most guests on the South Lawn are wearing masks. It's a beautiful cool, clear fall evening but the grass on the South Lawn is wet and slippery.

Spotted so far: Mark Meadows, Sen. Lee, Robert O'Brien, Ginni Thomas.

In town pool report 4

?President Trump arrived At 9:06 along with Justice Thomas and Amy Coney Barrett.

Quote from Trump:

" In a few moments we will swear in the newest member of the United States Supreme Court Justice, Amy Coney Barrett, one of the nation's foremost legal scholars, and she will make an outstanding justice on the highest court."

Print pool report 5

?Barrett took the constitutional oath from Justice Thomas at 6:16 pm.

POTUS: "It is highly fitting the Justice Barrett fills the seat of a true pioneer for women, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Tonight Justice Barrett becomes not only the fifth women to serve on our nation's highest court, but the very first mother of school-aged children to become a Supreme Court justice."

"The entire world saw Justice Barrett's deep knowledge, tremendous poise and towering intellect. Sheanswered questions for hours on end. Throughout her entire confirmation her impeccable credentials were unquestioned,unchallenged and obvious to all."

Print pool 6 — Barrett's comments

?"It's a privilege to be asked to serve my country in this office and I stand here tonight, truly honored and humbled."

"It is the job of a senator to pursue her policy preferences. In fact, it would be a dereliction of duty for her to put policy goals side.

"By contrast, it is the job of a judge to resist her policy preferences. It would be a dereliction of duty for her to give in to them. Federal judges don't stand for election. Thus, they have no basis for claiming that their preferences, reflect those of the people.

"This separation of duty from political preference is what makes the judiciary distinct among the three branches of government.

"A judge declares independence, not only from Congress and the President, but also from the private beliefs that might otherwise move her."

Print pool 7 — color

?After Barrett took the oath of office from Justice Thomas — which was not on a microphone and inaudible to your pooler — the crowd erupted in cheers and applause.

A few minutes later, Barrett and her husband joined POTUS and FLOTUS on the balcony where Trump appeared upon returning to the White House after his bout with Covid-19. More cheers ensued.

In-town pool report 8 -- correcting time of the oath

?Justice Barrett was sworn in at 9:16 p.m. EST. My apologies for the typo.

More quotes and details coming shortly.

Print pool report 9 -- details, guests, more POTUS quotes

?Just to be clear, POTUS appeared first on the balcony along with Barrett, and then the spouses joined a moment later.

Guests from the Senate: Mike Braun. Bill Cassidy, Kevin Kramer, Ted Cruz, Steve Daines, Ron Johnson, James Lankford, Mike Lee and Martha McSally. POTUS also welcomed Vice President Pence and Pat Cipollone.

More quotes from POTUS, who very much stuck to a script tonight:

"Justice Barrett made clear she will issue rulings based solely upon a faithful reading of the law and the Constitution as written, not legislate from the bench."

"I want every American child watching to understand that this is a very special and important ceremony. We also fulfilling the duty that passes to each new generation to sustain the national traditions and virtues that make possible everything we have achieved."

"No matter who you are, no matter your background in America, everyone is entitled to equal protection under our laws, and your sacred rights can never ever be taken away. The march of liberty that began with the American Revolution continues onward this evening."

Addressing Barrett: "We ask God to give you wisdom and courage. I know you will make us all very, very proud. "

Print pool report 10 -- More quotes from Barrett, sign-off from your pooler

?Justice Barrett: "Even though we judges don't face elections, we still work for you. It is your Constitution that establishes the rule of law and the judicial independence that is so central to the oath that I'm solidly taken tonight means at its core, that I will do my job without any fear or favor, and that I will do so independently of both the political branches and have my own preferences. I love the Constitution and the democratic republic that it establishes, and I will devote myself to preserving it."

That's all from your pooler. Feel free to email me at jzremski@buffnews.com or text/call 202-246-2396 if you need anything else. Have a good evening.

Pool report 11 -- Lid

?White House cooled a lid at 9:45 p.m.

WH travel pool report 1

?The president's travel pool boarded vans for the motorcade trip to Joint Base Andrews at 0902. The South Lawn was unavailable to Marine 1 because of the Halloween festivities preparations still being broken down and replaced with arrangements for the Amy Coney Barrett confirmation celebration tonight.

The vehicles are moving at 0930 for the 14-mile drive.

WH travel pool report 2

?The president's motorcade pulled onto the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews at 0952. The drive was uneventful, and we were using what appeared to be the standard complement, with the roads closed down to traffic.He stepped out of his limousine and walked up the stairs to the forward door of Air Force 1, gave a wave for the cameras and stepped aboard at 0956.We are flying to Pennsylvania for three campaign rallies, in Allentown, Lititz and Martinsburg.

Among the staff traveling: Mark Meadows, Jared Kushner, Kayleigh McEnany

All three are open press and will also be carried live on C-SPAN as well as multiple network streaming services.

The president is using the smaller version of Air Force 1, the modified Boeing 757, because of the shortness of the runways at these locales. The tail number is 90015, for your FOIA convenience.

We should be airborne momentarily for the short flight to Lehigh Valley International Airport.

WH travel pool report 3 — Biden has "given up on life"

President Trump spoke to the pool for just over two minutes after getting off the plane.

He claimed Biden had "given up on life," that polls showed him winning Pennsylvania, that he was not downplaying the coronavirus.

Quotes to come.

Air Force 1 touched down at Lehigh Valley airport at 1045 after a quick and uneventful 39 minutes in the air.

The president came down the steps and answered questions briefly before stepping into his SUV for the drive to the event site.

Motorcade was rolling at 1058.

Wh travel pool report 3a - quotes — note corrected quote. Waving the white flag on life

"I think we'll win Pennsylvania by more than we did last time."

Why is he giving up on the pandemic?"I'm not."

Asked to respond to statement from Biden that he had waved the white flag on the coronavirus:

"He's waved the white flag on life. He doesn't leave his basement."

"He's a pathetic candidate."

We're absolutely rounding the corner."

Wh travel pool report 4 — rally site, start

Motorcade arrived at the venue for the rally, the firm "Hovertech, where a stage and some risers had been set up behind the buildings, at 1110.

Cranes are holding up large American flags, and there are a few thousand attendees wearing Trump campaign paraphernalia and holding pre-printed signs.

The entire set up is outdoors, with the only shelter the roof above the stage.

The tables set up for the press are covered with rainwater, potentially creating an electrical hazard with the indoor power strips. There is a light drizzle falling.

Lee Greenwood's "Proud to be an American" began playing at 1118. Trump took the stage a minute later.

Wh travel pool report 5 - Allentown rally over

The president finished his remarks at 1239 after 80 minutes of the usual stump speech, although somewhat heavier on attacks against Biden for saying he wanted to phase out the oil industry.

Laptop from Hell, he's a corrupt politician, 400 miles of wall, suburban women, Savannah Guthrie, and three distinct mentions of Barack Hussein Obama.

We are on the way back toward the airport at 1246.

Wh travel report report 6 — en route to Lititz

The motorcade returned to the airport at 1251, and the president was up the stairs and aboard three minutes later. 
 
We should be aloft shortly for an even quicker flight to Lancaster.

Wh travel pool report 7 — arrival in Lititz

Air Force 1 set down on the wet runway at Lancaster airport at 1326 following a 23 minute 38 second flight.

No news from the flight. Press staff distributed articles about Biden praising USMCA as an improvement to NAFTA, but only to pool reporters on the starboard side of the plane. So reporters from Bloomberg and Reuters got this, but not AP or the print pool.

Pool again got in vans as part of a short motorcade to an area off the smaller runway that had been decked out for the rally in the usual manner.

The president had not left the plane yet by the time pool was being shuttled the few hundred yards to the rally site.

Rally here is also open press and being carried by multiple providers for your viewing convenience.

WH travel pool report 8 – rally start

The stage and risers are set up entirely outside, here, as well, in front of an aircraft maintenance hangar.

There are several thousand in attendance, many in a series of bleachers set up on either side of the stage, the rest on the tarmac and grassy areas adjacent.

The president took the stage at 1352 and began his remarks a minute later.

WH travel pool 9 – color from rallies and Air Force 1

The second event is several miles north of Lancaster, at the area airport surrounded by farmland. Rolled hay bales dotted the fields visible from the plane upon landing. US flags that appeared to be 25 feet by 10 feet are hanging from cranes. Mask usage among attendees is even less than at the first rally in Allentown, with maybe single digit percentage of the people wearing them – with the exception of those in the bleachers directly behind Trump in the camera shot. Nearly all of those are wearing masks.

Mask wearing is much higher aboard the plane than your pooler's last trip, which was the Minnesota trip the night WH aide Hope Hicks was ill on the flight home. Flight attendants were wearing them aboard, as well as more of the Secret Service agents and WH staff.

WH travel pool report 10 – Lititz rally end, departure

The president finished his remarks at 1518, after 85 minutes of the normal riffs about Joe Biden, supporting the police, his withdrawal from the World Health Organization, saying Merry Christmas again, Barack Hussein Obama not drawing large crowds, having the vaccine very soon, a "super V" economic recovery, trade deal with China, corns, soybeans, doing highway approvals fast, Trump super recovery, Biden depression, coronavirus not that bad, "I got it, and I'm here," about 30 different names for coronavirus, Barron didn't even know he was sick, Regeneron, Gov. Wolf, "We've got a lot of problems with this guy," they don't want to have poll watchers, Biden wants to prolong the pandemic, fake polls, Rasmussen has him at 52 percent, we're leading big in Texas, you don't hear that, we're leading by infinity in Utah, a lot of you people are hidden voters, rallies of thousands of boats, and cars, and trucks and tractors, "I am the only thing between you and chaos," etc, etc.

(Much of what the president was asserting was not, in fact, true.) Pool was led back to the vans for the short transfer back to the plane. The president was back aboard at 1525, and we should be in the air within a few minutes to head to the final stop of the day in Martinsburg.

Wh travel pool report 11 — transfer to helicopters

Air Force 1 landed at John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport at 1603 after a 28-minute flight.

The president emerged from the plane 8 minutes later, gave the pool a thumbs up and walked over to Marine 1 some 50 yards away.

On this leg, pool (all of us) were given articles explaining how Republicans have closed the voter registration gap in Pennsylvania.

Pool was hustled onto waiting VF-22 Osprey tilt-rotors for the jump to the even smaller airport in Martinsburg, site of the third rally of the day.

The president boarded his Marine 1 helicopter, which was still on the tarmac when the pool's Osprey took off at 1618.

Wh travel pool report 12 — Martinsburg arrival

The pool's VTOL aircraft set down at Altoona-Blair County Airport, the site of the third rally of the day, at 1633.

Marine 1 was not visible yet.

The set-up is similar to the president's previous outdoor rallies today except it has four American flags.

There again appear to be several thousand in attendance, with few masks visible, except in the bleachers behind the camera shot.

At 1641 came an announcement over the loudspeaker purportedly from Marine 1's pilot, advising the tower that it was on final approach.

Creedance Clearwater Revival's "Fortune Son" played as the helicopter flew past at low altitude, then circled around to Queen's "We are the Champions."

WH travel pool report 13

After flying around for a bit, the president's helicopter landed and pulled up behind the stage.

He took the stage at 1651 to Lee Greenwood following the Village People's "Macho Man."

This rally is also being carried live on the various places.

WH travel pool report 14 — third rally over

The president finished his third Pennsylvania rally at 1758 after speaking for 65 minutes.

The speech was largely the same as his earlier remarks, but he added in how he would celebrate the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court this evening at the White House and how he is glad he is not running against her, rather than Joe Biden.

The weather deteriorated over the course of the rally, and we motorcaded back to Johnstown airport with the president in his limousine and the pool in two large, 28-passenger vans At 1802, we are rolling.

WH travel pool report 15 — arrival in Johnstown, departure for Andrews

The motorcade made it back to John Murtha airport at 1911 after the drive back from Martinsburg, forced by a weather call against flying the helicopters back.

The president was already aboard Air Force 1 by the time the press vans got to the plane.

We should be airborne soon for the flight back to Joint Base Andrews.

[APP Note: Report #16 does not exist or was not received by the APP.]

WH travel pool report 17 — return to WH

? The president's motorcade returned to the North Lawn driveway at 2019 and Trump got out of his limousine and entered the North Portico entrance.

Handing off back to the in-town pool for the remainder of the day's activities.

Have a good evening.