Pool Reports of October 30, 2020

In-town pool report #1 - Alyssa

Good morning. It's a chilly, gray day at the White House. Pool has been tested for Covid and is awaiting Potus departure at 11am for campaign travel to Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota.

While pool was getting tested, Alyssa Farah briefly answered a few questions on the driveway. Clip here and transcript below. https://www.c-span.org/video/?477526-101/alyssa-farah-speaks-reporters

- Potus is campaigning in Rochester, MN - what are you saying about the 250 person limit that's been imposed?

"I don't speak for the campaign, and I'm not privy to the planning around that."

- We're coming up on Election Day, and Potus has said he expected a vaccine by election day.

"We've got nearly half a dozen vaccines that are in Phase Three clinical trials, which is record time to get it there for a novel virus like we're dealing with. We're still highly confident we'll have one by the end of the year and be prepared to deploy it to a hundred million Americans. His goal has never—Election Day is kind of an arbitrary deadline. Americans are still suffering from this virus. The sooner we can get it, the better. That's his goal."

- Is the president missing an opportunity by not talking more about trade, more about the GDP?

"Listen, his closing message is going to be the economic message. Coming out of the pandemic, who's the best person positioned to rebuild this economy? So you're going to hear a lot of that. These other issues matter but our closing message is we're going to defeat the virus, we're going to defeat the economy."

In-town Pool Report #2 - departure

?Pool was brought out to the South Lawn at 10:49 a.m. Potus emerged at 11:28 a.m.

He stopped to answer a few questions, but first praised yesterday's GDP number as historic. A few points below, please check against transcript as it was very hard to hear.
* He said his plans for Election Night aren't yet settled, saying "we have a hotel" but that the DC mayor has "shut down" the city and imposed certain regulations on groups. "It that's the case, we'll probably stay here."
* He predicted he would do well in Texas, Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania and predicted he would flip Minnesota.
* He confirmed he met with Lil Wayne, said Lil Wayne asked for the meeting and called him a nice guy
* He complained about the cap on crowds in Minnesota, which is forcing him to let only 250 people into his rally
* He said he feels good about his election odds, predicts the GOP will take the House and "I think we're going to do very well in the Senate," though he acknowledged the Senate is "a little bit more complex"

At 11:37, he boarded Marine One while pumping his fist at supporters.

While awaiting Potus, Mark Meadows walked over to greet onlookers gathered across from the cameras, many of them holding American flags. He got a phone call after less than a minute and walked back toward the White House.

In-town pool report #3 - more on departure comments

Here's more from Potus remarks at departure, which should be airing on TV shortly if they haven't already. Caveat again that it was very hard to hear.

He praised yesterday's GDP number and predicted that economic growth would continue "if you don't raise taxes like Biden wants to do … If we don't do that we're going to have the best year we've ever had economically next year. We're superseding all other countries." "I think we had one of our biggest days ever, it wasn't reported like it should have been."

He said the country was "making the turn" on the pandemic, saying that "people that are seriously ill are getting better." "We have great medicines. I would call them cure, but other people call them therapeutics."He then returned to the economy, saying he was "really celebrating" the GDP number and that "the economy is going to be very shortly at a level at which I don't think it ever was."

"I can't express more strongly, an increase of 33.1 — you have to go back to 1952, you have to go back to 1961 … It's a great day yesterday and now today we're really celebrating this because nobody thought it was possible. … It really shows that our policies work. If you had a president with different ideas, instead of having a 33.1 gain you'd have a disaster on your hands."

On Election Night: "We haven't made a determination." He said there are "certain rules and regulations" in DC. "We have a hotel," he said, but the mayor has "shut down Washington DC." "If that's the case, we'll probably stay here or some other location." "I think it's crazy — Washington DC is shut down. Can you imagine."

On his chances in Texas: "I think we're going to do very well. … Texas is looking very strong. … Florida is looking great. … Ohio is looking great. North Carolina is looking fantastic, actually. We think Pennsylvania's looking fantastic but that's a late vote." He brought up Biden's fracking comments. "If Pennsylvania didn't flack, you wouldn't have Pennsylvania. believe me."

On his meeting with Lil Wayne: "He wanted a meeting. He's a really nice guy. Really an activist in a very positive way. … As you saw the meeting went very well."

On where he'll go on Election Day: "I don't know." He said he would give that answer in the next few days. He brought up Minnesota's cap on crowds. "We've got the biggest crowds in the history of politics. … We have 25,000 people in Minnesota, which is our last stop today. 25,000 people want to be there and they say you can only have 250 people. They thought I'd cancel. I'm not canceling, and we'll find out what happens." He said he stopped the riots in Minnesota. "They're angry at Omar. … I think it's going to flip for the first time since 1972."

On stimulus: "We will have a tremendous stimulus package immediately after the election." He said the GOP would take back the House, do "very well" in the Senate — "it's a little bit more complex, frankly" — and do well in the presidential. "Nobody has done what we've done, even close. I think we're going to have a great election. People are going to realize that. That's why you have the big turnout. That's why you have the big crowds."

[APP Note: Report #1 does not exist or was not received by the APP.]

Out-of-town pool report #2 — Michigan arrival

?AF1 was wheels down at Oakland County International Airport at 1:12 pm EST after an uneventful flight. POTUS waved from his cabin of the plane, and gave a thumbs up and a smile, but did not come back to speak with your pool.

We are motorcading to the rally, which is a short distance down the tarmac, still within the airport. Your pool did not witness POTUS deplane.

Out-of-town pool report #3 — POTUS arrival at MI rally

Your pool has positioned on the sidelines of the rally. It's packed. Attendees are bundled up for 36-degree Michigan weather, but few are wearing masks.

POTUS' motorcade came through at 1:28 pm EST was announced and took the stage at 1:29 pm EST, and began speaking at 1:31 pm EST to chants of "USA, USA." A photo is attached. His remarks are streamed.

Out-of-town pool report #4 — MI rally ends

POTUS finished speaking at 2:38 pm EST after just over an hour speaking.

Responding to a round of "lock her up" during his remarks, Trump quipped that the chant frequently gets him into trouble. He pointed out that Fox's Laura Ingraham was in the audience and said she was "politically correct" for wearing a mask in the crowd. He noted the cold.

Your pool is boarding a bus back to AF1 did not witness POTUS exit the stage.

Out-of-town pool report #5 — Boarding for WI

POTUS' motorcade left the rally site at 2:42 pm EST and arrived at AF1 two minutes later. The president boarded at 2:45 pm EST.

We're boarding for Green Bay. Wheels up shortly.

Out-of-town pool report #6 — Wisconsin arrival

?AF1 touched down at Green Bay Austin Straubel International Airport at 2:46 pm CDT after an uneventful, 45-minute flight.

POTUS deplaned at 2:59 pm CDT. He waved and briefly spoke with your pool.

"It's going very well," he said. He said he felt something very special was happening on the ground. "We have a very big crowd here. Big crowd everywhere."

He criticized Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz for limiting the rally scheduled for this evening.

"We were going to have 25,000 people at least in Minnesota," Trump said, arguing that all his rallies are outside, and hence relatively safe. The event is now limited to 250 people. "It's crazy."

We have motorcaded to the nearby rally location, arriving at 3:06 pm local time.

While in the air, Judd Deere passed along the following:

Yesterday, President Donald J. Trump spoke with President Emmanuel Macron of France. President Trump expressed his deepest condolences for the horrific and senseless attacks on the French people. President Trump reaffirmed that the United States stands in solidarity with France in the fight against radical Islamic extremism. The two leaders agreed that there is no place for such violence in the world and that our democratic values will always prevail.

Out-of-town pool report #7 — POTUS arrival at WI rally

POTUS was introduced at 3:11 pm CDT and took the stage. The scene is similar here as it was earlier today in Michigan, with supporters dressed for cold weather and mostly without masks.

He began speaking at 3:13 pm local time. A photo is attached. His remarks are streamed.

Out-of-town pool report #8 — WI rally ends

POTUS wrapped up at 4:20 pm CDT after addressing the crowd for roughly an hour. The speech was somewhat modified from his remarks in Michigan earlier today, and not entirely scripted; in a long section on the coronavirus, he said a vote for him would mean a return to normal life.

Both events featured the president's campaign video featuring Democratic governors praising his initial pandemic response.

Attendees are filtering out. Your pool is holding to return to AF1.

Out-of-town pool report #9 — Boarding for MN

After a brief motorcade down the tarmac, POTUS promptly boarded AF1 at 4:27 pm CDT. We're boarding to Minnesota. Wheels up shortly.

Out-of-town pool report #10 — Minnesota arrival

AF1 touched down at Rochester International Airport at 5:30 pm CDT after another an eventful flight.

While the rally crowd itself was capped by local authorities at 250 people, due to COVID-19 restrictions, a large overflow crowd could be seen behind the event itself.

It's chilly here in Minnesota. The president's backdrop tonight will be AF1 at sunset.

Out-of-town pool report #11 — POTUS greets MI overflow crowd

Before joining the rally, POTUS visited the overflow crowd, which may very well be larger than the rally crowd itself. The overflow is packed against barriers, largely maskless. Trump went right up against the barriers to speak with supporters.

He told your pool, "there are thousands of people all because the governor wants to play games."

"There are thousands of people injured by this," he said. "So I'm going to go back and speak to 250 people."

"This should be a lesson" for the governor, he added.

At 5:57 pm CDT, we're back on buses headed to the rally. The crowd is chanting "USA, USA."

And a minor correction to a typo in report #10: it was indeed an uneventful flight.

Out-of-town pool report #12 — Correction/POTUS arrival at MN rally

Apologies for listing MI, not MN, in the subject line of the previous pool report.

At 6:02 pm CDT we pulled up with the president's motorcade to the rally. POTUS was announced at 6:03 pm and promptly took the stage. He began speaking at 6:05 pm by criticizing Minnesota leadership. His remarks are streamed.

Out-of-town pool report #13 — MN rally ends

?POTUS wrapped up his remarks at 6:26 pm CDT, speaking for only 21 minutes. The Trump president promptly boarded AF1 two minutes later. We're boarding. Wheels up shortly.

Out-of-town pool report #14 — JBA arrival / Mark Meadows gaggle / full POTUS remarks at MN overflow stop

?AF1 touched down at JBA at 9:19 pm EST.

Mark Meadows came back briefly to speak with your pool. The following transcript is on the record.

On short Minnesota speech:

"The speech was exactly how it was planned, 'cause honestly, it was more about trying to show a contrast between Joe Biden and President Trump and how they would handle situations. People are ready to get back to school, back to a normal way of life in as safe conditions as they possibly can."

On the overflow crowd size in MN:

"It was amazing. We don't keep track of that for the overflows — if I had to guess, if I had to guess, thousands of people."

On Kudlow statement on middle class tax cut:

"Obviously Larry Kudlow has been working very closely with our domestic policy team on the tax cuts. We're going to have to have a different House in order to get that done. And to go all in when they're having a hard time with Nancy Pelosi even passing the stimulus package would be disingenuous. I mean, we have a plan. [inaudible] You guys are going to have to wait for a new Congress. I don't think any of us who understand Capitol Hill would think Nancy Pelosi would support a middle-income tax cut, her way or any other way."

On the Senate map:

"It'll be right. I mean, it's going to be really tight. I mean, if I'm being perfectly frank, it's a tight race, with a number of key senators in battleground states, and based on the current situation trend lines I think we keep the Senate. But it's probably just one or two senators whether we keep the Senate or not. It could very easily be a 50-50 or 51 count."

On EUAs for Regeneron and Eli Lilly therapeutics:

"They both filed their applications. We're just waiting for FDA to work through the approval process on the emergency use authorizations. I've talked to Dr. Hahn a couple of times. I don't have visibility into a timeline, but they're working on the emergency use authorizations on both of those as quickly as possible."

###

The following is a transcript of POTUS' remarks to press at the MN overflow stop:

"These were — we had thousands of people. Look over there. Thousands of people. All because the governor wants to play games. The governor wants to play games. He's a weak governor, he's done a terrible job, he doesn't know what the hell he's doing. You've got thousands of people who are injured by this. They spent hours and hours, maybe even days, a couple of days. You've got 25,000 people. It's a disgrace. So we're going to go back and speak to 250 people. But I wanted to say hello to some of the people that came."

"You've got cars that are three miles long. It's a shame what the governor did, and that's why they're going to lose Minnesota. Just like they did with Minneapolis where they didn't know what they were doing. They're going to lose Minnesota. We're going to win Minnesota. But this should be a lesson. He wants to silence people. This should be a lesson. The governor doesn't know what he's doing."

Out-of-town pool report #15 — handover

?POTUS deplaned at 9:33 pm EST and promptly entered his motorcade. He's rolling.

Handing over to in-town pool. Have a good evening.

In-town pool report #4 - motorcade leaving JBA

?Motorcade rolling at 9:35 pm from JBA.

In-town pool report #5 - POTUS back at WH/lid

?Motorcade back at WH at 9:59 p.m.

Pool did not see POTUS enter WH as we split off to enter West Executive Ave.

A travel/photo lid has been called.