Pool Reports of September 19, 2025

In Town Pool Report #1 Xi Jinping Call

Good morning from the White House, where I'll be your print pooler today. 

POTUS began his call with Chinese President Xi Jinping at 8 AM this morning, according to a White House official. The official declined to say whether the call had concluded and said updates about the conversation will be shared by POTUS on Truth Social. 

The executive order signing at 3 PM remains closed press, but I will let you know if those plans change.

In Town Pool Report #2 Trump Post

Trump posted a brief summary of his call with Chinese Leader Xi Jinping on Truth Social. 

https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/115231649861246548

In Town Pool Report #3 Lunch Lid

We have a lunch lid until 12:30.

In-Town Pool Report #4 EO Signing

The White House shares FPPO that the executive order signing is likely to open up to press. No update on exact timing yet, but clearly running behind schedule.

In Town Pool Report #5 Lined Up

We have lined up outside the Oval Office.

In Town Pool Report #6 Oval Office Signing

The pool entered the Oval Office at 4:46 PM. Commerce Sec. Howard Lutnick is standing behind POTUS and there is a poster of a gold card. 

Updates to come but here is a link to my Otter: https://otter.ai/u/onZ_JIM4fC7IbSaPx868Uk4umCk

In Town Pool Report #7 Oval Office gaggle

President Trump began his remarks on the looming government shutdown, saying that Republicans want to keep the government open but Democrats want to shut it down. He thanked PA Sen. Fetterman, saying that he wants to keep the government open. He criticized Democrats for voting against a resolution to commemorate Charlie Kirk. 

"We have to remember when you win the election, elections have consequences, so we'll continue to talk to the Democrats, but I think you could very well end up with a closed, a closed country for a period of time."

On TikTok:

Trump said that he talked to Chinese President Xi for over 2 hours, and he said the TikTok deal is "well on its way." He suggested that he had secured approval for the deal but said he wasn't sure it was fully approved. 

"We have to get it signed," he said. I guess it could be a formality."

More to come

Pool Report #9 Oval Office Remarks Continued
[APP Note: This is Report #8. See reporter's correction in Report #9 below.]

Press was escorted out of the Oval Office at 5:47 PM. More quotes to come but Otter in Pool Report 7. President Trump made extensive comments on free speech, the US attorney for the eastern district of Virginia and his plans to target groups that he allege fund antifa. 

President Trump signed an executive order creating a "gold card" program that would allow people to obtain visa for $1 million and corporations for $2 million. He also signed a proclamation that would require applicants for H1B visas to pay a $100,000 fee. Secretary Lutnick said the fee would be paid each time that a worker reapplies for the visa.

Pool Report #9 Some Key Oval Office Quotes

Apologies, I incorrectly labeled the last report as #9. That was #8 and this is report #9.

On Erik Siebert, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia (h/t to my colleague Maegan Vazquez who transcribed this answer):

POTUS: "Well, we're going to see what happens. I am not following it very closely. It looks to me like she's very guilty of something, but I really don't know." 

[So you want him fired? You want him out?]
POTUS: "Yeah, I want him out, yeah. When I learned that, he was blue slipped through by two Democrat senators in Virginia -- people that would never vote for -- the people that haven't voted for us for probably years. Okay? Probably years. Two, in my opinion, two bad guys. You know who they are. Warner and Kaine. Two bad guys, bad senators, too. They do a terrible job for the people of Virginia. But when I saw that he got approved by these two terrible people that haven't voted, they just don't vote no matter what it is. We could give them the greatest deal ever and they still wouldn't vote. And they voted for this guy? And I have other people, judges, and I have U.S. attorneys for other states where I have the same situation. And, they can't get approved. So when I learned that they voted for him, I said, I don't really want him."

On speech: 
POTUS called networks "offshoots of the Democratic Party." 

"They'll take a great story and they'll make it bad. See, I think that's really illegal. Personally, you can't take, you can't have a free airway if you're getting free airways from the United States government.

He called Brendan Carr " an incredible American patriot with courage." 

He teased an event on autism next week: 
POTUS: "Autism out of control, and I think we maybe have a reason why."

He called a reporter "obnoxious" after she pressed him to give details on his plans for Memphis. 
"You're really obnoxious." 

[What comes next after designating antifa a terrorist organization?]
"We'll look at the people who funded antifa, see who they are, where they came from." 

On Gold Card:

POTUS: "It's sort of like a signing bonus in baseball or football. A corporation will be able to get them to stay in the country." 

Lutnick: "We're going to only take extraordinary people at the very top. Instead of people trying to take the jobs from Americans, they're going to create businesses and create jobs for Americans."

On H1B Changes:

Lutnick: "The company needs to decide. Do they want -- is the person valuable enough to have a $100,000 a year payment to the government? Or they should head home ,and they should go hire an American The whole idea -- it's annual and its for total, it can can be a total of six years. So $100,000 a year, so either the person is very valuable to the company and America, or they're going to depart, and the company is going to hire an American, and that's the point of immigration.-- hire Americans and make sure the people coming in are the top, top people."

In Town Pool Report #10 Travel/Photo Lid

We have a travel/photo lid. Have a great Friday!