Travel Pool Reports of February 19, 2021

Travel pool report #1 - Departure from Joint Base Andrews

Good morning from Joint Base Andrews under a grey sky.
We are flying on the "small" Air Force One today.
The motorcade arrived on the tarmac at 12:20pm.
POTUS did not stop to talk to the pool.
At 12:24pm, he climbed up AF1 stairs and waved briefly at the top before boarding.
Wheels up for Kalamazoo, MI shortly.
Press Secretary Jen Psaki is scheduled to gaggle aboard Air Force One. Will send highlights upon landing.

Travel pool report #2 - Arrival in Kalamazoo and gaggle highlights

Air Force One landed at Kalamazoo Battle Creek international airport at 1: 52pm.

Press Secretary Jen Psaki came at the back of the plane for a 25-minute gaggle. No major news, highlights below. Please check against transcript.

Pfizer facility?
"At the Pfizer facility, president Biden will see where much of the nation's COVID-19 vaccine is being manufactured. He will meet with those on the frontlines producing these vaccines and get an update on how his administration is working with them to increase output".

Iran?
The president reiterated "an openness to having a diplomatic conversation".
"We don't anticipate taking additional steps."
"The Europeans have invited us (...) It is simply an invitation to have a diplomatic conversation. (...) This is the channel that we used in the past, working in partnership with our P5+1 partners."
"Part of the mistake of the prior administration's decisions to pull out of the JCPOA was that we no longer had visibility on what was happening on the ground".

Vaccines?
"We do feel that by making the global community safer we make the American community safer".
"But we are focused now on vaccinating the American people"

Delay in vaccine distribution due to the weather?
The goal is "to get the backlog of vaccines out next week. We anticipate we can not only get the backlog out but we can stay on pace with what we are planning to distribute to States next week. So we are expecting we are going to be able to catch up next week."

When will the report on the killing of Jamal Khashoggi be released?
"I don't have an update on the timing"

POTUS trip to Texas?
"It is a significant footprint for a president travel to a State, especially for a State that is still recovering from a disaster so we are taking all of that into consideration before making specific plans".

POTUS attending the G7 summit in person?
"That's in June, I think it's too far away at this point".

Travel pool report #2b - One more gaggle quote on Ted Cruz

One more quote from Jen Psaki:

"We are not spending any time, energy or breath analyzing Senator Cruz's whereabouts, or his group chat."

Travel pool report #3 - Departure for Pfizer manufacturing site

PO?TUS deplaned at 2:03pm, briefly waved at the pool and immediately boarded the Beast.
It is cold, windy and sunny in Kalamazoo.
Motorcade rolling.

Travel pool report #4 - Pfizer manufacturing site

At 2:30pm, POTUS, wearing a mask, entered a vast warehouse with 350 u?ltra-cold freezers (each of them containing 360,000 doses of vaccines, according to Amy Rose, a Pfizer's spokesperson).
He listened to explanations while Pfizer staff were filing up one of the freezers. He then moved on to a second stop where vaccines were being put into large boxes together with dry ice.
Tour ongoing.

Per WH
Background on Pfizer:
Pfizer's 1,300-acre Kalamazoo manufacturing site,one of the three manufacturing plants on U.S. soil engaged in the manufacturing of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine. The Kalamazoo site is the largest manufacturing site in Pfizer's network and employs 2,240 full time employees and 540 contractors. Workers at the Kalamazoo facility are producing, labeling, packaging, freezing and shipping Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine. Pfizer's engineers in the Kalamazoo manufacturing plant have also supported the invention and design of the ultra-cold vaccine thermal shipper that transported millions of doses of vaccine across the country.

Tour Stop #1

• The first tour position is the "Freezer Farm" which is a warehouse of freezers that store the vaccines in a series of 350 freezers set at 60 degrees Celsius. This tour stop will involve the following people:

• President Joe Biden

• Governor Gretchen Whitmer

• Albert Bourla, Pfizer CEO

• Shawn Hamilton, Production Lead

Travel pool report #5 - POTUS remarks

POTUS ended the visit without talking to the pool.
Pool now holding in a separate part of the warehouse where a podium with the presidential seal is awaiting POTUS.
Remarks are open press, live on the White House website.

Travel pool report 2c - More gaggle quotes (Russia/G7)

Few more quotes from Jen Psaki's gaggle on AF1:?

Asked about the US invitation for Russia to join the G7 that was made by the previous administration:

"I don't think we are making new invitations to Russia, or reiterating new invitations to Russia."
"Obviously, an invitation would be done in partnership with our G7 partners".

Travel pool report #6 - POTUS remarks (setting)

[photo attached here]

Per WH:

Machines Behind POTUS for Remarks:

• Tangential Flow Filtration (TFF) skid consists of a series of hollow fiber membrane units that are used to purify and transfer LNP's into the final vaccine buffer solution
• Above the podium is a newly installed temperature control unit that will be used in the formulation stage of the new vaccine production, assembled with the PODs
• There are stainless steel tanks used in the production of the vaccine

Travel pool report #7 - Remarks and question

POTUS concluded his 20-minute speech by saying that he could not give a date for the end of the current crisis but that he was doing everything in his power so that this day would come soon.
"I can't give you a date when this crisis will end. But I can tell you we are doing everything possible to have that day come sooner rather than later".
Asked again on the subject, as he was about to leave the room, he added:
"Getting the vaccine and having it available is not the same as putting into someone's arm."
"I believe we will be approaching normalcy by the end of the year. God willing, this Christmas will be different than the last. But I can't make that commitment to you."
He then left without answering additional questions.

Motorcade rolling.

Travel pool report #8 - Leaving Kalamazoo

The motorcade arrived at Kalamazoo Battle Creek international airport at 3:59pm.
Few greeters on arrival holding signs that read:
"Thank you M. President"
"Free Burma".

POTUS emerged from the Beast after a few minutes and boarded Air Force One at 4:06pm.

Wheels up soon.

Travel pool report #8b

Per WH Gov.

Whitmer joined the President on the drive back to the airport.

Travel pool report #9 - Back at Joint Base Andrews

After an uneventful flight (no visitors at the back of the plane), Air Force One landed at Joint Base Andrews at 5:24pm.

Adding these quotes from the Pfizer manufacturing facility, thanks to radio pooler Steven Portnoy (Kaitlan Collins questions to Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla)

[13:09] Q: Do y'all plan to discuss the study showing that the one dose of the Pfizer vaccine is effective and therefore there's a consideration about delaying a second dose?

[13:23] BOURLA: No, there is no study that shows that you can delay. We haven't studied, unfortunately, the delay. We only have data up to 21 days when we administer the second. We do not know what will happen if we do not administer the second, how long this duration of immunity will last.

[13:43] Q: But are you looking at that, this idea of only doing one dose and then delaying the second dose so that you can vaccinate more people?

BOURLA: We don't think it will work with one right now.

Q: You don't think it will work.

BOURLA: No. But we are looking at it.

Travel pool report #10 - Statement on Neera Tanden

From Press Secretary Jen Psaki:

"Neera Tanden is an accomplished policy expert who would be an excellent Budget Director and we look forward to the committee votes next week and to continuing to work toward her confirmation through engagement with both parties."

Travel pool report #11 - POTUS comments on Neera Tanden

At 5:39pm, POTUS walked down Air Force One stairs and came to talk to the pool.
Asked if he was going to pull Neera Tanden's nomination, he said "No".

Travel pool report #12 - More POTUS quotes, Doug Mills' birthday and Marine One

Additional quote from POTUS on Neera Tanden thanks to Steve Portnoy.
"I think we are going to find the votes and get her confirmed".
The initial reason why POTUS came to talk to the pool is that he wanted to wish a happy birthday (one day in advance) to the one and only Doug Mills from the New York Times. After doing so, he boarded Marine One.
Have a good weekend everyone.

Travel pool supplemental report #1

Hi all,
Here's some extra color and quotes from today's trip to Kalamazoo from your pooler in the WHCA seat that I figured I would pass along:
-The freezers at the Pfizer manufacturing site were gray. Each freezer can hold up to 360,000 doses, per the Pfizer spokesperson.
-Your supplemental pooler asked Gov. Whitmer about the importance of Biden's visit. She said:

"What's happening here at this facility is kind of the epicenter of hope. To really come in and be able to see - why can't we just double overnight? - to understand what all the different pieces are, how quickly and hard we're working to increase vaccines but also what some of the hurdles are to ramping up and this is incredible. This facility's been built up in a matter of months, they're going to be doubling their output in a matter of months looking forward, and so it's really a story that is powerful and optimistic and I think can give people the confidence that we're gonna get through this"

"I think making sure that people have informed expectations is really important. We've been going through this for a long time and its hard and people want the resolution and we're getting there. But to really be able to communicate with the American public what the progress is and how the progress is gonna continue and what to expect is really - I think that gives people peace. And I think that's important."