Travel Pool Report #8: venue arrival

The motorcade left the diner at 4:01 pm and arrived at the venue at 4:04 pm.

Leaving the restaurant, and earlier entering it, there were protesters along the motorcade route. On the way there, they shouted "f--k Trump" and held signs that included, "Abolish ICE."

At the venue a much larger crowd of protesters was assembled. It was a similar vibe.

A note from earlier:

Editorial was penned in while POTUS worked the diner but pooler was able to talk to one man, near the staging area:

David Payer, retired, of Des Moines.

What brings him today?

He said it was a "great honor" to meet with the president.

"I do want him to know that there are people who support many of the things he does, and we want to encourage him, because we think it's important that we encourage our president to do the best he can possibly do."

Did he know he was coming, did he come specifically to see him?

He said that there were many organizations who want to support Trump who informed diners that POTUS was coming.

"We took advantage of it. It was quite cold. You know how cold it is right now. We had to stand outside for the better part of an hour, just before we could get in. They had to prepare this place. It was worth it, though, because it's a good chance to connect and to show that we care about what's going on in our country."

He said he didn't get to shake the president's hand.

"I would have put it out there, but I was just fearful of the Secret Service," he said.

Francesca Chambers

White House Correspondent, USA TODAY