In-town pool report #8 - POTUS wraps + quotes/color

Trump began speaking at 7:02 p.m. He talked about his White House projects. POTUS acknowledged he signed the EOs shared in a previous pool report. He held up the signed orders, noting his unique signature on one.

POTUS wrapped at 7:18 p.m, under a partially cotton candy-colored sky.

Please check all quotes via transcript and/or video:

EXECUTIVE ORDERS: “92 million acres of federal lands across have been opened up under the Trump administration.”

“We believe that public lands belong to the American people and to the public, and hunters, fishers, and outdoorsmen should be able to access them, and they weren't able to.”

POTUS noted the great power of the Office of the President, and jokes he could have instead banned fishing. Moments later, he noted his support of duck hunters. “Who would think that that’s a big deal?”

WHITE HOUSE PROJECTS: “We've done a lot of work on the White House and resurfaced. The exterior was in bad shape, very very bad shape. I get, I have a lot of fun.”

“Don't devote too much time to it, but I know what I'm doing when it comes to that. And if you look at it, it's in perfect shape now. It was in really bad shape. I don't want to even discuss it. It was so bad.”

He said Joe Biden did not devote much time to White House upkeep. He later accused Biden, while in office, of waging a “war” on gun owners.

COLOR: POTUS shouted-out Interior Secretary Bergman and legendary NASCAR owner Richard Childress, among others. And he said guests could look at the new helipad and Oval Office after dinner.

The tables had white table clothes, with small placards featuring table numbers and the menu. Each table had a small silver lamp, illuminated, as night crept in. There was a bread basket on each square table, as well as small arrangements of yellow roses.

There were two American flags positioned off each of POTUS’s shoulders, behind his lectern position at the bottom of the small stairs. There was one empty seat spotted by your bespectacled pooler, at Table No. 5.

More TK.

***

John T. Bennett

White House Correspondent & Editor-at-Large

Roll Call & CQ