Early Tuesday afternoon, I broke some major news. President Trump was set to sign a sweeping executive order in just a few hours — one that would crack down hard on mail-in voting and punish states that failed to comply.
He wasn’t originally scheduled to face reporters that day, but his public schedule had suddenly been updated. The signing would now happen in front of the press pool.
For me, it felt like the perfect storm of luck and pressure. I was assigned to the press pool that day, specifically, I was serving as the print pooler. That meant I was responsible for sending a real-time, play-by-play account of the president’s movements and remarks to the entire press corps waiting outside.
Every newsworthy moment has to be flagged and shared immediately. There is zero margin for error.
It is exhilarating. And absolutely nerve-wracking.
It is important to get a good spot as print pooler, one where you are in a prime position to ask questions, to hear your colleagues questions, hear the president’s answers and have enough arm room around you to type quickly on your phone.
We were rushed quickly from the Rose Garden into the Oval Office, the press standing to the right of the president.
One reporter kindly offered to let me step in front of him for a better view, but the space was simply too cramped.
I could see Trump, but only on my tiptoes. (If you read last week’s post, you already know the running theme: seeing anything clearly in the Oval Office is harder than it looks.)
I turned to one of the President’s aides and asked if I could slide closer to the Resolute Desk at the very end of the press line. That would have put me shoulder-to-shoulder with White House Press Secretary Will Scharf.
The aide said no, but suggested I go stand on the other side of the room next to the TV cameras.
This put me directly in front of the president, with the rest of my colleagues standing off to the side.
Once everyone was settled, Scharf detailed the executive order, and then the president signed. It was another moment I’ll add to my White House diary: seeing the president sign an executive order that I first reported.
After the signing, Trump leaned back in his chair with his signature line:
“So, do you guys have any questions?”
Hands shot up across the room.
The setting felt unusually intimate. Just the President, a handful of senior aides, Secretary Howard Lutnick standing at his side, Karoline Leavitt and a couple others in the back. And then a small group of reporters. No big crowd of guests.
The president turned his chair and shoulders to the side of the room where most of the press was standing. One by one, he worked down the line of reporters, sometimes taking a few at a time.
That is when I started to panic.
I was standing in what I thought was the best possible position, directly in front of him. But because I wasn’t with the rest of the group, the president simply didn’t see me.
The room was calm and orderly. No shouting. Everyone waited their turn. I knew if I played by those rules, I might never get called on.
So I broke the pattern.