Eye to eye with Trump at the White House

I stood outside of the Oval Office in the Rose Garden and tried to act like it was no big deal.

After working for various media outlets for 20 years, I’ve been fortunate to see some special places and meet a few well-known people.

But none of it compared to covering an event at the White House.

Days earlier, I received a media credential to cover the Christmas tree presentation at the White House on Nov. 25. I had been following this story since August when Pennsylvania farmer Larry Snyder won the national contest, which earned him the honor to present a tree to the First Family.

After the contest, I traveled to Snyder’s farm in Northumberland County in October to do a story on tree selection process – the day officials from the White House arrived to choose which tree would be displayed in the Blue Room.

A month later I arrived in Washington D.C. to cover the final chapter of the White House tree, which for me proved to be a new and memorable experience.

After I passed through a pretty stringent security check, I headed to the West Wing and joined a large group of reporters from all over the country and the world. After a few minutes, we were led back to the front lawn and stood along a rope facing the front doors of the White House. It was a rather tranquil scene as U.S. Marine Corps Band played “O Christmas Tree” and in unison cameras clicked as a horse-drawn wagon carried the tree up the driveway.

But any sense of tranquility quickly vaporized when Melania Trump walked out of the White House to accept the tree. In an instant, reporters surged ahead against the flimsy rope barricade, pushing closer to the tree as White House aides tried in vain to maintain order.

Surprisingly, the First Lady was unfazed by all the carrying on. She walked around the tree, stopped and smiled for a few photos before greeting the Snyder family, even exchanging high-fives with their grandchildren.

The event lasted for 15 minutes until Melania Trump waved to the media, wished us all a Merry Christmas and went back inside. Most of the assembled media went back to the press briefing room, and as I joined them another rush of reporters breezed by and lined up where the West Wing adjoins the White House.

I recognized many familiar faces from the national networks, and I joined the group for the next highlight of the day.

Aides asked us to separate into two lines – those carrying cameras and those without – and we filed through a set of double doors, across a hallway in the West Wing and exited into a manicured courtyard.

It was the Rose Garden, and reporters and their cameramen rushed to another rope strung in front of the Oval Office and eagerly jockeyed for position. Things were fairly chaotic. Secret Service agents stood across the walkway outside of the Oval Office and White House staff tried to organize the situation, pleading with the media to calm down because the upcoming event included an animal.

I staked my place up front and waited.

Within minutes, the doors to the Oval Office opened, and the First Lady walked out, followed by a dog and its handler, Vice President Mike Pence and, lastly, President Donald Trump.

The event was actually a press conference where Trump introduced the military dog, Conan, that chased terrorist al-baghdadi down a hallway to his demise. I watched as Trump faced the media and introduced Conan, even joking that the dog is trained to attack if anyone opens their mouth. A few reporters chuckled nervously and Trump got right to business, recapping the mission that took out al-baghdadi while frequently praising Conan.

He then asked Pence, who was calmly petting Conan’s head, to say a few words. While I held my cellphone high to record the event as Pence spoke, Trump slowly scanned and scrutinized each face in the crowd of media. I’m sure they were all familiar faces, but as Trump slowly turned his gaze to where I stood, he stopped and stared.

I wasn’t a familiar face.  

I stared back, and we engaged in a staring contest of sorts. Who would blink first? After several seconds, realizing that Trump wasn’t about to flinch, I cracked a smile and he did the same before taking over the speaking duties from Pence.

The media remained silent until Trump finished up, and the instant he turned to walk back to the Oval Office, reporters shouted and even screamed questions to get the President’s attention.

“Do you have confidence in Mick Mulvaney?” a reporter yelled.

“Yes. Of course,” Trump replied, never breaking stride.

Another reporter asked if he and Melania were going to adopt Conan for their son, Barron.

The First Lady laughed, said no, and the group went back inside the Oval Office.

And all at once, everyone began packing up their cameras and heading back inside the West Wing to file their stories. I hung around the Rose Garden for a few minutes to soak in the significance of where I stood.

My take on seeing Trump up close? He’s serious, confident when he speaks and isn’t one for wasting time. But he also has a humorous side – one that makes him relatable, even if the media sometimes takes it the wrong way. He came across as relaxed yet business-like, stern but able to crack a joke.

As I caught up with the other media and walked back through the West Wing, the hectic, chaotic atmosphere of the day began to dissipate. Normalcy returned, Trump was done speaking for the day and things quieted down.

I bid farewell to an acquaintance who I was fortunate to run into while at the White House, and then headed back across the front lawn and onto the busy streets of D.C.

Covering a few events at the White House will go down as one of the highlights of my career, and standing in the Rose Garden while the President spoke was certainly memorable.

And if I’m fortunate enough to go back again, I’ll be ready if another staring contest with the President ensues.