White House Press Van Breaks Down in Hawaii

A blown tire separated journalists from POTUS and his motorcade Tuesday until another van rescued them.

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Politico has this story on an unexpected development for reporters and photographers tagging along with President Obama during his Hawaii vacay. Excerpt:

So what happens when the White House press van breaks down? Tuesday night, reporters shadowing the president in Hawaii found out.

“Just filed pool report: van carrying press pool appeared to blow a tire, we’re separated from POTUS and his motorcade,” Los Angeles Times reporter Mike Memoli tweeted Tuesday evening.

Pool reports, which normally account for the movements of President Barack Obama, instead turned into an account of the precarious situation of Memoli and the pool van. Memoli, who is in Hawaii covering the president’s vacation, initially reported that the van, which carries members of the press and accompanies Obama’s motorcade, blew a tire. …

According to The Washington Post, the charter company sent out another van, which arrived 50 minutes after the first van encountered some trouble. …

It’s unclear, Memoli says, what caused the tire problem.

As of Wednesday morning, the White House press pool was back on the job. Carol Lee from the Wall Street Journal had this report as of 8 a.m.:

Merry Christmas Eve…

President Obama left his vacation place in Kailua at 7:50am. Motorcade arrived at the Marine Corps Base Hawaii a few minutes later.

POTUS is working out at the gym there, per WH. Pool didn’t see POTUS but spotted some other unidentifiable people in his SUVs, so maybe he has company at the gym.

It’s rainy here. Pool is holding at Starbucks after separating from motorcade.

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