When a president travels, a hotel that can handle the media's demands is often selected near where the president stays
SOMERSET COUNTY -- As Donald Trump christens his Bedminster golf course with his first weekend visit as president, the national press pool is spending the time working in a hotel about a 15-minute drive from what may become the new summer White House.
The Hyatt House on Route 22 in Branchburg, which is about eight miles from Trump National Golf Club, is equipped with a full briefing room and White House staffers, who are also staying in the hotel or at the nearby Marriott in order to provide updates.
The hotel's lounge on Saturday was taken over by just over a dozen reporters, producers and cameramen from major national outlets, including CNN, Fox, NBC, Reuters and the Associated Press. Its back patio was strewn with wires and cameras were set up for networks to go live at any time.
Reporters in the press pool, who requested anonymity because they didn't have prior approval to speak publicly about their jobs, said covering Trump when he travels has been pretty similar to covering the president under former administrations, and includes traveling with the president on each leg of the trip.
A hotel that can handle the media's demands is often selected near where the president stays and is usually where most White House staffers stay as well, the reporters said.
"We obviously want to be as close as possible but this is normal," one of the reporters who covers the White House for a national outlet told NJ Advance Media.
Senior advisers who traveled with the president would likely stay onsite, the reporters said.
As Trump spends weekend at his Bedminster golf course --dubbed 'Camp David North'-- press stays 8 miles, 15 min drive away. Here's the drive. pic.twitter.com/lciC1Kod9S
-- Craig McCarthy (@createcraig) May 6, 2017
If there was breaking news that involved the president, the administration would either brief from the hotel or bus the pool reporters to Trump National.
When the North Korea incident happened last month, and the president was hosting Chinese President Xi Jinping at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, the press was rushed over to the resort, the reporters said.
The press pool would also be notified if Trump left the golf course for dinner or any other unplanned event.
"They have been good," another reporter who covers the White House said, citing only one instance of the president ditching the media during the transition.
Covering Mar-a-Lago was a bit different than Trump's Central Jersey golf course, according to reporters in the press pool. In Florida, journalists were given an area at the Trump-owned resort to work but still stayed in a nearby hotel, about the same distance away, the reporters said.
They would also be notified if Trump was going out to play golf, since he'd have to leave the resort to get to his nearby course. In Bedminster, President Trump would not have to leave the facility to play golf.
However, getting a shot of the president golfing has been nearly impossible with the White House barring media from following Trump onto a course, the reporters said.
One reporter said that trend though, has carried over from the Obama-era, when the media were rarely allowed to photograph the former president teeing off or on a green.
Trump is scheduled to returned to Washington D.C. Sunday evening.
Craig McCarthy may be reached at CMcCarthy@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @createcraig and on Facebook here. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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