Behind the scenes with a Presidential trip to the Magic Kingdom
Political Punch with Jake Tapper
The White House press corps travels with the President wherever he goes — and sometimes those places are dangerous (Bagram Airfield) or boring (fill in the blank)— but the other day the president's destination was neither of those things. Mr. Obama headed to Walt Disney World to deliver a speech about boosting international tourism to the U.S. (Full disclosure: ABC News is owned by the Walt Disney Company.)
For the last decade, since 9/11, the U.S. share of the global tourism market has been plummeting. So, against the backdrop of Cinderella Castle, the President argued in favor of loosening travel restrictions on tourists from emerging economies such as Brazil, China, and India, so as to bring more tourist dollars here; it's estimated that every 65 tourist visits creates one American job.
It may sound cushy and fun, as if your humble ABC News White House unit got to sneak away from work and hit Space Mountain. But security is so tight on these presidential trips, reporters' movements are highly restricted -- even for those of us who also work for the Disney company. We thought you might enjoy a behind-the-castle glimpse at what it was really like.
