Bush Won’t Come Out of Cardboard Box Fort [White House Press Briefing]

In this audio excerpt from NPNR, Interim White House Press Secretary Josh Upland takes questions regarding a news story which said that President Bush is refusing to come out of a fort he constructed out of cardboard boxes. A transcript follows the jump.

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Transcript:

SPOKESMAN: Good morning, everybody. I don’t have anything to start with today, so we can begin with your questions. Tony?

REPORTER: We’re hearing that the president won’t come out of a cardboard box fort, uh, to attend a meeting that’s scheduled. Is that true?

SPOKESMAN: You know, Tony, I read that story this morning as well, and uh, it’s unfortunate that it’s just not accurate. Uh, there are no meetings to attend this morning. There’s nothing on the president’s calendar of that nature, so it’s just completely inaccurate to say he won’t come out of the fort to go to a meeting, because there’s no meeting to attend. So…

REPORTER: So, but is he still in the box at this point, then?

SPOKESMAN: Uh, I don’t really want to get into details of the president’s whereabouts at this point. I don’t really feel comfortable doing that. So I’ll just say–

REPORTER: Well, you said he would have come out for a meeting, but that there hasn’t been a meeting, so I’m assuming that means that he’s still–

SPOKESMAN: Well, I wouldn’t assume anything, Tony. What I’m saying is, the report that the president is in a cardboard box fort and is refusing to come out for a meeting is untrue. That’s what I’m saying, and I’d like to leave it there. Steve?

REPORTER: Well, if I could stay with that, actually, for a moment. You said he was in the box early this morning. Does that mean he slept in the box? That he stayed in it overnight?

SPOKESMAN: Uh, first of all, let me clarify something, because there’s some misinformation on this, and I’ve heard it referred to this way several times already. It’s not a “box.” It’s a fort made out of cardboard boxes. So, I don’t want to misrepresent what it is. It’s a large refrigerator box, that’s sort of serving as the main unit. And then there are offshoots of smaller boxes, that are kind of like other rooms, I guess you could say. Perhaps a garage or a storage room, you could say. It’s a rather complex structure, actually, and I think, I think one could see it as a kind of practice, a kind of strategic planning aid kind of thing. An exercise to get a better perspective on using forts and those kinds of things.

REPORTER: But he’s only in office another six weeks.

SPOKESMAN: Does that mean he can’t practice? I mean, the president, like most people, is always striving to learn more, to get better. So, I don’t see any reason why he shouldn’t do that. Yeah, David–

REPORTER: Uh, actually, if I could just–You haven’t really addressed the question, whether he slept in the box–in the fort or not.

SPOKESMAN: I’ll just say that the president had a wonderful night’s sleep, and he woke up this morning ready to face the day’s challenges. Uh, where he slept, I don’t think is relevant. The point is, he’s awake now and he’s excited about another day of getting things done as President of the United States. In a box or out, he’s determined to make this country a better place.

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