Yesterday, me and my iPhone got to go behind the scenes at the White House. I was with a small group of journalists, who were all there to celebrate the lift of the 40-year-long ban that prohibited photos inside the POTUS’ house.
“It’s the ‘People’s House,'” Michelle Obama said. “A place where everyone should feel welcome…My husband and I have made it our mission to open up the house to as may people as we can.”
Indeed they have — 3.3 million people have visited the White House for visitors office events since 2009. Until now, they couldn’t even take a single picture to prove it. All that changed yesterday, when the ban was officially lifted.
You can follow the white house at @whitehouse and schedule a free and open tour of the East Wing online. In the meantime, follow #whitehousetour for up-to-date pictures from inside.
Upon entering the actual White House, we were greeted with the video that Michelle Obama posted on Instagram, where she tears up the “No Photography” sign. Then, they gave us replicas of the sign, so we could tear them up ourselves. Because we’re just like the First Lady.
Next, first dogs Bo and Sunny came waddling out of nowhere with their trainer. Everyone went berzerk.
In each room, there were Secret Service officers in uniform, monitoring the ropes and looking for people who were doing suspicious things. (That guy thinks he’s hiding behind that chadelier, but I see him.) I decided to ask them some of my burning questions (since, alas, Michelle wasn’t actually there.)
What is the White House Wi-Fi password? (There is no known Wi-Fi in the White House.)
Do the fireplaces work? (Yes, all of them, and they use them in the winter.)
Do the girls have their own rooms? (Yes.)
Do the girls play with the dogs a lot? (Yes, but they’re really not allowed to talk about the girls.)
What’s in the breakfast nook fridge? (Different things every day.)
When was the last time they updated the plumbing in the Obama’s bedroom? (No one seemed to know anything about the Obama’s bedroom and much less about its plumbing system.)
We got to see (and, for the first time, snap!) beautiful roped-off rooms including the breakfast nook, the library, a china room, a sitting room, a big dining room, and a series of all-one-color-everything rooms (the Green Room, the Red Room, and the Blue Room). Each room had a placard that stated, very briefly, its significance. The Red Room, for example, was where Rutherford B. Hayes took his oath. The breakfast nook was, well, what you think it’d be.
One of the officers from the visitors center let a few of us behind the ropes, so that we could take pictures of the public (who had been waiting outside since at least I got there) taking pictures of the things we just took pictures of.
We got to see the President walk out from the West Wing, wave, board Marine One and then fly away, followed by a second, decoy Marine One that shot out of nowhere.
Helicopter selifes are hard on the hair.
I got to see the press podium, the Situation Room, and the first-family’s swimming pool (yes, they have one). I got to see the first gender-neutral restroom in the White House. I got handed a bag of Hershey’s Kisses with blue-and-white star-spangled foil. I got to go to the White House cafeteria. (They have taco Wednesdays, but I opted for an under-$5 turkey burger from the grill.) I made my train back to NYC just moments later.
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