First Lady Pool Reports of March 5, 2024

FLOTUS pool report #1 - motorcade rolling

Good afternoon,

CNN will be your print pooler for First Lady Jill Biden's speech to the National Parent Teacher Association (PTA) 2024 Legislative Conference in Alexandria, Virginia, where we expect her remarks to focus on combating gun violence.

Motorcade is rolling to Alexandria from the White House at 4:03 pm.

REPORTABLE BACKGROUND FROM THE OFFICE OF THE FIRST LADY

Background | First Lady Jill Biden Remarks at the 2024 National PTA Legislative Conference – Tuesday, 3/5
On March 5, 2024 at 4:30 PM, First Lady Jill Biden will deliver remarks at the National Parent Teacher Association's (PTA) 2024 Legislative Conference in Alexandria, Virginia, where she will discuss the tragic impact of gun violence in schools and communities, and highlight President Biden's actions to reduce gun violence and keep communities safe. The First Lady will be introduced by the President of the National PTA, Yvonne Johnson.

FLOTUS pool report #2 - arrived Alexandria

First Lady Jill Biden arrived at the Westin Alexandria Old Town in Alexandria, Virginia, at 4:23 pm. Uneventful motorcade through the beginnings of rush hour traffic. Pool did not see the first lady and we are moving inside for her remarks, set to begin momentarily.

FLOTUS pool report #3 - FLOTUS remarks now

First Lady Dr. Jill Biden is beginning remarks at the National PTA's Legislative Conference at 4:33 pm.

She is speaking from a lectern with "LEGCON 2024" signage, with images of students on signage behind her. There are a few hundred attendees in the Westin ballroom.

The First Lady was introduced by National PTA President Yvonne Johnson, who heralded Biden's more than 30 years in the classroom, drawing applause multiple times as she detailed Biden's background. "Dr. Biden truly embodies the T in PTA," Johnson said.

FLOTUS pool report #4 - remarks wrap, motorcade rolling

The first lady's remarks ended at 4:43 pm and the motorcade is rolling from the Westin at 4:45 pm.

Notes and quotes to come, but in the meantime, sharing an otter: https://otter.ai/u/umiK1-C9h1IDTi_gICuEwC2NNk0?utm_source=copy_url

FLOTUS pool report #5 - remarks notes and quotes

First lady Dr. Jill Biden began her remarks to the National Parent Teacher Association (PTA) legislative conference by noting she had just gotten back from teaching.

"I was giving midterms today, if you can believe that, so I went back to the White House, changed my dress… and came back again," she said.

PTAs, Biden said, "help raise up the voices of families and educators, giving us to a place where we can stand together on the common ground we share: our love for our children: the ones we teach and the ones we raise."

She thanked them for the work they do, receiving applause, before turning to a more solemn topic: students impacted by gun violence.

"Ava Olsen from Townsville, South Carolina, is 14, but her friend, Jacob, will always be 6… Ava is a survivor. After years of debilitating PTSD, unable to leave her home for fear of reliving those moments on the playground when she ran for her life, she returned to school. But the heaviness of that small coffin will always weigh on her heart, because Jacob will always be 6," she said.

Biden named other young victims of gun violence: Daniel Barden of Newtown, Connecticut, Kamaiyah Perdue of East Point, Georgia, Makiyah Wilson of Washington, DC.

"The number of children that we have lost to gun violence is unfathomable. But those numbers don't tell the whole story: they don't tell us of their loved ones who must live with a black hole of grief inside of them who are ever-trapped in that gravity. They don't tell us of the classmates or the co-workers who saw the blood, who heard the shots ring out, who wake up each night in a sweat, dreaming of running and running and running. Behind those numbers are the students who know how to hide before they can spell," Biden said.

She shared her own experience as a teacher preparing for those scenarios: "As a teacher, I've imagined the same in my own classroom more times than I can count. At the start of each semester… The first day, I explain to my students what to do if the worst happens. We all feel the ripple effects. We've all lost a piece of ourselves, our scrutiny, our hope, our trust in one another."

Biden continued, "We can't let this keep happening. And President Biden knows that. That's why he's taken more executive actions on gun violence than any president in history," receiving lengthy applause.

She pointed to the creation of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, the gun safety law passed by Congress, as well as investments in mental health programs, community violence prevention, and school security.

"These changes will save lives, but they're not enough. We need to pass universal background checks. We need laws that make sure guns are store safely so children can't pick them up off a nightstand or take them out of a drawer. And we have to ban assault weapons nationally now," she said, pausing as the audience applauded.

She recognized the PTA's role.

"That's why it's so important that you are stepping forward," she said. "Because we have the power to demand more for our kids and our educators. And the Biden-Harris administration is proud to work alongside of you. You are the voices that can change this conversation. You are the people who will hold our leaders accountable. You are the movement that will end these ripples of gun violence," she said.

Biden continued, "Remember that progress always seems impossible until it isn't. We need our legislators and leaders to hear us here in Washington and back home in your states and your cities and your schools. Inaction is complicity. We can never bring back the lives that have been taken from us. But we can stand up, demand change, reshape this world to be a safer, more peaceful, less full of hurt and heartbreak."

"How can we accept a world where active shooter drills are part of growing up in America? … Enough is enough," she said, adding, "I don't want to have to put my hand on another cross with an 8-year-old's name. We have to change this."

The first lady thanked the crowd and paused for a moment – but returned to the microphone, saying she hoped she "wasn't a downer."

"Spring break is coming – hold on," she said to applause as she left the stage.

FLOTUS pool report #6 - arrived WH

Motorcade arrived back on White House grounds at 5:02 pm.

Goodnight from your FLOTUS pool!