First Lady Pool Reports of October 29, 2022

FLOTUS pool report -- New Hampshire fundraiser

MANCHESTER, N.H. – First Lady Jill Biden headlined a fundraiser for Sen. Maggie Hassan (D) at a private home here in between open-press rallies with Hassan in Manchester and Portsmouth.

The 2:30 p.m. fundraiser was hosted by Paul LeBlanc and Pat Findlen in the backyard of their home, according to the Hassan campaign, and there were approximately 90-100 guests.

LeBlanc is the president of Southern New Hampshire University. He introduced Hassan. Hassan then introduced Biden.

Biden opened by asking the crowd to pray for Paul and Nancy Pelosi: "Before I get started, I just wanted to ask if we can all remember Paul Pelosi and Nancy in our prayers today and every day. What happened was just so shocking," she said.

She recognized one of her former students in the crowd. She taught him at Brandywine High School in 1992, and he was there with his daughter. She said she can still remember exactly which seat he used to sit in.

Biden celebrated the Phillies come-from-behind victory in Game 1 of the World Series. The crowd cheered, but at least one person grumbled. "Did I hear a boo in the back for the Philadelphia Phillies? I'm sure I did not," she joked.

The first lady spoke eight minutes. She retold the story of a friend who got an abortion before Roe: "When I was 17, one of my girlfriend's got pregnant. It was the late '60s, and abortion was illegal in Pennsylvania. She told me she would have to get a psychiatric evaluation declaring her mentally unfit before the doctor would perform the procedure to end her pregnancy. So I went to see her in the hospital, and I cried the whole way home." When her friend wasn't allowed to return home after the abortion, Mrs. Biden said, "I asked my mom, 'Can she come stay with us?' My mom didn't hesitate and said, 'Of course she can.' And then my mom never told a soul. In fact, my mom and I never spoke about it again. Secrecy, shame, danger, even death: that's what defined that time for so many women. So I was shocked when the Dobbs decision came out. It was devastating. I thought: How can we go back to that time? Maggie knows we can't. She's been a champion for women's rights."

Biden also praised Hassan's work in the Senate for veterans, on the opioid crisis and to lower prescription costs. "You elected my husband because he knows how to get things done," she said. "And he's delivered results again and again. But we need Maggie in the Senate if we're going to keep that progress going."

"This is an enormous race, but it comes down to those small moments," Biden continued. "One ballot cast. … One ride offered to a polling place. … These small actions add up like drops in a tidal wave, and suddenly we see what can be done. one vote can swing a precinct."

Biden urged everyone in the crowd to urge others to vote. "I knew my parents voted Republican, but they didn't talk about it at the dinner table," she recalled of her childhood. "When I met Joe, I felt really out of touch with his world in D.C. On our first date, I can remember thinking: Thank God I voted for him. That was a long time ago. … I've traveled to almost 40 states as first lady. I've seen how, despite our differences, Americans across this country really do want the same things: the chance to work hard and build a better life for our families. So when extremists go after a woman's right to choose or affordable prescriptions or clean energy, they are letting down all Americans."

Then she predicted victory: "It starts with all of us digging a little deeper, working a little harder and believing that together we can reelect Sen. Maggie Hassan. Together we are going to win."

It's a glorious fall day in New England. The first lady was flanked by changing orange leaves and spoke under a clear blue sky. Hassan wore a purple blazer. FLOTUS wore a brown jacket over a red dress.

During her introduction of Biden at the fundraiser, Hassan said she's "always admired Jill's championship" for veterans and military families. "I'm extremely grateful for your empathy and dignity that you bring as America's first lady," Hassan said.

Hassan said her "north star" in the Senate has been bipartisanship and working to deliver results. She touted work on legislation to help veterans, grapple with the opioid epidemic, fight "Big Oil" and lower the price of insulin, which she said will put more money in the pockets of seniors and reduce the deficit. "There's more to do: we need to address the cost and supply of health care," Hassan said. "But first we've got to win this election."

"New Hampshire is also wicked independent," the senator continued. "The race is really, really close. We always knew it would be. It's a purple place. You've got to earn everyone's vote. That's as it should be."

Then Hassan ripped into her Republican challenger Don Bolduc, saying: "Don is the most extreme nominee for the United States Senate that New Hampshire has seen in modern history." Hassan criticized his comments on abortion. She called him "dangerously extreme" and "unbelievably out of touch."

"He's also a 2020 election denier," she said. "He's begun to sow doubt about the 2022 results. … The key to an accountable democracy where elected representatives are listening to the people they represent is making sure that every vote counts and every election result is honored. … Don Bolduc is actively working to mislead people about his real views and his real record."