Vice Presidential Pool Reports of April 12, 2024

VP travel pool report #1 - departure from JBA

Vice President Kamala Harris and the Second Gentleman took off from Joint Base Andrews at 11:40 am aboard AF2.

The VP waved to the pool under the wing as she boarded the plane but did not come over to talk.

It has been a windy, drizzly morning here in Maryland, with a brutally high pollen count, according to your pooler's itchy eyes. But the sun had broken through by the time the VP boarded.

We are heading to Tucson for a campaign rally on abortion rights scheduled for 5:30 pm EST. The campaign emailed out excerpts of the VP's speech last night. Her remarks will be live-streamed on the campaign's social media channels.

After the rally, we are set to fly to Los Angeles.

On Background From A White House Official:

Upon arrival at Joint Base Andrews, the Vice President and the Second Gentleman were greeted by Congressman Ruben Gallego.

VP travel pool report #2 — arrival in Tucson

AF2 touched down at Tucson International Airport at 1:03 p.m MST with VP Harris and the Second Gentleman aboard.

The VP waved to the pool but did not come to the wing to take questions before getting in her vehicle.

We had several visitors during the flight.

Shortly before takeoff from JBA, the VP came to the back of the plane to talk with the pool. She spoke off the record for roughly two and a half minutes, ending with her standard reminder to the pool to buckle in.

While we were in the air, Rep. Ruben Gallego of Arizona visited the press cabin to chat on the record for about 10 minutes. Some quotes on abortion:

"It was the number one political issue" in Arizona even before the state Supreme Court decision, he said. "And now we as a campaign can point to things. Number one: Trump did this. We wouldn't be having this issue at all if he didn't appoint those three judges that ended up overturning Roe v. Wade. And you have Kari Lake, who was a cheerleader for this territorial law. There is no better example, starker example, of black and white. Trump did this and Keri Lake was cheerleading the whole way. And the campaign was already talking about that before and now we're going to keep talking about it all the way." (Referring to his own campaign for Senate, not the Biden campaign.)

"Luckily, the governor and the attorney general are going to be able to block the attempts at prosecution. But our providers are going to be very scared, I feel our providers going to be scared. I feel doctors and nurses are going to be very scared and they're not going to provide the care. If the election changes, there's no guarantee that they wouldn't get prosecuted later by an aggressive Republican attorney general or county prosecutor."

Mr. Emhoff also dropped by the back of the plane.

The motorcade escorting the VP and Second Gentleman started rolling from the runway in Tucson at 1:26 pm. We are heading to the event space for the campaign rally.

It is sunny with a warm wind gusting here in Tucson.

(Thanks to Lauren Fedor of the FT for help with the Gallego quotes. I can send a recording if anyone wants, although the quality is not great.)

On Background White House Official:

Upon arrival in Arizona, the Vice President and Second Gentleman were greeted by Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes and Mayor Regina Romero.

VP travel pool report #3 - introductory speakers start

The introductory program has begun at VP Harris' campaign rally at El Rio Neighborhood Center in Tucson.

The rally is open press and the VP's remarks, scheduled for 2:30 MST, will be live streamed.

Speaking so far have been Rep. Ruben Gallego and Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes.

I will send an alert before VP Harris begins.

Attributed to a White House Official:

"On Air Force 2 en route to Tucson, Arizona, the Vice President joined President Biden, via secure phone, in receiving the President's Daily Brief."

VP Harris took the stage here in Tucson at 2:44 pm local time.

Her remarks will be livestreamed on the Biden campaign's social media channels, as well as on the C-SPAN website: >https://www.c-span.org/video/?534902-1/vice-president-harris-remarks-ari...

Per the WH, program participants below:

• Congressman Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-03)
• Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes
• State Senator Priya Sundareshan (AZ-SD-18)
• Mayor Regina Romero (D-Tucson, AZ)
• Mini Timmaraju, President and CEO of Reproductive Freedom for All
• State Senator Eva Burch (AZ-SD-09)
• Yesenia Gamez, Immigration Attorney (VPOTUS Introducer)

VP travel report #5 — departure from Tucson

The VP spoke for about 13 minutes at her campaign rally on abortion in Tucson.

There were no interruptions from protesters, although the crowd of several dozen supporters interjected "shame!" several times when Ms. Harris described aspects of the Arizona abortion ban. One supporter proudly held up what appeared to be a binder of petition signatures when the VP talked about Arizona's ballot referendum on abortion.

After the rally, the VP shook hands with supporters in the crowd, who were holding signs that said "Reproductive Freedom" and "Trust Women."

The VP boarded AF2 without talking to the pool.

We took off from Tucson airport at 3:47 pm local time, bound for Los Angeles.

VP travel pool report #6 - Fundraiser at Seth MacFarlane's home

AF2 touched down at Los Angeles International Airport at 5:28 pm local time.

The VP and Second Gentleman then proceeded by motorcade to a fundraiser at the Spanish revival-style mansion of Seth MacFarlane (the Family Guy creator) in Beverly Hills. About 30 people attended. Pool spotted LA Mayor Karen Bass in the audience.

"When I was asked to host this event, I immediately agreed because I realized if it's at my house, I can drink as much as I want," MacFarlane said. "I'm not going to get a DUI on the way to bed. Anyway, now I wanted to get everything right to this introduction. So I practiced how to pronounce your name. Is it Doug?"

(The Second Gentleman laughed heartily. The VP was not yet in the room.)

He also referenced abortion, the issue of the day, saying: "Vice President Harris has been a champion of this issue, doing her best under the toughest of circumstances to try to explain to her male colleagues how a period works."

On a more serious note, he said: "This administration has done an exceptional job under extremely difficult circumstances," highlighting ARPA, the IRA, the economic recovery and reproductive rights.

The VP then gave her remarks, telling the room about visiting Tucson today, as well as about her recent trip to an abortion clinic in Minnesota. And she tested out her latest line linking Trump to abortion restrictions in red states, saying she was glad to do so in a room full of "so many incredible writers and artists."

"So we're basically talking about Trump abortion bans, state Trump abortion bans," Harris said. "So let's be clear about that. Laws that are reviving an approach from the 1800s. Laws that make no exception for rape or incest. Laws that ban abortion beyond six weeks. Those are Trump abortion bans."

She also hit Trump over his praise for dictators and lauded the Biden administration's efforts on student debt relief.

She then sat down for a conversation with Mr. MacFarlane, although the pool was ushered out before it began.

The event raised roughly $1.5 million, according to producer Matt Walden, who introduced MacFarlane.

That's all for today. The VP picks up again on Monday in Nevada.

Background from a Biden-Harris Campaign Official:

This evening, Vice President Harris and Mr. Doug Emhoff attended a Biden Victory Fund event in Beverly Hills, CA hosted by Mr. Seth MacFarlane.