Vice Presidential Pool Reports of April 13, 2024

VP pool report #1

Vice President Kamala Harris made a surprise appearance on Saturday afternoon at the Power Leadership and Influence of Black Women luncheon on the bottom floor of the Fairmont Century City in Los Angeles.

The program was for an "intimate conversation" on stage with Sen. Laphonza Butler, who was receiving an award at the event, but asked about the fight for abortion rights and other work in Washington, Butler interrupted her answer to introduce "one of our biggest champions in this movement," saying, "stand to your feet and appreciate and receive one of my best friends!" as the VP appeared from the wings on stage right.

The crowd erupted in a standing, cheering ovation. Many phones went up for photos.

VP spoke for just a few minutes, beginning by joking about pulling off the surprise.

She started by making similar comments from her speech in Tucson yesterday about how the upheld abortion ban in Arizona was from before it was a state and before women could vote.

She referenced the story she has told previously of how she had a friend in high school who was being molested that she insisted move in with her family, and how that had been part of her drive to become a prosecutor.

She linked this to the current fight about abortion rights and bans:

"Here's the thing about what they're doing and the cruelty of it: No exception in some states even for rape and incest--you are saying to a survivor of a crime of violence to their body, a violation to their body, that they have no right to make a decision about what happens to their body next. That's immoral," the VP said.

"When we take a look at that situation, there is no ambiguity about who is to blame. The former president Donald Trump hand selected three members of the United States Supreme Court with the intention that they would undo Roe, and they did exactly as he intended," she said, before adopting a pseudo-impression of the former president by lowering her voice and pursing her lips: "And now he walks around talking about, 'Well, you know, the states can do what they want to do.' Well look at what the states are doing. The states are passing Trump abortion bans. So we're not going to fall for the okeydoke. We are not going to be gaslit about what is at play and who is to blame."

The VP ended with an urging for people to vote and get involved: "We have the power. We have the power. And we're not about to let anyone take the power from us."