Vice Presidential Pool Reports of April 4, 2024

Good morning from a brisk Joint Base Andrews. I’m your pooler for the Vice President’s trip to Charlotte.

The schedule is below. ;tldr version: Livestreamed remarks at 2:15 pm EST. Campaign reception at 4:05 pm. (The Biden-Harris campaign says Harris will open a new field office.)

VPOTUS boarded landed at 9:59 am and boarded at 10:05 am. She did not stop to take questions. We are wheels up shortly.Schedule:

At 10:00 am ET, the Vice President will depart Washington, DC en route to Charlotte, NC. This departure from Joint Base Andrews will be pooled press.

At 11:15 am ET, the Vice President will arrive in Charlotte, NC. This arrival at Charlotte Douglas International Airport will be pooled press and open to pre-credentialed media.

At 2:15 pm ET, the Vice President will deliver remarks about the Biden-Harris Administration’s historic investments in climate action and continue her leadership on addressing the climate crisis, advancing environmental justice, and increasing access to capital in underserved communities. She will be joined by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan. These remarks will be pooled press, open to pre-credentialed media and livestreamed at WhiteHouse.gov/Live

At 4:05 pm ET, the Vice President will deliver remarks at a campaign reception. These remarks will be pooled press and open to pre-credentialed media.

At 5:15 pm ET, the Vice President will depart Charlotte, NC en route to Washington, DC. This departure from Charlotte Douglas International Airport will be pooled press.

At 6:25 pm ET, the Vice President will arrive in Washington, DC. This arrival at Joint Base Andrews will be pooled press.

AF2 was wheels up at 10:17 am and wheels down in Charlotte at 11:13 a.m.

During the flight, VPOTUS came back for a brief off-the-record gaggle.

Pool was held on AF2 for a little over an hour for a reason not disclosed on the record. During the hold, several officials came back to chat off the record.

Motorcade is rolling to first location at 12:40 pm

Note: On departure from airport, VPOTUS did not answer a shouted question about the call with Netanyahu.

Motorcade stopped at 1:04 pm in Grier Heights, a neighborhood outside uptown Charlotte. Newer, Craftsman-style homes were speckled among older and smaller brick homes.

At the entrance to the neighborhood a sign announced law enforcement surveillance. Curious neighbors captured the motorcade's arrival on camera. A pair of children played with a football in a yard.

VPOTUS's vehicle stopped in front of a two-story house on a corner lot.

Please check quotes against the transcript.

VPOTUS, sitting at a dining room table with the homeowner and EPA Administrator Michael Regan, thanked the homeowner and said "we want to uplift your story because your story is very inspiring" and that she hopes other people "will see for themselves what is possible for them and their families."

VPOTUS said this administration has "been able to really move the needle forward in terms of what we've been able to do around the climate crisis" and that the environmentally friendly features of the home home are something "we intend to replicate in other places. "

The homeowner (I am trying to get his name) said he relocated to Charlotte from Savannah and took advantage of a home buying program through Self-Help credit union. He said that, as a gay man, he had faced discrimination throughout his life and that his home had become a haven for his loved ones. "This home isn't just a safe place for everybody else. It's also a safe place for myself."

Motorcade departed at 1:32 pm en route to stop No. 2. a nearby community center. Arrival at 1:38.

Remarks are slated for 2:15 pm and will be live-streamed via the usual channels.

Additional/leftover details:

On Background From A White House Official:

While in Charlotte, the Vice President and Administrator will meet with a homeowner in a historically Black community, where a local nonprofit, Self-Help, worked with community partners to finance, renovate, and construct energy-efficient, affordable homes for low- and moderate-income families. Thanks to that partnership, this first-time homeowner pays significantly lower energy bills and has a healthy and comfortable place to raise his family. The awards the Vice President is announcing will ensure more families can experience those same benefits. In fact, one of the grants announced today will allow Self-Help and its partners in the Climate United Fund to deliver similar home efficiency projects to over 30,000 homes across the country.

Also, a note on greeters: On Background From A White House Official:

Upon arrival in Charlotte, NC, the Vice President was greeted by EPA Administrator Michael Regan.

VPOTUS took the stage at 2:27 pm. She finished speaking at 2:41 pm and departed after working the rope line.

Remarks were streamed on the White House's web channels.

Officials say the name of the homeowner VPOTUS met with is Levon McBride. He and his two sons attended Harris's remarks at the community center, though the youngest napped through the main event.

A half dozen demonstrators stood across from the community center holding signs that said "Chemical abortion hurts women." One held a toilet seat with a handwritten sign: "Chemical abortion graveyard."

Pool is holding for departure.

Additional /details:

On background from the White House: The Vice President participated in the call with the President and Prime Minister Netanyahu this morning. A readout from the call can be found here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/04/04/readout-of-president-joe-bidens-call-with-prime-minister-netanyahu-of-israel-3/ [whitehouse.gov]

VPOTUS Motorcade arrived at Mecklenburg Dems headquarters in uptown Charlotte at 3:38 pm.

It's shoulder to shoulder in a first floor room, at least it was before 20 people were asked to go into the hallway on the fire marshal's orders. They went quietly.

The room is plastered with campaign signs: Josh Stein for governor, Rachel Hunt for Lt. Gov. And Biden-Harris.

Harris began speaking at 4 pm on the dot. Remarks ended at 4:14 pm. Please check quotes against the transcript:

On engagement: "It is because of what you did in 2020 in showing up and organizing and believing in the possibilities that Joe Biden is President and I am Vice President."

On voting:

"Elections matter. Organizing matters. Showing up matters. Remembering the strength and power of our voice matters."

"Of the many complicated issues in this world that are not binary, November is binary."

She also talked about health disparities, including maternal mortality, one of her signature issues. She also said Black people and Hispanic people are "more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes and we capped the price of insulin at $35 a month."

She also says there was a "split screen" between Trump and Biden.

"We have a former president who openly praises dictators, who says he will be a dictator on day one. And we know what Maya Angelou says about that: remember when they tell you the first time."

Motorcade is moving at 4:23 pm to the airport.

VPOTUS arrived at the airport at 4:38 pm

She did not respond to shouted questions about Israel, took a photo with staffers and boarded AF2. Wheels up at 4:50 pm

No visitors to the back of the cabin on the uneventful flight home.

Wheels down at 5:38 pm. VPOTUS deplaned at 5:50 pm and walked to the waiting helicopter without taking questions.

That’s it for me. Ping if you need clarification on anything.