Vice Presidential Pool Reports of July 12, 2022

VP pool #1/López Obrador background

VP pool and visiting Mexican press corps are assembled at the Naval Observatory for a quick pool spray before the VP's breakfast with AMLO.

On background from a White House Official

Today, Tuesday, July 12, Vice President Kamala Harris will host President Andrés Manuel López Obrador of Mexico for a breakfast at the Naval Observatory, the Vice President's residence, in advance of his bilateral meeting with President Biden at the White House.

The Vice President's breakfast with President López Obrador will build on their multiple conversations over the past year and a half and seek to deepen the longstanding cooperation between our countries.

Among other issues, the Vice President will discuss her work leading the Biden-Harris Administration's effort to address the root causes of migration from Central America and Mexico's partnership on this priority. They will discuss next steps in this area, and build on the development assistance cooperation they initiated during the Vice President's trip to Mexico City in June 2021.

The Vice President has met with President López Obrador 3 times and spoken on the phone 3 times:

Call in April 2021: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/04/07/readout-of-vice-president-kamala-harris-call-with-president-andres-manuel-lopez-obrador-of-mexico/
Virtual Meeting May 2021: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/05/07/statement-from-senior-advisor-and-chief-spokesperson-symone-sanders-on-vice-president-kamala-harriss-virtual-bilateral-meeting-with-president-andres-manuel-lopez-obrador-of-mexico/
Call in June 2021: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/06/03/statement-by-senior-advisor-and-chief-spokesperson-symone-sanders-on-vice-president-kamala-harriss-calls-with-foreign-leaders-on-the-global-allocation-plan-for-the-first-25-million-doses-of-c/
Meeting in Mexico City in June 2021: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/06/08/statement-by-senior-advisor-and-chief-spokesperson-symone-sanders-on-vice-president-kamala-harriss-bilateral-meeting-with-president-andres-manuel-lopez-obrador-of-mexico/
Call in August 2021: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/08/09/readout-of-vice-president-kamala-harriss-call-with-president-andres-manuel-lopez-obrador/
Meeting in Washington, D.C. in November 2021: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2021/11/18/remarks-by-vice-president-harris-and-president-lopez-obrador-of-mexico-before-bilateral-meeting/

VP pool #2/AMLO and VP

Ken Salazar, the US ambassador to Mexico, arrived at 8:50 in signature cowboy hat.

The black SUV ferrying Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador pulled up in front of the Vice President's residence just before 9am. Two Marines in dress uniform were on hand.

VP Harris greeted him at the car. They shared a two arm embrace. each grasping the other's arm. She ushered him up the small step at the driveway. They stood side by side for a moment waving and smiling for photos, then turned to walk the 10 feet or so, each with an arm around the other's back. They turned and stood at the foot of the steps and spoke in turn. An attempt was made to get VP's attention for a question. She ignored it.

"The time that I spent with you in Mexico was so special to me," she said to AMLO. She spoke of the "friendship that has been so important to both nations."

An interpreter took notes as she spoke and then repeated it in Spanish. AMLO smiled as he listened.

AMLO spoke in Spanish. One sentence at a time. An interpreter provided the English:
"She is our friend. But also a woman with principles. An intelligent woman. Honest. She is a partisan of equality. So I congratulate the American people because they have a first order vice president... we have always been speaking for the benefit of our peoples and both of our nation's. Today we are going to do exactly the same thing."

At 9:03am the VP ushered him inside.

That's it for this pool.