Vice Presidential Pool Reports of July 29, 2023

VP Travel Pool Report # 1

Hello from beautiful, sunny Boston. I'll be your pooler today for the vice president's visit to the Bay State, where she will deliver a speech at the annual NAACP convention.

Your pooler could not see the exact landing of Air Force 2 at Logan Airport, but I was told by a staffer that wheels were down officially at 3:51 PM. AF2 wheeled around the tarmac and in front of the press pen at 3:55 PM.

VP exited at at 4:02 PM.

The VP was greeted by Governor Maura Healey, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey and Mayor Michelle Wu. Senator Markey and the VP greeted each other by pointing at each other and laughing. Each member of the delegation then gathered around the VP and listened as she spoke for a couple minutes on the tarmac. Your pooler could not hear the conversation. The Vice president walked into her vehicle at 4:07 PM.

Passing along this background from the vice presidents office:

On background from a White House official:
Today, Vice President Kamala Harris will return to Boston to participate in a moderated conversation at the NAACP's 114th Annual Convention where she will highlight the Biden-Harris Administration's continued commitment to protecting hard-earned freedoms and increasing access to economic opportunity. The Vice President's visit to Boston is part of her blitz of summer travel in which she continues to engage with key constituencies across the nation, and comes on the heels of her visit to Iowa yesterday, where she blasted extremist leaders for their efforts to restrict reproductive freedom. The Vice President's moderated conversation will be livestreamed at 6:30PM ET at whitehouse.gov/live.

During the conversation, which will be moderated by Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell, Vice President Harris will talk about how Bidenomics is working and increasing access to economic opportunity for all Americans, including Black Americans and she will call out efforts by extremist leaders to restrict freedoms, including the freedom to learn America's full and true history, reproductive freedom, and the right to vote. She will also address the crisis of gun violence, and the unfinished work to ban assault weapons as well as to reform the criminal justice system.

Over the last two weeks, Vice President Harris has delivered remarks at Rainbow Push Coalition's annual convention, Delta Sigma Theta's national conference, traveled to Florida to call out extremists for changes to how American history is taught, and delivered remarks at UnidosUS' annual conference.

Vice President Harris has a long history of working with NAACP and has a NAACP lifetime membership. Last year, the Vice Presidentdelivered remarks at NAACP's convention and also met with NAACP young leaders. Over the last two years, she has met with NAACP leaders on several issues, including health care, criminal justice reform, and reproductive freedom.

VP Travel Pool #2 Roxbury Community College

At 4:32 PM, your pooler was led into a a congressional black caucus event at Roxbury Community College. This event was not previewed on the Vice President's schedule. (Also I spoke too soon about the weather — it's now pouring).

Rep. Steven Horsford and Rep. Ayanna Pressley led a panel at the front of the room for a seated audience of about 200. Signs were posted behind the panel stating "Democracy for the People."

"Boston we have a big surprise," Rep. Steven Horsford said before the VP entered at 4:38 PM.

"There is so much at stake in our country," Harris said. "And the future of America has always relied on the folks who are in this room and others like this."

"When we look at the issues we are facing today a truth among many is we are looking at a full on attack on the hard fought, hard won freedoms and rights," Harris said.

"We are looking at extremist so called leaders who dare to say their national leaders who are denying America's clear history on the issue of slavery," Harris said.

"Here in Boston you know what is real from what is a distraction," Harris said.

"They try to distract us from that by instead suggesting the enslaved people in America benefited from slavery," she said.

"They distract us by suggesting it is a sign of weakness to have empathy," she said.

She said "we are at a point where we're facing bold faced hypocrisy from extremist so called leaders."

She also commended "leaders in this room" for not giving up during the pandemic and helping out their neighbors.

"We had one of the most record turnout of voters and Black voters America has seen in 2020," Harris said. And because of that, she said, Biden was elected and "I was elected the first Black woman" to serve as vice president of the United States.

The crowd listened attentively to Harris, responding "preach" and clapping as she spoke.

The crowd also applauded when Harris noted that the administration had capped insulin prices and was working to remove lead pipes. She also detailed efforts to address the broadband disparity.

"The outcome of the election will only be a reflection of our ability to tell people that their vote matters," Harris said.

"Let's start registering folks now to vote," she said. "Remind your friends and your neighbors to do that."

"So much is at stake including our very democracy," Harris said.

"When democracy is intact it is very strong in terms of the strength it gives to individuals," Harris said, adding "on the other side it's very fragile."

"It's only as strong as our willingness to fight," she said.

She stopped speaking at 4:50 PM. Here's an otter:

https://otter.ai/u/CQdYjwlOq5za26SDQNBR1mLKGO0

And background from VP office. A note that your pooler did not see Rep. Clyburn.

Before her moderated conversation at the NAACP Convention the Vice President dropped by the Congressional Black Caucus Institute's (CBCI) town hall as part of its Democracy for the People tour. The Vice President delivered brief remarks to attendees following a town hall with CBC Chair Steven Horsford, Assistant House Democratic Leader Jim Clyburn, Rep. Ayanna Pressley, and Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick on voting rights, affirmative action, book bans, gun safety, reproductive rights and additional issues.

VP Pool Report #3 — 2 min warning

2 minutes until Harris's moderated discussion at the NAACP conference. Watch here.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/live/

At 5:04 PM, the pool was led into Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. The start of Harris's discussion is running late. A series of speakers gave remarks before her, including Rep. Clyburn.

VP Pool Report #5 discussion over

The moderated discussion with the VP concluded at 7:44 PM. As Harris took the stage, some members of the audience stood and walked up the aisles to get closer to the stage. Many held up their phone to capture the moment in video.

Harris asked everyone in the crowd to register and vote and praised the record number of Black voters who turned out in 2020. She criticized efforts to restrict voting rights. She detailed the administration's efforts to cap insulin prices, remove all lead pipes in the US in the next eight years and assist Black owned small businesses.

She then was asked about gun violence in America.

"Gun violence is the number one cause of death for children in America" Harris said, adding, "talk about the trauma that communities are experiencing."

She said it was a false choice to say gun reform equates to "taking everyone's gun away."

"There is no place for an assault weapon on the streets for civil America," she said.

She called for additional background checks. "I support the second amendment, I also support reasonable gun safety laws," she said.

She also said one issue is that there are members of congress with their "fancy lapel pins" who lack the courage to pass gun reform.

"We need to have congress to be prepared to deal with the big issues," Harris said.

"You look at this ridiculous thing happening in Florida," Harris said, referring to the efforts to change how slavery is taught in classrooms.

She also called for additional police reform, calling it a "civil right" to feel safe, including from law enforcement. She criticized efforts to restrict DEI programs.

The VP also noted that she "is a very good cook."

VP Pool Report # 6 wheels up

At 8:11 PM.

Thanks all!