First Lady Pool Reports of March 5, 2022

FLOTUS fundraiser pool report

Underneath two gold chandeliers hanging from classic San Francisco ceiling medallions, First Lady Jill Biden spoke to roughly 25 guests at a private fundraiser, also attended by California lieutenant governor Eleni Kounalakis, in San Francisco's wealthy Pacific Heights neighborhood on Saturday.

The first lady was introduced by disability advocate Janice Lehrer-Stein, who remarked that she was grateful to have the leadership of the Biden administration through the multiple crises over the last few years.

"We are facing a challenge to world democracy and maybe to humanity itself," she said. "Never before have we needed you and your husband, your leadership, your insight and your compassion as much as we do in this very moment."

Dressed in a light blue suit with a navy scarf tied around her shoulders, Biden opened her remarks by seemingly straying from her prepared speech, covered in notes handwritten in pen, to discuss "what's on everybody's mind," she said — the war in Ukraine.

Standing next to a marble fireplace in front of rich red floral walls, she told attendees that President Biden is working day and night with NATO allies to find solutions.

"The phone just never stops ringing, all through the night," she said. "And Joe is up, trying to help solve this crisis."

She noted that the U.S. is sending billions of dollars to Ukraine in aid and security support and has imposed severe sanctions on Russia.

"We don't know where it's going to go. We just don't know," she said of the conflict. "And we're all just holding our breath, aren't we? That something, some answer will come so that we don't get into this world war."

"It's unbelievable, right?" she added, as listeners shook their heads. "To think that that could happen in our lifetime."

But she assured the group that the president is capable of handling the moment.

"I feel, and I think you must as well, that he is the right man for this moment in history," she said, noting her husband's experience with the Soviet Union during the Cold War as the group nodded in agreement.

Biden also said that she's been closely watching images out of the war-torn country, which are particularly difficult for her to see as a mother, she said.

"I just have to turn on the TV every morning and pray that Zelenskyy is still alive," she said.

Biden then turned to her husband's accomplishments so far, pointing specifically to the American Rescue Plan, as well as his making COVID-19 test kits and personal protective equipment available.

She also said that, while the Biden administration has not fulfilled its promise to make community college free "yet," it is focusing on "workforce development."
"We've got to find different ways to achieve what we are going to achieve," she said.

She then turned to the midterm elections, urging them to continue to give their time and money to Democratic candidates.

"If you believe in democracy, you have to support the candidates who have a vision that's aligned with Joe's vision," she said. "We know how to fight for what we believe in. We won the last election because we fought so hard. So I hope you won't give up."

The first lady had been in San Francisco for the memorial of Richard Blum, the San Francisco financier and philanthropist who was also the husband of Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Friday night.

California lieutenant governor Kounalakis, the former ambassador to the Republic of Hungary, spoke up after Biden's remarks to reiterate the first lady's trust in Biden's ability to navigate the Ukraine crisis.

"As a former ambassador, I have absolute confidence that your husband and this administration will keep this conflict from spreading and will keep our allies safe," she said, as attendees applauded. "He truly is the right person at the right time."

After Kounalakis' brief remarks, the First Lady spent time talking with attendees one on one.

The first lady had been in San Francisco for the memorial of Richard Blum, the San Francisco financier and philanthropist who was also the husband of Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Friday night.

"I came out yesterday to see Dianne Feinstein and just to share in her grief over Dick's passing," Biden said. "Gosh, she and Dick have been such longtime friends."

Biden noted that Feinstein was an early and ardent supporter of Joe during his campaign for president, adding that Blum's death leaves "a big hole in all of our hearts."

"All of you here in San Francisco, I hope that you will sort of take up the mantle and give her love and comfort and care, as I think she's going to need it in the next couple of months," Biden said.

Biden added that the senator gave her a painting she had done while they visited.

"I didn't even know she painted," Biden said, as several attendees chimed in that they, too, had Feinstein's paintings in their homes. "I said, 'oh, Dianne, we'll put this in the White House!"