First Lady Pool Reports of October 23, 2023

FLOTUS pool report #1 - departure for NYC fundraisers

Dr. Biden is making a quick trip to New York City for two fundraisers, including one at the home of Anna Wintour.

Motorcade departed the White House at 3:21 pm and arrived at JBA at 3:43 pm.

Dr. Biden is wearing a white dress.

Background on behalf of the Biden-Harris campaign:
The First Lady’s first fundraiser in New York City this evening is at the Columbus Citizens Foundation in support of the Biden Victory Fund.
Dr. Biden’s second fundraiser in New York City is at the home of Anna Wintour in support of the Biden Victory Fund.
Meanwhile, the South Lawn is being prepared for Wednesday's state dinner.

A tent is being built in the corner - where the last state dinner took place on the south lawn. And a stage was being built right outside the diplomatic room for the arrival ceremony. Large vases of green plants were being arranged around the staging area.

Executive One Foxtrot is wheels up shortly.

FLOTUS pool report #2 - NYC arrival

Executive One Foxtrot was wheels up JBA at 4:01 pm and wheels down LaGuardia at 4:43 pm.

FLOTUS deplaned at 4:53 pm and got straight into her car.

At 4:54 pm the motorcade was rolling to the first fundraiser at the Columbus Citizens Foundation. Ride was uneventful with lights and sirens used throughout the route. Motorcade arrived at 5:20 pm.

Pool is holding ahead of Dr. Biden's remarks.

FLOTUS pool report #3 - First Fundraiser

Dr Biden entered the fundraiser at 5:40 pm to loud applause and cheers.

"It's been a week," she said.

She spoke about 8 minutes and much of it was her standard fundraising speech.

She began her remarks by telling a story she had told before about dating Joe Biden in the 1970s and how he showed up for their first date wearing a suit and tie. She recounted how he had to propose five times for her to say yes.

"A lot of people wrestle with the fact that, you know, the love of their lives loved someone else first. And perhaps never stopped loving that person. Some people may feel jealous, some may feel inadequate, some let questions of maybe what might have been eat away at their peace of mind. But from the beginning, Joe made it clear that there was room enough for both of us."

She then talked about her admiration for the president's resilience and faith. She transitioned to touting his accomplishments in the White House: passed climate change legislation, strong economic package, lowering price of insulin, putting Justice Brown Jackson on SCOTUS.

She talked about being in NYC for UNGA: "I can't tell you how many times a world leader or a spouse pulled me aside and mentioned what a relief it is to have a responsible engaged leader on the global stage."

She then asked the crowd to send POTUS back for a second term. She noted if "extreme MAGA Republicans" return to power then "US policy will be dictated by late night tweet storms."

More: "Remember those? Chaotic leadership taking us from crisis to crisis, relentless attacks on our institutions, our rights and our democracy. Contempt for the rule of law. The choice in this election is clear. Chaos, crisis, corruption or strong steady leadership that actually gets things done."

She asked the crowd to start preparing for the 2024 election now and asked them to remember their feelings after the 2016 election.

"Even though it's a year away, I want you to think about starting now. I want you to go out and talk to your friends about what's at stake in this election. I want you to talk about how my husband, President Biden, has delivered for America, more jobs, higher wages, lower unemployment. And I want you to remember - I'm going to take you back a minute. I want you to remember how you felt the morning after the 2016 election. Take yourself back there. Remember that feeling? How you woke up? Maybe some of you, you know, kept awake the whole night. And you said to yourself, oh my god, what just happened? Right? We cannot let that happen again. I don't want to wake up to that feeling and say to myself, Oh, we should have started earlier. We should have done more. We should have done this. We shouldn't have done that. No, we have to begin now."

She said re-electing POTUS would ensure abortion rights, protect democracy, make universal pre K a reality, and protect kids from gun violence.

FLOTUS acknowledged DNC Chair Jamie Harrison, who was attending and joined the motorcade after the event.

There were slightly more than 100 people in attendance, per event organizers. Attendees wore tags with their names and the logo Biden Victory Funds. People mingled and sipped drinks while waiting on FLOTUS.

It was mostly standing room only. A large room off the entrance had a couple dozen chairs with standing room behind and to the side.

A podium was set up at the front of the room. Charles Alaimo of the Columbus Citizens Foundation introduced FLOTUS. The foundation celebrates Italian language and culture. It also gives scholarships to high school and college students of Italian ancestry. He noted Dr. Biden is the first Italian American First Lady.

Pool was pulled immediately after FLOTUS' remarks.

At 6:03 pm motorcade is rolling to second fundraiser.

FLOTUS pool report #4 - Fundraiser at Anna Wintour home

Motorcade arrived at Anna Wintour's townhouse at 6:53 pm.

Pool held outside the townhome until 6:59 pm and was brought inside just for remarks.

The living room was cleared out and held five tables of eight - so about 40 guests were present. Large urns of red flowers were in each corner of the room and on the fireplace. Small bouquets of flowers and three candles were the centerpiece of each table.

The atmosphere was intimate with only three lights on. The rest of the room was illuminated by candles.

Guests were eating a dinner of chicken and grilled vegetables.

Huma Abiden sat next to Anna at the front table.

Pool spotted Dreamworks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, and Tory Burch, Jordan Roth, and Michael Kors in the audience. DNC Chair Jamie Harrison and Biden-Harris finance chair Rufus Gifford were seated at one table. (Note: Pool asked for a guest list and was told one was not available.)

Anna Wintour and FLOTUS came down the stairs at 7 pm. FLOTUS had changed into a black dress. Anna Wintour also wore a black dress.

Wintour spoke first and introduced Dr. Biden. The two spoke in front of the fireplace. Wintour was not wearing her signature sunglasses.

Wintour said when the country in these "couple very, very hard few weeks" needed leadership, "President Biden's trip to Israel last week to show support and negotiate aid into Gaza was that leadership."

She noted that it "was a risk and it was an act of moral courage and this paid off."

Wintour: "First Lady Biden, who is here with us tonight, is a part of what makes President Biden such an important leader in times like this. She's part of his moral courage."

More Wintour: "Dr. Biden has been called a First Lady for all of us. She has this incredible ability to connect with all Americans from all walks of life, and all political affiliations. She has that smile. She has that light. And she looks fantastic in everything."

FLOTUS then spoke for 13 minutes: "Anna thank you for hosting us tonight. And you've been such a generous friend to me and to Joe."

More: "And so you have single handedly - I think probably everybody here would agree - transformed the fashion industry."

"And because of you, fashion has become something that's more than just the clothes we pull out to put on each morning. It's the vehicle of our own expression, a symbol of our values and our aspirations, a statement of our identity and it's colorful armor - although I have black on tonight."

FLOTUS then retold the story of her and POTUS dating but added, to much laughs in the room, that after she said yes to his marriage proposal, he told her: "So I promise you your life will never change."

She touched on the violence in the last few weeks, noting: "And I wouldn't, you know, honestly, I wouldn't wish the tragic events of the last two weeks on any American president. But I'm so grateful that Joe is our president during these unpredictable times."

More: "He served eight years as Vice President, more than two decades on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He has relationships with world leaders, I mean, from way back when, you know, from every corner of the globe, and Joe isn't just the right person for the job. I think today he is the only person for that job."

More FLOTUS: "In these moments, with these perils that the world is facing, there is nobody that I would rather have sitting in the Situation Room right now than my husband and he probably is actually there." (Audience laughed at this).

She closed with her same close as the last event, asking the crowd not to wait until 2024 but start their support now.

Pool was being led out as Dr. Biden said she was going to walk around the room to speak to each table.

As pool left FLOTUS was saying: "Just remember you can tell me anything. I'm good at keeping a secret. And if you have anything you want me to tell Joe" (rest was inaudible).

Pool is holding in the vans awaiting FLOTUS departure.

FLOTUS pool report #5 - Departing NYC

Motorcade left Anna Wintour's house at 8:25 pm and arrived at LaGuardia at 9:02 pm.

FLOTUS exited her car and boarded the plane at 9:06 pm.

Executive One Foxtrot is wheels up shortly for the flight back to JBA.

FLOTUS pool report #6 - Return to White House

Executive One Foxtrot was wheels up at LaGuardia at 9:25 pm and wheels down JBA at 10:08 pm.

Flight was quick and uneventful. Dr. Biden deplaned at 10:19 pm. She came over and said a brief hello to the pool before getting in her car.

Motorcade was rolling from JBA at 10:22 pm. It arrived at the White House at 10:41 pm.

That's a wrap folks. Reach out with any questions.