Vice Presidential Pool Reports of April 13, 2023

VP Supplemental Pool #1 - tested and gathered

Hi all,

Happy Friday Jr. I'm your pooler this sunny day in DC for the Wounded Warrior's annual Solider Ride where Vice President Kamala Harris will deliver remarks for the kick off race.

Your pool has been tested for covid and is gathered at the South Lawn for the event to begin. It is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. An audience of veterans, active duty members and others are standing and seated on the lawn, facing a line of bicycles parked along the driveway.

The Vice President's remarks will be live-streamed at http://whitehouse.gov/live

VP Supplemental Pool #2 - event details

Here's some background from the VP's office:

On background from a White House Official

Nearly 30 wounded warriors will visit the White House on April 13 for the annualWounded Warrior Project® (WWP) Soldier Ride®[woundedwarriorproject.org], where they will be hosted by Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff. Soldier Ride participants began visiting the White House in 2008. Soldier Ride is a nationally recognized adaptive cycling program that helps warriors build their confidence and strength through shared physical activities and bonds of service in a supportive environment.

VP Supplemental Pool #2 - event starting
[APP Note: See reporter's comment in Report #4 below regarding the numbering of this report.]

At 10:57 a.m., the Vice President and Second Gentleman stepped out and up to the microphone, waving to the audience. As a reminder, the remarks are streamed online.

VP supplemental pool #4 - remarks

The Second Gentleman began with a message encouragement to veterans and the importance of not giving up.

Staff Sergeant Mark Lalli then spoke, sharing his story of his injuries and start of his involvement in the Wounded Warrior project. He introduced the Vice President at 11:02.

The Vice President praised the veterans and their service and their sacrifices for the country. She said there is no truer patriot tian someone who serves. She spoke about the PACT Act as the most recent example of veterans' leadership. She spoke about her travels to places such as the Korean Demilitarized Zone and battleships in the Indo-Pacific and her understanding of the work the military does. She ended her remarks at 11:10.

Apologies, the last report was mislabeled at #2 when it was actually #3.

VP supplemental pool report #5 -race

The Vice President kicked off the race at 11:10 a.m. and as the bicyclist made their way around the driveway of the South Lawn twice, the Vice President walked over to the rows of seated Wounded Warrior Project leadership and shook their hands and greeted the group.

VP supplemental pool report #6 - end of race

The first bicyclists to complete the roundabout queued where the Vice President was standing and she crouched to speak with a group. Your pooler could not make out what she was saying over the band playing but it appeared she was talking about the race. The entire race lasted about 5 minutes.

VP supplemental pool report #7 - last report

At 11:28 a.m., as the group posed for photos at the conclusion of the event, your pool was escorted out. This is the last expected pool report from this pooler today. Have a wonderful day.

VP supplemental pool report #8 - 14th Street bridge

I'll be picking up the VP pool reports for the afternoon.

The pool and precredentialed media has gathered in a park on the DC side of the Potomac river between two of the spans of the 14th street bridges.

In the background of the stage is the Arland D. Williams Jr. Memorial Bridge, which is the northbound-only span of I-395 and US 1. That's the span receiving about $72 million in funding as part of the almost $300 million across the country announced Thursday morning.

The scheduled time for the VP is 3:30 p.m. A pre-program is already underway. The VP's remarks are scheduled to be streamed on the White House website.

VP supplemental pool report #9

The VP's motorcade arrived at approximately 3:23 pm. The program got underway as of 3:33 pm. The VP is being introduced as of 3:37 pm.

I don't plan to send many quotes given the intermittent low-flying airplanes on approach to DCA. But please reach out with any questions.

VP supplemental pool report #10 - event concludes

The VP began speaking at roughly 3:38 pm.

"We have created more jobs in two years than any other administration has in four," Harris said.

The VP said that when people talk about bridges, they often think of iconic infrastructure.

"We think about things like the Golden Gate Bridge," Harris said, but bridges like the span of the 14th Street bridge behind her are "just as important."

The investment in this particular bridge will allow the D.C. government "repave the road and reopen the shoulder lane," the VP said, so that the traffic doesn't have to back up when a single car breaks down.

The VP finished her remarks at 3:45 pm. and entered the crowd to take photos. Harris entered her SUV a few minutes later and was rolling at 3:54 pm

There was no opportunity to shout questions about Sen. Feinstein or any other topic.

Check any quotes against the transcript. And that's all from here. We are not traveling with the VP.