Vice Presidential Pool Reports of August 12, 2023

VP travel pool report #1 - vp arrival at Martha's Vineyard Fundraiser

VP arrived at 12:59 pm eastern time

Spotted attendees include: Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Former BET Chairman/CEO Debra Lee, Actor Don Cheadle, Civil Rights Attorney & VP longtime friend Areva Martin, and Comedian/Actor/Writer Chris Spencer.

The Vice President's fundraiser in Martha's Vineyard is at the Residence of Maria Harleston and is in support of the Biden Victory Fund.

VP travel pool report #2 - vp remarks at Martha's Vineyard Fundraiser

VP Harris began her remarks acknowledging her host but most notably the late Harvard University Law School Professor Charles Ogletree, Maryland Governor Wes Moore, and longtime friend and Civil Rights Attorney Areva Martin.

VP on late Charles Ogletree: "Areva Martin is here and we were just talking about Charles Ogletree. I just can't be on the vineyard without speaking his name and thanking him, as I know we all do for his extraordinary leadership and his voice and his mentorship of so many of us. So if we can all just take a moment to really think about the great tree."

VP acknowledges Gov. Wes Moore in room: "I just love our friendship and more than anything I love your leadership. You have been so extraordinary. You've already accomplished so much, with so much more to offer. I know you have the ambition and ability to achieve so much more."

While giving a happy warrior vibe, VP Harris spoke for almost 20 minutes beginning with a reflection on the pandemic as a powerful demonstration of the promise of America, when we work together:

VP Harris on Pandemic: "I want to reflect for a moment on on what that required of each of you in the height of a pandemic when there was so much loss loss of life people lost their jobs loss of normalcy. People losing hope you as leaders did not give up and in so many ways, encouraged people to remember that they were not alone and could make a difference. And that when we as individuals band together as the collective in the community. We have great power in our ability to continue to work on developing the promise of America."

In her re-election pitch, she mostly spoke about a handful of the Biden-Harris Administration signature achievements like "made possible by the work you did," speaking to the packed living room of mostly Black donors.

The administration passage of gun safety legislation, legislation lowering the cost of insulin and other prescription drugs, and on-going efforts to remove toxic lead pipes to provide clean drinking water drew applause, but Harris devoted the biggest chunk of her speech drawing nods across the room, when talking about to fight against extremism:

"We have extremist so called leaders in our country who are engaged in an intentional full on attack against hard won freedoms and rights," said VP Harris.

"The Court of Thurgood and RBG is taking a constitutional right that had been recognized from the women of America," said VP Harris. "Extremist so called leaders passing laws around our country that would criminalize health care providers, punish women and make no exception for some of the worst crimes of the violation to a person's body and then say to that person after they have survived that violation to their body they don't have the right to make a decision about what happens to their bodies."

VP on don't say gay, book bans, & Shakespeare: "Now you look at these laws in Florida like don't say gay where these teachers, many of the young ones in their 20s. If they are in a same sex relationship, are afraid to put up a photograph of their family for fear they may lose their job. Extreme so called leaders banning books in this year of our Lord 2023. I just was as I was leaving DC this morning, working out and watching them talk about how they're even starting to restrict Shakespeare."

"I do believe this is one of the most significant elections in our collective lifetime and probably the lifetime of our children," said VP Harris. "Full on attacks against our democracy and foundational principles, such as freedom and liberty, not to mention equality and justice and I will tell you as vice president United States."

VP Harris on love for country: "We love our country. We know our country is worth fighting for. We believe in the foundational principles and the ideas, the ideals upon which our country was founded. We are also very clear eyed, we've not reached them yet. But ours has always been the fight to get closer to reaching and achieving those ideals. And in that way, we have never given up on our country because we know what we are capable of. So that's how I think about this moment, because I know there are these various things that happen that make us wonder what is going on."

"Do not despair. Do not be overwhelmed," said VP Harris. "Do not throw up our hands when it is time to roll up our sleeves and in that way, we are all in this together."

VP Harris closed remembering the late Corretta Scott King:

"She said the fight for civil rights must be fought and won with each generation. And what does that mean? Inherent in that point is an understanding that the gains we make by the very nature of it all will not be permanent, unless we are vigilant."

VP travel pool report #3- vp departs Martha's Vineyard Fundraiser

VP Harris departed fundraiser at 2:02 pm eastern without taking questions from the press.

VP out of town pool report #1

Vice President Harris was scheduled to arrive at Martha's Vineyard Airport at 12:25 ET. The arrival was closed press, per the OVP.

Today's weather is sunny, warm, and clear, to the delight of your pooler.

The Vice President is in town for two campaign receptions.

The first is a private, smaller reception at the home of Maria Harleston.

The second is a larger event at Martha's Vineyard Regional High School in Oak Bluffs. The event is dubbed "A Grassroots Reception with Vice President Kamala Harris," according to an invitation from Massachusetts Democratic Party chair Steve Kerrigan.

Harris and the Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff were scheduled to give remarks at the second event at 2:40 p.m. ET.

Around 1:30 p.m. ET, supporters -- more than 600 of them, per OVP staff -- began to file into the rather warm gymnasium, fanning themselves with "reserved" signs and holding complementary aluminum water bottles to their faces.

They filled rows of purple plastic chairs, as well as a set of wooden bleachers.

The stage was set up in front of a backdrop of blue curtains and six large United States flags.

Ayana Morris, a 37-year-old real estate developer from Newark, New Jersey sat in the wooden bleachers with her 6-year-old son, Akhari, who played games on her cell phone. Morris, who was already on the island for a summer vacation in Chilmark.

When she found out about the event, she jumped at the opportunity to hear Harris speak in person.

"When she her and Biden won, I'm sure every Black woman across the country, and I as well, felt like it was a moment for all of us," Morris said. "I haven't had the opportunity to hear her speak in person. So I thought I would jump at the chance, I wanted my little one to be along for the experience."

A few seats away, Michelle Owens, a financial advisor from North Bethesda, Maryland, was eager to hear Harris speak.

She said she hopes the Vice President leaves attendees with "an actionable thing." Owens said for her part, she plans to ensure all 18 of her nieces and nephews are registered to vote for the 2024 election.

"Until it's over, I'm worried every day," said Owens, 67, who is vacationing with friends in Oak Bluffs. "I can't imagine a life, a world, a country with Trump as the president again."

Tickets for the grassrots event started at $50, with a $3,300 donation for preferred seating, $6,600 for priority seating, and $10,000 for "co-chair" status, which "includes photo."

The event is hosted by Judith Batty, Carol & C. Bernard Fulp, Vickee Jordan Adams, Robin Leeds, Wendell Pierce, Tarrus & Kimberly Richardson, and Kirk Sykes & Tammy Jones, per the invitation.

Harris last trip to Massachusetts was last month, when she visited Boston to address the NAACP's annual convention. She also made a surprise visit to Roxbury Community College in Boston, where she joined a town hall-style meeting.

VP out of town pool report #2

Vice President Kamala Harris took the stage after introductions by event hosts Carol Fulp and Robin Leeds, Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff, and Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison, who all underscored the significance of the event, which took place in Oak Bluffs -- known for being the oldest summer community for Black vacationers in the United States.

Harris, who walked out to Beyoncé's 2022 hit "BREAK MY SOUL" in a tan blazer and white pants, gave a high-energy speech highlighting accomplishments of the Biden-Harris administration and underscoring what is at stake in the 2024 elections.

She was briefly interrupted by two hecklers -- one tried calling attention to the climate emergency, and another who said "Kamala get off it, the people love a profit." Both were quickly removed by building security.

Throughout the speech, she wove in nods to the administration's various accomplishments, including the cap on insulin pricing, investments in high-speed internet, promises to remove lead pipes in communities, and funding for clean-energy investments. She said because Democrats voted the ticket into office, all cities and towns are benefitting.

Harris also cited the June jobs report, celebrating the creation of 13 million jobs since Biden took office.

"Elections matter," she said. "Real people are benefiting because of the work you have done."

Harris emphatically spoke about what is at stake in 2024, highlighting Republican-led initiatives like expansion of abortion restrictions and rollbacks of gun laws. She called some Republicans ``extremist, so-called leaders."

She said Democrats "must be clear-eyed about what is afoot," and reminded them of how they organized voters to turn out amid a global COVID-19 pandemic,

"Where there seemed to be no hope, you all activated folks," she said. "If we are to uphold our Democracy, we must uphold the importance of the voice of the people and remind those that in the midst of a moment where we told people to isolate, you reminded folks that they are not alone. Because of their courage, activism and love of country, in 2020 we had historic turnout for the presidential election and a historic turnout of young voters."

She continued: "It can't just be about speeches, it has to be about getting stuff done. When we organize, we get things done. And we have more work to do, especially as we are clear-eyed about the moment we are in, where I believe there is a national agenda to purposefully attack hard-won freedoms and rights in America."

Harris also made several specific unnamed but thinly veiled references to Florida Governor and 2024 Republican presidential contender Ron DeSantis.

She referenced a recent comment by DeSantis, who recently suggested that Black people benefited from slavery.

"Understand the implications, not only to people of our country but people around the world, what is happening right now," she said. "To all the leaders, let us not be distracted by an undebatable point such as whether the enslaved people benefited from slavery."

She spoke about Florida's so-called "Don't Say Gay" law and a recent decision by a Florida school district that some works by William Shakespeare would run afoul of the law.

"I mean talk about 'Much Ado About Nothing,'" she said. "If it weren't so terrifying, it would be a comedy."

She ended by paraphrasing Coretta Scott King, a common reference in Harris' recent speeches.

"The fight for civil rights must be fought and won with each generation," she said.

"It's the nature of it," she said. "So do not despair, do not be overwhelmed, do not throw up our hands. Roll up our sleeves."

At the end of the event, high-dollar donors left for a photo line with Harris, while Emhoff, who sat in the second row for Harris' speech, took selfies with attendees before he left the event.