Vice Presidential Pool Reports of February 18, 2023

VPOTUS POOL REPORT 1 - Checking in.

Hi all and Guten Morgen.  I’m your pooler for VPOTUS’s events in Munich today, including her speech at the Munich Security Conference. Schedule is below. The speech, which is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. CET will be live-streamed at the usual place:  whitehouse.gov/live

Feel free to ping me with questions/requests for additional details.

Schedule (Munich is six hours ahead of Washington, D.C.):

At 12:30 PM CET, the Vice President will deliver remarks at the 2023 Munich Security Conference and participate in a moderated discussion. These remarks at the Hotel Bayerischer Hof will be pooled press, open to pre-credential media and livestreamed at whitehouse.gov/live. 

At 3:10 PM CET, the Vice President will meet with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of the United Kingdom. This meeting will be have a pool spray at the top.

At 4:00 PM CET, the Vice President will meet with Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson of Sweden and Prime Minister Sanna Marin of Finland. This meeting at the Commerzbank will have a pool spray at the top.

At 5:35 PM CET, the Vice President will depart Munich, Germany en route to Washington, D.C. This departure from Munich International Airport will be pooled press.

VPOTUS pool report 2 — speech, Sen. Graham comments.

VPOTUS departed RON at 11:56 am and motorcaded through streets that were mostly empty until we neared the site of the conference.  Arrived at the Bayerischer Hof at 12:06 pm. 

VPOTUS took the stage at 12:44 pm

Pool is seated in the balcony, a little behind the stage.  But will hopefully see VPOTUS on a video monitor.  

Spotted Sen. Chris Coons and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, U.S  Trade Representative Katherine Tai, Sen  Lindsey Graham (S.C.) among other U.S. dignitaries in the hallway outside. Some exchanged pleasantries, but no substantive quotes, except for Graham, who called for a tribunal on aggression and said the White House had been "slow on everything." 

Graham: "After yesterday, all this violence against women all over the world. We need an international tribunal to deal with sexual violence against women by terrorist groups and nation states." 

Graham also said "the F-16s  are an absolute must."

He also said the White House has been "slow on everything … what you saw with the tanks is going to happen with the jets."

Guidance from WH: 

At 12:30 PM CET, the Vice President will deliver remarks at the 2023 Munich Security Conference and participate in a moderated discussion. These remarks at the Hotel Bayerischer Hof will be pooled press, open to pre-credential media and livestreamed at whitehouse.gov/live.

VPOTUS POOL REPORT 3 Speech ends

VPOTUS’s speech/Q&A ended at 1:16.  

Reminder: Remarks were livestreamed at whitehouse.gov/live 

Pool is being moved to hold.  Harris has a series of bilats later in the afternoon.

VPOTUS pool report 4 Sunak meeting

VPOTUS and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak entered a pool spray ahead at 3:15 ahead of their meeting.  

They exchanged pleasantries and VPOTUS said 'You are among our greatest of allies' and 'the transatlantic community has risen to meet the needs of the Ukrainian people.'

Sunak responded there is 'No better demonstration of the relationship you spoke of than our joint response' in Ukraine.  

Neither answered shouted questions from reporters about China and Northern Ireland. 

Please check quotes against the transcript 

For reference, the guidance from the WH:  
At 3:10 PM CET, the Vice President will meet with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of the United Kingdom. This meeting will be have a pool spray at the top.

VPOTUS pool report 5. Kristerrson, Marin meeting.

At 4:08 pm VPOTUS entered the room accompanied by Sweden's PM Ulf Kristersson and Finland's PM Sanna Marin. 

The trio posed for photos (Harris stood in the center)

VPOTUS told the two prime ministers they are 'very important friends of the United States and allies.' VPOTUS  spoke of their 'mutual commitment to the transatlantic alliance and to Ukraine, the people of Ukraine.'

Marin said she was heartened to hear 'Whatever might happen in the future in the United States that you will continue supporting Ukraine.  That's powerful and very important.' 

Please check quotes against transcript.  

The leaders did not answer shouted questions. 

VPOTUS will shortly head to airport en route to USA. 

WH guidance on this event: 

At 4:00 PM CET, the Vice President will meet with Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson of Sweden and Prime Minister Sanna Marin of Finland. This meeting at the Commerzbank will have a pool spray at the top.

VPOTUS pool report 6. Auf wiedersehen + airplane switch

VPOTUS departed en route to the airport at 4:59 pm. and arrived at Munich International Airport at 5:38 pm

She boarded AF2 (a C17, see below) at 5:42. 

At the site of the conference, your pooler could hear sounds of protest but did not observe visible demonstrations and could not make out the chants.  Travel to airport was otherwise uneventful. 

*Of note: Air Force 2 for the ride home is an Air Force C-17 plane that served as the support/backup plane for the trip — instead of the plane that usually serves VPOTUS. The White House has not said what problem caused the last-minute switch. If I learn, I’ll send a supplemental.

VPOTUS pool report 7. Supplemental.

AF2 was wheels up at 6:36 pm. 

From a WH official on the plane switch: 

"Due to maintenance difficulties, the VP and the traveling party will depart Munich to Washington DC on a back up aircraft."

And below are participants of the meetings VPOTUS held this afternoon.  

On Background from a White House Official 

This afternoon the Vice President met with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of the United Kingdom. 

U.S. Delegation: 
The Vice President 
Lorraine Voles, Chief of Staff to the Vice President
Phil Gordon, National Security Advisor
Rebecca Lissner, Deputy National Security Advisor
Amanda Sloat, Senior Director for Europe, NSC
Mr. Alton Buland, Special Advisor for Europe 

U.K. Delegation:
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, United Kingdom
Tim Kiddell, Private Secretary 
Jack Sellers, Media Advisor 
Jaimie Norman, Military Attaché
Fiona Mcilwham, Private Secretary
Georgie Barker, Deputy Head of News

Later in the afternoon, the Vice President met with Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson of Sweden and Prime Minister Sanna Marin of Finland.

U.S. Delegation:
The Vice President 
Rebecca Lissner, Deputy National Security Advisor
Phil Gordon, National Security Advisor to the Vice President
Amanda Sloat, Senior Director for Europe, NSC 

Finnish Delegation:
Prime Minister Sanna Marin, Finland
Tytti Tuppurainen, Minister for European Affairs and Ownership Steering
Lauri Voionmaa, Special Adviser to the Prime Minister in International Affairs
Saara Pokki, Special Adviser to the Prime Minister in EU Affairs 

Swedish Delegation:
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, Sweden
Henrik Landerholm, National Security Adviser to the Prime Minister
Jamal Alassaad, Head of the Prime Minister's Foreign Policy Office
Alexandra Ivanov, Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister

VP POOL REPORT #8 -- Munich trip concludes

AF2 had maintenance issues, which forced an aircraft switch in Munich and added some additional time to the trip. 

Support plane landed at 10:42 at Joint Base Andrews. We deplaned about 10 minutes after. 

VP Harris left the plane at 10:50 and boarded Marine Two. She waved at press but ignored a shouted question on Jimmy Carter 

That concludes the Munich trip and your poolers reports.