Vice Presidential Pool Reports of July 4, 2021

VPOTUS pool report #1 — arriving at OTR

Greetings from sunny LA. Your pool left the W Hotel in Westwood at 10:05 a.m., got swept and folded into the motorcade at 11:05 a.m. in Brentwood. Arrived at Los Angeles Fire Dept station 19 at 11:09 a.m.

VPOTUS pool report #2 - details from WH about OTR

WH passes along:

Embargoed until our arrival, here is background about our stop:

The Vice President, Second Gentleman, and Congressman Ted Lieu (D-CA-33) and his wife, Betty Lieu, are making a surprise visit to LAFD Station 19, in Brentwood, to wish them a Happy Fourth of July. The Vice President will thank the firefighters for their service to their community and to our country.

Additional Background:

In 2019, Station 19 was part of the more than 1,000 firefighters who responded to the Getty Fire, which destroyed 10 homes and forced thousands to evacuate.

The Biden-Harris Administration has made wildfire preparedness, response, and recovery a priority as demonstrated by the wildfire briefing with western Governors and Cabinet members last week.

VPOTUS pool report #3 - color and quotes from fire station visit

VP Harris and the second gentleman arrived at LAFD fire station #19, their neighborhood fire station, at 11:17 a.m. bearing a box of cookies. (Details below).

They greeted to fire fighters and then Rep. Ted Lieu and his wife Betty.
"Hi Ted, hi Betty, it's so great to see you guys," Harris said as the two couples exchanged hugs.

Then the four of them went over to greet six firefighters standing in front of a fire engine. Much of the conversation was inaudible, but here's what I could hear:

"Hi, nice to meet you," Harris said as she shook hands with the men.
"Thank you so much for your work."
She mentioned wildfires and the drought, and that the couple had to evacuate their nearby home, and that she had visited the Paradise fire.
"This fire season is going to be worse than last year."
"The courage you show is extraordinary, just extraordinary. You save lives, and you do it so selflessly."
"Thank you and take care of yourself."
She added that on the Fourth of July, "it's important to remember … the nature of who we are."
She noted that firefighters were among the critical workers who could not stay home during the pandemic.

Doug Emhoff added that they alphas evacuated a couple times bc of wildfires, and that his brother is a firefighter.
"On behalf of the neighborhood and on behalf of us, thank you for all you do."

The elected officials and their spouses posed for group pics with the firefighters (8 of them now), then pics of the electeds, then the VP and second gentlemen alone, then the VP with individual pics with all of the firefighters.

The firefighters saluted as the motorcade drove off at 11:30 a.m. The visit lasted 13 minutes.
From WH:
The VP delivered cookies upon arrival, background below:

The Cookies are from Deluscious Cookies & Milk, a women-owned local small business that is based in LA and ships nationwide and across Canada.

VPOTUS pool report #4 - and we're done

? That’s it for the day. Any questions - please call me at [Phone number redacted by the APP.]. Happy Fourth of July!