Vice Presidential Pool Reports of June 5, 2024

Pool report from VP fundraiser in Oakland

The sold-out fundraiser for the Biden Victory Fund was held Wednesday at the home of Smita Trivedi & Akash Jain in the lovely Oakland hills. Under a cloudless blue sky, guests saw a panoramic view of San Francisco and the San Francisco Bay as they entered through the front door. Cheapest ticket to get in was $5,000 for an individual scaling up to $25,000 for a couple. About 60 guests mingled in the backyard.

Trivedi is an associate Professor of Business and Society and Sustainability at San Francisco State University. Jain is president of Palantir Technologies federal business unit, which has been described as one of the "most buzzy technology providers for the Defense Department."

About 60 guests gathered in the backyard, with many seated under a white tent, eating and listening to recordings of a jazz guitarist. There were many longtime friends in the audience. The VP was born in Oakland and raised in nearby Berkeley.. The audience cheered at a mention of "Berkeley" and the elementary school she attended, Thousand Oaks Elementary.

At 12:37 p.m., the pool was escorted into the backyard as the VP began speaking.

The VP's speech, at least while the pool was in attendance, was light on policy and more focused on encouraging supporters about the importance of the election. She said she has met with more than 150 world leaders, many of whom are concerned about the election.

During her recent trips, Harris said, "Almost to a person, world leaders came up to me and said, 'Kamala, they said,' -- We're on a first name basis -- 'I hope you guys are going to be OK in this election.' And understand that when they raised the point, it was purely out of self interest. Because, you see, people around the globe fully understand the consequences of this election to their own countries, much less to us. And I share that to just put a fine point on the consequences and the permeations that will result from this election. Everything is at stake."

Harris said many freedoms are at stake in the election, from abortion rights to voting rights in states like Georgia to LGBTQ rights in Florida.

Harris told the audience, "Do not despair. This is not a time to despair and throw up our hands. This is a time to roll up our sleeves. We have 153 days left to get this done. And we are up for it and we are going to win," she said as the audience cheered. "We may have bloody knuckles at the end of it but we are going to win because it's not going to be easy. It's not gonna be easy."

She encouraged audience members to contact their friends, families and neighbors and remind them about the power of the people. Democracy is at stake, she said. She spoke about the "duality of democracy. She praised "the strength it gives its people by protecting their rights and their liberties On the other hand, democracy is very fragile. It is only as strong as our willingness to fight. And so fight we will."

She did not mention Donald Trump, his recent felony convictions or the Administration's new border policy, which was announced this week. Nor did she mention anything about the Middle East, despite the presence of pro Palestine demonstrators several blocks away outside the security perimeter. They could not be seen or heard from the site of the fundraiser.

After 11 minutes, the pool was ushered out of the home and a short distance down the street. The pool saw her motorcade leave the fundraiser at 1:36 p.m.

This was the first of two fundraisers the VP is doing Wednesday in the Bay Area. After this, she was headed to San Francisco, where she served as district attorney, for another fundraiser.

Addition to pool report

Addition to pool report:
In attendance were California attorney general Rob Bonta and his wife, Oakland Assembly Member Mia Bonta.

Hi everyone,

I am your pooler for the VP's Biden Victory Fund event in San Francisco. VP spoke at The Chapel, an intimate live music venue in San Francisco's Mission neighborhood, for 13 minutes. The VP made no news but there were over a hundred protesters outside and at least one person came in and shouted about genocide and queer rights and were quickly escorted out. Here are some details and color from the VP's speech:

Pro-Palestinian protestors gathered around 11:30 a.m. outside of the venue where VP Harris was expected to speak this afternoon. Protesters shouted "shame on you" to attendees as they walked inside and by 1:02 p.m. San Francisco Police Department asked protesters to relocate south of 19th and Valencia Streets threatening arrest. By 1:20 p.m. a barricade was placed between protesters and police thanked demonstrators for their cooperation. It appeared at least one person was taken away, with their wrist bound in zip ties. It's unclear if they were arrested. By 1:59 p.m. motorcades arrived at the venue and protesters' shouts grew louder.

Inside, the VP walked on stage and began remarks at 2:18 p.m. speaking to approximately 75 to 100 attendees who stood listening. Refreshments and food were offered inside near the entryway.

Harris began addressing the people in the audience who she recognized. She referenced campaigning back when she ran for San Francisco District Attorney in 2002.

"We have all been involved in these four-year cycles many times together," Harris said. "We have almost every time talked about 'this is the one.' Well, this year is the one." The crowd responded with laughter. "Everything is at stake in this election."

At this moment an attendee interrupted Harris shouting remarks about genocide and queer rights. The person was quickly taken away by security as the crowd shouted "Four more years!"

Harris continued, "What we've seen in Gaza is far too many innocent civilians being killed. Humanitarian aid being denied in many cases. The president and I have been very clear. This war must end, we need a cease-fire, we need the hostages out, we need aid going in and we need to be committed to a two-state solution." The crowd erupted in applause.

Harris then said while there's a lot to talk about she was asked by a friend to focus on reproductive issues.

She spoke for the next several minutes about the context of "intentional full-on attacks" against hard-won freedoms across the country. She brought up her advocacy for same-sex marriage twenty years ago, book bans, voter suppression in Georgia, and the Supreme Court's decision to undo abortion protections. Harris then shared a story of a friend in high school who was molested. Harris recalled asking her mother for a friend to live at home with her.

"Early in my life, I decided I wanted to take on harms against women and children," Harris said, which followed a brief applause. She continued to reference abortion bans in states where maternal mortality rates are highest. She told the story of a woman from Texas who was denied care while enduring a miscarriage. "This is not the time to throw up our hands it's time to roll up our sleeves," she said.

She talked about meeting with over 150 world leaders in her role as VP. "I've not met so many of these world leaders, so many times we're on a first-name basis. One of them came up to me and said, 'Kamala, I hope you guys are going to be okay.' The impact and consequence of this election profoundly impacts the people of our nation and people around the world. It's all at stake. The beauty of it all is this: the issue being presented to us is what kind of country do we want to live in. The answer to that is within the power of each of us."

The VP didn't mention immigration or the recent decision to close the Mexico border.

Harris talked for 13 minutes and wrapped up her remarks at 2:31 p.m. She swiftly headed to the motorcade.

Police removed barricades and protesters began departing by 2:44 p.m. By 3 p.m. the streets had cleared.