Vice Presidential Pool Reports of October 7, 2024

VP pool report #1 — Milton briefing

Passing along

From a White House official:

This morning Vice President Harris was briefed again on Hurricane Milton, which is now a Category Five hurricane. She was briefed on the anticipated impacts of Milton on Florida, as well as the various preparations underway across the federal government to support Florida's response. She will continue to be briefed throughout the coming days.

VP supplemental pool report #2 — 2 min warning

Vice President Harris and Second Gentleman Emhoff are delivering remarks to note the one-year anniversary of the October 7 terror attacks. They will also plant a ceremonial pomegranate tree in the Naval Observatory garden.

You can follow along here:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=MeENRPbyBkg

VP supplemental pool report #3 — remarks/protesters

Pool began hearing chanting near the Naval Observatory starting just after 4:00pm ET. Pool could not see protesters

VP began speaking at 4:02pm

Tktk

VP supplemental report #4 — event concludes

Event concluded at 4:13pm. VP briefly answered one question on ceasefire negotiations, saying the administration is doing everything it can to broker a deal. Full quote to follow. She did not answer a question on hurricane relief funding

Protesters speaking through bullhorns could be heard throughout the event, though pool could not make out their exact words

VP supplemental pool report #5 — full quote and more protesters

Protesters have now reached the 34th x Massachusetts entrance to Naval Observatory

Harris's question/answer below

Q: how do you get the ceasefire negotiations back on track

A: "We're not giving up. We're doing everything we can possibly do to get the ceasefire hostage deal done. It's one of the most important ways we will be able to end this war and bring any type of stability to the region. It's one of the highest priorities of this administration"

VP supplemental pool report 5a — more on protesters

Protesters were not at the 34th and Mass entrance to NO when pool exited, as previously thought, and appear to be located further SW

Pool could not make out the exact words that were said, but could clearly hear banging drums and sirens in addition to the bullhorns

VP out of town pool report #1/ VPOTUS on hurricane

Greetings from Joint Base Andrews on a bright and warm afternoon. Marine Two touched down at 5.04pm. VPOTUS emerged at 5.08pm wearing black jacket and black trousers.

VPOTUS smiled and spoke to the press for three minutes, taking one question. She said Hurricane Milton is "very, very serious" and urged people to heed advice. She accused former president Trump of "misinformation" over FEMA resources for Helene.

Asked about Ron DeSantis, she criticized political gamesmanship. More details to follow.

VPOTUS is heading to New York for a series of media interviews tomorrow.

We will shortly be wheels up on Air Force Two.

VP out of town pool report #2/ VPOTUS speaks off the record

VPOTUS came to the press cabin on Air Force Two and spoke to reporters off the record for seven minutes. We will be taking off soon.

VP out of town pool report #3/ More detail on hurricane comments

Air Force Two landed at LaGuardia airport in New York at 6.07pm after an uneventful flight.

Here's more detail on VPOTUS's answer to the question about Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida ignoring her calls about Hurricane Milton: "Moments of crisis, if nothing else, should really be the moment that anyone who calls themselves a leader says they're going to put politics aside and put the people first.

"People are in desperate need of support right now and playing political games at this moment, in these crisis situations – these are the height of emergency situations – it is utterly irresponsible and it is selfish and it is about political gamesmanship instead of doing the job that you took an oath to do, which is to put the people first."
Earlier VPOTUS said she had just come off the phone with FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell.

"And I cannot stress enough to all the folks in Florida in the Tampa area, please listen to evacuation orders. Please listen to your local officials because I know a lot of folks out there have survived these hurricanes before; this one is going to be very, very serious and I urge you to grab whatever you need.

"... The other point I'd make is there's a lot of misinformation being pushed out there by the former president about what is available, particularly for the survivors of Helene. First of all, it's extraordinarily irresponsible. It's about him, it's not about you. The reality is FEMA has so many resources that are available to those who desperately need them."

ENDS

VP out of town pool report #4/ VPOTUS off AF2

As the sun set at a windy LaGuardia airport, VPOTUS walked down the stairs of Air Force Two at 6.20pm, saluted, waved to the press and climbed into a waiting limousine. Motorcade set off at 6.24pm.

VP out of town pool report #5/ VPOTUS at RON

VPOTUS's motorcade reached the RON in Manhattan at 6.48pm after an uneventful journey.

VP out of town pool report #6/ Lid

A lid was called at 6.58pm.