Vice Presidential Pool Reports of September 14, 2021

VP pool report #1

VP motorcade rolling out at 5:36 pm, en route to McAullife gubernatorial fundraiser in Great Falls, Va.

VP pool report #2

VP arrived at a private residence in McLean at 6:04 pm.

Your pooler observed many McAullife campaign signs along the road, though a few for his Republican competitor, Glenn Youngkin, as well.

It is hot and hazy in Virginia.

VP pool report #3

We are in a tent in the backyard of the Mehta household in Great Falls.

DNC Chair Jamie Harrison spoke, but we were unable to hear the remarks. He was followed by Dorothy McAullife, then the candidate himself.

VP is standing behind McAullife, having exchanged pleasantries with Dorothy.

She shook her head slightly as McAullife mentioned the new Texas abortion law. She clapped some moments later, when McAullife proposed stricter gun laws for VA, should he be elected.

She is speaking next, and we will have her remarks as soon as possible.

VP pool report 4

More details, forwarded from the McAullife campaign. Please note that homeowners and hosts are not the same people.

Tonight's event was attended by 80 of Governor McAuliffe's top supporters, particularly from the Indian American community here in Virginia. The Vice President was greeted backstage by Governor McAuliffe, his family and DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison. Vice President Harris and Governor McAuliffe discussed the start of early voting this Friday in Virginia. The event was hosted by Jai and Pallabi Saboo. Their daughter, Shivani Saboo, kicked off the event. Chairman Harrison then introduced Dorothy McAuliffe who then introduced Terry.

VP Pool Report #5

The VP began speaking at 6::54 pm EST. She spoke for nearly 12 minutes.

The VP began her remarks by, unsurprisingly, praising McAullife: "He has that combination of life experience and vision and perspective and heart and soul."

"It's not about someone who might give a good speech," she said. And, a little later: "He understands how economies work."

"I'm very proud to stand here on behalf of myself and President Biden," the VP said, "in support of him for governor."

She then called the VA governor's race "the most hotly contested' gubernatorial race in the country. (Later, she reprised this point by calling VA "a bellwether for what will happen in the rest of the country.")

"This ain't gonna be easy," she said, repeating the message for apparent emphasis: "This will not be easy."

She then said that who sits in the governor's mansion will have power "to determine if a woman has a right to make decisions about her own own."

"Take a look at what's happening in Texas. Can you believe that...stuff?" ( The ellipsis indicates a comedic pause, suggesting she was going to use a stronger word to end that sentence.)

Continuing to discuss SB6, the VP described the new Texas law as creating "bounty hunters, essentially" and "abolishing a constitutional right for the women of that states."

The VP then asked, rhetorically, why she was talking about Texas here in Virginia. She then answered that same question: "Well, the reality is that when they think that they can get away with something in one state, then they try to come to other states to get it done."

She also tied the results of the gubernatorial race to workers' rights and voting rights

"This is an inflection point in this race," she said. (The antecedent here was a little unclear.)

Near the end of her remarks, the VP warned that the race was "going to be tight."

VP Pool Report #6

The VP pulled into her residence at the Naval Observatory at 7:36 pm.

Thank you to Shelby Talcott of the Daily Caller and Isaac Dovere of The Atlantic for co-pooling and making the evening a smooth experience.