Vice Presidential Pool Reports of October 17, 2023

VP Pool Report #1 / AF2 lands in Flagstaff

Greetings from Flagstaff Pulliam Airport here in Arizona.

AF2 landed on the tarmac at 11:35 a.m. We are still waiting for the VP to disembark as of 12:07 p.m.

On Background From a White House Official:

Today, Vice President Kamala Harris will continueher nationwide "Fight for Our Freedoms" College Tour by participating in a moderated conversation with students at Northern Arizona University, a Hispanic-Serving Institution in Flagstaff. Today's event is the ninth stop on her more than a month-long college tour.

During a discussion alongside co-founder and president of Voto Latino Foundation María Teresa Kumar and actor Jay Ellis, the Vice President will focus on issues that disproportionately impact young people across America – from reproductive freedom and gun safety to climate action, voting rights, and book bans. She will also urge attendees to register to vote, highlight how the Biden-Harris Administration has delivered for young people, outline the work ahead to protect fundamental freedoms, and take questions directly from students who are organizing on the frontlines of these fights. This 3:30 p.m. ET moderated conversation will be livestreamed atwww.whitehouse.gov/live.

Today's Event in Arizona:
Northern Arizona University is an award-winning Hispanic-Serving Institution that was founded in 1899. Today's event will feature various student groups including the NAU Banda Latino Caribeña, the NAU Cheer Club Team, and the NAU Jazz Ensemble, 'High Altitude'. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, Flagstaff mayor Becky Daggett, NAU president Dr. Jose Luis Cruz Rivera, and student body president Maria Emilia Machelor will also speak during the program.

The "Fight for Our Freedoms" College Tour:
Vice President Harris's more than a month-long "Fight for Our Freedoms" College Tour kicked off in mid-September with stops at Hampton University, North Carolina A&T State University, Reading Area Community College, and IBEW Local 743 in Pennsylvania. She also participated in moderated conversations at Florida International University – one of the largest Hispanic Serving Institutions in the country – and Morehouse College where she spoke with students from four HBCUs in Atlanta, GA. Last week, Vice President Harris was at the College of Charleston and the College of Southern Nevada.

This national swing is mobilizing thousands of young people in the ongoing fight for fundamental freedoms and rights. The Vice President is visiting around a dozen campuses including HBCUs, community colleges, apprenticeship programs, state schools, and Hispanic-Serving Institutions. Additional stops will be announced in the coming days.

VP Harris's work to engage with young Americans:
The college tour is a continuation of Vice President Harris's recent nonstop travel, and comes on the heels of her Summer of Action that included visits to 17 states. She has long been dedicated to energizing, engaging, and partnering with young leaders throughout the country, and has consistently led on issues that are important to young people. The Vice President has already been to 18 college campuses this year after visiting 14 schools in 2022. She also regularly meets with young leaders wherever she goes – from climate leaders in Colorado to gun safety advocates in Virginia.

VP Pool Report #2 / VP disembarks

Vice President Harris disembarked at 12:20 p.m. She shook hands and spoke briefly with Flagstaff Mayor Becky Daggett and Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, who greeted her on the tarmac. VP glances at the press and does not take questions.

Motorcade is now en route to Northern Arizona University, where the VP is scheduled to participate in a moderated conversation with co-founder and president of Voto Latino Foundation María Teresa Kumar and actor Jay Ellis.

VP Pool Report #3 / Still awaiting Harris

As of 1:40 p.m., we are still awaiting the VP in NAU's auditorium. The event program appears to be on hold.

The motorcade arrived at the auditorium at around 12:30 p.m., greeted by crowds of students along the the street.

The following people delivered remarks, from around 12:55 p.m. until 1:10 p.m.: Flagstaff Mayor Becky Daggett, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, and Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. The lights on stage then turned off for a couple minutes. There has not yet been another speaker.

The auditorium is full, with very few empty seats.

VP Pool Report #4 / Harris takes the stage

Program back up and running -- VP Harris took the stage at NAU to a standing ovation at 1:52 p.m.

NAU student body president Maria Emilia Machelor welcomed her to the stage, along with the moderators: co-founder and president of Voto Latino Foundation María Teresa Kumar and actor Jay Ellis.

VP Pool Report #5 / Harris asked about "inhumane" Gaza and Palestine policies, to cheers

About half an hour into the VP's remarks, she takes a question from a student "Jonathan Otero" (spelling not confirmed), self-described as a "Chicano aspiring educator." The exchange becomes testy with jeers from the audience. I have not yet checked the quotes below with audio.

Student question: "This administration has continued to deport children and their families while simultaneously building a wall…Children continue to die at the wall because of this administration's inhumane policies, much like those" in Palestine – to immediate cheers from the audience -- "Today, Israel bombed the last Christian hospital in Gaza, killing over 500 doctors, children, and refugees…As an educator, why take away the life of the children in Gaza and at the border, which ultimately takes away the fundamental right of education?" – the question receives loud cheers of support from the audience.

"So you brought up a lot of issues, and there's a lot to unpack," Harris begins. "I absolutely understand, and it is my lived experience, with the first subject that you raised, to know that this was a nation that was founded by immigrants," says she is the child of immigrants.

"I will also say that it is important that we have a safe, orderly, and fair immigration system. When Joe Biden and I came into office, the first piece of legislation…that we proposed was pathway to citizenship. And Republicans in Congress have purposely not picked it up. Because they have decided it is in their political best interest to create an issue in a way that they can then politicize and play games with, and play games with the lives of people."

"On the issue of what is happening in the Middle East, I believe that Israelis and Palestinians both deserve peace, deserve self-determination, and deserve safety," she says, to moderate cheers. "I am deeply, deeply affected, as I think we all are, by what we have seen in terms of the loss of life and the violence that has occurred that, first of all, when a terrorist organization Hamas struck Israel in the way that it is. I think it is also important to recognize the distinction between a terrorist organization, Hamas, and the Palestinian people and civilians, and they should not be conflated, she says to cheers. "And we must have a response to that in a way that we understand, as humans, that the suffering that is happening…."

VP's response elicits scattered jeers, including some unintelligible screaming: "Stop making bombs," one says.

"I am not here to tell young voters what they want," she mentions several minutes later into the conversation, to polite applause.

VP Pool Report #6 / Harris leaves the stage

VP leaves the stage at 2:45 p.m. to a standing ovation.

Motorcade heading straight back to Flagstaff Pulliam Airport for departure.

VP Pool Report #7 / AF2 departure

AF2 departs from Flagstaff at 4:19p.m.

Below are a few quotes from the event that have now been checked with audio.

Full quote from student's question on immigration/Gaza: "Children continue to die at the wall because of this administration's inhumane policies, much like the policies— crimes committed against those in Palestine."

"This was a nation that was founded by immigrants" (Corrected from: "this is a nation")

"…when a terrorist organization Hamas struck Israel in the way that it did." (Corrected from: "that it is.")

All other quotes are correct as originally written.

Signing off for the day,