First Lady Pool Reports of May 9, 2024

FLOTUS Pool report Portland

Pool report on Jill Biden's Portland, OR fundraising event

Veteran Oregon political consultant Carol Butler primed some of the state's most influential Democrats gathered in her living room to hear from America's first lady Thursday afternoon with facts about Jill Biden.

Biden has a tulip named for her, Butler said. She was a high school cheerleader. And some of Biden's favorite treats are french fries and martinis.

"Now let's talk about what we all know," Butler told the crowd. "She's a mother and a grandmother. She's an educator. A fierce advocate for military families. And the not-so-secret weapon in the Biden campaign."

After thunderous applause from the 80 or so who attended the Portland fundraiser, Biden started her speech by congratulating two young women she'd met while taking photos. One told her she's going to community college. "As you all know, I teach at a community college, so I'm so proud of that," Biden said. Another told the first lady she'd just been accepted to New York University.

"Let's give her a round of applause," Biden said. "What a great day for you, that you just found out that you got accepted."

Biden thanked Gov. Tina Kotek, her wife Aimee Kotek Wilson and other elected leaders in attendance for their "years of service and care." In addition to Kotek and Kotek Wilson, who sat front row for Biden's speech, Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum and state Treasurer Tobias Read attended Thursday's fundraiser. Read is running for Oregon secretary of state.

Congressional candidate Susheela Jayapal, sister of U.S. Rep Pramila Jayapal of Seattle, attended the fundraiser as well.

Growing up outside of Philadelphia, Biden told the crowd she wanted two things from her life: a career and a marriage like her parents had, "strong and loving and full of laughter."

In the 1970s, Biden said, most of the men she dated grew their hair to their waist, as she did, and wore clogs, bell bottoms and tye-dye. One day, she accepted a date with a young U.S. senator named Joe.

"I opened the door and I took one look at his perfect suit and his leather loafers and I thought: 'Thank God this is only one date,'" Biden said, to laughter from the crowd. Five marriage proposals later, she married eventual president Joe Biden.

From her spot in the blue living room of Butler and her partner and fellow Democratic donor Win McCormack, looking out over the scenic Willamette River on a sunny and 80-degree day, Biden urged attendees to talk to their friends about the stakes of the fall 2024 presidential election. Republicans, she said, are trying to "drag us back to a dark and a dangerous past." States are gutting voting laws and banning books, she said, and courts are stripping away personal freedoms.

"We are the first generation in half a century to give our daughters a country with fewer rights than we had, but we won't let the MAGA republicans win this fight," she said.

"We can, we must, write a different future for our children and we need to start now," she added.

Biden urged support for her husband in November and rattled off a list of his accomplishments. He secured "the boldest climate legislation in American history," she said, and secured bipartisan votes for gun safety legislation. Gas prices, energy prices and inflation are down, she said.

"Anyone could tell you what they want to do," Jill Biden told the crowd, "But Joe Biden can tell you what he's done."

Biden spent just over 30 minutes at Butler and McCormack's Dunthorpe home before returning to the Portland International Airport. She was slated to fly to California on Thursday afternoon, then make appearances in Arizona on Friday and Saturday.

FLOTUS POOL REPORT #1 - Kentfield, CA

After flying into San Francisco International Airpot from Portland, First Lady Jill Biden attended a campaign fundraiser in the secluded hills of Kentfield in Marin County. The event at the home of, and hosted by, Stephanie and Mark Robinson.

About 150 people were seated under a large white tent by the pool in the expansive backyard of the home. The gathering looked out over a panoramic view of Mt. Tamalpais in the distance, the gathering on the warmest day in the Bay Area in some time. Speaking at a podium with a backdrop of the garden, roses and a lemon tree, the First Lady made remarks for just about 12 minutes.

Host Stphanie Robinson welcomed the First Lady and lauded her work on education. Robinson recognized the teachers in the audience, a little less than half, and singled out five recipients of the Marin County Teacher of the Year honor: Christina Hawkins from Novato Unified, Ben Cleaveland from Tam High School, Tom Martin from Novato Unified, Cindy Evans from the Marin County Office of Education, and Erika Meeker from Ross School. Robinson welcomed the First Lady just after 6:30p, calling her the 'Educator in Chief.'

Wearing a pink pantsuit, Dr. Biden took the podium to applause, the First Lady said she was 'speechless' by the hospitality and the warm welcome.

"You and your family have welcomed us into your childhood home, I love that," said Dr. Biden, "no wonder you didn't want to leave it, it's so beautiful."

The First Lady began her remarks with a champagne toast to the gathered educators to honor their work.

"Come on, you can't be teachers if you don't have drinks," quipped Dr. Biden.

The First Lady offered up a personal story about what President Biden did differently on his 5th attempt at a marriage proposal to elicit a different response. She recalled the Spring of 1977 with the President was leaving on a delegation to South Africa when he stopped by the First Lady's apartment.

"He gave me an ultimatum, when he got back in 10 days, he wanted an answer," said Dr. Biden.

Dr. Biden continued describing her though process over the ten days that followed, speaking to his character traits that led her to ultimately saying yes when he returned.

"He said, Jill, I promise you, your life will never change," said Dr. Biden to laughter.

The majority of the speech was devoid of politics, until the end, when Dr. Biden contrasted her husband's temperament with that of his predecessor.

"Joe is the strong, steady one, always unflappable, always unflinching," she said.

Calling him 'the other guy,' Dr. Biden called former President Trump 'dangerous' to the country and spoke to what she called his self-serving nature. Dr. Biden asked attendees to remember the jubilation they felt on election night 2020 and compare it to how they felt the morning after the election in 2016 and used that frame of reference to lay out the stakes of the upcoming election.

"That's why we have to work harder than you've ever worked before," said Dr. Biden, "we have to meet this moment as if our rights are at stake."

Promising Universal Pre-K, stemming gun violence, codifying Roe v. Wade, and defending democracy, Dr. Biden briefly touched on the campaign issues before thanking the gathering and making her exit.

"We will win this election and finish what we started," she declared, leaving to a standing ovation.

The First Lady finished her remarks at about 6:55 and your pooler was escorted out through the back lawn. She'll next contine to Southern California for more events.