Vice President Kamala Harris visited the Island Saturday, attending two reelection fundraisers for the 2024 campaign.
Air Force Two landed at Martha’s Vineyard Airport at 12:31 p.m. Saturday, greeted by a 15-car motorcade of local and state police, Secret Service detail, and one Vineyard Transit Authority van. From there, the Vice President attended the first fundraiser at the private residence of Maria Harleston and later traveled to the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School gymnasium to give a keynote address before a large crowd.
At the high school event, the Vice President urged about 400 supporters to take up the fight over civil rights in the face of opponents who she said seek to divide and distract Americans.
The Vice President and her husband Douglas Emhoff departing the fundraiser Saturday.
— Ray Ewing
Vice President Harris addressed the audience at 2:40 p.m., walking out to Beyoncé’s Break My Soul. In her half hour address, she touted the Biden-Harris administration’s accomplishments and its plan for the future, drawing attention to the administration’s cap on insulin pricing, investments in high-speed internet, promises to remove lead pipes in communities, and funding for clean-energy investments.
She also took aim at Republicans who she said are attempting to roll back progress by imposing book bans, restricting abortion rights and enacting so-called “don’t-say-gay” laws. A Florida school claimed some works of William Shakespeare apparently violate that state’s law, she said.
“I mean talk about ‘Much Ado About Nothing,’” she said, to laughs. “If it weren’t so terrifying, it would be a comedy.’’
Vice President Harris was briefly interrupted by two hecklers at the high school, one who called attention to the climate crisis and one who yelled “Kamala get off it, the people love a profit.”
After the event, protestors from the environmental activist organization Climate Defiance gathered outside the high school in front of departing attendees with a large sign that read, “Kamala, Get Off It.”
Both events were private and attendees at the high school had to give a donation to the Biden Victory Fund to enter. Donation options ranged from $50 to $10,000.
Air Force Two flew into Martha’s Vineyard Airport Saturday.
— Ray Ewing
One protestor, Jay Waxse, had come from Washington D.C. to attend the fundraiser, paying the minimum $50 required to R.S.V.P. for the event. He said his fellow activists had come from all over the country, united by a shared sense of urgency regarding the current climate emergency and disappointment in the Biden-Harris administration’s response. The protest Saturday was intended to push the Biden-Harris administration to stop approving oil and gas projects on federal land, Mr. Waxse said.
“Biden positions himself as a climate president…but it’s a front,” he said.
Other attendees felt differently. Vineyard summer resident Marni Grossman had also attended the fundraiser at the high school and walked away feeling impressed by the vice president’s track record.
“She’s really pointed out how well [President Biden and her] work as a team and all they’ve accomplished,” Ms. Grossman said. “She gave the sense that she’s a very strong leader.”
California resident Kathy Eldon agreed, noting how far Vice President Harris has come since her days as a Californian senator.
“It’s been interesting to see her trajectory all these years,” she said. “I feel like at this event I got to see the breadth and depth of her being, and it’s very impressive.”
Both Ms. Grossman and Ms. Eldon said they had been struck by the vice president’s closing remarks, which echoed the late Coretta Scott King.
“The fight for civil rights must be fought and won with each generation,” Vice President Harris said. “So, do not despair, do not be overwhelmed, do not throw up our hands. No, let’s just roll up our sleeves.”
“I just thought that was great,” Ms. Grossman said. “Don’t give up – get to work.”
During the fundraising trip, Vice President Harris also paid tribute to Charles J. Ogletree Jr., the Harvard law professor, activist and frequent Vineyard visitor who died earlier this month. “I know we all miss him, and thank him,” she said.
The Vice President was scheduled to leave the Island Sunday, according to the White House.
