Biden, Harris visit Atlanta to support grieving Asian American community

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris consoled the grieving Asian American community in Atlanta days after a white gunman killed eight people, including six women of Asian descent, in shootings at three metro Atlanta spas.

The Friday visit was previously scheduled to celebrate the passage of the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, but a campaign-style drive-in pep rally was scrapped after the Tuesday shootings. Biden, instead, met with Asian American leaders and deliver remarks at Emory University.

He also visited the headquarters of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to mark a milestone of administering 100 million coronavirus vaccinations since he took office. Biden promised to hit that mark within his first 100 days in office, and he cleared the hurdle with weeks to spare.

And he met with Stacey Abrams, a voting rights advocate who is expected to challenge Gov. Brian Kemp next year after narrowly losing the 2018 election. She discussed Republican-backed efforts to restrict elections access in Georgia along with her support for a federal voting overhaul.

Before his arrival, Biden expressed “grief and outrage” at the spa attacks and called for new criminal penalties to protect Asian-Americans and others targeted by a “rise of hate crimes exacerbated during the pandemic.”

Read the full story here.

Follow along for live updates.

8:20 p.m. Air Force One departs Atlanta.

7:30 p.m. The cheering students roared as each dignitary walked in — and emerged out of — the grand Convocation Hall. Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock both posed for selfies with the knots of undergrads, as did Stacey Abrams. Warnock, up for election in 2022, gave what could be considered a taste of his campaign speech.

6:20 p.m. Biden has wrapped up his speech and a group of Georgia dignitaries awaits outside to greet him. Among them are U.S. Reps. Carolyn Bourdeaux and Lucy McBath, as well as Calvin Smyre, the dean of the Georgia House, state Rep. Billy Mitchell and state Sen. Sheikh Rahman.

Hundreds of students gathered on the outskirts of the Quadrangle for a glimpse of Biden.

6:10 p.m.

6 p.m.:

5:55 p.m. Biden: “Whatever the motivation, we know this: Too many Asian-Americans have been walking up and down the streets and worrying … They’ve been attacked, blamed, scapegoated and harassed. They’ve been verbally assaulted, physically assaulted. And killed.”

5:50 p.m. Vice President Kamala Harris said the shootings offer a reminder that “the crises we face are many, that the foes we face are many.”

“Everyone has the right to go to work, to go to school, to walk down the street and be safe. To be recognized as an American – not as the other – but as us. A harm against any one of us is a harm against all of us.”

5:45 p.m. White House officials say Biden’s speech will soon begin.

5 p.m.: Here’s a full list of the Asian-American community leaders that Biden gathered with at Emory University.

4:45 p.m. Sen. Jon Ossoff hustles to his meeting with Biden.

3:50 p.m. Though the governor didn’t meet with Biden in person, the president called him to discuss the deadly spa shootings, the Covid-19 relief measure and a patent dispute that threatens a $2.6B battery plant in northeast Georgia.

Kemp has urged Biden to overturn an International Trade Commission ruling against SK Innovation that jeopardizes construction of the plant, and his office said he appreciated the “opportunity to advocate for Georgia jobs.”

3:20 p.m. The AAPI delegation is ready to meet with Biden.

3:15 p.m. Here’s the story on Biden’s visit to the CDC: ‘Science is back.’ Biden, Harris thank CDC scientists during Atlanta visit

3 p.m. No surprise here: Gov. Brian Kemp, facing a tough re-election battle, is not planning to meet with Biden or Harris during their visit to Atlanta on Friday.

2:30 p.m. During a visit to the CDC, Biden and Harris thanked public health scientists and expressed their support for their work.

“We are here to say thank you. Because it’s not easy, and you’re making difficult decisions right now,” said Harris. “You do this work on behalf of people you will never meet, on behalf of people who will never know your names, because you care about this country.”

Biden said: “Science is back.”

1:15 p.m. Biden released a statement expressing “grief and outrage” at the spa attacks and called for new criminal penalties to protect Asian-Americans and others targeted by a “rise of hate crimes exacerbated during the pandemic.”

12:50 p.m. The president has landed at Dobbins. On Air Force One, aides said he’s also set to meet with Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock during his visit.

From an aide:

”The president understands and knows the past year the community has been vilified and scapegoated and they’ve been attacked ... He spoke to the nation last week and made sure he lifted up the anti AAPI hate they have seen… and called it out. This is what he will continue to do.”

11:45 a.m. Biden and Harris are en route to Atlanta from Washington. The vice president’s plane arrived at Dobbins Air Reserve Base shortly before noon.