Speeches and Remarks

Savannah Civic Center
Savannah, Georgia

1:26 P.M. EST

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Good afternoon, Savannah.  Good afternoon.  Oh, it is good to be back in Georgia.  Thank you all.

Let — can we please give it up for President McDonald and all of your work — (applause) — and your leadership.  Truly.  And I want to thank you for all of your courage and your tireless work.

Mr. Mayor, where are you?  He was — there is — there is our mayor.  He — he greeted me on the tarmac when I landed on Air Force Two.  (Applause.)  He has been such a friend to our administration and a great national leader.  And, Mayor, I want to thank you for your powerful leadership of this great city.  Thank you.  (Applause.)  Thank you.

And I know they’re working hard in Washington, but I want to recognize Senator Raphael Warnock — (applause) — and Senator Jon Ossoff.  (Applause.)  They’re in D.C. today for votes, but I will say, Georgia, you have two extraordinary senators.  (Applause.)  And they are always fighting on behalf of the people of this state.

And to all of the leaders who are here — and there are so many — I want to thank all of you for the work that you do to — to uphold one of our nation’s highest and most important ideals.  And that is the ideal of freedom.  Freedom.

Freedom is fundamental to the promise of America — to the promise of America.  Freedom of speech.  Freedom of worship.  Freedom of assembly.  The freedom to vote. 

In America, freedom is not to be given.  It is not to be bestowed.  It is ours by right.  (Applause.)  By right.  

And that includes the freedom to make decisions about one’s own body and not have the government — (applause) — telling people what to do. 

Fifty-one years ago, in the case of Roe vs. Wade, the United States Supreme Court recognized the fundamental constitutional right to reproductive freedom.  And for nearly half a century, Americans relied on the freedoms protected by Roe. 

However, 19 months ago, the highest court in our land — the court of Thurgood and RBG — (applause) — right? — took a constitutional right that had been recognized from the people of America, from the women of America.  And now, we must speak of Roe in the past tense.

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  In states across our nation, extremists have proposed and passed laws that criminalize doctors and punish women. 

Laws that threaten doctors and nurses with prison time, including right here in Georgia, even for life — in some states, prison for life — simply for providing healthcare.  Laws that in some states make no exception even for rape and incest. 

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Now, I know it’s a difficult conversation to have, but we need to face reality.  Right?

As many of us know, and many of you may know —

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  (Inaudible.)

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — I started —

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Shame on you!  You’re committing genocide!  You’re committing genocide!  (Inaudible.)

AUDIENCE:  Kamala!  Kamala!  Kamala!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  It’s okay.

AUDIENCE:  Kamala!  Kamala!  Kamala!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.

AUDIENCE:  Kamala!  Kamala!  Kamala!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you all.  Thank you.  Thank you all.

And we know, in a healthy democracy, we value the freedom of all people to be heard.  And — but right now, we are talking about a different issue, and that is the issue of what has happened to the women and people of America as a result of the Dobbs decision.  (Applause.)

So, as I was saying, no exception even for rape or incest.  And we must have difficult conversations about what that means.   

As many of you know, I started my career as a prosecutor specializing in crimes of violence against women and children.  (Applause.)  But what many of you may not know is why. 

So, when I was in high school, one of my best friends, I learned, was being molested by her stepfather.  And when I learned, I said to her, “You got to — you got to come and stay with us.”  And I called my mother, and my mother said, “Of course she has to come and stay with us.”  And she did. 

So, the idea that someone who survives a crime of violence, a violation to their body, would then be told they don’t have the authority to decide what happens to their body next, that’s immoral.  

And let us all agree: One does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree the government should not be telling her what to do with her body.  (Applause.)  

If she chooses, she will consult with her pastor, her priest, her rabbi, her imam.  But it should not be the government telling her what to do.  (Applause.)

So, this is, in fact, a healthcare crisis.  And in that way, there is nothing about this moment that is hypothetical.

Today, in America, more than one in three women of reproductive age live in a state with an abortion ban — one in three women of reproductive age live in a state with an abortion ban, including more than 2 and a half million right here in the state of Georgia.

And let us understand what that really means.  Let us understand the horrific reality that women face every single day since the Roe decision was overturned.

Folks, I have met women who have had miscarriages in toilets because they were refused care.  I met a woman who went to an emergency room during a miscarriage and was turned away repeatedly because the doctors there were afraid they might be put in jail for helping her.  And it was only at the point that she developed sepsis that she received care.

Think about this fact: Of the number of women — and this is — this is difficult to talk about, guys.  I know that.  But this is the reality of what’s happening in our country. 

Of the number of women who became pregnant because of rape since this case came down, it is estimated that tens of thousands are in a state with a complete abortion ban. 

Now, think about what that means.  In Georgia, women face a six-week abortion ban — before many women even know they are pregnant.  Which, by the way, tells us these lawmakers e- — either they don’t know how a woman’s body works or they just don’t care.  (Applause.) 

And in Georgia, because of the way the law is written, no exception for rape or incest unless they file a police report to get permission — to get permission for an abortion after six weeks.  Permission.

So, as a former prosecutor, again, we got to break this down.  Okay?  Here’s what we’re talking about: So, this means she needs to walk into a police department, be questioned by a police officer.  If she lives in a small town, it might be somebody she knows.  And she will be required — after what she’s been through — required to recount the crime even if she don’t want to talk about it.  She will be required to report on someone even though the consequences of that may expose her to more harm, simply because she wants to exercise her right to make a decision about what happens to her body next.  Think about what this means. 

And for many of these women, all of this means that, in order to access the care they need, they have to leave Georgia — they have to leave their home; they have to leave their family or friends who might be with them through this moment to give them comfort and care — to travel to a state that protects reproductive freedom. 

And understand, there’s only one state in the South without an abortion ban: the state of Virginia.  In the entire South, one — a six-hour drive from here in Savannah.

Now, the majority of women, we also know, who have abortions are mothers.  So, again, let’s break down what this means.  For her to travel to receive care, well, God help her if she does not have paid leave or affordable childcare.  (Applause.)  God help her if she does not have the savings necessary to buy a plane, train, or a bus ticket to get where she can receive the care she wants and needs or to book a hotel room. 

And, by the way, while these extremists behind these laws say they are motivated by the health and well-being of women and children — (laughter) — while they say that, they have been silent on the crisis of maternal mortality.  (Applause.)  Silent.

Georgia has one of the highest rates of maternal mortality in our nation.  Black women are three to four times more likely to die in connection with childbirth than other women.  And the top ten states with the highest rates of maternal mortality all have abortion bans.  The hypocrisy abounds. 

So, Georgia, there is profound harm happening in our country because of the state of the law.  The reality in real time across our country is that for every story we hear, there are so many we don’t. 

Today, an untold number of women are silently suffering — women who are being judged, who are being made to feel as though they did something wrong, that they should be embarrassed, made to feel alone. 

And I say, I do believe that, as a nation, that is not what we stand for.  I do believe that.

So, I say to these women: We see you, we see your incredible strength, and we are here with you.

And in this healthcare crisis, please do understand who is to blame.  The former President, Donald Trump — (applause) — hand-picked three members of the United States Supreme Court justice because he intended for them to overturn Roe.  He intended for them to take your freedoms.  And it’s a decision he brags about.

He said, “Well, for years” — and I’m going to quote — “they were trying to get rid of Roe v. Wade — trying to have it terminated.”  And then — but he said — I quote — “I did it,” he said.  “And I’m proud to have done it,” he said.  He is proud. 

Proud that women across our nation are suffering?  Proud that women have been robbed of a fundamental freedom?  Proud that doctors could be thrown in prison — in some cases, for life — for caring for patients?  That young women today have fewer rights than their mothers and grandmothers?  How dare he.  (Applause.)  How dare he.

Understand, the former President is the architect of this healthcare crisis. 

And the extremists are not done.  In the United States Congress, extremists tried to pass a national abortion ban to outlaw abortion in every single state. 

But what they need to know is that if Congress passes a national abortion ban, President Joe Biden will veto it.  (Applause.)  

Because here’s the deal about all of us: We trust women.  We trust women.  We trust women to make decisions about their own body.  We trust women to know what is in their own best interest. 

And, folks, women trust all of us to fight for their rights — (applause) — and to protect their most fundamental freedoms.  And it is going to take all of us.  And it is going to take all of us. 

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  We ready!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And we’re ready. 

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  That’s right!  (Inaudible.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  (Laughs.)

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Four more years!

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Four more years!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  I see that.  (Laughs.)

AUDIENCE:  Four more years!  Four more years!  Four more years!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  So, on that point — so, on that point, Joe Biden and I are fighting in court to protect women’s access to medication and emergency care.  We are strengthening patient privacy protections so that medical records stay between a woman and her doctor.  And we are protecting the right of women to travel for abortion care.  And fighting for access to free contraception.  (Applause.)  Yes.

And the bottom line is: To truly protect reproductive freedoms, we must restore the protections of Roe.  What the United States Supreme Court took away, Congress can put back in place.  But we must have a majority in the United States Congress who simply agree that the government should not be making those personal decisions for people.  (Applause.) 

And when Congress passes a law that puts back in the protections of Roe, Joe Biden will sign it.  (Applause.)  

So, again, I say, it’s going to take all of us to get there — everybody here.  And the momentum is on our side.  We are winning. 

Since Roe was overturned, every time reproductive freedom has been on the ballot, the people of America have voted for freedom.  From Kansas to California to Kentucky, in Michigan and Montana and Vermont and Ohio — (applause) — the American people have voted for freedom.  And not by a little but by overwhelming majorities. 

Proving, also, by the way — and I say that to whichever political pundits might be behind those cameras — (laughter) — proving, also, that it is not a partisan issue.  Tens of millions of Americans, in red states and blue, marched to the polls in defense of fundamental freedoms. 

And so, with that, I say, the voice of the people has been heard, and it will be heard.

And then I say — and ask, in conclusion: Georgia, are you ready to make your voices heard?  (Applause.) 

Do we trust women?  (Applause.) 

Do we believe in reproductive freedom?  (Applause.) 

Do we believe in the promise of America?  (Applause.) 

And are we ready to fight for it?  (Applause.)

And when we fight, we win! 

God bless you.  God bless America.  Thank you, all.  (Applause.)

                        END            1:44 P.M. EST

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State Dining Room

1:16 P.M. EST
 
THE PRESIDENT:  Good afternoon.  For much too long, as you all know, the immigration system has been broken.  And it’s long past time to fix it. 
 
That’s why, months ago, I instructed my team to begin negotiations with a bipartisan group of senators to seriously and finally fix our immigration system.
 
For months now, that’s what they’ve done, working around the clock, through the holidays, over the weekends.
 
It’s been an extraordinary effort by Senators Lankford, Murphy, and Sinema.
 
The result of all this hard work is a bipartisan agreement that represents the most fair, humane reforms in our immigration system in a long time and the toughest set of reforms to secure the border ever.   
 
Now, all indications are this bill won’t even move forward to the Senate floor.
 
Why?  A simple reason: Donald Trump.  Because Donald Trump thinks it’s bad for him politically.  Therefore, he doesn’t — even though it would help the — the country, he’s not for it.  He’d rather weaponize this issue than actually solve it.
 
So, for the last 24 hours, he’s done nothing, I’m told, but reach out to Republicans in the House and the Senate and threaten them and try to intimidate them to vote against this proposal.  And it looks like they’re caving.
 
Frankly, they owe it to the American people to show some spine and do what they know to be right.
 
So, I want to tell the American people what’s in this bill and why everyone from the Wall Street Journal to the Border Patrol to the Chamber of Commerce — United States Chamber of Commerce support this bill.
 
Because it’s going to make the country safer, make the border more secure, treat people more humanely and freel- — and fairly, and make legal immigration more efficient and consistent with the values of our nation and our international treaty obligations.
 
It would finally provide the funding that I have repeatedly — repeatedly requested, most recently in October, to actually secure the border.  That includes an additional 1,500 border agents and officers to secure the border — to physically secure it. 
 
In addition, 100 cutting-edge machines to detect and stop fentanyl at the Southwest Border.  We have that capacity.
 
An additional — 100 additional immigration judges to help reduce the year-long asylum backlog.  You show up for asylum and you get told a judge is supposed to talk to you.  It takes a year to get that discussion going.
 
This bill would also establish new, efficient, and fair process for the government to consider an asylum claim for those arriving at the border.
 
Today, the process can take five to seven years, as you all know.  They show up at the border, get a bracelet, told to be — come back when called, five to seven years from now, in the country.  That’s too long, and it’s not rational.
 
With the new policies in this bill and the additional 4,300 more asylum officers — who spend hours, I might add, with each immigrant to consider their claims — whether they — they qualify — we’ll be able to reduce that process to six months, not five to seven years.  
 
This bipartisan bill will also expedite work permits so those who are here and who qualify can begin work more quickly.
 
That’s something that our governors, our mayors, and our business leaders have been asking me for and asking them for.  All across the country, they’ve been asking for this.
 
It’ll also create more opportunities for families to come together, for business to hire additional workers. 
 
And for the first time in 30 years — the first time in 30 years, this bipartisan legislation increases the number of immigrant visas for people legally — legally able to come to this country through ports of entry.
 
And it ensures that — for the first time, that vulnerable, unaccompanied young children have legal representation at the border.
 
This bill would also give me, as President, the emergency authority to temporarily shut down the border when it becomes overwhelmed — the numbers they’re talking — over 5,000 people trying get in in one day.
 
The bill — if the bill were law today, it would qualify to be shut down right now while we repair it.
 
The bottom line is: This bipartisan bill is a win for America because it makes important fixes to our broken immigration system, and it’s the toughest, fairest law that’s ever been proposed relative to the border.
 
Now, it doesn’t address everything I’d like — that I wanted.
 
For example, we still need a path for — of documentation for those who are already here.  And we’re not walking away from
true immigration reform, including permanent protections and a pathway to citizenship for young DREAMers who came here when they were children and who have been good citizens and contribute so much to our country.
 
But the reforms in this bill are essential for making our border more orderly, more humane, and more secure.
 
That’s why the Border Patrol Union — which, by the way, endorsed Donald Trump in the 2020 election — endorses this bill.  These are the people whose job it is to secure the border every single solitary day.  They don’t just show up for photo ops like some members of Congress.  They’re there to do their job.
 
This is the risk — the thing they — many of them risk their lives doing every single day.  And they decided — they decided — the Border Patrol decided this gives them the tools they need to do the job: more personnel across the board.
 
It’s also why the U.S. Chamber of Commerce endorsed this bill, because they know this bill is not just good for the border, it’s also good for American business and for the American economy.
 
And it’s why the Wall Street Journal endorsed the bill with the headline this morning which reads, quote, “A Border Security Bill Worth Passing.  The Senate Has Reforms Trump Never Came Close to Getting.”  That’s the quote from the Journal.
 
This bill would also address two other important priorities.  First, it provides urgent funding for Ukraine.  I’m wearing my Ukraine tie and my Ukraine pin, which I’ve been wearing because the — they’re — they’re in dire straits right now, defending themselves against the Russian onslaught and brutal conquest.
 
The clock is ticking.  Every week, every month that passes without new aid to Ukraine means fewer artillery shells, fewer defense ai- — air defense systems, fewer tools for Ukraine to defend itself against this Russian onslaught.  Just what Putin wants.
 
Ukrainians are fighting bravely. 
 
You know, you’ve — many of you — I look around the room here — have followed me in this for a long time.  I pulled together a coalition of over 50 nations to support them.  On the phone, talking to these leaders, I — we unified NATO.  Remember when we first came into office, NATO was — well, they’re all together, and I actually increased the size of NATO. 
 
We can’t walk away now.  That’s what Putin is betting on.
 
Supporting this bill is standing up to Putin.  Opposing this bill is playing into his hands. 
 
As I’ve said before, the stakes on this fight extend well beyond Ukraine.  If we don’t stop Putin’s appetite for power and control in Ukraine, he won’t limit himself to just Ukraine.  And the costs for America and our allies and partners will rise.
 
For those Republicans in Congress who think they can oppose
funding for Ukraine and not be held accountable, history is watching.  History is watching.  A failure to support Ukraine at this critical moment will never be forgotten.
 
The position of the MAGA Republicans can be characterized by the New York Times headline: “First…”  And this is the headline.  It reads, “Trump First.  Putin Second.  America Third.”  That cannot pertain.
 
This bipartisan agreement also provides Israel with what it needs to protect its people and defend itself against Hamas terrorists.  And it will provide the necessary lifesaving humanitarian assistance for the Palestinian people. 
 
By opposing this bill, they’re denying aid to the people who are really suffering and desperately need help.
 
You know, there’s more work to get this done, over the finish line.  And I want to be clear: Doing nothing is not an option. 
 
Republicans have to decide.  For years, they said they want to secure the border.  Now they have the strongest border bill this country has ever seen.  We’re seeing statements about how many oppose the bill now.
 
Look, I understand the former President is desperately trying to stop this bill because it’s not — he’s not interested in solving the border problem; he wants a political issue to run against me on.  They’ve all but said that, across the board.  No one really denies that, that I’m aware of.
 
The American people want a solution that puts an end to the empty political rhetoric which has failed to do anything for so long.  We have to get the resources to the border to get the job done.
 
So, Republicans have to decide: Who do they serve — Donald Trump or the American people?  Are they here to solve problems or just weaponize those problems for political purposes?
 
I know my answer.  I serve the American people.  I’m here to solve problems. 
 
It was just months ago that Republicans were asking for this exact bill to deal with the border, to provide support for Ukraine and Israel.  And now — and now it’s here, and they’re saying, “Never mind.  Never mind.”
 
Folks, we’ve got to move past this toxic politics.  It’s time to stop playing games with the world waiting and watching.  And, by the way, the world is waiting.  The world is watching.  They are waiting and watching what we’re going to do.
 
We can’t let — we can’t continue to let petty partisan politics get in the way of our responsibility.  We’re a great nation that’s not acting like a great nation. 
 
So, I’m calling on Congress to pass this bill and get it to my desk immediately.  But if the bill fails, I want to be absolutely clear about something: The American people are going to know why it failed. 
 
I’ll be taking this issue to the country, and the voters are going to know that it’s not just a moment — just at the moment we were going to secure the border and fund these other programs, Trump and the MAGA Republicans said no because they’re afraid of Donald Trump — afraid of Donald Trump.
 
Every day between now and November, the American people are going to know that the only reason the border is not secure is Donald Trump and his MAGA Republican friends.
 
It’s time for Republicans in the Congress to show a little courage, to show a little spine to make it clear to the American people that you work for them and not for anyone else. 
 
I know who I work for.  I work for the American people.
 
In moments like this, we have to remember who in God’s name we are.  We’re the United States of America.  You’ve heard me say it many times: There is nothing beyond our capacity if we do it together.  We’re right on the verge of doing it together.
 
I hope — I hope and pray they find reason to reconsider blowing this up.
 
May God bless you all.  And may God protect our troops.
 
Q    Mr. —
 
THE PRESIDENT:  Folks, you’re going to ask me questions.  Hang on a second.  I’m going to be back on Thursday, and I don’t want to prejudice what may be going on in negotiations now, so I’m not going to be answering any questions on this. 
 
I’ll be back Thursday to stand here with you and answer all the questions you want about this issue. 
 
Thank you.
 
Q    Can we ask you about the hostage deal, sir?
 
(Cross-talk.)
 
Q    What needs to get done for the hostage deal to get resolved, sir?
 
THE PRESIDENT:  This indirectly has a lot to do with the hostage deal and what’s going on in the Middle East — the decision on what we do relative to Israel, the decision what we do or in terms of American funding of whether we’re going to engage with the situation in Ukraine.  It all goes to the question of American power.  It all goes to: Does America keep its word?  Does America move forward? 
 
There is some movement, and I don’t want to — I don’t want to — well, let me be — choose my words. 
 
There is some movement — there’s been a response from the — the — there’s been a response from the opposition, but it —
 
Q    Hamas?
 
THE PRESIDENT:  Yes, I’m sorry — from Hamas.
 
But it seems to be a little over the top.  We’re not sure where it is. 
 
There’s — there’s a continuing negotiation right now.
 
Q    Would — Mr. President, if this bill fails, would you consider supporting something separate that just addresses Israel or Ukraine?
 
THE PRESIDENT:  I’m not going to concede that now.  I — we need it all.  The rest of the world is looking at us, and they really are. 
 
Thank you.
 
1:30 P.M. EST
 

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No. 1 Boba Tea
Las Vegas, Nevada

12:17 P.M. PST
 
Q    Mr. President, Donald Trump said he’s ready to debate you right now.  Do you accept?
 
THE PRESIDENT:  (Laughs.) 
 
Q    He just said that on radio.  (Inaudible) — wants to debate you immediately, he says.
 
THE PRESIDENT:  Immediately?
 
Q    Yes.
 
Q    Will you debate him?
 
THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I — if I were him, I’d want to debate me too.  He’s got nothing else to do.  (Laughter.)
 
Q    How worried are you about the border bill, sir?  How worried are you?
 
Q    What’s your message to Speaker Johnson?
 
THE PRESIDENT:  My message to Speaker Johnson is: Pay attention to what the Senate is doing.  We’ve got a bipartisan deal, and you’re going to see the detail of it this week.  It’ll be introduced on Wednesday.
 
The border — I’ve been asking since the first thing — the first bill I introduced was on the border.  We don’t have enough agents.  We don’t have enough folks.  We don’t have enough judges.  We don’t have enough folks there.  We need help.  Why won’t they give me the help, all this time? 
 
And now, they’re starting about the — about the border.  “It’s out of control.”  Well, guess what?  Everything in that bipartisan bill gives me control, gives us control without being — and still meets the needs of the people being able to come at all — legally come across. 
 
We want to open avenues of legality and shut down the ones that are not coming through the points of entry.  So, there’s a lot we can do. 
 
And the one thing I am disappointed in we didn’t get done in the Senate’s piece was — I think it’s about time that — we have all those young people who came and now — the DREAMers.  It’s ridiculous. 
 
Can you imagine?  You’re four years old and your mom says, “We’re crossing the Rio Grande.”  And you say, “No, Mom, leave me here.  I don’t want to go.”  Come on.  What the hell is going on here?
 
And they’ve become contributing Americans that are doing good jobs, and they’re decent.  So, it’s about time we give them not only compassion, but a little brain — some brains in our head about what to be doing.
 
And, by the way, I’ve asked for money for those machines that detect fentanyl.  We have these machines that can de- — and these guys are screaming about fentanyl.
 
AIDE:  All right.
 
AIDE:  Thanks, guys.
 
THE PRESIDENT:  And, by the way —
 
(Cross-talk.)
 
Q    How does the bill getting passed in the Senate?  How does the bill get through the Senate?
 
THE PRESIDENT:  With 60 votes, and you’re going to watch.
 
Q    Are you going to speak to Speaker Johnson?
 
AIDE:  Okay, thanks everybody. 
 
AIDE:  Thanks, press. 
 
THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  Thanks, everybody.
 
By the way, this stuff is good.  (Points at tea.)  You ought to — you should’ve taken me up on it.  (Laughter.)  

12:19 P.M. PST
 

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Vdara Hotel & Spa
Las Vegas, Nevada

11:21 A.M. PST
 
THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, very much.  (Applause.)  Folks, look, I was — where — I’m going to stand in the middle here so I can get both sides.
 
Folks, you know, my dad used to have an expression, for real.  He’d say, “You know, a job is about a lot more than a paycheck.  It’s about your dignity.  It’s about being treated with respect.  It’s about making sure that people know what you do matters.  It’s about being able to look your kid in the eye and say, ‘Honey, it’s going to be okay,’ and mean it.” 
 
I have a reputation that I’m proud of: being the most pro-union president in American history.  And there’s a simple reason for that.  When unions are doing well, everybody does well.  Not a joke.  (Applause.)  By the way, that’s a fact.
 
I had the Treasury Department do a study: What are the impact of union movement?  What’s the impact?  The impact is when you do well, everybody does better.  Workers that aren’t even members of a union are getting raises because of the things you guys have done and the work you’ve done and organizations.
 
So, I came to say thank you, thank you, thank you.  And we’re just getting started.  We’ve got over 260- — 300- — 260,000 jobs — new jobs just here in the state of Nevada.
 
Come here, Congresswoman. 
 
REPRESENTATIVE TITUS:  (Inaudible.)
 
THE PRESIDENT:  By the way, I’ve got a passport with me because she gave me — this is her district here — she gave me a passport to come here.
 
But all kidding aside, look, there’s a simple proposition.  For the longest time — and I know I don’t look — I know I only look like I’m 40.  (Laughter.)  Times two.  (Laughter.)
 
But, look, one of the things that I’m — I was raised in a family — we weren’t poor, but we weren’t — we were middle class and sometimes lower middle class.  We lived in a three-bedroom, split-level home with four kids and a grandpop.  It was a safe neighborhood, but it was — it was — you know, we didn’t have the money to make it to college.  We had to go borrow the money or work through college, that kind of thing. 
 
We didn’t — and I’m the first in my family to go to college — the first Biden to go to college.  And it’s because a lot of people made sacrifices for me to get there, along with my sister.  And my sister is a hell of a lot brighter than I am.  (Laughter.) 
 
My sister was three years younger than me.  She’s now 23 years younger than me.  I don’t know how the hell that happened.  (Laughter.)  And she’s managed all my campaigns. 
 
We got — we went to the same university at the same time, two years apart.  I graduated.  She graduated with honors.  (Laughs.)  Anyway.
 
The point is this: I’ve never believed that trickle-down economics is the way to build an economy, meaning that if the very weal- — and, by the way, if the very wealthy do well, that’s good by me, as long as they start paying their taxes.  That’s a different issue.  But anyway.  (Applause.)
 
But all kidding aside, the idea was the trickle-down economy would work because what would happen is you would have the very wealthy doing well and that would all drop down to the middle-class folks and poor folks.  I’ve never believed that.  Not a lot dropped on my dad’s kitchen table growing up.
 
So, I’ve always believed that you build the economy from the middle out and the bottom up.  That way, the working-class folks have a shot and the middle class grows.
 
And guess what?  You’ve heard me say it before, and I mean it.  And when I first said it, everybody thought I was going to get in real trouble, but I didn’t care.  Wall Street did not build America.  The middle class did — built America, and unions built the middle class.  (Applause.)  There would be no middle class without the union.  No, I mean that from the bottom of my heart.
 
And, by the way, even the business folks in — on Wall Street and other places are beginning to understand that.  There’s much less resistance now to deal with these issues. 
 
And so, we’re just on a roll here.  We’ve created over 15 million brand new jobs just in three years — more than any president has in American history in that period of time.  We’ve — we’ve actually made sure that we have all kinds of additional help. 
 
People are getting the paychecks for — Hispanics at 4- — 4- — they’re making 40 percent more money than they did before we started, in terms of wealth.  African Americans, 50 percent.  But this — it’s about everybody.  It’s not about just one group of people.  Because when we all do well, everybody does well.  I really mean it.
 
So, I came to say thank you — not just thank you for the support you’ve given me the last time out and this time, but thank you for having the faith in the union.  Thank you for continuing to push it because this really matters.  It matters, it matters, it matters.
 
And so, like I said, my dad would say, “It’s all about dignity — being treated with dignity.”  My dad would no more walk by the — the shoeshine guy in the Hotel DuPont, where the DuPont company was, and — or the — if he saw the chairman of the board, he’d say hi.  But he’d walk over and make sure he said hi to the shoeshine guy too, because that’s what we’re all about.  That’s what built America. 
 
And b- — we’re coming back.  We really are.  We have the best economy in the world.  Inflation is coming down.  There are still too expensive — too much is at expense and a little bit of corporate greed going on, too, nationwide.  (Laughter.) 
 
There’s — by the way, there’s a little article written — you ought to — I’ll get you a connection to it.  It’s called — it’s about Snick- — what’s happening with the Snickers bars.
 
Snickers bars — you know that candy? 
 
AUDIENCE MEMBERS:  Yeah.
 
THE PRESIDENT:  Well, they haven’t raised the price of a Snickers bars.  They just took 10 percent of it out.  (Laughter.)  Oh, no, no.  It’s a lot smaller.  So, that’s how they’re making more money.
 
But, anyway, I thank you for all you do and the way you make people happy.  And I know it’s not always easy.  So, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.  (Applause.)
 
11:28 A.M. PST   
 

The post Remarks by President Biden During Greet with MGM Resorts Management and Culinary Leaders | Las Vegas, NV appeared first on The White House.

Pearson Community Center
Las Vegas, Nevada

7:04 P.M. PST

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, Nevada!  (Applause.)  Hello, hello, hello.  What a great crowd.   

Melvin, thank you for that introduction. 

And thank you, Congressman Steven Horsford, a great friend and an incredible leader of the Congressional Black Caucus.  Where is he?  (Applause.)  There is he.  Well, you know, it’s been — he’s been a key player in all of the progress we’re making.

And so is Dana Titus.  Where is Congresswoman Titus?  There she is.  (Applause.)  

And Senator Jacky Rosen.  (Applause.)  There you are, Jacky.  All right.  (Laughs.)  Okay, let’s be clear: We need to reelect Jacky.  It’s critical.  (Applause.)

And I’ll start with the simplest message: From the bottom of my heart, thank you, thank you, thank you.  You all are the reason why I’m President of the United States of America.  You’re the reason.  (Applause.)

No, I’m — you’re the reason that Kamala Harris is a historic Vice President.  (Applause.)

And you’re the reason that Donald Trump is a former President.  (Applause.) 
And you’re the reason — you’ll make Donald Trump a loser again.  (Applause.)

In 2020, I ran because I thought everything this country stood for — everything we believed in, everything that made America “America” — was at risk.  I think people thought that maybe I was being hyperbolic about that. 

I’d say — they’d say, “Joe, what do you mean our democracy is at risk?  What do you mean we’re in a battle for the soul of America?”  Well, they may not have understood it, but the people understood it.  They don’t say that anymore.

Just think back to the mess Donald Trump left this country in.  The pandemic was raging.  The economy was reeling.  And look how far we’ve come because of you. 

We vaccinated — (applause) — we vaccinated America to get through a pandemic.  We created a record 15 million new jobs, getting this economy strong — more than any president has in four years.  (Applause.)

And right here in Nevada, 285,000 new jobs.  (Applause.)

And nationwide, Black small businesses are starting up at a faster rate of any time in 30 years.  (Applause.)  Latino small businesses are starting up as the fastest rate in over a decade.

We passed the American Rescue Plan, which put $1,400 into people’s pockets.  (Applause.)  And on top of that, they got a $300 check per child, per family, per month for hardworking families.  (Applause.)  Over 300,000 — there were 380,000 families in Nevada benefited until the — our friends on the other side wiped it out.

You know, nationwide, that’s thousands of dollars that people put in their pockets to be able to get real crisis — to get through a real crisis.

That cut Black child poverty in half.  It cut — (applause) — it cut Latino child poverty by 43 percent.  (Applause.)  And it cut Indigenous child poverty by half as well.  (Applause.)

Look, I know — we know we have a lot more to do.  Not every- — not everyone is feeling the benefits of our investments in progress yet.  But inflation is now lower in America than any other major economy in the world — in the world.  (Applause.)

And in recent weeks, we’re seeing real evidence that the American consumers are feeling real confidence in the economy that we’re beginning to build. 

A recent Washington Post headline said, and I quote, “Falling inflation and rising growth give U.S. the world’s best recovery” — “the world’s best recovery.”  (Applause.)  And we’re just getting started.

And let me tell you something else — who is noticing this: Donald Trump.  (Laughter.)  The — the strange things he says.  He recently said, “When there’s a crash, I hope it’s in the next 12 months.”  Isn’t that wonderful — the former president to root for a crash?  It’s unbelievable.  It’s un-America.  How can anyone, especially a former president, wish for an economic crash that would devastate millions of Americans? 

And, by the way, pause for a minute.  How many times did you hear, when I first got elected President, my policy — we’re going to bring a recession next month?  Every month.  (Laughter.)  None of them are saying it anymore.  (Applause.)  The mainstream economists. 

Because of — I’m here because of you guys. 

Here’s what it really means: Donald Trump knows the economy we built is strong and getting stronger.  He knows that while it’s good for America, it’s bad for him politically. 

Trump also said the one president he doesn’t want to be like was Herbert Hoover.  Donald, I got bad news for you, pal.  It’s too late.  (Laughter.)  You’re one of only two presidents in American history — you and Herbert Hoover — who left office with fewer jobs than when you took office.  Herbert Hoover — yes.  Donald “Herbert Hoover” Trump.  (Laughter.)

Look, when I got elected — I’ve been working my whole career as a senator — long back with my old buddy Harry Reid and others — trying to get Big Pharma and the pharmaceutical companies to start to play at a new level.  I’m going to have to beat them.  They changed — they charge extraordinary prices, charging more for prescription drugs here in America than anywhere else in the entire world — made by the same drug company. 

You have a prescription for anything, take it to a local drugstore.  I promise you, if I put you on a plane and took you to Toronto or Paris or Berlin or anywhere in Europe, you can buy that same drug, that same prescription for somewhere between 40 to 60 percent less.  We said we’d beat them, and we did.  (Applause.)

Insulin — $35 a month for insulin for seniors on [with] diabetes instead of $400 a month or more.  (Applause.)

We’re also capping the cost of prescription drugs at $2,000 a year for seniors, even for expensive drugs like cancer drugs that cost $10-, $12-, $15,000 year.

Because of the progress we’re making so far, 143,000 Nevadans will begin to save an average of $434 a year on prescription drugs.  (Applause.)

And, folks, I promise you, I’m just getting started.  (Applause.)

Our actions not only save patients thousands of dollars, they save taxpayers billions of dollars.  You know, Medicare pays for these drugs that go out through — over- — being overcharged.  Guess what it’s saving the tax- — the American taxpayer — what we’ve done so far?  One hundred and sixty billion dollars that taxpayers don’t have to pay to Medicare to give them these (inaudible).  (Applause.)

Republicans say they’re concerned about the deficit.  Give me a break.  (Laughter.)  Give me a break.  We’ve tried to make it $35 a month for everyone, not just seniors, but Republicans blocked us. 

And with your vote in 2024, we’re going to make it happen for everyone in America, not just seniors.  (Applause.)  I promise you. 

And that will reduce the deficit by even more. 

Look, I promised we’d help eliminate the accumulated student debt.  That —

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  There you go.  Yes!  (Laughter.)

THE PRESIDENT:  — that millions of Americans carried during the economic pandemic and beyond. 

The Supreme Court of the United States blocked me, but they didn’t stop me.  (Applause.)  I found another way to help more than 3,700,000 people with $130 billion of relief and cou- –and counting.  

There were several existing programs that the bureaucracy wasn’t pushing, including one of th- — it’s called Public Servants — like teachers, firefighters.  Public Servants.  (Applause.)  So, I fixed the program to deliver relief for public servants — teachers, nurses, firefighters, social workers, and so on.  (Applause.) 

And guess what?  Some of you are getting notices right now.  You’re going to get another student cut.  And this time, you’re going to not have any doubt about who sent it to you.  It’s going to have my name on it: Biden.  (Applause.)  No, I mean it, because we got another $25 billion a year. 

And guess what?  It’s — not only is it a good thing to do, it drows [sic] the economy — it grows the economy.  It’s not costing people.  Guess what?  When you’re able to eliminate that — how many of you have had your student debt eliminated?  (Applause.)

Well, some of you had student debt eliminated for over $100,000.

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  That’s right!  Right here!

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, guess what?  It changes everything.  You were able to go out and buy your first home.  You were able to go out and buy your first automobile maybe.  You were able to go out and see to it that you have an opportunity to get up — to build that business you wanted.

And I kept my promise as well to appoint the first Black woman to the United States Supreme Court.  (Applause.)  Her name is Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, and, by the way, she’s smarter than the rest of these guys.  (Laughter.) 

And, by the way, I’ve appointed more Black women to the federal courts of appeals than every other president in American history combined — combined.  (Applause.)

All told, with the help of the senator from the state of Illinois, I’ve gotten 175 federal judges confirmed.  Two thirds of them are women, and two thirds are people of color.  (Applause.)

Hold a second there.  I also said — when I got elected, I made a promise: I was going to have an American administration that looked like America.  I have more women in my Cabinet than men.  I have more African Americans on it.  (Applause.)  I have more people in the backgrounds that are similar. 

And, by the way, I make no apologize — no apologies for being the most pro-union president in American history.  (Applause.)

Let me say one more thing.  I also said that — I asked the Treasury Department to do a study with wa- — raising the wages of union members, which I’ve been able to — I fought like hell to have happen, and it’s happening.  And unions are more popular now than they’ve been in a generation.  I said, “What was — what’s the effect of that?”  It raises everybody’s wages.  Everything raises, because guess what?  When you’re making more money for the job you’re doing, you’re the best workers in — we have the — we have the best workers in Amer- — in the world. 

Look, remember those little computer chips that we were — we invented those suckers — about the size of the end of a fingertip?  Guess what?  You need 300 of them — 3 — to build an automobile.  You needed them for cell phones.  You need them for all kinds of things.  And we had lost that market.  We had lost that market completely. 

So, I got in a plane, and I flew to South Korea.  And they said, “What the hell are you doing in Kouth [South] Korea?”  Well, they are a major manufacturer of chips.  I sat down with their president and with Samsung.  I said, “Come and invest in America.”  Because guess what?  We now have $50 billion coming to America — investing in.  (Applause.)

And they’re building these facilities.  They built what they call “fabs” — factories.  They’re great big — look like gigantic football fields underneath a — a roof. 

Guess what?  Know what the average salary in those is?  And you don’t need a college degree.  A hundred and twelve thousand dollars a year.  (Applause.)  And they’re coming all over America. 

And thanks to what we call the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law — it’s a fancy way of saying we’re building a hell of a lot — I’ve signed — that I signed, there are over 40,000 projects underway. 

Remember, the last president — he kept talking about “Infrastructure Week”?  He had “Infrastructure Week” for four years and didn’t do a damn thing.  (Laughter.)  No, but I’m serious. 

But guess what?  We’re doing a heck of a lot in the state of Nevada.  (Applause.)  I just approved $3 billion for the nation’s first high-speed rail line.  (Applause.)  Three billion dollars.  It’s going to take you from here to Las Vegas — well, from Las Vegas to Los Angeles in two hours by train instead of four hours by car.  (Applause.)  At 186 miles an hour, it will also reduce carbon emissions.  It will take 3 million vehicles off the road, helping the air quality.

And it’s going to create 35,000 jobs during construction, 10,000 union jobs — building trades: carpenters, electricians, ironworkers, laborers, and more.  (Applause.)  Jobs now and jobs beyond.

And generating significant economic growth from Nevada to California, and that includes transforming California with another high-speed rail line coming down from the south, going through central part of the state.  Guess what?  There’s o- — they’re going to — that’s train is going to go 220 miles an hour.

Things are changing, folks.  We have to get with the rest of the world.  We have to — we’re the best — we’re the most innovative country in the world.  What the hell have we been doing?  No, I’m serious.  Think about it.

And look, just like Franklin Roosevelt signed the Rural Electrification Act back in the ‘30s — he provided electricity for every home and farm because it was necessary.  Electricity was the new need and rural areas and poor folks couldn’t afford it, so he signed the Rural Electrification Act.  

Well, we’re bringing high-speed Internet everywhere in America — (applause) — because Internet today is just as essential doing business as electricity was then.

So far, that includes nearly 270,000 households across Nevada that are paying less than $30 a month now for Internet, instead of two to three times that amount, so children can do their homework, businesses are able to thrive, farmers and ranchers can know when the best time to sell their product is. 

And, by the way, we’re ripping out every poisonous lead pipe in America so every child — (applause) — not a joke — so every child can turn on a faucet and drink clear water without worrying about brain damage. 

And guess what?  It’s creating thousands of good union jobs.  (Applause.)

And the one state I don’t have to talk about gun violence in is here.  I’ve been hearing the tragic times that occurred here in this state. 

We passed the most significant gun safety law in decades, but I want to make clear to you: I will not stop until I once again ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.  (Applause.)  There’s no rationale for it.  None, none, none.  (Applause.)

I mean it.  I did it once when I was a senator, and I will do it again.  (Applause.)

Look, we’re saving the planet with the most significant investments in climate change ever — ever, anywhere, anytime, in the whole entire history of the world.  And that includes, just in your state, an investment of $12 billion in clean energy provisions that en- — (applause) — so you’ll be a national leader in — in electric vehicles, batteries, and more, creating tens of thousands of jobs and generating significant economic growth.

I signed into law a thing called the PACT Act — one of the most significant laws helping veterans exposed to toxic materials, and their families.  It matters, and there’s so much more we’re doing that we can do with these folks. 

I’ve been saying for a long time —

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Joe!  Joe!  Joe!

THE PRESIDENT:  — and I think it’s — well, thank you.

AUDIENCE:  Joe!  Joe!  Joe!

THE PRESIDENT:  Folks —

AUDIENCE:  Joe!  Joe!  Joe!

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you. 

I’ve been saying for a long time, America has many obligations but only one sacred obligation: to equip those we send into harm’s way and to care for them and their families when they come home.  It’s a sacred obligation.  (Applause.)   

So, when I introduced this legislation, well, a lot of my Republican colleagues weren’t sure they wanted to vote for it.  But guess what?  I also included, from my generation, Agent Orange.  How many people in the Vietnam generation had Agent Orange come down upon their heads but they couldn’t prove without a doubt that whatever their ailment was was because of the Agent Orange? 

Well, guess what?  What it should have been is what it is now, and the same way with burn pits.  The burn pits out there where they burn — these pits are a size of a football field, 10 feet deep, 40 yards wide, and almost 100 yards long.  And guess what?  They burn everything in there, from jet fuel to body to — everything, all contaminated waste.

And it generates — just like you saw what happened to those 9/11 firefighters.  They all came out with cancer, many of them, because of the — the smoke they were inhaling.  Well, the same thing happened. 

Matter of fact, I had a son who was the Attorney General of the State of Delaware — and he should be here, not me.  And guess what?  He volunteered — he was Attorney General, and he gave up his — active Attorney General, and he said, “I’m going with my National Guard unit,” because they were going to go to Iraq.  And he spent a year there. 

I was in and out of Iraq and Afghanistan over 19 times.  And his hooch where he slept was only about 200 yards, maybe a little — may- — maybe more, maybe 400 yards from where he slept, breathing in that air for a year.  He came home with stage four glioblastoma, a brain cancer that there’s no cure for.  And he died — and he died. 

The idea that he’d have to prove it was because of that is bizarre.  And guess what?  Now anyone that’s exposed to these burn pits, anyone who can demonstrate they were there, if they come down with the disease, it’s covered.  And if they — (applause).

And one other thing it means.  It means if they passed away, their children are entitled to the education benefits and the other benefits they would have been if he’d been alive and come home — they’d been alive and come home.  So, folks, look, the same way, as I said, with Agent Orange.

Now, imagine the nightmare if Donald Trump is reelected.

No —

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE PRESIDENT:  No, no, no, no, no.  By the way, this is the guy who, when he was in France and he was — they asked him to go to this — a American cemetery in France from World War Two where Americans were buried.  And you know what he said?  He said those folks buried in that cemetery were “suckers” and “losers.”  “Suckers” and “losers,” the guy said.

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE PRESIDENT:  No, I’m not kidding.  By the way, that’s bey- — I’m glad I wasn’t there.  (Laughter.)  No, no, I’m serious.  I shouldn’t say that.  But I’m glad I wasn’t there. 

To call my son and your sons and daughters who gave their lives for this country “suckers” and “losers.”  That’s how this guy thinks.  Who the hell does he think he is?

After a recent deadly shooting in Perry, O- — Iowa where two kids [people] were killed — a sixth-grader and a school principal — what did Trump say?  It wasn’t long ago.  He said, they’ve got to “get over it.”  They’ve got to “get over it.”

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  We don’t get over it!

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, we’re not going to get over it.  We’re going to stop it.  (Applause.)

And now Trump, from the beginning — and, by the way, you all know there’s no climate problems, right?  (Laughter.)  I mean, think — think about it.  Think about it.  All kidding aside, think about it.  This guy is denying we have a problem with climate.  This guy is saying — and his MAGA Republican friends want to repeal the historic climate legislation I got passed. 

And get this, 100,000 Nevadans will get healthcare this year through the Affordable Care Act — (applause) — and access to affordable premiums. 

But after trying and failing more than 60 times, Trump and his MAGA Republican friends are promising to get rid of the Affordable [Care] Act again if they get elected. 

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE PRESIDENT:  And, by the way, it’s the only reason why people all over this country have the protections for preexisting conditions — (applause) — and they’ll take it away.  I don’t know what they’re thinking.  I don’t know what they’re thinking.  I really mean it.

And seniors here in Nevada and all across America should know this: Trump and his MAGA friends are determined to take away the $35-a-month insulin, as well as the $2,000 cap on prescription drugs.

How many of you believe the tax system is fair?  Raise your hand.  (Laughter.)  And even those of you who are doing well.

We’ve made progress making sure the biggest corporations pay their fair share by paying a minimum 15 percent — just 15 percent.  That paid for all the programs I’m talking about so far.  And we did that and we still cut the deficit $7 billion.

But guess what?  Trump passed, last time out, a $2 trillion tax cut overwhelmingly benefitting the very wealthy and big corporations that expanded the federal debt significantly.

And now, instead of protecting Social Security and Medicare like I am, Trump and his MAGA friends want to give another billion-dollar ta- — multibillion-dollar tax cut to the super wealthy and the biggest corporations.

Look, I’m not anti-wealth.  I’m not anti-corporation.  I come from the corporate state of the world.  (Laughter.)  Seriously.  More corporations are incorporated in my state, as you know, Gov, than every other state in the nation combined.  But they got to pay their fair share.  (Applause.)  I’m serious.  Think about it.

Look, folks, we — before the pandemic, there were 750 — -48 maybe — roughly 750 billionaires in America.  Now there are a thousand.  You know what their average tax rate they pay — the federal tax rate?  8.2 percent.  Anybody wouldn’t trade that — for that tax rate?

Well, let me tell you something.  If, in fact, they paid their fair share, over the next 10 years, it’d be 40- — $400 billion in new income coming in.  We could take care of all these problems.  We could have daycare for all kids.  We could increase economic growth even more, et cetera.

But Trump and his MAGA friends are determined to take away that opportunity.  But I’m going to — if you reelect me — I tell you what, man — hang on, taxes.  And I promise, not anybody making less than 400 grand would have one penny in federal taxes raised.  I kept that promise in the beginning.  I haven’t make — and I will not make — I will not break it again.  (Applause.)

But, look, Trump and his MAGA friends are determined to take away your fundamental freedoms.  Your voting rights are under attack: where you can register, how you can register, when you have to register, whether there’s mail-in ballot, all the stuff they want to do to change the law.

And now, Trump is bragging about having overturned another basic freedom: Roe v. Wade.

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE PRESIDENT:  No, seri- — he’s on television, and he’s out saying, “I did this because it’s the Supreme Court that I appointed.”  God love him.

Well, Roe v. Wade has taken away a woman’s right to choose.  And, by the way, now they’re planning a national ban on the right to choose.  They made it clear.  If MAGA Republicans try to pass a national ban on the right to choose, I will veto it.  (Applause.)

And, by the way, Kamala is doing an incredible job going around the country making this case. 

And here’s the deal, folks.  Here’s the deal.  The idea, if, in fact, you do what I hope you will do — we’ll get more registered people — more people who are registered to vote between the — now and the general election, elect all the Democratic congressmen and senators all across the country, give me a Senate and a House, I’m going to bring back Roe v. Wade.  (Applause.)

And, by the way, I love how Trump is now saying, “Biden is for abortion on demand.”  Not true.  That’s not what Roe v. Wade said.  It said there are three trimesters and how it worked.

Let me close with this.  Look, Trump and his MAGA friends are dividing us, not uniting us; dragging us back to the past, not leading us to the future; refusing to accept the results of legitimate elections; and seeking, as Trump says, to “terminate” — his words — “terminate” elements of the U.S. Constitution.  And you’re telling me he doesn’t — democracy is not at risk?

Embracing political violence — never since the Civil War has any president engaged in or said political violence was ever appropriate — political violence in America.  Calling January 6th insurrections — you know what he calls them?  “Patriots.”

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, no, I — no, I’m — I’m se- — I mean, think about this.  People have pled guilty. 

You know, right — right after I was elected, I went to what they call a G7 meeting, all the NATO leaders.  And it was in — it was in the south of England.  And I sat down and I said, “America is back.” 

And Mitterrand [Macron], from Germany — I mean, from France looked at me and said — said, “You know, what — why — how long you back for?”  (Laughter.)  And I looked at him, and the — and the Chancellor of Germany said, “What would you say, Mr. President, if you picked up the paper tomorrow in the London Times, and London Times said, ‘A thousand people break through the House of Commons, break down the doors, two Bobbies are killed in order to stop the election of the Prime Minister.’  What would you say?”

And I never thought about it from that perspective.  What would we say that happened in another democracy around the world?  Well, the whole world watched — the whole world watched.  And what’s going on? 

Well, guess what?  It’s not going happen.  He’s not — you know what’s going to happen if he loses — he’s going to lose. 

You know, this guy has an interesting vocabulary. He calls immigrants “vermin” who “poison the blood” of the na- —

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE PRESIDENT:  It’s hard to make this up.  And he says they threaten our very democracy. 

He said — folks, we must make clear where we stand.  Well, we have to make sure we stand for the truth and will defeat the lies.  We must make it clear that in America, just like all of you do in Nevada, we still believe in honesty, decency, dignity, respect.  (Applause.)

Folks —

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  You better win, Joe!

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Get ‘em, Joe!

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, you’re right —

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  We love you, Joe!

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, that’s the reason I’m running, because we have to win. 

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Thank you!

THE PRESIDENT:  No, no.  I give you my word.  We have to.  It’s not much of a choice here.

Look, we’re the most unique nation in the history of the world.  I’ll end with this.  And that sounds like hyperbole, like America is beating their chest, but we are. 

We’re the only nation in the world built on an idea.  Every other nation is built based on ethnicity, religion, or other common traits.  The only i- — thing we’re built on is that “we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all women and men are created equal, endowed by their Creator,” et cetera.  We’ve never fully lived up to it, but we’ve never walked away from it before.  We’ve never — we leave nobody behind in America.  We believe everyone deserves a fair shot — just a fair shot.

My dad used to say — and he’d say at the dinner table — my dad was a well-read guy who didn’t get to go to college because of the war.  And — but he’d come home before he went back to close the business he was manager of.  And we’d have a conversation and, incidentally, eat.

And he’d look and he’d say, many times, “Joey, remember, a job is about a lot more than a paycheck.  It’s about your dignity.  It’s about respect.  It’s about your place in the community.  It’s about being able to look your child in the eye and say, ‘Honey, it’s going to be okay.’”  He meant it.

We don’t give hate any safe harbor in America.  We believe in America.  We know what the stakes are.  We must keep the White House and keep the Senate by reelecting Jacky Rosen.  (Applause.) 

And, folks, we have to win.  We have to win back the House of Representatives, and win it up and down the ticket — (applause) — and state and locally.

And that’s why we have to get more people to register to vote after this primary — to do that — to do that in the — in the primary.  Anybody wondering, tell them — where they vote — go to IWillVote.com.  And here in Nevada — here in Nevada, you’ll know — you’ll be given exactly where you vote.

We have to must- — we have to organize, mobilize, vote.  When we do that, we’ll be able to look back and say something few generations have ever been able to say.  When American democracy was at risk, like it is now, you all saved it.  (Applause.)  I mean it.

We just have to remember who we are.  We’re the United States of America.  (Applause.)  And there is nothing — nothing beyond our capacity when we act together.  We’re the only nation in the world that’s come out of every crisis stronger than we went in.  And that’s what we’re going to do again.  (Applause.)

May God bless you all.  And may God protect our troops. 

Thank you, thank you, thank you.  (Applause.) 

Thank you.  (Applause.)

Every time — every time I’d walk out of my Grandpop Finnegan’s house up in Scranton, he’d yell, “Joey, keep the faith.”  And my grandma — “No, Joey, spread it.”  Let’s go spread the faith, guys.  (Applause.)

7:37 P.M. PST

The post Remarks by President Biden at a Campaign Event | Las Vegas, NV appeared first on The White House.

Private Residence
Henderson, Nevada

5:00 P.M. PST

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, hello, hello.  Please, have a — please take your seats.  Thank you very much.

Richard, that was a very gracious introduction.  I really mean it.  Thank you. 

I look out, and, for a lot of the elected officials here, this is like a busman’s holiday for them.  (Laughter.)  Having to come here, even though they’re elected officials.

Sasha, thank you for hosting us.  As I said earlier, in the kitchen, that it’s not all that easy to open up your home.  Not — for some people, but not for a whole crowd.  And there were probably as many Secret Service agents in here before checking things out as there are standing here now.  (Laughs.)  So — but my host said, “No, I’m a cop.  I understand.”  (Laughter.)  Any rate.

Thank you all for your support.

You know, there’s a simple reason I’m here: to say thank you.  You all are the reason — not a joke — you’re the reason that I’m President of the United States.  You’re the reason Kamala Harris is a historic Vice President.  And you’re the reason Donald Trump is a defeated former President.  And you’re the reason he’ll [we’ll] make Donald Trump a loser again.  (Applause.)

In 2020, I ran — I thought everything this country stood for, everything we believed in, I thought it was all at stake.  What made America “America,” I believed, was at risk.  I think people thought I was being a little hyperbolic at the time.  I heard — the press would say, “Joe, what do you mean our democracy is at risk?  What do you mean we’re in a battle for the soul of America?”

Well, if you notice, most people don’t say that anymore.  They don’t say that anymore.

Just think back to the mess Donald Trump left this country in.  The pandemic was raging; the economy was reeling.  And look how far we’ve come because of all of you.  We vaccinated America.  People were dying.  We lost over 1,200,000 people because of the slow start in all this process. 

We created a record nearly 15 million new jobs just since we came into office — more than any president ever has in that short a time — to get the economy — make it stronger.  (Applause.)  And 285,000 of those jobs are here in Nevada — 285,000 new jobs in Nevada.  (Applause.)

It’s because of your congressional delegation, in large part, and I mean that sincerely.  Not a joke. 

We know we have more to do, but inflation is now lower in America than any other major economy in the world.  In recent weeks, we’re seeing real evidence that American consumers are feeling real confidence in the economy.  It’s beginning to move. 

And you — you may remember, I’d note parenthetically, that when I ran in 2020, everybody said we’re in real trouble.  And I said, “We’re going to be fine,” because I could tell.  As I went around the country, you could feel it; you could taste it. 

Well, and then in 2022, remember we were going to — the red wave was coming?  We were going to get wiped out?  We did better as an incumbent president in an off-year than any president has in recent history because people got it. 

And then the Washin- — and then we ended up in a situation where, in 2023, every contested primary, every contested general election in the country — from Kentucky on — we won, with one exception.

A recent Washington Post headline said, “Falling inflation and rising growth give U.S. the world’s best recovery” — “the world’s best recovery.” 

And that’s — to tell you something else that — that you want to know: Who else is noticing how good the recovery is?  Donald Trump.  He recently said — (laughter) —

(A child applauds.) 

THE PRESIDENT:  You got it, kiddo.  (Laughter.)

He recently said, “When the crash comes, I hope it’s soon.” He’s looking for a crash.  He wants it to happen in the next 12 months, because he does not want to be a Her- — another Herbert Hoover. 

I got bad news for him.  (Laughter.)  He’s already a Herbert Hoover.  (Laughter.)  He’s the only president, other than Herbert Hoover, who has lost more jobs than he had when he came into office in the first place.

It’s unbelievable.  It’s un- — un-American: a sitting Pre- — a former President that’s seeking the office, hoping for a recession that would devastate millions of Americans.

And here’s what he really means.  He knows, while the economy is strong, it’s good — good for America, and it’s bad for him politically. 

Trump said the one president he doesn’t want to be like, as I said, is Hoover.  But it’s too late.  He’s already Donald “Hoover” Hump — Trump Hump.  (Laughter.)  That was intended.  (Laughter.)

Folks, I promised — I promised we — we’d beat — take on Big Pharma.  They’re not bad guys, but they make extraordinary profits — extraordinary, exorbitant prices.  They charge more — if you have a prescription now and you take it to a local drugstore here in this — this state or this city, I can take you — get on a plane with me, we can go to anywhere from Montreal to Berlin to London to Rome, and I can get you that same prescription by the same company for 40 to 60 percent less.  How do you figure that?  How do you figure that?

Charging more for prescription drugs here in America than they do anywhere else in the world.  That’s not hyperbole.  That’s a fact.  I said we’d take on and we’d finally beat them. 

I was at a conference — I was a doing a town hall in Virginia a year and a half, almost two years ago.  And a lovely woman stood up and said, “I need help.”  She said, “I have insurance, but I don’t have enough because I have two daughters with diabetes, and it’s about 800 bucks a month for me.”  And she said, “I have to split the — I have to split the insulin.  I have to cut it.”  And I thought to myself, “What’s going on?”

The guy who invented insulin — many of you doctors in here know this — didn’t want to patent it because he thought it should be available to everybody.  It costs $10 to make.  If you package it, it may — you can get it up to maybe 12 and a half dollars. 

Well, guess what?  You have — they now only pay $35 a month for insulin.  That’s all they can charge for seniors with diabetes.  If they want to get their — anything doing — coming from the whole issue of what’s happening with regard to the situation we have where people can get the drug through Medicare. 

But, look, and we’re also capping the cost of all drugs for seniors at $2,000 a year, because you know — many of you know here — some of these cancer drugs are $10-, $12–, $14-, $16,000 a year.

Our actions not only save the patients thousands of dollars and save lives, but they save the taxpayer — the taxpayer more than $160 billion.  You hear me?  $160 billion is being saved because it does not — the — Medicare does not have to pay out that $160 billion in order to provide the drugs.  $160 billion — that’s what it means.

Republicans say they are concerned about deficit.  Well, give me a break.  (Laughter.)  No, I’m serious.

You know — well, I’m going to get too detailed.  I probably — (laughter).

We tried to make $35 a month for everyone.  It lasted for a little while during the pandemic — just after the pandemic.  But the Republicans, when we had to reauthorize it, wouldn’t go for it.  But with your help in 2024, we’re going to make it happen for everybody — everybody, man.  (Applause.)

And that’s going to reduce the federal deficit even more.  Not a joke.  It reduces the federal deficit when they’re not spending billions of dollars.

I promised to help ease accumulated student debt that millions of Americans carried for — all through the economic pandemic — economic crisis of the pandemic.  The Supreme Court blocked me, but they didn’t stop me.  I found another way.  They’re already on the books — I was able to get 3.7 million people a total debt forgiveness amounting to $130 billion.  And relief is continuing. 

There are several existing programs that the bureaucracy just didn’t know how to handle.  Now I found out — I didn’t even know they existed, to be honest with you.  And I’m pushing those programs, like the Public Service program, like that — that allows public — has anyone who’s engaged in public service, if you’ve paid your student debt for 10 years in a row and you’re a firefighter, cop, teacher, (inaudible) nurse, you get your debt forgiven — the remainder forgiven.

And guess what?  It generates significant economic growth as well.  It costs a lot of money not being collecting — well, you’ll be collected anyway.  But where we are, not it means those folks can buy their first home.  They can pay for their particular problems they may have.  They can start that small business they wanted to start. 

All across America, we fixed the program.  We delivered relief for public servants like teachers, nurses, firefighters, social workers. 

And I kept my promise to appoint the first Black woman to the Supreme Court of the United States of America.  (Applause.)  Her name is Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.  And, by the way, I’ve appointed more Black women to the circuit courts of appeal on the federal level than every other President in American history combined.  (Applause.)

And all told, I’ve gotten 171 federal judges confirmed.  Two thirds of those judges are women — (applause) — two thirds are women and people of color.

When I got elected, I said I was going to have an administration that looked like America, and it does.  I have more women in my Cabinet than men.  (Laughter.)  There’s a simple reason for that: They’re smarter than most of the men I know.  (Laughter.)

But all kidding aside, thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which I signed, there are now 40,000 infrastructure projects all across America and just getting started, including $3 billion for the nation’s first high-speed rail line from Las Vegas to — (applause) — Los Angeles. 

It’s a two-hour train ride instead of a four-hour car ride.  And guess what?  All the studies show if a person can get on a train — an electric train and go from point A to point B faster than they can in their car, they leave their car home.  It has — it’s going to take tens of thousands of cars off the highway, off the pollution index. 

186 miles per hour; also reduce carbon emissions; making 3 million — taking 3 million vehicles off the road; creating
35,000 jobs during the construction phase — good-paying union jobs — 10,000 union jobs in the building trades: carpenters, electricians, ironworkers, laborers, and more.  And now — and now — and jobs well beyond that.

Generating significant economic growth from Nevada to California.  And, by the way, it includes transforming California, at the other end, high-speed rail.  They’re going to have a 220-mile-an-hour train through the central part of the state.  That’s going to connect California and Nevada.  It’s going to change economic conditions in both places in a big way.

You know, like FDR — FDR had the Rural Electrification program.  Electricity changed the world in that time.  But guess what?  People in rural areas couldn’t afford it.  So, he set up the Rural Electrification program.  Well, the Inter- — providing that access was — is as — for affordable high-speed Internet is the same thing.  People can’t make it anymore without Internet.  Whether you’re a farmer knowing when to trade your cattle, whether you’re someone who is engaged in — in telemedicine — I mean, whatever it happens to be, it’s significant.

We’re bringing affordable high-speed Internet everywhere in America because Internet is just as essential as electricity was back then.

And that includes nearly 2- — nearly 270,000 households here in Nevada.  And, by the way, paying $30 or less — some that are already paying $30 now are going to pay nothing because that’s what we’re doing — for high-speed Internet, instead of two or three times as much, so children can do their homework, businesses can thrive, farmers can know when to sell their products.

Folks, we’ve ripped out every poisonous — we’re going to rip out every poisonous lead pipe in America so every child in America can turn on a faucet and drink clean water without worrying about brain damage.  (Applause.)  It’s real.  And in the process, creating thousands of good-paying jobs — thousands of jobs.

I don’t have to tell you about the carnage of gun violence.  I don’t have to tell anybody in the Las Vegas area about that.  We passed the most significant gun safety law in decades.  And I’m not going to stop until we once again ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.  (Applause.)  I did it once.

You saw what Trump said when those kids were killed recently — two teachers and a child — sixth-grade.  You know what his comment was when asked about it?  He said, they just got to “get over it.”  From the President of the United States, that’s a quote.  I’m not making it up.  They just got to “get over it.”

We’re saving the planet with the most significant investment in climate change ever, anywhere in the entire world.  That includes $12 billion in clean energy investments in Nevada to be a national leader in electr- — electric vehicles, batteries, and creating tens of thousands of good jobs creating significant economic growth.

I signed into law a thing called the PACT Act, because I felt very passionate about it.  I saw the — I’ve said and gotten in trouble for saying it — we have — for the last 30 years, we have a lot of obligations as a government.  We only have one sacred obligation, and that’s to prepare those we send into harm’s way and care for them and their families when they come home or don’t come home.  One of the most significant laws helping veterans exposed toxic materials and their families — it matters. 

There’s so much more we’re doing that we — and we can do it together.

And, by the way, you know, all those firefighters in 9/11, you saw what happened to them.  Our firefighters are dying.  Well, my son was Attorney General — I guess I shouldn’t get personal with it.  My son was the Attorney General of the state of Delaware, and he decided to join the National Guard. 

One day I was home, and he said, “Dad, what are you doing Friday?”  I said, “What do you need, Beau?”  He said, “Swear me in.”  I said, “Swear you in for what?”  He said, “I joined the National Guard.” 

When his unit got deployed, he kept coming to Washington, and I couldn’t understand why.  He had to get a dispensation.  You either work for the governor or you work for the president; you can’t work for both.  So, he gave up his job as Attorney General to go with his unit for a year to Iraq, like — like thousands of women and young men have done.

Well, guess what?  His hooch in Baghdad was about — was not quite a quarter of a half — a little over a quarter mile from where he slept, a burn pit 10 feet deep, 100 yards long, 40 yards wide.  They burned everything from human carnage to toxic waste in it.  He breathed that air.  He came home with stage 4 glioblastoma. 

Folks, so many — and this is what we did.

I also moved up, from my generation, Agent Orange.  Agent Orange now is totally covered, and they don’t have to prove.  If you have Agent Orange, you can prove — dropped on your head, you get covered. 

And now imagine the nightmare that Trump retu- — if he returns to office.

The President, he said — called servicemen buried in the cemetery in France — when he was there, he wouldn’t go up to — to deal with it.  You know what he said?  I’m — got to hold my Irish temper.  I’m glad I wasn’t with him because I’m not sure what I’d have done.  He said they’re all a bunch of “suckers” and “losers.”  My son was not a sucker, nor were any of yours.  Who does this guy think he is talking about Americans like that?

As I said, after that recent shooting in Perry, Iowa, two — two people died — a sixth-grader, principal — you just got to “get over it.”  Just got to “get over it.”

Well, we’re not going to get over it, but we’re going to stop it. 

Trump — (applause) — Trump and his MAGA friends want to repeal the historic climate legislation. 

And now, after trying and failing more than 60 times, Trump is trying — and his MAGA friends are trying to do away with the Affordable Care Act, which now another 20,000 people just signed up for because you can’t get health insurance if you have a preexisting condition, but for the Affordable Care Act, if you don’t have money.  The law is the only reason that people all over the country with preexisting conditions are able to have it, and they want to take it away.

Trump and his MAGA friends are determined to take away the $35-a-month insulin, which just got passed into law, the $2,000 cap on prescription drugs.

How many of you believe the tax system is fair?  You’re all successful people.  I’m not suggesting you — I come from the corporate state of the world.  More corporations are incorporated in the state of Delaware than every other state in the nation combined.  I served there for 36 years.  I’m not a socialist.  I’m not trying to — I want corporations to do well.

But the idea — the idea — you know how we paid for all these programs and still cut the deficit $7 billion on my watch?  Because I said that, you know, the — remember reading about those 50 Fortune 500 companies that didn’t pay a penny in tax that made $40 billion?  Well, guess what?  I got — we had a Democratic Congress, and I was able to pass a law having a minimum tax of 15 percent — just 15 percent.  It’s helped pay for every one of those investments I mentioned.  Well — (applause). 

Meanwhile, Trump passed a $2 trillion tax cut overwhelmingly benefitting the very wealthy and biggest corporations to — and exploded the federal debt — exploded the federal debt when he left. 

And now, instead of protecting Social Security and Medicare like I am, Trump and his MAGA friends want to give it another massive billion-dollar tax cut to the super wealthy corporations.  They want to do away with the 15 percent tax on corporations. 

You realize, before the pandemic, we had 750 tril- — billionaires in America.  Now we have a thousand.  You know what their average federal tax is?  8.3 percent. 

My new young friend who is going to president someday, he pays more than that.  (Laughter.)

But thi- — but, no, think about that.  Think about why people are so upset and why they’re so angry.  If they just had a 28 percent tax, which is not even the highest tax rate, they would generate over $400 billion over 10 years.  It would solve so many problems and be fair.  It wouldn’t cost anybody anything.  You can still do a hell of a lot as a billionaire with a 28 percent fa- — tax cut.

Trump and his MAGA friends are determined to take away your fundamental freedoms, by the way.  They have — they’re under the — under — voting rights are under attack right now.  And just — I won’t go into the detail, but I just got two calls about what’s happening in other states right now.

And now, Trump is bragging about having overturned Roe v. Wade.  He stood there and said, “In my Court, I was able to — I overturned Roe v. Wade” — a woman’s freedom to choose.  Look, now they’re planning on a national ban to get a majority of the states to vote to say there can be no — no exceptions.  No — and, by the way, that’s happening.  But not on my watch.

That’s why I need your help reelecting our Democratic constituents here — our congresspersons here.  Because we’ve got to have a Democratic — (applause) — a Democratic Senate and Democratic House.  Because I promise you, we are going to restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land.  (Applause.)

But — but I really mean it.  You know, the Supreme Court, when they passed the Dobbs decision, said, “Well, women have a voice; they can vote,” meaning like they don’t take it seriously.  They’re about — they’re about to see something they never thought about.  (Laughter.)  Loo- — look at the states where they have lost. 

If MAGA Republicans try to pass a national ban on the right to choose, I will veto it.  It will never happen.  And if you elect me and Kamala, we’re — and win back the House and the Senate, we are going to, in November, restore Roe v. Wade to the law of the land again.  (Applause.)

Look, let me close with this.  Trump and his MAGA friends are dividing us, not uniting us; seeking to — seeking, as Trump says, to “terminate” — his phrase — “terminate” elements of the U.S. Constitution — “terminate”; embracing political violence. 

I — you know, some of you have been to my office and you — you’re all invited to — if you’re going to be in Washington, to let us know when you are going to be there, because you can come by.  But I could show you where he sat on the 6th, in that little dining room right off the Oval Office, threatening everything we stand for.

Let me just read a couple of his key statements he’s recently made.  Trump said, “I want to be a dictator on day one,” and he’s repeated why he wanted to be that. 

Trump said: Our opponents “live like vermin in the confines of our country” and “the threat from outside forces is far less sinister, dangerous, and grave than the threat from within” among Americans. 

Trump said, “We have a vi- — we have vicious people outside, but I believe truly the people inside our country are far more vicious.” 

Trump said, immigrants, including from Africa, Asia, and all over the world are “poisoning the blood of our country.” 

Trump said the “J6” — meaning the January 6th hostages that have been sentenced and pled guilty — he said, “The JC ho- — JC — J6 hostages — don’t call them prisoners.  They’re hostages.  I call them hostages.  They’re hostages, not prisoners.” 

What the hell is with this guy?  I mean — I mean, seriously.  Those of you that are students of history, can you ever remember any president ever saying anything like this?

In 2016, he said, I — quote, “In 2016, I declared I am your voice.  And now I say to you again tonight, I am your warrior, I am your justice, I am your retribution.” 

He joked about the attack on Paul Pelosi.  Remember the guy that came after him with a hammer and cracked his skull, nearly killed him?  Well, as he said, “What in the hell are you doing on her — what — what in the hell was going on with her husband?  She got a wall around her house.  Obviously, in that case, it didn’t work very well, did it?  (Laughs.)  Didn’t work.  (Laughs.)”

Oh, God, I wish we were still kids. 

Trump suggested that Mark Milley, who is a hell of a soldier, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, was — Mark Milley should, quote, “face death” because he contacted China following January 6th to reassure them that the United States was still stable.

You know, I bet folks in the press business know press people who are worried that if he wins, they’re going to have to move because he wants to move against them.

So, folks, look, you know, I think that the people of Nevada, the vast majority of Americans, are still decent; they still believe in honesty, decency, dignity, respect.  I think that they believe that we’re all created equal.  They don’t always — it’s hard to do, but we hold these truths self-evident.  We’ve never lived up to it, but we’ve never walked away from it before.

We’re the most unique nation in the world.  We’re the only nation based on an idea.  Every other nation is organized based on ethnicity, religion, or some common denominator.  We’re the only nation based on an idea, that we hold these truths to be self-evident; we’re all created equal, endowed by our Creator, et cetera. 

We’ve never fully lived up to it, but we’ve never walked away from it verbally before — but practically.  And I think everybody deserves a shot. 

My dad used to have an expression.  He’d say at the dinner table — my dad was a well-read man.  He never got a chance to go to college because of World War Two, but he was a really decent man.  And dinner was a place we had conversation and, incidentally, ate.  (Laughs.)  He’d go back and close his business he managed. 

And my dad would say, “Joey, a job is about a lot more than a paycheck.  It’s about your dignity.  It’s about respect.  It’s about being able to look your k-“ — I swear to God; my word as a Biden, these are his exact words — “It’s about being able to look your kid in the eye and say, ‘Honey, it’s going to be okay,’ and mean it.”

Just giving people a shot.  Just giving people a shot. 

And that’s why the fundamental change I made in the economy and a lot of serious economists, mainstream economists are now giving me credit and agreeing with me.  We used to have a trickle-down theory: Let the wealthy do very well — and I don’t have any problem with it.  You can make a billion dollars.  Make it.  Just pay your fair share.  Just pay your fair share.  But what — what’s happening now is that we used to have a trickle-down economy: If everybody — if they did very well, it would trickle down to middle-class folks. 

Well, the middle class kept shrinking the last 30 years.  And I’ve been of the view that the way to grow the economy is from the middle out and the bottom up.  Because the wealthy do very well when that occurs, and everybody grows.  I mean, for real.  And that’s exactly what we’ve done. 

There’s a provision in the labor law back in the ‘30s that no one paid attention to, including Democratic presidents.  And that is if, in fact — if, in fact, the Congress gives you money to spend, whether to put a new deck in an aircraft carrier or build a new highway, you’re instructed to do two things: It must be done with an American workforce and with American product. 

Well, everybody found all kinds of exceptions not to do that.  I changed the exception rule.  And guess what?  It’s working.  We’ve grown the economy, and the middle class is growing, and the wealthy are still doing very well.  And everyone is doing fine. 

But what’s going to happen if he gets elected president?

Look, folks, we have — we have to keep the White House, but we have to keep the Senate.  Got to reelect Jacky.  You’ve got to keep — I really mean this.  And we must win back the House and win up and down the ticket.

When we do that, we’ll be able to look back and say something few generations get to say: We literally saved
American democracy.  It’s not hyperbole.  (Applause.)  (Inaudible.)

Folks, one thing we have to remember — we seem to have forgotten — this is the United States of America.  Nothing — nothing is beyond our capacity.  Nothing ever we’ve set our mind to we’ve failed to do when we do it together.  Nothing.

This is you — we’re the only nation in the world that’s come out of every crisis we’ve entered stronger than we went in.  That’s who we are.

We can’t let this guy drag that out of us.  There’s nothing beyond our capacity.  Nothing.

And, folks, I think, with your help, we’re going to continue this going until the next generation picks us up and takes us even further.

So, thank you.  God bless you all.  And thank you for all you’ve done for me.  (Applause.)

Hey, folks, when I was a senator, I spent a lot of time on highway crowding and highway safety.  I got elected President; there’s no problem with highways.  There — we never have any cars in front of us.  I don’t know how that happens.  (Laughter.) 

But all kidding aside, we just got a notification that — to make a whole issue of this — the NFL teams are arriving, and I can’t — they can’t land until I take off.  (Laughter.)  Bless me, Father, for I have sinned.  (Laughter and applause.)

So, folks, I got to get the hell out of here.  I — no, I’m not even kidding.  You think I’m joking.  I’m not, Gov.  I’m not.

So, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.  (Applause.)

5:29 P.M. PST

The post Remarks by President Biden at a Campaign Event | Henderson, NV appeared first on The White House.

Biden for President Campaign Headquarters
Wilmington, Delaware

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Hello, Delaware!  (Applause.)
 
Can we please give it up for Julie, who is an extraordinary human?  (Applause.)
 
I have to tell you, I have worked with Julie for years, and she is someone who really just represents all that I know that we all stand for — about the people, about organizing, about coalition building, bringing people together, and the work that it requires around the clock.  Julie, thank you for all of your work.  (Applause.)
 
And Mr. President, Dr. Biden, the first Second Gentleman of the United States — my husband.  (Laughs.)  (Applause.)  
 
I want to — I just — I have to tell you what joy Doug and I were feeling as we were coming into Delaware.  And we were reflecting, Mr. President and — and Dr. Biden, on those days that we were waiting, as we all remember, for the announcement about who would be the next President of the United States. 
 
And this is a community that is so extraordinary in terms of the support that you give so tirelessly and so selflessly.  And we know this is what it’s going to take: all of us being here together, understanding that it is about all of us.  The senators are here.  The soon-to-be-senator is here.  (Applause.)
 
And this election, yes, it is about each of us asking of ourselves: What kind of country do we want to live in?  That really is what is at stake.  Knowing that we each have the power to answer that question. 
 
Yes, it is about our ticket.  But it is about all of us. 
 
And I’m so proud to work every day with our President.  I will tell you — (applause) — he is a son of Delaware.  This is family.  So, I know you know what I’m talking about.  But for the sake of the cameras — (laughter) — let me just tell you something. 
 
Joe Biden, first of all, is fearless.  When you look at — (applause) — what he has pushed through, in spite of the odds, that’s the story of his life.  But it is the story also of his presidency. 
 
Joe Biden doesn’t hear “no.”  Some people talked about “Infrastructure Week” forever.  Joe Biden said, “We’re going to make it a reality.”  (Applause.)
 
So, many of our young leaders know what is at stake in terms of the climate and what we must do to build up our ability in terms of adaptation and resiliency, bringing down greenhouse gas emissions, saving this beautiful planet God has given us.  (Applause.)
 
Joe Biden is the one, under his presidency, that pushed through historic legislation, together with our senators and so many of our friends in Congress.
 
Joe Biden is the President who said — as he has always said — we’re going to invest in science.  He was the author of the Moonshot.  And when he became President, it was about saying we’re going to get a CHIPS and Science bill and invest in — (applause) — what we need to do to be a global leader on the challenges that face the world. 
 
And those are just a few of the things.  But I have to tell you, it is a great blessing and privilege for me to work with him every day.  Because he really, really cares. 
 
And, you know, there is a certain perversion that has been taking place, I think, in our country by some to suggest that the measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you beat down.  But the measure of our leader is based on who he lifts up.  (Applause.)
 
With the character of a true leader, which is someone who has a profound character of caring about the suffering of other people and then spending days and nights doing what he knows is possible to lift people up. 
 
And so, it is my great honor to be with him and to introduce our President, Joe Biden.  (Applause.)
 
THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, thank you, thank you.
 
It’s good to be home.  (Applause.)
 
You know what’s really good about it, Kamala?  These people know me, and they’re still here.  (Laughter.)
 
These are the folks, as that saying goes up in Claymont, who “brung me to the dance.”  (Laughter.) 
 
Folks, you know, no one did more of that.  I remember my sister coming home when we were starting to run for the Senate and said, “I think you need some help.”  (Laughter.)  This was back in 1990.  No, I’m only joking.  (Laughter.)
 
Hey, John, how are you?
 
1972.  And she said, “There’s a guy named Ted Kaufman.  Works for the DuPont company.”  Ted, good to see you.  (Applause.)
 
One of my best friends in life and friend to my children.  And it’s great to see you, buddy.  Or I should call you “Senator” because — (laughter).  He’s the only guy when I said, “You got to be senator,” he said, “I don’t want to be senator.”  (Laughter.) 
 
Well, look, folks, you know, Doug and Kamala are here.  I was hoping — you know, they came here, and I’m leaving from here to their home in Los Angeles.  So, you know, it seemed kind of — kind of ass-backwards here.  I — (laughter).
 
Well, look, I’m feeling good about where we are.  I really am. 
 
You know, the folks are starting to focus in.  And the guy we’re running against, he is — he’s not for anything.  He’s against everything. 
 
No, I mean it.  It’s the — it’s the weirdest campaign I’ve ever been engaged in.  It’s even worse than — in terms of his behavior — than the last time in 2020. 
 
And, you know, Kamala mentioned there’s so much at stake. 
 
And you all, this crowd, really knows me extremely well.  They know me too well.  Don’t tell everything you know, guys.  (Laughter.) 
 
But all kidding aside, the — I meant what I said back in — when we announced the first time for president against this guy, and we went up to legislative — up to Independence Hall and made a speech on democracy.  And the press kind of thought it was a little bit of an exaggeration, except the American people didn’t. 
 
The American people get it.  They understand what’s going on. 
 
And so, this is a group of folks assembled in this room who are going to be able to say, God willing, that you helped — this generation helped save democracy.  I mean in a literal sense.  You have —
 
And by the way, as I go around the world, which I do a lot, meet with other heads of state — because I’ve known them for so long, I’m — I’m engaged in the — Madeleine Albright was right.  America is the essential nation.  And they all look — all look to us, as my co- — my colleagues know. 
 
And every time I leave — not a joke — whether it’s at the G20, the G7, wherever they are, they’ll pull me aside one at a time and say, “You’ve got to win.  You’ve got to win.  We can’t afford — my — my country is at stake” — meaning their country. 
 
So, there’s a lot at stake here, folks.  We have an enormous obligation. 
 
But, you know, I think it’s time to finish the job here.  I think it’s time for us to — (applause).
 
And if I don’t stop talking, I’m going to get the hook from Jill.  She’s going to pull me off this little pla- — (laughter).
 
But folks, look, things are — people beginning to focus.  They’re beginning to focus, and the polling data — everything is picking up across the board. 
 
The new Quinnipiac poll — the national poll has us beating him 50-44.  (Applause.)
 
Our neighbor state of Pennsylvania — the Susquehanna poll has us beating him 47-39.  (Applause.)
 
And another one in Pennsylvania, 42-37. 
 
And by the way, in New Hampshire, we weren’t on the ballot.  Couldn’t campaign there.  And guess what?  We got 64 percent of the vote.  (Applause.)
 
So, folks, I’m going to put all of this away and just say: Thank you, thank you, from the bottom of my heart. 
 
I look out there and I see — Tommy, it’s great seeing you, pal.  I’m going to miss you.  But I’m — you’re not getting away.  (Laughter.)  You’re not getting away. 
 
And Chris is there all the time for me. 
 
And our soon-to-be-senator, former congressperson.  Your dad was incredible, by the way.  (Applause.)
 
And that woman behind you, that sister of yours, she ran my operation for a long time.  (Laughter.)  She is the reason I was able to win the first time.  God love her. 
 
But I look out and see so many of you.
 
Gov, you’re the best.  Because, like me, you married way above your station.  (Applause.)
 
So, anyway, I — if I start naming everybody, I’ll name everybody in here, including — including Vince D’Anna.  Vinny, how are you, buddy?  (Applause.)  Good to see you, man.
 
I haven’t run a campaign without Vince giving me hell and helping me win around the way. 
 
Anyway, thank you, thank you, thank you.  We got a lot to do.  And I think you all get it along with me: We can’t — this is not just the campaign.  This is more of a mission.  We cannot — we cannot — we cannot lose this campaign, for the good of the country.  And I mean that from the bottom of my heart. 
 
It’s not about me.  It goes well beyond me.  It goes about the country.  And I think everybody knows it.  And I think people are — beginning to dawn on people. 
 
And as long as I’ve got Ronnie Olivere still hanging out with me, I’m okay.  (Laughter.)
 
So, anyway, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.  You’re the best in the world. 
 
I’m going to hang out with you, if I can. 
 
Thank you, thank you.  (Applause.)
 
END
 

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South Carolina State University
Orangeburg, South Carolina 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  All right.  Can we hear it for South Carolina State’s Drumline?  (Applause.)

Good afternoon, everyone.  Good afternoon.

Can we please applaud Karrington for her inspiration, for her excellence?  (Applause.)  And thank you for that introduction.

Thank you, thank you.

And, of course, it is good to be with so many extraordinary leaders, including Jaime Harrison — I want to thank him — a son of South Carolina — (applause) — and the head of the National Democratic Party.

And, of course, Assistant Leader Jim Clyburn.  Listen, I — I don’t need to tell South Carolina what a powerful leader Jim Clyburn is.  And he always speaks the truth with courage and with conviction, and he is truly one of the closest advisors and friends to President Joe Biden and me.

Leader Clyburn, thank you for all you are and all you do.  (Applause.) 

And it is so wonderful to be back in this beautiful state.  This is my third trip to South Carolina just since the beginning of the year and my ninth trip to the state as Vice President.  And, of course, there were many trips that I have taken to be here and visit with you before.

And in 2020, it was South Carolina that put President Joe Biden and me on the path to the White House.  (Applause.)

In 2020, in the height of an historic pandemic, in the midst of so much loss and uncertainty, the people of South Carolina showed up to vote.  You convinced your friends and your family members and neighbors and coworkers of the power of their vote and the power they have when they show up to vote.

And it is because of that work that Joe Biden is President of the United States and I am the first woman and first Black woman to be Vice President of the United States.  (Applause.)

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  (Inaudible.)  (Laughter.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And an auntie.  (Laughs.)

In 2020, you sent us to the White House because, frankly, we had some business to handle. (Applause.)

In 2020, South Carolina said, “We need to take on the issue of high-speed Internet.”  For years, I have spoken with leaders from Hemingway to Lower Richland to here in Orangeburg about the urgent need for high-speed Internet — in particular for rural communities, where students have had to go to the public library just to submit their homework on the Wi-Fi.

Because you voted in 2020, President Biden and I are connecting every person in America with high-speed Internet, including more than 100,000 families right here in South Carolina.  (Applause.)

In 2020, you said, “We need to do more to help folks struggling with student loan debt” — the young couples who worry that they will never be able to buy a home or start a family because of their student loans, the mothers who work two and three jobs just to keep up with their monthly payments.

And so, because you voted in 2020, President Biden and I have canceled more than $136 billion in student loan debt — (applause) — for more than three and a half million Americans.  

And although the Republicans in Congress refuse to work with us to cancel more debt, we will not be deterred.  President Biden and I will keep fighting for relief from student loan debt. 

South Carolina, in 2020, you said — as you just heard, I say it often — “HBCUs are centers of academic excellence” — (applause) — “and we must do more to support them.”  They don’t have the kinds of endowments that some other schools have, although they produce leaders of our country and our world.

So, as a proud HBCU graduate, I made sure we invested more than $7 billion in HBCUs across our nation — (applause) — including nearly $60 million for the students right here at South Carolina State — (applause) — to help them pay for textbooks and laptops and rent.

In 2020, you told us, “We need to lower healthcare costs, especially for insulin for our seniors.”

In fact, raise your hand if you have a family member with diabetes.  Right.

For too many years, too many of our seniors had to make the choice of either filling their prescription or filling their refrigerator. 

But because you voted, President Biden and I took on Big Pharma and we capped the cost of insulin for our seniors at $35 a month.  (Applause.)  And we capped the entire cost of prescription medication to $2,000 a year.

So, this is just some of what we have accomplished since we took office.

Over the past three years, President Biden and I have lowered costs, created opportunity, and are building an economy that works for working people.

We have created more than 14 and a half million new jobs, increased wages for tens of millions of Americans.  Today, consumer confidence is up and consumer spending is an all-time high.

And although we have more work to do, let us be clear: America’s economy continues to be the strongest in the world.  (Applause.)

So, it all comes down to this.  President Biden and I are guided by a fundamental belief: We work for you, the American people.  And every day, we fight for you.

Sadly, however, that is not true for everyone.  Case in point: Donald Trump.

Former President Trump has made clear time and time again his fight is not for the people.  He fights for himself.

He openly talks about his intention to weaponize the Department of Justice.  He openly says that he is, quote, “proud,” that he overturned Roe v. Wade — proud that he took the freedom of choice from millions of American women.

For years, the former President has stoked the fires of hate and bigotry and racism and xenophobia for his own power and political gain.  He accused immigrants of, quote, “poisoning the blood of our country.”  And after neo-Nazis marched in Charlottesville, he said there were, quote, “very fine people on both sides.”

The former President openly talks about his admiration for dictators and has vowed that he will be a dictator on “day one.” 

Understand what dictators do.  Dictators put journalists in jail.  Dictators suspend elections.  Dictators take your rights.

And as the great Maya Angelou once said, “When someone tells you who they are, believe them the first time.”  Well, the former President has told us who he is.  And it is on us, then, to recognize the profound threat he poses to our democracy and to our freedoms.

And let us recognize: There are extremists across our country who have been inspired, encouraged, and even cowered by the former President.

In this moment, just look at states across our country where we witness a full-on attack on hard-fought, hard-won freedoms and rights: the freedom to vote, the freedom to be safe from the horror of gun violence, the freedom to live without fear of hate or bigotry, the freedom to be who you are and love who you love openly and with pride, the freedom to learn and acknowledge our nation’s true and full history, and the freedom of a woman to make decisions about her own body and not have the government telling her what to do.  (Applause.) 

And on that point, I know all of us are clear.  One does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree the government should not be telling her what to do with her body.  (Applause.)

So, across our nations — across our nation, fundamental freedoms are at stake.  And understand, and I say this in particular to the students, it does not have to be this way.  It does not have to be this way.

When we win majorities in the United States Congress and when Congress passes a bill that reinstates the protections of Roe v. Wade, President Joe Biden will sign it.  (Applause.)

When we win majorities in Congress, President Biden will sign into law an assault weapons ban.  He will sign into law the George Floyd Justice and Policing Act.  (Applause.)  And he will sign into law the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.  (Applause.)

On these issues and so many more, who sits in the White House — it matters.

And in this election, we each — each one of us, we face a question: What kind of country do we want to live in?  We each face that question.  What kind of country do we want to live in?

Do we want to live in a country of liberty, freedom, and rule of law or a country of disorder, fear, and hate?  We face a choice: cruelty or compassion?  Chaos or competence?  Division or unity?

Each of us has the power to answer these questions on a daily basis — and, South Carolina, tomorrow at the ballot box.  (Applause.)  Because tomorrow, of course, is Primary Day here in South Carolina.  It’s on a Saturday this year.

And, South Carolina, you are the first primary in the nation.  And President Biden and I are counting on you.  We are counting on you.  (Applause.)

We are counting on you to vote and to get everyone you know to vote; to send out text messages, to knock on doors, and to make your voices heard.

So, in conclusion, then, I ask: Are you ready to make your voices heard?

AUDIENCE:  Yes!  (Applause.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Do we believe in freedom? 

AUDIENCE:  Yes!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Do we believe in democracy?

AUDIENCE:  Yes!  (Applause.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Do we believe in opportunity for all? 

AUDIENCE:  Yes!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And are we ready to fight for it?

AUDIENCE:  Yes!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And when we fight, we win.

God bless you. And God bless the United States of America.

Thank you, all.  (Applause.) 

Thank you.  Thank you.

END

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Region 1 Union Hall
Warren, Michigan

4:41 P.M. EST
 
THE PRESIDENT:  Well, thank you, thank you, thank you.  (Applause.) 
 
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
 
Supporting you is the easiest thing I’ve ever done.  Not a joke. 
 
I — I was raised on GM.  ((Laughter.)  My dad managed a dealership — didn’t own it; managed it.  And in Delaware, we used to have the highest percentage of auto workers of any state in the nation because we’re a small state.  We had the largest GM facility and the largest Chrysler facility outside of Detroit.  And we — that’s how we got through school.  That’s how we all made it.
 
But, look, folks, I’m going to be brief because I know you have been doing a lot of work here.  First of all, thank you, thank you, thank you. 
 
You know, that old expression in a little town I grew up in in Delaware called Claymont, Delaware: You all are the ones that “brung me to the dance.”  (Laughter.)  And I never left you.  I never left you.  (Applause.)
 
To me, it’s a basic, basic thing.  And I mean this sincerely.  You know, Wall Street didn’t build the middle class.  Labor built the middle class.  (Applause.)  And the middle class built the country.  Really. 
 
And when labor does well, everybody does well.  (Applause.)  No, no, I’m not just saying it.  I know I’m the most pro-union, you know — anyway.  (Laughter.)  We won’t go into all that.
 
But the reason I say it is true.  I asked the Treasury Department to do a study on the impact of unions on wealth and society.  The single biggest reason why we have — unions are growing, the single biggest reason why the economy is growing, because you are the best workers in the world.  That’s not hyperbole.  No, you really are.  You really are.  (Applause.)
 
And when labor does well, everybody does better.  You even — you even got non-union shops a raise.  (Laughter.)  They owe you.  They owe you.
 
Folks, look, this is — I’ll — I’m going to go on a little — just a little bit more.  (Laughter.) 
 
There used to be a theory called trickle-down economics.
 
AUDIENCE:  Booo —
 
THE PRESIDENT:  No, I mean it.  Democrat and Republican presidents adhered to it for a long time.  It was that if the wealthy do very well, the whole economy will grow, and it will all trickle down.  Well, not a whole hell of a lot ever trickled down on my dad’s kitchen table.  (Laughter.)  No, I’m serious.  Not a joke.
 
And I’ve always believed, you give a s- — everybody an even shot at a job, they want to do it, they’ll do it, and they’ll do it well.  And you are the best trained, you are the best workers in the world. 
 
I’ll give you one example.  I was in — I wa- — I decided that I had to do something in the first year because remember all those computer chips weren’t available for the cars?  There was — well, I got in a plane, and — against the advice of many, including some my own folks — I went to South Korea and I met with Samsung and I met with the President of South Korea.  And I said, “Why don’t you…” —
 
We used to have — we invented the damn chip.  No, we did.  We refined it.  We used to have 40 percent of those chips we made.  I said, “Why don’t you invest in America?”  He said, “We’re going to invest in America.”  Invested $100 billion in America.  Guess what?  Excuse me — $50 billion invested by these guys. 
 
Well, I said, “Why are you coming to America, Samsung?”  He said, “Two reasons: One…” — I give you my word — “…you have the best workers in the world.”  (Applause.)  No, no, that’s not a joke.  The best in the world.  “And — and, secondly, it’s the safest place in the world for me to make my investment.”
 
And, folks, look, we now have — in large part because of you and organized labor — the strongest economy in the whole damn world.  (Applause.)  We do.  We do.  In the whole world.
 
Inflation is coming down.  Jobs are growing.  We created 800,000 manufacturing jobs.  Remember they told us we were dead — manufacturing is dead in America and China was going to eat our lunch?  Well, guess what, man?  We don’t taste that good.  (Laughter.)
 
So, look, folks, I really mean it.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.  And the whole country owes you.  They really owe you. 
 
And I tell you a guy I owe.  I owe this guy named Shawn.  He stood up — he gets it.  (Applause.)  No, no, no.  He gets it.  He — come here.  Come here. 
 
I really mean it.  Because when we got all these numbers moving and we — we — and you guys endorsed me, he talked about a simple thing.  He said, “This is about giving people a shot.”  That’s all it is.  It’s just fairness, give people a shot.  And that’s what you do.  That’s what you do.
 
And, besides, you built my ‘67 Corvette.  (Laughter.)  My pride.
 
Any of you ever watch “Jay Leno’s Garage”? 
 
AUDIENCE:  Yes.
 
THE PRESIDENT:  And watch me race on my — my ‘67 Corvette?  It’s only a 327/350.  (Laughter.)
 
I tell you what, man, I got up to 130 miles an hour, though.  (Laughter.)  Secret Service doesn’t like riding with me very much anymore.  (Laughter.)
 
Anyway.  Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.  And you’re not only helping auto workers, you’re helping every worker in the world.  You really are.  You’re the best workers in the world.  That’s not hyperbole. 
 
And I learned a long time ago — last comment I’ll make — I’ve been doing this a long time.  I know I only look like I’m 40, but I’m — (laughter) — right?  (Laughter.)  Anyway.  Forty times two.  (Laughter.)
 
But the thing is that, you know, there is a provision in the law that was passed during Roosevelt’s time about — the big fight was the — could unions organize then.  That was a big issue.  It not only said unions could organize; it said we should encourage the union movement.  That’s what it says, the law.
 
And it says one other thing.  When a President of the United States is given money by the United States Congress to spend, whether it’s on an aircraft carrier or a highway or any public event, they should do two things.  One — this is what the law says — one, they should hire American workers.  (Applause.)  Two, they should use American products.  (Applause.)
 
And you can make an exception.  If you didn’t have a worker for a particular job or a prod- — or the material, you could hire somebody out.  But guess what?  For the longest time, we didn’t pay attention to it.  I pay attention to it.  (Applause.)
 
That’s why we’re growing.  Made in America by Americans — that’s why we’re the best in the world.  And you’re the best. 
 
Thank you, and God bless you all.  (Applause.)
 
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
 
Oh, wait a minute.  Come here, Gov.  Come here, Gov. 
 
Turn — did they turn the mic off?  (Inaudible.)
 
GOVERNOR WHITMER:  No, it’s on now.  (Laughter.)
 
THE PRESIDENT:  I’m not going to turn the mic off when I’ve got the best governor in the country standing next to me here.  (Applause.) 
 
Senator, come here.  And a great senator as well.  (Applause.) 
 
And a woman you’d never know before — she’s very quiet.  (Laughter.)  She — she never tells me her opinion bluntly, like “Joe, get the hell over here quickly.  Move.”  You know Debbie Dingell.  She’s a fighter for you.  (Applause.)  She’s a fighter for us. 
 
PARTICIPANT:  (Inaudible.) 
 
THE PRESIDENT:  (Laughs.)  Your Lieutenant Governor — (applause) — if I get first pick for a team, he’s my guy.  And I don’t —
 
GOVERNOR WHITMER:  The Speaker of the House.
 
THE PRESIDENT:  I’m about to introduce the Speaker.  You think I’m a — (laughter) — I’d be scared to death not introducing this Speaker.  (Laughter.)
 
He’s my kind of guy.  As I told him when I met him the first time, he looked like he can still play.  (Laughter.)  I was a pretty — I was the runner up for the state championship football scoring when I was a kid.  If I had this guy running in front of me, I could have been an All-American.  (Laughter.)  Could have been an All-American.  Anyway. 
 
Thank you all very, very, very much.  (Applause.)
 
Every time I’d walk out of my Grandfather Finnegan’s house — we were a labor family in Scranton (inaudible) — (music plays) — he’d yell, “Joey, keep the faith.”  My grandmother would say, “No, Joey, spread it.” 
 
Let’s go spread the faith.  (Applause.)
 
4:50 P.M. EST

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U.S. Capitol
Washington, D.C.

9:04 A.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT:  Frank, thank you for that introduction.

And, Reverend Black, I’ve spent a lot of time with you in the United States Senate — 36 years.  But you were only there 21.  But I miss your sermons, because that’s how I viewed your opening prayers every — every mon- — every day.

Frank, thanks for the introduction and for your service on behalf of the people of Northwest Indiana.

A few years ago, I visited Frank’s hometown, Hammond, Indiana, with our dear friend and great Hoosier Joe Donnelly, who is doing an incredible job as our Ambassador to the Holy See, walking his faith in service of his nation as well — as we all are called to do. 

So, Frank, thank you for leading this year’s prayer breakfast, and Congressman Tracey Mann of Kansas as well.

Thank you, Speaker Johnson.  It’s an honor to be with you today and Majority [Minority] Leader Jeffries.  And Senators Gillibrand and Blackburn, thank you both.

The Chair of the National Prayer Breakfast and Foundation, Senator Heidi Heitkamp.  Heidi, I hadn’t seen you in a while.  It’s so good to see you again, kid.  It really is.

Members of the administration — Secretary Buttigieg, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and his wife, Grace, who helped make this event what it is today.

Members of Congress and their families, including one of the home-state senators — my home-state senators, Chris Coons, who, by the way — he not only got a law degree, the same time he got a law degree, he got a divinity degree at Yale University, which makes me always wonder about him.  I don’t know.  (Laughter.)  But all kidding aside, he’s a great man.  And his wife Annie is with him today.  They’re — they’re both dear friends.

Chaplain Black, we’ve known each other a long time.  And on my last day in the Senate Chamber, you offered a prayer: that in our labor may we illuminate the darkness of doubt, may we distinguish between truth and falsehood, and may we see possibilities that are now hidden.

Your wisdom then and now, this morning, are deeply moving.

To the incredible Andrea — I think — by the way, I am an unadulterated fan of Bocelli.  He will tell you.  And you know that to be the case.  He — God, he can — anyway — (laughter).  He’s incredible, I think.

Jill and I had the honor to host him for Christmas at the White House in our first year in office.  And you performed with your son and daughter as if you were a choir of herald angels.  And in a difficult time for our family, after we lost our son Beau, you expressed in a song what we felt in our hearts.

From your song, “Fall on Me,” it goes like this.  It says, “Fall on me with open arms.  Fall on me from where you are.  Fall on me with all your light.”

Andrea, well, you’re a gift.  You were a gift to my family at that moment and you continue to be.

I’ve attended many prayer breakfasts over the years.  And Jill and I have been humbled by the prayers of so many when we needed them badly.  It means everything to us.

And we’re all blessed to live in a nation where we can practice our many faiths and practice them freely, and where we can come together and lift up our nation and each other — each other in our own prayers, especially in tough times.

Our prayers continue to be with the families of the three American servicemen [service members] killed and attacked in the FOB in Jordan: Sergeant William Rivers, Specialist Breonna Moffett, and Specialist Kennedy Sanders.

I spoke with each of these families separately, and Jill and I will be, tomorrow, at Dover Air Force Base to receive the dignified transfer of their bodies.

They’ve raised [risked] their lives in harm’s way.  They risked it all.

And we’ll never forget the [their] sacrifices and service to our country [and] that [of] the dozens of service members who were wounded and are recovering now.

I also see the trauma, the death, and destruction in Israel and Gaza.  And I understand that the pain and passion felt by so many here in America and around the world.

We value and pray for the lives taken and for the families left behind, for all those who are living in dire circumstances — innocent men, women, and children held hostage or under bombardment or displaced, not knowing where their next meal will come from or if it will come at all.

Not only do we pray for peace, we are actively working for peace, security, dignity for the Israeli people and the Palestinian people.

I’m engaged on this day and night and working, as many of you in this room are, to find the means to bring our hostages home, to ease the humanitarian crisis, and to bring peace to Gaza and Israel — an enduring peace with two states for two peoples — just as we worked for peace, security, and dignity for the Ukrainian people as they show incredible resolve and resilience against Putin’s aggression.  We must continue to help them.

The challenge of our times reminds us of our responsibility as a nation to help each other [deliver] just and lasting peace — deliver it abroad and here at home.

That’s why we’re fighting against the rise of antisemitism and Islamophobia here in the United States and all forms of hate, including those against Arab Americans and South Asian Americans.

This is a calling to stand against hate, to remember the very idea of America.  We’re all created equal.  We’re unique in the world — the only nation based on an idea — “We hold these truths to be self-evident” — we’re all created equal and deserve to be treated equally throughout our lives.

We’ve never as a nation fully lived up to that, but we’ve never walked away from it either.  It’s a covenant we have with one another that holds this nation together. 

And, quite frankly, I knew it before I became president because I did a lot of foreign policy und- — in the — in the previous administration with Barack. 

But we’re the beacon to the world.  The entire world looks to us.  That’s not hyperbole. 

This is an idea.  This idea was made real before the soul became flesh, before this dream became a fact.  It was prayed for, it was hoped for, it was believed in.  That’s the story of America.

Let me close with this.

It’s fitting today marks the first time the National Prayer Breakfast is being held here in Statuar- — Statutory [Statuary] Hall.

This is where the House of Representatives met for 50 years leading up to the Civil War.It’s where a congressman from Illinois, Abraham Lincoln, sat at desk number 191 before becoming the president who served our Union and saved it.

History remembers President Lincoln’s first inaugural address counseling us to heed, quote, “the better angels of our nature.”  “The better angels of our nature.”

We do well to remember what he said just a few moments before he concluded the same address.  At a moment of deep division in our nation, President Lincoln said, “We are not enemies.”  He said, “We are not enemies, but friends.”  “We must not be enemies,” he went on to say.

I have long believed we have to look at each other even in our most challenging times not as enemies but as fellow Americans.

Scripture tells us, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness.”  I believe that’s our collective calling today.

Here — here we are in this room, among the statue of heroes who have shaped our history.  And here we know faith is a living spirit that awakens our passions to come down from the pedestal and act to serve.

That’s why over the door of the Rotunda is a scripture [sculpture] depicting Clio, the muse of history.  In her hands is an open book in which she records the events taking place here.  In the citadel of democracy, she is a silent witness to the American story of war and peace, insurrection and stability.

As we gather this morning, what will Clio write for the future about what we did in our time?  What will she write about us?

My prayer, my hope is we continue to believe our best days are ahead of us — that as a nation we continue to believe in honesty, decency, dignity, and respect.  We see each other not as enemies but as fellow human beings, each made in the image of God, each precious in his sight.

We leave no one behind.  We believe everyone deserves a fair shot.  We give hate no safe harbor.

Together, we believe in America.  That’s my prayer: to remember who we are. 

We’re the United States of America, and there is nothing — and I mean this sincerely — nothing beyond our capacity if we act together.

We’re the only nation in the world that’s come out of every crisis stronger than we went in when we act together.

My prayer for all of you — in my church, we’ve taken the 22nd Psalm and turned it into a — a hymn.  And it says, “And he will raise you up on eagle’s wings and bear you on the breath of dawn and make you to shine like the sun.  Until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand.”

That’s sincerely my prayer to all of you.  We have really tough, tough differences.  We really go at one another.  But remember — let’s remember who the hell we — hell we are.  We’re the United States of America.  It’s all about dignity and respect.  So, let’s practice it. 

Thank you for having me.  It’s good to be back.  (Applause.)

9:15 A.M. EST

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Private Residence
Miami, Florida

6:27 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Well, Chris, thank you. And I have to tell you, I’m not going home. (Laughter.)

Folks — I want to thank you for chairing the — the Biden Victory Fund. You’re a great friend, traveling all across the country to bring so many folks into the process. And I mean that. We’re lucky to have you on the campaign trail with us.

And thanks to all of you for the support you’ve given us.

I’ll start with the simplest message: From the bottom of my heart, thank you, thank you, thank you. You’re the reason I’m President of the United States. Not hyperbole. You’re the reason. (Applause.)

Kamala Harris is a — you’re the reason Kamala Harris is the first — historic Vice President, first woman to be in that position. (Applause.) You’re the reason Donald Trump is a defeated former President. (Applause.) And you’re the reason we’re going to continue to make him a loser again. (Laughs.) (Applause.)

Folks, in 2020, I ran because I thought this country stood at a — for — everything I believed in was at stake. I really mean it. I thought it was at risk.

I made a couple speeches I got criticized for, saying I thought our democracy was at stake. I think people thought I was being hyperbolic at the time. “Joe, what do you mean democracy is at risk? What do you mean we’re in a battle for the soul of America?” Well, people don’t say that anymore.

You know, I don’t think anyone today doubts democracy was at risk in 2020. And thank God, because of you and supporters like you, we won.

Just think back to the mess that Donald Trump left this country in: a pandemic that was raging, an economy that was reeling.

Look how far we’ve come. We vaccinated America to get through that pandemic. Less than 2 million people were vaccinated when we came into office. Today, 270 million Americans have gotten that COVID vaccine. (Applause.)

We created 14 million new jobs — new jobs — more than any president has in the first term — to get this economy going strong.

We passed the American Rescue Plan to put $1,400 in people’s pockets at the time, who were in real trouble, and $300 checks per child for families — of hardworking families — with thousands of dollars in people’s pockets through the re- — what was then a real crisis. And that money helped cut child poverty in half.

And we have to do more. Everyone is feeling the consequences of these investments and progress — not everybody is feeling it yet. And yet, inflation is now lower in America than in any other country [major economy] in the world.

In recent weeks, we’re starting to see real evidence that American consumers are beginning to feel confidence — renewed confidence in the economy we’re building. Just this morning, we learned that consumer confidence surged to its highest level in two years.

The Washington Post headline from this weekend is: Falling inflation ri- — rai- — rising growth in U.S. gives world the best — gives U.S. the best recovery in the world.

Look, let me tell you who else is noticing: Donald Trump. He recently said, “When the crash occurs, I hope it’s in the next 12 months.” “When the crash occurs, I hope it’s in the next 12 months.” It’s unbelievable. It’s un-American.

How can a former President or anyone say that an economic crash that would devastate millions of people is a good thing?

Here’s what he really means: Donald Trump knows the economy we’ve built is strong and getting stronger. And he knows that, while it’s good for America, it’s bad for him politically.

Trump also said one of the — one president does not — he said, “I’m the one guy that doesn’t want to be a Her- — Herbert Hoover.” Well, I’ve got news for him — bad news. He’s already Herbert Hoover. (Laughter.) The only president other than Donald Trump that lost jobs during an administration was Herbert Hoover. So, Donald “Herbert Hoover” Trump is — (laughter) — is moving right along.

Folks, I promised we’d beat Big Pharma. You know, they charge more for prescription drugs in America than they do anywhere else in the world. You have a prescription — the same exact prescription taken to a drug store here, I take you to one in Toronto, Berlin, anywhere around the world, and it’s somewhere between 60 and 40 percent less.

We said we’d beat them, and we did. Thirty-five-dollar-a-month insulin for seniors with diabetes instead of $400 a month. We tried to make it 35 bucks a month for everyone because it only costs 10 bucks to make and — and the total packaging cost 13 bucks. And they’re still making a significant progress [profit]. But our Republican colleagues pushed back on everybody having it. But with your vote in 2024, we’re going to make it available to everyone.

Out-of-pocket costs for seniors for prescription drugs, beginning in 2024 [2025], are capped at $2,000 a year, no matter how big they are. You all know somebody who is taking a cancer drug. It could be $12-, $15-, $16,000. Well, it’s going to be capped at $2,000 maximum. And it matters.

I promised we’d help ease the accumulated student debt in America that Americans carried during this economic crisis and pandemic. The Supreme Court blocked me, but it didn’t stop me. I found another way, a legal way, to do it. That is three m- — 3.7 million people, $130 billion relief and counting.

Here’s what we did. We went back and fixed what’s called the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which was designed to help public servants — like teachers, nurses, firefighters, social workers — get their student loans forgiven. If they make 10 years of payments without miss and they’re involved in public service, they get their debt forgiven.

By the time I took office, the program had been in place nearly 15 years. Behind red — because of red tape, only 7,000 borrowers had been helped.

Thanks to — today, we have 700,000 borrowers helped. And guess what? It’s growing the economy. (Applause.) They’re out buying homes. They’re out paying their debts. They’re out doing things that make a difference.

And all of you here in Florida knew how lucky America would be when I kept my promise to appoint the first Black woman to the Supreme Court. (Applause.) Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson of Miami, Florida — she’s making us proud.

And, by the way, I’ve appointed more Black women to the federal appeals courts than every other president in American history combined — every single one combined. (Applause.) All told, we’ve gotten 171 federal judges confirmed, and two thirds of them are women. (Laughs.) (Applause.) Well, it’s real simple. I got it right. All the women in my family are smarter than all the men, so I figure. (Laughter.)

Look, the fact is that we have a lot more work to do, but I’ve never been more optimistic about our future. I mean it.

An example: Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that I signed, there are 40,000 infrastructure projects all across America.

How in God’s name can we be the most important country in the world, the most economically prosperous, and be ranked number 14 in infrastructure? It’s not possible.

We’re rebuilding our roads, our bridges, our ports, our airports. And we’re bringing affordable high-speed Internet everywhere in America; ripping out every poisonous lead pipe that exists so every child in America can turn on a faucet and drink it without having any brain damage. (Applause.)

We passed the most significant gun safety law in decades. And I will not stop until I once again ban assault weapons in this country. (Applause.)

We’re saving the planet with the most significant investment in climate change ever, anywhere in the history of the world. We’ve tripled sales of electric vehicles, built a national network of 50,000 [500,000] EV charging stations, put on a path to carbon emissions — to reduce by 50 percent by 2030. I could go on, but you’re standing. (Laughter.)

Now imagine the nightmare if Trump returned to office.

At a recent — at a recent deadly school shooting in Perry, Iowa, three people died, including one sixth grader and the school principal. You know what Trump said? It’s hard to believe he said it, but he said it. You just got to “get over it.” You just got to “get over it.”

I’m not going to get over it. I’m going to stop it. I’m going to stop it. (Applause.)

Trump and his MAGA friends want to repeal the historic climate legislation. Maybe they don’t think climate is a real problem, but the rest of us know it is.

I’ve spent more time traveling the world — traveling the United States in the three years, looking at the forest that had been burned to the ground and is equivalent to the entire state of Maryland, burned to the ground. Now after — and you see what the rising tides are doing. You see what’s happening here in Florida. And we’re trying. And we’re trying.

Failing more than 60 times —

You know, look, how can I — I want to be — I don’t want to lose my temper here and say something I shouldn’t.

After trying and failing more than 60 times, Trump and his MAGA friends are promising to get rid of the Affordable Care Act, the only law that exists for people of modest means to be able to get insurance and not be denied because of preexisting condition. And they want to take that away.

Seniors here in Florida and all across America should know this: Trump and the MAGA Republicans are determined to take away the $35-a-month insulin payment and make it no longer the law, as well as the $2,000 cap on all prescription drugs.

Instead of saving Social Security and Medicare, Trump and his MAGA friends want to give another massive multibillion-dollar tax cut and not pay for it at all.

Look, you know, Trump and his MAGA friends are determined to take away your freedom as well. Today, they’re attacking voting rights — voting rights all across the country.

And now Trump is bragging about having overturned Roe v. Wade, taking away a woman’s right to choose. And now they’re planning a national ban on the right to choose. You know it here in Florida from your governor.

I made it clear: If MAGA Republicans try to pass a national ban on the right to choose, I will veto it. It will never go into effect. (Applause.)

And if you reelect me and Kamala and a Democratic House and a bigger Senate majority, we will restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land everywhere — everywhere. (Applause.)

Look, you’re all standing for a long time, running out of po- — let me close with this.

Trump and his MAGA friends are dividing us, not uniting us; dragging us back into the past, not leading us to the future; refusing to accept the results of a legitimate election; seeking, as Trump did — says, to “terminate” elements of the Constitution; embracing political violence — embracing it.

I sit, next to my office, in the Oval Office — two — two doors — literally, doors to my office down is that dining room where he sat and watched on the 6th of — of January, watched that riot go on, watched those people being killed — watched the cops being killed, watched what’s happening.

You know, I was — shortly after that, I was — as President, I was in London — outside of London at a G7 meeting. And I sat down, and I said, “America is back.” And the French President looked at me, and he said, “For how long? For how long is it back?”

And then, Olaf of Germany looked at me — the Chancellor — and he said, “What would you say, Mr. President” — true story — “What would you say, Mr. President, if we woke up tomorrow morning and here in the London Times said, ‘A thousand people stormed the gates of Parliament, broke down the doors to the House of Commons, and stopped the election of a Speaker — of a Speaker — stopped the election of a Prime Minister’?”

And I started thinking about it. What would we think? What would we think had happened? The rest of the world — everywhere I — I know I’ve — because I’ve been around a while — I know I don’t look it, but I’m a little older. (Laughter.) But I’ve been around. I know every one of these former and present presidents of nations. I mean it sincerely. I’ve been in over 140 countries. I know them personally.

Every meeting I go to, from the G20 on, as I’m leaving, one of them pulls me aside and says, “Joe — Joe, you’ve got to win. You can’t let him back. My country is at stake.”

No, I — no, and a lot of you travel internationally. Find me some other leader in the — in the free world that is rooting for Trump to come back.

Folks, there’s a truth and there’s lies. We have to make clear we stand with the truth and we’re going to defeat the lies. We must make clear that America still — we believe in honesty, decency, dignity, respect. We believe that we’re all created equal. We’ve never fully lived up to it, but we’ve never walked away from it before. We’ve never walked away from it before.

You know, we leave nobody behind. We believe everybody deserves a fair shot. We don’t give hate a safe harbor. We believe in America.

I mean, it sounds corny, but think about it. We believe in the idea of America.

I know what’s at stake. We must keep the White House, keep the Senate, and win back the House. And then to win up — (applause) — up and down the ticket at state and local offices.

Here in Florida, we have to organize, mobilize, and vote. And if we do, we will win Florida. (Applause.)

When we do that, we’ll be able to look back and say something few generations can say: America’s democracy was at risk, like it was in 2020, but we saved it.

We just have to remember who we are. We’re the United States of America. (Applause.) And there is nothing — nothing beyond our capacity when we do it together. And that’s what we have to do.

So, God bless you all. Sorry to make you stand for so long. Thank you, thank you, thank you. (Applause.)

May God bless you all. And may he protect our troops.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. (Applause.)

All the way back there, thank you. Thank you, thank you.

AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. I don’t want to go home. Thank you. Thank you, all. Bye-bye.

6:42 P.M. EST

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Council on Foreign Relations
Washington, D.C.

MR. SULLIVAN:  At least I had the bravery to give that speech at Brookings rather than at CFR.  So — (laughter) —

Mike, I want to say thank you for having me back at CFR.  And to Susan and Kurt and Charlene and Steve, thank you for having me back at the UCSD China Forum, which I’ve had the privilege of actually attending since its inauguration.  I would say San Diego in January is a little nicer than D.C. in January, but we’ll make do here.
 
My aim today is not to try to unveil a new China strategy, but something more straightforward: to share with you behind the curtain how we’ve tried to implement our strategy over the last three years and then what we might expect here in 2024.  And in the course of that, without directly answering the questions Mike has posed, perhaps provide a little grist for the mill that can help over the next couple of days as you grapple with these very difficult questions.
 
I want to start by taking a step back.
 
Before serving in the Biden administration, many of us who are now in government — including myself and Kurt and others — were revisiting the assumptions behind our longstanding China policy in writing and in conferences like this one.  And once in government, we immersed ourselves in the latest intelligence, expertise, and analysis.
 
We determined that the PRC was the only state with both the intent to reshape the international order and the economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to do it.  We saw that the PRC sought to “catch up and surpass” the United States in high technology; that it was pursuing the largest peacetime military buildup in history; and that it was more repressive at home and more assertive abroad, including in the South and East China Seas as well as the Taiwan Strait.  We saw the PRC working to make the world more dependent on China while reducing its own dependence on the world.  And we saw it taking steps to adapt the international system to accommodate its own system and preferences.
 
We also saw something that really stood out, which is that the PRC believed the United States was in terminal decline — that our industrial base had been hollowed out, that our commitment to our allies and partners had been undercut, that the United States was struggling to manage a once-in-a-century pandemic, and that many in Beijing were openly proclaiming that “the East was rising and the West was falling.”
 
When we came into office, we inherited an approach from the previous administration that had updated the diagnosis of the scope and nature of the China challenge but had not adequately developed the strategy and tools to address it.  That approach was at times more confrontational than competitive, and too often undervalued the allies and partners critical to sustaining an effective China strategy.
 
But we did not want to return to an earlier approach with the PRC, one based on more optimistic assumptions about its trajectory and that sometimes prioritized avoiding friction over pursuing the American national interest.  So we developed our own approach, which Secretary Blinken laid out in a speech a couple of years ago — invest, align, compete — that sought to strengthen our competitive position and secure our interests and values while carefully managing this vital relationship.
 
And over the past three years, we’ve implemented that approach.  We’ve made far-reaching investments in the foundation of American strength at home with historic legislation on infrastructure, chips and science, and clean energy, all while addressing the PRC’s non-market practices and taking steps to ensure that the United States would lead in the sources of technological and economic growth. 
 
We believe our approach has generated results.  Large-scale investments in semiconductor and clean-energy production in the United States are up 20-fold since 2019.  Construction spending on new manufacturing projects has already doubled.  And looking out over the next decade, we’re estimating $3.5 trillion in new public and private investment, unlocked by the investments made in the historic legislation I just referenced. 
 
Abroad, we’ve tried to strengthen our ties with Indo-Pacific allies and partners in ways that would have been unlikely, even inconceivable, a few years ago.  We launched AUKUS.  We elevated the Quad.  We upgraded our relationship with Vietnam, the Philippines, India, Indonesia, and others.
 
We launched a historic trilateral with Japan and the Republic of Korea that culminated in a historic summit that President Biden hosted at Camp David. 
 
We held summits — multiple summits — with the leaders of the Pacific Islands as well as with ASEAN.
 
Our regional allies and partners, for their part, are betting on American economic vitality.  They’ve announced almost $200 billion of investments into the United States since the start of the administration.
 
We’ve also worked to connect our European and Indo-Pacific alliances.  And together with our G7 partners, we’ve aligned on collective steps to de-risk our economies and diversify away from strategic dependencies rather than decoupling.  And alongside our allies and partners, we’ve stressed the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.
 
We’ve also worked hard to ensure that advanced and sensitive technologies our companies are developing do not become a source of vulnerability.  We implemented carefully tailored export restrictions on key technologies; focused on advanced semiconductor manufacturing tools — a topic, by the way, that was central to one of the earlier UCSD forums when I first really got immersed in this question of semiconductor manufacturing equipment; supercomputing capabilities; and the most advanced chips critical to military modernization.
 
We also took steps to regulate outbound investments of concern in technology and to strengthen CFIUS’s focus on critical technologies to make sure inbound investment actually addresses evolving national security challenges — the screening regime for inbound investment.
 
These steps are not about protectionism, and they’re not about holding anybody back.  They’re critical for our national security over the long run.
 
Now, the backdrop to these actions was the strongest post-pandemic recovery and among the lowest inflation of any leading economy in the world.  For years, economists were predicting that the PRC would overtake the United States in GDP either in this decade or the next.  Now those projections are moving further and further out.  And with the PRC facing its own set of challenges, some say that moment may never come.
 
And this brings me to a critical point: America, in this moment, is once more showing its capacity for resilience and reinvention.
 
But this is not the whole story.  And that’s what’s really critical about the remarks I want to give today.
 
As we took these steps to improve our competitive position, we aimed to do so in a way that built stability into one of the world’s most consequential relationships — perhaps the world’s most consequential relationship.  And, in fact, we believe our investments at home and our work to deepen ties with allies and partners abroad actually created the conditions for more effective diplomacy with the PRC.
 
A sustainable China policy is about holding in one’s head multiple truths at the same time and working iteratively to reconcile them.  We are clear-eyed about the competitive structural dynamics in our relationship with the PRC.  But we’re also keenly aware that the United States and the PRC are economically interdependent and share interests in addressing transnational problems and reducing the risk of conflict.
 
We realize that efforts, implied or explicit, to shape or change the PRC over several decades did not succeed.  We expect that the PRC will be a major player on the world stage for the foreseeable future.  That means that even as we compete, we have to find ways to live alongside one another.
 
Competition with the PRC does not have to lead to conflict, confrontation, or a new Cold War.  The United States can take steps to advance its interests and values and those of its allies and partners on the one hand, while responsibly managing competition on the other.  Being able to do both of those things is at the heart of our approach.  And in fact, the United States has decades of experience talking to and even working with our competitors when our interests call for it. 
 
Over the last year, we’ve called on that experience.  And while “managing competition” can feel like an abstract slogan, the best way to understand how it translates into action is to “zoom in” on 2023.
 
The year began with the relationship at a historic low point.  A year ago this week, a Chinese spy balloon traveled across the United States.  We were, and remain, deeply concerned about the PRC providing Russia with lethal aid in its invasion of Ukraine.  And after historic and unprecedented — and not historic in a positive sense — PRC military exercises in August of 2022, it seemed a series of cross-Strait crises loomed over the horizon.
 
All of this set back the progress from the Bali summit between President Biden and President Xi.  High-level communication halted, to say nothing of military-to-military ties or cooperation on counternarcotics or climate — all of which the PRC had frozen.
 
We set out to stabilize the relationship without sacrificing our capacity to strengthen our alliances, compete vigorously, and defend our interests.
 
Beginning in May of last year, we launched a period of intensive diplomacy.  It was an all-hands-on-deck effort across the Cabinet spanning the full range of our relationship with the PRC.  The goal was not to paper over our differences.  Our aim instead was to address misperceptions and miscommunication, to avoid major surprises, to reopen defunct channels, and to more clearly signal to each other about our respective positions and interests.  And we sought to increase not just the quantity but the quality of our communication.
 
In May, I spent two days with Director Wang Yi in Vienna to help restore some normalcy to the relationship.  In Vienna, we reached consensus on a rough roadmap for high-level engagement to carry out the agenda that President Biden and President Xi had set forward in Bali — one both sides hoped at that time would ultimately culminate in a leader-level meeting in San Francisco at APEC later in the year. 
 
In the months that followed, we held a series of critical meetings.
 
In June, Secretary Blinken traveled to Beijing and met with President Xi and senior foreign policy officials, working to stabilize after a period of tension.
 
In July, Secretary Yellen traveled to Beijing to build relationships with the PRC’s new economic leadership.  In that same month, Special Envoy for Climate John Kerry traveled to reopen climate channels that had stalled for months.
 
Then, in August, Secretary Raimondo visited the PRC to advance our commercial ties and underscore our commitment to protect critical technologies with national security implications without severing the economic relationship between the U.S. and China.
 
Critics said at the time that this travel was one-sided, but our strategy was to use those meetings to open up a two-way flow of exchanges, and that’s exactly what happened.
 
This intensive diplomacy was about managing tough issues rather than patching up the relationship.  We were direct about our differences, including PRC support for Russia’s war against Ukraine and cross-Strait issues.  
 
We did not pull back from national security-focused measures, like restrictions on outbound investment and updates to our export controls.  Instead, we used these meetings as opportunities to explain what these measures were, but almost as importantly, what they were not, which was an attempt to undermine the PRC’s prosperity and development.  That is not what those measures were, and we explained that clearly to our counterparts in these sessions. 
 
We also used these meetings to find space to coordinate on issues where our interests overlapped.
 
In September, Director Wang Yi and I met in Malta for another round of meetings.  We charted the course for a leader meeting in San Francisco and laid out what we hoped to accomplish on issues like counternarcotics and mil-mil channels. 
 
Over the following weeks, Majority Leader Schumer led a bipartisan delegation to the PRC, and the PRC sent a stream of officials to the United States, including the Vice President, the Vice Premier, and Director Wang Yi, who came for two days of meetings with Secretary Blinken and myself.
 
And all of this culminated, as you heard from Mike, in the meeting — the summit — between President Biden and President Xi in Woodside, California, which saw progress on three major issues.
 
First, President Biden and President Xi restarted counternarcotics cooperation.  Since then, we’ve seen Beijing take initial steps to stem the flow of precursor chemicals used to make fentanyl, progress that we hope and need to see continue.  The first interagency counternarcotics working group between the U.S. and the PRC met today in Beijing, and our aim is to open up law enforcement cooperation on fighting this terrible drug.
 
Second, President Biden and President Xi announced the resumption of military-to-military communication that had been frozen for more than a year.  The Chairman of our Joint Chiefs of Staff has now spoken with his counterpart, and we’ve restored a number of critical operator-level mechanisms.  The question now is whether that will continue even in the face of future turbulence.  We, for our part, will continue to make the case that military-to-military communication is critical at all times but especially in times of tension. 
 
And third, the Woodside summit saw our leaders announce a new dialogue aimed at managing the risks of artificial intelligence, which will start in the spring.
 
As Mike mentioned, this past weekend I met with Director Wang Yi in Bangkok to follow up on the Woodside summit and to advance efforts in each of these three areas. 
 
Detailed, dogged diplomacy is necessary to manage the friction that is endemic to a strategic competition between two major powers.  Some risks to that effort may be unforeseeable, may be surprises.  Other risks are more recognizable, including friction in the South and East China Sea and economic and technology moves and countermoves.
 
The most significant risk would be a crisis in the Taiwan Strait, especially given Beijing’s increased military activity in and around its air and waters.  Here, too, intensive diplomacy matters.
 
Just a few weeks ago, Taiwan held historic elections without any major cross-Strait incident, in part because all sides — Washington, Beijing, and Taipei — worked to reduce miscommunication and misperception about their respective intentions.  That is an outcome few may have foreseen in August of 2022, when most expected the cross-Strait situation to grow more tense, not less.  But it’s no guarantee of future trends, and the risk remains real.  So we have to keep working at this by intensifying both diplomacy and deterrence. 
 
Over the next year, as we have for the last three, we’ll continue to take action on human rights abuses, forced labor, and nonproliferation.  We’ll be vigilant about the PRC’s support for Russia’s war against Ukraine and its efforts to help Russia reconstitute its defense industrial base, and we’ll take necessary measures to respond.
 
If PRC provocations continue in the South and East China Seas and the Taiwan Strait, we’ll work closely with allies and partners to push back and speak out about the risks to peace and stability in the world’s most important waterways.  We’ll continue to uphold freedom of navigation in the region by flying, sailing, and operating wherever international law allows.  And we’ll continue to pursue tailored national security measures designed to protect our national security.
 
And even as we do so, we’ll aim to continue the pace of intensive interaction with the PRC that has helped both sides manage areas of difference and unlock cooperation on areas where our interests align.
 
We’re not planning to recreate the now outdated structures and mechanisms from an earlier period in the bilateral relationship.  And we’re definitely not interested in dialogue just for dialogue’s sake.  But we do see value in launching and shepherding a select number of working-level consultations in discrete, carefully chosen areas to advance our interests and achieve results.  That’s the approach we use today on counternarcotics — an approach rooted in the here and now rather than in the nostalgia of the past.
 
In the period ahead, we hope we can work with the PRC to deepen crisis communication mechanisms to reduce the risk of conflict.  We’re ready to coordinate on climate, health security, global macroeconomic stability, and new challenges like the risks posed by artificial intelligence.  We’ll also talk to Beijing about challenging regional and global issues, from the Red Sea to the Korean Peninsula.  And we’ll work to advance progress on a range of bilateral issues too, including people-to-people ties.
 
Let me conclude by noting that none of this will be easy, and there will be times of tension.  That’s inevitable in a competition like this that is simply not going to resolve in a neat and decisive end state.  And as I noted, one thing is certain: There will be surprises along the way.
 
We’ll keep working to manage the competition as we have over the last year.  We’ll continue to invest in our strength at home and to deepen our global networks of alliances and partnerships abroad.
 
The approach I’m describing to you is not some big strategic shift.  It’s an effort we began building from the day we came into office.  It’s also not something new to American statecraft.  Far from it.  It’s an approach that is itself uniquely American and rooted in decades of history, diplomacy, and hard-won experience.  It’s also rooted in bipartisanship, because when the United States deals in a strategic competition from a position of strong bipartisan support, of all pulling together in service of the country, we always come out stronger for it. 
 
So we intend to stick with this strategy.  We intend to do what we need to do to protect our interests and defend our allies, while at the same time effectively managing competition with China to the good not just of the United States, but to the good of global stability as well.  That is our commitment.  That’s what we’ve tried to do. 
 
And today my goal was simply to walk you through how we’ve tried to execute that in practice so we can get beyond the kind of broad slogans and down to the actual day-to-day hard work that an incredible team of people across the entire U.S. government, both career and appointed, have been working.  And we’ve done so, I must say, looking around this room, with the support and advice of a huge number of people here from both parties, from the private sector and the public sector, and across a range of walks of life.  And that is the only way we’re going to continue to succeed in this effort as we go forward. 
 
So thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak today, and I look forward to the conversation.  (Applause.)
 
MR. HADLEY:  Jake, thank you for being with us.  Thank you for your remarks.  I think we’re all much better informed about what you’ve been building in terms of China policy and the successes that you’ve had. 
 
What we’re going to do is I’m going to ask three or four questions to Jake, up here.  And then we’re going to turn to the audience to take questions from you.  This is all on the record.  And we will try to end promptly at 7:45.  And I will proceed with the rest of the activities of the evening. 
 
Let me begin by asking you if — what, if anything, you would feel comfortable telling us about your recent meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Thailand.  Any great breakthroughs to report here tonight?  (Laughter.)  Any news you want to make before the assembled multitude?
 
MR. SULLIVAN:  Well, first, we had a very nice meal.  So that was good.  (Laughter.) 
 
You know, this is my third extended round of conversations with Wang Yi — the first in Vienna, the second in Malta, and then this one in Bangkok.  And with each successive round, I think we have increasingly gotten to the point of setting aside the talking points and really having strategic conversations. 
 
In terms of next steps, the main things coming out of the meeting were actually to, you know, kind of fix the launch of this AI dialogue, where the U.S. and China will work together to manage risk.  And that will get going this spring.  So we talked through what the elements of that would look like. 
 
Second, we had the opportunity to go deep on cross-Strait issues and to share our respective positions.  And I’ll be cautious.  As you know very well, this is littered with landmines to speak about publicly.  And also, I want to respect the discretion of the channel.  But I think it was a very useful, direct, and candid set of conversations on that topic. 
 
And then, we obviously also had the opportunity to talk about current events — current events in the Red Sea, current events on the Korean Peninsula, concerns that we have about instability in both places.  And I would say the quality and character of those conversations and a rather direct and, in some ways, intensive conversation about the war in Ukraine, I think helped both of us leave feeling that we didn’t agree or see eye-to-eye on everything but that there was a lot of work to carry forward. 
 
Last point I would make: We agreed that President Biden and President Xi should speak and should speak by telephone relatively soon.  And I think the acknowledgment coming out of Woodside that there really is no substitute for leader-to-leader conversation — I mean, it became so apparent over the course of that meeting at Woodside how central that ingredient has to be to an effective stewardship of U.S.-China policy.  And so, both of us agreed that we would report back to our leaders and we would get them on the phone sooner rather than later.
 
MR. HADLEY:  Great.  Let me ask you on the Taiwan question.  They recently, of course, had elections in Taiwan.  A lot of commentary by some of the people in this room about the significance of those elections.  How do you see them?  And what impact do you think the results might have on our ability to manage the cross-Strait relationship?
 
MR. SULLIVAN:  Well, you know, we were explicit and direct, publicly and privately, with all stakeholders that we were not taking a position in those elections; we remained studiously neutral throughout.  We congratulated the winner.  We congratulated the — Tsai Ing-wen on, you know, an effective democratic election.  And now, you know, we’ve made clear we would like to see a smooth transition. 
 
And otherwise, from the United States’ perspective, Taiwan exhibiting this vibrant, democratic character is a positive thing.  And our policy remains constant through it.  As it was before, it will be going forward — the One China policy, the Taiwan Relations Act, the Six Assurances, and all of the issues that people in this room know so well. 
 
And President Biden has been clear that, you know, we remain committed to the One China policy.  And I was clear on that with Wang Yi as well. 
 
I was also clear that we continue to have concerns about elevated levels of aggressive military activity around the Strait.  We don’t regard that as conducive to peace and stability.  And we generally want to see, as I think the rest of the world does, peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.  And we are committed to doing everything we can to support that.
 
MR. HADLEY:  Thank you.  I want to ask a little bit about the Chinese economy.  There’s a lot that has been written about the structural problems of the economy, a lot of speculation that the administration in Beijing has neither the ability nor the willingness to address those underlying structural problems.  A fairly gloomy view about the prospects for the Chinese economy. 
 
And I wonder whether that negative — whether that narrative is too negative.  And I’d ask you how you see the prospects of the economy and the ability and willingness of Xi and his team to address some of the structural problems that we all know about in terms of the real estate sector, indebtedness, and all the rest.
 
MR. SULLIVAN:  You know, in the last couple of times I went to the UCSD China Forum — it was before I came into government — I made a habit of going up to the smartest people I know on China and on economics, and buttonholing them and saying, “Tell me about the economy in China.”  And I would hear a, kind of, general answer from one and I would think, “Okay, that’s the answer.”  And then I would talk to someone else, and they would have quite a different answer. 
 
And the spectrum of opinion on whither China’s economy among incredibly informed, like, right-thinking people is quite broad.  And so, I’m humble enough to not really be able to characterize the likely future trajectory of that economy because I think if you would have asked people that question two years ago, they might have a different answer than they have today.  Frankly, if you asked people about the U.S. economy one year ago versus where they are today, people would have a different answer. 
 
So what we’re focused on fundamentally is thinking about what we can do to invest in the sources of our own strength here in the United States.  And I talked about that some in my speech.  And we kind of reject what I believe was a kind of common view that somehow, you know, it was a story of inexorable rise on the one side and inexorable decline on the other side.  Choices matter in both Beijing and Washington.  We’re trying to make the right choices.  And of course, it’s up to Beijing how they choose to make choices on their side. 
 
How’s that for not really answering your question?  (Laughter.)
 
MR. HADLEY:  It’s good.  It’s good.  You know —
 
MR. SULLIVAN:  I’m learning from Tony Blinken how to be a diplomat.  (Laughter.)
 
MR. HADLEY:  I’m going to go off script for a minute and ask one question about how you frame the policy, because you made clear that our goal is not to hold back or undermine the Chinese economy.  That’s not the objective of what we’re doing.  We’re doing things to protect our own national security interests. 
 
But don’t we have to be candid with China that some of the things we are doing to protect our own national security interests are actually having an adverse and will have an adverse effect on the Chinese economy?  It’ll have an adverse effect on our economy in terms of economic growth and the like.
 
Have we been candid enough with the Chinese about what it is we’re doing, why we’re doing it, and what impact it’s going to have on China?
 
MR. SULLIVAN:  I mean, one thing that we really tried to embark on — and I alluded to this in my speech a year ago — was to be much more direct and transparent about what the nature of the measures we were undertaking both were and would be, because we were telegraphing to them, as well, “This is where we are going on outbound investment or on updates to semiconductor export controls.  This is why we’re doing it.  This is how we’ve tailored it.  This is the rigorous process we put in place.  And this is the rationale.”  And then heard their response to that.
 
And Wang Yi and I had an opportunity in Bangkok to talk about how each of us, China and the United States, see the boundary between economics and national security.  And obviously, we don’t have completely converging perspectives on that question.  But I think it’s really important to recognize that, for a very long time, the PRC has taken measures on explicit grounds of national security that have had an adverse impact on American workers, American businesses, the American economy.  And so, this cannot be a one-way street of a conversation. 
 
You know, China will come to the table with its concerns about what the United States is doing.  And the United States has an obligation on behalf of its citizens to come to the table with our concerns about what China has been doing for quite a long time.  And I certainly came to the table prepared to do that when we were in Bangkok.
 
MR. HADLEY:  Good for you.
 
I’m going to give you one more chance to make some news.  (Laughter.)
 
Should we — on this issue of technology in particular, should we expect further steps by the Biden administration to de-risk the U.S. economy from its overdependence on China?  And in what areas are we likely to see further action?
 
MR. SULLIVAN:  So first, to answer your question, I probably won’t make news. 
 
I just want to take a minute on what we mean by de-risking.  And, in fact, I’ve said this directly to my Chinese counterparts.  It basically has three elements. 
 
First, investing in America’s industrial and innovation capacity.  A big way to de-risk is to have more capacity ourselves to be able to, you know, operate at the technological innovation edge. 
 
The second is to diversify supply chains so that we’re not dependent on any single point of failure.  And that’s not all about China.  That’s a lesson we learned from COVID.  But the PRC is a part of that. 
 
And the third is to have a series of tailored measures so that American technology cannot be used to undermine the security of the United States and our allies.  And in this category, we have been transparent that we’ve taken a series of steps already, and we will take further steps as we go forward, all according to the basic principle that we are going to tailor them and target them in a way that they really are aimed at our national security concerns and not at a broader effort to decouple our technological ecosystems or our economies.  But I will leave for a later day what exactly the nature and timetable of additional measures will be. 
 
One more thing I will say is: In October of 2022, we did a first round of export controls on advanced semiconductors and semiconductor manufacturing equipment.  In October of 2023, we updated them.  I think the world can expect that will be part of the process going forward, because as the technology evolves, our controls have to evolve.  It doesn’t mean the standards underlying our controls evolve — those remain constant — but they have to be applied to technology as it advances.  And that will require updates to existing controls, even as we add, you know, targeted, tailored controls in other areas as well. 
 
MR. HADLEY:  If I were a man from Mars coming down, I would say, listening to you and observing the relationship, that these two countries are trying to maintain some stability in the relationship and have made some tactical shifts, but strategically, China is continuing with a series of policies they’ve been pursuing for some time.  And the Biden administration is going to continue, as you just suggested, with the policies done.  There seem to be a lot of centripetal forces pulling at this relationship — and that’s before you get to the United States Congress.  Can you really keep it kludged together?  What’s the way to keep it (inaudible)?
 
MR. SULLIVAN:  Look, it’s a fair question.  And obviously, we’ve gone through periods of considerable tension, even during President Biden’s tenure.  But he is determined to hold these two things in his head at the same time.  As I said before, that, yes, there are structural, competitive dynamics in the relationship, and we should be clear-eyed about that, and we should look at that — stare at that square in the face.  And on the other hand, we have an obligation for our own national interest to ensure that that competition does not veer into conflict, that we manage it to a point of stability, and that we also find areas where we can work together where our interests align. 
 
Now, that recipe is, I think, relatively easily distilled in words.  It is harder to put into action.  And it requires a level of intense diplomacy of the kind I really tried to walk through in my speech and care — you know, basically constant gardening.  And even then, whether foreseen or unforeseen, risks and tensions could boil over.  We cannot — you cannot deny that.  But it is — you know, we don’t have to be fatalistic about it, either. 
 
Our job is to try to understand, in a clear-eyed way, what those risks and inherent tensions are, and do our very best to manage them without compromising on our fundamental values and without walking away from the defense of the American national interest and the interest of our allies and partners. 
 
And part of the reason that I tried to give these remarks in more of a way of, like, “let’s actually just talk about 2023 and what we did through the year” is it’s there’s a lot of aphorisms in the U.S.-China relationship — “manage competition,” and, you know, “invest, align, compete.”  At the end of the day, it really comes down to a set of actions that we take here domestically, a set of investments we make in our allies and partners, and then just direct, dogged diplomacy with China built on the proposition that, yes, we’re going to compete but we also are going to inhabit the same planet, and we have to work together to ensure that we don’t end up tipping over into conflict. 
 
That’s what this is about.  It doesn’t really reduce to a bumper sticker.  But I think it’s a kind of common-sense strategy that can secure bipartisan support and that people — if you kind of look at American attitudes on the PRC, I think that’s basically where the American people are.  They want us to be tough and stand up for our interests and push back against aggression or actions that harm Americans, but they also are not looking for war.  And so that’s what we’re trying to work towards.
 
MR. HADLEY:  Last quick question from me.  We have a session tomorrow on the China forum about the internal political situation in China, both its resilience and its fragility in its political system.  Anything you want to say about that —
 
MR. SULLIVAN:  No.  (Laughter.)
 
MR. HADLEY:  — in terms of how you —
 
MR. SULLIVAN:  I’ll refer you to Beijing to comment on it. 
 
MR. HADLEY:  So we’ll all have to tune into the session tomorrow.
 
MR. SULLIVAN:  Exactly.
 
MR. HADLEY:  I guess Jake is deferring to that.
 
Let’s go to the audience if we can.  I want to remind everybody this is an on-the-record session, and I’d like to invite folks from the audience to engage in this conversation.  So please raise your hand and I will call on you. 
 
Let’s start with this gentleman here.
 
AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Thank you very much.  My name is Marc Rotenberg.  I’m with the Center for AI and Digital Policy. 
 
And you talked about artificial intelligence in your remarks.  I wanted to begin by saying I think it was very good that China participated in the UK AI Summit.  That was not originally anticipated.  But clearly, as you’ve said, it’s important to maintain discussion about the risk of AI in warfare. 
 
But at the same time, there are also clearly two different forms of government.  And AI can support an open and pluralist government or AI can support a more closed, constrained form of government. 
 
And it seems to me that there is a policy debate playing out right now regarding the governance of AI and, frankly, some concerns about the U.S. position.  So, presently, at the Council of Europe, a treaty on AI is being negotiated.  The mandate of the Council of Europe is to promote fundamental rights, democratic institutions, and the rule of law.  And many of our democratic allies are looking for a robust treaty that safeguards fundamental rights in this era of AI. 
 
Concerns have been expressed about the U.S. position.  And my question is: Will the U.S. government support a robust treaty on AI that safeguards fundamental rights?
 
MR. SULLIVAN:  So, we have been very actively engaged in the negotiations over the treaty at the Council of Europe because our basic vision for the governance of AI is rooted in the idea of the protection of fundamental rights and the empowerment of people lifting them up rather than holding them down. 
 
And we do have a very different vision of AI governance than the PRC does, which is why our dialogue with them will really vector in on our, kind of, responsibility as significant countries and major AI players to manage the risks of AI as we go forward. 
 
And we’ve put forward voluntary standards that we’ve gotten some of the biggest AI players in the world to sign up to.  We’ve issued an executive order that reflects many of the core values and principles that are at the heart of your question. 
 
Where things ultimately land on the treaty in the Council of Europe is not going to be whether the U.S. is for or against the treaty that is strong on fundamental rights.  It’ll be on more specific provisions that may cut across particular interests we have. 
 
So I can’t predict how that treaty negotiation will turn out, but I can tell you that however it turns out, it will — the United States’ basic commitment to this broader vision, which we have articulated ourselves and have now begun infusing in international institutions including an effort at the U.N. General Assembly to have a resolution on AI, that work will be active and the United States will play a leadership role in it.
 
AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Thank you.
 
MR. HADLEY:  Yes, ma’am.
 
AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Hi.  Thank you so much for being with us today.  I’m Wafa Ben-Hassine.  I’m at the Omidyar Network.  I’m also a UC-San Diego alum, political science.  So thank you to the CFR for bringing San Diego to us, even if you couldn’t be there. 
 
My question actually takes us to a different geography.  In Africa, we see China moving beyond the Belt and Road Initiative and the Digital Silk Road.  We see them have relatively nuanced interventions in how they attempt to influence policy, such as, by way of example, supplying Huawei phones to all sorts of nonprofits and independent media groups and outlets. 
 
I’m curious if you could illuminate a little bit about the U.S.’s positioning in Africa and how we would potentially like to secure our national security and also promote human rights in Africa in response to these types of interventions.  Thank you.
 
MR. SULLIVAN:  So, first, my sister is actually a UCSD alum as well; she went to UCSD medical school.  So I got to hang out there with her.  It’s a beautiful campus, a wonderful place to go to school. 
 
One thing that Kurt and I wrote in our Foreign Affairs piece in 2019 that I have felt, like, really important to keep us disciplined in this is that we cannot treat the rest of the world as proxy battlegrounds the way that I think the U.S. and the Soviet Union too often did during the Cold War. 
 
So, looking at Africa, our question should not be how do we gain relative advantage over China in this country, because that becomes a warping and distorting factor that, frankly, in a way, can also undermine our overall position.  So the question we pose instead is: How do we offer a better value proposition? 
 
And I would say one of the areas that, frankly, is a gap that we are trying to fill now quite actively is mobilization of capital for investment in the things that African countries are looking for for their development — in infrastructure, in clean energy, in digital.  And that’s about money.  And it’s about public-sector money leveraging private-sector dollars by buying down political risk, currency risk. 
 
And we have worked very closely with the new head of the World Bank, who President Biden, you know, played an active role in helping get into the job, Ajay Banga.  We’re trying to expand the World Bank’s capacity to do this.  We’ve worked with the G7 through PGI, the Project [sic] on Global Infrastructure and Investment, to do this. 
 
And we’re increasingly looking to work on a bipartisan basis with the Congress to try to have the resources necessary to unlock these kinds of investments.  Because you can’t beat something with nothing.  China is coming with a substantial amount of capital and also, as you said, other tools to be able to bring to bear.
 
And for the United States, our view should not be, you know, in any given country, you know, what’s just the way we get a one-up.  It should be: how do we actually show up and offer something that will respond to the legitimate development needs of that country. 
 
And I think I would grade us as incomplete on this.  It’s work that we have begun to do quite actively in this administration, and we have a lot more work to do.  That’s going to require Congress working with us to unlock some of these resources that in turn can unlock a much larger share of resources from the private sector to deliver the value proposition we want to deliver.
 
MR. HADLEY:  Dan Rosen.
 
MR. SULLIVAN:  Dan can talk about the Chinese economy.  (Laughter.)
 
AUDIENCE MEMBER:  But people have heard enough of me talking about it, Jake.  So that’s where I want to circle back to you.
 
So you come to the conference, and one economist thinks one thing.  Another, another.  But isn’t that true of political scientists and security experts out here too, that you’re going to have a whole spectrum?
 
And to fight a — to wage a systemic competition, don’t you have to come down to a sort of point of view about how their economic system is doing in order to figure out how well we’re performing in that competition? 
 
And while there’s probably diversity here in the audience, I hope within USG you guys managed to come to a net assessment about how that Chinese economic system is performing. 
 
MR. SULLIVAN:  So, first, you’ve just completely exploded my artful dodge of Steve’s question.  (Laughter.)  So, I appreciate that. 
 
Second, in fact, Dan — as Dan knows, we brought in a group of experts, who have immersed themselves in the Chinese economy, to the White House.  Maybe it was a year ago or so.  And there was a diversity of opinions among that group, you know, with quite — quite sharp disagreements. 
 
First, I would say there is a bit of a difference.  I don’t find the diversity of opinion on just basic underlying strategic diagnosis.  There’s a lot of debate about what we should do about it on the political and security side.  Less spectrum on kind of what are we dealing with, what are we looking at, though there are some. 
 
Secondly, yes, we do need to have an operating assumption.  But I think the point I’d like to make is that operating assumption has to be humble, because — and it has to be adaptable to the reality of what we see as new economic data comes out or as various trends that we’ve all been watching manifest themselves. 
 
So we are operating according to a certain set of assumptions.  I will now for the second time try and dodge laying out exactly what they are because I just don’t see a huge amount of upside in the U.S. National Security Advisor kind of holding forth as an armchair analyst on China’s economy.  (Laughter.) 
 
But I would say that we also need a multidirectional strategy that can apply if our assumptions turn out to be wrong.  And I would also say that this has been a uniquely difficult time, to be quite precise on this, because of COVID-19, the pandemic, how all the pieces fit into place. 
 
But broadly speaking, what I said in my remarks and what I said in answer to Steve’s question I would just reinforce, which is we came into office not accepting what I think was a kind of broad-based conventional wisdom about relative trajectories of the U.S. and the PRC.  The President didn’t accept that.  I didn’t accept that.  Our team did not.  And we continue to push back against this idea about inexorable rise, terminal decline as being central — a central characteristic of the relationship. 
 
And I guess I should stop talking now because otherwise I’ll get myself into trouble.  (Laughter.)  So that’s what I’ll do.
 
MR. HADLEY:  Yes, ma’am.  Please.
 
AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Hey, Jake.  Kim Dozier, CNN analyst and CFR member.
 
I wanted to ask what your message was regarding China’s continuing support for U.S. adversaries, specifically Russia, including Beijing helping Moscow avoid some of the technology sanctions and providing, while not weapons, but basic equipment like heavy-duty trucks for Russia’s war on Ukraine, and China’s support for Iran with rising petroleum purchases, whereas you’ve recently blamed Iran for supporting the deadly attacks that cost the lives of U.S. troops this past weekend.  Thanks.
 
MR. SULLIVAN:  So, as I referred to in my speech, the war in Ukraine has been a through-line of my conversations with my Chinese counterparts going back to before Wang Yi, with Yang Jiechi, in the early months, you know, where we sent a clear message about our concern that China might provide lethal aid for use against civilians in Ukraine.  We have not seen the provision of lethal aid. 
 
But as I said in my remarks, and as you noted in your question, we have seen support from Chinese companies to help Russia reconstitute its defense industrial base.  And we have been clear and direct about our concerns.  And I noted in my remarks that as we watch this happen, we’re prepared to take steps to respond to that kind of activity, because we believe that Russia’s defense industrial base is basically building up to continue to support an imperial war of conquest in Europe.  And that’s a fundamental national security interest of the United States.  And I made no bones about that in my conversations with my counterpart. 
 
And the President has recently signed an executive order that gives him additional tools and authorities to deal with this challenge.  It’s not directed at the PRC.  It is general to countries that are supporting Russia’s defense industrial base, but it gives us tools in this regard. 
 
With respect to Iran, one of the areas of substantial focus in the discussion was about the continuing Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and the disruption of a vital artery of maritime commerce, undermining of supply chain security in the global economy, and frankly, disruption to China-Europe trade, which the Red Sea is obviously, you know, critical to.  And made the case that, you know, China is a responsible player; as a U.N. Security Council member, has an obligation to use the influence it has in Tehran to get those in Tehran to use the influence they have with the Houthis to push back against this kind of behavior. 
 
And I won’t, you know, characterize the response because I’ll leave that to Wang Yi to do for himself, but I will just say that was a detailed and substantive conversation, because it is a matter where we believe that countries, particularly permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, have unique responsibilities and should step up to those responsibilities.
 
MR. HADLEY:  I’ll take one or two more questions.  This gentleman here and then this woman back there.
 
Sir.
 
AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Thank you, Jake.  Art Collins with theGROUP. 
 
Talk to us a little bit about the trilateral relationship with South Korea and Japan.  As we know, you mentioned it earlier, the Prime Minister of Japan will be here in the spring for a state visit.  Japan is obviously increasing — in fact, maybe doubling — its military budget.  But what else do we expect from our partners in that regard, in both South Korea and Japan?  And what are we prepared to do, beyond what we’ve already done, with that critical relationship?
 
MR. SULLIVAN:  Well, you know, first, I think it’s important to recognize that the security dimension of that trilateral relationship is critical.  It has been a source of propulsion for pulling the three countries together.  And it manifests in closer intelligence coordination, closer defense cooperation, exercises, joint deterrence, particularly when it comes to the Korean Peninsula.  And we’d like to see that continue to evolve. 
 
But I would also point out that the trilateral partnership expands well beyond that.  First, it expands beyond the region.  If you look at support for Ukraine, Japan and Korea have both stepped up in significant ways to stand with a fellow democracy in Europe.  And the Japanese prime minister has been particularly articulate in explaining that what happens in Ukraine matters in the Indo-Pacific.  And President Yoon has reinforced that. 
 
And then finally, the relationship extends to economic coercion, the intersection of technology and national security, innovation, economic investment and vitality — all areas where the three countries have a huge amount of complementary capacity to support and lift one another up.
 
When you put all that together, that is a formidable partnership of three countries with shared values; huge capacities across economics, technology, national security; and global reach. 
 
And so, you know, we’re very proud of the work that we’ve done so far, but it is very much a work in progress and has to be built on from strength to strength as we go forward. 
 
I was just recently in Seoul for a trilateral meeting of national security advisors to convert this into the details of how we work together on things like early warning for missile defense and also to think about areas where we can work together — for example, to answer the question that was posed earlier: How do we collectively have a value proposition in the developing world with three large ODA budgets from our three countries?
 
So, you know, that is not — that trilateral partnership is not about any country.  It’s not about China.  It’s not about North Korea.  It’s about being for something — a vision for the world, for the region, but for the world writ large.  And we feel that it has helped create a huge amount of momentum behind shared priorities, and we want to continue to develop that.
 
MR. HADLEY:  Last question.  And I apologize to those who I did not get to.
 
Ma’am, back here.  Right here.  Yes.  Can you pass her the mic?  Thank you so much. 
 
AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Hi.  Maggie Dougherty with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. 
 
You briefly mentioned human rights, so I would like to hear your strategy towards Chinese abuse of human rights — Uyghurs, Tibetans, Christian minorities.  How are we going to face that challenge?
 
MR. SULLIVAN:  So, first, the President, as he has said publicly, has been very clear and direct in his conversations, in the two summits that he’s had, about the kind of fundamental responsibility and obligation of an American president to speak out on these issues, because it’s core to who we are.  That’s not about trying to weaponize the issue; it’s about living out our values.  And that’s the ethos that he has tried to inculcate across the U.S. government as we deal with this issue. 
 
And so that means not just that we speak out on these issues but that we take actions.  And we have taken a series of actions over the course of the past three years in each of the areas you mentioned.  And to a considerable extent, we have done that in partnership with the Congress on a bipartisan basis, including laws that have been passed under our administration that we are now implementing, on issues like forced labor, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. 
 
So this is something that will remain a critical priority and feature of the U.S.-China relationship, as it has through multiple administrations.  And from our perspective, having direct diplomacy and intensive management of the relationship is not inconsistent with standing up for speaking out on and taking material action on issues related to the protection of human rights.
 
MR. HADLEY:  So we’re here at the end of our time.  Let me tell you where we’re going to proceed from here, if I can.
 
I want to thank you all for joining this hybrid meeting.  Jake, thank you for being with us. 
 
END
 

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The White House

Brian and Sandra, it’s an honor for Joe and me to host you tonight. We are proud to welcome you back to your White House home.

Most of you in this room know Brian and Sandra’s love story. They met working on the Obama-Biden campaign in 2008, then they both came to work at the White House. And apparently, we didn’t keep them busy enough, because along came marriage and a couple of beautiful children – Naomi and Ella, who are here with us.

Life was perfect, until Brian received a devastating diagnosis from his doctor shortly after their second daughter was born. In an instant, their world was turned upside down. Brian was diagnosed with ALS, and given six months to live. Against all odds, here they are six years later.

Brian, Sandra – you’ve channeled your pain into purpose, your energy into a nationwide movement.

You’ve both turned your experience and expertise in politics into I AM ALS, which has been an incredible force for change.

And now, you’ve expanded that work to link arms with leaders in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s to drive progress for all of these neuro-degenerative diseases. And you’re also pushing for better access to care and more support for caregivers.

Thank you for all of your advocacy, and pouring every piece of your heart into this work.

Sandra, Brian, would you like to say a few words?

###

Thank you again Sandra and Brian – and thank you to everyone for being here in support of them and their fight. The film will begin shortly.

###

The post Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by First Lady Jill Biden at a White House Film Screening of No Ordinary Campaign appeared first on The White House.

Pelican Club
Jupiter, Florida

2:07 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Sean, thanks for that introduction. And thank you, Kelly, for — keep raising Sean. (Laughter.) And, Fred, for being such good friends. I really mean it.

And thanks to all of you for your support.

Let me start with the simplest message: From the bottom of my heart, thank you. You’re the reason. You’re the reason I’m President. I came from a background — didn’t have much time to practice, but I was a trial lawyer. Spent a little bit of time before I got into politics almost accidentally.

But it was the right decision for me. You’re the reason Kamala Harris is a historic Vice President. And you’re the reason Donald Trump is a defeated president — former president. (Applause.)

And you’re the reason we’re going to make him a loser again. (Laughter.)

Folks, look, you’re all lawyers who care deeply about the rule of law. You’re on the frontlines of fairness and justice in defending our very democracy. It matters.

In 2020, I ran because I thought everything in this country that it — it stood for, believed in was at stake. I said at the time when I ran — and initially, people looked at me like, “Are you serious?” — I said, “We’re going to — I’m running to restore the soul of America.”

You know, and they’d say, “What do you mean? What do you mean, Joe? What do you mean when you say democracy is at risk? What do you mean when you say we’re in a battle for the soul of America?”

Well, people don’t ask me that question anymore. I don’t think — I don’t think today anyone doubts democracy is at stake — was at stake in 2020.

And thank God, because of the supporters like you, we won.

Just think back to the mess Donald Trump left this country: a pandemic — a pandemic and the economy with raging — with only a couple thousand people being have — having been vaccinated; an economy that was reeling.

Look how far we’ve come. We vaccinated the vast bulk of America. We got through that pandemic with less than 200 million — with less than 2 million people being vaccinated when I came to office. Today, 720 [270] million Americans have gotten COVID vaccine.

We created a record 14 million new jobs — brand new jobs — to get the economy going strong again. And we passed the American Rescue Plan, which put $14 — $1,400 checks in people’s pockets at a time of enormous need. And on top of that, $300 checks per child per month in hardworking families in America and thousands of dollars for people’s pockets through a real crisis.

And, folks, guess what? It grows the economy. It doesn’t — it’s not — doesn’t cost the taxpayers money. It grows the economy — economic growth. And I said that at the time. You stuck with me, and it turned out to be true. We’ve demonstrated it. That money helped cut child poverty in half in America.

You know, we know we have to do more and not everyone is feeling the consequences yet of the investments in progress. But the headlines in the papers are trying to — finally breaking through here.

Inflation is now lower in America than any other country in the world — any other country in the world. (Applause.) And in recent weeks, we started seeing real evidence that the American consumer is feeling real confidence in the economy that we’re building.

Just this morning, we learned that consumer confidence surged to its highest level in over two years. The Washington Post headline this weekend said, quote, “Falling inflation and rising growth give U.S. the world’s best recovery” — “the world’s best recovery.”

Let me tell you who else is noticing this: Donald Trump. He recently said, “When there’s a crash, I hope it will be in the next 12 months.” The [former] President of the United States hopes the crash will be the next 12 months. It’s unbelievable. I think it’s close to un-American. How can anyone — especially a former President — wish for an economic crash that would devastate millions of Americans?

Here’s what he really means: Donald Trump knows our economy is really strong and getting stronger. And almost every major economist in the world is pointing to America as a success story. He knows that while it’s good for America, it’s bad for him politically if we continue to succeed.

Trump also is the one president who doesn’t want to — he said, “I don’t want to be like Herbert Hoover.” That’s what he said. But I got bad news for him. As I told him earlier, he’s already Herbert Hoover. (Laughter.) He’s the only president, other than Herbert Hoover, who has lost jobs — more jobs than he had — he had fewer jobs when he left office than when he came to office. Yes, Donald “Herbert Hoover” Trump. (Laughter.)

But, look, I promised — (applause). For the bulk of my career, I spent in the United States Senate, taking on Big Pharma. You realize you have a prescription for any drug you need from prescription — product made in America, I can take you to Toronto, to Paris, to London, to Brussels, anywhere in the world, and get you that product for somewhere between 40 and 60 percent less than it costs here.

And I tried like the devil to take on Pharma through Medicare. We spend billions of dollars a year on Medicare payments, paying Pharma for the drugs we provide for the elderly. But guess what? We didn’t make it until now. I said we’d beat them, and we finally did.

Have anybody you know — I’m not asking you to raise your hand if you’re a diabetic, but you know somebody who is a diabetic, raise your hand. It used to cost 400 bucks a month or more for that insulin. It’s now $35 a month. (Applause.)

And, by the way, they’re still making three and a half times what it cost them to make it. It costs $10 to make that insulin — $10. And the guy who invented it didn’t patent it because he wanted everybody to have access to it. If you add in the cost of making it up and packaging it, maybe as high as $12 or $13. They’re still making — you know, $35 a month.

And, by the way, initially, when I got it passed, I had got it passed for everybody, not just people on Medicare. But guess what? My Republican friends blocked it. They didn’t think people should be able to get it unless you’re on Medicare. They didn’t vote for that either.

But here’s the deal — here’s the deal. We’re saving the taxpayers billions of dollars — billions of dollars. Not only is a person paying 35 bucks a month now instead of 400 bucks a month or more — guess what? It means the taxpayer is not writing a check to the drug company from Medicare — because of Medicare for federal tax dollars to pay for that.

And by the way, when we did it, we ended up being able to cut the deficit, not raise the deficit.

But with your vote in 2024, we’re going to make sure everyone qualifies.

Out-of-pocket costs for seniors for all prescription drugs when — the first bill we passed — is going to be limited to $2,000, no matter how expensive their total prescriptions are — beginning in 2024.

The reason for that — I know this is a very sophisticated audience — unfortunately, you know people are paying 10-, 12-, 14-, 15,000 bucks a month for cancer drugs — cancer treatment. Well, no one is going to have to pay more than a total of $2,000 a month. It matters.

I promised we’d e- — we’d ease the accumulation of student debt in America, what millions of Americans carried during the economic crisis of the pandemic and (inaudible) — the mic doesn’t work — (inaudible) — (laughter) — the consequence — (laughter).

Look, the fact is that we’re making real progress —

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Your mic is not working.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Now it is.

THE PRESIDENT: Can you hear me now?

AUDIENCE: Yes.

THE PRESIDENT: Well, we found another way to help those folks. The Supreme Court said I couldn’t forgive student debt. Well, guess what? I went back and I found a way to do it legally without them questioning anything.

We’ve now forgiven the debt of more than 3.7 million people — $130 billion in relief and counting.

I fixed what’s called the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. It said that if you were in public service — whether you’re a teacher, a firefighter, nurse, social worker, et cetera — your loan could be forgiven if you paid for 10 years in a row and never missed a payment. Well, guess what? Now that’s happening. And public services — and we’re able to forgive that debt.

It’s changing people’s lives. And by the way, it’s growing the economy. What are those kids doing? What are those young — pe- — they’re not so young anymore, many of them. They are in a situation where they can now finally have a down payment for their first home, they can begin to start that new business, they can take care of accumulated debt. It’s taken — it’s having a profound impact.

By the time I took office, the program had been in place for nearly 15 years, but because of red tape, only 7,000 people had even been helped by this program. But thanks to those reforms, instead 700,000 people have had their debt forgiven since then.

Look, and all of you lawyers know how lucky America would be when I kept the promise to appoint the first Black woman to the United States Supreme Court — and I kept it — Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson — (applause) — (inaudible).

And my introducer pointed out I’ve appointed judges — a lot of judges. I’ve ser- — I was Chairman of Judiciary Committee for a long time. It’s critical.

We’ve now appointed over 174 judges to the federal court. We’ve appointed more Black women to the Federal Court of Appeals than every other president in the United States history combined — combined. (Applause.)

And we put trial attorneys on the bench — trial attorneys on the bench, and we put public defenders on the bench, and, like I said, we have 171 brand new judges on the federal courts.

Folks, we have a lot more work to do. But I’ve never been more optimistic about our future. And I really mean that sincerely.

Look, for example, thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which I signed, there are now 40,000 infrastructure projects underway in America with a lot more to come.

Remember, Trump had “Infrastructure Week” every week — (laughter) — and never built a thing? Well, we’re building our roads — rebuilding our roads, our bridges, our ports, our airports. And we’re bringing affordable high-speed Internet to everywhere in America — everywhere.

We’re ripping out every lead pipe that’s been in place in America so every child can turn on the faucet, drink what they need to drink without worrying about brain damage.

We passed the most significant gun safety law in a decade. (Applause.) And I will not stop until I once again been able to win the assault weapons ban. I blocked it once; it came back. We’re going to ban assault weapons in America. (Applause.) There’s no need for them.

And we’re saving the planet with the most significant investment in climate change ever anywhere in the history of the world — literally anywhere. (Applause.) In my presidency, we tripled the sales of electric vehicles. We built a national network of 500,000 EV st- — charging stations. We put on the path to cut carbon emissions by 50 percent by 2030. That’s the trajectory.

Now imagine the nightmare if Trump is returned to office.

The recent deadly school shooting in Perry, Iowa, where three kids — three people were killed, including one — one sixth grader and a school principal. What — what did he have to say? It’s hard to believe what — what he said. He said — when they asked him what he thought about it, he said, quote, you just got to “get over it.”

I’m not making this up. It’s almost — it’s almost un- — unbelievable. You just got to “get over it.” But we’re not going to get over it. We’re going to stop it. We’re going to stop it. (Applause.)

Trump and his MAGA friends want to repeal the historical climate legislation. Well, maybe they don’t think this climate change is real. But the rest of us know sure in hell it is real. And now, after trying and failing more than 60 times — 60 times with he and his MAGA friends in the Congress to get rid of the Affordable Care Act — guess what? He’s at it again.

And by the way, people don’t have a lot of money and need insurance. They would not be able to get any of this insurance because they have a preexisting condition but for the Affordable Care Act. That’s the only reason — the only reason people with preexisting conditions, and they want to take it away.

And seniors in Florida and all across America should know this: Trump and his MAGA friends are determined to take away the $35 a month insulin, which we just got passed in law, as well as a $2,000 cap on prescription drugs.

Instead of saving Social Security and Medicare, Trump wants once again to give another billion dollar — multibillion dollar tax cut to the super wealthy and big corporations.

I come from the corporate state of the world, Delaware. More corporations in Delaware than any other state — all — every other state in the union combined.

I’m not anti-corporation, but they should at least pay their fair share. Just pay their fair share. (Applause.)

And, by the way, you know, we now have — we now have — it’s not a bad thing, per se — we now have a thousand billionaires in America. You know what their average tax rate is — federal tax? 8.2 percent. 8.2 percent.

If they just paid 28 percent, which is less than all you are paying — if they just paid 28 percent, we’d have $40 billion to do a whole lot of things that would save a lot of money, save a lot of programs, reduce taxes overall for everybody else.

Trump and his MAGA friends are determined to take away your freedoms as well. They’ve already — doing it with voting rights. They’re under attack. You see it every day, everywhere in the country.

Trump is now bragging about having overturned Roe v. Wade — “I’m responsible for overturning Roe v. Wade” — taking away a woman’s freedom to choose.

Now, they’re planning, beyond that, a national ban. The MAGA Republicans are saying there’s going to be a national ban on abortion across every state in America — ban.

Well, guess what? I made it real clear: If the MAGA Republicans try to pass a national ban to the right to choose, I will veto it. (Applause.)

And if you elect — reelect me and Kamala with a Democratic House and a bigger Senate majority, I’m going to restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land across the board. (Applause.) I’m serious, and I believe we can do it.

Look, let me close with this. Trump and his MAGA friends are dividing us up, not uniting us; dragging us back to the past, not leading us to the future; refusing to accept the results of a legitimate election.

I mean, I sit — if you can hold a second — I just sit in my office. I walk down a little hall, and there’s a little dining room there. He sat in that dining room for hours watching what happened on January the 6th. Just watching. It’s called insurrection.

And Trump says, quote, he’s — and he’s seeking to, quote, “terminate elements of the United States Constitution,” threatening — threatening our — to embrace — and he embraces political violence.

Look, the one thing about an American democracy that’s clear: Violence is never, never, never appropriate in an elec- — in an electoral process. But he talks about it, threatening our very democracy.

Folks, the truth is there are lies and there is truth. We have to make clear where we stand — that we stand with the truth — and we’ll defeat his lies.

We have to make clear that, in America, we still believe in honesty, decency, treating people with some dignity and respect.

My dad used to have an expression, for real. My dad was a hardworking guy. He was a well-read man who didn’t get to go to college because of what happened because of World War Two. And he’d always say, “Joey…” — this is the God’s truth, my word as a Biden. He’d say, “Joey, a job is about a lot more than a paycheck. It’s about your dignity. It’s about respect. It’s about being able to look your kid in the eye and say, ‘Honey, it’s going to be okay,’ and mean it.”

We believe everybody deserves a shot. Everybody deserves an even shot.

That’s why I decided, instead of trickle-down economics — the reason why it’s working and you have major, major mainstream economists agreeing with me now — that the best way to build America is from the middle out and the bottom up. Because when they do that, then the — what you have is you have the poor have a shot and the wealthy still do very well.

And, you know, let me end by saying we’re — I found the easiest way to describe where I think we are. We’re unique in all the world. And that sounds like chauvinism about America, but we are the most unique country in the world based on our founding. Every other country — every other country in the world is based on ethnicity, religion, geography.

The United States is based on an idea — the only nation in the world — and it’s: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all women and men are created equal, endowed by their creator with cer-” —

We’ve never lived up to it. We’ve never fully walked away from it.

In America, we leave nobody behind. We believe everyone deserves just a fair shot. That’s all. And we give hate no safe harbor. We believe in America.

And we know what’s at stake. We have to keep the White House. We have to keep the Senate. We have to win back the House and win up and down the ticket in local offices.

Because here in Florida, you’ve had a real dose of “Trump-ism,” and — (the President makes sign of the cross). (Laughter.) Unusual guy.

But here in Florida, we have to organize, mobilize the vote. I think we can win Florida. I think the Democrats can win in Florida. (Applause.)

And when we do that, we’ll be able to look back and say something that few generations are able to say: When American democracy was at risk, like it is now, we saved it.

We just have to remember who in God’s name we are. We’re the United States of America, for God’s sake.

There’s nothing beyond our — you know, I mean this sincerely. Nothing beyond our capacity when we work together. Nothing. Nothing, nothing, nothing.

We’re the only — think — think about this: We’re the only nation in the world that every crisis it’s gone through we’ve come out stronger on the other end than we went in — the only nation. It’s because of you, the American people.

We stand up. We fight back. And we understand that the institutions we inherited — called the Constitution — really matter. They’re the guardrails of allowing us to do what we have to do in a fair way.

So, with your help and, as my grandfather would say, “with the grace of God, the goodwill of the neighbors, and the crick not rising,” we’re going to win in 2024. (Applause.)

Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I appreciate it. I really do. Thank you, thank you, thank you. (Applause.)

2:27 P.M. EST

The post Remarks by President Biden at a Campaign Reception | Jupiter, FL appeared first on The White House.

South Lawn

10:34 A.M. EST

Q Mr. President, what — do you hold Iran responsible for the death of the three Americans?

Q Have you made a decision how you’ll respond to the attacks?

THE PRESIDENT: Yes.

Q And —

Q Mr. President, do you hold Iran responsible for the death of those three Americans?

THE PRESIDENT: I do hold respon- — them responsible in the sense that they’re supplying the weapons to the people who did it.

Q But directly responsible?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, we’ll have that discussion.

Q (Inaudible) have not deterred these attacks in the past. What will be different this time?

THE PRESIDENT: We’ll see.

Q Mr. President, (inaudible) are you worried about a regional war in the Mi- — a wider war in the Middle East? How worried are you?

THE PRESIDENT: I don’t think we need a wider war in the Middle East. That’s not what I’m looking for.

Q Should Donald Trump be allowed on the ballot? Should Donald Trump be allowed on the ballot?

THE PRESIDENT: As far as I’m concerned, that’s fine.

Q Why is he leading in the polls if he is a threat to democracy, as you say?

THE PRESIDENT: Because guys like you. (Laughs.)

Q What am I doing? Come on.

Q Mr. President —

THE PRESIDENT: I’m teasing, man. I’m teasing. It’s early.

(Cross-talk.)

Q Mr. President, on the border. Have you done everything you can do with executive authority? Or is there more you could do absent (inaudible)?

THE PRESIDENT: I’ve done all I can do. Just give me the power. I’ve asked from the very day I got into office. Give me the Border Patrol. Give me the people — give me the people, the judges. Give me the people who can stop this and make it work right.

(Cross-talk.)

Q Are you worried about the possible escalation in the military involvement in the Middle East? What do you say to those in your party?

THE PRESIDENT: (Inaudible.) We’ll see.

10:36 A.M. EST

The post Remarks by President Biden Before Marine One Departure appeared first on The White House.

Private Residence
Los Gatos, California

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you. 

Good afternoon, everyone.  Good afternoon. 

Let me first thank my husband for being such an incredible partner.  And, also, really, he’s been doing an extraordinary job of —

(Referring to a handheld microphone.)  I’m — this is — what’s happening here?  There.

— of spending time traveling the country, talking about many of the issues.  He has been particularly powerful on the issue of speaking out against hate and antisemitism.  And I’d like to just acknowledge, in front of all of the friends, the work that you are doing as an incredible — (applause) — first Second Gentleman.

So, it’s good to see everyone.  Listen, Doug said it well.  I do believe everything is at stake in this election.  I do believe — you know, many of us have talked — I’m going to just walk around.  I hate being behind a podium.  (Laughter.)

Many of us have been active for every election cycle.  And
pretty much as far back as I can remember, we have, at one moment or another, referred to those election cycles as being existential, everything being at stake.  This absolutely is existential.

When I think about what we are up against and full-on frontal attacks on hard-fought, hard-won freedoms and rights, a full-on agenda that is about taking us backward in such an unapologetic and clear way, I know that this is existential.

Doug mentioned traveling.  I have now, as Vice President, met with over 150 world leaders — presidents, prime ministers, chancellors, and kings — many of whom I’ve actually hosted at our temporary public housing in D.C.  (Laughter.)  But many of whom I’ve now met and talked with a number of times so that we’ve established relationships and friendships. 

And the most recent international trips I took as Vice President, then, were at the end of last year.  I went to the UK to talk about what we are doing in terms of AI and the — our host is a — is a leading authority on that issue.  And so, I was there talking about how we are thinking, as America, about the safety issue as it relates to AI.  And then, later — two weeks later — I went to Dubai to represent our country at COP28, the global convening on climate.

To a one, the world leaders that I saw, who are now friends and we have relationships — to a one, when they came up to me, the first point they made, “Hope you guys are going to be okay.”
And be clear, that was out of self-interest.  Because what they know is what we know, which is why we are here.

And, Shannon, I cannot thank you for all that you have always done and continue to do — both of you and Kevin and Chloe and Coco.  (Applause.)  Right?

What we know is that when we are talking about this fight for our democracy, the nature of democracy is there’s a duality to it. 

On the one hand, it’s very strong.  When a democracy is intact, it is so strong in terms of what it does to empower its people through the protection and the respect of individual rights and liberties, what it does to give its people dignity.  There is such strength in a democracy when it is intact.

And it is very fragile.  It is only as strong as our willingness to fight for it. 

So, when I see these world leaders or travel our country — right? — I started a college tour in the fall.  And then now I’m on a — just started — second stop today on our “Fight for Reproductive Freedoms” in a tour.  What I know and I see around the world and in our own country is that there are so many of us who do understand that concept and understand that the trajectory of America en- — depends entirely on her people.

This election, yes, it is about the Biden-Harris ticket and it is about winning an election.  But I would propose that what will happen in November will be a reflection of a question, which is: For us, as Americans, what kind of country do we want to live in?  What kind of country do we want to live in?

And when I think about what is at stake, then, I would offer that, in November, there’s a split screen.  Among the many big issues challenging our world and our country that are complex and not binary, November of ’24: binary.

So, just pull up the — the split screen.  On the one hand, you have a former President who openly celebrates dictators and has professed and promised he will be a dictator on “day one”; openly and unapologetically expresses his intention to weaponize the United States Department of Justice; openly, brazenly talks about what he will do to exact revenge on his political enemies.

Recently, many — recently said, when asked about the Dobbs decision, which undid Roe v. Wade, said he was “proud”
of what he did, which, of course, was to handpick three justices with the full intention that it is they who would undo the protection of an individual’s right to make decisions about their own body.  “Proud.”

Proud that right now in states like Texas — where is my friend from Texas? — right? — in states like Texas, they are providing for prison time for life for healthcare providers; punishing women; making no exception, in many cases around our country, for rape or incest.

And, you know, most of us, I think, can handle this conversation.  Look, you guys know my background.  Most of my career, I was a prosecutor.  Started out, DA of San Francisco, first woman.  I was Attorney General, reelected, first woman. 

Well, what you may not know about my background is, when I was in high school, my best friend, I learned, was being molested by her stepfather.  And when I found out, I said to her, “You have to come and stay with us.”  Called my mother, my mother said, “Absolutely, she does.”  And she did.

And I decided I wanted to do the work that was about protecting women and children from violence.  The idea that these so-called leaders would be proposing that after someone has survived a crime of violence to their body, a violation to their body, that they would have no authority or right to make a decision about what happens to their body next — that’s immoral.  And he’s proud of the suffering we’re seeing every day in our country?

Pull up the split screen.

On the other side of that screen, you see, in our President, Joe Biden, and the work we have done as an administration on some of the biggest challenges facing our world.  Be it the first time there’s a war in Europe in over 70 years and bringing NATO together and strengthening NATO so now we have two additional members.

What we have accomplished in terms of — forever, administrations of both parties saying, “Hey, let’s deal with the…” — I’m looking at (inaudible).  “Let’s deal with the fact that America’s infrastructure is over 150 years old, and it’s time we dealt with it.”  And they’d talk about “Infrastructure Week” in that last administration.  And we got it done, and now, by my estimate, looking at over a trillion dollars that’s going to American jobs to build back up our roads and bridges and sidewalks and airports.

This group of friends understands — and I say this as a proud Californian — the importance of investing in research and development and science.  And we got the CHIPS and Science Act done, which is going to mean billions of dollars in investment, in technology, in our ability to see what’s possible and then go for it and allow our country to be a leader — a global leader.  That happened under our administration.

Doing the work of understanding that, for generations, seniors have been struggling, if they have diabetes, to figure out how to either afford to fill their prescription or fill their refrigerator.  And we have now capped the cost of insulin at $35 a month. 

We now — and Joe Biden — I just — it makes me sick when people criticize our President about questioning him, when he has been so bold in terms of understanding what is an investment in the future of our country and taking on, as we have, for example, the pharmaceutical companies saying: We’re going to, for the first time, allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices for seniors and cap the annual cost of medication for seniors at $2,000.  That’s a big deal.

And I could go on and on.  Like Doug says — it’s so funny when you say that — it’s the CVS — (laughter) — it’s a CVS receipt.  I could go on and on.

But the contrast.  On the one hand, we’re looking at, at the very least, chaos — but actually, chaos leading to destruction around foundational, fundamental institutions and values.  And on the other hand, competence and calm and clarity.

And I’ll — I’ll end my comments so I can come and walk around, but with a — with a basic point that I think also is something we have to acknowledge about what’s happening in our country right now. 

There’s a — there’s a kind of perverse, I think, ideology that is being pushed around that suggests that the measure of a leader’s strength is based on who you beat down, instead of what we all know: The true measure of that strength is based on who you lift up.  You know, this perverse notion that, somehow, it’s a sign of weakness to have compassion, care, when the real character trait of a real leader is someone who has some level of curiosity and concern and care for the suffering of other people and then does something about it to alleviate that suffering.

So, we got a fight in front of us.  And I’ll tell you — I was saying to a couple of the friends — over the Christmas break, Doug and I left D.C. and came home to California.  And, first of all, we slept.  (Laughter.)  We didn’t realize how tired we were.  We just slept.  And then Doug looked at me and was like, “Honey, I think we’re defrosting.”  (Laughter.)

And I was in my happy place.  I was cooking.  I — let me tell you, I love your kitchen, by the way.  I have — (laughter) — you have, like, an eight-burner stove.  I love your kitchen. 

MS. HUNT-SCOTT:  You can come anytime.  You should see the downstairs kitchen.  It’s even better.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Okay.  I want to see it.  (Laughter.)

So, I was in my happy place and I was cooking.  The kids were home.  They — just it was all good.  But because we knew, starting in January, this is no joke.  And already in the last two and half weeks, I’ve been North Carolina, South Carolina twice, Georgia, Wisconsin, Nevada twice, New York, California, just in the first, like, two and a half weeks of this year.

And I know we’re all prepared to do something similar, in terms of each day, starting now, understanding what is at stake and understanding it’s going to take all of us. 

We love our country.  We love our country.  We believe in our foundational principles.  And it is incumbent on each one of us to do everything we can.  And I know I’m preaching to the choir, because that’s why you guys are here. 

And I thank you very much.  Thank you.  (Applause.)

     END

The post Remarks by Vice President Harris at a Campaign Reception | Los Gatos, CA appeared first on The White House.

Mexican Heritage Plaza
San Jose, California

12:20 P.M. PST

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Good afternoon, everyone.  (Applause.)  Hi, San Jose!

MS. BUSH:  I mean, how cool is this?  (Laughter.)

Before we get into serious business, I just personally want to extend a thank you.  We did this for the first time — having a conversation like this one — two years ago —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yes.

MS. BUSH:  — on a college campus across the country. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

MS. BUSH:  And day in and day out, while you are in the position to hold the issues of the world, you keep our rights a top issue in the administration and in the White House.  And on behalf of all women and potentially pregnant people everywhere, I just want to thank you.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you so much.  Thank you.  (Applause.)

MS. BUSH:  Okay.  So, we are in a moment as a nation, and I’m curious, from your vantage point, how you see it and — and why you have decided to lead this “Fight for Reproductive Freedoms” tour.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.  Well, first of all, it’s great to be with you, Sophia.  And thank you for sharing the stage and — and for using your voice in such an important way. 

And I want to thank the senators who are here.  I know that we had Senator Padilla, Butler — who are here.  They are doing extraordinary work along with the Secretary, Xavier Becerra, and so many others.  And so, I want to just acknowledge them in front of all of the friends.  (Applause.)

As well as my husband, the first Second Gentleman of the United States.  (Laughs.)  (Applause.)

So, here we are, January of 2024, where, just over a year ago, the highest court in our land, the Court of Thurgood and RBG, took a constitutional right that had been recognized from the people of America, from the women of America.  And thereafter, in state after state, we have seen extremist so-called leaders propose and pass laws that would criminalize healthcare providers, some of them literally legislating prison for life; punishing women; making no exception even for rape or incest.

You know, I will tell you —

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Madam Vice President, we demand a ceasefire now!  Ceasefire now!  Ceasefire now!  There is no reproductive justice without a ceasefire now!  (Inaudible.)  

AUDIENCE:  MVP!  MVP!  MVP! 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah, let — let me say, in a — in a — in a real democracy, everyone has a right to have their voice heard.  (Applause.)  Everyone has a right to have their voice heard.

And I will say, we all want this conflict to end as soon as possible.  (Applause.)  And the President and I are working on that every single day.  So — (applause).

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  (Inaudible.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  So, back to what we were discussing — back to what we’re discussing.  We are looking at a situation —

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Ceasefire now!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  We’re looking at a situation in our country —

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Ceasefire now (inaudible).

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — where there are people who are literally suffering, many — most, silently suffering because of what has been proposed and/or passed in states across our country. 

Part of why I’m doing this tour is because I think that more people — not the people here, but more people who may not be here and are not as attuned to what’s happening in real time — must understand — you know, for years, so many of us, we were in marches; we’ve talked; we have fought — let’s keep Roe alive.  We have to protect Roe, and we all did.  Most of us, for our entire adult lives, it was intact.  We knew it was prescion [sic], and we need to defend it — we knew it was precious.  But we kind of thought it would always be there.

And now we have seen that it has been taken.  And all over our country — Dr. Gupta started to talk about that — the number of people who are suffering — we’re all grown in here, so I’m going to just speak fact because fact must be told: Women are having miscarriages in toilets in our country.  I’ve met women who were in the midst of a miscarriage —

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  (Inaudible.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — who were — went to an emergency room —

AUDIENCE:  MVP!  MVP!  MVP!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — went to an emergency room to seek healthcare and were rejected by the healthcare professionals there who were afraid they would be jailed for providing women in distress healthcare. 

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Ceasefire now!  Ceasefire now!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  I met a woman —

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  (Inaudible.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  I met a woman who literally developed sepsis.  And it was not until she developed sepsis that she received the healthcare that she needed. 

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  You are complacent (inaudible).  Ceasefire now!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  We have a lot of very important issues that we all must discuss, but the topic for this discussion is what we need to do to fight back against laws that are criminalizing healthcare providers and making women suffer in our country.  (Applause.)

AUDIENCE:  Four more years!  Four more years!  Four more years!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yes, we are going to win this election.  (Applause.)  Yes, we will.

So, there are a lot of big issues impacting our world right now which evoke, rightly, very, very strong emotions and fears and anger and tears and concerns. 

The topic for today here is the topic of what has happened in our country after the Dobbs decision, which took away the right of people to make decisions about their own body and has resulted in extreme harm.  And so, I’m going to get back to the issue, because it’s an important one, and we should not be distracted from any important issue. 

So, what we’re talking about — (applause) — what we’re looking at in these — in these states, for example, that have made no exception even for rape or incest — now, many of you, this is my — I grew up in California, in the Bay Area.  Many of you know my career, so you know that I started my career as a prosecutor.  What you may not know is one of the biggest reasons why. 

When I was in high school, one of my closest friends, one of my best friends, I learned, was being molested by her stepfather.  And when I learned, I said to her, “You have to come and stay with us.”  I called my mother, and my mother said, “Of course she does.”  And she came to stay with us.

And I decided at a very early age I wanted to do everything I could to protect women and children from harm.  And I specialized, for a long time in my career as a prosecutor, including when I was working as AG, on crimes affecting women and children.

“No exception even for rape or incest.”  Let’s understand what that means.  It means that these so-called leaders are saying to a survivor of a crime of violence to their body, a violation to their body, that they don’t have the right to make a decision about what happens to their body next.  That’s immoral.

This is what’s happening around our country. 

So, when we talk about the layers of harm — be it harm to our democracy, harm to our Constitution, harm to our freedoms and our rights — and we then understand the real harm that also exists every day for individuals who are being denied the healthcare they need, it’s extraordinary. 

And for that reason, I know we all are approaching this with a sense, yes, of — of empathy and understanding but also profound commitment, with a sense of urgency, to do something about it to end the pain and the suffering that is happening right now in real time in our country. 

And so, that’s the issue as much as anything.  And the way that we are going to ultimately deal with this is to, one, have some consensus — which I do believe exists — which is that one does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree the government should not be telling her what to do with her body.  (Applause.)

If she chooses — if she chooses, she will consult with her pastor, her priest, her rabbi, her imam, but not the government telling her what to do. 

And so, we need, this November, to elect a majority of people in the United States Congress who simply agree it’s not the government’s right to tell a woman what’s in her own best interest when she knows what’s in her own best interest and doesn’t need some person walking around with a flag pin to tell her what to do.  (Applause.)

And Joe Biden has been very clear: When Congress puts back in place the rights that the Court took away, he will sign it into law.  He will sign into law the protections of Roe v. Wade.  (Applause.)

So, that’s part of the task in front of us right now.

MS. BUSH:  I don’t think it’s lost on any of us in this moment — here or in the world — given the conversation we’re all having, that, as you said earlier, when extremism comes home to roost —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

MS. BUSH:  — whether it’s here in America or around the world, it’s women and girls who suffer worst.  And it can feel overwhelming to try to hold all of these issues. 

I know for me, as a citizen, I look to you.  And I — I can’t imagine the pressure you feel with all of us looking to you, going, “Tell us what to do.” 

But one of the things that you often encourage us to do when we feel helpless in the face of global suffering and of the suffering of women and girls and at-risk people is to get involved locally. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yes.

MS. BUSH:  That’s why you’re here on —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yes.

MS. BUSH: — a local tour with us —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yes.

MS. BUSH:  — talking about this issue, while you, daily, hold all the rest of them. 

And I’m curious, for those of us who, you know, don’t get the binders and the briefings: What should we be doing in our states?  And what can we encourage our states to do?  And what can states do across the nation to fight back and protect our reproductive freedoms?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  That’s great.  So, I’ll start with this.

Part of the environment in which this issue exists is an environment that is heavily laden with judgment, suggesting to these individuals, suggesting to these women that they’ve done something wrong and something they should be embarrassed about.  And — and understand, then, the layers that come along with that that include making her feel as though she’s alone. 

And, as we know, one of the things that can be most disempowering is when people feel they’re alone; when they feel they don’t have community, much less support; when they feel they’re being judged and outcast, as opposed to embraced. 

And so, this is the power of each of us as individuals in a community, in a society, on every level, including this one, which is to think about how you use the way that you talk with people, be it — you know, Mom, Peg, I see you here.  My mother-in-law is here.  (Laughter.)  That’s going to be by the telephone — (laughs) — or text or social media.

But the ways that we can talk with people — friends and strangers — about the issue to remind them about what’s at stake and — and the harm that is happening every day. 

I have seen — as I am traveling the country on this issue, I’ve seen the power of that communication.  I have met with people who started — especially before the Dobbs decision came down — and were vehement that they were opposed to abortion and who have not abandoned their faith and their — whatever reason it is for why they feel that way and strongly about themselves and their family, but also didn’t know and weren’t aware of the suffering that would happen as a result and, now knowing the suffering that is happening, are reconsidering their position in terms of the policy of it all — the policy being to deny other people a decision to make that very important decision for themselves and not the government telling them. 

So, the power of communication on this is very important. 

I think there’s also another thing that is at play on so many issues in our country, which is, if you will, I think a certain thing that is quite perverse that is being pushed by some so-called leaders, which is to suggest that the measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you beat down instead of who you lift up.  Right?  (Applause.)

You know, there’s a — there’s a thing happening that suggests that to care about people somehow is a sign of weakness, when we all know that one of the great characteristics and character of — of real leadership is the character that has some level of concern, curiosity, and compassion about the suffering of other people and then wants to do something about alleviating that suffering. 

And so, I work with the belief that the mass ma- —

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  (Inaudible.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — the vast majority of people in our country have that feeling.

AUDIENCE:  Four more years!  Four more years!  Four more years!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  So, the work that needs to be done over these next 10 months includes using our voices to really help people understand how this is affecting people in real time, because there’s nothing abstract about this issue.  There is nothing hypothetical about it.  It is — it does not require and it absolutely deserves more than some kind of intellectual political debate.  It requires action to stop the harm that is happening right now.  And that’s about organizing. 

Californians, thankfully, we have a state that has done beautiful and important work to protect rights, to put it in the Constitution.  (Applause.)  This is very important.  But we have neighboring states, not so much.  And so, think about, you know, how you travel and when you travel to do that. 

But the other point that I’d make on being a Californian right now: Let’s not — don’t get too comfortable with that, because if these folks have their way — and they’ve already articulated it’s part of their agenda — they’ll get a national ban.  So, let’s understand, none of us can afford to sit back and say, “Thank God we’re in California.”

MS. BUSH:  Right. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Because, as we know, they go for — they go for — they — and then they come for you.  Right?  And so, let’s keep that in mind as well. 

And we just got to hustle over these next 10 — 10 months.  You know, Doug and I have been very clear.  We came home for the holiday, and it was very funny.  I — a lot of friends here, so I’ll just share with you a little personal story.  We slept.  (Laughs.)  I mean, we were just tired.  We slept.  (Laughter.)  Doug looked at me, and he was like, “Honey, I think we’re defrosting.”  Right?  (Laughter.)  

And I cooked, which is my happy place — and family.  But all knowing that, starting in January, got to hit the road.  This year, already in the last two and a half weeks — I’m looking at Xavier — I’ve been North Carolina, South Carolina twice, Nevada twice, Georgia, Wisconsin, New York, California — in the first two and a half weeks.  (Applause.)  So — and Alex Padilla has been there, Laphonza Butler. 

So, we got a lot of ground to cover — all of us.  And — and we can make a difference on this issue for people that, by the way, for the most part, we may never meet; for people who, for the most part, will never know any of our names but whose lives will forever be impacted because of the work that we do in organizing and using our voices at this moment.  (Applause.)

MS. BUSH:  When — when we hold these two things to be true at the same time, the fact that we — in California, we’re lucky enough to enshrine our rights via Proposition 1 into our state laws, but we’re looking at the risk of a national ban.  We — we see the extremists on the GOP side going after mifepristone and medication abortion, which over 50 percent of pregnant people use in —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

MS. BUSH:  — when they are in need.  We’re — we’re talking about the potential denial of care, even here, if — if the mail stops.  And when we talk about the strain that comes into our state from our surrounding states, where our friends don’t have the rights that we do here —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

MS. BUSH:  — at this time, we’re — we’re really doing the math locally, but potentially nationally for a true healthcare crisis. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

MS. BUSH:  This is a crisis. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  You’re absolutely right. 

MS. BUSH:  And —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  You’re absolutely right. 

MS. BUSH:  — I’m just curious: Can you walk us through who’s responsible for this?  Because this was an intentional crisis.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Indeed. 

MS. BUSH:  And you’ve mentioned that the Supreme Court overturned Roe, but can we — can we just cover how we got to that point?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  I think we should.

MS. BUSH:  I think we should too.  (Laughter.)  It feels appropriate to tell some truth. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  So, the former President of the United States hand-picked — hand-picked three members of the United States Supreme Court with the intention that they would undo Roe.  Let’s be very clear about it. 

And he has been very clear that that is exactly what he intended.  Just take him at his word.  Take him at his word when he said recently he’s “proud” of what he did. 

And I asked, “Proud?”  I’m looking at Christine Pelosi.  I — I asked, “Proud?”  Proud that doctors might go to jail for giving healthcare?  Proud that women are having miscarriages without any healthcare that they need?  Proud that — that fundamental freedoms have been taken from the American people?

To understand the arrogance that is associated with the taking and then what we are up against — and so, this is why we know what is before us and the fight that is before us.  This is a fight that is fundamental.  And it is fundamentally about freedom — freedom — the freedom to make decisions about your own body. 

And understand, as we step back, there is — and I travel our country — there is afoot a full-on intent to attack hard-fought, hard-won freedoms in our country.  Just look at what is happening.  Look at what is happening with a “Don’t Say Gay” bill.  Okay?

So, now, let me — I will remind my fellow Californians: In 2004 — actually, Valentine’s weekend 2004 — so, it’ll be 20 years — I was proud to be one of the first elected officials in the country to perform same-sex marriages — (applause) — almost 20 years ago. 

A “Don’t Say Gay” bill — so, imagine this.  So, 20 years ago — so, this means that some young teacher in Florida is afraid to put up a photograph of themselves and their partner for fear they may be fired.  For doing what?  For doing the God’s gift to all of us to avow themselves to teach other people’s children?  As it is, they don’t get paid enough. 

In 2024, we’re looking at attacks on the LGBTQ community. 

In 2024, we’re looking at attacks on the freedom to vote and access to the ballot.  I was just in Georgia.  You know, they passed a law in Georgia to make it illegal to give people food and water while they stand in line to vote.  What happened to “love thy neighbor”?  I mean, the hypocrisy abounds.

The kinds of freedoms that are under attack in America right now, and — and I would offer — you know, I asked my team to create a Venn diagram for me.  I love Venn diagrams.  (Laughter.)  And, you know, whenever you’re kind of looking at something complex, a Venn diagram can usually help you out. 

And the overlap, then — right? — between where we’re seeing the attacks against voting rights, where we’re seeing the attacks against LGBTQ, where they’re seeing the attacks against reproductive freedom, and you would not be shocked to see the profound intersection between them.

So, this also — then, I say, as we organize and think about these next many months — is an opportunity to rededicate ourselves not only to community building but as an extension of that coalition building.  Let’s bring together all the folks who’ve been fighting for voting rights; all the folks who have been fighting for LGBTQ rights; all the folks who have been fighting for reproductive health rights, including maternal health rights and maternal mortality — (applause) — fighting against that.  Right?

By the way, on that issue, Sophia, so I’ve also been doing a lot of work over many years on the issue of combating maternal mortality.  It is — we have, as a so-called developed nation, one of the highest rates of maternal mortality of any nation in the world.  It’s a — it’s a crying shame. 

And so, again, the hypocrisy ob- — abounds.  In the states with the top 10 worst numbers on maternal mortality, all have bans.  I say to these so-called extremist leaders, “Okay.  So, you say that your work to — to ban abortion — ban access to reproductive healthcare is because you are so concerned about mothers and children.  Well, why you been silent on maternal mortality?”  (Applause.)  “Where you been?”

When I became Vice President, I issued a challenge to states: Extend Medicaid coverage for postpartum care from what is the standard 2 months to 12 months.  (Applause.)  When I started, 3 states were doing it; now 43 have done it.  Right?  (Applause.)  Right?

All these issues are connected.  All these issues are connected.

MS. BUSH:  That gives me hope, the coalition building —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

MS. BUSH:  — the — the work that you all are succeeding on.  And we need hope in a world that feels so heavy. 

I want to know what gives you hope for the year ahead, because you’re gearing up for a big fight.  We know what we’re up against.  It can’t be easy.  What keeps you positive and ready for this?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  A number of things.  One, this audience.  I mean, and I know who’s here.  I know who’s here.  And — and each of you have so many other things you could be doing with your time, so many other obligations, and — and the individuals here have come together as a community to stand together and with each other on a very important issue that’s going to require a certain level of selflessness on behalf of us all and certainly sacrifice to speak up.

What gives me hope is an understanding that if you — we all know history.  There has never been any progress that has come about in our country, as far as I’m concerned, that came about without a fight.  (Applause.)  It requires a fight.

You know, here’s how I think about democracy, as an extension of all the points we’re making about fighting for freedoms.  The nature of democracy — there’s a duality to it.  On the one hand, it’s very strong.  When a democracy is intact, what it does to protect and preserve individual rights and freedoms and the dignity of people, the equality of people — it’s very strong, what it does for its people.

It is also very fragile.  It is only as strong as our willingness to fight for it.  And so, fight we will. 

You know, we just, not long ago, celebrated Mar- — the birthday of Martin Luther King.  And when I do — and I always do — I will always also refer to the great Coretta Scott King.  (Applause.)  And — because she, too, was a great freedom fighter.  And Coretta Scott King — I’ll paraphrase — but she famously said, and I quote it all the time, “The — the fight for civil rights” — which is the fight for freedom — right? — the fight for equality — she said, “must be fought and won with each generation.” 

And by that, I think she had two points.  One, it is the nature of our fight for freedoms that whatever gains we make, the nature is they will not be permanent.  It’s just the nature of it.  Therefore, understanding that, we must always be vigilant.  We must understand how precarious and precious this all is and commit ourselves every day to stand for and fight for these rights and these freedoms.

And so, you know, understanding it’s the nature of it, I think that there’s — there’s — we know what the job is ahead of us.  We know —

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  (Inaudible.)  Ceasefire now!  Ceasefire now!  Ceasefire now!

AUDIENCE:  Four more years!  Four more years!  Four more years!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  So, let us remember, there’s a lot to fight for.  And, look, as I like to say and we all say many times: When we fight, we win.  When we fight, we win.  (Applause.)

And there are a lot of folks who need to know that the people who can be in a room like this are thinking of them, because there are a lot of folks who will never be in this room, can’t be in this room.  And I think we all know it is our duty — not just our responsibility but that we have a duty — to stand for these most essential freedoms.

And this is an era right now where we are looking at these attacks, and we’re clear-eyed about where it’s coming from.  And I think that when we show that we are going to stand in solidarity, at some point, folks are going to realize they can’t win with this stuff.

And — and that means all of us being in it together, holding each other up, taking care of each other.  In this moment, when there are people trying to divide our country and distract us from what’s important, let’s just hold on to each other.  Look at the person next to you, if you don’t know them, and just let them know we’re all in this together.  Okay?  We’re all in this together.

Thank you, all.  Thank you.  (Applause.)

MS. BUSH:  Thank you so much.

END                  12:52 P.M. PST

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3:28 P.M. EST
 
THE PRESIDENT:  Well, thank you very much, Rev.  Thank you all so much.  Please, sit down, if you have a seat.  (Laughter.)
 
I once said that — I said, “Sit down” — “That Biden doesn’t know what he’s doing; there’s no chairs.”  (Laughter.)
 
But thank you —

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  (Inaudible.)

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, tha- — (laughs).
 
AUDIENCE:  Four more years!  Four more years!  Four more years!
 
THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very, very much.  Thank you. 
 
By the way, I want you to know, for the first time in American history, the Divine Nine has an office in the White House.  (Applause.)  I know where the power is.  I know where the power is. 
 
It’s — well, let me say — I want to say very much thank you to Robin.  Robin and my wife, Jill, became prayer partners — for real.  And I think they became even more than that.  They became good friends.  Where — where are you, Robin?  There you are.  (Applause.) 
 
And thank you, thank you, thank you.  Thank you.
 
And I know you know — know this guy — this guy named Clyburn, you know him here?  (Laughter and applause.)  I am President of the United States of America for one reason — not a joke — Jim Clyburn.  (Applause.)  We hit rock bottom — and all of you.  He came down, and he said we’re going to win South Carolina, and we won in the primary in every single county.  Well, Jim, thank you very, very much.  (Applause.)  Thank you.
 
And, by the way, you know, I — I know — I see — I know talent when I see it, and I — soon as he — his term as mayor came up, I stole him.  You know this guy right here — (applause) — Benjamin — Steve Benjamin. 
 
Well, look, folks, you know, I — I came, basically, to say — start off say “Thank you.”  You’ve had my back.  You’ve had my back.  And I believe — I hope I’ve had yours.  And — and — (applause).
 
You know, when I ran for president in 2020, what made me do it was there — remember that situation down in Charlottesville, Virginia, with those folks coming out of the fields carrying torches and Nazi flags?  I mean, for real — Nazi banners and — and white supremacists, and — and they were — and they were marching in the night.  And a young woman was killed.  A young woman who was a witness was killed.  I spoke to her mom.
 
And the guy I’m running against this time was asked — the sitting President — he said, what — he said — was asked, “What did you think?”  He said, “There are very good people on both sides.” 

Some things are not debatable.  No, I mean it. 
 
And when I ran, I realized I got criticized for saying that one of the main reasons I was running was — and I meant it sincerely — to restore the soul of America — (applause) — no, I mean it — and to bring us back together.
 
Look, folks, one of the things we don’t talk a lot about — but I’ve been talking a lot about, and I think most people are observing it — Black, white, Hispanic, no matter what — is that, you know, our democracy is at stake.  No, it re- — it really is at stake for the first time in a long time. 
 
Jim knows and read a lot and spoken a lot about de Tocqueville, who wrote about America early on and why America was so strong.  And he didn’t say it was strong because of our military.  He — I’ll get — I’ll get right to it: He said it was strong because of our churches, because of our faith.  No, I mean it.  I’m — I’m sincere.
 
He talked about how our voices — that, you know, we’re unyielding and we were a people who believed in integrity, believed in decency.
 
My dad used to have an expression.  He’d say, at the dinner ta- — my dad was a hard-working guy, never got a chance to go to college, but my dad was a really decent, honorable man, a well-read man.  And the dinner table was a place where we — we had conversation and, incidentally, ate — (laughs) — before my dad would go back to work.  He’d come home and then go back to work.
 
And he’d say, “Joey, a job is about a lot more than a paycheck.  It’s about a person’s dignity.  It’s about respect.”  This — I swear to God, this is what he would say — my word as a Biden.  “It’s about dignity.  It’s about respect.  It’s about being about to look your kid in the eye and say, ‘Honey, it’s going to be okay.  It’s going to be okay.’”
 
But it’s only okay if our system is adhered to; if we abide by our democratic principles; if we, in fact, don’t try to undermine the very Constitution.  And the fellow I’m running against has — has made no bones about it: He thinks we should be able to rip it apart — not — not a joke.  He talked about being able to even ignore the Constitution.
 
By the way, I love his one thing that he should be able to use his special forces to kill somebody if he thought it was a problem.  (Laughter.)  In my church, we say, “Bless me, Father, for I have sinned.”  (The President makes the sign of the cross.)  What the — (laughter).
 
But all kidding aside, there’s a great deal at stake.  I’m not going to take a lot of your time.  But, you know, the Bible teaches that we shall know the truth, and the truth shall set us free.  Well, I think we do know the truth.  We do know the truth.  We do know what the choice is here.  It’s pretty stark.  And it’s about dignity, respect; it’s about whether we believe —
 
You know, we’re the — I’ll get right to it.  We’re the most unique nation in the world.  Now, everybody says those kinds of things about their country, but every other country is organized based on ethnicity, based on geography, based on religion.  But we’re the only nation in the world based on an idea — literally, an idea — an idea contained in our Constitution that says, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights” — life, liberty, et cetera. 
 
We’ve never fully lived up to it, but we’ve never walked away from it.  Every generation, we get closer; until now, it’s at stake.  It literally is at stake.
 
And, folks, it’s important, not just for the African American community but for every community in this country.  It’s about who we are.  It’s about what — think about it — how the world looks at us.
 
I’ve been doing foreign policy for a long, long time.  I was a chairman of those committees and the like.  And that’s why Barack asked me be on his ticket.  And I know every one of those heads of state, and I’ve known them for a while.  And every meeting I go to internationally, I — as they’re walking out — this is the God’s truth; I can say this in front of the press — virtually every one of them pull me aside and say, “You’ve got to win.  We can’t let that happen again.  You can’t let that happen again.  You can’t let that happen again.”
 
Folks, this is about a — the campaign is a lot bigger than me, you, and all of us.  It’s about who we are as a country. 
 
And, by the way, you know, what we — we’re — the thing about us is we believe in those basic principles.  We don’t always practice them as a nation, but we — we do believe in honesty and decency.  We do believe that people should be treated with respect.  We don’t live up to it.  We don’t live up to it all the time, but we don’t walk away from it. 
 
And f- — you know, a question I have — and I want to cut through all these notes I have here to get to the end because I don’t want to keep you. 
 
Look, one of the things in my church — I spent an awful lot of time in African American churches — Black churches.  I come from a state that, like South Carolina, had the shame of being a slave state — Delaware.  Although it fought on the side of the North, it was a slave state.  We have all the vestiges of what that — all — all still living that down.  That’s why I got involved in public life.
 
And — and what I used to do, I used to go to 7- — I’m a practicing Catholic, and I used to go to 7:30 mass at St. Joe’s, and then I’d go to Reverend Beaman’s church at 10:30, be — and we’d prepare for going out and marching and doing the things we were going to do.  And — and it really — it really taught me that — I’m — I’m not trying to be overly religious here, but I think the elements of our faith really matter as to what we believe, what — what we do.
 
And, you know, as I said, the Bible teaches us that we shall know the truth, and the truth shall set us free.  And we got to focus on it.  We got to focus on it.
 
And we — in my church, we’ve taken the 21st Psalm, and we’ve turned it into a refrain in one of the hymns we sing.  You know the Psalm.  And it’s my — this is my wish for all of you.  The Psalm goes, “May he raise you up on eagle’s wings and bear you on the breath of dawn and make the sun to shine on you and hold you in the palm of his hand.” 

That’s my prayer for you.  Because you are — you are and every other religious organization in this country is about saving people, about caring about people.  It’s hard to do, but we know we should do it.  And my prayer for you is that — that we’re able to do that.
 
And one last thing.  I — I want to point out that we had a tough day last night in — in the Middle East.  We lost three brave souls in an attack on one of our bases.  And I’d ask you for a moment of silence for all three of those fallen soldiers.
 
(A moment of silence is observed.)
 
And we shall respond.
 
God bless you all.  Thank you for allowing me to be here.  And — and I — I wish I didn’t have to go.  (Laughter.)
 
Thank you all so very, very much.  (Applause.)
 
3:39 P.M. EST
 

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11:13 A.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, hello, hello.  (Applause.)  Please, si- — thank you.  (Applause.)

Thanks for bringing me home.  (Laughter.)  You all think I’m kidding.

For the longest time, when I was a young public defender and a United States Senator, I went to — if you’ll excuse me — an AME church — I apologize — (laughter) — with Reverend Beaman. 

You brought it all back, Rev.

REVEREND GRAHAM:  Amen.  (Laughter.)

THE PRESIDENT:  I’ll tell you what, the man can preach, can’t he?  (Applause.)

To the whole congregation, I’m genuinely honored to be here.  I sincerely mean that.

And I’m especially honored to have one of your own working with me, your former mayor running things for me in Washington, D.C.  (Applause.)  And he was baptized here and married here. 

And A’ja Williams [Wilson] is from here.  (Laughs.)  (Applause.)  Can that woman play basketball.  Whoa.  That’s the only reason I was coming.  I thought she was here.  (Laughter.)

I’m only joking.  I know she’s not.  I’m going to get in trouble with my wife if I keep fooling around.  (Laughter.)

But I want to thank Steve for his friendship and his leadership. 

You know, it’s a covenant we have with each other that comes from a — from the commands of scripture: “Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and all thy mind and all thy soul.  Love thy neighbor as thyself.”  Easy to say but really hard to do.  Easy to say but hard to do.

But in those commands is the essence of the gospel, is the essence of what I believe to be the American promise.  And I mean that sincerely.

You know, we’re unique in all the world — America.  We’re the only country that is formed not based on ethnicity, based on geography — based on an idea — an idea — and I mean this sincerely — the only country in the world.  An idea we’ve never lived up to, but we’ve never walked away from.  That “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights” — life, liberty, et cetera.

It’s an idea that we can’t abandon.  And some want to see it abandoned.

In my life, I’ve tried to walk my faith.  Like I said — I was kidding with Jim — I — I’d always go to 7:30 mass at St. Joe’s, which is a — a church built — a Catholic church built by indentured serv- — Irish servants working for the DuPont family.  It’s kind of — kind of — it always kind of made me angry.  The head- — the cornerstone of the church, 1848, says, “Built for our Catholics.”  I never figured we were their Catholics.  But any rate —

But all kidding aside, then I’d go to 10:30 mass — 10:30 service at — with Reverend Beamon and — during the Civil Rights era, when I was working hard as a young man as a public defender. 

And, you know, you said it, Rev.  My — my mother would say, “You got to be who you say you are.  You got to do what you say you’re going to do.  Just get up.  Just get up.”  And that’s what I tried to do: tried to walk the — my walk of faith.

But here’s what I learned, as many of you might have learned as well: We’re all imperfect beings — all of us.  And we don’t know where fate is going to take us or when it’s going to take us.  It can, like many of you, sn- — and me, snatch an entire family from your grip with an accident.

But we can do our best to seek the light and the hope and love.  You know, from where I come from, that’s the power of faith.  That’s the power of faith.  That’s the power, as I was saying to the Rev outside when we — when — before he invited me in, that’s what the Black Church has done for American — Black Americans for their — I mean, imagine what would have happened would there been no Black Church all those periods of darkness.

Well, you give us a mountaintop.  You give us a promised land.  You give us a dream and a faith that we shall overcome, we can overcome.  You know, and you push us toward a more perfect union — you really do — to bend the arch of the moral universe toward justice together.  And what a gift to the nation and the world you’ve been.

Your prayers mean everything.  And they’re — we’ve — in my church, we’ve taken the 22nd Psalm and turned it into a — a hymn, basically.  It says, “May he raise you up on eagle’s wings and bear you on the breath of dawn, make the light to shine on — upon you.  And until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand.”

That’s my wish for all of you. 

Thank you for being so good to me.  (Applause.)  I appreciate it very much.

1:19 A.M. EST

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South Carolina State Fairgrounds
Columbia, South Carolina

(January 27, 2024)

7:37 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, hello, South Carolina!  (Applause.)

AUDIENCE:  Four more years!  Four more years!  Four more years! 

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, thank you.

AUDIENCE:  Four more years!  Four more years!  Four more years!

THE PRESIDENT:  It’s —

AUDIENCE:  Four more years!  Four more years!  Four more years!

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, thank you, thank you, thank you.

Look, it’s — it’s good be home with so many friends I’ve known for so long.  And tonight, I’m thinking of so many of my friends who are no longer with us, like Fritz and Peatsy Hollings.  And they were here for me when I first got started in a tough time of my life, when I didn’t want to stay in the Senate.  They embraced me.  They included me in everything and kept me going.  They’re always with me in spirit.

The same goes for Emily Clyburn.  You know, Jim — Jim is the reason that I’m president, because he endorsed me and got all of you to help me.  (Applause.)  But I later learned Emily convinced him to endorse me.  (Laughter.)  Jim, we miss her.  And you’re the best friend anyone could have.

Folks, I — if I were smart, I’d say “Thank you” and leave — (laughter) — because Jim made the case for me better than I can make the case for me.  (Applause.)

Well, folks — and I love Columbia so much I asked your former Mayor to join me in the White House.  (Laughter.)  We’re fortunate to have Steve Benjamin at my side.  (Applause.)  But we’re really fortunate we put his better half on the federal bench.  (Laughter and applause.)  She’s doing an incredible job. 

Just like I’m fortunate for my better half, Jill, who was here in Columbia last night — (applause) — with the women of Alpha Kappa Theta — Alpha Kappa Alpha, excuse me.  She had a wonderful time.

And we’ve got so many real leaders here — two former Chairs of the Congressional Black Caucus: Joyce Beatty — and you heard Marcia Fudge.  Don’t mess with Marcia.  (Laughter and applause.) 

And my home state senator, Chris Coons, who — (applause) — a real quick story.  When my son passed away, a — well, anyway.  Chris was just wonderful.  He wouldn’t take the jo- — he wouldn’t run until he knew it was okay.  We had to call Chris and say, “Chris, please run.”  Because it was “Beau’s chair,” he said. 

Our great DNC chairman, Jaime Harrison, from South Carolina.  (Applause.)

But the truth is I wouldn’t be here without the Democratic voters of South Carolina, and that’s a fact.  (Applause.) 

So, I want to start with a very simple message: From the bottom of my heart, thank you, thank you, thank you. 

If you ever doubt that the power to change America is in your hands, remember this: You proved it.  You’re the reason I am president.  (Applause.)  You’re the reason Kamala Harris is a historic Vice President.  (Applause.)

And you’re the reason Donald Trump is a defeated former President.  (Applause.)  You’re the reason Donald Trump is a loser.  And you’re the reason we’re going to win and beat him again.  (Applause.)

Nearly four years ago, I came to Columbia to celebrate a primary victory, and I said then, and I quote, “For all those who have been knocked down, counted out, left behind, this is your campaign.”
That same message has defined my presidency. 

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  (Inaudible) Palestinians (inaudible) —

THE PRESIDENT:  I am determined —

AUDIENCE:  Four more years!

THE PRESIDENT:  No, no —

AUDIENCE:  Four more years!  Four more years!  Four more years!

THE PRESIDENT:  I’m determined to give all those who have been knocked down, counted out, left behind in America a shot again — a fair shot at making a living, taking care of their children, starting a business, being able to buy a home, build real wealth for generations to come.

Now, maybe Donald Trump and his MAGA friends believe that they have — they — to — you have to hold us down to lift everybody else [themselves] up. 

I don’t believe that.  I believe that America is big enough, strong enough, blessed enough for all of us to succeed.  (Applause.)

And that’s why we’re finally building an economy that grows from the middle out and the bottom up, instead of trickle-down economy from the top.  Because when you do that, the poor have a ladder up, the middle class do well, and the wealthy still do very well.  We all do well.

Just think back to the mess Donald Trump left this country in: a deadly pandemic, economic freefall, a violent insurrection.

I promised to do everything in my power, I said at the time, to get us through one of the toughest periods in our history.  And together we are.

We vaccinated America.  We created a record 14 million new jobs in three years.  (Applause.) 

And let’s get something straight.  Trump talks about putting checks in pockets.  But in 2021, as soon as I came to office, I was the guy who sent every one of you those $1,400 checks.  (Applause.) 

On top of that, I sent those $300 checks per child per family per month for hardworking families.  That was thousands of dollars in pockets to get people through a real crisis.

And here’s what it did.

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  You’re funding a genocide!  (Inaudible.)

AUDIENCE:  Four more years!  Four more years!  Four more years!

THE PRESIDENT:  And here’s what it did.  It helped cut Black poverty in half for Black children in America.  (Applause.)  Because no child in America should ever go hunger [hungry] — ever.

When Trump pushed Black small businesses to the back of the line in the pandemic [relief] funding, I moved them to the front of the line.  (Applause.)  And today, Black small businesses are starting up at the fastest rate in 30 years.  (Applause.)

But look, folks, things this country has — have been through have been pretty tough for a lot of people.  But we’re making progress.  There’s a lot more on the way.

Inflation is coming down.  It’s now lower in America than any other major economy in the world.  (Applause.)  The cost of eggs, milk, chicken, gas, and so many other essential items
have come down.

But for all we’ve done to bring prices down, there are still too many corporations in America ripping people off:  price gouging, junk fees, greedflation, shrinkflation. 

You see that article about the Snickers bars?  (Laughter.)  

Well, it’s going to stop.  Americans, we’re tired of being played for suckers.  (Applause.)  And that’s why we’re going to keep these guys — keep on them and get the prices down.

Folks, the bottom line is our economy has grown more in the last six months than it ever did in any point in Trump’s entire four years in office.  (Applause.)

And for too long, we imported projects — products and exported jobs.  But now, thanks to all we’re doing, we’re exporting American products and we’re bringing American jobs back home to America — (applause) — where they belong.

America is experiencing a manufacturing boom that no one thought was possible.  But I knew it was possible.  Eight hundred thousand new manufacturing jobs and counting — good-paying jobs.  (Applause.)  Record unemployment, including the lowest levels of Black unemployment ever recorded in American history.  (Applause.)  The racial wealth gap is at its lowest level in 20 years.

Trump’s $2 trillion tax cut when he was president benefitted the super wealthy but was never paid for, and it completely blew up the federal deficit.  We’ve brought that deficit down. 

And all the progress we’ve made comes down to a simple proposition: Promises made and promises kept.  (Applause.)

I promised, as Jim pointed out, that we’d beat Big Pharma, that charges more for prescriptions drug prices in America than anywhere else in the world — the same company, the same prescription.  And we did.  Thirty-five-dollar-a-month insulin for seniors, instead of $400 a month or more.  (Applause.) 

As Jim pointed out, we tried to make that $35 available to everybody, but the Republicans blocked us.  But with our vote in 2024, we’re going to make it happen for everyone — everyone.  (Applause.)

As Jim pointed out, out-of-pocket costs for seniors for all their prescriptions will soon be capped at $2,000 a year, even for expensive cancer drugs that cost $10-, $12-, $15,000 a year.  (Applause.)

I protected and expanded the Affordable Care Act, giving millions of families over $800 [a year] in premiums and protecting their care for preexisting conditions.  And, by the way, basically doubling the Pell Grants, which is another issue, but that’s —

Look, today, more Americans — more Black Americans — have health insurance than ever in history.  (Applause.)

A promise made and a promise kept.

I promised to help ease accumulated student debt for millions of folks carrying during the crisis of the pandemic.  The Supreme Court blocked me, but it didn’t stop me.  (Applause.)  I found another way to help more than 3.7 million people — teachers, nurses, police officers, firefighters — with $130 billion in relief.  And causing the economy to grow faster as a consequence of that.  (Applause.)

And another 25,000 people a month, beginning next month, are going to start to get their student loans forgiven, because they’re getting notified with a letter from me — (applause) –you’re about to get that relief — because of their public service, so they can follow their dreams, start a business, buy a home, start a family.

And I’m not done.  Promises made and promises kept.  (Applause.)

I promised you we’d make record investment in HBCUs, including South Carolina’s eight HBCUs.  (Applause.)  HBCU students are just as talented as any student in America — (applause) — but their colleges and universities don’t have the funding and endowments for the cutting-edge laboratories and research centers.

Well, I’ve invested, so far, $7 billion in HBCUs and counting — (applause) — to help support our brilliant HBCU students.

And, again, a promise made and a promise kept.

I keep my promises when I said no one — no one should be in prison for merely possessing marijuana or using it, and their records should be expunged.

A promise made and a promise kept.  (Applause.)

Folks, I made a commitment to have an administration that looks like America, to tap into the full talents of our nation.  And I’m proud we have the most diverse administration in the history of America, because I know — (applause) — I know our diversity is our strength in America.

It was here in South Carolina that I promised to appoint the first Black woman to the United States Supreme Court.  (Applause.)  Her name is Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.  And, by the way, she’s smarter than the rest.  (Laughter and applause.) 

I’ve appointed more Black women to the Federal Circuit Courts of Appeals than every other president in American history combined — combined.  (Applause.)

A promise made and a promise kept.

And that includes Judge Michelle Childs — (applause) — of the D.C. Circuit, who is making South Carolina proud.

I promised to take care of hundreds of thousands of veterans exposed to toxic materials and care for their families.  That’s why I wrote the PACT Act. 

As Commander-in-Chief, I think we have only one sacred obligation — I’ve said it many times — prepare those we send into harm’s way and care for them and their families when they come home.  (Applause.) 

Well, as Commander-in-Chief, I look at veterans completely differently than Donald Trump.  Think about this — especially here in South Carolina, a proud military state — Donald Trump, when he was Commander-in-Chief, refused to visit a cemetery — U.S. cemetery outside of Paris for fallen American soldiers.  And he referred to those heroes, and I quote, as “suckers” and “losers.”  He actually said that.  He said that.

How dare he say that.  How dare he talk about my son and all (inaudible) like that.  (Applause.) 

Look, I call them patriots and heroes.  The only loser I see is Donald Trump.  (Applause.) 

It makes me angry.

AUDIENCE:  Loser Trump!  Loser Trump!  Loser Trump!

THE PRESIDENT:  I apologize for losing my temper, but it really, really, really offends me. 

In recent weeks, we’re starting to see real evidence that American consumers are facing [feeling] real confidence in the economy we’re building.  Let me tell you who else is noticing that:  Donald Trump.  (Laughter.)

Did you see what he recently said about that wants to — that he wants to see the economy crash this year?  A sitting [former] President.  As they say in my faith, “Bless me, Father, for…” — (the President begins to makes the sign of the cross).  I mean, come on, man.  (Laughter.) 

“When there’s a crash” — “Wh-” — he said, “When there’s a crash, I hope in the next 12 months,” he went on to say.  It’s unbelievable.  It’s un-American.

How can anyone — especially a former president — wish for an economic crash that would devastate millions of Americans?

Well, let me tell you what he really means.  Donald Trump knows this economy is good and is strong and getting stronger.  (Applause.)  He knows that while it’s good for America, it’s bad for him politically.

Trump also said the one president he doesn’t want to be is Herbert Hoover.  Well, Donald, it’s too late.  (Laughter.)  There are only two presidents in American history who left office with fewer jobs than when they took office: Herbert Hoover and, yes, Donald “Herbert Hoover” Trump.  (Laughter and applause.)

And, by the way, have you noticed he’s is a little confused these days?  (Laughter.)  He apparently can’t tell the difference between Nikki Haley and Nancy Pelosi.  (Laughter and applause.)

Well, folks, we’re making real progress on one of the most important issues we’re facing: security at the border.  The first bill I introduced was for a massive change in security at our border.  Two months ago, my team beginning [began] to work with a bipartisan group of Senators to put together the toughest, smartest, fairest border security bill in history — the best one the nation has ever seen.  It would finally provide the funding I requested early on and again in October to secure our borders. 

It includes an additional 1,300 Border Patrols — we need more agents on the border; 375 immigration judges to judge whether or not someone can come or not come and be fair about it; 1,600 asaylum off- — asylum officers; and over 100 cutting-edge inspec- — injec- — inspection machines to help detect and stop fentanyl coming in our Sou- — — our Southwest Border.  (Applause.) 

It would also give me, as President, the emergency authority to shut down the border until it can get back under control.  If that bill were the law today, I’d shut down the border right now and fix it quickly.  (Applause.)

The bipartisan bill would be good for America and help fix our broken immigration system and allow speedy access for those who deserve to be here.  And Congress needs to get it done.  (Applause.)

Folks, we’re just getting started.  That’s why I’m so optimistic about our future. 

Forty thousand projects across America and counting, rebuilding our roads and our bridges; affordable high-speed Internet everywhere in America; ripping out every poisonous lead pipe in America so every child can turn on a faucet, drink clean water without worrying about brain damage.  (Applause.)

We passed the most significant gun safety law in decades.  (Applause.)  And I will not stop until we once again ban assault weapons, as I did once.  (Applause.)

Now, look, I want you to imagine — to imagine the future nightmare if Trump is back in office.  I’m serious.  Given the nightmare when he was in office, you know what is likely to come.  Trump and his MAGA friends are trying again to get rid of the Affordable Care Act and ripping away the protections you have under that, even if you have a preexisting condition.

I won’t let that happen.  Are you with me?  (Applause.)  I will not let that happen.

And instead of saving Social Security for working people and the middle class — although he said he wanted to get rid of it or change it — cut it drastically and now he says he’s for it.  But guess what?  Trump and his MAGA friends will give another massive tax break to the super wealthy and the biggest corporations.  I won’t let that happen.  (Applause.) 

Folks, I know you’re with me. 

I know this: Trump and his MAGA friends are determined to take away your freedoms, like the freedom to vote.  Trump brags about taking away a woman’s freedom to choose.  And now, they’re hatching a plan for a national ban — a national ban.

I won’t let that happen.  Are you with me?  (Applause.)

I’ve made it clear: If the MAGA Republicans try to pass a national ban on abortion, I will veto it.  And consider that a promise made, and a promise will be kept.  (Applause.)

And if you reelect me and Kamala with a Democratic House and a bigger majority in the Senate No- — this November, imagine a future where we restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land again.  (Applause.)

A promise made, and a promise will be kept.

Let me close with this.  A few weeks —

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  President Biden, you promised to (inaudible) — you promised to declare (inaudible) —

AUDIENCE:  Four more years!  Four more years!  Four more years!

THE PRESIDENT:  Let me close with this.  A few weeks ago, along with Jim, I spoke at Mother Emanuel Church in Charleston.  I said there are extreme and dangerous forces at work in this country — dividing us, not uniting us; dragging us back to the past instead of leading us to a future; refusing to accept the results of legitimate elections; seeking, as Trump says, to “terminate” the Constitution; embracing political violence and white supremacy.

I said in Charleston, there is a second Lost Cause emerging in America.  The first Lost Cause perpetuated the lie that slavery wasn’t the cause of the Civil War.  And we’ve been paying a price for that lie for generations. 

The second Lost Cause is Trump’s Big Lie that the 2020 election was stolen.  We cannot allow that lie to live either, because it threatens our very democracy.

Folks, there are truth, and there are lies — lies told for power, lies told for profit.  We must call out these lies with a voice that is clear and unyielding. 

The Bible teaches, “We shall know the truth, and the truth shall set us free.”  (Applause.)  My friends, we must speak the truth, that America, we still — in America, we still believe in honesty, decency, dignity, respect.  We li- — we believe we are all created equal and deserve to be treated equally throughout our lives. 

We leave no one behind.  Everyone deserves a fair shot.  We give hate no safe harbor.  (Applause.)  And we stand against the evil of racism, the poison of rite suprem- — of white supremacy — today, tomorrow, and always.

And we will live in the light, not darkness.  We’ll stand with the truth and defeat the lies.  (Applause.)

And when we do, we’ll be able to look back and say something few generations will have been able to say: America’s democracy at risk — was at risk, and we saved it.

Are you with me?  (Applause.)

Let’s finish what we started.  February 3rd is your primary — the first in the nation.  Organize.  Mobilize.  Vote.  (Applause.)

And let’s remember who we are.  We’re the United States of America.  (Applause.)  And there is nothing — nothing beyond our capacity if we stand together.

God bless you all.  And may God protect our troops.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.  (Applause.)

Thank you.  Thank you. 

8:02 P.M. EST

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