Remarks by Vice President Harris at a Campaign Event Atlanta, GA
Georgia State Convocation Center
Atlanta, Georgia
7:07 P.M. EDT
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Good evening. (Applause.) Good evening, Georgia. (Applause.)
Good evening. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Kamala! Kamala! Kamala!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. Thank you. (Laughs.) Thank you. Thank you. (Laughs.) (Applause.)
My goodness. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. (Laughs.) Thank you, everyone. Thank you. Thank you. (Laughs.) (Applause.)
My goodness. Thank you all. Thank you very much. Thank you, everybody.
Oh, it’s good to be back in Georgia. (Laughs.) (Applause.) Thank you.
Everyone, can we please hear it for Tyler? (Applause.)
I want to thank Tyler for that incredible introduction. I invited him and several other young entrepreneurs to come and visit with me at the White House, and we had a, really, very long and important conversation about the future of America. And, Tyler, you represent the best of our future. Thank you for that. (Applause.) Thank you. Thank you.
And please give it up for Quavo — (applause) — and Megan. (Applause.)
So, it is so good to see everyone. And let me — let me also thank our incredible members of Congress who are with us this evening: Senator Jon Ossoff — (applause); Senator Raphael Warnock — (applause); and Representative Nikema Williams — (applause).
To Mayor Andre Dickens, thank you for welcoming me back — (applause) — to Atlanta.
And thank you to the great Stacey Abrams — (applause) — for your extraordinary leadership.
So, Georgia, it is so good to be back. And I am very clear, the path to the White House runs right through this state. (Applause.) And you all helped us win in 2020, and we going to do it again in 2024. (Applause.) Yes, we will. Yes, we will.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: (Inaudible.) (Applause.)
THE VICE PRESIDENT: So, let’s get right down — (laughs) — so — (applause) — so, I’m going to get i- — I’m — I’m going to get into some business now. Okay? (Laughter.) I’m going to get into some business now. All right.
So, Georgia, as many of you know, before — and have a seat, if you have a chair. (Laughter.)
As many of you know, before I was elected vice president and before I was elected a United States senator, I was an elected attorney general and an elected district attorney. (Applause.) And before that, I was a courtroom prosecutor. (Applause.)
So, in those roles, I took on perpetrators of all kinds — (applause): predators who abused women — (applause); fraudsters who ripped off consumers — (applause); cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain — (applause). So, hear me when I say I know Donald Trump’s type. (Applause.) I know the type. And I have been dealing with people like him my entire career.
For example, as attorney general of California, I took on one of our country’s largest for-profit colleges that was scamming students. Well, Donald Trump ran a for-profit college that scammed students.
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: As a prosecutor, I specialized in child sexual abuse cases and sexual abuse cases. Well, Trump was found liable for committing sexual abuse.
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: And as an attorney general, I held the big Wall Street banks accountable for fraud. Donald Trump was just found guilty of fraud — (applause) — 34 counts.
So, in this —
AUDIENCE: Lock him up!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: So, in this campaign —
AUDIENCE: Lock him up! Lock him up! Lock him up!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: (Inaudible.) (Inaudible.)
So, in this campaign, I will proudly put my record against his any day of the week — (applause) — any day of the week, including, for example, on the issue of immigration.
So, I was the attorney general of a border state. In that job, I walked underground tunnels between the United States and Mexico on that border with law enforcement officers. I went after transnational gangs, drug cartels, and human traffickers that came into our country illegally. I prosecuted them in case after case, and I won.
Donald Trump — (applause) — Donald Trump, on the other hand, has been talking a big game about securing our border, but he does not walk the walk — (applause) — or as my friend Quavo would say, he does not walk it like he talks it. (Applause.)
Where’s Quavo? (Laughs.)
So, look, our administration worked on the most significant border security bill in decades. Some of the most conservative Republicans in Washington, D.C., supported the bill. Even the Border Patrol endorsed it. It was all set to pass. But at the last minute, Trump directed his allies in the Senate to vote it down.
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Right.
He tanked — tanked the bipartisan deal because he thought it would help him win an election —
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: — which goes to show Donald Trump does not care about border security; he only cares about himself. (Applause.)
And when I am president, I will work to actually solve the problem. (Applause.)
So, here is my pledge to you. As president, I will bring back the border security bill that Donald Trump killed, and I will sign it into law — (applause) — and show Donald Trump what real leadership looks like. (Applause.)
But make no mistake, this campaign is not just about us versus Donald Trump. Truly, this campaign is about two very different visions for our nation — (applause): one focused on the future, the other focused on the past. (Applause.)
We believe in a future where every person has the opportunity to build a business — (applause) — to own a home, to build intergenerational wealth — (applause); a future with affordable health care — (applause) — affordable childcare, paid leave. (Applause.)
And all of this is to say: Building up the middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency. (Applause.) Because we here all know, when our middle class is strong, America is strong. (Applause.)
And to keep our middle class strong, families need relief from the high cost of living so that they have a chance not just to get by but to get ahead. (Applause.)
And, yes, it is true that by many indicators, our economy is the strongest in the world — (applause) — but while inflation is down and wages are up, prices are still too high. (Applause.) You know it, and I know it. (Applause.)
And when we win this election, here’s what we’re going to do about it.
On day one, I will take on price gouging and bring down costs. (Applause.)
We will ban more of those hidden fees and surprise late charges that banks and other companies use to pad their profits. (Applause.)
We will take on corporate landlords and cap unfair rent increases. (Applause.)
And we will take on Big Pharma to cap prescription drug costs for all Americans. (Applause.)
Our plan will lower costs and save many middle-class families thousands of dollars a year. But Donald Trump has a different plan in mind, one that would raise prices on middle-class families. Just look at his Project 2025 agenda.
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: I take it you’ve seen it. (Laughter.)
Project 2025 is a plan to weaken the middle class, be clear. And Donald Trump intends to cut Social Security and Medicare.
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: He intends to give tax breaks to billionaires and big corporations.
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: He intends to gut our investments in clean energy jobs.
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: He intends to end the Affordable Care Act —
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: — to take us back to a time when insurance companies had the power to deny people with preexisting conditions. Do you guys remember what that was? Children with asthma. Breast cancer survivors. Grandparents with diabetes.
Georgia, America has tried these failed policies before, and we are not —
AUDIENCE: Going back!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: — going back. (Applause.) We’re not going back. We’re not going back.
AUDIENCE: We’re not going back! We’re not going back! We’re not going back!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: That’s right.
AUDIENCE: We’re not going back! We’re not going back! We’re not going back!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: And we are not going back because ours is a fight for the future and it is a fight for freedom. (Applause.)
Across our nation, we are witnessing a full-on assault on hard-fought, hard-won freedoms and rights: the freedom to vote — (applause); the freedom to be safe from gun violence — (applause); the freedom to live without fear of bigotry and hate — (applause); the freedom to love who you love openly and with pride — (applause); the freedom to learn and acknowledge our true and full history — (applause); and the freedom of a woman to make decisions about her own body — (applause) — and not have her government tell her what to do. (Applause.)
Ours is a fight for the future and for freedom. And I don’t have to tell folks in Atlanta that generations of Americans before us led the fight for freedom. And now the baton is in our hands — (applause) — each and every one of us.
And we love our country. We love our country. And I believe it is the highest form of patriotism to fight for the ideals of our country. (Applause.)
And so, we, who believe in the sacred freedom to vote, will finally pass the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. (Applause.)
We, who believe in the freedom to live safe from gun violence, will finally pass universal background checks — (applause), red flag laws — (applause), and an assault weapons ban — (applause).
We, who believe in reproductive freedom — (applause) — will stop Donald Trump’s extreme abortion bans. And when Congress passes a law to restore reproductive freedoms — (applause) — as president of the United States, I will sign it into law. (Applause.)
So, November 5th — November 5th is in 98 days. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE MEMBER: (Inaudible.)
THE VICE PRESIDENT: An- — (Laughs.) (Applause.)
So, in 98 days — and let’s level set. Friends, let’s level set. We have a fight in front of us. (Applause.) We have a fight in front of us, and we are the underdogs in this race. We are.
But you see, this is a people-powered campaign. (Applause.) Ours is a people-powered campaign.
In fact, after I announced my candidacy, we saw the best week of grassroots fundraising in presidential campaign history. (Applause.) And if you go to KamalaHarris.com, you can help us build on that success. (Applause.)
So, the momentum in this race is shifting. And there are signs that Donald Trump is feeling it. (Laughter and applause.) You may have noticed.
So, last week, you may have seen, he pulled out of the debate in September he had previously agreed to.
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: So — so, here’s the thing. Here- — here’s the funny thing about that. Here’s the funny thing about that. So, he won’t debate, but he and his running mate sure seem to have a lot to say about me. (Applause.)
And, by the way, don’t you find some of their stuff to just be plain weird? (Applause.)
Well, Donald — (applause) — I do hope you’ll reconsider to meet me on the debate stage — (applause) — because, as the saying goes, if you’ve got something to say, say it to my face. (Laughs.) (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Kamala! Kamala! Kamala!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
So, Georgia, in the next 98 days, we have our work cut out for us. And this is not going to be easy. This is hard work, but we like hard work. Hard work is good work. (Applause.)
So, Georgia, today I ask you: Are you ready to get to work?
AUDIENCE: Yes! (Applause.)
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Do we believe in freedom?
AUDIENCE: Yes! (Applause.)
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Do we believe in opportunity?
AUDIENCE: Yes! (Applause.)
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Do we believe in the promise of America?
AUDIENCE: Yes! (Applause.)
THE VICE PRESIDENT: And are we ready to fight for it?
AUDIENCE: Yes! (Applause.)
THE VICE PRESIDENT: And when we fight —
AUDIENCE: We win!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: — we win!
God bless you. God bless the United States of America. (Applause.)
END 7:27 P.M. EDT
