Remarks by Vice President Harris at a Political Event

Washington Hilton

Washington, DC

3:24 P.M. EDT

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Good afternoon, everyone.  (Applause.)  Good afternoon.  Please have a seat.  Good afternoon.  Please have a seat.  (Applause.) 

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

Well, it’s good to see everyone so energetic this afternoon.  (Laughs.)  (Applause.)  Please have a seat.  Please have a seat.     

Good afternoon to everyone.  And I want to thank a number of people before I begin.  I want to thank Chair Jaime Harrison for all you are doing and have done for our party.  (Applause.)  He has been working around the clock.  I see Jaime everywhere I go around the country, and he has definitely put us on the path to victory in November.  (Applause.)

I want to thank all our event hosts and chairs and all the elected leaders who are here, members of the Congressional Black Caucus who are here.  (Applause.)  And we are going to be together tonight, celebrating at the Phoenix Awards.  And I thank you all for the work that you are doing every day.

     AUDIENCE MEMBER:  You know!

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  You know. 

     AUDIENCE MEMBER:  You know!  (Applause.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  (Laughs.)  And to everyone here, there’s a — there’s so many friends that are in this room and people that I have known forever.  And I want to thank you all, including the women that I went to Howard University with — (applause) — when we joined our sorority.  (Laughs.)

So, friends, here, let’s level set: Fifty-two days to go.  (Applause.)  Fifty-two days to go.  And I know the folks who are here, and many of us — most of us have been involved in these elections every four years.  And every four years, we say, “This is the one.”  This here is the one.  (Applause.)  This is the one. 

This is probably the most important election of our lifetime and in the life of our country for so many critical reasons.  And as you all know, this campaign and this election cycle really is about two very different visions for our country — a contrast that was very clear, I think, in the debate on Tuesday night.  (Applause.)

So, on Tuesday, I — I talked about my plans on how we will bring down costs, how we will build our economy, how we will predi- — protect reproductive freedom and keep our nation safe.  (Applause.)

But that is not what we heard from Donald Trump.  Instead, it was the same old, tired show.  He was running from that same tired playbook that we’ve heard for years.  No plans did he offer for how he would address the needs of the American people.

 You know, at one point, I spoke to people who supported him before and invited them to think about how, when he has his rallies, he will talk full time about fictional characters — (laughter) — about windmills causing cancer.  He will talk about himself and his grievances full time, but he will not talk about you and your needs and your desires and your concerns and your dreams and your ambitions. 

And that point, as much as anything else, is what brings this election cycle and our campaign into stark relief.  This has to be about the people — the people — the people of America.  (Applause.)  And for that reason, I say — and I’ve been doing rallies since the debate, and I’m going to stay on the road for the next 52 days — (applause) — but for that reason, I say: It is time to turn the page.  It is time to turn the page, because America is ready for a new way forward.  (Applause.)  We are ready for a new way forward.

And we are ready for a new generation of leadership that is optimistic about what we can do together.  And that is why Democrats, Republicans, independents are supporting our campaign, because they know while Donald Trump is trying to pull our nation backward, we are fighting for the future with a sense of optimism, with a sense of joy, dare I say.  (Applause.)

And we are fighting for a future with affordable childcare, with paid leave and affordable health care; a future where we will build what I call an “opportunity economy” so that every American has an opportunity to own a home, to build wealth, to start a business. 

Because, look, I am a — I grew up a middle-class kid.  My mother — many of you know my sister, Maya — our mother, she worked very hard, and she was able to save up so that by the time I was a teenager, she was able to buy our first home.  I know where I come from.  I know where I come from.  (Applause.)

But — and on the other side, as I mentioned the other night, you got somebody who, on a silver platter, was handed $400 million and filed bankruptcy six times.  So, when you look at how we each come at our perspective on the needs, the wants, or just even — just measure us based on a level of empathy or concern or care about the well-being of other people — and we know the contrast is stark, and we know Donald Trump has a very different plan than ours. 

Look, for example, at Project 2025.  On a number of levels, including — I was in Pennsylvania yesterday.  I was talking to folks there.  Folks are very concerned, because he will again give billionaires and big corporations massive tax cuts, while making life far more expensive for the middle class. 

He intends to cut Social Security and Medicare.  Remember what that was like?  Many people here actually live in D.C.  You’ll remember — I remember quite well, because I was in the United States Senate.  He tried, when he was president, 60 times to end the Affordable Care Act. 

I was on the Senate floor as a United States senator in the middle of the night when — do you guys remember? — and we were waiting for that one last vote from the late, great John McCain.  (Applause.)  Remember that?  And remember when he busted through the doors of the chamber and went to the well of the Senate and said, “No, you don’t.  No, you don’t.”  (Applause.)  Because he, like we, understand that when we’re talking about something like the Affordable Care Act, we are talking about the needs of so many people who deserve to be seen and supported. 

He wants to impose what I call a “Trump sales tax,” which would cost the average family, as economists have measured, nearly $4,000 more a year. 

 And then we look at, again, what he was talking about on the ACA the other night.  So, he said he intends to replace it.  So, he’s saying that again: He intends to replace it.  And then remember what he said about how he was going to do it?  (Laughter.)  Yeah, you guys watched the debate.  The “concepts” — “concepts of a plan” — I’m quoting — “concepts of a plan.”  No actual plan. 

He’s going to threaten the health insurance coverage of 45 million people in our country based on a concept.  And what that would mean is taking us back to those days when insurance companies could deny people with preexisting conditions.  You remember what that was like? 

Well, as I say everywhere I go: We are not going back.  (Applause.)  We are not going back.  Because — because ours is a fight for the future, and it is a fight for freedom, like the fundamental freedom of a woman to make decisions about her own body and not have her government tell her what to do.  (Applause.)

And we know how we got here on that issue, because Donald Trump hand-selected three members of the United States Supreme Court with the intention that they would undo the protections of Roe v. Wade.  And as he intended, they did.  And now, more than 20 states in our nation have a Trump abortion ban, many with no exceptions for rape or incest, which is immoral.

And when Congress passes a bill to restore reproductive freedom, as president of the United States, I will so proudly sign that bill into law.  (Applause.)  I will proudly sign that bill into law. 

Across our nation, we are witnessing a full-on attack on other hard-fought, hard-won freedoms and rights, like the freedom to vote.  I was just talking with some folks from Georgia.  I mean, they passed a law in Georgia that make it illegal to give people food and water for standing in line to vote.  The hypocrisy abounds.  You know, whatever happened to “love thy neighbor,” right?  (Applause.) 

Full-on attack on the freedom to vote.  Attacks on the freedom to be safe from gun violence, the freedom to breathe clean air and drink clean water, and the freedom to love who you love openly and with pride.  (Applause.) 

And the consequence of these attacks are very real, in terms of what has been, then, restrictions on rights but also, I believe, an intention to create fear in our country; an intention to divide us; an intention to have us, as Americans, pointing fingers at each other.  That’s not a sign of strength in a leader, to pit the people of our country against each other, to make the people of our country live in a state of fear that their fundamental freedom to be would be attacked. 

This is what we’re up against.  You know, I talked at the convention about the fact that he is an unserious man — (laughter) — but the consequences of what he says and what he does are extraordinarily serious — extraordinarily serious.  (Applause.)

And so, we all here know — and it’s why you all have taken the time to be with me on this afternoon — we all know there is so much on the line in this election.  And this election is different in many ways but in one very, very specific and profound way, very different from 2016 or 2020, which is this: Two months ago, the United States Supreme Court told the former president that he is effectively immune no matter what he does in the White House. 

Now, let’s put this in the context that it deserves.  This is a man who said he would be a dictator on day one.  Right?  This is a man who has said he would weaponize the Department of Justice against his political enemies. 

So, imagine the meaning of that court ruling on this individual and what we know he has done and is prepared to do.  Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails. 

And we have heard from the people who saw him every day at the White House — his national security advisor, defense secretary, his chief of staff, his vice president — and they have all warned — with great courage that they are speaking openly and publicly, they have warned us, the American people, that Donald Trump is not fit to be president of the United States.  (Applause.)

So, we know what is at stake.  All of that tells us what is at stake. 

But I will say this to all the friends here: All of that being said, we are not fighting against something as much as we are fighting for something.  (Applause.)  We are fighting for something.  We love our country.  That’s why we are here together.  (Applause.)  We love our country.  And I do believe it is one of the highest forms of patriotism to fight for the ideals of our country — to fight to realize the promise of America. 

 So, that’s what this is about.  That’s what this is about, as much as anything else: fighting for the promise of America with a sense of optimism, with a sense of ambition, with a sense of joy and hope about what we are and what we have yet to do.  (Applause.)  That’s what this is about. 

So, Election Day is in 52 days — 52 days.  And early voting starts even sooner.  So, Arizona, early voting starts in 25 days; in Michigan, vote by mail in 12 days; in Wisconsin, mail ballots drop this upcoming Thursday.  The clock is ticking.  (Laughter.)

So, that being said, in the next 52 days — you all have done so much by being here and what you’ve already given and what you’ve given up to be here — but I’m going to ask you for more.  (Laughter.)  I — I am going to ask you, and I ask you now, that in the next 52 days, as you are able, please join our team in our battleground states to help register folks to vote and get them to the polls.  (Applause.) 

As you are able, please sign up to make calls.  You can do it from home.  You don’t need to go anywhere to do it. 

And talk with your neighbors and your friends about the stakes.  And, you know, here is how I define “neighbor.”  I — I believe that the strength of our spirit is such that in the face of a stranger, we should see a neighbor, right?  So, talk with your neighbors, whoever they voted for last time.  Seriously. 

Let’s talk about the things that we care most about.  Because in the midst of this moment, where these forces are trying to divide us, I know that we all here know that the vast majority of us have so much more in common than what separates us. 

And I think about our election as, yes, we have to win.  And we will win, by the way.  (Applause.)  We will win.  We will win. 

And in the process of getting there, let’s build community.  Let’s build coalitions.  Right?  Let’s — let’s bring folks together, because the effect of that will last beyond the next 52 days and will be in the best interest of the strength and well-being of our nation. 

And that’s, after all, what a democracy is about — everyone participating, seeing themselves in each other, and just being active, knowing that we, each of us, can make a difference.  That’s the beauty of our democracy.  Every individual can make a difference and strengthen this beautiful nation of ours. 

So, this is our fight.  The baton is now in our hands.  We stand on the broad shoulders of so many who came before us.  The baton is now in our hands in this fight for the future and for freedom. 

     And as I say at every rally when I finish speaking: When we fight —

     AUDIENCE:  We win!

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — we win.  (Applause.)  

God bless you.  And God bless the United States of America.  God bless you.  (Applause.)  

                             END                3:40 P.M. EDT