Remarks by Vice President Harris at a Political Event | San Francisco, CA

Palace of Fine Arts Theatre
San Francisco, California

3:16 P.M. PDT

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Good afternoon!  (Applause.)  Oh, good afternoon, everyone.  Good afternoon.  (Applause.)

Oh, it’s good to be home!  (Laughs.)  (Applause.)  Oh, it’s good to be home. 

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

Okay.  Come on.  We have work to do.  Everybody, sit down.  (Laughs.)

     Oh, my goodness.  Oh, it really is good to be home and to see so many friends.  My goodness.  I have known, I mean, most of the people here my entire career.  You all are such a big part of my journey, every step of the way.  (Applause.)  Oh, goodness.   Thank you.  And always providing encouragement and support.  I thank you all so very much.

And I especially want to thank our current and future member of Congress, Lateefah Simon — (applause) — where is she? — who is going to follow in the great footsteps of an extraordinary national and international leader, our own Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi.  (Applause.)  There she is. 

And to all the incredible state and local leaders who are here today, all the leaders who are here, I thank you so, so very much.  It is truly good to be home. 

So, all right, we know how to get to work, so let us level set: 38 days.  (Applause.)  Thirty-eight days.  And a lot of us have been doing this for a while.  And every four years we say, “This is the one.”  Well, this here is the one.  (Applause.)  This is the one.

This is probably the most important election of our lifetime and one of the most important elections in the lifetime of our nation.  (Applause.)

And as many of you have heard me say, in this cycle, I do believe that this election is about two very different visions for our nation, and we see that contrast every day on the campaign trail. 

Consider, for example, the last two weeks.  I’ve been to Georgia in the last — I’ve been many, many times, but in the last two weeks to highlight the dangerous consequences of Trump abortion bans.  And some of you may have heard the most recent stories coming out of Georgia.

I recently did an event with Oprah Winfrey where a — a mother talked about the death of her daughter because of the abortion ban in Georgia.

I traveled to Pennsylvania to lay out my vision for our economy and talk about what I know that we here in California understand to be so much opportunity and we have so much optimism about what we have yet to do, and that being the thing that fuels us in terms of knowing how we can strengthen our economy. 

I was recently in Arizona — just yesterday, actually — (laughter) — long days — (laughs) — (applause) — long days — to present my plan for how we strengthen the border.

Meanwhile, from Donald Trump, it’s been the same old, tired show, the same tired playbook we have heard for years with no plan for how he would address the needs of the American people.  And that is why I am convinced — and the people I meet across America, I do believe, are convinced — that it is time to turn the page.  It is time to turn the page.  (Applause.)

America is ready to chart a new way forward.  America is ready for a new generation of leadership that is optimistic about what we can do together.  And I do believe that is why Democrats and Republicans and independents are supporting our campaign, because they want a president who works for all the American people.  (Applause.)

And I have had the blessing and good fortune to work with a lot of people who are here.  And you know me; we have worked together for years.  My entire career, I have fought for the people, whether it was at the beginning of my career as a courtroom prosecutor in Oakland and then elected district attorney of San Francisco — (applause) — where I stood up for women and children against predators who abused them. 

As attorney general of California, I defended communities that were being poisoned by polluters and Big Oil.  I stood up for veterans and students being scammed by big for-profit colleges, for workers who were being cheated out of the wages they were due, for seniors who have faced elder abuse. 

Many of you were with me during those fights.  And so, together, we stand again in a fight for our future.  And we fight for a future where, for example, we can build what I call an “opportunity economy” — (applause) — where everyone can compete and has a real chance to succeed; where middle-class families have security and stability, and all Americans, regardless of who they are or where they start, can build wealth for themselves and their children. 

To build that opportunity economy, I will bring together labor with small businesses and founders and innovators and major companies, because, as I said this week in Pittsburgh, I am both a devout public servant and a capitalist.

I believe — (applause) — and I believe unions helped build the middle class and that every worker should have a right to join a union.  (Applause.)

I believe in active partnership between government and the private sector, and that it is one of the most effective ways to fully unlock economic opportunity. 

And I believe that to build a strong economy, we must engage those who create most of the jobs in America. 

I have also pledged that building a strong middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency — (applause) — because we here know that when the middle class of America is strong, America is strong.  (Applause.) 

And to support the middle class, the first thing we must do is lower costs.  Under my plan, more than 100 million Americans will get a middle-class tax break, which includes a $6,000 tax credit — a child tax credit for new parents during the first year of a child’s life to help them buy a crib or a car seat during that most fundamental period of their child’s development — (applause) — because we know the vast majority of parents have a desire to parent their children well but not always the resources to do it. 

And I know the folks here who also understand that our approach is always going to be that the children of the community are the children of the community.  (Applause.)

We will go after the biggest drivers of costs for the middle class, including housing, grocery prices, and prescription drugs to bring those costs down.  (Applause.) 

And to build an opportunity economy, we need to invest in American innovation and entrepreneurship, including by making it easier to start a new business.  (Applause.)  And we have a whole lot of folks who are start-ups, who are small businesses who are here who understand exactly what I’m talking about and why it is important.  (Applause.)

So, part of my plan is, as president, I will make the startup deduction 10 times richer and raise it from $5,000 to $50,000.  (Applause.)  Because what we all know is, in 2024, it is nearly impossible that anyone would be able to start up a small business with just a $5,000 tax deduction. 

My intention is to increase access to capital for small businesses that want to expand, understanding that when they have access to the resources that can feed their natural ambition, their hard-work ethic, their — their desire and dream to actually create, innovate, and strengthen their community, we should give them that access, understanding not everybody was handed $400 million on a silver platter and then filed for bankruptcy six times.  (Applause.)

And as a proud daughter of California, I know the power — (applause) — I know the power of American innovation.  And as president, I will ensure that we lead the world, then, in every way, including in the industries of the future, and that America wins the competition for the 21st century. 

And so, we will be intentional about investing in biomanufacturing and aerospace; remain dominant in AI, quantum computing, blockchain, digital assets, and other emerging technologies; expand clean energy innovation and manufacturing — (applause); and invest — and invest in factory towns and workers — workers who help build our country and deserve to be seen — (applause) — and deserve the resources to build the next generation of our economy.

And let’s make sure that this work, then, is about not only investing in what we can do to build but investing in workers.  That is a big part of how I think about all this. 

And so — (applause) — I say these things to give you a few examples of a very different perspective that we bring to what we can do building the future of America and my opponent. 

Because you see, and I think everyone here knows, Donald Trump has a very different plan.  And in many ways, he is an unserious man.  He is.  (Applause.)  He is an unserious man.  However, the consequences of putting him back in the White House are extremely serious — extremely serious.  (Applause.)

Look, for example, at Project 2025.

     AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  By the way, Nancy, sometimes I think about this: I can’t believe they put that thing in writing.  (Laughter.)  I mean, they not only put it in writing, they published it.  They bound it, published it, and passed it out.  (Laughter.)  Google it.  (Laughter.)  Because what you’re going to find is that there’s a whole agenda that my opponent, the former president, has.

He intends to cut Social Security and Medicare.  Now understand what that means.  Understand how many seniors in our country have as their only income their Social Security benefits.  Understand what that would mean — Medicare, what that does to give people dignity in terms of making the prescription medication a doctor has required they take to alleviate their pain, to make that affordable.

And he wants to impose what I call a “Trump sales tax,” a 20 percent tax on everyday basic necessities, which economists have analyzed and have determined it will cost the average family nearly $4,000 more per year. 

And top economists have reviewed both of our plans and compared them.  Goldman Sachs says my plan would grow our economy and his plan would shrink it.  Sixteen Nobel Prize-winning economists say he would reignite inflation.  And Moody’s has assessed he would ignite a recession by the middle of next year. 

And on top of all of this, Donald Trump intends to end the Affordable Care Act. 

     AUDIENCE:  Booo —
    
THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And some of you may have watched the debate.  And so — (applause) — I’m trying to get another one, by the way.  I’m trying to get another debate.  I really am.  (Laughs.)  Trying.

But on the issue of the Affordable Care Act — back to the — the consequences that are at stake.  At the debate, he said — about getting — trying to get rid of the Affordable Care Act, he said — well, he has “concepts of a plan” to replace it.

     AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  “Concepts.”  “Concepts of a plan.” 

So, again, the serious nature of this is as follows: He’s going to threaten the health insurance of 45 million people in our country based on a concept — based on a concept — which would take us back to a time when insurance companies could deny people with preexisting conditions.  You remember what that was like for so many people?  A child with asthma.  A survivor of breast cancer.  A grandparent with diabetes.  The consequences are brutally serious. 

And as I say, then, everywhere I go — and I’m traveling our country — as I say everywhere, and often the rallies, which are quite a nice size — (laughter and applause) — what I say and they repeat back is “We are not going back.”  (Applause.) 
We are not going back.  We are not going back. 

Because truly, ours is a fight for the future, and it is a fight for freedom, like the freedom to vote, the freedom to be safe from gun violence — (applause) — the freedom to love who you love openly and with pride — (applause) — and the freedom of a woman to make decisions about her own body and not have her government tell her what to do.  (Applause.)

And on that point, let’s remind folks of how we got here.  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 they did as he intended.  And now, in more than 20 states in our country, there are Trump abortion bans. 

One in three women lives in a state with a — a Trump abortion ban, many with no exceptions even for rape and incest, which is immoral to tell a survivor — (applause) — of a crime, a — a violation of her body that she has no right to decide what happens to her body next.  It’s immoral. 

 So, all of that to say, elections matter.  Elections matter.  (Applause.)  And when Congress passes a bill to restore reproductive freedom as president of the United States, I will proudly sign it into law.  (Applause.)  I will proudly sign it into law.  Proudly.

Thirty-eight days.  (Laughs.)  (Applause.)  Thirty-eight days. 

So — so, what we know, which is why we’re all here together, is so much is on the line in this election.  And let us also remember this is not 2016 and it is not 2020 for many reasons, including because a few months ago, the United States Supreme Court basically told the former president that he is and would be effectively immune from anything he did in the White House. 

     AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  But think about what this is.  Think — but think about — think about this. 

So, whereas before, at least, there was some threat of accountability and consequence, and now there is essentially an explicit — explicit — direction that there will be no consequence. 

Let’s put this in context.  This is a man who has vowed he would be a dictator on day one.  He said he would weaponize the Department of Justice against his political enemies.  He has called for, I quote, “the termination of the Constitution of the United States.”  Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails. 

All of this is at stake, and that is why we are here together.  And we are here together because we love our country.  We love our country.  We love our country.  (Applause.)  And I do believe — I believe it is the highest form of patriotism to fight, then, for the ideals of our country and fight to realize the promise of America.  And that’s what this is about. 

Election Day is in 38 days.  And early voting and vote by mail have already started in some states, including Michigan, North Carolina, and Wisconsin.  So, the election is kind of here.  Okay?  And I’ll share with the friends some notes from the field. 

This race is as close as it could possibly be.  Okay?  This race is as close as it could possibly be.  This is a margin-of-error race.  I know there is a lot of enthusiasm, and we see what is possible.  This is a margin-of-error race.  And we are the underdog, and I am running like the underdog, because I do believe we are the underdog in this race.  Okay?  And our campaign is doing the work we need to do on the airwaves and voter education in — in every county of every battleground state.  And the more that people hear about our plans, the more they rally around our campaign. 

So, we are leaving it all on the field.  And your support and what you have done today and every day leading up and, I know, what you’re going to do over the next 38 days is absolutely critical to all we have achieved so far and all we will achieve. 

The leaders in this room have done so much already, and — (laughter) — I’m going to ask for a little bit more.  (Applause.)  Which is this — which is this — which is this: You are all part of — each one of you are part of large networks.  And I ask you, then, to activate those networks and tell your friends and your colleagues and your neighbors about what’s at stake.  Tell them why you took the time to be here today and what’s at stake for you. 

Reach out to people you know.  Talk to strangers at the grocery store.  It’s okay.  They’ll be fine.  They’ll like you.  (Laughter.)  

But I think that in these last many years, there’s something that’s been happening where people have been made to feel that they might be alone, and — and people are desperate for connections.  I was saying to some of the friends, in this campaign, our highest imperative is we must win.  There’s no question.  But what I really would like is, in the process of winning, that we be intentional about building community and building coalitions.  Let’s do that.  Let’s do that.  (Applause.)

Let’s remind people that in spite of these forces that are trying to divide us as a nation, in spite of these forces that would have us pointing fingers at each other, let’s remind people that the vast majority of us have so much more in common than what separates us.  That’s our power and that’s our strength.  (Applause.)

And so, that’s what I — I ask of you to do more.  And let them know also how close this race is and how they can make a difference.  And tell them we need their help also in the next 38 days.  And — and to everyone here, I just thank you so much. 

For anyone who wants, join our team in battleground states.  Help people in terms of what we’re doing to register folks to vote and getting them to the polls.  What you can do — even from home, anywhere you want, in your car, wherever — to — to make phone calls and sign folks up, that’s making a difference.  We’ve got a whole effort coming out of California where people are making calls to battleground states.  It’s really make a di- — making a difference. 
    
And please remind people, ultimately, that this fight is for our freedom and for our future.  And, you know, folks, generations before us have fought for all of this stuff, and the baton is now in our hands.  The baton is now in our hands.  (Applause.)
    
     And so, as I say at every rally, 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.)

     We will win!  We will win!  (Applause.)

                                 END                3:41 P.M. PDT