Remarks by Vice President Harris at a Campaign Event | Ashwaubenon, WI
Resch Expo
Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin
6:54 P.M. CDT
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Can we hear it for Jim? (Applause.) Good evening, Wisconsin! (Applause.) Good evening, everyone.
Hey, Jim, thank you. Can we hear it for Jim again? (Applause.)
Oh, it’s good to be back. Hey, everybody. Hey, Green Bay. (Applause.) Hi, everybody.
Hey, so, many of you may know, when I was five years old, we lived in Wisconsin. (Applause.) My ch- — my parents taught for a short time here. And now, every time I land, Governor Evers will meet me, and he’ll say, “Welcome home.” (Laughs.) (Applause.)
So — but it’s so good to be back with everyone. And thank you all for taking the time out of your busy lives to be here this evening. Thank you all. (Applause.) Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
And it’s great to be with just this incredible group of leaders, including, of course, Ben Wikler, chair of the Wisconsin Democratic Party. (Applause.) There he is — Ben.
Kristin Lyerly, who we need to send to the United States Congress. (Applause.)
And, Green Bay, let’s reelect someone who has spent her career fighting for Wisconsin families and manufacturing right here in Wisconsin, your senator, Tammy Baldwin. (Applause.) We need her back in D.C.
We are also joined by tribal leaders, including President Holsey, who is here from the Stockbridge-Munsee Band, the Mohican Indians. (Applause.)
And I will say, Madam President, that I strongly believe that the relationship between Tribal nations and the United States is sacred, and that we must honor Tribal sovereignty — (applause); embrace trust and treaty obligations; and ensure tribal self-determination. And as president, I will defend those principles. (Applause.)
All right, Green Bay. So, Green Bay, we have 19 days until Election Day — 19 days. So, we are entering the homestretch — (applause) — and this is going to be a tight race until the very end.
Look, we are the underdog, and that’s why we are and I am campaigning to earn every single vote, because I intend to be a president for all Americans — (applause) — no matter their political party, where they live, or where they get their news. (Applause.)
On that point, last night, you may have seen that I went on Fox News. (Applause.) Meanwhile, Donald Trump joined a Univerge — a Univision town hall last — yesterday, where a voter asked him about January 6th.
Okay, now we here know January 6th was a tragic day — a tragic day for our country. It was a day of terrible violence, with attacks on law enforcement. A hundred and forty law enforcement officers were injured that day. Law enforcement officers were killed that day.
And what did Donald Trump say last night about January 6th? He called it quote, “a day of love.”
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: And we are all clear, the American people are exhausted with his gaslighting — (applause) — exhausted. Enough. Enough. We are ready to turn the page. (Applause.) Turn the page.
AUDIENCE: We’re not going back! We’re not going back! We’re not going back!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: We’re not going back. And the reason, Wisconsin, is because we know this election is about two very different visions for our country. One that is focused on the past, his. And, ours, that is focused on the future. (Applause.) On the future.
Because we know America is ready for a new way forward, ready for a new optimistic generation of leadership. (Applause.) All of us — it’s all of us, which is why Democrats and Republicans and independents are supporting our campaign.
In fact, yesterday, over 100 Republican leaders from across the country joined me on the campaign trail — (applause) — including — including some who had previously served in Trump’s administration. (Applause.) And I believe it is because America wants a president who will serve on behalf of all the American people. (Applause.) And that has been the story of my entire career.
My entire career, I’ve only ever had one client: the people — the people. (Applause.) As a young courtroom prosecutor, I stood up for women and children against predators. As an attorney general of California, I took on the big banks and fought to deliver $20 billion for middle-class families that faced foreclosure.
I stood up to veterans and stood up for — excuse me, stood up for veterans and students being scammed by big for-profit colleges. You know, who else — who ran a big for-profit college? Let’s not forget.
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: And I stood up for those veterans and students who were being scammed by for-profit colleges that were trying to rip them from their dreams and charge them, producing nothing in return.
I have stood up for workers who have been cheated out of the wages they were due. I have stood up for seniors who were facing elder abuse.
And as president, I will always fight for the American people. (Applause.) I will always fight for the American people.
And together, we will build a brighter future for our nation. Together. (Applause.) And it’s a future where we build what I call an “opportunity economy,” where America has an opportunity to do for our people, what we know is part of our ambition, our dreams, our aspirations — an opportunity economy where everyone has an opportunity to own a home, to build wealth, to start a business.
Under my plan, we will bring down the cost of housing — (applause) — including with a $25,000 down payment assistance so you can just get your foot in the door. (Applause.)
You’ll do the hard work of saving up and paying that mortgage, but let’s be honest. You know the American dream? Well, that was real for generations past, but not so much within the reach of people right now, and we got to deal with the real challenges that people are facing right now if we’re going to invest in the future.
Part of my plan is about helping entrepreneurs start and grow small businesses. (Applause.) Look, my mother worked hard, and there was a woman who lived two doors down from us, our neighbor, who helped my mother raise us. She was a small-business owner. I know who our small business owners are.
You are not only business leaders; you are community leaders. You are civic leaders, and it is our small businesses who are the backbone of America’s economy. I know that to be true. (Applause.) Do we have any small-business owners here tonight? Raise your hand. Yeah. (Applause.)
Under my plan, we will expand Medicare to cover home health care for seniors. Again, this is — (applause) — this is based on what I personally know.
So, look, when my mother was sick, I took care of her. And one of the things for anyone who was in that situation or has been, you know what it’s like. It’s about cooking for folks in a way that hopefully they’ll want to eat. It’s about trying to find the clothes that won’t be too rough on their skin. It’s about trying to, from time to time, think of something that can put a smile on their face or make them laugh. It’s about dignity. It’s about dignity. (Applause.)
But the reality is, it is expensive if you don’t have the ability to do it. It is expensive to try and bring somebody in. And far too many people then have to quit their job to try and take care of their elder relatives, and that’s not right. That’s not right.
And so, we also know there are so many people in what we call the “sandwich generation” — right? — who are raising young children while you taking care of your parents, and it’s almost impossible to do it all.
So, my point is this: Either, under the current system, you pay down and lose all your savings so you can qualify for Medicaid —
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Woo! (Laughter.)
THE VICE PRESIDENT: — or — you know what I’m saying. Either you have to give it all up and — and — to be able to qualify for Medicaid, or you’re going to have to quit your job or somehow figure out how you can afford to bring in help.
So, my plan is that, instead, we’re going to have Medicare cover home health care for those who need it. (Applause.) Because the details matter. The details matter.
In an opportunity economy, here’s how I see it, we must create good-paying jobs that are available to all Americans and not just those with college degrees. Okay? (Applause.)
Because here’s the thing, a college degree is not the only measure of the skills and experience of a qualified worker. (Applause.) Which is why, as president, I will get rid of unnecessary degree requirements for federal jobs, and I will challenge the private sector to do the same. (Applause.)
And we will lower costs on everything from health care to groceries and take on corporate price gouging. I’ve done it before, and I will do it again. (Applause.)
My plan will also give a middle-class tax cut to 100 million Americans, including $6,000 during the first year of your child’s life. Because here’s the thing, we know the vast majority of parents have a natural desire to parent their children well but not always the resources. And that shouldn’t be the thing that gets in the way of giving a child all that we know parents have to give.
And the $6,000, by extending that Child Tax Credit, that’s what’s going to help you buy a crib or a car seat and all the things that that child needs during that most critical phase of their development.
And I share with you some of these details to say this: I will always put the middle class and working families first. (Applause.) I come from the middle class, and I will never forget where I come from. (Applause.) Never. Never.
Now, Donald Trump has a different plan.
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Just google “Project 2025.” You know, I mean, I keep saying this, but I can’t believe they put that thing in writing. (Laughter.) You know, I just — and they didn’t just put it in writing. They bound it, and then they handed it out. (Laughter.)
And if you read it, look, it’s a detailed — it’s a detailed and dangerous blueprint for what he will do if he is elected president. You know, many of you have heard me say, I do believe that Donald Trump is an unserious man, but the consequences of him being president again are brutally serious — brutally serious. Because here’s the thing, Donald Trump will give tax cuts to billionaires and big corporations, just like he did before. He will cut Social Security and Medicare and get rid of the $35 cap on insulin for seniors.
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Check this out, when you — when you look at Project 2025, he will make it easier for companies to deny overtime pay for workers.
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: And he will impose what I call a “Trump sales tax,” which is at least a 20 percent tax on everyday basic necessities, which economists have estimated will cost the average American over $4,000 more a year.
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: And on top of all of this, Donald Trump intends to end the Affordable Care Act —
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: — and he has no plan to replace it.
AUDIENCE: Booo —
AUDIENCE MEMBER: He has concepts!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: So you watched the debate. (Laughs.)
He has, quote, “concepts of a plan.” “Concepts of a plan.”
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Come on.
But, again, it’s a serious issue, because here’s the thing. He’s going to then threaten health insurance coverage for 45 million Americans based on a concept and take us back to when insurance companies were denying people with preexisting conditions? You remember what that was?
AUDIENCE MEMBERS: We’re not going back!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, we are not going back. We are not going back. (Applause.) We are not going back. We are not going back.
AUDIENCE: We’re not going back! We’re not going back! We’re not going back!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: We’re not going back. We’re not going back.
And we are not going back, because just like Wisconsin’s state motto tells us, we will move —
AUDIENCE: Forward!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: — forward. (Applause.)
Because ours is a fight for the future, and it is a fight for freedom — (applause) — like the fundamental freedom of a woman to make decisions about her own body — (applause) — and not have her government tell her what to do.
And no matter how he’d like to gaslight us, we are clear about 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 America, one in three women live in a state with a Trump abortion ban.
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: And you’ve heard the stories — awful stories, painful stories — of the experiences people have been having since that came down.
I mean, think about it. In some of these states there’s no exception even for rape or incest, which means telling a survivor of a violation to their body that they have no right to make a decision about what happens to their body next. That’s immoral. That’s immoral.
And let us 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 — not the government. (Applause.)
And it is my pledge to you, when Congress passes a bill to restore reproductive freedom nationwide, as president of the United States, I will proudly sign it into law. (Applause.) Proudly sign it into law. Proudly.
That’s why you got to get Tammy back to the Senate, by the way. Okay? (Applause.)
Now, Donald Trump has a very different view on reproductive freedom, and he refuses continuously — he refuses continuously to acknowledge the harm he has caused. See for yourself. Let’s roll a clip.
(A video clip is played.)
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Right?
AUDIENCE: Lock him up! Lock him up! Lock him up!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Oh, okay, the courts will take care of that. Let’s take care of November. (Laughs.) (Applause.) We’ll take care of November.
Now, I mean, seriously, so first of all, no, Donald, everybody did not want Roe v. Wade to be overturned. Women are dying of sepsis because they cannot get the health care they need. They did not want this. Couples just trying to grow their family are being cut off in the middle of IVF treatments. They did not want this.
And now, I mean, it just gets more unbelievable sometimes. (Laughter.) And now, the man calls himself the “father of IVF”? (Laughter.) I mean, what does that even mean? (Laughter.) And — and all of that — well, he is the one who, by the way, is responsible for it being at risk in the first place.
And what is sadly — what is sadly interesting, I think,
is that when you listen to Donald Trump talk, it becomes increasingly clear, I think, he has no idea what he’s talking about when it comes to the health care of women
in America. (Applause.)
And across our nation — again, because this is serious, right? — you know, this is why you all are here and spending so much time when you could be doing other things.
Listen, across our nation, we are witnessing a full-on assault on other and additional hard-fought, hard-won freedoms and rights, like the freedom to vote — you see what’s happening around our country; attacks on the freedom to join a union; attacks on the freedom to just be safe from gun violence — (applause); attacks on the freedom to love who you love openly and with pride. (Applause.)
So much is on the line in this election. And this is not 2016 and it’s not 2020. The stakes are even higher because, a few months ago, the Supreme Court told the former president that he is effectively immune no matter what he does in the White House.
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Now, just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails. Think about that. He who has vowed, if reelected, he will be a dictator on day one —
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: — that he will weaponize the Department of Justice against his political enemies. He who calls Americans who disagree with him the “enemy from within,” and — yes — and says that if reelected, he would use the military to go after them.
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: He — he who has called for the, quote, “termination” of the Constitution of the United States.
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: And let us be very clear. Someone who suggests we should terminate the Constitution of the United States should never again stand behind the seal of the president of the United States. (Applause.) Never again. Never again. Never again.
So, Wisconsin, it comes down to this. I know we are all here together because we know what is at stake, and we are here together because we love our country. (Applause.) We love — we love our country. (Applause.)
And I do believe it is one of the highest forms of patriotism, of an expression of the love of our country to then fight for its ideals and to fight to realize the promise of America, and that’s what we are doing. (Applause.)
So, Election Day is in 19 days. (Applause.) And here in Wisconsin, early voting starts next Tuesday, October 22nd. (Applause.)
So, now is the time to make your plan to vote. And if you have received your ballot in the mail, please do not wait. Fill it out and return it today.
And remember, Wisconsin has same-day voter registration, so if — (applause) — right? — so if you are not registered to vote, you can register when you vote on Election Day or early.
Because, folks, the election is here, and so we know we need to organize. We need to energize. We need to mobilize. And we got to remind everybody: Your vote is your voice and your voice is your power. In a democracy, it still remains true that each individual has the power — each individual has the power to weigh in on this.
And so, Wisconsin, today I ask you: Are you ready to make your voices heard? (Applause.)
Do we believe in freedom? (Applause.)
Do we believe in opportunity? (Applause.)
Do we believe in the promise of America? (Applause.)
And are we ready to fight for it? (Applause.)
And when we fight —
AUDIENCE: We win!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: — we win.
God bless you. And God bless the United States of America. (Applause.)
END 7:23 P.M. CDT
