Transcript - Remarks: Joe Biden Speaks at a Political Event in Atlanta, GA - January 4, 2021 | Factba.se

Joe Biden

00:00:00 - 00:00:38 ()

Hello, Atlanta. Hello, hello, hello. It's good to be back. It's good to be back. Let's hear it for Allie -- With that introduction and the great lineup of entertainers you've had. You're probably disappointed hearing us speak if we'll get the entertainers back out here. And let's hear it for Stacey Abrams.

Joe Biden

00:00:38 - 00:01:09 ()

Nobody, nobody in America has done more for the right to vote than Stacey. Stacey, you're changing Georgia, you've changed America, and I want to personally thank you again. So, let's hear it for the next Public Service Commissioner, Daniel Blackman. I don't know where Daniel is, but I know he's here. Look, and one of the best mayors America has and my good friend, Keisha Lance Bottoms.

Joe Biden

00:01:09 - 00:01:12 ()

If I had three of her, I could rule the world.

Unidentified

00:01:12 - 00:01:14 ()

Joe Biden

00:01:14 - 00:01:42 ()

I -- I love her, I tell you. And let's hear it for the next United States senators, Jon Ossoff and the Rev. Warnock. I was just talking to them in the back. They're talented. They're principled. They're qualified. They're decent. They're honorable. They mean what they say and they believe what I believe the definition of America is.

Joe Biden

00:01:42 - 00:02:11 ()

It's about possibilities unlike any other nation in the world. Anything is possible. They're bending the arc of history toward justice and hope and progress, and that's not hyperbole. That's real. Folks, this is it. This is it. It's a new year, and tomorrow can be a new day for Atlanta, for Georgia, and for America.

Joe Biden

00:02:11 - 00:02:36 ()

First, let me start by saying thank you for electing me and Kamala as president and vice president of the United States. You voted in record numbers in November. Your voices were heard. Your votes were counted. The will of the people prevailed. We won three times here. Each recount, you know what I mean?

Joe Biden

00:02:36 - 00:03:03 ()

I think we should counted as three states. We won three times. And now we needed a vote again in record numbers, to make your versus -- your voices heard again and again to change Georgia, to change America again. And this is not an exaggeration. Georgia, the whole nation is looking to you to lead us forward, for real.

Joe Biden

00:03:03 - 00:03:28 ()

You know it. You cannot turn on any national television show without knowing about what's going on here and what you all are doing. The power, the power is literally in your hands. Unlike any time in my career, one state, one state can chart the course not just for the next four years but for the next generation.

Joe Biden

00:03:28 - 00:03:50 ()

By electing Jon and the reverend, you can make an immediate difference in your own lives, the lives of the people all across this country, because their election will put an end to the block in Washington on that $2,000 stimulus check, that money that will go out the door immediately to help people who are in real trouble.

Joe Biden

00:03:50 - 00:04:13 ()

Think about what it will mean to your lives, putting food on the table, paying rent, paying pomp -- your mortgage, paying down the credit card, paying the phone bill, the gas bill, the electric bill. Just look around, millions of people in this country out of work through no fault of their own, no fault of their own.

Joe Biden

00:04:13 - 00:04:49 ()

They're struggling. Many are fearful and many have given up hope. Look at the lines at food banks, hours and hours and hours. This is the United States of America, for God's sake of their food lines like we've not seen since the Depression. And they're getting longer. Families, children, people who work their whole lives and never asked for anything except a fighting chance, now they're lining up for food in America.

Joe Biden

00:04:49 - 00:05:22 ()

And the debate over $2,000 is in some abstract debate in Washington. It's about real lives, your lives, the lives of good, hard-working Americans. And if you're like millions of Americans all across this country, you need the money. You need the help and you need it now. Look, Georgia, there's no one in America with more power to make that happen than you, the citizens of Atlanta, the citizens of Georgia.

Joe Biden

00:05:22 - 00:05:48 ()

And that's not an exaggeration. That is a literal -- that's literally true. If you send Jon and the reverend to Washington, those $2,000 checks will go out the door, restoring hope and decency and honor for so many people who are struggling right now. And if you send Senators Purdue and Loeffler back to Washington, those checks will never get there.

Joe Biden

00:05:48 - 00:06:13 ()

It's just that simple. The power is literally in your hands. By electing Jon and the reverend, you can break the gridlock that has gripped Washington and this nation. With their votes in the Senate, will be able to make the progress we need to make on jobs, on healthcare, on justice, on the environment and so many important things.

Joe Biden

00:06:13 - 00:06:39 ()

By electing Jon and the reverend, you'll be voting to get the states the resources they need to get the vaccines distributed. It's a shame what's happening now. It's a literal shame. I've said it before. Getting America vaccinated will be one of the most difficult operational challenges this nation has ever faced, but we've known it for the last months.

Joe Biden

00:06:39 - 00:07:11 ()

This administration has gotten off to a god-awful start. The president spends more time whining and complaining than doing something about the problem. I don't know why he still wants the job. He doesn't want to do the work. Look, the states need help. There's a reason why the Constitution said the federal government could have deficit spending in times of crisis and states have to balance their budgets.

Joe Biden

00:07:11 - 00:07:41 ()

It's for this very thing. It's the whole idea. Your states have to balance your budgets. And what's happening? You're going to see more and more people laid off, more firefighters, police officers, schoolteachers, first responders, the people we need badly now. The states need more money to do the job. They need the federal government that'll work with them, not attack them and leave them out there hanging.

Joe Biden

00:07:41 - 00:08:06 ()

It's going to be tough to get this done, but we have to do it. People's lives literally depend on it. Our economy depends on it. And we'll get it done by electing Jon and the reverend to be voting to get this state and local government funding and the money they need -- To keep cops, firefighters, teachers, local responders, keep them on the job protecting you and looking out for your children.

Joe Biden

00:08:06 - 00:08:29 ()

Look, states have been struggling through this pandemic. They need help. And by electing Jon and the reverend, you'll be sending a powerful message to Congress and to the country that it's time for this nation for God's sake to finally come together, finally, to work together, to unite, to put the anger in the division and the divisive politics of the past behind us.

Joe Biden

00:08:29 - 00:08:59 ()

And here's one more thing. Voting for Jon and the reverend won't just be good for America. It will be good for Georgia, and here's why. When you vote for Jon and Raphael, you'll be sending two senators who will fight for you, who'll put Georgia first, who'll put you first. You have that now. You have two senators think it's more important to reward wealth that hard work in our tax system.

Joe Biden

00:08:59 - 00:09:31 ()

You have two senators now think they don't work for you, they work for Trump. I mean it. Think about it. You have two senators who think their loyalty is to Trump, not to Georgia. You have two senators who think they've sworn an oath to Donald Trump, not to the United States Constitution. But let me tell you something, I got elected when I was 29 years old and six more times to the United States Senate from Delaware, and guess what?

Joe Biden

00:09:31 - 00:10:00 ()

Not once did I think I took an oath to any president, Democrat or Republican. I took to the United States Constitution. And as president, I don't believe United States senators are going to work for me. They work for the people of Georgia; that is why I'm not asking your senators to be loyal to me. I believe they should be loyal to you, to Georgia, and the United States Constitution, period.

Joe Biden

00:10:00 - 00:10:32 ()

And if you vote for Jon and the reverend, that is what you are going to get decent, honorable men. They won't put a president or party first, and they sure won't put themselves first. They know public service is about you, it isn't about them, it's not about enriching themselves. It's about making people's lives better, about giving people a chance, just an even shot, no guarantee but an even shot.

Joe Biden

00:10:32 - 00:11:06 ()

It's time to start rewarding work and not wealth, and if you listen to Jon and the reverend, that is what they have been saying; that is what they have been campaigning on. Look, I am dealing with COVID. I am revitalizing our economy, our healthcare, our voting rights, criminal justice, racial justice, climate change, and the things that matter and will make a difference in your lives and the lives of your families.

Joe Biden

00:11:06 - 00:11:29 ()

Georgia, as dark as these days of winter seem, I am still more optimistic about this country than any time in my entire life. I really mean it. The American people now understand clearly what is at stake, and Jon and Raphael share that optimism. They saw firsthand the power of believing in the promise of America in our darkest months.

Joe Biden

00:11:29 - 00:12:09 ()

Jon learned it from my old friend and yours Jon Lewis. Rev. Warnock sees the power of faith overcome the toughest trials that life can throw -- can throw at us. He believes as I do in the quote of the German philosopher Kierkegaard who said, "Faith sees best in the dark." I know they share with me that deep faith in the American people and this country, a faith that and enabled us to overcome adversity, to lift each other up, to be a beacon of light for one another and for the world.

Joe Biden

00:12:09 - 00:12:41 ()

That is who we are, and that is what we should never give up on. Look, folks, I have said many times, and I will say it here again, there is nothing, and I say this again nothing, nothing, nothing this country isn't able to do when we decide to do it together. We have faced tougher times before, and we have always overcome, we have always overcome, we have always come out better than we went in no matter what.

Joe Biden

00:12:41 - 00:13:14 ()

I know this campaign -- this campaign has been exhausting. You put the hard work in over the last few years to get to this moment. It has been intense, it has been nonstop, but I am asking you to give everything you have got one more day, one more day. And that one more day is not hyperbole. You can change America, so if you haven't voted, vote.

Joe Biden

00:13:14 - 00:13:51 ()

If you have already voted, I am asking you one more day of making calls and safely knocking on doors. Go to Iwillvote.com/GA to find your polling location just like you did in November vote, vote, vote for Jon and the reverend. Vote. In America, as our opposition friends are finding out, all power flows from the people, from the people.

Joe Biden

00:13:51 - 00:14:23 ()

That our history, that's our law, that's our tradition, that's our Constitution, that's our democracy. Politicians cannot assert, take, or seize power. Power is given -- granted by the American people alone. And we can never give that up. It is always -- always the will of the people must prevail. So today, tomorrow vote.

Joe Biden

00:14:23 - 00:15:22 ()

Make sure your voice is heard. Do it for yourselves, do it for your families, do it for your children, do it for your state, your country. Do it for all of those who have given up so much. Think of all of those who have given up so much to secure that right. Do it for the country you love because I know you love this country and the future you want to build for everyone in this country.

Joe Biden

00:15:22 - 00:15:53 ()

Do it for all of those around the world who aspire like us to be free and the democratic people who look to us. I have been in almost 100 countries; they all look to America. The power, the power is in your hands. Jon and Rev. Warnock are counting on you, so is Kamala, so am I, and so is America. We are a nation built on honor, decency, dignity, and respect.

Joe Biden

00:15:53 - 00:16:10 ()

America is and must continue to be a beacon of light, liberty, and democracy, and unity. That is who we are. That is the United States of America. Vote, vote, vote, vote. God bless you all, and may God protect our troops. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.