Remarks: Joe Biden Holds a Reception for the Kennedy Center Honorees - December 4, 2022


Joe Biden Holds a Reception for the Kennedy Center Honorees [2022-12-04]
Joe Biden
America
White House
Kennedy Center
Nashville
Ireland

Joe Biden
00:00:00 - 00:00:21 ()
Hello, hello, hello. [Applause] Please -- please have a seat. Welcome, everyone. Jill and I are truly honored to host for our -- some of our most favorite events here at the White House. This ranks right up there.
Very Positive
Joe Biden
00:00:21 - 00:00:42 ()
And a special thanks to our friend David Rubenstein. David, you've become a friend. [Applause] David -- David is Chairman of the Board of the Kennedy Center here and probably puts more time in there than does in his business. But thank you, David, for all you do.
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Joe Biden
00:00:42 - 00:00:53 ()
And President of the Kennedy, Deborah Rutter. Deborah, raise your hand. Let people see where you are. [Applause]
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Joe Biden
00:00:53 - 00:00:56 ()
And to all of you: supporters of the arts, and families and friends of this year's honorees.
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Joe Biden
00:00:56 - 00:00:58 ()
You know, this reception is a fitting way to cap what has been a special week.
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Joe Biden
00:00:58 - 00:01:22 ()
On Monday, Jill unveiled the theme of this year's holiday at the White House. A theme that's reflected in the incredible decor that you see in every room that's grounded in the very idea of America: "We the People." "We the People." The first words of the Constitution. The beating heart of our democracy. The story of our nation that makes America, America.
Slightly Positive
Joe Biden
00:01:22 - 00:01:35 ()
The power of democracy is something I talked about a few days before, when President Macron was here and -- the President of France -- we hosted on our first state visit. France, our oldest ally.
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Joe Biden
00:01:35 - 00:01:55 ()
We talked about the inflection point we face as free nations and how the choices we make today and in the next several months or the next years as well are going to determine the future for decades to come -- dealing with everything from an unjust war in Ukraine to the climate crisis to the global economy on the move.
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Joe Biden
00:01:55 - 00:02:05 ()
But we share confidence and optimism that we will meet this moment because of our faith in "We the People." And that's the truth.
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Joe Biden
00:02:05 - 00:02:26 ()
And our -- at our state dinner, Jill and I asked an artist to capture the faith as only an artist can do. Jon Batiste was our guest, the son of a famed -- [applause] -- the son of a famed New Orleans family of jazz musicians and civil rights leaders. An Oscar and Grammy winner.
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Joe Biden
00:02:26 - 00:02:39 ()
He sang his song called "Freedom" and spoke about the power of art that brings people together despite our differences to see each other, to see ourselves in one other, and to unite in common cause.
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Joe Biden
00:02:39 - 00:03:02 ()
Tonight, we celebrate a truly exceptional -- and this no -- that's not an exaggeration -- a truly exceptional grout [sic] of artists -- group of artists -- [applause] -- who embody the very spirit of "We the People." At this year's Kennedy Center honorees, they're a -- an incredible group of people.
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Joe Biden
00:03:02 - 00:03:05 ()
In "We the People," we see character.
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Joe Biden
00:03:05 - 00:03:36 ()
We see Amal Clooney's husband. [Laughter] George is one of the most celebrated actors, directors, producers, and screenwriters of our time. Two Academy Awards. One of only three people nominated in six different categories. A -- you know, he portrays iconic characters: an heroic doctor, a daring astronaut, a wise-cracking con-man. The list goes on.
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Joe Biden
00:03:36 - 00:03:53 ()
I res- -- one thing I respect most about George -- and I mean this sincerely -- is his deep empathy. He's never forgotten before the fame, back home, what it was like back in Kentucky and Ohio as a kid. A kid with dyslexia. A college dropout figuring out life.
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Joe Biden
00:03:53 - 00:04:10 ()
After missing his dream of playing baseball for the Cincinnati Reds -- you think he's joking; I'm not joking -- he chases a new dream in Hollywood. Working on a tobacco farm to earn some scratch. Sleeping in his friend's closet with nowhere to go until he finally gets his break.
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Joe Biden
00:04:10 - 00:04:33 ()
No matter where he is or what he does, he always remembers where he came from. You know, he's the son of Nick and Nina, both of who are here tonight. Nick and Nina, raise your hands please. [Applause]
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Joe Biden
00:04:33 - 00:04:49 ()
Dad is a reporter. And Mom, a councilwoman. But Mom looks more like his sister. [Laughter] They taught George and his big sister that the life spent challenging the powerful on behalf of the powerless is a life of purpose.
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Joe Biden
00:04:49 - 00:05:08 ()
He travels to warzones to end genocides and war crimes, exposes war profiteers, helps refugees, and advances the rights of journalists. Raises millions of dollars to support 9/11 first responders; victims of natural disaster; and advocates -- and advocates who, along with him, are combatting hate.
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Joe Biden
00:05:08 - 00:05:20 ()
Mentors -- he mentors these -- those historic kids from Parkland on their march and their lives -- against gun violence. I met with every one of those kids, and they really appreciate what you did, George. Not a joke.
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Joe Biden
00:05:20 - 00:05:44 ()
He knows the work remains unfinished, yet he is unrelenting and undaunted. That's character in real life. And that's George Clooney. [Applause]
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Joe Biden
00:05:44 - 00:05:47 ()
In "We the People," we see faith and light.
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Joe Biden
00:05:47 - 00:06:01 ()
We see Amy Grant, a child of Nashville -- [applause] -- a child of Nashville sitting in the front pew of church with her great-grandmother, singing hymns and learning harmony.
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Joe Biden
00:06:01 - 00:06:14 ()
With her parents' love, she recorded her first album while she was still in high school -- the start of a more than three-decade career and still counting -- that established the contemporary Christian music as we know it today.
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Joe Biden
00:06:14 - 00:06:28 ()
Six Grammy's. Six Grammy's. Nineteen nominations. The first contemporary Christian artist to be number one on the pop charts. And her [DEL: Christian :DEL] [Christmas] songs are played on repeat in millions of homes across America.
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Joe Biden
00:06:28 - 00:06:52 ()
Like the -- like the greatest, she has -- you know, I can't get over you, quite frankly. [Laughter] Like the greatest do, she writes songs from her soul about joy, about loss, about healing, about how others feel and how you make people feel when you sing. I really mean it.
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Joe Biden
00:06:52 - 00:07:09 ()
She does more than that. Everywhere you turn in Nashville, you see Amy's fellowship. Established musical therapy at a children's hospital; for veterans struggling with wounds of war. Playing benefit concerts for a long list of worthy causes.
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Joe Biden
00:07:09 - 00:07:24 ()
Amy calls music a "soul-enlarging experience." In my church, St. Augustine said it slightly differently. He said, "Singing is praying twice." "Singing is praying twice."
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Joe Biden
00:07:24 - 00:07:42 ()
You understand when you hear Amy Grant sing. Her voice -- her voice is a true gift of God, and she shares it with everyone, especially with her incredible family, including her husband Vince Gill, who has a pretty damn good voice himself. [Laughter]
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Joe Biden
00:07:42 - 00:08:06 ()
Amy, thank you for always keeping the faith. Every time I'd walk out of my Grandpop Finnegan's house in Scranton, he'd yell, "Joey, keep the faith." My grandma would yell, "No, Joey, spread it." You spread it.
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Joe Biden
00:08:06 - 00:08:06 ()
Thank you. [Applause]
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Joe Biden
00:08:06 - 00:08:09 ()
In "We the People," we also hear goodness and grace of the one and only [DEL: Express :DEL] [Empress] of Soul, Gladys Knight. God love you. [Applause]
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Joe Biden
00:08:09 - 00:08:28 ()
A daughter of Atlanta who grew up in a church choir. Began performing with her brother, sister, and cousins -- a group that became known as "Glady Knight and the Pips." You're [inaudible]. [Applause]
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Joe Biden
00:08:28 - 00:08:51 ()
After over 6 decades, 7 Grammy's, 20 nominations, including the best Gospel album; 11 number one R&B singles -- singles; 6 number one R&B albums; 2 number one top Billboard hits. Grammy Hall of Fame. Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame. Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame.
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Joe Biden
00:08:51 - 00:09:13 ()
She's performed on the biggest stages. But -- but a point of personal privilege, I think her performance in [DEL: 1919 :DEL] [2019] at the 100th anniversary of the Delaware State Fair was pretty special. [Laughter] They're still talking about it, Gladys. Not a joke. Not a joke. And down at the fair, they speak like y'all do down in Atlanta, you know what I mean? [Laughter]
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Joe Biden
00:09:13 - 00:09:20 ()
Just a few days ago, we observed World AIDS Day -- a much different day than during the worst of the epidemic in the '80s.
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Joe Biden
00:09:20 - 00:09:36 ()
Back then, Gladys joined Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Dionne Warwick and the benefit -- in a benefit record to sing "That's What Friends Are For." It reached number one on the charts, shattering the stigma and opening hearts.
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Joe Biden
00:09:36 - 00:09:54 ()
The title of her autobiography is "You were there between each line of my pain and glory." Gladys, your voice -- your voice has spoken to what breaks our hearts, what tears us apart, what lifts our spirits, what brings us together, what makes us human. Gladys, you're truly one of the best things ever to happen to any of us. [Applause]
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Joe Biden
00:09:54 - 00:10:20 ()
So, if you don't mind me saying it, we're going to get on that midnight train, because I think -- [laughter] -- I speak for all of America when I say, "We'd rather live in your world than be without you in ours." [Applause]
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Joe Biden
00:10:20 - 00:10:37 ()
I told her I think I have about every one of her songs on my phone. [Laughter] But -- because I remember them. She was only 12 when she was making them, but -- [laughter].
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Joe Biden
00:10:37 - 00:10:42 ()
In "We the People," we also hear courage and creativity.
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Joe Biden
00:10:42 - 00:10:52 ()
We hear Tania León, born and raised in working-class Havana, surrounded by the varied sounds of Cuba and the fusion of cultures and music.
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Joe Biden
00:10:52 - 00:11:14 ()
A young child who danced to the radio not long after she learned to walk. At age four, her grandmother enrolled her in a music conservatory. She trained into her 20s to be a classical piano player and broadened a -- and boarded a Freedom Flight to Miami in the wake of the Cuban Revolution. Just days later, landed in New York City.
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Joe Biden
00:11:14 - 00:11:27 ()
Over the next six decades, she became one of the most important classical composers and conductors of our time. During the Civil Rights Movement, she co-founded the Dance Theatre in Harlem -- the country's first Black classical ballet company. [Applause]
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Joe Biden
00:11:27 - 00:11:44 ()
She also conducted the world-renowned New York Philharmonic and worked with the Brooklyn Philharmonic to bring classical music beyond concert halls into city neighborhoods.
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Joe Biden
00:11:44 - 00:11:48 ()
She led symphonies in South Africa to Ger- -- from South Africa to Germany.
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Joe Biden
00:11:48 - 00:12:02 ()
A mentor and a professor, she champions new composers. Earning dozens of honors -- her versatility, her vision, her defying labels, her deepening Latin American influence in classical music.
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Joe Biden
00:12:02 - 00:12:33 ()
It was President Kennedy who laid the groundwork for the Freedom Flights that brought [DEL: Tiana :DEL] [Tania] to America. Fifty-five years later, she now receives a Kennedy Center honors. And we thank her -- thank her for breathing new sounds into the soul of the nation. [Applause]
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Joe Biden
00:12:33 - 00:12:35 ()
In "We the People," we hear the words of one of my favorite poets of all time.
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Joe Biden
00:12:35 - 00:12:54 ()
My colleagues up in the United States Senate used to kid me because I was always quoting Irish poets on the floor. They thought I did it because I was Irish. That's not the reason. I did it because they're the best poets in the world. [Laughter]
Very Positive
Joe Biden
00:12:54 - 00:13:28 ()
But we hear the words of Yeats: "Think where a man's glory most begins and ends and say my glory was I had such friends." Words that echo from an island close to my heart, as a descendent of County Mayo and County Louth.
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Joe Biden
00:13:28 - 00:13:32 ()
Tonight, we honor four sons of Ireland, poets in their own right -- best friends who started a band as teenagers in Dublin and became one of the greatest bands in history. Larry, Adam, The Edge, Bono -- U2. U2. [Applause]
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Joe Biden
00:13:32 - 00:13:41 ()
Inheritors of the Irish traditions of poetry and protest; rebellion and rejoicing; faith, hope, and love; and a belief in the dignity of all people, everywhere. Dignity is a very important word to them all.
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Joe Biden
00:13:41 - 00:14:00 ()
And to quote my friend Bono, "Music can change the world because it can change people." For more than 40 years, U2 has changed the world. Anthems about civil rights, solidarity of workers, the struggle for peace. Ballads about love and family. Concerts dedicated to ending poverty and disease.
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Joe Biden
00:14:00 - 00:14:17 ()
Twenty-two Grammy's. Forty-six nominations. More wins than any group in history. A hundred and fifty million albums. [Applause] A hundred and fifty albums sold, among the most ever.
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Joe Biden
00:14:17 - 00:14:31 ()
And it's true that their music is a bridge between Ireland and America, between two friends linked in memory and imagination, joined by our histories, and joined by a nostalgia for the future.
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Joe Biden
00:14:31 - 00:14:46 ()
I -- you know, they put down the things that are original quotes of -- of Presidents and senators? The only one they have listed for me is -- and it really is something I realize I got from my family -- is "The Irish are the only people in the world who are always nostalgic about the future." [Laughter]
Somewhat Positive
Joe Biden
00:14:46 - 00:15:29 ()
But it's more than that -- more universal, more fundamental, and more important than ever. From "Sunday Bloody Sunday" to "Pride [In the Name of Love]" to "Ordinary Love" to "One," the -- U2 has spoken and sung about the unspeakable cost of hate and anger and division -- the pain, the suffering, the denial of freedom, the senseless loss of life, and the inhumanity we inflict on one another as nations, as people, and in our own lives. All flowing from division that, for all of us is -- its visible manifestations lie first and foremost in our hearts.
Slightly Negative
Joe Biden
00:15:29 - 00:15:46 ()
Just before America's bloody and deadly Civil War, President Lincoln wrote, "We are not enemies... We must not be enemies." In the midst of great division, that was President Lincoln's plea. He would -- we would do well to remember it today.
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Joe Biden
00:15:46 - 00:16:04 ()
At a moment when there's too much hate, too much anger, too much division here in America and, quite frankly, around the world, we have to remember today, as their song goes, "We're one, but we're not the same. We get to carry each other."
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Joe Biden
00:16:04 - 00:16:17 ()
From this Irish American President in a White House designed by an Irish hands, who built this and designed it, I want to thank U2 for all you've done and the way you lift people up.
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Joe Biden
00:16:17 - 00:16:33 ()
You really make a difference. Thank you. [Applause]
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Joe Biden
00:16:33 - 00:16:44 ()
Ladies and gentlemen, the 2022 Kennedy Center Honorees. Congratulations to you and your wonderful families. And thank you for showing us the power of the arts in "We the People."
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Joe Biden
00:16:44 - 00:16:52 ()
God bless you all. And may God protect our troops. Thank you. [Applause]
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