Transcript - Speech: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris Deliver a Campaign Speech in Phoenix, AZ - October 8, 2020 | Factba.se

Kamala Harris

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

Hey, everybody. Hi. Where is the Vanessa? Thank you, Vanessa. Thank you so very much for that introduction and for your leadership and all you do for the community here in Phoenix. Thank you. It's good to see everybody. It's good to be in the house of labor. Earlier today, Joe and I had a chance to visit the American Indian Veterans National Memorial and pay tribute to the Native Americans who have served our country in uniform.

Kamala Harris

00:00:28 - 00:01:06 ()

We were joined by that great Cindy McCain, a longtime friend of Joe's and someone I greatly admire. And I was fortunate to serve with John McCain in the United States Senate. And what an incredible, incredible American. He was a patriot of the highest order. And Cindy is supporting our campaign. And she's doing it because she knows that Joe and I will always do what she and John did, and that's what our country first.

Kamala Harris

00:01:06 - 00:01:40 ()

So we thank Cindy. We are so excited to be here in Arizona today. And later today, will stop and talk with workers and small business owners who are working so hard and doing everything right but still struggling to get by. They are who I was thinking about last night at the debate. This election more than any other in our lifetime will affect every part of our lives with consequences that may last generations.

Kamala Harris

00:01:40 - 00:02:16 ()

And there is so much at stake. Our nation is at a crossroads. Just think, all at the same time, we are experiencing a pandemic, the recession, a reckoning on racial justice, a changing climate that's battering our coastlines and setting the West on fire, and the future of healthcare hangs on top of it all because, you see, President Trump is in the Supreme Court right now trying to get rid of the Affordable Care Act.

Kamala Harris

00:02:16 - 00:03:01 ()

And along with Senate Republicans, he's trying to jam through a Supreme Court Justice who will do exactly that, who will rip away protections from as many as 2.8 million Arizonans with preexisting conditions. 2.8. Arizonans with preexisting conditions. And while this president of course didn't bring the virus to our shores, his reckless disregard for human life and for the well-being of the American people has allowed it to spread the way we have seen and the casualties have been enormous.

Kamala Harris

00:03:01 - 00:03:10 ()

And so let's not make any mistake. His refusal to contain this virus is what has wreaked havoc in our economy.

Kamala Harris

00:03:10 - 00:03:45 ()

And I know folks are hurting, but I also knew this, we can overcome these challenges if we elect Joe Biden as our next president. And here's the thing. Joe has had a plan for COVID at least since March. He's been talking about this. He knows what this means and the kind of leadership that is required to get -- get on top of it and get in control.

Kamala Harris

00:03:45 - 00:04:14 ()

Joe knows these things. Even -- and you guys may have seen the debate last night, even when Joe didn't have the briefing that Donald Trump and Mike Pence had on January 28th, Joe knew because of experience that this could be serious. And under his leadership, we will contain this virus and save lives and build our economy back better than before.

Kamala Harris

00:04:14 - 00:04:49 ()

Joe will be a president who restores the soul of our nation. He'll be a president who creates good paying jobs and uses the burden on working families. And above all, Joe will be a president who unites the American people, Democrats and Republicans and independents, old and young, from all backgrounds and races, to meet the greatest challenges of our time.

Kamala Harris

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

And I plan on being right by his side and -- And we'll be ready on day one. We'll be ready on day one. But here's the thing, Arizona. We need your help. We got only 26 days left, so let's not wake up the day after the election on November 4th wishing we did done more. Let's organize and vote in numbers no one has ever seen before.

Kamala Harris

00:05:22 - 00:05:52 ()

Let's send Mark Kelly to the Senate. Vote like your life depends on it because right now it really does. And yesterday, Arizona, vote by mail ballots were shipped to homes across this state and in-person early voting has started, Including at the new McDowell Square Voting Center just about a mile from here.

Kamala Harris

00:05:52 - 00:06:21 ()

So, be a first week voter, a first week voter, and there are four ways to vote in Arizona. You can vote by mail. You can drop off your ballot at a drop off box, a dropbox. You can vote early in person, or you can vote in person on Election Day. And to learn more, go to Iwillvote.com/az, and make a plan.

Kamala Harris

00:06:21 - 00:06:47 ()

Write down when, where, and how you will both. And tell everyone you know to do the same, because Arizona's future, America's future is in your hands. So let's elect Joe Biden as the next president of the United States of America. And ladies and gentlemen, I introduce to you the great Joe Biden.

Joe Biden

00:06:47 - 00:07:38 ()

Hello, Arizona. It's great to be back. It really is. It's great to be back. Thank you, Kamala. Thank you, Vanessa, appreciate it very, very much. And we met backstage and the first instinct we all had was the hug each other, and go, oh, no, no, we gotta stay 12 feet apart. But folks, I want to give a special thanks to Ruben and -- Gallego for being here.

Joe Biden

00:07:38 - 00:07:56 ()

And you're a big deal, man. I'm -- I'm serious. And I noticed he did something that -- this is what we call in our business a busman's holidays, coming to hear another politician speak and having to put a tie on when he shows up without a tie, but thank you very much. I appreciate it, pal. Thank you. Thank you.

Joe Biden

00:07:56 - 00:08:25 ()

Thank you. And the president COO -- the president and COO of the Southwest Regional Counsel, Pete -- Pete Rodriguez. Where are you, Pete? You're -- is he in here or is he in the -- in the other -- in -- back in his office? Wherever he is, I want to thank him. He's not here now? Well, also Fabian Santos, president of local 1912. And you've all been with me -- we were talking, Kamala and I, coming down the hall and we said, not a joke, it was just truly coincidental.

Joe Biden

00:08:25 - 00:08:50 ()

She said I love the carpenters. She said the first [Inaudible] that endorsed me when I ran for attorney general -- or for the DA in San Francisco were the carpenters. And I said I remember mine well. A guy named Cal McCullough, president of the Carpenters Union from New Castle, Delaware, one of -- the 350-year-old city on the Delaware River, was the first one to endorse me as well.

Joe Biden

00:08:50 - 00:09:06 ()

And so, you know, you've been with me my whole career. And President Doug McCarron has been a longtime friend. We've worked together a long time. 520,000 carpenters, that's an incredible army to have behind you. And you are, I'm telling you.

Unidentified

00:09:06 - 00:09:07 ()

We've got your back, sir.

Joe Biden

00:09:07 - 00:09:24 ()

You have. You have my whole career and I hope you know I've had yours as well. You know, there was an old expression when I was growing up in Scranton, Pennsylvania that says you go home with them that brung you to the dance. Well, the carpenters brought me to the dance and you're going home together and you're going to have a seat at the table.

Joe Biden

00:09:24 - 00:09:46 ()

Folks, you know, people who shaped the skyline, who build the foundations of everything we rely on our the carpenters. Labor brought me to the dance. And the only reason I'm able to run for president is because -- standing here today is because of labor. You know, I've never forgotten everything you've done for me and you've done for the country.

Joe Biden

00:09:46 - 00:10:07 ()

I really mean it. You know, I -- I get in trouble for saying this, but it's true. You're the backbone of America. You're the spine of America. You're the ones who actually built the country, not Wall Street bankers and CEOs. You're the ones who are going to rebuild it again, and you're going to build it back better for real.

Joe Biden

00:10:07 - 00:10:46 ()

Kamala and I can't thank you enough. And folks, I don't -- I don't know if you caught it, but the senator had a heckuva night last night. I tell you what, you gotta give me great credit for knowing how to pick them, right? I mean -- I couldn't be prouder. She's like a younger sister. I couldn't be prouder to be running alongside such a leader, with remarkable character and vision and who always, always, always is looking out for the people, always somebody else, not her, always.

Joe Biden

00:10:46 - 00:11:07 ()

And I want to tell you something. It's -- Kamala and I are about to kick off a tour visiting businesses in this community. And the business -- small business in this community and all communities are more responsible for more jobs than -- in the community, local, small business owners that are busting their neck than the major corporations.

Joe Biden

00:11:07 - 00:11:27 ()

You add it all up. For real, small businesses create more jobs in America than the major corporate entities. And they make -- and this -- this community has found itself having to go through some really challenging times. And you need not tell the congressman that. He's forgotten more about it the most people know.

Joe Biden

00:11:27 - 00:11:46 ()

And like -- like Chef Silvana. Chef Silvana owns the two restaurants in here in Phoenix. One she had to -- both when she -- when they were struck by COVID, she had to close one of them down, and she is working hard to keep the other one afloat, the Barrio Cafe, which we're going to be visiting later this afternoon.

Joe Biden

00:11:46 - 00:12:09 ()

But it is an easy. You know, the loan Silvana was able to secure back into the spring, because of the legislation passed by the Democrats in the House, helped her for a little while, but it wasn't nearly enough. She's a scraping by week to week, trying to look out for her 10 employees, some of whom have been with her for decades.

Joe Biden

00:12:09 - 00:12:31 ()

And on top of that, she's facing -- and I have permission to say this, she's facing a terminal disease. Silvana had to cancel her own health insurance after finishing a round of treatment recently just to make ends meet. It's devastating and it's heartbreaking and it's wrong. Every American should be upset about what Silvana is going through.

Joe Biden

00:12:31 - 00:12:53 ()

I think you all are. I know I am because I know, we know, it didn't have to happen. If they had just done what you passed, just move forward. And then, I'll talk to you about it in a minute, but Silvana's story is an increasingly common story is for Arizona workers and small business owners. Too many Arizonans are facing hard times right now.

Joe Biden

00:12:53 - 00:13:21 ()

They're trying their best, but it never feels like it enough. You're not looking out for a handout. They're just looking for a fair shot, just want an even shot. That's all they're looking for. And that's how my dad felt. When he couldn't find work in Scranton when coal died, he had to move on. I remember him taking this what I'd call the longest walk any parent has to make, of a short flight of stairs to tell their kids, honey, I'm sorry, but you can go back to St.

Joe Biden

00:13:21 - 00:13:41 ()

Paul's. You can't go play in that Little League anymore. Dad lost his job. There's no job here. I'm going to have to move. I remember him taking us to our grandpa's house. Me and my brother and my sister and my mom was shortly going to have another child and we all went home. I thought about how hard it must have been for my dad.

Joe Biden

00:13:41 - 00:13:57 ()

So many people in this town have done the same thing, have to go to his father in law, the father of four boys and a girl and say -- remember, it was can you take any -- I have to ask a favor. I know how much pride it caused him. Can you take care of them for a year? I'll be back. I promise. I'll be home every weekend.

Joe Biden

00:13:57 - 00:14:17 ()

It was only 159 miles, but it seemed like the end of the world then. But he went down and by that time he was able to get a good job and a job enough to get us an apartment in a place called Claymont, Delaware because he had been raised in Wilmington, Delaware, he ended up then getting a good job, a decent job managing a car dealership.

Joe Biden

00:14:17 - 00:14:35 ()

He worked hard to build a decent middle class life. And it wasn't easy for him. He had an expression. He'd always say and really -- I mean this sincerely, he said Joe, I don't expect the government -- I don't expect the government to solve my problems, but I sure as hell expect them to at least understand my problems.

Joe Biden

00:14:35 - 00:14:59 ()

Just understand them. And America, I think, deserves a president who understands what the American people are going through, who sees who you are or what you want to be, who cares about your health, your prosperity, your dream. Your American dream. They're facing real challenges right now. The last thing you need is a president who exacerbates them, who ignores you.

Joe Biden

00:14:59 - 00:15:24 ()

And I'm going to say it. I've been saying it for a while. From my perspective of Scranton, president looks down at us, who thinks that if you -- if you put your life on the line for the nation, you're a loser. A sucker. That's what we're talking about with Cindy. My Beau, my son Beau who just passed -- not just passed away, now it's going on five years.

Joe Biden

00:15:24 - 00:15:49 ()

It seems like yesterday. Won the Bronze Star, conspicuous service medal. He was a volunteer appeared he was attorney general but he volunteered and he got a -- an exception to be able to go to Iraq for a year. And I promise you, he wasn't a loser. He wasn't a sucker. He, like all the veterans we met with this afternoon alongside Cindy McCain, they're are patriots.

Joe Biden

00:15:49 - 00:16:12 ()

They're people who understand that being an American is about recognizing some things are bigger than yourself. Cindy's husband John McCain, who I had the great privilege of him asking me to do his eulogy, we used to argue like hell. We were like two brothers. We'd fight like hell. But we always, always, always ended up together.

Joe Biden

00:16:12 - 00:16:32 ()

And that's how it used to be. It used to be that way across the board. He wasn't a loser. They are all heroes. And you know what? They deserve better than a president who will say anything to deflect responsibility for any mistake he makes. I don't know if he noticed, he recently said that -- they asked him where he got the COVID.

Joe Biden

00:16:32 - 00:17:00 ()

He said I probably got it from blue star parents. They're people who lost the child in battle. He said because they like to get close to me and hug me. I don't know how to say no. Look, we've paid too high a price already for Donald Trump's chaotic device of leadership. More than 210,000 Americans have lost their lives to this virus.

Joe Biden

00:17:00 - 00:17:33 ()

We lose more every single day. Nearly 6000 Arizonans have been lost. Nearly 6000 gone. Gone. More than 220,000 Arizonans have been infected -- infected with COVID. 122 thousand jobs in Arizona still haven't come back. 9 -- 9 times more Arizonans are on unemployment each week then before this crisis hit.

Joe Biden

00:17:33 - 00:17:54 ()

But business like Silvana's restaurant are closing. Schools aren't back to normal because Donald Trump can't focus on what matters. When the house passed the so-called HEROES Act, that's the second big package they passed to keep -- get people on their feet again, sometime ago, but the president and Mitch McConnell did nothing to move the legislation.

Joe Biden

00:17:54 - 00:18:13 ()

A lot of cities and states are going bankrupt because they have to balance their budgets. Our founders are pretty smart. The reason they wrote the constitution the way they did is there Congress, the Senate, the House, the government could deficit spend in order to compensate for being able to make sure we get out of the hole.

Joe Biden

00:18:13 - 00:18:37 ()

Trump is spending more time I've been calling on this, as you probably know, for the last four months. He should get out of his bunker and out of the sound sand trap on his golf courses. Not a joke. I mean, think about it. He never once -- I've been around awhile. He never one single time tried to bring Democrats and Republicans together in the White House to try to get a settlement.

Joe Biden

00:18:37 - 00:19:14 ()

Not once. You can't -- name me a president in the lifetime of any of you that refused to deal that way in the middle of a crisis. But the leadership from Congress to get it -- to resolve the issue is something that wasn't on his watch. And on Tuesday, and congressman, I'm sure you were probably not surprised by it, but on Tuesday, he announced he's walking away from negotiations to provide additional relief for working people, mom and pop businesses, schools -- just go down the line.

Joe Biden

00:19:14 - 00:19:43 ()

On October 8th, exactly two months since the emergency small business program was closed, two months of small business owners in Arizona and across the country waiting and hoping for just a little bit of help to be able to stay open. More than 400,000 small businesses had permanently closed nationwide. 400,000. Millions are struggling to hang on.

Joe Biden

00:19:43 - 00:20:10 ()

The legislation has already been passed. It's there. I handled what they called the Recovery Act when we inherited a Great Recession. I had the ability to deal with $800 billion spent in 18 months. All the outside groups pointed out less than two-tenths of 1 percent waste or fraud. But you know what we did?

Joe Biden

00:20:10 - 00:20:37 ()

We provided $148 billion to cities and states so the -- you didn't have to layoff cops, firefighters, sanitation workers. You didn't have to fire -- you didn't have to layoff nurses, close down county hospitals. You kept it open. And America got through it and began to generate the longest period of recovery in modern history.

Joe Biden

00:20:37 - 00:21:13 ()

How many more have to go under? How many more dreams have to be extinguished because this president threw in the towel? And instead of focusing on your needs, he's still trying to take care of -- take away your health care. I mean, think about that. I mean, just think about it. It might -- if I -- I'm not, but if I were a playwright and writing the play, there isn't a single solitary outfit in Broadway that would take it because it sounds like ridiculous fiction.

Joe Biden

00:21:13 - 00:21:39 ()

In the middle of a pandemic with already 10 million Americans have lost their employer based insurance because the employer went under, he's trying to take away insurance with another 22 million people who got it for the first time in the preexisting conditions that that senator talked about. He's in the Supreme Court right now asking to strike down the Affordable Care Act, the entirety of it.

Joe Biden

00:21:39 - 00:22:14 ()

Take away Medicare benefits for seniors. People don't realize how deep this goes. And taking us back to a time when insurers could deny coverage because of preexisting conditions. I want you to understand this, women's rights are -- I'm not talking about the right to choose now. Women's right to -- you realize before we passed -- Barack and I passed a law, pregnancy was considered a preexisting condition.

Joe Biden

00:22:14 - 00:22:35 ()

Not a joke. Insurance companies were allowed to charge more for a woman for the same exact medical procedure that a man would have. Same one. And look what's happened. Minority communities are devastated, but he's done beyond that, he's vowed -- this is even getting much attention because so much chaos is going on.

Joe Biden

00:22:35 - 00:23:12 ()

He vowed to "terminate" the funding source for Social Security. That's the holding tax you pay, you know, for Social Security. 6.5 percent. He wants to terminate it so it looks like you got more on your paycheck. But the actuary at the Social Security Department said if he does that, Social Security will be bankrupt by the middle of 2023. Benefits for more than 1 million Arizonans rely on the whole idea of a dignified retirement.

Joe Biden

00:23:12 - 00:23:43 ()

The fact is, President Trump can only see the world from Park Avenue. He thinks that Wall Street built America. That's why he let big corporations jump into the front lines and get their recovery money that the congressman helped pass while small businesses struggle to stay open. What people don't know because it's so complicated -- so much is happening -- Congress can tell you -- congresswoman can tell you.

Joe Biden

00:23:43 - 00:24:12 ()

There was an inspector general that they appointed. Meaning somebody who had independent capacity to look into anything that was being done on the money being spent. Okay? I had an inspector general overlooking the $800 billion I was responsible for. Twice -- every two weeks I met with him in detail so he knew exactly where the money was going.

Joe Biden

00:24:12 - 00:24:47 ()

What's the first thing the president did? Wiped out the -- he fired the inspector general. Think about that now. Forty percent of all the money that was supposed to go to small businesses in the first time around went to the Mar-a-Lago crowd. The wealthy. I'm not -- I'm not -- you think -- I mean -- if this wasn't so true I'd be re -- reluctant to say it because it sounds so bizarre.

Joe Biden

00:24:47 - 00:25:21 ()

This president has forgotten the people he said he'd fight for. I'll never forget because I see the world from where I grew up in Scranton and Claymont, a little steel town. I know the middle class -- working class built this country and unions built the middle class. And I measure economic success by what families are talking about sitting around their kitchen tables.

Joe Biden

00:25:21 - 00:25:59 ()

About having a decent job and benefits. About keeping your small business dream alive. About the -- the conversations took place this morning. Well we need four new tires; the tires are bald on the car. We gotta wait, we can't afford to get em. Can't do it. Who's gonna tell her she can't go back to the Community College because we just can't borrow any money anymore?

Joe Biden

00:25:59 - 00:26:29 ()

Or -- you have 20 million people today -- 20 million people including here in Arizona who are worried about whether they can pay this month's mortgage payment. Twenty million. And look at all the people who are worried they're gonna be thrown out in the street because they can't pay their rent. These guys provided for all that.

Joe Biden

00:26:29 - 00:26:53 ()

And nothing. Being able to look your kids in the eye. My dad used to say Joey, a job's about a lot more than a paycheck. It's about your dignity. It's about respect. It's about your place in the community. It's about being able to look your kid in the eye and say honey it's going to be okay. I mean it. I mean it.

Joe Biden

00:26:53 - 00:27:21 ()

Well, that's what Kamala and I are focused on. Say to our kids honey, it's gonna be okay. That's what we're talking about. We're gonna get this virus under control. We're gonna reopen safely and strongly, creating good paying jobs and working to end this era of rancor and division. Because if we're gonna get anything done we have to do it together.

Joe Biden

00:27:21 - 00:28:07 ()

I've been saying this since I announced and people thought I was being naive. They say oh you got a lot of things done, Joe, before but that was the past. Well guess what if we can't bring the country together we're dead. This is a democracy. It depends on a consensus. You gotta bring people together. It was somewhat maybe presumptuous of me but I made a major speech I worked really, really hard on for a long time in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

Joe Biden

00:28:07 - 00:28:36 ()

And I did it two days ago. And I talked about in Lincoln terms that we have to bring America together. We can't hold grudges. I'm running as a proud Democrat with a capital D. But I will be an American president, not a Democratic president. I'll work for ha -- as hard for those who didn't support me -- I promise you.

Joe Biden

00:28:36 - 00:29:03 ()

And look at my record -- as those who did support me. Because the fact is that's the job of a president. It's a duty to care for everybody, not just who voted for you. After all we've been through, all America's accomplished, all the years we've stood as a beacon to the world we cannot allow ourselves to remain divided.

Joe Biden

00:29:03 - 00:29:43 ()

We have the element of power in our hands. You know what that power is? That little sticker you have on. The power to vote. No, really. Really. You can still register here in Arizona to vote and early voting's already begun. And the vast majority of Arizona is vote by mail. And those mail in ballots are start arriving in the next couple of days.

Joe Biden

00:29:43 - 00:30:18 ()

So Kamala and I are explaining the best thing you can do is return your ballot quickly. Don't risk delays. Return that mail in ballot as soon as you can and make sure your voice is heard. Because if your voice can overcome and go out and vote your voice through your vote can overcome every one of the challenges we face.

Joe Biden

00:30:18 - 00:30:56 ()

And by the way, you know what they're setting up. They're setting up the argument that these votes aren't gonna matter. You saw what happened today. The FBI arrest -- arrested a group of militia men who had planned -- had a plan to go in and to kidnap the governor of Michigan. You'll see it in the news tonight.

Joe Biden

00:30:56 - 00:31:29 ()

The governor of Michigan. Remember those guys with the assault rifles standing in her driveway? And the President saying things in my debate with him like to the Proud Boys, an all white supremacist group. Stand down but stand ready. This is serious stuff. We can't just win by a vote. We've got to all turn out.

Joe Biden

00:31:29 - 00:32:11 ()

We can be better than we've seen. We can be what we are at our best if we all get out and vote. And at our best we're the United States of America. And all kidding aside, it's not some prosaic thing. The fact is America's never, never, never, never ever failed when we've stood up together. We're the only nation in the world who's come out of every single crisis -- war or economic crisis -- stronger than when we went into the crisis.

Joe Biden

00:32:11 - 00:32:41 ()

So folks, I'm more optimistic today about America's chances at home and in the world than I've ever been. And I've been around a long time. I've worked with a lot of presidents. I really mean it. We have a chance. A chance. Not only to improve our country but to change the world. We have the most powerful military in the history of the world.

Joe Biden

00:32:41 - 00:33:04 ()

But that's not why the rest of the world [Inaudible] to us. It's not -- it's not the example of our power. It's been the power of our example that has the rest of the world follow us. And that example is being trashed around the world. As the Senator said last night in the debate -- it's true -- 17 major countries of the world are asked who -- wha -- what leaders do they admire the most and trust the most.

Joe Biden

00:33:04 - 00:33:06 ()

The Pew Foundation -- --Kamala Harris

Kamala Harris

00:33:06 - 00:33:07 ()

It was Pew I think.

Joe Biden

00:33:07 - 00:33:38 ()

Yes. You know what they said? More people trusted Xi Jinping of China and -- and Putin of Russia than the president of the United States. That has profound security as well as economic impacts for us. So folks, let's not quit. There's no quit in America. We have never, ever, ever, ever, ever quit. And if we need you to stand up at any time in our history we need you now. Thank you for being here. May God bless you. May God protect our troops. Thank you. They parked the bus inside. Thank you everybody.