Transcript - Speech: Joe Biden Delivers a Primetime Address on Democracy From Philadelphia - September 1, 2022 | Factba.se

Joe Biden

00:00:00 - 00:00:23 ()

My fellow Americans, please, if you have a seat, take it. I speak to you tonight from sacred ground in America: Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Joe Biden

00:00:23 - 00:00:39 ()

This is where America made its Declaration of Independence to the world more than two centuries ago with an idea, unique among nations, that in America, we're all created equal.

Joe Biden

00:00:39 - 00:00:45 ()

This is where the United States Constitution was written and debated.

Joe Biden

00:00:45 - 00:01:02 ()

This is where we set in motion the most extraordinary experiment of self-government the world has ever known with three simple words: "We, the People." "We, the People."

Joe Biden

00:01:02 - 00:01:26 ()

These two documents and the ideas they embody -- equality and democracy -- are the rock upon which this nation is built. They are how we became the greatest nation on Earth. They are why, for more than two centuries, America has been a beacon to the world.

Joe Biden

00:01:26 - 00:01:37 ()

But as I stand here tonight, equality and democracy are under assault. We do ourselves no favor to pretend otherwise.

Joe Biden

00:01:37 - 00:02:02 ()

So tonight, I have come this place where it all began to speak as plainly as I can to the nation about the threats we face, about the power we have in our own hands to meet these threats, and about the incredible future that lies in front of us if only we choose it.

Joe Biden

00:02:02 - 00:02:14 ()

We must never forget: We, the people, are the true heirs of the American experiment that began more than two centuries ago.

Joe Biden

00:02:14 - 00:02:39 ()

We, the people, have burning inside each of us the flame of liberty that was lit here at Independence Hall -- a flame that lit our way through abolition, the Civil War, Suffrage, the Great Depression, world wars, Civil Rights.

Joe Biden

00:02:39 - 00:02:51 ()

That sacred flame still burns now in our time as we build an America that is more prosperous, free, and just.

Joe Biden

00:02:51 - 00:02:59 ()

That is the work of my presidency, a mission I believe in with my whole soul.

Joe Biden

00:02:59 - 00:03:04 ()

But first, we must be honest with each other and with ourselves.

Joe Biden

00:03:04 - 00:03:12 ()

Too much of what's happening in our country today is not normal.

Joe Biden

00:03:12 - 00:03:19 ()

Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic.

Joe Biden

00:03:19 - 00:03:36 ()

Now, I want to be very clear -- very clear up front: Not every Republican, not even the majority of Republicans, are MAGA Republicans. Not every Republican embraces their extreme ideology.

Joe Biden

00:03:36 - 00:03:41 ()

I know because I've been able to work with these mainstream Republicans.

Joe Biden

00:03:41 - 00:03:56 ()

But there is no question that the Republican Party today is dominated, driven, and intimidated by Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans, and that is a threat to this country.

Joe Biden

00:03:56 - 00:03:58 ()

These are hard things.

Joe Biden

00:03:58 - 00:04:08 ()

But I'm an American President -- not the President of red America or blue America, but of all America.

Joe Biden

00:04:08 - 00:04:18 ()

And I believe it is my duty -- my duty to level with you, to tell the truth no matter how difficult, no matter how painful.

Joe Biden

00:04:18 - 00:04:31 ()

And here, in my view, is what is true: MAGA Republicans do not respect the Constitution. They do not believe in the rule of law. They do not recognize the will of the people.

Joe Biden

00:04:31 - 00:04:51 ()

They refuse to accept the results of a free election. And they're working right now, as I speak, in state after state to give power to decide elections in America to partisans and cronies, empowering election deniers to undermine democracy itself.

Joe Biden

00:04:51 - 00:05:08 ()

MAGA forces are determined to take this country backwards -- backwards to an America where there is no right to choose, no right to privacy, no right to contraception, no right to marry who you love.

Joe Biden

00:05:08 - 00:05:24 ()

They promote authoritarian leaders, and they fan the flames of political violence that are a threat to our personal rights, to the pursuit of justice, to the rule of law, to the very soul of this country.

Joe Biden

00:05:24 - 00:05:39 ()

They look at the mob that stormed the United States Capitol on January 6th -- brutally attacking law enforcement -- not as insurrectionists who placed a dagger to the throat of our democracy, but they look at them as patriots.

Joe Biden

00:05:39 - 00:05:53 ()

And they see their MAGA failure to stop a peaceful transfer of power after the 2020 election as preparation for the 2022 and 2024 elections.

Joe Biden

00:05:53 - 00:06:06 ()

They tried everything last time to nullify the votes of 81 million people. This time, they're determined to succeed in thwarting the will of the people.

Joe Biden

00:06:06 - 00:06:24 ()

That's why respected conservatives, like Federal Circuit Court Judge Michael Luttig, has called Trump and the extreme MAGA Republicans, quote, a "clear and present danger" to our democracy.

Joe Biden

00:06:24 - 00:06:42 ()

But while the threat to American democracy is real, I want to say as clearly as we can: We are not powerless in the face of these threats. We are not bystanders in this ongoing attack on democracy.

Joe Biden

00:06:42 - 00:06:56 ()

There are far more Americans -- far more Americans from every -- from every background and belief who reject the extreme MAGA ideology than those that accept it.

Joe Biden

00:06:56 - 00:07:07 ()

And, folks, it is within our power, it's in our hands -- yours and mine -- to stop the assault on American democracy.

Joe Biden

00:07:07 - 00:07:18 ()

I believe America is at an inflection point -- one of those moments that determine the shape of everything that's to come after.

Joe Biden

00:07:18 - 00:07:38 ()

And now America must choose: to move forward or to move backwards? To build the future or obsess about the past? To be a nation of hope and unity and optimism, or a nation of fear, division, and of darkness?

Joe Biden

00:07:38 - 00:07:51 ()

MAGA Republicans have made their choice. They embrace anger. They thrive on chaos. They live not in the light of truth but in the shadow of lies.

Joe Biden

00:07:51 - 00:08:06 ()

But together -- together, we can choose a different path. We can choose a better path. Forward, to the future. A future of possibility. A future to build and dream and hope.

Joe Biden

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

And we're on that path, moving ahead.

Joe Biden

00:08:09 - 00:08:20 ()

I know this nation. I know you, the American people. I know your courage. I know your hearts. And I know our history.

Joe Biden

00:08:20 - 00:08:25 ()

This is a nation that honors our Constitution. We do not reject it.

Joe Biden

00:08:25 - 00:08:32 ()

This is a nation that believes in the rule of law. We do not repudiate it.

Joe Biden

00:08:32 - 00:08:41 ()

This is a nation that respects free and fair elections. We honor the will of the people. We do not deny it.

Joe Biden

00:08:41 - 00:08:50 ()

And this is a nation that rejects violence as a political tool. We do not encourage violence.

Joe Biden

00:08:50 - 00:08:59 ()

We are still an America that believes in honesty and decency and respect for others, patriotism, liberty, justice for all, hope, possibilities.

Joe Biden

00:08:59 - 00:09:03 ()

We are still, at our core, a democracy.

Joe Biden

00:09:03 - 00:09:19 ()

And yet history tells us that blind loyalty to a single leader and a willingness to engage in political violence is fatal to democracy.

Joe Biden

00:09:19 - 00:09:28 ()

For a long time, we've told ourselves that American democracy is guaranteed, but it's not.

Joe Biden

00:09:28 - 00:09:35 ()

We have to defend it, protect it, stand up for it -- each and every one of us.

Joe Biden

00:09:35 - 00:09:48 ()

That's why tonight I'm asking our nation to come together, unite behind the single purpose of defending our democracy regardless of your ideology.

Joe Biden

00:09:48 - 00:10:01 ()

We're all called, by duty and conscience, to confront extremists who will put their own pursuit of power above all else.

Joe Biden

00:10:01 - 00:10:14 ()

Democrats, independents, mainstream Republicans: We must be stronger, more determined, and more committed to saving American democracy than MAGA Republicans are to -- to destroying American democracy.

Joe Biden

00:10:14 - 00:10:43 ()

We, the people, will not let anyone or anything tear us apart. Today, there are dangers around us we cannot allow to prevail. We hear -- you've heard it -- more and more talk about violence as an acceptable political tool in this country. It's not. It can never be an acceptable tool.

Joe Biden

00:10:43 - 00:10:51 ()

So I want to say this plain and simple: There is no place for political violence in America. Period. None. Ever.

Joe Biden

00:10:51 - 00:11:22 ()

We saw law enforcement brutally attacked on January the 6th. We've seen election officials, poll workers -- many of them volunteers of both parties -- subjected to intimidation and death threats. And -- can you believe it? -- FBI agents just doing their job as directed, facing threats to their own lives from their own fellow citizens.

Joe Biden

00:11:22 - 00:11:34 ()

On top of that, there are public figures -- today, yesterday, and the day before -- predicting and all but calling for mass violence and rioting in the streets.

Joe Biden

00:11:34 - 00:11:48 ()

This is inflammatory. It's dangerous. It's against the rule of law. And we, the people, must say: This is not who we are.

Joe Biden

00:11:48 - 00:12:01 ()

Ladies and gentlemen, we can't be pro-ex- -- pro-ex- -- pro-insurrectionist and pro-American. They're incompatible.

Joe Biden

00:12:01 - 00:12:15 ()

We can't allow violence to be normalized in this country. It's wrong. We each have to reject political violence with -- with all the moral clarity and conviction this nation can muster. Now.

Joe Biden

00:12:15 - 00:12:22 ()

We can't let the integrity of our elections be undermined, for that is a path to chaos.

Joe Biden

00:12:22 - 00:12:34 ()

Look, I know poli- -- politics can be fierce and mean and nasty in America. I get it. I believe in the give-and-take of politics, in disagreement and debate and dissent.

Joe Biden

00:12:34 - 00:12:59 ()

We're a big, complicated country. But democracy endures only if we, the people, respect the guardrails of the republic. Only if we, the people, accept the results of free and fair elections. Only if we, the people, see politics not as total war but mediation of our differences.

Joe Biden

00:12:59 - 00:13:17 ()

Democracy cannot survive when one side believes there are only two outcomes to an election: either they win or they were cheated. And that's where MAGA Republicans are today.

Joe Biden

00:13:17 - 00:13:31 ()

They don't understand what every patriotic American knows: You can't love your country only when you win. It's fundamental.

Joe Biden

00:13:31 - 00:13:50 ()

American democracy only works only if we choose to respect the rule of law and the institutions that were set up in this chamber behind me, only if we respect our legitimate political differences.

Joe Biden

00:13:50 - 00:14:00 ()

I will not stand by and watch -- I will not -- the will of the American people be overturned by wild conspiracy theories and baseless, evidence-free claims of fraud.

Joe Biden

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

I will not stand by and watch elections in this country stolen by people who simply refuse to accept that they lost.

Joe Biden

00:14:12 - 00:14:24 ()

I will not stand by and watch the most fundamental freedom in this country -- the freedom to vote and have your vote counted -- and -- be taken from you and the American people.

Joe Biden

00:14:24 - 00:14:39 ()

Look, as your President, I will defend our democracy with every fiber of my being, and I'm asking every American to join me.

Joe Biden

00:14:39 - 00:14:39 ()

[A protestor disruption can be heard]

Joe Biden

00:14:39 - 00:14:50 ()

Throughout our history, America has often made the greatest progress coming out of some of our darkest moments, like you're hearing in that bullhorn.

Joe Biden

00:14:50 - 00:14:55 ()

I believe we can and we must do that again, and we are.

Joe Biden

00:14:55 - 00:15:06 ()

MAGA Republicans look at America and see carnage and darkness and despair. They spread fear and lies –- lies told for profit and power.

Joe Biden

00:15:06 - 00:15:20 ()

But I see a very different America -- an America with an unlimited future, an America that is about to take off. I hope you see it as well. Just look around.

Joe Biden

00:15:20 - 00:15:35 ()

I believed we could lift America from the depths of COVID, so we passed the largest economic recovery package since Franklin Delano Roosevelt. And today, America's economy is faster, stronger than any other advanced nation in the world. We have more to go.

Joe Biden

00:15:35 - 00:15:47 ()

I believed we could build a better America, so we passed the biggest infrastructure investment since President Dwight D. Eisenhower. And we've now embarked on a decade of rebuilding

Joe Biden

00:15:47 - 00:15:57 ()

the nation's roads, bridges, highways, ports, water systems, high-speed Internet, railroads.

Joe Biden

00:15:57 - 00:16:08 ()

I believed we could make America safer, so we passed the most significant gun safety law since President Clinton.

Joe Biden

00:16:08 - 00:16:25 ()

I believed we could go from being the highest cost of prescriptions in the world to making prescription drugs and healthcare more affordable, so we passed the most significant healthcare reforms since President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act.

Joe Biden

00:16:25 - 00:16:42 ()

And I believed we could create -- we could create a clean energy future and save the planet, so we passed the most important climate initiative ever, ever, ever.

Joe Biden

00:16:42 - 00:16:56 ()

The cynics and the critics tell us nothing can get done, but they are wrong. There is not a single thing America cannot do -- not a single thing beyond our capacity if we do it together.

Joe Biden

00:16:56 - 00:17:05 ()

It's never easy. But we're proving that in America, no matter how long the road, progress does come.

Joe Biden

00:17:05 - 00:17:37 ()

Look, I know the last year -- few years have been tough. But today, COVID no longer controls our lives. More Americans are working than ever. Businesses are growing. Our schools are open. Millions of Americans have been lifted out of poverty. Millions of veterans once exposed to toxic burn pits will now get what they deserve for their families and the compa- -- compensation.

Joe Biden

00:17:37 - 00:17:51 ()

American manufacturing has come alive across the Heartland, and the future will be made in America -- no matter what the white supremacists and the extremists say.

Joe Biden

00:17:51 - 00:18:06 ()

I made a bet on you, the American people, and that bet is paying off. Proving that from darkness -- the darkness of Charlottesville, of COVID, of gun violence, of insurrection -- we can see the light. Light is now visible.

Joe Biden

00:18:06 - 00:18:17 ()

Light that will guide us forward not only in words, but in actions -- actions for you, for your children, for your grandchildren, for America.

Joe Biden

00:18:17 - 00:18:29 ()

Even in this moment, with all the challenges we face, I give you my word as a Biden: I've never been more optimistic about America's future. Not because of me, but because of who you are.

Joe Biden

00:18:29 - 00:18:32 ()

We're going to end cancer as we know it. Mark my words.

Joe Biden

00:18:32 - 00:18:36 ()

We are going to create millions of new jobs in a clean energy economy.

Joe Biden

00:18:36 - 00:18:43 ()

We're going to think big. We're going to make the 21st century another American century because the world needs us to.

Joe Biden

00:18:43 - 00:18:57 ()

That's where we need to focus our energy -- not in the past, not on divisive culture wars, not on the politics of grievance, but on a future we can build together.

Joe Biden

00:18:57 - 00:19:08 ()

The MAGA Republicans believe that for them to succeed, everyone else has to fail. They believe America -- not like I believe about America.

Joe Biden

00:19:08 - 00:19:18 ()

I believe America is big enough for all of us to succeed, and that is the nation we're building: a nation where no one is left behind.

Joe Biden

00:19:18 - 00:19:36 ()

I ran for President because I believed we were in a battle for the soul of this nation. I still believe that to be true. I believe the soul is the breath, the life, and the essence of who we are. The soul is what makes us "us."

Joe Biden

00:19:36 - 00:20:12 ()

The soul of America is defined by the sacred proposition that all are created equal in the image of God. That all are entitled to be treated with decency, dignity, and respect. That all deserve justice and a shot at lives of prosperity and consequence. And that democracy -- democracy must be defended, for democracy makes all these things possible. Folks, and it's up to us.

Joe Biden

00:20:12 - 00:20:22 ()

Democracy begins and will be preserved in we, the people's, habits of heart, in our character: optimism that is tested

Joe Biden

00:20:22 - 00:20:35 ()

yet endures, courage that digs deep when we need it, empathy that fuels democracy, the willingness to see each other not as enemies but as fellow Americans.

Joe Biden

00:20:35 - 00:20:42 ()

Look, our democracy is imperfect. It always has been.

Joe Biden

00:20:42 - 00:21:04 ()

Notwithstanding those folks you hear on the other side there. They're entitled to be outrageous. This is a democracy. But history and common sense -- good manners is nothing they've ever suffered from.

Joe Biden

00:21:04 - 00:21:12 ()

But history and common sense tell us that opportunity, liberty, and justice for all are most likely to come to pass in a democracy.

Joe Biden

00:21:12 - 00:21:24 ()

We have never fully realized the aspirations of our founding, but every generation has opened those doors a little wider to include more people who have been excluded before.

Joe Biden

00:21:24 - 00:21:41 ()

My fellow Americans, America is an idea -- the most powerful idea in the history of the world. And it beats in the hearts of the people of this country. It beats in all of our hearts. It unites America. It is the American creed.

Joe Biden

00:21:41 - 00:21:56 ()

The idea that America guarantees that everyone be treated with dignity. It gives hate no safe harbor. It installs in everyone the belief that no matter where you start in life, there's nothing you can't achieve.

Joe Biden

00:21:56 - 00:22:20 ()

That's who we are. That's what we stand for. That's what we believe. And that is precisely what we are doing: opening doors, creating new possibilities, focusing on the future. And we're only just beginning.

Joe Biden

00:22:20 - 00:22:28 ()

Our task is to make our nation free and fair, just and strong, noble and whole.

Joe Biden

00:22:28 - 00:22:37 ()

And this work is the work of democracy -- the work of this generation. It is the work of our time, for all time.

Joe Biden

00:22:37 - 00:22:47 ()

We can't afford to have -- leave anyone on the sidelines. We need everyone to do their part. So speak up. Speak out. Get engaged. Vote, vote, vote.

Joe Biden

00:22:47 - 00:23:23 ()

And if we all do our duty -- if we do our duty in 2022 and beyond, then ages still to come will say we -- all of us here -- we kept the faith. We preserved democracy. We heeded our wor- -- we -- we heeded not our worst instincts but our better angels. And we proved that, for all its imperfections, America is still the beacon to the world, an ideal to be realized, a promise to be kept.

Joe Biden

00:23:23 - 00:23:36 ()

There is nothing more important, nothing more sacred, nothing more American. That's our soul. That's who we truly are. And that's who must -- we must always be.

Joe Biden

00:23:36 - 00:23:56 ()

And I have no doubt -- none –-- that this is who we will be and that we'll come together as a nation. That we'll secure our democracy. That for the next 200 years, we'll have what we had the past 200 years: the greatest nation on the face of the Earth.

Joe Biden

00:23:56 - 00:24:04 ()

We just need to remember who we are. We are the United States of America. The United States of America.

Joe Biden

00:24:04 - 00:24:18 ()

And may God protect our nation. And may God protect all those who stand watch over our democracy. God bless you all. Democracy. Thank you.