Vice President Kamala Harris delivers remarks at a Biden-Harris campaign event in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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NewsTranscript
00:00♪♪
00:10♪♪
00:16I'm here in Ohio!
00:18♪♪
00:24Well, hello Las Vegas!
00:26It's good to be back!
00:31It's good to be back!
00:33One more year!
00:35One more year!
00:37One more year!
00:39One more year!
00:41Thank you, indeed.
00:43And we are going to work over these next hundred,
00:46and I think it's 18 or 19 days,
00:48to make sure that happens.
00:50But I want to say it is always good
00:52to be in Las Vegas,
00:54and as some folks call it, Hawaii's ninth island.
00:58And I want to thank all the elected officials
01:00who are here today,
01:02including former Governor Steve Sisolak
01:04and his incredible wife.
01:06Where is he?
01:08Kathy.
01:10And I want to thank all the union workers
01:12at this hotel who made this event possible,
01:17including the workers of Culinary Local 226.
01:23And today, on behalf of our President Joe Biden
01:28and myself, I am extremely proud
01:31to accept the endorsement of Aspire PAC,
01:35AAPI Victory Fund,
01:38AAA Fund,
01:40and CAP A21.
01:42Thank you.
01:44Thank you.
01:46One more year!
01:48One more year!
01:50One more year!
01:52One more year!
01:54One more year!
01:56And a lot of work to do.
01:58So let me just say,
02:00this is an extraordinary room of leaders
02:04and dear friends and long-standing supporters
02:07of the President and me.
02:09I see so many friends here.
02:11And so many of you have given so much of your time
02:15and your leadership
02:17to fight for the promise of America
02:19and everything we stand for.
02:21And I thank you for that.
02:23And on behalf of our President,
02:25I thank you for that.
02:27And you all know,
02:29this event today
02:31is one of the highlights
02:33as testament to what the President and I stand for
02:38and who we stand for.
02:40We stand for the beauty and diversity
02:44and the promise of America
02:46and the individuals in this room right now
02:49each represent just that.
02:52You know, many of you know,
02:54my mother arrived in the United States from India
02:57when she was just 19 years old.
02:59And she and my father met
03:01while they were active in the Civil Rights Movement.
03:04In fact, when I was young,
03:06my parents would take me to the marches in a stroller.
03:10I was in the stroller, of course.
03:12My mother had two goals in her life.
03:15To raise her two daughters,
03:17my sister Maya and me,
03:19and to end breast cancer.
03:21She was a breast cancer researcher.
03:23And I'll tell you,
03:25my mother never asked anyone's permission
03:28to pursue her dreams.
03:30Never asked.
03:32You know, my mother, who was all of five feet tall,
03:35but if you met her, you would have thought she was ten feet tall.
03:38And it is because of her character
03:41and strength
03:43and determination
03:45that within one generation,
03:48I stand before you as Vice President of the United States.
04:01And today, then, we are 118 days out from the election.
04:05And while many of us have been involved with these elections
04:08every four years,
04:10and nearly every time we say this is the one,
04:12well, this year,
04:14it's the one.
04:16This is the one.
04:18The most existential,
04:20consequential,
04:22and important election of our lifetime.
04:25Now, we always knew this election would be tough,
04:28and the past few days have been a reminder
04:31that running for President of the United States is never easy.
04:34But the one thing we know about our President, Joe Biden,
04:39is that he is a fighter.
04:42He is a fighter.
04:45And he is the first to say,
04:47when you get knocked down, you get back up.
04:55We all know, many of us know what that is.
04:59So we continue to fight.
05:02And we will continue to organize.
05:05And in November, we will win.
05:12We will win.
05:15We know what hard work looks like.
05:17We like hard work.
05:19Hard work is good work.
05:22So, Las Vegas, in all of our work,
05:25President Biden and I have been guided by a fundamental belief.
05:28We work for you, the American people.
05:32Not special interests,
05:34not billionaires or big corporations.
05:37You.
05:39And in this election, there can be no doubt
05:42who you can count on
05:44to fight for you when it counts.
05:47Just look at, for example, the issue of health care
05:50and affordable health care.
05:52When he was in the White House,
05:54Donald Trump, I forget,
05:57tried more than 60 times
06:00to end the Affordable Care Act
06:03and tried to take health care
06:05from millions of Americans with pre-existing conditions.
06:08Remember those days?
06:10President Joe Biden and I, on the other hand,
06:13have defended the Affordable Care Act
06:15and made it stronger.
06:17In fact,
06:19in fact, today,
06:21more AA and NHPI Americans are insured
06:24than ever before in our history.
06:30Donald Trump said he was going to stand up to Big Pharma
06:33and lower the cost of prescription drugs.
06:36Instead, he bowed down.
06:39On the other hand,
06:41we took on Big Pharma.
06:43And with the knowledge that, for example,
06:46South Asians are twice as likely to have diabetes,
06:49we capped the cost of insulin for seniors
06:52at $35 a month.
06:58We are finally making it
07:01so that medical debt cannot be used
07:04against your credit score.
07:08Knowing how many of our relatives
07:12have had a medical emergency,
07:16something they did not invite or plan,
07:19racking up the tens,
07:21even hundreds of thousands of dollars
07:23of medical bills and debt,
07:26and that being used against your credit score
07:29is just wrong.
07:31The credit score is supposed to be a measure
07:33of whether you are financially responsible.
07:36And so when we do the work that we have done,
07:39and you know, Joe,
07:41we do it based on what we believe is morally right
07:44when you see the people and understand the struggles
07:47and the need for all people to have dignity.
07:50So what we've done with medical debt,
07:52now I'm not allowed on the press,
07:54but that means it can no longer be used
07:56to deny someone a car loan
07:59Think about what that means.
08:04Then there's the issue of student loan debt.
08:06When he was at the White House,
08:08Donald Trump tried to end student loan forgiveness
08:11for our public servants,
08:13including teachers, nurses, firefighters.
08:16On the other hand,
08:18we have forgiven student loan debt
08:20for nearly 5 million Americans
08:22and twice as much for our public servants.
08:29We have also fought to protect our communities
08:33from hate and violence,
08:35including by passing the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act,
08:39which made it easier for AA and NHPI communities
08:43to report acts of hate.
08:46On the other hand,
08:48the former president consistently incites hate,
08:53including toward the AA and NHPI community.
08:58I will not repeat his words.
09:00I will not repeat his words,
09:01but they should never be repeated.
09:03But I will say that someone who vilifies immigrants,
09:08who promotes xenophobia,
09:11someone who stokes hate,
09:14should never again have the chance
09:17to stand behind a microphone
09:21and the seal of the President of the United States.
09:36There is so much at stake in this moment,
09:40including, sadly,
09:44that there are some issues that require, I think,
09:49a lot more attention from the press.
09:52And there are some issues that, sadly and most recently,
09:56have not been covered
09:58to the extent that they should
10:02commensurate with the seriousness of the matter.
10:06That most recently,
10:08most recently,
10:09the Supreme Court of the United States
10:12basically told this individual
10:15who has been convicted of fraud
10:19that going forward,
10:20he will be immune for activity
10:23we know he is prepared to engage in
10:26if he gets back into the White House.
10:33This is not 2016 and 2020
10:36when you think about what that fact means
10:39in this upcoming election.
10:41Consider, Donald Trump has openly vowed,
10:45if re-elected, that he'll be a dictator on day one.
10:49That he will weaponize the Department of Justice
10:52against his political enemies.
10:55Round up peaceful protesters
10:57and throw them out of our country.
11:00And even, quote,
11:02terminate the United States Constitution.
11:06Donald Trump wants to turn our democracy
11:10into a dictatorship.
11:13And the Supreme Court
11:15basically just declared
11:17he can get away with it.
11:22What's more,
11:24what's more,
11:26Trump's advisors have created
11:28a 900-page blueprint
11:31they're calling Project 2025
11:36detailing everything else
11:38they plan to do in a second term.
11:41Including a plan to cut Social Security.
11:45To repeal our $35 cap on insulin.
11:50To eliminate the Department of Education.
11:54And end programs like Head Start.
11:59And Project 2025
12:02outlines a plan
12:05to limit access to contraception.
12:08And for a nationwide abortion ban.
12:12With or without an act of Congress.
12:19If implemented,
12:21if implemented,
12:23this plan would be the latest attack
12:26in Donald Trump's full-on assault
12:30on reproductive freedom.
12:32And no, we won't.
12:35And remember, remember,
12:38then-President Donald Trump
12:40handpicked three members of the United States Supreme Court
12:43because he intended for them to undo
12:46the protections of Roe v. Wade.
12:48And as he intended, they did.
12:50Now, now over 20 states
12:54have the Trump abortion ban.
12:57Many with no acceptance even for rape and incest.
13:01And Trump has not denied,
13:04much less shown remorse,
13:06for his actions.
13:08Instead, he proudly,
13:10he uses the word proudly,
13:12he takes credit for overturning Roe.
13:14So make no mistake,
13:16if Trump gets the chance,
13:18he will sign the national abortion ban
13:20to outlaw abortion in every single state.
13:24But we are not going to let that happen.
13:31We are not going to let that happen
13:34because we trust women.
13:39We know women know what's in their own best interest
13:42and don't need their government telling them
13:44what to do with their body.
13:51And when Congress passes a law
13:53that restores the reproductive freedoms of Roe,
13:56our President Joe Biden
13:58will sign it into law.
14:04So ultimately, in this election,
14:07we each face a question.
14:11What kind of country do we want to live in?
14:14A country of freedom,
14:16compassion,
14:18and rule of law?
14:20Or a country of chaos,
14:23fear,
14:25and hate?
14:28And here's the thing,
14:30here's the thing,
14:32and I say this to a group of people who already know this,
14:34we each have the power.
14:36We have the power
14:39to answer this question.
14:41So if the Supreme Court
14:43says the laws do not apply to Donald Trump,
14:46if people like Mike Pence
14:48are not around to stand up to him,
14:50and if extremists in Congress
14:53continue to bow down to him,
14:55our last defense,
14:57our last line of defense
15:00is the ballot box.
15:02Our vote.
15:04Our vote.
15:10In 2020 and 2022,
15:13it was the leaders in this room
15:15and in this community
15:17who showed the power
15:19of your voice
15:21and your vote.
15:23And in 2024,
15:25we need you to do it again.
15:29So today I ask,
15:31Nevada, are you ready to make your voice heard?
15:35Do we believe in freedom?
15:38Do we believe in opportunity?
15:42Do we believe in the promise of America?
15:46And are we ready to fight for it?
15:50And are we ready to fight for it?
15:54And when we fight,
15:56we win.
15:58God bless you,
15:59God bless the United States of America.