Mike Pence Campaign Speech Transcript Des Moines, Iowa October 29

Mike Pence: (02:00) Thank you all for coming out today. What a beautiful day. It is great to be here with so many friends, especially my great friend and one of the most respected conservative voices in America, Senator Joni Ernst. Also great to be here with your incredible governor, Kim Reynolds. Mike Pence: (02:26) I know Senator Chuck Grassley was here. He slipped away but give him a round of applause. He is an incredible leader. Two great candidates for Congress and all of you. All of you, who've been with us every step of the way. It is great to be back in the Hawkeye state. Mike Pence: (02:46) You know, four years ago, you believe we could be strong again. You believed we could be prosperous again. Iowa said yes to President Donald Trump in 2016 and I know I was going to say yes to four more years of President Donald Trump in 2020 and we are just five days away from a great victory all across Iowa and all across America and the road to victory goes straight through the Hawkeyes state. Mike Pence: (03:25) Come November 3rd, my fellow Americans, I need you to show one more time that Iowa is Trump country. But it really is great to see you all out today. Thanks for coming out. Mike Pence: (03:52) It's great to be here with all of you. It really is and it's also great to be here with a couple of very special people. A daughter of Des Moines, I mentioned before. First woman to represent Iowa 67 District in the State House. I've been here campaigning with her and I'll tell you what. She is going to be a great leader the day she arrives in Washington, DC. Would you join me in thanking the next Congresswoman from Iowa's First Congressional District, Ashley Hinson? What a great leader. Also, it's great to be here with a seventh generation Iowan. He served a couple of terms in Congress and I had a chance to serve right alongside him and I can tell you, he's a man of integrity, principle and faith, and Iowa and America need David Young back in the House of Representatives. You got to do it. Mike Pence: (04:55) And finally, it is just a great honor for me to be here with someone who I've already described as one of the most respected conservatives in America. She's a woman who has Iowa running in her veins. A combat veteran. I'm told the first woman to serve in federal elected office from this state. She is a champion for Iowa's farmers, Iowa's families, and Iowa's conservative values and she has been an unwavering ally of President Trump and the MAGA agenda, so right after you re-elect President Donald Trump for four more years, we both need you to send Senator Joni Ernst back to the United States Senate for six more years. Speaker 1: (05:55) Joni. Joni. Joni. Joni. Joni. Joni. Mike Pence: (05:55) But I want to thank you all for being here today and I came out today to talk about what we've done. Talk about the choice that we face in this election and I expect it's why you came out on this blustery day as well. I mean, think about how far we've come since the time the people of Iowa said yes to President Donald Trump. Mike Pence: (06:15) Four years ago, we inherited a military that had been hollowed out by devastating budget cuts. An economy that was struggling to break out of the slowest recovery since the great depression. Terrorism was on the rise around the world and we witnessed a steady assault on our most cherished values. Mike Pence: (06:32) But in three short years, we rebuilt our military. We revived our economy. We secured our border, supported law enforcement and stood for life, liberty and the Constitution of the United States of America and it all starts with our National Defense, after years of reckless budget cuts, when Joe Biden was vice-president. Yesterday, I just heard that leading Democrats in Washington are actually already promising massive defense cuts if they somehow regained all of Capitol Hill and the White House. Mike Pence: (07:17) But under President Trump, I'm proud to report to you as your vice president and as the proud father of a United States Marine, and thanks to the strong support of our allies in Congress, we're finally given our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and coast guard, the resources and the support they need to defend this nation. Mike Pence: (07:41) President Donald Trump has actually signed the largest increase in our National Defense since the days of Ronald Reagan and he actually also made sure that we would continue to be as dominant in space, as we are on land and sea and air, when he founded the United States Space Force. Mike Pence: (08:04) So it's about standing with those who serve, but also standing with all of you who did serve in a uniform. You know, when Joe Biden was vice president, America saw years of scandal that shocked the conscience of the nation at the VA. You remember? I mean, we literally had veterans that were dying on waiting lists, waiting to get care at VA hospitals. Mike Pence: (08:27) But when President Trump stepped into the Oval Office, all that changed. We signed the most sweeping reforms of the VA in 50 years. We've fired more than 3,000 VA employees that we're not giving our veterans the care that they earned and Veterans Choice is now available for every veteran in America. Mike Pence: (08:50) And that's one more reason why we need a combat veteran on the Armed Services Committee in a Republican majority, we need six more years of Senator Joni Ernst in the United States Senate. She's been an incredible champion of our National Defense and our veterans and Senator we're grateful. Mike Pence: (09:13) And on the economy, in our first three years after Joe Biden had tried to tax and spend and bail us back to a growing economy, and presided over the slowest recovery in more than 80 years, President Donald Trump created the greatest economy in American history and we're doing it again. Mike Pence: (09:40) You might've heard about it with today's new GDP numbers just this morning. The American economy grew by more than 33% in the third quarter, shattering any previous American record. Mike Pence: (09:57) The Great American Comeback is on and with four more years of President Donald Trump in the White House, we're going to bring the American economy back bigger than ever before. Mike Pence: (10:18) You know, the president said today, the third quarter GDP was "the biggest and best in the history of the country," and it was. He actually said in his own words, " not even close." He also said, that next year will be fantastic, with four more years of President Donald Trump in the White House. Speaker 1: (10:42) Four more years. Four more years. Four more years. Four more years. Mike Pence: (10:42) You know, this Great American Comeback is a testament. It's a testament to the character and the resilience and the strength of the American people and it's a tribute. Mike Pence: (11:03) The strength of the American people. And it's a tribute to a president and to our allies in the Congress who advanced the policies that created the greatest economy the world's ever known. It's amazing to think now, in the midst of a global pandemic, Joe Biden actually wants to raise taxes by $4 trillion. And he wants to pass his own version, a $2 trillion version of the green new deal. And under President Donald Trump, we cut taxes across the board for working families and small businesses. We rolled back more federal red tape than any administration in history. We fought for free and fair trade, unleashed American energy, and in three short years, businesses created more than seven million good paying jobs, including 12,000 jobs right here in the Hawkeye State. It's amazing. You think about jobs in the city and on the farm. When Joe Biden was vice president, America actually lost 200,000 manufacturing jobs. And the last president was asked about it. Remember? It was the summer of 2016. President Obama was asked if those jobs were ever coming back, and he just said, "What magic wand do you have?" Mike Pence: (12:28) That's right. We didn't need a magic wand. We just needed President Donald Trump in the White House. 500,000 manufacturing jobs created in just three years, including 11,000 right here in the state of Iowa. And when it comes to agriculture, it's so important in this state. Iowa reminds me so much of the state of Indiana where I'm from. This state has is many things, but in its heart of hearts, it's agriculture. And when Joe Biden was vice-president, we saw taxes being raised on American family farmers. We saw regulations that were compromising and eroding the private property rights of farmers. And we saw them walking away from America's great commitment to ethanol, and a renewable fuel standard. But under President Donald Trump, we cut taxes for family farmers. We allowed immediate expensing of equipment on our farms. We got rid of the Waters of the USA rule, restored private property rights for farmers, stood with ethanol producers, and we repealed the death tax for nearly every family farm in America. Mike Pence: (13:56) And on ethanol, you all remember, President Trump came to Council Bluffs, and announced that E15 is now available year round. That's what we call promises made and promises kept. We fought every day to deliver for Iowa's farmers. And that's why I was really pleased today. Flying out here on Air Force Two, when I heard that President Trump and I, today, are actually becoming the first sitting president and vice president in history to be named honorary members of the Corn Growers Association. Thank you for that. And I promise you, we're going to stand with corn growers. We're going to stand for ethanol for four more years. And all the progress that we've made for corn growers and for agriculture couldn't have been possible without the strong support of both of your senators, the shy and retiring Senator Chuck Grassley. Can you give Chuck Grassley a round of applause? I'm telling you what, he is a champion for Iowa and Iowa's farmers. And it wouldn't have been possible without Senator Joni Ernst in United States Senate. Mike Pence: (15:23) And when it comes to trade so important to agriculture, Iowa like where I'm from, you do two things well, you make things and you grow things. And then you sell them to the world. When we took office, literally half of our trade deficit was with one country, communist China. And Joe Biden had been a cheerleader for communist China all along the way. He literally said that the rise of China was a positive development. And he scoffed at the idea that China was even a competitor of the United States. But under President Donald Trump, we put China on notice. We said the era of economic surrender is over. We imposed tariffs on China's goods, and when China retaliated against American farmers, President Trump was there. $28 billion in direct support for agriculture. And we're going to keep standing strong until China opens their markets to what we grow and what we make. Mike Pence: (16:37) And closer to home, when it comes to our trading partners to the North and to the South, we all remember NAFTA, right? I mean, the truth is that 25 years after NAFTA was passed, we saw about 60,000 factories that were closed. Jobs moved South of the border. And Democrats for years, love to complain about NAFTA, didn't they Joni? But when Joe Biden was vice president and long before, they never lifted a finger to do anything about it, even as we saw jobs moving overseas. But the man who wrote The Art of the Deal got a way better deal for America. NAFTA is gone, and the USMCA is here to stay. And it's a win for Iowa workers, and a win for Iowa farmers. Experts tell us that we're actually going to sell 2.2 billion more in agricultural exports to Canada and Mexico under the USMCA. With nearly half of Iowa's exports going to those two countries, USMCA is a win for Iowa. Mike Pence: (17:52) When it comes to jobs in the city and on the farm, President Trump has been delivering for the people of Iowa, and we're going to keep right on delivering for four more years. The men and women of Iowa, we have a choice to make when it comes to this economy. And I need you to talk to your neighbors and friends about it, over what remains between now and election day. I think it's a choice between a Trump booming economy, and a Biden depression. A recent non-partisan study came out and said that under Joe Biden's economic policies, America would lose five million jobs. And the average household income would decline by $6,500 a year. So after you leave here today, and warm up, I want you to find a family member, a neighbor or friend that hasn't decided what they're doing yet on November 3rd. And I want you to tell them you were out at the airport, you ran into Mike, and he just had one question he wanted, it's just easy. Just one question. We see that GDP number this morning, we see America coming back, getting back on our feet after this great challenging year through which we're past. And I just want you to look at them and say, "No really seriously, who do you really think can bring the American economy all the way back?" Ask them, "Who do you really think can bring this economy back bigger and better than ever before? A career politician who spent 47 years in Washington, raising taxes, growing government, waving a white flag of economic surrender on trade, or a proven job creator who's overseeing the fastest economic recovery in history?" So for our families, for our future, for a great American comeback, about our prosperity, but it's also about the rule of law, which is the foundation of our prosperity. I couldn't be more proud to report to each and every one of you as I stand here today, President Trump has appointed more than 220 conservative men and women to our federal courts at every level, including Justice Neil Gorsuch, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and Justice Amy Coney Barrett. I'm telling you. Isn't she something? I'll tell you what, she just did an incredible job. We couldn't be more proud of her back in Indiana, which is where she's from, but now, she belongs to America and Justice Barrett is going to be an incredible justice on the Supreme Court of the United States. I truly believe it. Now the progress we've made, think about that, transforming our judiciary. None of that would have been possible. I got to say it again, without the strong and principled support of both of your senators from the great state of Iowa. But it is one more reason why we need a principled conservative representing Iowa on the Senate Judiciary Committee. We need six more years of Senator Joni Ernst in the Senate. I'm just telling you, I'm telling you each and every day, the difference that it makes to have allies and to have a Republican majority in the United States Senate. And you know, this is really about, this is about our liberties. We talk about prosperity, and we talk about security and those are paramount in our minds, but protecting and ensuring our God-given liberties in this country... Mike Pence: (22:03) ... assuring our God-given liberties in this country is at the very center of who we are. I want to assure you of a president who's appointed men and women who will uphold those God-given liberties, like the freedom of speech, the freedom of religion, and the Second Amendment, right to keep and bear arms. We're going to keep appointing strong and principled conservatives for four more years. As the truth is when you look back at the days when Joe Biden was vice president, our liberties were under assault and our most cherished values. When Joe Biden was vice president, we saw the conscience rights of doctors and nurses and religious charities eroded. They actually hauled into court a group of Catholic nuns to force them to compromise their faith to live under the standards of Obamacare. Mike Pence: (23:06) President Donald Trump, we've stood strong for the religious freedom of every American of every faith. We restored the conscience rights of doctors, nurses and religious charities. President Donald Trump ended the assault on the Little Sisters of the Poor and the Supreme Court of the United States made it permanent. I just promise you, we're going to continue to stand strong for what we cherish most because it matters, because the freedom of religion itself has been under ridicule. I mentioned Judge Barrett, Senator Ernst still remember this, but two years ago, when Judge Amy Coney Barrett was being considered for the court of appeals before the Senate, she came under attack because of her devout faith. In fact, Hollywood liberals began mocking her faith and the Democrat leader on the judiciary committee actually said her faith was a concern because she said, "The dogma lives loudly within you." Hollywood liberals were attacking her faith ever since. Mike Pence: (24:27) Well, I got a message for the Democrats in Washington and for their friends in Hollywood, that dogma lives loudly in me. That dogma lives loudly in you. The right to live and work and worship according to the dictates of our faith lives loudly in the constitution of the United States of America. It's not just been about our liberties. It's been about life. You all in Iowa deserve to know that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris support taxpayer funding of abortion all the way up to the moment of birth. They're calling for record increases in funding for abortion at home and abroad. But for me, I couldn't be more proud to serve as vice president to a president who stands without apology for the sanctity of human life. In our first week in office, President Trump restore the Mexico City policy, the prevented taxpayer dollars from being used to promote abortion around the world. I got to cast the tie-breaking vote in the United States Senate that allowed states like Iowa to defund planned parenthood. Mike Pence: (25:52) President Donald Trump is the most pro-life president in American history and we're going to stand for life for four more years. So, we made great progress in our first three years. We rebuilt our military. We revived our economy. We stood for liberties in life and the rule of law. None of that would have been possible without the strong and consistent support of Iowa's Republican Delegation to Congress. So right after you reelect president Donald Trump, right after you send Senator Joni Ernst back to the Senate, we need you to send David Young and Ashley Hinson to a new Republican majority in Washington, DC and retire Nancy Pelosi once and for all. Out. I'm telling you, David Young, Ashley Hinson, Nancy Pelosi out. That's the equation, right? So, let's get it done. Ashley, thank you so much. You ran a great campaign. It's incredible. Mike Pence: (27:05) When you look at what we were able to accomplish in those first three years with the support of the people of Iowa, I think there's only one way you can describe it. In three short years, we made America great again. Am I right? And then, the coronavirus struck from China. But before the first documented case anywhere in America, President Trump did what no president ever done before. He suspended all travel from China, the second largest economy in the world. President Trump put the health of America first. Now, you all deserve to know, Joe Biden called that xenophobic. He said it was hysterical. He actually wrote a couple of days earlier that banning any travel during a global pandemic would make things worse. But, Joe Biden got it wrong and President Trump got it right. I can tell you, as the head of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, President Trump's decision to suspend all travel from China saved untold American lives because it bought us invaluable time to stand up the greatest national mobilization since World War II. Mike Pence: (28:27) We reinvented testing. We started the manufacture and distribution of billions of supplies of PPE. We develop medicines known as therapeutics that are saving lives and we are on track to have the first coronavirus vaccine before the end of this year with millions of doses for the American people. It's extraordinary. Even as we're seeing cases rising in parts of the country, people of Iowa can be confident that we're going to continue. We're going to continue to work around the clock to assure that all of our doctors and nurses have all the support they need, to give any Iowa family impacted by the coronavirus the level of care we'd want for a member of our family. Now, we'll get through this and we'll get through this together. But, I have to pause for a second and give some credit where credit is due. Because all along the way, the people of Iowa have witnessed the steady, strong and compassionate leadership of Governor Kim Reynolds. Audience: (29:36) We love Kim. We love Kim. We love Kim. We love Kim. We love Kim. We love Kim. Mike Pence: (29:53) I've worked with governors in all 50 states in our territories and I must tell you that Governor Reynolds innovation on testing early on, the distribution of PPE to doctors and nurses, even up to this very hour and moment, I'll tell you, president and I are grateful and the people of Iowa are blessed to have Governor Kim Reynolds in the governor's office at such a time as this. Let's hear it again for your great governor and the job that she's done. Incredible leader. So working with Governor Reynolds, I promise you, we're going to continue to meet this moment. We're going to continue to protect the vulnerable, save lives, and develop life-saving medicines until the day comes when he put this coronavirus in the past. Under President Donald Trump, we're opening up America again. It's amazing to think that the leadership of your president and the leadership of your governor in just the last five months, we've already seen 11 and a half million Americans go back to work, including nearly 100,000 people all across the Hawkeye State. Mike Pence: (31:16) We're opening up America again. You saw those numbers this morning, the American economy is roaring back. But you all deserve to know, Joe Biden is talking about shutting down our economy. The headlines today tell us actually that several European countries are already starting to shut down, so you can bet the Joe Biden will lock down the American economy if he ever makes it to the White House. But, we're not going to let it happen. We're going to meet this moment with American compassion and ingenuity. We're going to distribute the vaccine and defeat the virus, and bring America back bigger and better than ever before. So men and women, I appreciate you coming out today. But I think you all know, the choice in this election has never been clear. The stakes have never been higher. Iowa knows more than most states about presidential politics. The state always plays an outsized role in setting the course of the nation. I just wanted to come here today to make sure you understand, not just what we've done and the choice that we face, but the issues that will face future generations of Americans based on what we decide five days from now. When you look at their agenda, higher taxes, open borders, socialized medicine, a Green New Deal, it's clear, Joe- Mike Pence: (33:01) It's clear. Joe Biden would be nothing more than a Trojan horse for the radical low. Now, Joe Biden has said that democracy is on the ballot. Well, I think our economic recovery is on the ballot. I think law and order are on the ballot. But there are also things, far more foundational to our country, that are on the ballot. In this election, I think it's not going to be so much whether America ends up more Republican or more Democrat, more liberal or more conservative, more red or more blue. I think the choice in this election is whether America remains America. It's whether we're going to chart a course for the future, for our children and our grandchildren, build on our great heritage of faith and family and freedom and patriotism, or whether we're going to let Joe Biden and the radical left, surrender our nation to policies that would shut down our economy, topple our heritage of freedom, abandoned traditional values, and set us on an inevitable path of socialism and American decline. Mike Pence: (34:36) So, for everything that has always made this country exceptional and great, for our very freedom and way of life, men and women of Iowa, we need to decide right here and right now, that Joe Biden will never be President of the United States. We're going to reelect President Donald Trump for four more years. Crowd: (35:00) Four more years, four more years, four more years, four more years- Mike Pence: (35:01) When the president called me to join this ticket four years ago, I really didn't know him that well. Some people think we're a little bit different, but I got to tell you, we've gotten to be very close friends. I've served at his side every day, these last four years, and I want to tell you folks, I've been there when the cameras are off and the Klieg lights are off. I've watched him endure unrelenting resistance in opposition, like I'd never seen before from the Democratic party. I've watched this president endure unrelenting and unfair attacks by their allies in the national media. But there's not a day gone by that I haven't personally seen President Donald Trump get up, turn his face like flint against the wind and fight to keep the promises that he made to the people of this country. Now it's our turn to fight for him. Mike Pence: (36:23) It's on, Iowa. I need you to bring it. I need you to bring it. The stakes are that high, and it's all down to you. It really is. A couple of things I want to ask you to do, and then I'm going to let you all get in out of the cold, but give yourselves a ... I love these gloved applauses. Give yourself a gloved applause, will you, for coming out today? I'm just so proud. Proud to be with you today. What a great state. Thank you all. You got to do a couple of things. I checked on my way here. Early voting's already started. Maybe before the day is out, I need you to vote, Iowa. Vote to reelect President Donald Trump for four more years. Mike Pence: (37:18) The president cast his vote this weekend. Karen and I cast our votes in Indianapolis. I need you to go get it done. I mean, if you've already requested an absentee ballot, you can vote absentee in person, right? I checked on the way here. If you don't know where to go with it, you can head down to the Polk County election office, 120 Second Avenue, Suite A, open today, Friday, Saturday, and Monday, eight to five. Remember friends, don't let friends vote alone. Bring a family member or bring a neighbor. Bring a coworker and vote to reelect President Donald Trump for four more years. Number one- Crowd: (38:18) We love Mike. We love Mike. We love Mike. We love Mike- Mike Pence: (38:19) I love you too. Crowd: (38:19) We love Mike. We love Mike. We love Mike- Mike Pence: (38:24) After you vote with a friend, number two, I got something else I want to ask you to do. I want you to tell somebody why you came and stood out in the cold here today. I mean, I want you to tell them that, what the stakes are in this election. I mean, I think this is not the most important election in my lifetime. I think this might be the most important election in the life of this nation. For all the reasons that I said, because the choice is that dramatic. As America is standing back up through the most challenging year in my lifetime, it's never been more important that we continue to build on the foundation of American greatness. Mike Pence: (39:17) Go tell your neighbors and friends. I'll always believe that what happened here in Iowa and across America in 2016 was that, in a very real sense, people weren't listening to the pollsters and the pundits. They were just talking to each other. It's like I said, at the very start, people were listening to the vision and sensing the leadership qualities of our president. You were talking to your family members and your friends and saying, "I think that sounds about right." I mean, you believed that America could be strong again, could be prosperous again. I want you to talk to your neighbors and friends and encourage them one more time, because I can tell you, Joe Biden is talking about dark days coming up, but under President Donald Trump, the best is yet to come. Mike Pence: (40:26) Finally, after you be sure to vote, tell your neighbors and friends every day, the next five days, I'd encourage you to do one more thing. I've traveled around this country the last four years, and I'm convinced of two things. That America is a freedom-loving nation, and America is a nation of faith, and so, if you're inclined to bow the head and bend the knee from time to time, I'd encourage you to do that over the next five days. When you pray, pray with confidence, in these challenging times, that if his people who are called by his name will humble themselves and pray and turn, that he'll do like he's always done, in the long and storied history of this great nation. He'll hear from heaven. He'll heal this land. This one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Mike Pence: (41:49) Pray for America. Pray for all of the American people. It'll make a difference, I promise you. Thank you for coming out today. Give your great governor another round of applause, will you? She not only come ... A great leader, Governor Reynolds. Give Ashley Hinson another round of applause. She's going to be a great member of Congress. Give a special round of applause to the Senator Joni Ernst, who's been such a champion and we're going to get her back for six more years. I'm just absolutely convinced, seeing this hardy bunch, here in the Hawkeye state. I'm telling you what, you all look great today. Thank you so much for being here, but if all of us do all that we need to do between now and November 3rd, we're going to have a great victory all across Iowa and all across America. Mike Pence: (42:44) With Joni Ernst, in a renewed Republican majority in the Senate. With Ashley Hinson, and David Young in a new Republican majority, in the House of Representatives. With President Donald Trump back in the White House, and with God's help, we will make America great again, again. Thank you very much, Iowa. God bless you. God bless America. Let's go get it done.