Josh Shapiro (00:39):
[inaudible 00:00:37], I want you to know that.
(00:39)
Let me say, how about Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis? I love that guy and he has been my partner in progress here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Now listen, I think y’all know this. We focus our work around three simple letters in the alphabet, and that is GSD. We focus on getting stuff done for the good people of Pennsylvania. I’ll tell you what, working together, we have been able to make the largest investment in public education in that history of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. That’s right. Our kids today are learning on full bellies because we have delivered universal free breakfast for all God’s children in Pennsylvania. We’re invested in our schools and we’re investing to make sure those kids can walk to and from school safer and free of gun violence, invest in more in public safety than ever before.
(02:00)
Hear me on this. While we invest in public safety, we have also managed to bring people together to pass the most significant criminal justice reforms in the history of our Commonwealth. You can do both. You can have a just system and a safe system at the same time. We’ve cut taxes for small businesses and families and our seniors, and we’ve also made crystal clear that here in Pennsylvania, no matter what path you choose, we’re going to respect you. Whether you choose to go to the military, whether you choose to go to work in a union hall, or whether you choose to go work in college, all pathways to success are to be respected. That’s why get away with the college degree requirement for 92% of state government jobs opening up the doors of opportunity to more Pennsylvanians. We believe in getting stuff done in Pennsylvania.
(03:16)
Now, I know we’re here at the Fitzgerald Field House. This is where team sports are playing. I’m a big sports guy, and I’ll tell you what, politics is a team sport. In order for us to get anything done, we got to find ways to bring people together and we got to have strong partnerships in progress. I’ll tell you someone who is a great partner to me, someone who’s getting stuff done for Pennsylvania, our senior senator, United States Senator Bob Casey. Are you going to re-elect Bob Casey?
(03:53)
Thanks to Bob Casey and our guest tonight, Barack Obama, we’ve got the Affordable Care Act in this country. Thanks to Bob Casey, veterans are being taken care of in this country. Our infrastructure is being rebuilt from repairing our lead pipelines in Esplen to getting that Fern Hollow Bridge rebuilt quickly. Bob Casey stands up for us, whether it’s making sure our seniors can get insulin at $35 or making sure our kids have access to quality child care, Bob Casey is there for us. We got to return Bob Casey to the US Senate.
(04:41)
Politics is a team sport. I’ll tell you what, we have had great teammates in Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Are you ready to send Kamala Harris to the White House? I’ve known Kamala Harris for 20 years. She’s tough as nails. She’s a dedicated prosecutor. She is dedicated to being for the people. She is battle-tested. She is ready to go. She is prepared to lead, and she’s going to be the 47th President of the United States.
(04:41)
Much like the senate race, you could not have a clear contrast between Kamala Harris and that guy she’s running against right now. I know there’s still a few folks, even though we got about three weeks to go, there’s still a few votes with a little bit of brain fog. They don’t remember what it was like when he had the keys to the White House for those four years. So let me remind you, play a little catch-up. Under Donald Trump, we had more chaos, less jobs, and a whole lot less freedom in this nation. We are not going back. We’re not going back.
Audience (06:24):
We’re not going back. We’re not going back. We’re not going back.
Josh Shapiro (06:24):
We’re not.
Audience (06:24):
We’re not going back. We’re not going back.
Josh Shapiro (06:54):
I don’t want to go back. I don’t want to go back to that time of division. I don’t want to go back to that time where he tried to pit one person against another. I want to live in a country where no matter what you look like, where you come from, who you love or who you pray to, you are respected and belong here in this country. That’s what I want. That’s what Kamala Harris wants.
(07:06)
I don’t want more division. I tell you what else I don’t want. I don’t want his negativity. I’m sick and tired of it. I’m sick of it. The dude is whiner, right? As we’d say to our kids as they were growing up, don’t be a whiny pants, right? Listen, this is not the time to whine, America. I want you to think about this. In America today, we are producing more energy than ever before. That is good for our economy and great for our national security. In America, today we’re beating China economically for the first time in economic generation. This morning in America, more people went to work than ever before.
(08:09)
So I got a message to Donald Trump, stop shit talking America, stop it. Cut it out. This is the greatest country on earth. He better damn well start acting like it. In this country, we value our freedom. We cherish our democracy and we love this country. Yet this guy wants to lead our nation and he’s so unfit to lead. He’s so unfit to lead. But we have a leader in Kamala Harris, someone who’s compassionate, someone who gives a damn, someone who wants to lift us up. Pennsylvania, right now, it’s on us to lift her up.
(09:20)
Now, I’ve been talking a whole lot about Bob Casey and Kamala Harris. I want to close by talking about all of you. My fellow Pennsylvania, Kamala Harris and Bob Casey’s. Names may be on the ballot, but here’s the thing. It’s your rights. It’s your futures that are on the line. Here in Pennsylvania, you have awesome power to shape our future, to think about the kind of place you want your kids and your grandkids to grow up in. Hear me on this. You don’t just have this power because we’re the swingiest of all swing states, politically speaking, of course, right? You don’t just have this power because we’re a swing state. You have this power because our ancestors gave it to you and their ancestors gave it to them, and those who came before us handed down to us this mantle of responsibility. It was born here in Pennsylvania, that sense of responsibility, and it started here not a year ago, not 10 years ago, not 100 years ago, but 248 years ago.
(10:57)
You see, 248 years ago, just down the road in Philly, a band of patriots came together to declare our independence from a king. Let me tell you something, I don’t care what the Supreme Court says, we’re not going back to a king in this country. We’re not. We’re not going back. We declare our independence from a king and then our ancestors and theirs and those who came before us, some of them took up arms, secured a nation, and they gathered again in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in Independence Hall. They came together to write a document. Hear me on this, an imperfect document, a document that didn’t include all of us, but a document importantly that set us on a path of self-determination. That said, in this nation, we could define our future. We could be the determiners of our destiny. That is what the Constitution said.
(12:13)
After that band of patriots signed that constitution in Philadelphia, one of my predecessors, sounds crazy to say, Ben Franklin, former leader of Pennsylvania. I know it’s crazy to say, right? Ben Franklin signed the constitution and he walked out onto those cobbled stone streets of Philadelphia. He was met by a woman. She looked him in the eye and she said, “Mr. Franklin, what do we have here? A monarchy or a republic?” Franklin looked her in the eye and he said, “We have a republic, if you can keep it.” Those five words, if you can keep it, that’s what’s defined America over the last two and a half centuries. That is what has called ordinary Americans to rise up, to demand more, to seek justice, and to try and build a future that was more tolerant, more equal and more free. A future that after two and a half centuries would come to include all of us, would come to bring all of us to the table, would come to perfect our union even though it is still imperfect and that work in progress.
(13:54)
Pennsylvania, we have a responsibility to continue this work. We have a responsibility to heed the words of Franklin, if you can keep it, and do this work right now. In a few weeks, you’re going to grab a pen, some of you may have done this already, and filled out your ballots. I ask you when you’re filling out your ballots, and make sure you fill out that circle real well. Stay in the lines. I ask you to think about that pen you’re using, blue or black ink, and I ask you to think about whether or not you’re just voting for a person, but rather writing this next chapter in our American story. A chapter that we haven’t finished yet.
(14:53)
You see, the beauty of America has been, as we have written these chapters, we have always ended up better and stronger and more tolerant. Right now we’ve taken a few steps forward in this chapter, but we’ve also been knocked back a step because my daughter and daughters out there all across America today live with fewer rights than they had the day they were born. We are not finished doing our work. We’re going to restore row under Kamala Harris and protect our rights and freedom. We’re going to build a more tolerant nation. We’re going to build a more just society. We’re going to fill in that circle for Kamala Harris and Bob Casey and we are together going to write this next chapter in our American story. Pennsylvania, it is on on your shoulders. Are you ready to build a more perfect, a more just, a more free society? I know I’m ready for it. I know you’re ready for it. Let’s get to work Pennsylvania. I love you guys. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you so much. I love you. Thank you.
MUSIC (15:46):
Sit yourself down, take a seat.
(15:46)
All you gotta do is repeat after me.
(15:46)
A B C, It’s easy as.
(15:46)
1 2 3, as simple as.
(15:46)
Do re mi, A B C, 1 2 3.
(15:46)
Baby you and me girl.
(15:46)
A B C, It’s easy as.
(15:46)
1 2 3, as simple as.
(15:46)
Do re mi, A B C, 1 2 3.
(15:46)
Baby you and me girl.
(15:46)
Come on and love me just a little bit.
(15:46)
I’m gonna teach you how to sing it out.
(15:46)
Come on, come on, come on.
(15:46)
Let me tell you what it’s all about.
(15:46)
Reading, writing, arithmetic.
(15:46)
Are the branches of the learning tree.
(15:46)
But without the roots of love everyday girl.
(15:46)
Your education ain’t complete.
(15:46)
Teacher’s gonna show you.
(15:46)
She’s gonna show you.
(15:46)
How to get an A.
(15:46)
How to spell “me”, “you”, add the two.
(15:46)
Listen to me baby thatch all you got to do.
(15:46)
A B C, it’s easy as.
(15:46)
1 2 3, as simple as.
(15:46)
Do re mi, A B C, 1 2 3.
(15:46)
Baby you and me girl.
(15:46)
A B C it’s easy, it’s like counting up to 3.
(15:46)
Singing simple melodies.
(15:46)
That’s how easy love can be.
(15:46)
Singing simple melodies.
(15:46)
1 2 3 baby you and me.
(15:46)
Sit down girl, I think I love ya’.
(15:46)
No, get up girl, show me what you can do.
(15:46)
Shake it, shake it baby, come on now.
(15:46)
Shake it, shake it baby, oooh, oooh.
(15:46)
Shake it, shake it baby, yeah.
(15:46)
1 2 3 baby, oooh oooh.
(15:46)
A B C baby, ah, ah.
(15:46)
Do re mi baby, wow.
(15:46)
That’s how easy love can be.
(15:46)
A B C it’s easy, it’s like counting up to 3.
(15:46)
Singing simple melodies.
(15:46)
That’s how easy love can be.
(15:46)
Teacher’s gonna teach you how to.
(15:46)
Sing it out, sing it out, sing it out baby.
(15:46)
A B C it’s easy, it’s like counting up to 3.
(15:46)
You’re gonna say that I’m on a high horse.
(15:46)
I think that my horse is regular-sized.
(15:46)
Did you ever think maybe.
(15:46)
You’re on a pony.
(15:46)
Going in circles on a carousel ride?
(15:46)
You’re gonna say I asked for the moon.
(15:46)
I think that it’s you with your head in the sky.
(15:47)
All that I wanted was somebody honest.
(15:48)
Living for more than their next good time.
(15:48)
You say that you wanna change.
(15:48)
Well, I hope you get everything you want.
(15:48)
Everything you want.
(15:48)
You say that you need relief.
(15:48)
Well, I hope you get everything you need.
(15:48)
Everything but me.
(15:48)
‘Cause I don’t wanna stick around trying to work it out.
(15:48)
When everything feels wrong.
(15:48)
Everything feels wrong.
(15:48)
But it’s all love and it’s no regrets.
(15:48)
You can call me if there’s anything you need.
(15:48)
Anything, anything but.
(15:48)
Me, me, yeah.
(15:48)
Me, me, yeah.
(15:48)
Me, me, yeah.
(15:48)
Anything you need.
(15:48)
Anything but me.
(15:48)
Go ahead and hate me as long as you need to.
(15:48)
Go ahead and break me a piece of your mind.
(15:48)
Say I always had one foot out.
(15:48)
Well, baby, I got two now.
(15:48)
Good thing I’ve never been afraid of goodbye.
(15:48)
You say that you wanna change.
(15:48)
Well, I hope you get everything you want.
(15:48)
Everything you want.
(15:48)
You say that you need relief.
(15:48)
Well, I hope you get everything you need.
(15:48)
Everything but me.
(15:48)
‘Cause I don’t wanna stick around trying to work it out.
(15:48)
When everything feels wrong.
(15:48)
Everything feels wrong.
(15:48)
But it’s all love and it’s no regrets.
(15:48)
You can call me if there’s anything you need.
(15:48)
Anything, anything but.
(15:48)
Me, me, yeah.
(15:48)
Me, me, yeah.
(15:48)
Me, me, yeah.
(15:48)
Anything you need.
(15:48)
Anything but me.
(15:48)
And sure, it’s not all so black and white.
(15:48)
Sure, I’m gonna cry.
(15:48)
For the love we couldn’t keep.
(15:48)
But I would rather lose you.
(15:48)
Than who I’m meant to be.
(15:48)
So you can have anything but.
(15:48)
Me, yeah.
(15:48)
Can have anything but me, yeah.
(15:48)
You can have anything but.
(15:48)
Me, yeah.
(15:48)
Can have Anything but me, yeah.
(15:48)
Calling out around the world.
(15:49)
Are you ready for a brand new beat.
(15:49)
Summer’s here and the time is right.
(15:49)
For dancing in the street.
(15:49)
They’re dancing in Chicago.
(15:49)
Dancing in the street.
(15:49)
Down in New Orleans.
(15:49)
Dancing in the street.
(15:49)
In New York City.
(15:49)
Dancing in the street.
(15:49)
All we need is music, sweet music.
(15:49)
There’ll be music everywhere.
(15:49)
There’ll be swinging and swaying and records playing.
(15:49)
Dancing in the street.
(15:49)
Oh it doesn’t matter what you wear.
(15:49)
Just as long-
Shaquilla Pajay (29:47):
(silence) Welcome to the stage local educator, Shaquilla Pajay.
(29:49)
(singing)
(29:49)
Good evening everyone. Can you hear me? No? Better? Okay. Good evening, Pittsburgh. My name is Shaquilla Pajay, and I’m extremely honored to be here today to help welcome President Obama back to our city. I have been lucky to call Pennsylvania my home my entire life. I grew up in Johnstown, PA and moved to Pittsburgh as an adult, and I now proudly claim it as my home.
(30:53)
I am here on the stage today because so much is on the line in this election. The stakes could not be higher. And right now in Pittsburgh, we are going to decide what kind of future we want for ourselves. Donald Trump wants to take us backwards.
Crowd (31:09):
Boo.
Shaquilla Pajay (31:10):
Trump and his Project 2025 agenda would take us into the past, rip away more of our fundamental freedoms, and raise costs for families like yours and mine. Vice President Harris has a very different vision for the future. She wants to take us forward.
(31:39)
Listen, I spend a lot of time with the future as a kindergarten teacher at the Urban Academy Charter School of Greater Pittsburgh. I spend every day with a bunch of youngins, and when I think about what kind of world I want my students to grow up in, I think of the future Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz are fighting to build. I think about a future where every single one of my students can make a good life for themselves and get ahead. I want them to be able to get a good education, one day buying a home, and not worrying every night about how they’ll pay their bills or buy food for their families. I think of how the little girls I teach deserve to be able to control their own bodies without the government interfering with their decision about when or if they want to start a family. And that’s the future that Vice President Harris is fighting for. That’s what’s at stake in this election.
(32:47)
I’ll be honest, for a while, politics have felt distant to me. I voted for President Obama in 2008 as a first-time voter, and then again in 2012. If anyone is wondering whether your vote matters, whether your voice matters, let me be very clear. They absolutely do. Just a few votes at every polling place this year can make the difference between Donald Trump forcing his Project 2025 agenda upon us and Vice President Harris taking the oath of the Office in January and fighting for each and every one of us here. That’s why I decided to get off the sidelines this year. And on Tuesday, I renewed my voter registration. If you haven’t checked your voter registration, please do it today. You have until October 21st to register to vote, and then get out to cast your ballot on election day. I’m excited to start my voter process again, casting my ballot for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. President Obama has told us, all of us that we have the power to decide our country’s future. And I’m going to do just that. We need to create the kind of change we want to see in this country, and we are going to do that by electing Vice President Harris and Democrats up and down the ballot. It is now my incredible honor to introduce Senator Bob Casey, who has been-
(34:46)
(singing)
Bob Casey (34:46):
Hello, Pittsburgh. Wow, what a crowd. I got one question for this crowd. Are you ready to win?
Crowd (35:05):
Yeah.
Bob Casey (35:09):
Are you ready to elect Kamala Harris and Tim Walz?
Crowd (35:11):
Yeah.
Bob Casey (35:14):
Are you ready to help me win this United States Senate seat?
Crowd (35:17):
Yeah.
Bob Casey (35:26):
All right. [inaudible 00:35:22] Isn’t it great to have President Barack Obama with us tonight? I’m going to introduce him in a moment, but I got a couple of things I want to say first, but we’re so grateful you’re here tonight. You’re here tonight because you love our country. That’s why you’re here tonight. And I can’t thank you enough for loving your country enough to be here with us tonight.
(35:54)
This is a fight this year about a lot of key issues for families, but I think at the core of this campaign, at the national level, and here in Pennsylvania, it’s a fight really about two things. The first is rights, the fight for voting rights, women’s rights, workers’ rights, all on the line. But this is also a fight about working families, about working together to help our working families to lower costs, to fight the fentanyl crisis and to take care of the most vulnerable among us, our kids, our seniors, people with disabilities, help our veterans. That’s what we do as Democrats. Now, I got something to say about my opponent. Just a couple of things.
Crowd (36:53):
Boo.
Bob Casey (36:55):
My opponent is a former hedge fund CEO.
Crowd (37:00):
Boo.
Bob Casey (37:02):
And he told some lies in this campaign. He lied about living in Pennsylvania when he was living in Connecticut. He lied about how he grew up. He said he came from nothing. That’s what he said. He had a pretty good upbringing like I did. We were lucky to have strong families, and he grew up with a lot of advantages. He should tell a different story about that. He also lied about creating jobs in Pennsylvania. He outsourced jobs from Pennsylvania to India and China. He shouldn’t lie about that. He also lied-
Crowd (37:41):
Boo. He lied about every damn thing.
Bob Casey (37:46):
Well, we just get past that. But this is a candidate who didn’t vote in Pennsylvania for 15 years. While we were here in Pennsylvania, working for the people, working all together like we all were, he was somewhere else. He was up in Connecticut. And you know what he was doing when he was in Connecticut as a hedge fund CEO? He was investing in China, not in Pennsylvania. He was in-
Crowd (38:11):
Boo.
Bob Casey (38:12):
Hear me out on this. He increased investments in China by 108000% when he was a CEO. He invested in a company in China that made 90% of the fentanyl. He invested in Chinese oil companies and steel companies. He invested in companies making bombers and missiles to help China’s military. Now, when he did all that, he was hurting our country and hurting the people of Pennsylvania. That’s what he was doing.
Crowd (38:41):
Boo.
Bob Casey (38:45):
Boo is right. And you know what he also bet against? When he was making investments, he bet against American steel companies, not betting for American steel companies.
Crowd (38:59):
Boo. Don’t like that.
Bob Casey (38:59):
I want you to know he’s got some plans if he were to be successful. Here’s one of his big plans. His plan is to give big tax breaks for, you guessed it, the billionaires, the people making a lot of money, and the biggest corporations in the world. You know what happens when they do that? They’ll put Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security on the chopping block. We’re not going to do that in America. We’re not going to cut those programs to give billionaires a tax cut. Now, these out-of-state billionaires know that I won’t vote for their tax cuts. I’ve already proven that, I voted against the billionaire tax cuts of 2017. So they’re a little mad at me now. They’re mad at me that I’m going after them on corporate greed as well. They’re pretty mad about that. You know what they’re doing? They’re spending more than $100 million to defeat me in this race. Well, I got news for those billionaires. I’m going to beat David McCormick and I’m going to beat those billionaires.
(40:01)
Now, I need you to help me. I need you to help me go to BobCasey.com and help us to fight off those billionaires. And we’re grateful you’re here tonight because tonight we’re here to focus on the future, the future of our commonwealth and our country. And tonight as well, we’re honored tonight to welcome back to the city of Pittsburgh, someone who’s been here a lot, who campaigned here when he ran for president the first time, the second time, and helping candidates after that. You remember what he did? There’s a lot we could list here, but I’ll just make it very brief.
(40:51)
You know what he did to lead our country in passing the Affordable Care Act, right? And I not only voted for that legislation, I fought off all the attempts to gut it and to repeal it. But that bill, here’s what that bill meant to the people of Pennsylvania. There are 1.4 million Pennsylvanians who have healthcare solely because of the Affordable Care Act. And we know that so many Pennsylvanians, hundreds and hundreds of thousands of them have coverage for pre-existing conditions because of that Affordable Care Act. So tonight, as we come here tonight to talk about winning these campaigns for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz all the way down the ballot, we’re also here to welcome back to Pittsburgh and to thank him for his work for delivering for the people of Pennsylvania when he was president, the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama.
(41:59)
(singing)
Barack Obama (43:30):
Hello, Pittsburgh. Are you fired up? Are you ready to go? It is good to be back in Pennsylvania. It is good to be back in Pittsburgh. I love Pittsburgh. I love the people of Pittsburgh. I love the food in Pittsburgh. I don’t usually do this, but this is a little bit of a Yelp rating. Just had some of Pamela’s pancakes. I first had those 10, 15 years ago when I was running, and I was like, I need some of those pancakes this time out. And even though I’m from Chicago, some of you may know when I was a kid, I was a Steelers fan and watching the Steelers this season, it seems I’m not the only guy from Chicago who likes being in Pittsburgh because so far Justin Fields is doing pretty good.
(44:24)
Now, before we get started, we have a little bit of work to do here. All right? So I want everybody to be just settle in. We got some work to do. Before we get started, I did want to say that we are heartbroken about the loss of life in Florida, North Carolina states across the Southwest, we are thinking about people, families, whose lives have been upended by the storms over the last couple of weeks. I could not be more grateful for the first responders and FEMA professionals who have put themselves in harm’s way to try and help. It’s times like this when you realize having honest, competent leadership and government really matters. It makes a difference.
Crowd (45:28):
We love you.
Barack Obama (45:31):
And today I’m asking you to vote for some of those leaders, including some folks we need working with your outstanding governor who you just heard from, Governor Josh Shapiro. We need them in Harrisburg. So we need you to vote for your next Auditor General, Malcolm Kenyatta, your next Attorney General, Eugene DePasquale, your next
Barack Obama (46:00):
State Treasurer, Erin McClelland and my buddy, your outstanding United States Senator Bob Casey. Now, here in Pennsylvania, there are three ways to vote. You can vote early, in person at the county election office or at a satellite office. You can also vote by mail. And if you need to figure out how to do that, just go to iwillvote.com/PA to find a place to vote early or to request a ballot. And of course, you can vote at your polling place on election day November 5th. But if you’re at this rally, let’s face it, you’re probably voting unless you are 12. So you also have to help your friends and family make a plan to vote. And even if you’re 12, you can do that. Talk to your mom and dad and aunts and uncles because together we have a chance to choose a new generation of leadership in this country and start building a better and stronger and fairer and more hopeful America.
(47:21)
Now, you’ve already heard tonight this election is going to be tight because there are a lot of Americans who are still struggling out there. They’re still striving to make life better for themselves, for their families, and for their kids. And let’s face it, as a country we’ve been through a lot these last few years. We had a historic pandemic, wreaking havoc on communities and businesses. Disruptions from the pandemic then caused prices to spike. And that put a strain on family budgets. And in many ways, it’s felt like the aspirations of working people have taken a back seat to the priorities of the rich and the powerful. So I get it why people are looking to shake things up. I mean, I am the hopey-changey guy. So I understand people feeling frustrated and feeling we can do better. What I cannot understand is why anybody would think that Donald Trump will shake things up in a way that is good for you Pennsylvania, I don’t understand that.
(48:59)
Because there is absolutely no evidence that this man thinks about anybody but himself. I’ve said it before. Donald Trump is a 78-old billionaire who has not stopped whining about his problems since he rode down his golden escalator nine years ago. You’ve got the tweets in all caps. The ranting and the raving about crazy conspiracy theories. You got the two-hour speeches, word salad, just it’s like Fidel Castro, just on and on. Constant attempts to sell you stuff. Who does that? Selling you gold sneakers and $100,000 watch and most recently a Trump Bible. He wants you to buy the word of God, Donald Trump edition. You got his name right there next to Matthew and Luke.
(50:21)
I mean, you could not make this stuff up if you saw it on Saturday Night Live. You’d say, “Well, no. I mean, that’s going too far.” No, he’s doing that. It’s crazy. And the reason he does it is because all he cares about is his ego and his money and his status. He’s not thinking about you. Donald Trump sees power as nothing more than a means to an end. He wants the middle class to pay the price for another huge tax cut that would mostly help him and his country club buddies. Doesn’t care if he costs more women their reproductive freedom because they won’t make a difference in his life. Do not boo.
Crowd (51:18):
Vote.
Barack Obama (51:27):
Vote. They can’t hear your boos, but they can hear your votes. Most of all, Donald Trump wants us to think that this country is hopelessly divided between us and them. Between the quote-unquote, “real Americans” who support him and the outsiders who don’t. Because having people divided and angry he figures boosts his chances of being elected and he doesn’t care who gets hurt. Think about it. Just the other day we learned that on January 6th, a couple years ago, Donald Trump was told that Mike Pence was in the capitol about 40 feet from an angry mob chanting, “Hang Mike Pence.” And his response was, quote, “So what?” Don’t boo.
Crowd (52:32):
Vote.
Barack Obama (52:36):
If Donald Trump does not care that a mob might attack his own vice president, do you think he cares about you?
Crowd (52:46):
No.
Barack Obama (52:49):
Pennsylvania, we do not need four more years of that. We don’t need four more years of arrogance and bumbling and bluster and division. America’s ready to turn the page. We are ready for a better story, one that helped us work together instead of turning against each other. Pennsylvania, we’re ready for a President Kamala Harris. And the good news is Kamala Harris is ready to do the job. This is a leader who has spent her life fighting on behalf of people who need a voice and a champion. Somebody who was raised in the middle class, who worked a summer job at McDonald’s while she earned a degree, who believes in the values that built this country, somebody who has served with distinction in every office that she has ever held. I think we probably had a fainting spell back there. So let’s make sure, make space for the emergency folks. This happens sometimes, everybody bend their knees a little bit, you’ve been standing for a while.
(54:21)
You can dance if you want. I just suggest you bend your knees, but she’ll be okay. Kamala is as prepared for the job as any nominee for president has ever been. That’s who Kamala is. And in the White House, she will have an outstanding partner in Governor Tim Walz. Tim is a veteran, he is a teacher, he’s a coach, he’s a hunter. He’s been a great governor working with Democrats and Republicans to get stuff done. He can also take a vintage truck apart and put it back together again. You think Donald Trump can do that?
Crowd (55:15):
No.
Barack Obama (55:20):
For that matter, do you think Donald Trump has ever changed a tire in his life?
Crowd (55:23):
No.
Barack Obama (55:27):
I’m just trying to picture. The point is, if you elect Kamala and Tim, they won’t be focused on their problems. They’ll be focused on yours. They understand that too many folks here in Pennsylvania and across the country are struggling to pay the bills, even though wages are steadily growing and inflation is finally slowing the price of everything from healthcare to housing to groceries, it’s still too high. And that takes a real bite on pay checks, it hurts. So the question is, who’s really going to do something about it? That’s what you should be asking yourself. Now, Donald Trump’s plan is to do what he did last time, which was give another massive tax cut to billionaires and big corporations and then, don’t boo, I’m going to break you of this habit. And the reason some people think, “Wow, I don’t know. I don’t remember that economy when he first came in being pretty good.” Yeah, it was pretty good because it was my economy. We’d had 75 straight months of job growth that I handed over to him.
(56:59)
They weren’t something he did. I spent eight years cleaning up the mess that the Republicans had left me the last time. So just in case everybody has a hazy memory, he didn’t do nothing except those big tax cuts. Now, his other big economic plan now is to slap tariffs on everything from food to TVs. Now, understand what terrorists are. Anything that’s coming from that’s made elsewhere and comes here, you slap extra money on top of it. And if other countries are cheating, in some cases it makes sense because you want to have a fair playing field. But what he’s proposing is basically a Trump sales tax that could cost the average family almost $4,000 a year. So if you are concerned about higher prices, that is not the way to get lower prices that’s going to come out of your pockets. You think prices are high now, Donald Trump’s message basically is you ain’t seen nothing yet.
(58:29)
All right, so that’s as far as you can tell, that’s his plan, right? Because it’s not written down anywhere. When it comes to healthcare. You heard it in the debate. Donald Trump’s got one answer ending the Affordable Care Act that 45 million people rely on. The other day, his running mate, JD Vance he had a boat. The other day his running mate had the nerve to say, “Donald Trump salvaged the Affordable Care Act.” I mean, Donald Trump spent his entire presidency trying to tear it down. And by the way, he couldn’t even do that right. And now, eight years after he was elected, when he was asked about what he was going to do, he says, “He’s got concepts of a plan for how he’d replace it.”
(59:47)
Now, I want y’all to think about this for a second. Let’s say your boss gives you an assignment project. He says, “I need this on Friday” and Friday comes around. He says, “So did you finish that project, I asked for?” They say, “Well, I actually haven’t started, but I have a concept of a plan.” Or you could try it at home. “Honey, did you do the dishes?” “I have a concept of a plan to do the dishes.” How’s that going to go over? If it wouldn’t work for you, why in the heck did it work for the President of the United States? But the good news is Kamala Harris, she doesn’t have concepts for a plan. She has an actual plan to make your life better. To bring down the cost of things like groceries.
(01:01:02)
She’ll go after corporations that are jacking up prices just like she went after big banks and for-profit colleges when she was an attorney general in California. And believe me, when she does, nobody’s going to want to stand in her way. I remember after the home mortgage crisis, Kamala pushed me and my administration harder than any other attorney general in the country to make sure homeowners got a fair settlement. It did not matter that she was pushing a Democratic administration. She was not going to let anybody stop her from winning as much relief as possible for the families who deserved it. And because of the work she did, those families got billions more than they would’ve otherwise got. That’s the kind of president, Kamala Harris will be. To lower housing costs, Kamala will cut red tape and work with governors like Josh Shapiro as well as the private sector to build 3 million new homes. And she’ll give first-time home buyers up to $25,000 to help with the down payment, plans, concrete plans. And for a lot of folks, that could be the difference between watching their dreams pass them by and finally owning a place of their own. To lower healthcare costs, Kamala already worked with Joe Biden to take on the drug company and bring down the cost of insulin and hearing aids and more than 50 prescription drugs and president, she will never stop working the limit out of pocket cost and protect your care. That’s who Kamala is.
(01:02:57)
She’s got a track record of doing it. And here’s a big one. Instead of giving more tax breaks to billionaires and raising prices on working families, Kamala will give a tax cut to 100 million middle class and working people here in America. So if you’re a new parent, you could qualify for a $6,000 tax credit during the first year of your child’s life. Because I don’t have to tell a lot of you raising kids is hard. And she wants to make it easier to afford stuff like a crib or a car seat or diapers. I remember buying diapers. I remember the first time I went in the store right after Malia was born. I was like, “What, that’s how much diapers cost?”
(01:04:04)
I remember changing diapers. You think Donald Trump ever changed the diaper? I almost said that, but I decided I shouldn’t say it. If you’re starting a small business, Kamala Harris will give you a $50,000 tax credit to help you get it off the ground. That’s who Kamala Harris is. That’s what she stands for. So with Kamala, you’ve got actual plans. Trump, concepts of a plan. Now, if you challenge Trump to elaborate and enumerate his concepts, he will fall back on one answer. JD Vance does the same thing. Doesn’t matter what the issue is. Housing, healthcare, education, paying the bills, their only answer is to blame immigrants. They want you to believe that if you let Donald Trump round up whoever he wants by the way, and ship them out, all your problems will be solved. Now, we’ve got real issues at the border. We are a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants, we have to make sure it’s fair. There are communities at the border that can be overrun. We’ve got to actually solve a problem. But when I hear Donald Trump talking, I’ve got one question. As I recall, Donald Trump was president for four years, and if rounding up and deporting millions of desperate people and building the beautiful wall and didn’t matter whether some of those folks you rounded up were women and children, if that’s the answer to everything, well, why didn’t you solve the problem? Why were the number of immigrants basically the same when you left office as when you took office? I’ll tell you why. Because he didn’t have a real plan. He had talking points.
(01:06:50)
He had concepts of a plan, and the plan was mean and ugly. And it was designed to enhance his politics and make people angry not to solve the problem. You know, what would actually help bring order to the border and fix our immigration system? The bipartisan deal that Kamala Harris supported, even though it’s written by one of the most conservative Republicans in Congress. The same bill that Donald Trump tanked on purpose because he thinks fearmongering is how he’s going to win this election. He told Republicans, even the ones who had originally supported it, “Don’t vote for it.” Because he doesn’t want the problem solved. We don’t need a president who will make problems worse just to make his own political circumstances better. We need a president who actually cares about solving problems and making your life better and that’s what Kamala Harris will do. And to help her do it, she will need a Senate full of serious public servants like Bob Casey.
(01:08:29)
I’m going to talk about this man just a second. I’ve known Bob for almost 20 years. I’ve watched his daughters grow up. I know his brothers and cousins and let me tell you, there are a lot of brothers and cousins. And I can tell you that no one is more humble and more honest and more rooted in his community
Barack Obama (01:09:00):
… unity, and has more integrity than Bob Casey. In Washington, folks make a distinction between workhorses and show horses. And Bob Casey, he’s not a show pony.
Speaker 1 (01:09:27):
No way.
Barack Obama (01:09:28):
All the guy cares about is doing the job and looking after you, the people he was elected to serve. That’s the kind of person we need to send back to Washington. That’s the kind of person who’s going to help Kamala get stuff done, folks who share our values, and will do what they can to move this country forward, rather than backwards. That’s who Bob Casey is.
(01:10:07)
Now one of those values is freedom. And during election time, there are a lot of flags, and there’s a lot of talk about freedom. So let me talk about that just for a second, because I don’t think we’ve ever had an election with candidates who understand freedom more differently. For Donald Trump and his cronies, freedom means that the powerful can do whatever they please: fire workers for trying to organize a union, dodge paying their fair share of taxes. Try to throw out your vote when they lose an election, control what women can and can’t do with their bodies. In other words, for Trump, freedom is getting away with stuff.
Audience (01:11:09):
Yeah.
Barack Obama (01:11:17):
It’s like he said in the middle of the pandemic, “I don’t take any responsibility at all.” People were dying. “I don’t take any responsibility at all.” Not sure any other president has ever uttered that statement. We have a broader idea of freedom. We believe in the freedom to provide for our families if we’re willing to work, the freedom to breathe clean air and drink clean water, and send our kids to school without worrying if they come home. We believe that true freedom gives each of us the right to make decisions about our own life: how we worship, who we marry, what our family looks like.
(01:12:13)
And real freedom also means that we’re going to disagree on how each of us should live our lives. And we have to respect other people’s views on these issues. I’ve always said there are good people of conscience on both sides of the abortion divide. I respect anyone whose faith tells them that it isn’t something they support. But if we believe in freedom, then we should at least agree that such a deeply personal decision should be made by the woman whose body is involved, and not by politicians.
(01:13:00)
It has been fascinating to watch Donald Trump just tie himself into a pretzel on this issue. When he ran for president the first time, he said he would support punishing women who got an abortion. That’s what he said.
Audience (01:13:34):
No.
Barack Obama (01:13:34):
Thank you. Now, a couple weeks ago, what’d he say? He said, “Don’t worry, women, I’ll be your protector.”
Audience (01:13:48):
Boo.
Barack Obama (01:13:50):
I’ll tell you how he protected you. He handpicked three of the Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade, went out there and bragged about it. And now there are Trump abortion bans in 20 states, many of them with no exception for rape or incest. And when he’s asked about it, he says, “Well, everybody wanted it this way.” Really? He thinks women want to have to drive hundreds of miles to find a doctor who can help them. Does he think doctors want to choose between letting a woman die or going to jail for giving her the life-saving care that she needs? That is not something people chose.
(01:14:37)
Now, Donald Trump may be confused about that issue, but let’s not be confused. Let’s be clear about what’s at stake here. If you send Bob Casey back to the Senate, he’ll vote to restore reproductive freedom that women had for nearly 50 years. And if Congress passes that bill, Kamala Harris will sign it into law. Because they understand that freedom is about being able to make the right choice for ourselves and our families.
Speaker 2 (01:15:20):
That’s right. That’s right.
Barack Obama (01:15:20):
It’s about recognizing that other people have the freedom to make their own choices, even if they’re different from ours. And it’s an example of how at the end of the day, this election isn’t just about policies. It’s about values. It’s about who we are, and how we treat each other, and the example we want to set for our children and for their children. And it’s about character.
(01:16:07)
Some of you know that when I was growing up, I didn’t have a father in the house, but I did have plenty of people around me: stepfather, grandparents, teachers, coaches, and most of all, my mom, who taught me the difference between right and wrong. Who showed me what it meant to have integrity and to be honest, and to be responsible, and to work hard, and to treat other people like we wanted them to treat us. And I had a bunch of role models out there who helped raise me to become a man.
(01:17:06)
And I made mistakes. And sometimes, I didn’t live up to those values that had been taught the way I should have. And I was checked, and I was corrected. And I internalized those values, and I tried to live up to them. And I suspect most of you grew up the same way. And that process of trying to live out your best self, trying to live out your values, that doesn’t stop after the age of 20 or 21. It keeps going.
(01:17:45)
And as I got older, I continued to benefit from friends like Bob Casey and Josh Shapiro, and others who would reinforce those values, and who I didn’t want to disappoint. And obviously, my wife and my daughters. Malia and Sasha are watching. I want to make sure that I don’t disappoint them, and that I’m passing on these values to them.
(01:18:29)
Here in Pittsburgh, I’m thinking about another example of somebody who was a dear friend of mine and who’s passed away now, Dan Rooney, who here was a guy who won six Super Bowls, eight AFC championships, had enormous wealth and power. But I remember walking around, I guess it was Heinz Field by that time. I’m old enough to remember Three Rivers Stadium. Now I know it’s something else. But Dan knew the name of every single person in the Steelers organization. We’d pass by a custodian and he’d say, “Hey Jimmy, how you doing? How’s the family?” All the front office staff, he cared about them. He used his influence to get more Black and brown head coaches hired in the NFL. He gave back to his community. He was known for his integrity.
(01:19:32)
He helped support the peace process in Northern Ireland, became my ambassador to Ireland, and continued to help encourage people who were so far apart to come together. He had character. That’s what I think about so much these days, because it’s so different from what we see out of the Republican nominee. And it’s been one of the most disturbing aspects of this election season, about Trump’s rise in politics is how we seem to have set aside the values that people like Dan stood for and Bob stood for that I was taught. And those didn’t use to be Republican/Democratic values.
(01:20:33)
I mean, it used to be we’d have arguments about tax policy or foreign policy, but we didn’t have arguments about whether you should tell the truth or not. We didn’t make excuses for people who just violated basic norms of treating people fairly and with respect. I mean, just last week, I talked about this. We had one of the deadliest hurricanes in American history. The beautiful town of Asheville, North Carolina, one of my favorite places in the country, spent time there. Amazing people. Devastated, hundreds of people killed. And President Biden and Vice President Harris were down there, meeting with local officials and comforting families, asking how they could help.
(01:21:36)
And Donald Trump at a rally just started making up stories about the Biden administration withholding aid from Republican areas, and siphoning off aid to give to undocumented immigrants. Just made the stuff up. Everybody knew it wasn’t true. Even local Republicans said it was not true. And now the people of Florida are dealing with another devastating storm. And I want you to watch what happens over the next few days, just like the last time. You’re going to have leaders who try to help. And then you have a guy who will just lie about it to score political points. And this has consequences, because people are afraid, and they’ve lost everything. And now they’re trying to figure out, “How do I apply for help?”
(01:22:37)
And some of them may be discouraged from getting the help they need. The idea of intentionally trying to deceive people in their most desperate and vulnerable moments. And my question is, when did that become okay? I’m not looking for applause right now. I want to ask Republicans out there, people who are conservative who didn’t vote for me, who didn’t agree with me… I have friends who disagreed with me on every issue… When did that become okay?
Speaker 3 (01:23:22):
It’s not okay.
Barack Obama (01:23:23):
Why would we go along with that?
Audience (01:23:26):
Not okay.
Barack Obama (01:23:29):
I mean, if your co-workers acted like that, they wouldn’t be your co-workers very long. If you’re in business and somebody you’re doing business with just outright lies and manipulates, you stop doing business with them. Even if you had a family member who acted like that, you might still love them, but you tell him, “You’ve got a problem,” and you wouldn’t put him in charge of anything.
(01:23:56)
And yet, when Donald Trump lies or cheats or shows utter disregard for our Constitution, when he calls POWs “losers” or fellow citizens “vermin,” people make excuses for it. They think it’s okay. They think, “Well, at least he’s owning the libs. He’s really sticking it to them. It’s okay, as long as our side wins.”
Speaker 3 (01:24:32):
Not okay.
Barack Obama (01:24:36):
And by the way, I’m sorry, gentlemen. I’ve noticed this, especially with some men who seem to think Trump’s behavior, the bullying and the putting people down is a sign of strength.
Audience (01:24:49):
No.
Barack Obama (01:24:55):
I am here to tell you, that is not what real strength is. It never has been. Real strength is about working hard and carrying a heavy load without complaining. Real strength is about taking responsibility for your actions and telling the truth, even when it’s inconvenient. Real strength is about helping people who need it and standing up for those who can’t always stand up for themselves. That is what we should want for our daughters and for our sons. And that is what I want to see in President of the United States of America.
(01:25:33)
And the good news is that you have candidates to vote for in this election that demonstrate that kind of character, who know what real strength looks like, who will set a good example, and do the right thing and leave this country better than they found it. So Pennsylvania, that is the choice in this election. It’s not just about policies that are on the ballot. It is about values, and it is about character. So whether this election is making you feel excited or scared or hopeful or frustrated, or anything in between, do not just sit back and hope for the best. Get off your couch and vote. Put down your phone and vote. Grab your friends and family and vote. Vote for Kamala Harris as the next President of the United States. Vote for Tim Walz as the next Vice President of the United States. Vote for Bob Casey and this whole incredible Pennsylvania Democratic ticket. Help your friends and family members and neighbors and coworkers do the same. Because if enough of us make our voices heard, we will leave no doubt about the election outcome. We’ll leave no doubt about who we are and what America stands for. And together, we’ll keep building a country that’s more fair and more equal, and more just and more free. That is our task. That is our responsibility. Let’s go do it.
(01:27:37)
Thank you, Pittsburgh. Thank you, Pennsylvania. Let’s go vote.
MUSIC (01:27:37):
Grab your ticket and your suitcase.
(01:27:37)
Thunder’s rolling down this track.
(01:27:37)
Well, you don’t know where you’re going now.
(01:27:54)
But you know you won’t be back.
(01:27:54)
Well, darling, if you’re weary.
(01:27:54)
Lay your head upon my chest.
(01:27:54)
We’ll take what we can carry.
(01:27:54)
Yeah, and we’ll leave the rest.
(01:27:54)
Well, big wheels roll through fields. Where sunlight streams.
(01:28:13)
Meet me in a land of hope and dreams.
(01:28:13)
Well, I will provide for you.
(01:28:13)
And I’ll stand by your side.
(01:28:13)
You’ll need a good companion now.
(01:28:13)
For this part of the ride.
(01:28:13)
Yeah, leave behind your sorrows.
(01:28:13)
Let this day be the last.
(01:28:13)
Well, tomorrow there’ll be sunshine.
(01:28:13)
And all this darkness past.
(01:28:13)
Well, big wheels roll through fields.
(01:28:13)
Where sunlight streams.
(01:28:13)
Oh, meet me in a land of hope and dreams.
(01:28:13)
Well, this train carries saints and sinners.
(01:28:13)
This train carries losers and winners.
(01:28:13)
This train carries whores and gamblers.
(01:28:13)
This train carries lost souls.
(01:28:13)
I said this train, dreams will not be thwarted.
(01:28:13)
This train, faith will be rewarded.
(01:28:13)
This train, hear the steel wheels singing.