Harris And Obama Campaign In Kalamazoo, Michigan

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Are we going to party with purpose tonight, everyone? [inaudible 00:02:06] D-Nice. Come on. Let’s vibe. Here we go.

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We got to vibe, everybody. Come on.

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If you came here to vibe with us tonight, I want you to sing this song with us. I want you to sing this song with us, Kalamazoo. Everybody, come on, sing along now.

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Say what? Say what? Say what? Come on. Let’s dance. Come on.

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Here we go. Say what? Come on.

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Once again, DJ D-Nice. Here we go. Funk.

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Let’s vibe, everybody. Let’s vibe, everyone. Come on. Here we go.

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I know we came here for a good reason. I got a question. Do you love old school hip hop? Make some noise.

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Do you love old school hip hop? Make some noise. Let’s go. Come on. Everybody, come on.

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Everybody, come on.

(05:06)
Hey, welcome, DJ D-Nice.

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(05:06)
Michigan, I want to see you jump around.

Please welcome to the stage first time voter, Halle Woodard.

Hello, Kalamazoo. How is everybody doing? My name is Halle Woodard. I’m a born and bred Michigander, a fellow with the Michigan One campaign.

(06:41)
My name is Halle Woodard. I’m a born and bred Michigander, a fellow with the Michigan One campaign, and the chair of the Students for Harris club at Western Michigan University. This will be the very first time I ever get the chance to vote in a presidential election. I cannot think of a more important race to cast my first ballot.

(07:16)
The choice in this election is very clear. On one side, we’ve got Kamala Harris. She is someone who has spent her life fighting for the people she’s running in this race to lower costs, to protect our fundamental rights, and make life better for people like you and me. However, on the other side, we have Donald Trump. He’s more extreme than he’s ever been, and he only wants to get power for himself.

(07:54)
As a woman, a student, and a first-time voter, I’m frightened by what my future could look like if Donald Trump becomes President. His extreme Project 2025 would throw our country into chaos. It would ban abortion nationwide, gut the power of labor unions, scrap the Affordable Care Act, and give Trump nearly unchecked power to do whatever he wanted.

(08:27)
But we have another choice. If we do the work over the next 10 days, we can send Kamala Harris to the White House.

(08:45)
Now I am beyond thrilled to welcome a person who knows all too well the stakes of this election. She has helped bring joy and results to the health and safety of the people right here in Michigan. She is on the campaign trail for the very first time this election cycle because she knows how important Michigan is in this election, especially on our very first day of early voting.

(09:08)
So Kalamazoo, it is my honor and privilege to welcome to the stage your former First Lady, Michelle Obama.

Wow. Wow. Oh, my goodness, yes, Michigan. Oh, my goodness. Okay. All right.

(09:16)
You guys have been here for a little bit. So we want to get this show on the road, especially for our folks standing here in the mosh pit. Hang on there. We love you.

(10:45)
Well, let me just start by saying hello, Kalamazoo, or should I say Kamalazoo? Who is ready to elect the next President of the United States Kamala Harris?

(11:11)
But let me start, of course, by thanking Halle for everything she’s done to get out the vote here in Michigan. But most of all, I want to thank all of you because-

(11:25)
Oh, a hundred years old. No. Oh, my goodness, you look amazing. I bow down.

(11:38)
Doesn’t it feel good to be together? I mean, it feels so good. I haven’t done this in such a long time. It feels good to see how strong, how hopeful, how energized, how organized we all are.

(11:52)
And we need that. We need all of you because right now, as you know, this race is close. It is too close for my liking. And I came out here to Michigan because I am someone who takes her own advice to heart. I know that if we want to help this country finally turn the page on the politics of hatred and division, we can’t just sit around and complain. No, we’ve got to do something. If we want to usher in the next generation of American leadership, we have got to do something. If we want to elect someone with a character that is worthy of the Oval Office, someone with the strength of heart to guide our country to a better day, we have got to what?

Do something.

And that someone, of course, is my dear friend, Kamala Harris. And, Michigan, I am so hopeful about the energy and poise and joy that Kamala has injected into this race. And if you know Kamala like I do, that’s no surprise. I mean, think about it.

(13:20)
No one could have predicted the way everything would’ve unfolded this summer. And yet in a critical moment when our country needed her, Kamala couldn’t have been more prepared to meet that moment. And she’s met it every single day since. Yes. Well, she’s filling arenas in a way we haven’t seen for years. She’s building a remarkable campaign in record time dominating her opponent so thoroughly in the debate. He was too scared to face her again. Kamala, she’s putting herself out there fearlessly, facing down even her harshest critics. She’s seeking out Republicans to find common ground. And unlike her opponent, she’s not ducking interviews or cowering in safe spaces only with fawning audiences. No, she is showing us what a sane, stable leader looks like.

(14:30)
She’s not losing her train of thought or stumbling over her words, and she’s doing it all with vigor and with grace. That’s because Kamala Harris is a grown-up. And Lord knows we need a grown-up in the White House, someone with the maturity and fresh ideas to keep moving our country forward.

(15:09)
Kamala is the only candidate, the only candidate in this race who has outlined a clear set of policies, including focusing on lowering costs and reducing drug prices for all Americans, giving tax credits to first-time home buyers, folks starting small businesses, and working families raising our kids. Let me tell you, it is a remarkable plan.

(15:38)
And these remarkable last few months, mirror the way Kamala has handled herself her entire life, fighting for working people and the vulnerable first as a prosecutor, then as an attorney general, then as a US Senator, and now as our Vice President of the United States, taking on the big banks, the transnational gangs, and predatory for-profit colleges, and always, always doing it, holding her head high with warmth and dignity and class.

(16:15)
So Michigan, do not buy into the lie that we do not know who Kamala is or what she stands for. This is someone who understands you, all of you. Someone from a middle-class family raised mostly by her mom, like so many of us leaning on her neighbors like we all do. That’s what you want in a President, someone who gets you and will have your back.

(16:47)
Take it from me. And I know good people. Kamala Harris is an extraordinary human being. She is an extraordinary candidate, and she will be an extraordinary President of the United States of America. Mark my words, because I don’t lie.

(17:11)
So Michigan, with all that being said, I got to ask myself, well, why on earth is this race even close? I lay awake at night wondering what in the world is going on. And it’s clear to me that the question isn’t whether Kamala is ready for this moment, because by every measure she has demonstrated that she’s ready.

(17:40)
The real question is, as a country, are we ready for this moment? Are we willing to do what it takes to get her across the finish line? Or are we going to let ourselves get distracted and fall for the scam? Are we going to lose sight of the dire consequences if we come up short?

(18:06)
And right now, folks, I have to be honest. I’m not completely sure of the answers to those questions. Y’all give me great comfort in this arena. But this is a big country, and that’s why all of my hope about Kamala is also accompanied by some genuine fear. Fear for our country, fear for our children, fear for what is coming our way if we forget the stakes in this election.

(18:41)
And y’all, that’s why I’m here today. And y’all know I hate politics, but I hate to see folks taken advantage of even more. So I wanted to do everything in my power to remind the country that I love that there’s too much we stand to lose if we get this one wrong.

(19:14)
I’m deeply concerned, and I’m talking to everybody out there, that too many of us are still confused and buying into the lies and distortions from people who do not have our best interest at heart. So I want to address some of these concerns head on, because when you lay out the options, this choice isn’t even close. But whether it’s online or in the media or in our social circles, there are folks who say they’re not sure about Kamala. They accuse her of not providing enough policy detail. Some wonder, do we really know her? Is she too aggressive? Is she not aggressive enough? There are folks sowing seeds of doubt about whether she’s who she appears to be.

(20:06)
Now, don’t get me wrong, voters have every right to ask hard questions of any candidate-seeking office. But can someone tell me why we are once again holding Kamala to a higher standard than her opponent?

(20:20)
We expect her to be intelligent and articulate, to have a clear set of policies, to never show too much anger, to prove time and time again that she belongs. But for Trump, we expect nothing at all, no understanding of policy, no ability to put together a coherent argument, no honesty, no decency, no morals. Instead, too many people are willing to write off his childish mean-spirited antics by saying, well, Trump’s just being Trump. Rather than question his horrible behavior, some folks think he’s funny. And if you remember, that’s exactly how he got elected the first time. Folks gave him a pass and rolled the dice, betting that he couldn’t possibly be that bad. And then there were those folks who didn’t think it really mattered who the president was, if you can believe that. And still others who thought it’d be a good idea just to blow up our entire democracy.

(21:45)
Let us not forget how badly that worked out for all of us. Let us not forget the incompetence and the corruption, the chaos that was the cornerstone of his entire four years in office. Let’s start with the pandemic. Remember how woefully unprepared he was, how he was sowing seeds of fear and confusion, endangering lives with his lies and ignorance, denigrating the doctors and scientists trying to help us?

(22:18)
You want to talk about plans? Well, my husband left him a very detailed pandemic plan, and you know what he did? He ignored it. He had no clue how to get us out of that crisis, no ability to bring back the millions of jobs we lost so suddenly, no idea how to get our students back into school safely, no attempt to help stem the epidemic of loneliness and isolation that too many of our young people are still dealing with.

(22:55)
And his failures had real cost. America lost 7 million more jobs during the COVID downturn than the European Union. Among wealthy nations, the United States had one of the highest CO death rates. Again, all of this occurred with Trump in charge.

(23:19)
And sadly, this was just the tragic exclamation point on his disastrous presidency. Installing judges and justices who have now stripped away our reproductive freedoms, cracking down on protesters marching to protect their sons from being shot because of the color of their skin, rolling back protections for LGBTQ Americans, fanning conspiracy theories, unleashing hatred in our communities.

(23:51)
And then when the American people fired him from a job that was too big for him to begin with, he tried to steal it,

… Egging on a violent mob that breached our nation’s capital. And when told that his own vice president was in danger, you know what he said?

So what?

“So what?’ So what y’all? He said, so what? And after all of that, after all of that, and there is more, there are still folks wringing their hands, crossing their arms, tuning out, saying they plan to sit this election out to prove a point. Well, let me tell you who isn’t tuning out, many of the folks who served closest to Trump and saw the danger firsthand, his former vice president, almost half of his former cabinet members. The growing list of four-star generals and Republican governors and senators, and former house members, all of whom are not publicly supporting his candidacy the second time around. You all hear what I said?

Yes.

They are saying, “No, thank you.” Many are speaking out. His chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, for example, said, and these are his words, that Trump is fascist to the core. His Joint Chief of Staff. These folks know that nothing this man says or does is funny in any way. So I hope you’ll forgive me if I’m a little frustrated that some of us are choosing to ignore Donald Trump’s gross incompetence while asking Kamala to dazzle us at every turn. I hope that you’ll forgive me if I’m a little angry that we are indifferent to his erratic behavior, his obvious mental decline, his history as a convicted felon, a known slumlord, a predator found liable for sexual abuse. All of this, while we pick apart Kamala’s answers from interviews that he doesn’t even have the courage to do y’all.

(26:17)
So I am praying that those of us contemplating voting for Trump or not voting at all will snap out of whatever fog we are in. I am praying that we consider the decades of sacrifice and struggle by all of our ancestors, the folks who marched and sacrificed and shed their blood for us. We have to ask ourselves, is a vote for Trump, or no vote at all, the way we honor their lives? And if that’s the case, well that surely doesn’t sound like freedom to me. Because let me tell you, in any other profession or arena, Trump’s criminal track record and amoral character would be embarrassing, shameful, and disqualifying.

(27:12)
So I hope that you will forgive me if I am worried that we will blow this opportunity to finally turn the page on the ugliness once and for all. Because believe me, if Donald Trump is president again, at some point or another, that ugliness will touch all of our lives.

(27:35)
And it will not matter what you look like, how you worship, who you love, or how you vote, if you don’t make six or eight or 12 figures, if you’re not famous, if you criticize or disagree with him in any way, if he doesn’t view you as his equal or relevant to his ambitions, I promise you he will not think about you when he gets into the Oval Office. And that will have real consequences for all of us. If your town gets hit by a natural disaster, who do you want looking out for you?

(28:17)
Is it Donald Trump who’s spreading so many lies and conspiracy theories about climate change and FEMA that the workers in North Carolina trying to help folks clean up after the last hurricane, were fearing for their safety? Or is it Kamala Harris who has been meeting with local officials, comforting the families in that state and doing everything she can to get folks the help they need? If you are saving up to buy a house or pay off student loans, if you’re caring for your kids or your parents or both, if you are a farmer, a factory worker, a paralegal, anyone whose job may be changed or replaced by technology, who will actually be thinking about you?

(29:08)
Is it Donald Trump who’s palling along with billionaires that want a puppet in the White’s House who will let him run unchecked? Or is it Kamala Harris, who has been fighting for working people her entire life? If you’re one of our service members, our veterans, or military families, who is going to value your service and sacrifice? Is it Donald Trump, who has called those who gave their lives for our country suckers and losers, or is it Kamala Harris, who I guarantee you will honor your commitment to the ideals we all share with every fiber in her being? And if you are a mother who has lost sleep worrying if your son could be the victim of a nightmare traffic stop gone bad.

(30:07)
If you’ve ever been out there marching and weeping for justice, who do you think is going to have your back?

Kamala.

Is it Donald Trump, who once took out a full-page ad to demonize innocent young Black teenagers in New York City, who has dreamed openly about his own version of a purge where in his words, he has said for one day, one real rough, nasty day, he will allow cops to use violence indiscriminately, who I am sure has never spent a single second thinking about the lives on the other end of those batons. Or is it Kamala Harris who understands the anguish in these interactions and has the experience that shows us that yes, it is possible to keep our community safe and keep innocent people out of harm’s way?

(31:09)
And finally, y’all, who could possibly think that this man would care more about our men and boys, more than Kamala Harris? And while we are at it, I want to think about who do you think possibly would care more about our reproductive health? And I just want to take a moment with this particular question because there is so much that gets lost in the conversation about women’s reproductive rights. And I want the men in the arena to bear with me on this because there’s more at stake than just protecting a woman’s choice to give birth. And sadly, we as women and girls have not been socialized to talk openly about our reproductive health. We’ve been taught instead to feel shame and to hide how our bodies work. Some young girls in her puberty not knowing what to expect. Too many of us suffer with severe cramps and nausea for days on end every single month. And then on the other end of the reproductive timeline, too many women my age have no idea what’s going on with our bodies as we battle through menopause and debilitating hot flashes and depression.

(32:41)
See fellas, most of us women, we suck up our pain and we deal with it alone. We don’t share our experiences with anyone, not with our partners or our friends or even our doctors. Look, a woman’s body is complicated business, y’all. Yes, it brings life and that’s a beautiful thing. But even when we are not bearing children, there is so much that can go wrong at any moment. Every woman here knows what I’m talking about. An unexpected lump, an abnormal pap smear or mammogram, an infection, a blockage, all of which could be early signs of a variety of life-threatening cancers.

(33:38)
In those terrifying moments, when something goes wrong y’all, which will happen at some point to the vast majority of women in this country, let me tell you, it feels like the floor falls out from under us. In those moments all we have to rely on is our medical system. In those dark moments, all we have to rely on is our faith in a higher power and the experience of doctors to get us the care we need in a timely manner. And look, I don’t expect any man to fully grasp how vulnerable this makes us feel, to understand the complexities of our reproductive health experiences. In all honesty, most of us as women don’t fully understand the breadth and depth of our own reproductive lives.

(34:39)
And that’s because our experiences are often neglected by science. There’s a huge disparity in research funding for women’s health. And if you happen to look like me and report pain, you are more likely to be ignored, even by your own doctors, studies show. So let me take a minute to help folks, especially the men in our lives, to get a better sense of what could happen if we keep dismantling parts of our reproductive care system piece by piece as Trump intends to do. I want folks to understand the chilling effect, not just on critical abortion care, but on the entirety of women’s health. All of it. There are good reasons why so many women and physicians are horrified by what’s happened since Donald Trump’s justices overturned Roe V. Wade.

(35:40)
We are seeing women scrambling across state lines to get the care they need. Just this week, a major medical journal reported that after Roe was overturned, infant mortality in this country rose, in large part because women are being forced to carry fetuses that won’t survive to term. One woman spent 22 days in jail on murder charges after she miscarried in her own bathroom. We are seeing doctors unsure if they can treat ectopic pregnancies, doctors being told they can’t treat a woman until she becomes so close to death, that only a life of the mother exception will allow them to act. So just imagine the profound effects for all of us if Donald Trump wins this election. It’s states that are already putting abortion bans into effect. His FDA could further outlaw patchwork systems of telehealth appointments and mail order pills, thereby eliminating the last remaining protections for women in those states. He could take actions that effectively ban abortion nationwide, which will put all of us in danger no matter what state we live in. We will see more doctors hesitating or shying away from providing life-saving treatments because they are worried about being arrested.

(37:14)
More medical students reconsidering even pursuing women’s health at all. More OB-GYN clinics without enough doctors to meet demand, closing their doors, leaving untold numbers of women in communities throughout this country without a place to go for basic gynecological care, which in turn will leave millions of us at risk of undiagnosed medical issues like cervical and uterine cancers. This is real.

(37:43)
So do you think Donald Trump is thinking about the consequences for the millions of women who will be living in medical deserts?

No.

Does anyone think he has the emotional maturity and foresight to come up with a plan to protect us? Y’all, we are teetering on the edge. Even before these state bans, America was already lagging behind every other wealthy nation on measures like maternal mortality and paid leave. So we could be right back to the days before Roe, which many young people here don’t even remember, the days when abortion wasn’t as safe as it is today. The days when the number of mothers of color dying in childbirth was 30% to 40% higher than when it was under Roe. So to the men who love us, let me just try to paint a picture of what it will feel like if America, the wealthiest nation on earth, keeps revoking basic care from its women, and how it will affect every single woman in your life.

(38:59)
Your girlfriend could be the one in legal jeopardy if she needs a pill from out of state or overseas, or if she has to travel across state lines because the local clinic closed up. Your wife or mother could be the ones at higher risk of dying from undiagnosed cervical cancer because they have no access to regular gynecological care. Your daughter could be the one too terrified to call the doctor if she’s bleeding during an unexpected pregnancy. Your niece could be the one miscarrying in her bathtub after the hospital turned her away.

(39:38)
And this will not just affect women, it will affect you and your sons. The devastating consequences of teen pregnancy won’t just be borne by young girls, but also by the young men who are the fathers.

That’s right.

They too will have their dreams of going to college, their entire futures totally upended by an unwanted pregnancy. If you and your partner are expecting a child, you will be right by her side at the checkups, terrified if her blood pressure is too high, or if there’s an issue with the placenta, or if the ultrasound shows that the embryo was implanted in the wrong place and the doctors aren’t sure that they can intervene to keep the woman you love safe. If your wife is shivering and bleeding on the operating room table during a routine delivery gone bad, her pressure dropping as she loses more and more blood or some unforeseen infection spreads and her doctors aren’t sure if they can act, you will be the one praying that it’s not too late.

(40:44)
You’ll be the one pleading for somebody, anybody, to do something. And then there is the tragic but very real possibility that in the worst-case scenario, you just might be the one holding flowers at the funeral. You might be the one left to raise your children alone. See, these are just some of the ways women die during childbirth. I don’t want to be a downer y’all, but in many cases there is no warning, and things go bad very quickly. And when it happens, every second of hesitation or delay can lead to devastating outcomes.

(41:26)
So I am asking y’all from the core of my being to take our lives seriously. Please, do not not put our lives in the hands of politicians, mostly men who have no clue or do not care about what we as women are going through, who don’t fully grasp the broad-reaching health implications that their misguided policies will have on our health outcomes. The only people who have standing to make these decisions are women with the advice of their doctors. We are the ones with the knowledge and experience to know what we need.

(42:18)
So please, please do not hand our fates over to the likes of Trump, who knows nothing about us, who has shown deep contempt for us because a vote for him is a vote against us. Against our health, against our worth. And let me tell you all, to think that the men that we love could be either unaware or indifferent to our plight is simply heartbreaking. It is a sad statement about our value as women in this world. It is both a setback in our quest for equity and a huge blow to our country’s standing as a world leader on issues of women’s health and gender equality.

(43:12)
So fellas, before you cast your votes, ask yourselves what side of history do you want to be on?

(43:21)
Now, I recognize that there are a lot of angry, disillusioned people out there upset with the slow pace of change. I get it, it is reasonable to be frustrated. We all know we have a lot more work to do in this country. But to anyone out there thinking about sitting out this election or voting for Donald Trump or a third-party candidate in protest because you’re fed up, let me warn you, your rage does not exist in a vacuum. If we don’t get this election right, your wife, your daughter, your mother, we as women, will become collateral damage to your rage.

(44:22)
So are you as men prepared to look into the eyes of the women and children you love and tell them that you supported this assault on our safety? And to the women listening, we have every right to demand that the men in our lives do better by us. We have to use our voices to make these choices clear to the men that we love. Our lives are worth more than their anger and disappointment. And we are more than just baby-making vessels. And if you are a woman who lives in a household of men that don’t listen to you or value your opinion, just remember that your vote is a private matter.

(45:24)
Regardless of the political views of your partner, you get to choose. You get to use your judgment and cast your vote for yourself and the women in your life. Remember women, standing up for what is best for us can make the difference in this election. So let us use our voices in these final days, to make it plain to the men in our lives that we need to stand, not with Trump, but with us. We need them to vote for the only candidate in this race who will protect our lives. We need them to vote for Kamala Harris.

(46:06)
Kamala, she will fight to restore our reproductive freedoms and defend our health. Kamala will fight for our access to life-saving emergency care and maternal care in every state. Kamala will veto any abortion ban or bill that restricts access to contraception or IVF. Kamala will expand access to birth control and abortion pills. And she will do all of this, not because she’s a woman, but because she’s a decent human being.

(46:51)
She will do this because she cares about the lives of people other than herself. And that’s really what this election is about, Michigan. This isn’t just about what we have an obligation to say no to, it’s about what we have the opportunity to say yes to.

(47:15)
And we can elect someone who has the experience, the character, and the strength to look at all these challenges and still see a brighter day on the other side. Kamala Harris will see us, all of us. Kamala Harris will listen to us, all of us. She will protect our freedom. She’ll stand up for all of our lives. She will have our backs for the folks trying to get ahead and those just trying to get by. And in doing so, she will usher in a new generation of American leadership and send the ugliness of Donald Trump and his politics back where it belongs, the past.

But, Michigan, she cannot do any of this alone. So I’m asking you one last time, let us not just sit around and complain, let’s do something. If your brother or your son or boyfriend needs to hear your perspective, are you willing to talk to them? Are you willing to send a video of what I’ve just said? Are you willing to do something? If you have an aunt who’s thinking about sitting this one out or voting for a third party, are you willing to have an uncomfortable conversation? Are you willing to do something? If you have an extra hour or extra weekend, are you willing to knock on doors and talk to your neighbors? Are you willing to do something?

(48:49)
Look, Michigan, we’ve just got 10 more days to make it happen. 10 more days to wave goodbye to the incompetence and hatred and division. 10 more days to welcome in a leader with the character and the heart and the strength worthy of the office she seeks and worthy of the country that we all love. Michigan, let’s give Kamala everything we’ve got. Can we get this done? Can we get this done, Michigan? We need you. Every last one of you, get this done, get this done.

(49:26)
And now, it is my pleasure to welcome to this stage the next President of the United States, Kamala Harris.

Can we hear it for Michelle Obama?

(49:38)
Good afternoon, Michigan. Good afternoon.

(49:38)
We’re doing this. We’re doing this.

(49:38)
All right. Okay. Oh, it’s great to be in Kalamazoo.

(49:45)
Thank you, guys. Okay. Okay. All right. Thank you. Okay. We got some work to do. We got some work to do. We got some work to do. Can we please applaud my dear and incredible friend, the former First Lady, Michelle Obama?

(52:17)
And I just have to say, I’ve known Michelle for years and she is an inspiration. I know everybody here knows this. She is a truth teller, and she motivates us to get to work, especially when the stakes are high, because as she reminds us, as my mother taught me, don’t just sit around and complain about injustice, do something. And there are so many incredible leaders here tonight, but I want to first just thank everybody because there are so much you could be doing with your time right now and you are here. And we are here as community, as coalition builders, because we love our country, and I thank you for being here, and I thank you for all your work. I thank you. I thank you. I thank you.

(53:09)
And I want to give a shout out to Lieutenant Governor Gilchrist, he’s over there somewhere, Senator Gary Peters, and all the union, elected and community leaders here today, I thank you. I want to give a special thank you to former Republican Congressman Fred Upton, who represented Kalamazoo for decades and has endorsed our campaign because, as he put it, ours is the team that will bring people together, strengthen our economy, and get things done for the American people.

(54:11)
So, Kalamazoo, listen, you all know, before I was vice president, I was a United States senator. And before that, I was… I know you want to say Kamalazoo. I heard you.

(54:22)
Okay. All right. Okay. We got that out of the way. Okay.

(54:47)
So listen, before I was vice president, and before that, I was a two-term attorney general in California, I was senator and a two-term attorney general in California. And before that, a district attorney. And before that, a courtroom prosecutor. And in those roles, I took on perpetrators of all kinds, predators, fraudsters, and repeat offenders. I took them on, and I won.

(55:23)
Well, Michigan, in 10 days, it’s Donald Trump’s turn. So listen, we’ve got just 10 days left. I hear your chant. But listen, the courts are going to handle that. We’re going to handle November. Okay. There we go.

(55:57)
So look, we’ve got just 10 days left in one of the most consequential elections of our lifetime. As you all know, voting has already started, and everybody here knows this is going to be a tight race till the very end, so we have a lot of work to do. But we like hard work. Hard work is good work. Hard work is joyful work. And make no mistake, we will win.

(56:30)
We will win. We will win. We will win. We will. Yes, we will.

We will win. We will win. We will win. We will win.

And I got something for it.

We will win. We will win.

Or as a certain former president would say, yes we can. So yes we can, and yes we will, and we will win, because together, and this is about all of us, we are fighting for America’s future, and we understand the opportunity we have before us to turn the page on the fear.

(57:52)
Thank you all. Thank you all. Thank you all.

(57:56)
And listen, on the topic of Gaza, we must end that war. And we must end the war and bring the hostages home. But now I am speaking about 2024. All right.

(58:10)
So listen, we have to understand the opportunity we have before us, to turn the page on the fear and the divisiveness that have characterized our politics for a decade because of Donald Trump. We have an opportunity to turn the page and chart a new and joyful way, dare I say, joyful way forward, where we tap into the ambition and the aspirations and the dreams of the American people. And I’m going to tell you, as I travel around our country, there is an overwhelming call for a fresh start, for a new generation of leadership that is optimistic and excited about what we can do together.

(59:14)
There is a yearning in our country for a president who sees the people, not just looking in the mirror all the time, but sees the people who gets you and who will fight for you. That is what this election is about. And my whole career, I have put the people above partisanship. I never asked somebody, are you a Democrat or a Republican, before I offered help, except the first and only thing I asked is how can I help you?

(59:58)
And that is a major difference between Donald Trump and me, and between the two extremely different visions that he and I have for our nation. One his, focused on the past and himself, the other, ours, focused on the future and you and your family.

(01:00:27)
And together, we will build a future where we bring down the cost of living. And that will be my focus every single day as president. Because look, while inflation is down and wages are up, prices are still too high. You know it and I know it. And unlike Donald Trump who had $400 million handed to him on a silver platter and then filed for bankruptcy six times, I grew up in a middle class neighborhood with a working mother who kept a strict budget and did everything she could to make sure my sister and I had all that we needed. I come from the middle class and I will never forget where I come from.

(01:01:10)
I’ll never forget where I come from.

(01:01:10)
And so my common sense plan is about lowering the prices you pay on everything, from prescription medication to groceries to housing. On the other hand, Donald Trump will raise costs on the families of America. In fact, independent economists have analyzed our plans and found that mine will cut your costs and strengthen our economy, while his will increase inflation and lead to a recession by the middle of next year.

(01:01:58)
And his agenda is all laid out in Project 2025, which I still must say I cannot believe they put that in writing. I mean, they put it in writing. They bound it. They handed it out. And if you get your hands on it, Google it. It’s a detailed and dangerous blueprint for what he will do if he is elected president. Donald Trump will impose a 20% Trump national sales tax on everyday basic necessities, which will cost, the economists have measured it, will cost the average family nearly $4,000 a year.

(01:02:44)
On the other hand, I will take on an issue like corporate price gouging. I’ve done it before and I will do it again. Donald Trump will give massive tax cuts to billionaires in the biggest corporations, exactly like he did the last time he was president. I will give middle-class tax cuts to a hundred million Americans, including $6,000 during the first year of a child’s life, that will also lift America’s children out of poverty. Donald Trump, again, read his plan, will get rid of the $35 cap on insulin for seniors. He will cut Medicare and Social Security. In fact, recently, it was published, independent economists say he will bankrupt Social Security in the next six years. And what everybody here knows, we have so many seniors whose only source of income is their Social Security check. And we believe that our seniors should be able to retire with dignity, not worried about whether they’re going to have a roof over their head.

(01:04:23)
And we believe that their families also should not be overwhelmed by the cost of home healthcare, which is why my plan includes ensuring that, instead of you who are taking care of your elder relative. I took care of my mother when she was sick, and I know what that is like. It’s about trying to cook something that they feel like eating. It’s about trying to help them put on a sweater. It’s about trying to say something that maybe will bring a smile to their face and maybe make them laugh from time to time. It’s about their dignity. But we have a lot of people right now living in what we call the sandwich generation, who are taking care of your kids while you’re taking care of your parents. And that’s a lot. It’s a lot.

(01:05:17)
And too many people either… Well, either if you are fortunate enough, you may have some extra money that you can hire somebody, but most people can’t. So what that means is so many people have to think about leaving work, quitting their job, which means cutting a source of income, or spending down all of your savings to be able to qualify for Medicaid. It’s just not right. So part of my plan says that we’re going to make sure that Medicare covers the cost of home healthcare for our seniors.

(01:05:54)
It’s about dignity. It’s about dignity. It’s about seeing people where they are and understanding the burdens people face, and lifting folks up instead of trying to beat people down, which is exactly what we see on the other side.

(01:06:16)
On top of that, my plan will bring down the cost of housing because we know housing is too expensive. And for so many people, generations ago, folks could kind of count on the American dream, but it’s out of reach for far too many people. And so we’re going to bring down the cost of housing, including creating incentives for more home building. And we are going to create a $25,000 down payment assistance for first-time home buyers, just to get your foot in the door. Because the way I see it, it’s not enough that you’re just able to get by, I want you to be able to get ahead. We’re going to cut taxes for small businesses, because small businesses are the backbone of America’s economy. Do we have any small business owners here? Right?

(01:07:22)
I love our small businesses. We’re going to lower healthcare costs because, look, I believe healthcare should be a right and not just a privilege of those who have the money to afford it.

(01:07:39)
On the other hand, we’ve got Donald Trump who intends to end the Affordable Care Act, or as we like to call it, Obamacare. And he would take us back to when insurance companies have the power to deny people with pre-existing conditions. You remember what that was like? Well, we are not going back. We are not going back, because we are about moving forward.

(01:08:27)
And it is time to turn the page. So ours is a fight for the future, and it is a fight for freedom, like the fundamental freedom of a woman to be able to make decisions about her own body and not have her government tell her what to do.

(01:08:58)
And remember how we got here. Donald Trump hand-selected three members of the United States Supreme Court, with the intention that they would undo the protections of Roe v. Wade. They did as he intended, and now, one in three women in America lives in a state with a Trump abortion ban, many, with no exceptions, for rape and incest. And the idea that somebody who survives a crime of a violation to their body would not have the right to make a decision about what happens to their body next, that is immoral. And let us agree. One does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree that the government shouldn’t be telling her what to do.

(01:09:49)
Not the government. Not the government. If she chooses, she will talk with her priest, her pastor, her rabbi, her imam, but not the government. Come on. Some folks up in a state capital, telling you what’s in your best interest, like you don’t know? Not in Michigan. But look, if there’s a national abortion ban, nobody is safe. And that’s why I so thank everybody for being here, knowing this is at stake for everybody and fighting for everybody’s life.

(01:10:25)
And I’ll tell you… So I actually just got in from Texas and I did an event in Texas last night, in Houston. And if you saw, you probably saw some of the stories, about what has been happening in our country. The suffering. The suffering. And Donald Trump still refuses to even acknowledge the pain and suffering he has caused. He insists that, and I’m going to quote, everybody wanted Roe v. Wade to be overturned. Come on. Everybody wanted this? Women are being denied care during miscarriages? Some only being treated once they developed sepsis? They didn’t want this. Couples just trying to grow their family who have been cut off from IVF treatments, they didn’t want this. The men of America seeing their daughters, wives, sisters and mothers put at risk because their rights have been stripped away, the men of America don’t want this.

(01:11:35)
Women have died because of these bans. How could anybody say that they wanted this? And you have heard me say, I do believe Donald Trump to be an un-serious man, but the consequences of him ever being president again are brutally serious,

Brutally serious. And what I mentioned are just some of the consequences of what he has done. And I will tell you, I pledge to you, when Congress passes a bill to restore reproductive freedom nationwide, as president of the United States, I will proudly sign it into law, proudly. Proudly, with your help. And I’m traveling our country, and I’m going to tell you across our nation we are witnessing a full-on assault on other hard-fought, hard-won freedoms and rights, like the freedom to vote. In Georgia, they got a law that makes it illegal to give people food and water for standing in line to vote. The hypocrisy abounds, what happened to love thy neighbor?

(01:13:02)
Attacks on the freedom to be safe from gun violence, the freedom to breathe clean air and drink clean water. The freedom to love who you love openly and with pride. All of these things are at stake. And generations of Americans before us led the fight for freedom, and now the baton is in our hands. Now the baton is in our hands. And on that point, I want to speak in particular to all of the young leaders who are here today. Can I see Gen Z? I love you guys. I love you. Let me tell you, see. And of the many things that I just think are so great about you, you are rightly impatient for change. I love that. I love that.

(01:14:19)
You who have only known the climate crisis are leading the charge to protect our planet and our future. You who grew up with active shooter drills are fighting to keep our schools safe. You who now know fewer rights than your mothers and grandmothers are standing up for reproductive freedom. And for you all, these issues are not theoretical, they’re not political, they’re your lived experience. And I want to tell you, I see you, and I see your power. And I know many of you are voting for the first time. Who’s voting for the first time? Can we hear it for our young leaders and first-time voters? There we go. That’s what this is about, that’s why we’re all here together. It’s about our future. So listen, so much is on the line in this election, you all know that. And this is not 2016 or 2020, the stakes are even higher. Because over the last eight years, Donald Trump has become more confused, more unstable, and more angry. And it is clear he has become increasingly unhinged, but the last time at least there were people who could control him. But notice they’re not with him this time. And then a few months ago, the Supreme Court told the former president he is effectively immune, no matter what he does in the White House. It’s not 2016 or 2020 when you think about that, because just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails. He who will claim unchecked and extreme power if he is re-elected, he who has vowed he will be a dictator on day one. He who has said he wished he had generals like Hitler’s, who calls Americans who disagree with him, the enemy from within. You know what that harkens back to? And he says he would use the American military to go after them. Donald Trump has even called for the “termination of the Constitution of the United States of America.” And let us be very clear, someone who suggests we should terminate the Constitution of the United States should never again stand behind the seal of the President of the United States. Never again. Never again. Never again. No.

(01:17:44)
So there is a huge contrast in this election, and I’m going to ask everyone to just imagine the Oval Office in three months. So you can picture it, but here’s what I say to the folks who are watching. It’s either Donald Trump in there stewing over his enemy’s list, or me, working for you, checking off my to-do list. And you have the power to make that decision. You have the power to make that decision, and this is the beauty of our democracy, as long as we can hold onto it. The power is with the people. The power is with the people to make that decision. And so Michigan, it all comes down to this. We are all here together because we know what is at stake. And we are here together, most importantly, because we love our country. We love our country. We love our country.

(01:19:24)
And to love our country, to love our country is to know that one of the highest forms of patriotism, I believe, is to then fight for the ideals of our country. And that’s what we are all here together, to say we love our country and we are prepared to fight for our country, and to fight to realize the promise of America. The promise of America, that’s what this is about. So election day is in 10 days and early voting is already started, and you can vote early starting today through Sunday, November 3rd. So we need you to vote early, Michigan.

(01:20:45)
And now then is the time to make your plan to vote. And you can go to Iwillvote.com to get all the information you need. And if you have received your ballot in the mail, please do not wait, fill it out and return it today. Because folks, the election is here. It is here, and the choice is truly in your hands. And your vote is your voice, and your voice is your power. Your power. So Michigan, today, I ask you, are you ready to make your voices heard? Do we believe in freedom? Do we believe in opportunity? Do we believe in the promise of America? And are we ready to fight for it? And when we fight, we win. God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.