Remarks by the Vice President at a Campaign Event in Charlotte, North Carolina

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon, North Carolina. (Laughs.) (Applause.) Good afternoon. (Laughs.) We're going to do this. (Applause.)

Good afternoon. Good afternoon. It is -- we- -- (applause).

Thank you.

Okay. All right. Okay. Okay. (Laughs.) We got some work to do. (Laughs.) (Applause.)

All right. Oh, my goodness. (Applause.)

Are we going to do this North Carolina? Yes. (Applause.)

It is so wonderful to be back in Charlotte. I want to thank you all. Can we give it up for Stacy for telling her incredible story? (Applause.)

And can we please thank that incredible Anthony Hamilton for his incredible performance? (Applause.) I love Anthony Hamilton.

And it is so good --

AUDIENCE MEMBER: (Inaudible.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT: I love you back. I love you back. Thank you.

And we have so many outstanding leaders here today, including my friend, Governor Roy Cooper, and your next -- (applause) -- and your next governor, Attorney General Josh Stein. (Applause.)

And here with us is your next attorney general, Congressman Jeff Jackson. (Applause.)

Mayor Lyles, my dear friend; the Council of State candidates; and all the leaders who are with us today, I thank you all -- everyone -- everyone here for taking the time and doing the work you are doing.(Applause.) Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. (Applause.)

All right. So, here's the thing. Okay. We got a lot of work to do. We got a lot of work to do.

Okay. So, North Carolina, you probably know -- and please have a seat, if you have a chair. (Laughs.)

Two nights ago, Donald Trump and I had our first debate. (Applause.) And I believe we owe it to the voters to have another debate -- (applause) -- because this election and what is at stake could not be more important.

On Tuesday night, I talked about issues that I know matter to families across America, like bringing down the cost of living, investing in America's small businesses, protecting reproductive freedom -- (applause) -- and keeping -- and keeping our nation safe and secure.

But that's not what we heard from Donald Trump.

AUDIENCE: Booo --

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Instead, it was the same old show, that same tired playbook that we've heard for years, with no plans for how he would address the needs of the American people -- because you know it's all about him, it's not about you.

Well, folks, I said it then; I say it now: It's time to turn the page. (Applause.) Turn that page. Turn that page. B- --

AUDIENCE: We're not going back! We're not going back! We're not going back!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Turn the p- -- (laughs).

AUDIENCE: We're not going back! We're not going back! We're not going back!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Because, to your point -- to your point, America is ready for a new way forward. (Applause.) We are ready for a new generation of leadership that is optimistic about what we can do together.

That is why Democrats, Republicans, and independents are supporting our campaign. (Applause.) Over 200 people who worked for President George H.W. Bush, President George W. Bush, John McCain, and Mitt Romney have endorsed me for president. (Applause.) Former Vice President Dick Cheney and Congresswoman Liz Cheney are supporting me as well. (Applause.) Because, as they said, we have a duty as citizens to put country above partisanship and defend our Constitution. (Applause.)

And that is my pledge to you. I will always put country above party, and I will be a president for all Americans. (Applause.)

And while Donald Trump is trying to pull our nation backward, we are fighting for the future -- (applause) -- a future with affordable childcare, paid leave, and affordable health care; a future where we build what I call an opportunity economy so every American has an opportunity to own a home, to build wealth, to start a business. (Applause.)

And, you know, I -- I talked about it the other night. I love our small businesses. I really do. I love our small businesses. My -- my -- and -- and they're -- many of whom are here. (Laughs.) (Applause.)

And -- and the thing about our small businesses is -- is they are -- you know, my -- so, first of all, my mother worked very hard. And -- and there was a lady who helped raise us, who was a second mother to us, Ms. Shelton, and she was a small business owner.

And I grew up, then, understanding who our small business owners are. They're -- they're the -- they're leaders in the community. They're civic leaders. They hire locally. They mentor. They're part of the fabric of the community. And -- and I know they are the backbone of America's economy. (Applause.)

So, my plan is to give a $50,000 tax deduction to start up small businesses. (Applause.) Because, you know, not everybody started out with 40 -- $400 million on a silver platter and then filed for bankruptcy six times.

But a whole lot of people have the ingenuity, the entrepreneurship, the work ethic, and the ambition to do that kind of work and just need to be seen and supported for what they are and what they do for all of us.(Applause.) An opportunity economy.

We need to build more housing in America. (Applause.) And so, we are going to cut red tape and work with the private sector to build 3 million new homes by the end of my first term. (Applause.)

I have a plan to lower the cost of living for America's families on everything from health care to groceries. Under my plan, more than 100 million Americans will get a tax break, and thousands of dollars of your hard-earned money will go back into your pockets, including $6,000 during the first year of a child's life. (Applause.)

And I will always put middle-class and working families first. I grew up a middle-class kid. (Applause.) I was raised by a hardworking mother, who saved up, and by the time I was a teenager, she was able to afford to buy our first home. I understand how people work hard and have dreams and aspirations for their children and need to be put first, understanding, again, when the middle class is strong, America is strong. (Applause.) America is strong.

But Donald Trump, well, he has a different plan.

AUDIENCE: Booo --

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Just google -- just google "Project 2025."

AUDIENCE: Booo --

THE VICE PRESIDENT: It is a detailed and dangerous blueprint for what he will do if he is elected president.

Donald Trump will give billionaires and big corporations massive tax cuts and cut corporate taxes by over a trillion dollars --

AUDIENCE: Booo --

THE VICE PRESIDENT: -- even as they pull in record profits.

He will add more than $5 trillion to the national debt.

He intends to cut Social Security and Medicare.

AUDIENCE: Booo --

THE VICE PRESIDENT: And he wants to impose what is, in effect, a national sales tax. I call it a "Trump sales tax," because it will be a tax on everyday basic necessities, which the economists have measured will cost the average family nearly $4,000 more a year.

AUDIENCE: Booo --

THE VICE PRESIDENT: And -- and the top economists, they've previewed our plans. They've reviewed them. Goldman Sachs says my plan would grow our economy and his plan would shrink it. (Applause.) Sixteen -- sixteen Nobel Prize-winning economists say he would reignite inflation, and Moody's says he would ignite a recession by the middle of next year.

AUDIENCE: Booo --

THE VICE PRESIDENT: You know, he talks a big talk, but when folks review the numbers -- highly respected folks -- that's what you learn about him. That's what you learn.

And North Carolina, on top of all of this, Donald Trump intends to end the Affordable Care Act.

AUDIENCE: Booo --

THE VICE PRESIDENT: And as Stacy mentioned, you heard what he said in the debate. He -- he has no plan to replace it. (Laughter.) He said -- (laughs) -- he said "concepts of a plan." (Laughs.)

Oh, you all watched the debate. (Laughs.) (Applause.)

"Concepts." "Concepts." No actual plan. "Concepts." (Laughter.)

And understand what's at stake on that: 45 million Americans are insured through the Affordable Care Act, and he's going to end it based on a concept -- (laughter) -- and take us back to when insurance companies have the power to deny people with preexisting conditions.

Well, we are not going back.

AUDIENCE: We're not going back! We're not going back! We're not going back!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: (Laughs.) We're not going back. We're --

AUDIENCE: We're not going back! We're not going back! We're not going back!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: We're not going back. No.

We will move forward. We will move forward, because ours is a fight for the future and it is a fight for freedom -- (applause) -- like the fundamental freedom of a woman to make decisions about her own body and not have her government tell her what to do. (Applause.)

And we know how we got to this issue, because Donald Trump handpicked three members of the United States Supreme Court --

AUDIENCE: Booo --

THE VICE PRESIDENT: -- with the intention that they would undo the protections of Roe v. Wade, and they did as he intended. And now in over 20 states in our nation, they have what I call "Trump abortion bans," including North Carolina --

AUDIENCE: Booo --

THE VICE PRESIDENT: -- and every single state in the South except Virginia. Think about that: every single state in the south except Virginia.

Now one in three women in America lives under a Trump abortion ban, many with no exceptions even for rape and incest. It is immoral. It is immoral.

And I know we all here understand and agree: One does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree the government should not be telling her what to do with her body. (Applause.)

And what we know is that the i- -- the impact of this is -- you know, it's been over two years now since that decision came down. The impact of this is so real. It's affecting people every day just based on the stories we know, and there are so many stories we don't know. Think about it.

Because of Trump's abortion bans, women are being refused care during miscarriages. Some are only being treated if they develop sepsis.

And when asked on Tuesday night, Donald Trump refused to say that he would veto a national abortion ban. You remember that? He refused to answer that question.

AUDIENCE: Booo --

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Refused to answer that question.

Well, I'mma tell you, when Congress passes a bill to restore reproductive freedom, as president of the United States, I will proudly, proudly sign it into law. (Applause.) Proudly.

And across our nation -- across our nation, we are witnessing a full-on assault on other hard-fought, hard

won fundamental freedoms and rights, like the freedom to vote, the freedom to be safe from gun violence, the freedom to breathe clean air and drink clean water, and the freedom to love who you love openly and with pride. (Applause.)

And North Carolina has a history of the point I'm about to make. Generations -- generations of Americans before us led the fight for freedom, and now the baton is in our hands. It is in our hands. (Applause.)

So, we who believe in the sacred freedom to vote will finally pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and the Freedom to Vote Act. (Applause.) And we who believe in the freedom to live safe from gun violence will finally pass an assault weapons ban, universal background checks, and red flag laws. (Applause.)

So much -- so much is at stake in this election. So much is at stake in this election. And understand this is not 2016 or 2020 for a number of reasons, including why the stakes are higher. Because two months ago, the United States Supreme Court basically told the former president that he will effectively be immune no matter what he does in the White House.

AUDIENCE: Booo --

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Think about that. Think about that. Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails.

AUDIENCE: Booo --

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Right? He -- he who has vowed that if reelected, he will be a dictator on day one; that he will weaponize the Department of Justice against his political enemies; and has called for the, quote, "termination" of the Constitution of the United States of America.

AUDIENCE: Booo --

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Think about that. And let us be very clear: Somebody 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. (Applause.) Never again. Never again. Never again.

And you know one of the points that I mentioned on Tuesday -- so, let -- the people who served under him at the White House, who saw him every day -- right? -- his national security advisor, his Defense secretary, his chief of staff, and his vice president all have warned -- all, who worked with him every day in the White House, sat with him in the Oval Office -- have warned America Donald Trump is not fit to be president of the United States and should never again occupy our nation's highest office. (Applause.)

So, North --

AUDIENCE: We're not going back! We're not going back! We're not going back!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: And we're not going back.

AUDIENCE: We're not going back! We're not going back! We're not going back!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: We're not going back. So -- so, it comes down to this. It comes down to this. We are here together because we love our country. (Applause.) We love our country. And we understand the awesome -- the awesome responsibility that comes with the greatest privilege on Earth: the privilege and pride of being an American. (Applause.)

AUDIENCE: USA! USA! USA!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: That's right. That's right.

AUDIENCE: USA! USA! USA!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: That's right. That's right. Right.

And so, I believe it is the highest form, then, of patriotism to fight for the ideals of our country and to fight to realize the promise of America. (Applause.)

So, North Carolina, we have 54 days until Election Day -- (applause) -- 54 days -- and just 35 days -- just 35 days until early voting begins. (Applause.)

And it's not only the presidency that's on the ballot. There are many important races, including Josh Stein running for governor -- (applause) -- that's right -- whose opponent was handpicked by Donald Trump and wants a ban -- a total ban on abortion in this state.

AUDIENCE: Booo --

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Right.

So, these are the stakes in this election, up and down the ballot -- up and down the ballot. But we know the power is with the people. (Applause.) The power is with the people. And your voice is your vote, North Carolina. (Applause.) Your vote is your voice.

And we know -- here's the thing, also. We're all -- we've got -- we are just -- we are loving our campaign, aren't we? We are loving this campaign. (Applause.) We're having a good time. We're having a good time. I know that.

But here's also the thing. Ours will be a very tight race until the end. Okay? It's going to be a tight race until the end, and we are the underdog. Understand that. We are the underdog.

There are powerful forces trying to convince people that their vote doesn't matter.

AUDIENCE MEMBERS: We love you!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: There are powerful forces here too. (Laughs.)

But I say all that to say we've got some hard work ahead of us. But here's the thing I love about everybody here: We love hard work. Hard work is good work. Hard work is good work. Hard work is good work. (Applause.)

And with your help, we will win in November. We will win. We will. (Applause.) We will win.

So, North Carolina, today, I then ask you: Are you ready to make your voices heard? (Applause.)

Do we believe in freedom?

AUDIENCE: Yes! (Applause.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Do we believe in opportunity?

AUDIENCE: Yes! (Applause.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Do we believe in the promise of America?

AUDIENCE: Yes! (Applause.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT: And are we ready to fight for it?

AUDIENCE: Yes! (Applause.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT: And when we fight --

AUDIENCE: We win!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: -- we win.

God Bless you. And God bless the United States of America. (Applause.)