Democratic National Convention (DNC) 2020 Night 3 Transcript: Speeches by Barack Obama, Kamala Harris, Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi & more

Speaker 1: (00:00)
(Silence).

Speaker 1: (21:36)
… Joe Biden. We also reaffirmed our values as a party, the party of resilience and hope, empathy and inclusion. This is the party that fired me up as a young man in the ’60s registering voters with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in the Mississippi Delta and campaigning for Ms. Fannie Lou Hamer for the United States House of Representatives. It’s the party that taught me that public servants should serve the public even when your opponents call you names like nasty or slow. And today, it’s the party that calls us to stand up for what’s right, and to get in good trouble. So on behalf of this great party, it’s my pleasure to welcome once again, delegates, alternates, standing committee members, friends, and fellow Americans, members of the media and guests from around the world. I now call this third session of the 48th Quadrennial National Convention of the Democratic Party to order. Now let’s get this show started.

Speaker 2: (22:53)
And now, live from Wisconsin, please welcome Governor Tony Evers.

Gov. Tony Evers: (23:02)
Good evening folks. I’m Tony Evers, and I’m incredibly proud to be the 46th governor of the great state of Wisconsin. We were really looking forward to having you here in America’s Dairyland. Unfortunately, the pandemic means we can’t do that this year. But what unites us is far, far greater than what divides us. So even though we can’t be with each other, I know we have a shared sense of purpose, that is to elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. This November is about returning kindness, respect, empathy, and civility back to the White House, and that’s who Joe and Kamala are, because they know, especially during challenging times like these, the problems we face can only be solved by all of us together. Holy macro, folks, let’s get to work.

Terry Williams: (24:16)
Hello. My name is Terry Williams, and I’ve been a Republican for all of my adult life.

Donna N.: (24:19)
A lifelong Republican.

Alan P.: (24:21)
Republican.

Garry: (24:21)
A lifelong Republican.

Michael: (24:23)
I’ve been a longstanding Republican. And I’m telling you, you got to vote for Joe Biden.

Debra: (24:28)
I have voted for and campaigned for Republicans since the Reagan years, but I won’t be voting for Donald Trump in November.

Garry: (24:34)
I’m supporting Joe Biden for president.

Donna N.: (24:37)
We need a positive leader. Someone who can work with both sides, Republicans and the Democrats.

Michael: (24:44)
I don’t think we can deal with the type of person we have in the White House any longer.

Terry Williams: (24:49)
Vote America. That’s the only way to get out of this and Joe Biden is just the person to ensure we get our lives back to normal.

Garry: (24:56)
Joe Biden is a decent man with a long history of public service to America.

Debra: (25:00)
He will restore order and integrity to the executive branch.

Alan P.: (25:04)
I would strongly encourage all of us to come together.

Garry: (25:07)
And hopefully return our country’s political discourse back to some measure of normalcy and decency.

Michael: (25:13)
I’m sure, I’m absolutely sure he’s going to help us bring this country together once again.

Group: (25:43)
I pledge allegiance to the flag.

Speaker 3: (25:51)
Of the United States of America.

Group: (25:51)
And to the republic for which it stands, one nation…

Speaker 4: (25:54)
One nation.

Speaker 5: (25:55)
One nation.

Group: (25:56)
Under God, indivisible.

Speaker 6: (25:58)
With liberty.

Group: (25:58)
And justice for all.

Kamala Harris: (26:03)
Hey, everybody. It’s me, Kamala. So before I go on stage later tonight, I want to talk about the importance of voting. I know many of you plan to vote this year, but amidst the excitement and enthusiasm for this election, you’ve also heard about obstacles and misinformation and folks making it harder for you to cast your ballot. So I think we need to ask ourselves, why don’t they want us to vote? Why is there so much effort to silence our voices? And the answer is because when we vote, things change. When we vote, things get better. When we vote, we address the need for all people to be treated with dignity and respect in our country. So each of us needs a plan, a voting plan. Joe and I want to make sure you’re prepared. If you text, vote, to 30330, we’ll help you come up with your plan and remember deadlines and get ready to vote in your community.

Kamala Harris: (27:10)
So send that text and encourage your family and friends to send one too. Now, let’s enjoy another night of inspiration from around our country. I’ll see a little later tonight. And until then, I turn it over to my dear friend and tonight’s moderator, Kerry Washington.

Kerry Washington: (27:33)
Welcome to night three of the Democratic National Convention. I’m honored to be joining you as we continue to celebrate this unconventional convention. We’re going to be hearing a lot more from Senator Harris later, I promise. But first, when I was in seventh or eighth grade, we memorized the preamble of the constitution and I’ve never forgotten it. The first 15 words of our constitution are, we the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, we say, more perfect, because our union is not without flaws. When our constitution was written, women couldn’t vote, black people were considered three fifths of a human being, but there in lies the work. No one is perfect, nothing is, but it is the striving toward justice, equality and truth that distinguishes us. We fight for a more perfect union because we are fighting for the soul of this country and for our lives.

And right now, that fight is real. Tonight, we are going to hear from so many phenomenal women who are working to help us build that more perfect union; Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Secretary Hillary Clinton, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham. We’re going to see an incredible performance from Jennifer Hudson and a world premier performance from Billie Eilish. We’ll meet so many of the activists and organizers working to build a more equal, more just future. And we’re going to hear from our 44th president, Barack Obama. That’s a long way of saying this is going to be an unforgettable night filled with important voices. But the most important voice we hope to hear from tonight is the one we need to hear from most, it’s yours. Because if we are going to repair the damage that has been done, if we are going to finally realize the dream, we the people have to get involved.

Each and every one of us is the we. You are the we. It’s going to be your voice, your service, your action that helps us create that more perfect union. Tonight, we’re going to talk about where we are and where we’re going on so many issues important to our future. 90% of Americans support common sense gun laws, because we need to do more to address the epidemic of gun violence. Let’s start there.

Emma G.: (30:23)
People affected by everyday gun violence have to walk by the street corner where their best friend, their brother, their mother, their nephew, where they themselves were shot, and life goes on and on as if we all haven’t just watched a loved one die and get put in the grave. The whole point of what I’m saying here is until one of us or all of us stand up and say, I can’t do this anymore, I can’t sit by and watch the news treat these shootings like acts of God, gun violence isn’t just going to stop until there’s a force fighting harder against it, and I’m going to do something to prevent it. They say that tougher gun laws do not decrease gun violence. We call…

Audience: (31:11)
BS.

Emma G.: (31:15)
They say a good guy with a gun stops a bad guy with a gun. We call…

Audience: (31:18)
BS.

Emma G.: (31:21)
They say guns are just tools like knives. We call…

Audience: (31:24)
BS.

Emma G.: (31:27)
They say that no laws could have been able to prevent the hundreds of senseless tragedies that have occurred. We call…

Audience: (31:33)
BS.

Emma G.: (31:37)
That us kids don’t know what we’re talking about. That we’re too young to understand how the government works. We call…

Audience: (31:43)
BS.

Emma G.: (31:48)
Well, what we’re fighting for will happen because we’re fighting so strongly for it. We’re going to make this change.

Maria W.: (32:02)
Long before this pandemic, our country has been suffering from the epidemic of gun violence.

Shenee J.: (32:07)
Gun violence is a public health crises. One that disproportionately affects the black and brown communities. First, it was my beloved fiance.

Maria W.: (32:17)
My son, Jerry, at the Pulse shooting in Orlando.

Shenee J.: (32:21)
Seven years later, it would be my son.

Maria W.: (32:24)
I know exactly the pain, the toll, heartbreak of gun violence.

Lylena E.: (32:30)
My freshman year, my high school went into lockdown because a kid brought a gun to school.

Joseph M.: (32:35)
We’ve had to endure live shooter training drills in our schools.

Lylena E.: (32:38)
High schoolers have enough to deal with. They shouldn’t also be responsible for keeping themselves safe at school. That’s the job of the government.

Joseph M.: (32:46)
We have to end corporate lobbying by the NRA. We have to invest in mental health in our communities rather than making our schools maximum security prisons.

Shenee J.: (32:54)
I want a president who will make gun violence prevention a top priority, and I believe Joe Biden is that person.

Speaker 2: (33:03)
And now, mother and activist, Deandra Dycus.

Deandra Dycus: (33:16)
In a split second, a stray bullet shattered my family’s life. My son, Deandre, was only 13 years old. He was recognized as a gifted and talented student, his possibilities were endless. He was dancing at a birthday party when he was shot in the back left side of his head, shattering his skull. One shot changed our lives forever. Today, my Dre does not talk, he does not walk. I know he knows me by the smile he shows when I walk in his room, but I’m unsure if he knows a gunshot has changed his life. Since March, I’ve only been-

It’s just life. Since March, I’ve only been able to see my son three times, but I can’t touch or hug him due to COVID-19. People tell me that I’m lucky. I tell them we are blessed. I remind them that my son is in a wheelchair and unable to feed his self. I don’t think Deandre feels lucky when he has to be bathed from head to toe or gets injections for muscle contractions. I am in a space of gratitude.

Yes, I can touch Deandre. I can hold his hand, but the child that I birthed is not able to live his dreams, and that hurts. Every day, we’re reminded that he may never be the same. We are not alone. In every town across America, there are families who know what a bullet can do. That’s why my mom who volunteers to stop this.

President Trump, he doesn’t care. He didn’t care about the victims after Parkland, Las Vegas or El Paso. I want a president who cares about our pain and grief, a president who will take on the gun lobby to banned assault weapons and close the loopholes to keep guns out of the hands of criminals. Joe Biden has taken on the NRA twice and won. And he will do it again as president.

Joe Biden: (35:29)
I’ve looked in the eyes of too many parents, and I mean literally scores of them who’ve lost their children to gun violence. And looked in the eyes of brave young people who survived school shootings. I made each of them a promise. I made myself a promise. I promised them and I promise all of you, I will make this promise today, those families hurting across the country, I will never, never, never, never give up this fight.

Speaker 7: (36:13)
Out of pain, we choose to find meaning. A glimmer of light that lands on a promise. Former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords shot in the head from less than three feet away, but she survived. When tragedy strikes, we seek comfort in knowing we aren’t alone.

Gabby Giffords: (36:35)
Join us in this fight.

Speaker 7: (36:38)
We seek strength to keep fighting, to keep moving forward. We turn to leaders who share our pain.

Joe Biden: (36:49)
In the most difficult times is when we stand closest together. It’s out of tragedy that we go stronger.

He was there for me. He’ll be there for you too.

Speaker 7: (37:01)
We are a nation ready to end gun violence. A safer America is possible. But from this point forward, we must choose courage.

I’ve known the darkest of days, days of pain and unsure to the recovery. But confronted by despair, I’ve summoned hope. Confronted by paralysis and ataxia, I responded with grit and determination. I put one foot in front of the other. I’ve found one word and then I found another. My recovery is a daily fight, but fighting makes me stronger. Words once came easily. Today, I struggled to speak, but I have not lost my voice. America needs all of us do speak out even when you have to fight to find the words.

We are at a crossroads. We can let the shooting continue or we can act. We can protect our families, our future. We can vote. We can be on the right side of history. We must elect Joe Biden. He was there for me. He’ll be there for you too. Join us in this fight. Vote, vote, vote. Thank you very much.

Tonight, we’re going to hear from many change makers who are using their powers for good, who are working to confront the other epidemics we’re facing. COVID-19, structural racism, police violence against black bodies, violence against members of the trans community. We are facing so many challenges. To meet these challenges, we will need systematic solutions. We need leaders who can see us, hear us, represent us, all of us. To Joe Biden, nothing is more important than taking the time to make sure that people are seen, heard, and believed in.

Kyle: (39:26)
I was interning in DC and I remember I called my grandmother and I said, “Joe Biden is walking by.” And she goes, “Oh my God, oh my God. Put him on.” And I see his staff were going like, “No, no, no. Don’t take the call. What are you doing?” And he points to a staff and he goes like, “Go that way.” And he sent his staffer away.

Speaker 8: (39:44)
How could I not endeared to him instantly? He talked to me for the next hour.

Kyle: (39:50)
I see Dana Bash from CNN there, and she says like, “Senator Biden will be on in five.” And he sends her away.

Speaker 8: (39:56)
He asked me about my son. He asked me about what I did. All I know, it was all about me, not about him.

Kyle: (40:06)
And then he comes back to me, then he goes, “It was lovely talking to your grandmother.” And then he starts the interview with Dana Bash. It was unbelievable.

Speaker 8: (40:13)
I must interject one thing. At the very end of his chat with me, he said, “Could you do me a favor?” I said, “Sure, what is it?” He said, “Tell me how I can get your grandson’s hair?” He was good humor. He was sensitive, and here it is all these years later, and it’s vivid in my mind.

Kyle: (40:40)
As much as I feel like I got to know him in that moment, it feels like he knows us. I know Joe because he listens, and whether he’s heard your story or someone else’s story, he cares about everyone’s story.

Speaker 8: (40:52)
He’ll care more about you than he’ll care about himself.

What a beautiful story. Okay. Now, let’s talk about another important issue, the climate crisis. This is an issue that has been on Joe Biden’s mind for decades. In 1986, while working as a Senator, Joe Biden introduced one of the first climate bills in Congress, and he’s continued to listen to and work with climate advocates and activists putting forward a plan to address climate change and create a clean energy economy.

( singing)

Matthew: (41:35)
There are battles that we need to fight and we need to win to secure our future in this country, but there’s one issue that is an existential threat to all of us and that is climate change.

Michelle D: (41:45)
The climate crisis is here and we must act.

Claire: (41:48)
It is the most pressing issue of our time and we deserve to be treated as such.

Jeanna H: (41:53)
We no longer have any time to wait.

David M: (41:55)
Our generation will bear the burden of past mistakes, but we stand to benefit most from changing course now.

Claire: (42:00)
We know that in a couple of years, it will be too late.

Jeanna H: (42:03)
We need to change the paradigm, and that happens here with us.

Michelle D: (42:07)
We should invest massively in wind, solar, geothermal, green infrastructure.

Onelica A: (42:11)
Moving away from fossil fuels and being highly competitive in renewables.

Matthew: (42:16)
We need to lay out our specific policies.

Speaker 9: (42:19)
So that we can give our children, my children, your children, a planet that can sustain.

Matthew: (42:24)
That needs to happen now.

Claire: (42:26)
We need it now.

Michelle D: (42:27)
The moment demands it. We can afford nothing less.

Michelle Lujan Grisham: (42:49)
Good evening America. I’m Michelle Lujan Grisham, governor of the great state of Nuevo Mexico. I’m proud of my home state every single day, especially how we have punched above our weight in our successful response to COVID-19. I’m proud of New Mexicans from Taos to truth or consequences who have stepped up and sacrificed in so many incredible ways this past half year.

And I’m proud how we embrace our multicultural identity as our greatest strength. And I’m proud that New Mexico has shown what climate leadership looks like. While the Trump administration has been eliminating environmental protections, we’ve expanded them. While they’ve been rolling back regulations on oil and gas, we’ve taken on polluters and held them accountable.

We’ve committed to a renewable energy future with exciting and fulfilling careers for workers all across our beautiful state, including right here in the heart of Northern New Mexico. We’re laying a roadmap here for what America can and should look like in the 21st century.

An America where we lead again, where we build safer, cleaner, and more affordable cities and communities, where we provide meaningful opportunities for workers and families to thrive and build better lives.

As president, Joe Biden will rejoin the international climate agreement and the United States will once again, lead on this critical issue. At home, he’ll invest in energy workers and he will deliver for working families across the US helping them build meaningful careers while accelerating our nation and world into a clean, green 21st century and well beyond.

We know time is running out to save our planet. We have the chance this November to end two existential crises, the Trump presidency and the environmental annihilation he represents. We have the chance this November to attack the climate crisis, invest in green 21st century jobs and embrace the clean energy revolution our country, our young people are crying out for and the leadership the rest of the world is waiting for. The choice is clear. The choice is Joe Biden. Thank you, America.

Speaker 10: (45:09)
Hard work, rising to a challenge, the American way. Going to the moon was all three. Many astronauts returned home and reported a shift in their awareness. The view they saw of Earth from space was profound. The world looked beautiful, tiny, fragile. Our atmosphere is all that separates us from oblivion. We now call what they experienced the overview effect.

Justin Onwenu: (45:43)
Here in Detroit, in our communities for such a long time have faced the burden of pollution. I think addressing climate change gives us an opportunity to correct some those wrongs and to also invest in our vulnerable communities.

Speaker 10: (45:59)
Maybe you’ve read some of the millions of pages of scientific evidence on climate change.

Male: (46:03)
A crushing storm surge.

Speaker 10: (46:04)
Or maybe you felt it as you walk the neighborhood.

Female: (46:06)
Oh my god, the truck is sinking.

Speaker 10: (46:08)
For most people, it’s overwhelming.

Donald Trump: (46:10)
All of this with the global warming and da, da. A lot of it is a hoax. It’s a hoax.

Dr. Maria Caffrey: (46:15)
I had spent five years working on this report. The Trump administration started to remove any mention that humans were the cause of climate change from it.

Dr. Joel Clement: (46:23)
I wrote my resignation letter just six months into the administration. They were handing the keys of public lands over to private interests. The Trump administration has gone all out. Not just to neglect climate change issues and laws, but to reverse them.

Speaker 10: (46:39)
We have about a decade before it’s too late.

Kid: (46:43)
I’m a kid and I’m going to say to all those adults who are watching this right now, why don’t you get up and do something.

Speaker 10: (46:50)
Some of the first climate change legislation ever written was by a Senator from Delaware.

Joe Biden: (46:57)
When Donald Trump thinks about climate change, the only word he can muster is hoax.

Speaker 10: (47:03)
America faces a challenge, but if we face it together, we will rise to the occasion and build back better.

Joe Biden: (47:11)
When I think about climate change, the word I think of is jobs.

Speaker 10: (47:16)
That’s Joe’s plan to create millions of new good paying jobs. Many of them union like mine invest in critical infrastructure, upgrade millions of buildings, invest in micro mobility and precision agriculture. A clean energy future that achieves net zero emissions by 2050, because we can’t power the economies of the future without investing in the technologies of the future.

Justin Onwenu: (47:43)
I think what’s really important about Joe Biden’s plan is that 40% of the investment will go to vulnerable communities.

Joe Biden: (47:51)
We know how to do this, and we’ll do it again, but this time bigger, and faster, and smarter.

Speaker 10: (47:59)
Joe won’t ignore the crisis, or seeing what happens when we do that, he won’t surrender to the fight. Joe’s America will lead the world on clean energy, will lead on job creation and America will lead the world again on climate.

Alexandria Villaseñor: (48:24)
I was 13 when the Camp Fire, the most destructive wildfire in California’s history broke out. We were visiting family, nearly a hundred miles away, but my asthma flared badly. I could hardly breathe.

I’m Alexandria Villaseñor and I’ve been organizing young people around climate change since 2018. Climate change is impacting us now, and it’s robbing my generation of a future. For young people my age, every aspect of our lives from where go to school to what kind of careers we’ll have to whether or not we can raise a family, depends on us taking climate change seriously, right now. Joe Biden won’t solve this crisis in four years. No one can. But he will put us back on track so that my generation can have a fighting chance. I’m asking you to join us. Don’t let our futures go up in flames.

Andrew Adamski: (49:14)
The corn growers near my parents’ farm have a saying, knee-high by the 4th of July. These days are lucky if the corn is even planted because of unpredictable and torrential spring rains. I’m Andrew Adamski. I studied microbial ecology at Northern Michigan University.

Us farmers can see the effects of climate change happening right in front of us, so we’ve been trying to do our part. We’re adopting sustainable solutions on my family’s farm, switching to a community model, using less land and reusing our resources to grow our food.

We are eliminating tons of carbon pollution every year by mimicking natural ecosystems. Farmers can be part of the climate solution instead of a problem. Today, we all can grow our own future, but we need our leaders to be part of the solution as well instead of part of the problem. We need them to commit to the science, not ignore it. We need them to put real plans [inaudible 00:50:01] rather than roll them back. That’s what Joe Biden is doing with his clean energy revolution. Instead of being left behind, we could lead the world again.

Katherine Lorenzo: (50:10)
I spent a lot of time talking about climate change with different communities here in Nevada. And the one question that I get asked over and over again is, “What are you doing here?” Not a lot of climate activists looked like me. My name is Catherine Lorenzo. I’m an Afro-Latina and I’m a climate activist.

I grew up in a low income neighborhood where pollution rates are often higher than wealthier areas, and a lot of kids have asthma. Switching to renewable energy would mean cleaner air, better health, and a steady income for folks in neighborhoods like mine because solar PV installers and wind turbine [inaudible 00:50:44] are some of the fastest growing jobs in the country. And Joe Biden’s plan is transformative.

He knows that saving the planet. Isn’t just a challenge to overcome, it’s an opportunity for a better way of life.

So what’s it going to be America?

Are you ready to vote for Joe Biden?

Are you ready to solve the climate crisis?

Because our futures depend on it.

Like the folks we just heard from, next up is another activist and environmentalist, not to mention an immensely talented artist. She worked to ensure that her most recent concert tour was green and sustainable urging her fans to take similar actions in their daily lives. And even before she herself was old enough to vote, she held registration drives before her shows, signing up thousands of voters. She’s a voice for her generation in both her music and her activism. Here to perform My Future publicly for the first time, Billie Eilish.

Billie Eilish: (51:49)
You don’t need me to tell you things are a mess. Donald Trump is destroying our country and everything we care about. We need leaders who will solve problems like climate change and COVID not deny them. Leaders who will fight against systemic racism and inequality. And that starts by voting for someone who understands how much is at stake. Someone who’s building a team that shares our values. It starts with voting against Donald Trump and for Joe Biden.

Billie Eilish: (52:19)
Silence is not an option and we cannot sit this one out. We all have to vote like our lives and the world depend on it because they do. The only way to be certain of the future is to make it ourselves. Please register. Please vote. (singing)

Billie Eilish. Thank you. Okay. Now, we’re going to talk about something close to my heart. The black community in this country is hugely diverse. On my father’s side, I am descended from African-Americans who came from slave ships that landed in South Carolina and who were part of the great migration north that has played such a defining role in who we are as a nation. On my mother’s side, my grandparents came here as immigrants, part of a rich history that has also defined America.

They immigrated to this country from the West Indies through Ellis Island in the 1920s. I often think about how my grandmother must have felt when she first saw the statue of Liberty in her raised torch. My family story is not unique. Unless you’re native American, your family likely came here from somewhere else, whether it was five years ago or 200 years ago. Whether it was by choice or by bondage.

Etched into the DNA of who we are as a nation is the very idea that though you may be from somewhere else, you can find your home here. But that idea is in danger, now more than ever before.

Estella: (57:24)
Tell me when I start reading. Dear Donald Trump. My name is Estella. I am 11 years old. My mom is my best friend. She came to America as a teenager over 20 years ago without papers in search of a better life. She married my dad who served our country as a Marine in South America, Africa and Iraq. My mom worked hard and pay taxes. And the Obama administration told her she could stay.

Estella: (57:59)
My dad thought he would protect military families, so we voted for you in 2016, Mr. President. He says he won’t vote for you again after what you did to our family.

Female: (58:09)
A wife of a US Marine veteran was deported to Mexico.

Estella: (58:13)
Instead of protecting us, you tore our world apart. My mom is a good person and she’s not a criminal. Now, my mom is gone and she’s been taken from us for no reason at all. Every day that passes, you deport more moms and dads and take them away from kids like me.

We will begin moving them out in day one.

Estella: (58:42)
You separated thousands of children from their parents and you put them in cages. Some of those kids are now orphans because of you.

These aren’t people. I don’t want them in our country. They’re animals.

Estella: (58:58)
Mr. President, my mom is the wife of a proud American Marine and a mother of two American children. We are American families. We need a president who will bring people together, not tear them apart. Sincerely, Estella.

Lucy Sanchez: (59:19)
I’m Lucy Sanchez, and this is my mother, Sylvia and sister, Jessica. We’re like all families. We work hard to build a good life.

Jessica: (59:27)
I was born with spina bifida. That means my spinal cord didn’t form like they should. And the doctors in my town said I wouldn’t survive. They gave my mother no hope for my future.

I’m a US citizen, but my mother is undocumented.

Jessica: (59:42)
And I am a dreamer.

My mother did by any mother would do to save her baby’s life.

She took my sister in her arms and traveled for days to reach the border. And when they got to the river, she lifted my sister above the water and crossed.

Jessica: (01:00:06)
We came to America before I was one year old. She saved my life.

Lucy Sanchez: (01:00:16)
My mother had no choice. There was no time to wait to save my sister. She came here looking for a miracle.

We were afraid they would find us and detain us, but she had to save her daughter.

Jessica: (01:00:32)
Our home is here, North Carolina. It’s all I know. I qualify for DACA, but Donald Trump took away my ability to apply for the program.

We work hard. We contribute to our community and we pay our taxes. I’ve gone to school and built a good life for me and my two daughters.

Jessica: (01:00:52)
I want to go to law school. I want to help my community, but ever since Donald Trump was elected, all our fears have returned.

We don’t know if our family will be separated. Will my mom and sister be detained? Will my sister get the healthcare she needs and deserves?

Jessica: (01:01:06)
I don’t have the right ID. So I can’t get health insurance through the exchange. I need health insurance. I deserve it, right?

It breaks our hearts to see children separated from their families at the border. That’s wrong. Those children need their parents. On November 3rd, I’m going to vote for my mother, my sister and my daughters. I have a vote for a future where all of our lives have dignity and respect.

Jessica: (01:01:41)
We need a leader who will fix the broken immigration system and commit to keeping families together.

I’m voting for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, the daughter of immigrants. Who are you going to vote for?

Barack Obama: (01:02:00)
There’s something unique about America. We don’t simply welcome new immigrants. We are born of immigrants. That is who we are. Immigration is our origin story. After all, unless your family is Native American, all of our families come from someplace else. These new Americans, we see our own American stories. Life in America was not always easy. There was discrimination and hardship, and poverty. But Like you, they no doubt found inspiration in all those who had come before them, and they were able to muster faith that here in America, they might build a better life, give their children something more.

The tension throughout our history between welcoming or rejecting the stranger, it’s about more than just immigration. It’s about the meaning of America.

What kind of country do we want to be? Immigrants are the teachers who inspire our children. They’re the doctors who keep us healthy. They’re the engineers who designed our skylines and the artists and the entertainers who touch our hearts. Immigrants are soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, coast guards who protect us.

We can never say it often or loudly enough. Immigrants and refugees revitalize and renew America. It’s not something to take for granted. It’s something to cherish and to fight for. God bless you and God bless the United States of America.

Prince Royce: (01:04:45)
(singing) Mejente, let’s stand by each other. Don’t forget to vote this November. Together we can make a chance. [Spanish 01:07:16] Let’s go.

Kerry Washington: (01:07:24)
That was Prince Royce. Amazing. Shout out to the boogie down Bronx. In this next piece, you’ll hear about the vital role that women have played in moving us toward a more perfect union and breaking through that proverbial glass ceiling. And after that, you’ll hear from Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton, the woman who put over 65 million cracks in it.

Speaker 11: (01:08:00)
( singing)

Speaker 11: (01:08:01)
She was called an instigator. A ruled…

Speaker 11: (01:08:03)
She was called an instigator, a rule breaker, a rabble rouser, and she is called the agitator, the pushy one, the one with attitude.

Michelle Obama: (01:08:15)
No is the time for all of us to stand up and say enough is enough.

Speaker 11: (01:08:27)
From the ballot box to the factory floor, from her living room to the ER, she makes trouble, the good kind. She is the mother who cries out for sensible gun laws. The daughter who believes that equal justice means justice for all.

Speaker 12: (01:08:48)
We are America.

Speaker 11: (01:08:51)
The child who knows that black lives matter. She is our warrior on the front lines challenging authority to make the world safe.

Ms. Demings: (01:09:04)
Nobody is above the law.

Speaker 11: (01:09:08)
Refusing to be told who makes decisions about her body or anyone else’s.

Speaker 13: (01:09:13)
These women and men of all ages, races and backgrounds don’t come to Planned Parenthood to make a political statement. They come to get quality, affordable healthcare.

Speaker 14: (01:09:24)
You are disadvantaging her because of her sex.

Speaker 15: (01:09:36)
This is the time.

Speaker 11: (01:09:38)
And she knows that to change the world, you need to change the idea of power.

Speaker 16: (01:09:44)
Excuse me Mr. Barr his is my time and I control it.

Speaker 17: (01:09:47)
Because we are fighting for you each and every single day.

Speaker 11: (01:09:51)
And she knows her voice is heard and amplified by the women she elects to public office.

Speaker 18: (01:09:59)
If we want families to succeed we start by empowering women.

Debbie Mucarsel-Powell: (01:10:05)
When I first got elected I came to Washington DC to fight for the issues that are so important in our community.

Speaker 19: (01:10:12)
We look forward though to making sure that this district is finally well-represented.

Speaker 20: (01:10:15)
The things that we ran on going into November we are doing that.

Speaker 21: (01:10:19)
Women don’t just fight for women, they fight for families, they fight for fairness, inclusion, justice.

Speaker 22: (01:10:28)
To make our nation a more perfect union especially for those people who are the most marginal.

Speaker 23: (01:10:33)
If we’re going to jumpstart the middle class, we’ve got to ensure that college is affordable.

Speaker 24: (01:10:38)
Separation of families and children are detrimental to their health.

Speaker 25: (01:10:42)
Give the victims of gender bias in the workplace the tools they need to seek justice.

Speaker 26: (01:10:48)
Women are the most important political force in the United States of America.

Speaker 11: (01:10:52)
She represents her views on education.

Speaker 27: (01:10:54)
We’ve got to pay educators more and we’ve got to hire more educators.

Speaker 28: (01:11:01)
We’re going to raise up the profile of teachers and celebrate who they are and give them better pay.

Speaker 11: (01:11:06)
She represents her concerns about healthcare.

Speaker 29: (01:11:10)
Healthcare is the number one issue of this election every day, every day.

Speaker 11: (01:11:13)
She speaks out on equal pay.

Speaker 30: (01:11:16)
It’s very frustrating for women everywhere because you feeling like they aren’t getting paid what they should be.

Speaker 11: (01:11:21)
And focuses on protecting our children.

Speaker 31: (01:11:24)
Let’s give parents the peace of mind that their kids are safe and are being set up for success.

Speaker 11: (01:11:30)
Caring for our seniors and the people who care for them. She keeps this nation going even in challenging times. And while running for office is not easy.

Speaker 32: (01:11:44)
What’s wrong with somebody running for president of this country?

Speaker 11: (01:11:47)
Nevertheless, she persists.

Warren: (01:11:49)
But we learned a long time ago you don’t get what you don’t fight for.

Speaker 11: (01:11:55)
And perseveres.

Speaker 33: (01:11:57)
This is our time.

Speaker 11: (01:12:00)
And prevails.

Hillary Clinton: (01:12:02)
Although we weren’t able to shatter that highest, hardest glass ceiling this time, it’s got about 18 million cracks in it.

Speaker 34: (01:12:13)
A record breaking number of women ran in the midterms and won.

Speaker 11: (01:12:17)
She builds coalitions and she knows who her allies are. From the fight for healthcare to offering the violence against women’s act. To building a society where fairness and equality and opportunity applies to everyone. Joe Biden knows a stronger America is one that works for women. So go ahead and celebrate you gravel browser, you rule breaker, you force of nature. Our country, our world needs you. Keep rising and vote.

The morning after the last election I said we owe Donald Trump and open mind and the chance to lead, I meant it. Every president deserves that. And Trump came in with so much set up for him. A strong economy, plans for managing crises including a pandemic. Yes, we Democrats would have disagreed with him on many things, but if he had put his own interests and ego aside, seeing the humanity in a child ripped from her parents at the border or a protestor calling for justice or a family wiped out by natural disaster, that would have been a good thing for America and the world. I wish Donald Trump knew how to be a president because America needs a president right now. Throughout this time of crisis Americans keep going, checking on neighbors, showing up to jobs as first responders, hospitals, grocery stores, nursing homes. Yes, it still takes a village and we need leaders equal to this moment of sacrifice and service.

We need Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Everyone has a story about Joe’s caring and empathy. I remember him calling after my mother Dorothy died and we talked about being raised by strong women. The best testament to Joe is how he’s cared for his family. And how great is it that Dr. Jill Biden plans to keep teaching as first lady. And Joe picked the right partner in Kamala. She’s relentless in the pursuit of justice and equity and she’s kind. When her press secretary Tyrone Gail was dying of cancer she dropped everything to be with him in his final moments. I know something about the slings and arrows she’ll face and believe me, this former district attorney and attorney general can handle them all. So this is the team to pull our nation back from the brink. But they can’t do it without us. For four years people have told me I didn’t realize how dangerous he was.

I wish I could do it all over or worst, I should have voted. Look, this can’t be another would have, could have, should have election. If you vote by mail, request your ballot now and send it back right away. If you vote in person, do it early. Become a poll worker. Most of all no matter what vote. As Michelle Obama and Bernie Sanders warned us if Trump is reelected things will get even worse. That’s why we need unity now more than ever. Remember back in 2016 when Trump asked, “What do you have to lose?” Well, now we know. Our healthcare, our jobs, our loved ones, our leadership in the world and even our post office. But let’s set our sights higher than getting one man out of the white house. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are going to give us so much to vote for. Let’s vote for the jobs that Joe’s plan will create.

Clean energy jobs to fight climate change, caregiving jobs with living wages. Vote for emergency relief that lifts small businesses and saves hardworking people from foreclosures and evictions. It’s wrong that billionaires got $400 billion richer during the pandemic while millions lost their $600 a week in extra unemployment. Vote for the parents and teachers struggling to balance children’s education and safety. And for healthcare workers fighting COVID- 19 with little help from the white house. Vote for paid family leave and healthcare for everyone. For social security, Medicare and Planned Parenthood. Vote for dreamers and their families. Vote for law enforcement purged of racial bias that keeps all our streets safe. Vote for justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery because black lives matter. Vote for honest elections so we not a foreign adversary choose our president. Vote for the diverse hopeful America we saw in last night’s roll call. And don’t forget, Joe and Kamala can win by 3 million votes and still lose, take it from me.

So we need numbers overwhelming so Trump can’t sneak or steal his way to victory. Text Vote 30330 to get started. A hundred years ago yesterday the 19th amendment to the constitution was ratified. It took seven decades of suffragists marching, picketing and going to jail to push us closer to a more perfect union. 55 years ago John Lewis marched and bled in Selma because that work was unfinished. Tonight I’m thinking of the girls and boys who see themselves in America’s future because of Kamala Harris. A black woman, the daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants and our nominee for vice president. This is our country’s story, breaking down barriers and expanding the circle of possibility.

And to the young people watching, don’t give up on America. Despite our flaws and problems we’ve come so far, we can still be a more just equal country with opportunities previous generations could never have imagined. There’s a lot of heartbreak in America now and the truth is many things were broken before the pandemic. But as the saying goes, the world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places. That’s Joe Biden. He knows how to keep going, unify and lead because he’s done that for his family and country. So come November if we’re strong together, we’ll heal together. We’ll redeem the soul. And the promise of our country led by president Joe Biden and vice-president Kamala Harris

Tonight is a night steeped in women who have stepped into service and advocacy and who are using their power for good. The power of women is undeniable. Whether it’s in the office, in the home or in the house of representatives. It is my honor to introduce the speaker of the house, Nancy Pelosi.

Nancy Pelosi: (01:20:13)
I was never raised in a way that I would be running for public office, it didn’t interest me. When I graduated from college I got married, had five children in six years. So that was my life. When the children were grown the opportunity to run for Congress came along.

Speaker 11: (01:20:31)
She ran because another woman said run and she won. Starting on a path that would make history. The first woman speaker of the house.

For our daughters and our granddaughters today we have broken the marble ceiling.

Speaker 11: (01:20:52)
In her so many saw themselves.

I did feel a real responsibility to other women as I stood on the shoulders of those who went before.

Speaker 11: (01:21:03)
Now, it was her turn to say run and run they did. Winning and making her speaker once again.

We didn’t have a speaker who would bring a gun bill to the floor. We didn’t have a speaker who would bring a dreamer’s issue to the floor, we do now.

Speaker 11: (01:21:20)
And that’s good for every American, but not everyone was on board.

Trump: (01:21:26)
Nancy Pelosi, Pelosi, Pelosi.

I’m a mother of five, grandmother of nine I’m [inaudible 01:21:31]. The power of the speaker is awesome. Awesome. If you want to go into the arena you have to be prepared to take a punch. But you also have to be prepared to throw a punch for the children.

Speaker 35: (01:22:01)
Throw a punch for the children.

Speaker 11: (01:22:06)
From running the house to speaker of the house and taking on the white house unapologetic, unafraid. Madam speaker.

Speaker 11: (01:22:16)
And now please welcome speaker of the United States house of representative, Nancy Pelosi.

Good evening. As speaker of the house it’s my honor to bring you the greetings of House Democrats, the most diverse majority in history. More than 60% women, people of color and LGBTQ. Our diversity is our strength. Our unity is our power. This month as America marks the Centennial of women finally winning the right to vote we do so with 105 women in the house. Proudly 90 are Democrats. To win the vote women marched and fought and never gave in. We stand on their shoulders, charged with carrying forward the unfinished work of our nation, advanced by heroes from Seneca Falls to Selma to Stonewall. Four years ago when president Obama and vice president Biden were in the white house, they made us proud and their leadership made our country great. In that spirit, we come together now not to decry the darkness, but to light a way forward for our country.

That is the guiding purpose of house Democrats, fighting for the people. We have sent the Senate bills for lower healthcare costs, for bigger paychecks, for cleaner government protecting John Lewis’ voting rights and enacting George Floyd justice and policing act. We’ve sent the Senate bills to protect our dreamers, LGBTQ equality, prevent gun violence and to preserve our planet for future generations and even more. All of this is possible for America. Who is standing in the way? Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump.

Our nation faces the worst health and economic catastrophe in our history. More than 5 million Americans are infected by the coronavirus. Over 170,000 have died. The science based action and the heroes act we enacted three months ago is essential to safeguard lives, livelihood and the life of our democracy. And who is standing in the way? Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump. Instead of crushing the virus they’re trying to crush the affordable care act and it’s preexisting conditions benefit. As speaker of the house I’ve seen firsthand Donald Trump’s disrespect for facts, for working families and for women in particular. Disrespect written into his policies toward our health and our rights, not just his conduct. But we know what he doesn’t that when women succeed America succeeds.

And so we are unleashing the power of women to take our rightful place in our national life. By championing a woman’s right to choose and defending Roe V. Wade. Secure safe and affordable childcare, preserving social security and passing equal pay for equal work. Who standing in the way? Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump. So here is our answer. We will remember in November when we will elect Joe Biden president whose heart is full of love for America and rid the country of Trump’s heartless disregard for America’s goodness. Joe Biden’s faith in God gives him the courage to lead. Jill Biden’s love gives him the strength to persevere.

Joe Biden is the president we need right now. Battle tested, forward looking, honest and authentic. He has never forgotten who he is fighting for. And Kamala Harris is the vice president we need right now. Committed to our constitution, brilliant in defending it and a witness to the women of this nation that our voices will be heard. Our mission is to fight for a future equal to the ideals of our founders. Our hopes for our children and the sacrifices of our veterans, our brave men and women in uniform and their families. We’ll increase our majority in the house, we will win a democratic majority in the Senate. We will elect Kamala Harris vice president and we will elect Joe Biden president of the United States of America. God bless you. And God bless America.

Thank you speaker Pelosi. The house is the people’s house. And to ensure it stays that way we need everyone to help fund our work to elect Joe Biden and Democrats up and down the ballot. If you are able, please go to Joebiden.com now and chip in whatever you can to support this campaign. Last year under speaker Pelosi’s leadership, the house reauthorized the violence against women act. Joe Biden wrote that landmark law nearly 30 years ago. Since then he and other leaders have built on it. But for all of this work women are still not entirely safe. So the work must continue. Joe Biden knows that and he is committed to doing that work. To making sure that women are safe and to making sure our voices are heard. Let’s listen.

Ruth Glenn: (01:27:42)
My name is Ruth Glenn in 1992 my husband shot me and left me for dead. For 13 years my son and I had been abused by him. We finally escaped, but he tracked us down. Back then there was limited help available and no national hotline to call. Local shelters were full. I didn’t even know the name for what was happening to me then. Domestic violence. Now working to end domestic violence is my life’s work.

Mariska Hargitay: (01:28:12)
I’m Mariska Hargitay. When I started doing research to play detective Olivia Benson on Law and Order SVU over 20 years ago, I was shocked to find out how many people, including children experienced physical or sexual abuse. The statistics fueled my resolve and I committed myself to the movement to end this violence.

Carly Dryden: (01:28:37)
My name is Carly Dryden. In my small hometown I didn’t feel like I could speak out about my experience with sexual assault. But at the university of Puget Sound I met an incredible force of people working to end the culture of sexual assault. I went from survivor to advocate.

As the president and CEO of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, I’ve seen Joe Biden’s passionate leadership in passing the violence against women act. Now domestic violence rates are rising due to this pandemic. We need Congress to reauthorize and enhance that law. We need leaders who believe that a woman’s life is worth fighting for.

Joe Biden is that kind of leader. I created the Joyful Heart Foundation to help survivors heal and to change the way our society response to sexual violence. The vice president has worked tirelessly by our side to end the backlog of hundreds of thousands of untested rape kits. And our work will continue because testing kits not only makes our country safer, but it sends a vital message to survivors that what happened to them matters.

The most important thing you can say to a survivor is I hear you. That’s why I became a leader and it’s on us. It’s a program started by vice president Biden to eliminate sexual assault on college campuses and support a new generation of advocates, including men and boys. Because if you’re silent you’re complicit and we’re just getting started.

I am voting for Joe Biden on behalf of all victims and survivors of domestic violence.

I’m voting for Joe Biden because it’s on my generation to make sure that we never go back.

I’m voting for Joe Biden for my daughter, for my sons, for all of our children.

Speaker 36: (01:30:40)
First episode was a slap to the face and he broke my eardrum, Punching, kicking, choking, threatening with a knife or a gun.

Speaker 37: (01:30:53)
He had always threatened me if I had ever called the police on him that he would kill me.

Speaker 11: (01:31:00)
You didn’t hear voices like these in the halls of the US Capitol.

Speaker 38: (01:31:05)
My husband stabbed me 13 times and broke my neck while the police were on the scene. I nearly died and I am permanently paralyzed.

Speaker 11: (01:31:17)
Senator Joe Biden invited them to speak.

Speaker 38: (01:31:22)
Women need to be taken seriously, proper police respect can prevent what happened to me from happening to someone else. Thank you.

Joe Biden: (01:31:30)
Thank you.

Victoria Nourse: (01:31:37)
At the time the police considered domestic violence, something that was not a crime in the home, it’s a private matter. And so women were responsible for their own injuries.

Joe Biden: (01:31:55)
I was about to say no, I don’t know. I can only guess how painful that is.

Valarie Biden Owens: (01:32:03)
Growing up, our father said that the greatest of all sins was the abuse of power. He told us when a bully, when someone bigger or stronger takes advantage of you, that is a really grave sin. The expectation was for all four of us, be a person of character. You see something wrong, we were then expected to stand up and do something about it.

Speaker 11: (01:32:34)
When Joe introduced the legislation, few believed it could pass.

Joe Biden: (01:32:41)
Our bill is an ambitious undertaking. It is a first attempt to address violent crimes against women.

Carol Moseley: (01:32:47)
It was hard to get the votes because you had some traditionalist who just didn’t believe that there should be laws about this.

Dr. Jill Biden: (01:32:54)
But Joe doesn’t give up. He’s tenacious. Joe persevered and he’s very good at persuasion.

Joe Biden: (01:33:00)
They’re doing nothing to help them, nothing.

Speaker 11: (01:33:03)
He brought together law enforcement, prosecutors, advocate, and survivors.

Speaker 38: (01:33:09)
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to come and speak.

Speaker 11: (01:33:14)
In 1994 the violence against women act became law and protected millions of American women.

Ron: (01:33:21)
A lot of the change in the attitudes we have about domestic violence were shaped by his leadership on this.

Valarie Biden Owens: (01:33:30)
If you see something wrong, we were then expected to stand up and do something about it.

If you’re just joining us welcome. Coming up we’re going to hear from president Barack Obama and Senator Kamala Harris, who will talk about the Biden-Harris vision for the future. But in order to get to that more perfect union we have to acknowledge where we are. Today in America we are struggling. Unemployment has skyrocketed and families are fighting to keep their jobs. As Joe Biden says, we need to build back better. To find out how you can join that effort please text Join to 30330 to get plugged into this campaign and to get more information on how to vote and how to volunteer. Joe Biden has a plan to help working families and small businesses. Our next speaker, Hilda Solis, worked alongside him as secretary of labor to make sure that there were good American jobs and that Americans were safe on the job. To hear more about the Biden-Harris economic plan, please welcome Hilda Solis.

Hilda Solis: (01:34:45)
Hello, I’m Hilda Solis. The day vice president Biden swore me in as secretary of labor was one of the proudest moments of my life. My parents realized they had achieved their American dream because the daughter of two blue collar immigrants would make history and give voice to people just like them. American workers need a fighter now more than ever and Joe Biden is that person because he has done it before and I’ve seen it firsthand. He and president Obama made it easier for home care workers to organize. They extended overtime pay to more than 4 million workers. They saved the automobile industry and a whole lot of good union jobs with it. And when millions of families lost their homes my friend from California, Senator Kamala Harris took on the big banks and won. But because of Donald Trump’s failures, we must once again rescue a sinking economy. Millions of Americans are out of work and communities of color are the hardest hit. Millions of essential workers are putting their lives at risk with little protections and millions more are just playing tired.

Hilda Solis: (01:36:04)
That’s why Joe Biden and Kamala Harris actually have a plan not only to recover what we lost, but to improve upon it. To build back better. Creating 5 million good union jobs by bringing back supply chains to America, that’s building back better. Creating millions of jobs by investing in clean energy, that’s building back better. And making sure that working families can afford childcare, that’s how we build back better. So let me borrow and slightly edit something Joe Biden said at my swearing in. When it comes to expanding the economy for all people, no one, no one is going to be a stronger voice than our next president, Joe Biden. The conversation you’re about to see proves it.

Eric Garcetti: (01:36:58)
Behind every business there’s a story.

Speaker 39: (01:37:00)
Small businesses around the country are bearing the economic brunt of the coronavirus pandemic.

Sherrod Brown: (01:37:05)
And behind every business there’s a family.

Speaker 40: (01:37:08)
A lot of people clearly are in pain right now.

Cindy Axne: (01:37:11)
For every farm there’s a fight to stay whole.

There’s hard work.

And there’s heartbreak.

Speaker 40: (01:37:16)
We are going to lose 20 to 30% of our small businesses.

This is the story of Kevin and Molly Johnson. A family owned business in Lake County, Ohio.

Kevin Johnson: (01:37:34)
We have 10 to 12 employees on a given day. When COVID-19 hit it was a lot of confusion.

Molly Johnson: (01:37:43)
I remember being scared and being uncertain.

Was shut down last week because we ran out of work and we got enough to come in for another week. If we don’t get additional orders in we’re going to have to look at another shutdown.

You can’t make a big purchase equipment. You can’t plan for the future.

We don’t even know if we can cover payroll. When this isn’t going well it’s scary.

You’re kind of forgotten, right? The president always bragging about the stock market sort of leaves a lot of small manufacturing companies behind.

We could use a little help right now. And it just seems like we get one step forward and then two steps back.

This is the story of Gurnee Green, who just started a clothing store and then Covid hit.

Gurnee Green: (01:38:27)
Fashion has been a love of mine for since I was a kid, I worked really hard to save money to open this store. Did my ribbon cutting December 14th of 2019. And it was booming and then bam! Here’s Covid. It was scary. No one was buying anything. My employees they’re gone. I reached out to my bank, but they stated that they had no more money. Its gone to a lot of the bigger businesses, a million dollar businesses who get the bailout. And a small business like myself is just to struggle. Being an African-American female business owner under president Trump I feel, how can I say, I’m alone. I’m alone.

This is the story of Lien Ta and her two restaurants. One closed and one still open.

Lien Ta: (01:39:22)
It’s always really hard for restaurants to begin. It would be crowded in here with babies and families and crowds outside waiting to get in. It was pretty exciting. And on the day of the shutdown, we were actually reviewed in the Los Angeles times. On that day the virus was announced as a global pandemic.

It’s really, really sad to see. And if we don’t turn this around soon, I mean we’re going to see this not just be this year, but you’re going to see goes down for main street USA.

Lien Ta: (01:39:51)
The first decision that I had to make because a hundred people are looking at you and unfortunately the call was to furlough everybody. At this point I don’t even see myself in business next month.

[foreign language 00:32:04].

Jorge Figueroa: (01:40:13)

We don’t ask for much from government, but catch us when we’re falling. And I know that it must feel like you’re falling right now without a map.

Lien Ta: (01:40:22)
Restaurants are among the hardest businesses to succeed at. But I was going to do it in a way that was going to provide a successful career for not only myself, but a hundred employees.

This is the story of Dan Ryner. He’s a fifth generation farmer struggling to keep his business alive. I’m not so sure that president understands that when he thinks about business, I don’t think he thinks about farmers as a business.

Dan Ryner: (01:40:49)
No, he has no clue about this stuff.

Dan tell me a little bit about the farm.

Dan Ryner: (01:40:54)
We’ve been here since 1864. Trade tariffs with China they’ve been horrible. Part of the language in the trade deal said that China does not have to buy unless the price is to their advantage. What kind of trade deal is that? That’s no deal. Then when COVID hit then everything just plummeted. Getting through now that’s the problem. That’s the day to day battle.

I believe that Joe Biden will be a clear voice for us. Something that we have not had.

Lien Ta: (01:41:24)
Joe Biden has an understanding of what the average American is experiencing. I think he’s with me.

Joe Biden: (01:41:32)
Enough is enough. It’s time to help small businesses. Middle class folks manage their way through a pandemic.

Dan Ryner: (01:41:37)
I have a lot of confidence in Joe Biden. He’s a fighter and he’s the real deal.

We’ve taken a lot of knockdowns and we know that at the end of the day we will endure.

Lien Ta: (01:41:47)
We will rise again.

Every time I get knocked down I got to get up and keep running. Keep going, keep going.

Elizabeth Warren: (01:42:01)
Tonight we’ve heard from the people who make-

Tonight we’ve heard from the people who make America work, people who put their lives on the line to keep our country going. And since COVID-19 hit, they’ve taken one gut punch after another. And what has the COVID fallout done to our babies? Well, I’m here at the early childhood education center in Springfield, Massachusetts, which has been closed for months. Childcare was already hard to find before the pandemic and now parents are stuck. No idea when schools can safely reopen and even fewer childcare options. The devastation is enormous and the way I see it, big problems demand big solutions.

Now I love a good plan, and Joe Biden has some really good plans. Plans to bring back union jobs in manufacturing and create new union jobs in clean energy. Plans to increase social security benefits, cancel billions in student loan debt and make our bankruptcy laws work for families instead of the creditors who cheat them. These plans reflect a central truth, our economic system has been rigged to give bailouts to billionaires and kick dirt in the face of everyone else. But we can build a thriving economy by investing in families and fixing what’s broken.

Joe’s plan to build back better includes making the wealthy pay their fair share, holding corporations accountable, repairing racial inequities and fighting corruption in Washington. Let me tell you about one of Joe’s plans that’s especially close to my heart, childcare. As a little girl growing up in Oklahoma, what I wanted most in the world was to be a teacher. I loved teaching and when I had babies and was juggling my first big teaching job down in Texas, it was hard but I could do hard. The thing that almost sunk me, childcare. One night, my aunt Bee called just to check in and I thought I was fine, but then I just broke down and started to cry.

I had tried holding it all together, but without reliable childcare, working was nearly impossible. And when I told Aunt Bee I was going to quit my job, I thought my heart would break. And then she said, the words that changed my life. “I can’t get there tomorrow, but I’ll come on Thursday.” And she arrived with seven suitcases and a Pekinese named Buddy and stayed for 16 years. I get to be here tonight because of my aunt Bee. I learned a fundamental truth, nobody makes it on their own. And yet here we are two generations of working parents later, and if you have a baby and don’t have an Aunt Bee, you’re on your own. Here’s why that is wrong, we build infrastructure like roads and bridges and communication systems so that people can work. That infrastructure helps us all because it keeps our economy going.

It’s time to recognize that childcare is part of the basic infrastructure of this nation. It’s infrastructure for families, Joe and Kamala will make high quality childcare affordable for every family, make pre-school universal and raise the wages of every childcare worker. Now that’s just one plan, but it gives you an idea of how we get this country working for everyone. Donald Trump’s ignorance and incompetence have always been a danger to our country. COVID-19 was Trump’s biggest test. He failed miserably. Today, America has the most COVID deaths in the world and an economic collapse, and both crises are falling hardest on black and brown families.

Millions out of work, millions more are trapped in cycles of poverty, millions on the brink of losing their homes, millions of restaurants and stores hanging by a thread. This crisis is bad and it didn’t have to be this way. This crisis is on Donald Trump and the Republicans who enable him. On November 3rd, we will hold them all accountable. So, whether you’re planning to vote wearing a mask or vote by mail, please take out your phone right now and text Vote to 30330. We all need to be in the fight to get Joe and Kamala elected. And after November, we all need to stay in the fight to get big things done. We stay in this fight so that when our children and our grandchildren ask what we did during this dark chapter in our nation’s history, we will be able to look them squarely in the eye and say, “We organized, we persisted and we changed America.”

Former president Barack Obama has said that choosing Joe Biden to be his vice president was one of the best decisions he ever made. And this is a man who has made a lot of good decisions, making healthcare more affordable and accessible, rescuing our economy, protecting American jobs, marrying Michelle Obama and through it all, Joe Biden was by his side, except for maybe marrying Michelle. You can witness their mutual respect and affection in this clip, take a look.

So Joe, for your faith in your fellow Americans, for your love of country and for your lifetime of service that will endure through the generations, I’d like to ask the military aid to join us on stage. For the final time as president, I am pleased to award our nation’s highest civilian honor, the presidential medal of freedom. For the first and only time in my presidency, I will bestow this medal with an additional level of veneration and honor my three most recent successors reserved for only three others. Pope John Paul II, President Ronald Reagan and General Colin Powell. Ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to award the Presidential Medal of Freedom with distinction to my brother, Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. Will the aid please read the citation.

Speaker 41: (01:49:47)
Vice-president Joseph R. Biden Jr. In a career of public service spanning nearly half a century Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. has left his mark on almost every part of our nation. Fighting for a stronger middle class, a fair judicial system and a smarter foreign policy. Providing unyielding support for our troops, combating crime and violence against women, leading our quest to cure cancer and safeguarding the landmark American recovery and Reinvestment Act from corruption. With his charm, candor, unabashed optimism and deep and abiding patriotism, Joe Biden has garnered the respect and esteem of colleagues of both parties and the friendship of people across the nation and around the world while summoning the strength, faith and grace to overcome great personal tragedy.

Speaker 41: (01:50:41)
This son of Scranton, Claymont and Wilmington has become one of the most consequential vice-presidents in American history. And accolade that nonetheless rest firmly behind his legacy as husband, father, and grandfather. A grateful nation thanks Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. for his lifetime of service on behalf of the United States of America.

Good evening everybody, as you’ve seen by now, this isn’t a normal convention. It’s not a normal time. So tonight I want to talk as plainly as I can about the stakes in this election, because what we do these next 76 days will echo through generations to come. I’m in Philadelphia, where our constitution was drafted and signed, and it wasn’t a perfect document. It allowed for the inhumanity of slavery and failed to guarantee women and even men who didn’t own property, the right to participate in the political process. But embedded in this document was a north star that would guide future generations. A system of representative government, a democracy through which we could better realize our highest ideals. Through civil war and bitter struggles, we improved this constitution to include the voices of those who’d once been left out and gradually we made this country more just and more equal and more free.

The one constitutional office elected by all of the people is the presidency. So at a minimum, we should expect a president to feel a sense of responsibility for the safety and welfare of all 330 million of us, regardless of what we look like, how we worship, who we love, how much money we have or who we voted for. But we should also expect a president to be the custodian of this democracy. We should expect that regardless of ego, ambition or political beliefs, the president will preserve, protect and defend the freedoms and ideals that so many Americans marched for, went to jail for, fought for and died for.

I have sat in The Oval Office with both of the men who are running for president. I never expected that my successor would embrace my vision or continue my policies. I did help for the sake of our country that Donald Trump might show some interest in taking the job seriously, that he might come to feel the weight of the office and discover some reverence for the democracy that had been placed in his care, but he never did. For close to four years now he has shown no interest in putting in the work, no interest in finding common ground, no interest in using the awesome power of his office to help anyone but himself and his friends. No interest in treating the presidency as anything but one more reality show that he can use to get the attention he craves. Donald Trump hasn’t grown into the job because he can’t and the consequences of that failure are severe.

170, 000 Americans dead, millions of jobs gone. Well, those are the top taken more than ever. Our worst impulses unleashed, our proud reputation around the world badly diminished and our democratic institutions threatened like never before. Now I know that in times as polarized as these, most of you have already made up your mind, but maybe you’re still not sure which candidate you’ll vote for or whether you’ll vote at all. Maybe you’re tired of the direction we’re headed, but you can’t see a better path yet or you just don’t know enough about the person who wants to lead us there.

So let me tell you about my friend Joe Biden. 12 years ago, when I began my search for a vice president, I didn’t know I’d ended up finding a brother. Joe and I come from different places, different generations, but what I quickly came to admire about Joe Biden is his resilience, born of too much struggle. His empathy, born a too much grief. Joe is a man who learned early on to treat every person he meets with respect and dignity. Living by the words his parents taught him. No one’s better than you, Joe, but you’re better than nobody.

That empathy, that decency, the belief that everybody counts, that’s who Joe is. When he talks with someone who’s lost her job, Joe remembers the night his father sat him down to say that he’d lost his. When Joe listens to a parent who’s trying to hold it all together right now, he does it as a single dad who took the train back to Wilmington each and every night so he could take his kids into bed. When he meets with military families who’ve lost bear hero, he does it as a kindred spirit. The parent of an American soldier. Somebody whose faith has endured the hardest loss there is. For eight years, Joe was the last one in the room whenever I faced a big decision. He made me a better president and he’s got the character and the experience to make us a better country.

And in my friend Kamala Harris, he’s chosen ideal partner who is more than prepared for the job. Someone who knows what it’s like to overcome barriers and who’s made a career fighting to help others live out their own American dream. Along with the experience needed to get things done, Joe and Kamala have concrete policies that will turn their vision of a better, fairer, stronger country into reality. They will get this pandemic under control like Joe did when he helped me manage H1N1 and prevent an Ebola outbreak from reaching our shores. They’ll expand healthcare to more Americans like Joe and I did 10 years ago when he helped craft the Affordable Care Act and nail down the votes to make it the law.

They’ll rescue the economy like Joe helped me do after the great recession. I asked him to manage the Recovery Act, which jump-started the longest stretch of job growth in history. And he sees this moment now, not as a chance to get back to where we were, but to make long overdue changes so that our economy actually makes life a little easier for everybody. Whether it’s the waitress trying to raise a kid on her own or the shift worker, always on the edge of getting laid off or the student figuring out how to pay for next semester’s classes. Joe and Kamala will restore our standing in the world. And as we’ve learned from this pandemic that matters.

Joe knows the world and the world knows him. He knows that our true strength comes from setting an example that the world wants to follow, a nation that stands with democracy, not dictators. A nation that can inspire and mobilize others to overcome threats like climate change and terrorism, poverty, and disease. But more than anything, what I know about Joe, what I know about Kamala, is that they actually care about every American and that they care deeply about this democracy. They believe that in a democracy, the right to vote is sacred and we should be making it easier for people to cast their ballots, not harder.

They believe that no one, including the president is above the law and that no public official, including the president should use their office to enrich themselves or their supporters. They understand that in this democracy, the commander-in-chief does not use the men and women of our military who are willing to risk everything to protect our nation as political props, to deploy against peaceful protestors on our own soil. They understand that political opponents aren’t American, just because they disagree with you, a free press isn’t the enemy but the way we hold officials accountable. That our ability to work together to solve big problems like a pandemic, depend on a fidelity to facts and science and logic and not just making stuff up.

None of this should be controversial. These shouldn’t be Republican principles or Democratic principles, they are American principles. But at this moment, this president and those who enable him have shown they don’t believe in these things. Tonight, I’m asking you to believe in Joe and Kamala’s ability to lead this country out of these dark times and build it back better. But here’s the thing, no single American can fix this country alone. Not even a president. Democracy was never meant to be transactional. You give me your vote, I make everything better. It requires an active and informed citizenry.

So I’m also asking you to believe in your own ability to embrace your own responsibility as citizens, to make sure that the basic tenants of our democracy endure because that’s what’s at stake right now, our democracy. Look, I understand why a lot of Americans are down on government. The way the rules have been set up and abused in Congress make it easier for special interests to stop progress than to make progress. Believe me, I know it. I understand why a white factory worker who’s seen his wages cut whereas jobs shipped overseas might feel like the government no longer looks out for him and why a black mom might feel like it never looked out for her at all.

I understand why a new immigrant might look around this country and wonder whether there’s still a place for him here. Why a young person might look at politics right now, the circus of it all, the meanness and the lies and conspiracy theories, and think, “What is the point?” Well, here’s the point, this president and those in power, those who benefit from keeping things the way they are, they are counting on your cynicism. They know they can’t win you over with their policies. So they’re hoping to make it as hard as possible for you to vote and to convince you that your vote does not matter. That is how they win. That is how they get to keep making decisions that affect your life and the lives of the people you love. That’s how the economy will keep getting skewed to the wealthy and well connected. How our health systems will let more people fall through the cracks.

That’s how a democracy withers until it’s no democracy at all. And we cannot let that happen. Do not let them take away your power. Do not let them take away your democracy. Make a plan right now for how you are going to get involved and vote. Do it as early as you can and tell your family and friends how they can vote too. Do what Americans have done for over two centuries when faced with even tougher times than this. All those quiet heroes who found the courage to keep marching, keep pushing in the face of hardship and injustice. Last month, we lost a giant of American democracy in John Lewis, and some years ago, I sat down with John and a few remaining leaders of the early civil rights movement.

One of them told me he never imagined he’d walk into the White House and see a president who looked like his grandson. And then he told me that he had it up and it turned out that on the very day that I was born, he was marching into a jail cell, trying to end Jim Crow segregation in the South. What we do echoes through generations, whatever our backgrounds. We are all the children of Americans who fought the good fight, great grandparents working in fire trips and sweatshops without rights or representation, farmers losing their dreams to dust, Irish and Italians and Asians and Latinos told, “Go back where you come from.” Jews and Catholics, Muslims and Sikhs made to feel suspect for the way they worshiped. Black Americans, chained and whipped and hanged, spit on for trying to sit at lunch counters, beaten for trying to vote.

If anyone had a right to believe that this democracy did not work and could not work, it was those Americans, our ancestors. They were on the receiving end of a democracy that had fallen short all their lives. They knew how far the daily reality of America strayed from the middle, and yet instead of giving up, they joined together and they said, “Somehow, some way we are going to make this work. We are going to bring those words in our founding documents to life.” I have seen that same spirit rising these past few years, folks of every age and background who packed city centers and airports and rural roads so that families wouldn’t be separated, so that another classroom wouldn’t get shot up, so that our kids won’t grow up on an uninhabitable planet.

Americans of all races joining together to declare in the face of injustice, and brutality at the hands of the state, that Black Lives Matter no more, but no less. So that no child in this country feels the continuing sting of racism To the young people who led us this summer, telling us we need to be better, in so many ways you are this country’s dreams fulfilled. Earlier generations had to be persuaded that everyone has equal worth. For you, it’s a given, a conviction and what I want you to know is that for all its messiness and frustrations, your system of self government can be harnessed to help you realize those convictions for all of us.

You can give our democracy new meaning. You can take it to a better place. You’re the missing ingredient, the ones who will decide whether or not America becomes the country that fully lives up to its creep. That work will continue long after this election, but any chance of success depends entirely on the outcome of this election. This administration has shown it will tear our democracy down if that’s what it takes for them to win. So we have to get busy building it up by pouring all our efforts into these 76 days and by voting like never before for Joe and Kamala and candidates up and down the ticket so that we leave no doubt about what this country that we love stands for today and for all our days to come. Stay safe. God bless.

Thank you, President Obama. Thank you for your brilliant leadership. Joe Biden has chosen an extraordinary woman to be his running mate. Kamala Harris is a fighter and a trailblazer using her groundbreaking ideas to protect families and keep them together by reducing recidivism. I am so thrilled for her to become the vice president of the United States. Now please welcome our convention chair, Congressmen… (silence)

Speaker 42: (02:12:59)
… family.

Meena Harris: (02:13:00)
You showed me the importance of public service and made sure I grew up surrounded by smart, strong, ambitious women every day.

Maya Harris: (02:13:10)
Growing up, having helped the poor kid who picked on me because my big sister would be there in a flash ready to have my back. Well, now we’ve got your back as you and Joe fight to protect our democracy.

Speaker 42: (02:13:23)
And there’s no union more perfect than the one that brings us all to your kitchen table every Sunday night for stir fry, fry the chicken or spaghetti and meatball family dinners.

And now that I’m a mom, you’re showing my daughters and so many girls around the world who look like them, what’s possible and what it’s like to move through the world as fierce, formidable, phenomenal women in their own unique way.

I love you, I admire you, I am so proud of you. And even though mommy’s not here to see her first daughter step into history, the entire nation will see in your strength, your integrity, your intelligence, and your optimism, the values that she raised us with.

Speaker 42: (02:14:10)
We love you, Mamala.

We’re so proud of you, auntie.

You mean the world to us Kamala.

Speaker 42: (02:14:16)
And we could not be more excited.

To share you with the world.

As the next.

As the next.

Speaker 42: (02:14:22)
Vice president.

Vice president of United.

States.

Speaker 43: (02:14:32)
Joe Biden has selected Kamala Harris as his running mate.

Speaker 44: (02:14:35)
She was the first black woman, first South Asian woman to be named on the Democratic ticket.

Speaker 45: (02:14:40)
This is an historic pick…

Speaker 46: (02:14:40)
What?

Speaker 47: (02:14:40)
[inaudible 02:14:41].

Speaker 48: (02:14:42)
Someone who looks like us on a presidential ticket. That’s crazy.

Speaker 49: (02:14:47)
Kamala Harris is us. She was born in Oakland.

Speaker 50: (02:14:52)
The daughter of immigrants.

Speaker 51: (02:14:55)
The daughter of Shyamala.

Big sister and protector.

Speaker 52: (02:15:01)
She is an HBCU grad.

Speaker 53: (02:15:05)
She is a woman of many firsts.

Speaker 54: (02:15:10)

Speaker 55: (02:15:12)
She’s a hard worker, a really hard worker.

Speaker 56: (02:15:15)
She’s brilliant, she’s smart, she’s talkative and she’s got a big future.

Speaker 57: (02:15:24)
She’s probably one of the best role models.

Speaker 58: (02:15:24)
Kamala Harris is like a dream to me.

Speaker 59: (02:15:25)
Senator Harris cares about people. There’s no doubt about her.

Speaker 60: (02:15:29)
What she says for the people [inaudible 02:15:30] every ounce of who she is. She is for us, she’s for us.

Speaker 61: (02:15:37)
She fights for women’s rights.

Speaker 62: (02:15:39)
She finds to end mass incarceration.

Speaker 63: (02:15:42)
She has a fearless advocate for the voiceless.

Speaker 64: (02:15:45)
The litmus test for America is how we are treating black women.

Speaker 65: (02:15:49)
Now I’m talking about someone who can fight for black people, brown people, undocumented, LGBT people, disabled people, young people, old people, all of America.

Kamala Harris: (02:16:01)
It’s about all of us knowing our power can…

… America. It’s about all of us knowing our power to each of us to live people up, right? And to remind them that we see them and we hear them and that they matter. Are you going to be vice president of the United States?

Greetings America. It is truly an honor to be speaking with you tonight, that I am here tonight as a Testament to the dedication of generations before me. Women and men who believed so fiercely in the promise of equality, liberty, and justice for all.

This week marks the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, and we celebrate the women who fought for that right, yet so many of the black women who helped secure that victory were still prohibited from voting long after its ratification, but they were undeterred without fanfare or recognition they organized and testified and rallied and marched and fought, not just for their vote but for a seat at the table.

These women and the generations that followed worked to make democracy and opportunity real in the lives of all of us who followed. They paved the way for the trail blazing leadership of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. And these women inspired us to pick up the torch and fight on women like Mary Church Terrell, Mary McLeod Bethune, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Diane Nash, Constance Baker Motley, and the great Shirley Chisholm. We’re not often taught their stories but as Americans, we all stand on their shoulders.

And there’s another woman whose name isn’t known, whose story isn’t shared. Another woman whose shoulders I stand on, and that’s my mother Shyamala Gopalan Harris. She came here from India at age 19 to pursue her dream of curing cancer. At the University of California, Berkeley she met my father, Donald Harris, who had come from Jamaica to study economics.

They fell in love in that most American way while marching together for justice in the civil rights movement of the 1960s. In the streets of Oakland and Berkeley, I got a strollers eye view of people getting into what the great John Lewis called good trouble. When I was five, my parents split and my mother raised us mostly on her own. Like so many mothers, she worked around the clock to make it work packing lunches before we woke up and paying bills after we went to bed, helping us with homework at the kitchen table and shuttling us to church for choir practice.

She made it look easy though it never was. My mother instilled in my sister Maya and me, the values that we chart, the course of our lives. She raised us to be proud strong black women, and she raised us to know and be proud of our Indian heritage. She taught us to put family first, the family you’re born into and the family you choose.

Family is my husband Doug, who I met on a blind date set up by my best friend. Family is our beautiful children, Cole and Ella who call me Mamala. Family is my sister. Family is my best friend, my nieces and my godchildren. Family is my uncles, my aunts, and my kitties. Family is Mrs. Shelton, my second mother who lived two doors down and helped raise me. Family is my beloved Alpha Kappa Alpha, our Divine 9, and my HBCU brothers and sisters. Family is the friends I turn to when my mother, the most important person in my life passed away from cancer. And even as she taught us to keep our family at the center of our world, she also pushed us to see a world beyond ourselves, she taught us to be conscious and compassionate about the struggles of all people, to believe public service is a noble cause and the fight for justice is a shared responsibility.

That led me to become a lawyer, a district attorney, attorney general, and a United States Senator. And at every step of the way I’ve been guided by the words I spoke from the first time I stood in a courtroom. Kamala Harris for the people. I have fought for children and survivors of sexual assault, I fought against transnational criminal organizations. I took on the biggest banks and help take down one of the biggest for-profit colleges. I know a predator when I see one. My mother taught me that service to others gives life purpose and meaning, and oh, how I wish she were here tonight but I know she’s looking down on me from above. I keep thinking about that 25-year-old Indian woman, all of five feet tall who gave birth to me at Kaiser Hospital in Oakland, California. On that day, she probably could have never imagined that I would be standing before you now and speaking these words.

I accept your nomination for vice president of the United States of America. I do so committed to the values she taught me, to the word that teaches me to walk by faith and not by sight, and to a vision passed on through generations of Americans one that Joe Biden shares. A vision of our nation as a beloved community, where all are welcome, no matter what we look like, no matter where we come from or who we love. A country where we may not agree on every detail, but we are United by the fundamental belief that every human being is of infinite worth, deserving of compassion, dignity, and respect.

A country where we look out for one another, where we rise and fall as one, where we face our challenges and celebrate our triumphs together. Today, that country feels distant, Donald Trump’s failure of leadership has cost lives and livelihoods. If you’re a parent struggling with your child’s remote learning, or you’re a teacher struggling on the other side of that screen, you know what we’re doing right now is not working.

And we are a nation that is grieving, grieving the loss of life, the loss of jobs, the loss of opportunities, the loss of normalcy, and yes, the loss of certainty. And while this virus touches us all, we got to be honest, it is not an equal opportunity offender, black, Latino, and indigenous people are suffering and dying disproportionately.

And this is not a coincidence, it is the effect of structural racism of inequities in education and technology, healthcare and housing, job security and transportation, the injustice in reproductive and maternal health care, in the excessive use of force by police and in our broader criminal justice system. This virus, it has no eyes and yet it knows exactly how we see each other and how we treat each other.

And let’s be clear, there is no vaccine for racism. We have got to do the work for George Floyd, for Brianna Taylor, for the lives of too many others to name, for our children and for all of us. We’ve got to do the work to fulfill that promise of equal justice under law. Because here’s the thing, none of us are free until all of us are free.

So we’re at an inflection point, the constant chaos leaves us a drift. The incompetence makes us feel afraid. The callousness makes us feel alone. It’s a lot. And here’s the thing, we can do better and deserve so much more. We must elect a president who will bring something different, something better, and do the important work.

A president who will bring all of us together, black, white, Latino, Asian, indigenous to achieve the future we collectively want. We must elect Joe Biden. And I will tell you, I knew Joe as vice president, I knew Joe on the campaign trail, and I first got to know Joe as the father of my friend. So Joe’s son Beau and I served as attorneys general of our states Delaware and California. During the great recession, he and I spoke on the phone nearly every day, working together to win back billions of dollars for homeowners from the big banks that foreclosed on people’s homes.

And Beau and I, we would talk about his family. How as a single father, Joe would spend four hours every day riding the train back and forth from Wilmington to Washington. Beau and Hunter got to have breakfast every morning with their dad, they went to sleep every night with the sound of his voice, reading bedtime stories. And while they endured and unspeakable loss, those two little boys always knew that they were deeply unconditionally loved.

And what also moved me about Joe is the work that he did as he was going back and forth. This is the leader who wrote the Violence Against Women Act, and enacted the Assault Weapons Ban. Who as vice president implemented the Recovery Act, which brought our country back from the great recessions. He championed the Affordable Care Act protecting millions of Americans with preexisting conditions, who spent decades promoting American values and interests around the world.

Joe, he believes we stand with our allies and stand up to our adversaries. Right now, we have a president who turns our tragedies into political weapons. Joe will be a president who turns our challenges into purpose. Joe will bring us together to build an economy that doesn’t leave anyone behind, where a good paying job is the floor, not the ceiling.

Joe will bring us together to end this pandemic and make sure that we are prepared for the next one. Joe will bring us together to squarely face and dismantle racial injustice, furthering the work of generations. Joe and I believe that we can build that beloved community. One that is strong and decent, just and kind, one in which we can all see ourselves. That’s the vision that our parents and grandparents fought for.

The vision that made my own life possible. The vision that makes the American promise for all its complexities and imperfections, a promise worth fighting for. So make no mistake. The road ahead is not easy, we may stumble, we may fall short. But I pledge to you that we will act boldly and deal with our challenges honestly.

We will speak truths and we will act with the same faith in you that we ask you to place in us. We believe that our country, all of us will stand together for a better future. And we already are, we see it in the doctors, the nurses, the home healthcare workers and frontline workers who are risking their lives to save people they’ve never met.

We see it in the teachers and truck drivers, the factory workers and farmers, the postal workers and poll workers, all putting their own safety on the line to help us get through this pandemic. And we see it in so many of you who are working, not just to get us through our current crisis but to somewhere better.

There’s something happening all across our country, it’s not about Joe or me, it’s about you and it’s about us, people of all ages and colors and creeds who are yes, taken to the streets and also persuading our family members, rallying our friends, organizing our neighbors and getting out the vote.

And we have shown that when we vote, we expand access to healthcare and expand access to the ballot box, and ensure that more working families can make a decent living. And I’m so inspired by a new generation, you, you are pushing us to realize the ideals of our nation, pushing us to live the values we share decency and fairness, justice, and love.

You are Patriots who remind us that to love our country is to fight for the ideals of our country. In this election, we have a chance to change the course of history, we’re all in this fight, you, me and Joe together. What an awesome responsibility, what an awesome privilege. So let’s fight with conviction, let’s fight with hope, let’s fight with confidence in ourselves and a commitment to each other.

To the America we know is possible, the America we love. And years from now, this moment will have passed and our children, and our grandchildren will look in our eyes and they’re going to ask us, ” Where were you when the stakes were so high?” They will ask us, “What was it like?” And we will tell them, we will tell them not just how we felt, we will tell them what we did. Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America.

Speaker 66: (02:38:03)
Thank you, Senator Harris. So powerful. To close out the night, we’ve got some amazing music from the incomparable, Jennifer Hudson, as well as some highlights from tonight. And then tomorrow we’ll hear from more Americans fighting for a more perfect union fighting for all of us.

Speaker 66: (02:38:18)
And finally, Joe Biden will officially accept the nomination for president. I’ll be tuning in, I hope you will too. Thank you for letting me be a part of your night.

Speaker 66: (02:38:26)
(singing)

We must elect a president who will bring something different, something better, and do the important work. A president who will bring all of us together, black, white, Latino, Asian, indigenous to achieve the future we collectively want. We must elect Joe Biden.

Speaker 67: (02:43:14)
He was there for me, he’ll be there for you too.

Speaker 68: (02:43:18)
Remember back in 2016, when Trump asked, “What do you have to lose?” Well, now we know, our healthcare, our jobs, our loved ones, our leadership in the world and even our post office.

We come together now not to decry the darkness but to light a way forward for our country.

Speaker 69: (02:43:39)
The way I see it, big problems demand big solutions. Now I love a good plan. And Joe Biden has some really good plans.

But here’s the thing, no single American can fix this country alone, not even a president. Democracy was never meant to be transactional, you give me your vote I make everything better. It requires an active and informed citizenry. So I’m also asking you to believe in your own ability to embrace your own responsibility as citizens, to make sure that the basic tenants of our democracy endure.

Archbishop Elpidophoros: (02:44:24)
Greetings. I am Archbishop Elpidophoros of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. Let us pray. Most merciful and loving God, as we gather in soberness of mind and of heart for the sake of our nation and its future, we pray that you would shine the light of your countenance upon the delegates of this convention and upon vice president Joe Biden for the highest office in the land. As we face the future as one American nation, bring us to our best selves and inspire our better angels in peace, in fairness, and in generosity. That we may fight against injustice, inequality, and hatred. That we may achieve a common good, a greater good in the name of the Holy Trinity, we pray. Amen.

Speaker 70: (02:45:33)
That concludes our convention program for this evening. We will stand in recess until tomorrow evening.

Democratic National Convention (DNC) 2020 Night 3 Transcript: Speeches by Barack Obama, Kamala Harris, Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi & more

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