Georgia Runoff Election Democrat Rally Transcript: Joe Biden, Raphael Warnock, Jon Ossoff

Speaker 1: (00:00)
… of Ebeneezer Baptist Church.

Speaker 2: (00:03)
Change still has a chance in the church that changed America.

Speaker 3: (00:07)
He’s senior pastor of one of the most prominent churches in America. Raphael Warnock not only preaches the gospel, but uses it as a platform for change.

Speaker 2: (00:15)
Dr. King called it the drum major instinct …

Speaker 4: (00:17)
Y’all can get louder than that. I said make some noise, one time. All right, there’s a reason why we’re all here, and let’s get to that reason. I’m going to bring the Reverend to the stage. I’m going to bring the Reverend to the stage. Make some noise for Raphael Warnock, one time.

Raphael Warnock: (00:17)
Well, hello Atlanta, Georgia. Sounds like you’re all ready to win an election. Georgia, we’re almost there. But we’ve got to finish the job. Let me hear you, if you’ve already voted. So, thank you so very much for voting, for exercising your right, and your civic obligation, but know that if you’ve already voted, your job is not done. Your job is not done until you call everybody in your circle, everybody you know, until you call your family members and your friends and you tell them to vote. Tell them that the preacher said a vote is a kind of prayer for the kind of world we want to live in, and our prayers are stronger when we pray together, so vote together. Are you ready to win this election?

We’re so honored to have back in Atlanta, the President Elect of the United States of America, Joe Biden, and I’m so grateful to be standing on this stage at this defining moment in American history. I grew up in public housing, one of 12 children in my family, I’m number 11, and I’m the first college graduate in my family. I got there through hard work, grit, and determination, but that alone does not put me on this stage at this defining moment. My parents poured into me the ethic of hard work. They taught me what personal responsibility looks like. My mother grew up in Waycross, Georgia. You know where that is, way across Georgia. So, she believed in hard work. She grew up in the summers in the 1950s, a black teenager picking somebody else’s cotton, picking somebody else’s tobacco, but because this is the United States of America, the other day the 82 year old hands that used to pick somebody else’s cotton, went to the polls and picked her youngest son to be a United States senator from the great state of Georgia.

Only in America is my story even possible, and I’m running for the United States Senate because I believe in the American promise. I believe in the American dream, but it is slipping away from too many of our children. Not just poor children growing up in the housing projects of Atlanta or Savannah, but in rural communities, disaffected communities across North Georgia. Our children need to know that they have a senator in the United States senate who understands their struggles, understands the struggles of ordinary people, and who will fight for them.

The wealthy and the well connected have no shortage of representation in Washington. It’s time for ordinary people, folk who go to work every day, folk who would love to go to work but they have lost their jobs due to no fault of their own, it’s time for ordinary folk to have representation in Washington, and if you send me to the senate, every single day I’ll have Georgia on my mind. I won’t be thinking about how I can best represent the insurance companies, and how I can best represent the pharmaceutical companies. They have enough representatives. It’s time for ordinary folks to have somebody thinking about them.

So, listen, we’ve got work to do. The stakes of this election can hardly be overstated. We’ve had about 350,000 American souls to perish. That’s a lot of empty seats at Thanksgiving, that’s a lot of empty chairs at Christmas, the lighting of the Hanukkah candles. That’s a lot of empty spaces as we welcomed the New Year and folks thought about their loved ones who are no longer with them, and even in the midst of this unspeakable human pain and suffering, what did we witness? We saw the politicians playing games. Politicians who are so focused on the next election that they’re not thinking about the next generation. They’re thinking about what’s in their best interest.

You heard the debate this week. Too often it was really about the politicians. Who’s in and who’s out? Who’s winning and who’s losing? Meanwhile, as I walk across the streets of Atlanta and the streets of Georgia, the people are losing every single day, and they need a voice in their democracy. They need senators who understand that we’ve got to get this virus under control, that we’ve got to get this vaccine safely and efficiently distributed. That we’ve got to stand up and we’ve got to provide COVID relief to workers. We’ve got to help them to be able to get back to work safely, and we’ve got to make sure that we center the concerns of small business owners. We’ve got work to do, and in the midst of the work that we must do, we can hardly afford to be divided.

So, here’s what you’ve got to do. You’ve got to tell your family members and tell your friends to vote tomorrow, and when they show up to vote, here is the work that they are doing, here is the important moral work that they are doing, they are pushing hard against the forces of division and distraction in our politics, because there are folk who are trying so hard to divide us. I’m running against the unelected senator of Georgia.

She was appointed, the people of Georgia have been disappointed. She gives a lot of money to the Republican Party, and somehow she got a seat. And when she went to that seat she did not waste much time helping you to understand why she wanted it in the first place. She had barely unpacked, had been there three weeks, when she heard about the coronavirus pandemic. Rather than focusing on the folk who were sheltering in, she was focused on sheltering her own investments, profiting off of a pandemic while the people of Georgia were suffering and losing their jobs, and when it came time to give ordinary people some relief, she said, “I see no need.” She said it was counterproductive. Meanwhile, she was profiting off of a pandemic. Who does that? Who does that? Forgive me, I’m from the hood. Where I’m from we would say, “Why they do dat at?” Profiting off of a pandemic.

So, have you noticed, she hasn’t even bothered to make a case, Georgia, for why you should keep her in that seat, and that’s because she has no case to make. Instead, she’s trying to distract you, trying to misrepresent my record. Have you noticed? Lying on me, lying on my church, the spiritual home of Martin Luther King Jr. Lying on the gospel. As we say in church, calling me everything but a child of God, scandalizing my name. But that’s all right, my mother down in Savannah, Georgia, she said, “It’s not what they call you, it’s what you answer by.” And in a few days she can call me Senator Raphael Warnock.

And as we build this movement, as we make sure everybody is engaged and everybody is involved, we will continue this blue wave that will make its way all across this state, the ripples of which will be felt all across this nation. Georgia, are you ready to win this election? So, don’t sleep through this movement. Don’t sleep through this moment. There is too much at stake. My father used to wake me up every morning, rain or shine, seven days a week. Weekdays, Saturdays, Sundays. During the school year, during the summer. You couldn’t sleep in my father’s house.

He was a veteran during the World War II era, and he never lost that sense that you ought to get up, get dressed, put your shoes on, get ready. And I’d say, “Dad, what do you mean get ready? It’s Saturday. Get ready for what?” He said, “I don’t know, just put your shoes on, boy.” I tell you, what you need to do later, just make sure you’re ready. That annoyed me when I was a little boy, when I was a teenager. But I’m so glad that my daddy woke me up every morning, God bless his soul, because in this defining moment, I want you to know, Georgia, I’m ready. I’m ready to be your next United States Senator. I’m ready to work alongside my brother Jon Ossoff, as you send us to the United States Senate.

Think about this; in this defining moment when folks are trying to define us, Georgia is getting ready to send to the United States Senate, a young Jewish man, the son of an immigrant and a black preacher. The pastor of Ebeneezer Baptist Church where Martin Luther King Jr. used to serve and where John Lewis worshiped. I don’t know about you, but I’m so proud of the state of Georgia. Let America hear you roar. Can I ask you one more time, are you ready to win this election? Well, call everybody you know and tell them to get up, get dressed, put your shoes on, get ready for affordable healthcare. Get ready for a livable wage. Get ready to reclaim our democracy and reclaim the future for all of our children. God bless you. Let’s win the future.

Jermaine Dupri: (16:00)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Let’s keep this energy going. Are you all ready to win tomorrow? What’s up? I said are we ready to win tomorrow? What’s up? All right, we’re going to keep it going. Without further ado, I bring to you, Jon Ossoff to the stage. What’s up?

Jon Ossoff: (18:09)
Hello Atlanta. Forever I love Atlanta. You all give it up again for my brother, the reverend Raphael Warnock. Atlanta, Georgia, it all comes down to this. Tomorrow is election day. The eyes of the nation are on Georgia right now, the eyes of the world are on Georgia right now. Feel your power, Georgia. Tomorrow we make history. Now, I want you to say it with me now. Say, “Vote.”

Crowd: (18:09)
Vote!

Jon Ossoff: (18:09)
Say, “Vote.”

Crowd: (18:09)
Vote!

Jon Ossoff: (18:09)
Say, “Vote.”

Crowd: (18:09)
Vote!

Jon Ossoff: (18:16)
Tomorrow we make history, and think about how far we’ve come, Atlanta. Think about how far we’ve come in the great state of Georgia. Think about how far we’ve come in the American South. Georgia is the most competitive battleground state in the United States. You did that. You did that. And now hosting two runoff elections for the United States Senate to determine control of the United States Senate, your standard bearers are the young Jewish son of an immigrant and a black pastor who holds Dr. King’s pulpit at Ebeneezer Baptist Church. Think about far we’ve come, Atlanta. Think about how far we’ve come. And we’re running against … We’re running against the Bonnie and Clyde of corruption in American politics. Two United States senators who, when they learned about this pandemic that was bearing down on our shores, when they learned about the threat posed by a virus that’s now killed more than 300,000 of our fellow Americans, their first call was to their stockbroker.

Jon Ossoff: (20:52)
Atlanta, we deserve better, and retirement is coming for David Purdue and Kelly Loeffler, Atlanta. But see, we have bigger and better things to discuss than David and Kelly, like where we go from here as a people. Where we go from here as a community, as a state, as a nation. We’ve had four years of hatred, and racism, and bigotry, and lies, and incompetence, but Donald Trump is leaving, and Georgia voters sent Donald Trump packing. You did that. So now it’s time to rebuild. Now it’s time to build an America that’s defined by love, that’s defined by unity, that’s defined by compassion and empathy. Those are the substance of community, those must be our guiding lights, because we love each other.

Jon Ossoff: (21:00)
I’m going to take a page out of the reverend’s playbook. Turn to your neighbor and tell them you love them. This is about love. I love you too. And we are building a movement based on love, for health, jobs and justice for the people. Health, jobs and justice for all the people, Atlanta.

Jon Ossoff: (21:24)
Let’s talk about health for a moment. 300,000 Americans killed by this virus, our hospital systems, our nursing homes buckling under the weight of this pandemic. So many who have lost so much. Loved ones buried, loved ones who have lost their lives unable to see or touch their loved ones as they pass. A government that has lied to us every step of the way. We can beat COVID-19, Atlanta. We can pass legislation to rush resources to hospitals and nursing homes. We can make sure every American gets access to testing and vaccines free of charge. We can beat COVID-19 and get our daily lives back. And do you believe, like I do, Atlanta, and like Reverend Warnock does, that healthcare is a human right?

Crowd: (22:34)
Yeah!

Jon Ossoff: (22:36)
Healthcare is a human right, and not just a privilege for those who have enough money in their bank accounts or who live in the right zip code.

Jon Ossoff: (23:16)
I was just down in Cuthbert, Georgia a few days ago, Randolph County in South Georgia. Y’all, they lost their hospital in October. Here, in the United States of America, the wealthiest country in the world, in the middle of a pandemic, their hospital closed. And now the people of Randolph County, if they need an emergency room, they’ve got to drive an hour and a half to go to Columbus or Albany. And it’s one of nine hospitals we’ve lost in Georgia in the last 10 years. You send me and Reverend Warnock to the senate, we will deliver the resources to reopen those nine hospitals, and to build new clinics in every corner of this state, because healthcare is a human right.

Jon Ossoff: (23:58)
We will stand up to the drug companies who are ripping off Georgia families at the pharmacy every single day, charging outrageous prices for lifesaving medicine and insulin. We will ensure that every single American has great health insurance, no matter their ability to pay, whether they have a preexisting condition, suffering from asthma, or diabetes, or a cancer survivor, because Georgia, healthcare is a human right, and we will make it so in the United States of America.

Jon Ossoff: (24:04)
And let me give a special shout out to all the mothers out there. Let me give a special shout out to my mama, who is here. Where is Heather? I love you, mom. Y’all may not know this, but my wife, Alicia, works as an OBGYN doctor at Grady hospital, in labor and delivery right here in Atlanta, and she sees every day at work, mothers who struggle, who suffer, babies who struggle into this world because our leaders have refused to expand Medicaid, because our leaders have refused to invest in maternal health. We have one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the entire country here in Georgia, and if you send me and Reverend Warnock to the US Senate, when you send me and Reverend Warnock to the US Senate, we will surge resources to save lives, to make sure every county in this state has an OBGYN doctor, because healthcare is a human right, Atlanta.

Jon Ossoff: (24:04)
Health, jobs and justice for all the people. Let’s talk about jobs. Millions have lost their jobs during this crisis. Millions facing eviction and foreclosure, small businesses across our state operating at 20% or 30% capacity. Gas bill piling up, credit card maxed out, families that can’t afford childcare, and for eight months straight the United States Senate blocked the direct relief that the people needed. Let him never deceive you, David Purdue opposed direct stimulus for the people all year long. Last week David Purdue changed his tune. Well, guess what? There’s an election coming. Georgia, you deserve senators who have your back, not just when they’re about to face the people, but at all times. And when you send me and Reverend Warnock to the senate, we will pass those $2000 stimulus checks that the people need, that families need to stay on their feet and in their homes.

Jon Ossoff: (27:01)
We will pass the most ambitious jobs, infrastructure, and recovery program in US history. We will upgrade public schools, we will build those clinics and hospitals, we will upgrade transit and transportation to connect every county here in metro Atlanta, to connect every city, every corner of the state, and to connect Georgia with the rest of the southeast. We will create tens of thousands of jobs in clean and renewable energy, saving our planet while we make America the number one producer of clean energy in the world, and Georgia the number one producer of clean energy in the south.

Jon Ossoff: (28:06)
Y’all, I want you to feel what we can achieve together. I want you to feel what is possible. I want you to believe in what is possible. And look, here’s the bottom line; if Mitch McConnell and the republicans hold onto the senate, they will try to do to Joe and Kamala exactly what they tried to do to President Obama, but we have too much good work to do for things to be ground to a halt in our nation’s capital. We need to raise the minimum wage to $15. We need to expand the Pell Grant program, so no young person in this state has to take on debt to get a degree from a public college or from an HBCU. We need to relieve the burden of student debt from those who are currently struggling to get out from under their loans. We can do all these things when we win tomorrow. We can deliver health, jobs and justice for the people, for all the people.

Jon Ossoff: (29:02)
Let’s talk about justice, Atlanta. Let’s talk about justice. I mentioned my mother a few minutes ago. Y’all may not know this, my mother came to this country as an immigrant when she was 23 years old, alone as a woman. Takes a lot of courage to uproot your life at that age, move to the other side of the planet and start new. But like so many immigrants, my mother came to this country because she believed that this country stood for certain ideals. Let me be clear that that doesn’t mean that she indulged any fantasies about our past. That doesn’t mean that she didn’t recognize how much further America had to go. She became a young activist.

Jon Ossoff: (29:47)
My mother was marching in the streets for the equal rights amendment in the 1970s. She had me walking around the house when I was three or four years old with one of those ERA Now buttons on. So, now you see where I’m coming from. My mother became an activist and my mother became a citizen, because she recognized that the ballot box is where we demand progress. The ballot box is where we hold elected officials accountable. The ballot box is where we make sure this country keeps moving on a journey of progress, toward fully realizing the very best of our founding ideals. Equality in God’s eyes, equal justice for all. Equal justice for all. Our constitution already guarantees equal protection under the law, but when Ahmaud Arbery is shot to death in broad daylight in the street on camera, and the local authorities look the other way because he is a young black man, that makes a mockery of equal protection under the law. So, Atlanta, are you ready to fight to pass a new civil rights act that will secure equal justice for all no matter the color of our skin?

Crowd: (31:14)
Yes!

Jon Ossoff: (31:20)
Are you ready to fight to pass a new voting rights act that will secure the sacred franchise that John Lewis and so many bled and suffered for? Are you ready to fight for health, and jobs and justice for all the people? Are you ready to send a message that echoes, not just from coast to coast, but down the generations about what this state stands for? Atlanta, we just have a few hours left. I’m asking you to dream about what’s possible. I’m asking you to believe in what’s possible. I’m asking you to work to make real what is possible. No regrets. No regrets.

Jon Ossoff: (32:03)
No regrets.

Speaker 5: (32:03)
[inaudible 00:32:03]

Jon Ossoff: (32:03)
No regrets.

Speaker 5: (32:12)
Yes [inaudible 00:32:13].

Jon Ossoff: (32:12)
We are on the cusp of a historic victory.

Speaker 5: (32:12)
That’s right.

Jon Ossoff: (32:12)
Feel it. Know it. Believe it. Work for it. Atlanta, are you ready to work?

Crowd: (32:12)
Yeah!

Jon Ossoff: (32:12)
Atlanta, are you ready to win?

Crowd: (32:13)
Yeah!

Jon Ossoff: (32:13)
Atlanta, are you ready to elect two new United States Senators?

Crowd: (32:13)
Yeah!

Jon Ossoff: (32:13)
Atlanta, say it with me again, say, “Vote.”

Crowd: (32:13)
Vote.

Jon Ossoff: (32:13)
Say, “Vote.”

Crowd: (32:13)
Vote.

Jon Ossoff: (32:13)
Say, “Vote.”

Crowd: (32:13)
Vote.

Jon Ossoff: (32:13)
I love you all. Thank you so much. God bless you.

Speaker 9: (32:13)
(singing)

Speaker 6: (32:13)
As a reminder, today’s event has been set up to adhere to social distancing guidelines, as outlined by health experts in the state of Georgia. Thank you.

Speaker 7: (32:13)
Am I next to go?

Speaker 6: (32:13)
Not yet. Not yet.

Speaker 8: (32:18)
No sir, not yet. [crosstalk 00:33:53] Yes.

Speaker 10: (32:18)
Please welcome, Allie Tong.

Allie Tong: (42:00)
Hello everybody. My name is Allie. And I’m a student at Campbell High School. And on November 3rd, like so many of you, I was a first time voter. I don’t have words to describe the feeling I had, holding that ballot in my hand. For the first time, I had a voice, a voice that would impact our country’s future. I didn’t expect to experience that feeling for another four years. But here we are. Today, we Georgians have the power to bring COVID-19 relief, to reform our criminal justice system, to move towards cleaner energy. However, none of this can be done if we don’t all vote. Whether this is your first election, or your 20th, your vote will dictate the future of our country. We are in a time when leadership is needed. We are in a time when our voices need to be loud. So please, Georgia, use your vote, your voice, to put Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock in the US Senate.

Allie Tong: (44:00)
It is now with great honor that I introduce President-Elect Joe Biden.

Speaker 9: (44:00)
(singing)

Joe Biden: (44:18)
Hello [inaudible 00:44:18]. Hello, hello, hello.

Crowd: (44:23)
Hello. Whoo. [crosstalk 00:44:23]

Joe Biden: (44:23)
It’s good to be back. It’s good to be back. Let’s hear it for Allie, and that introduction, and a great line up of entertainers you’ve had. You’re probably disappointed, you’re not speaking. We’ll get the entertainers back out here.

Crowd: (44:40)
Nah. [inaudible 00:44:40]

Joe Biden: (44:41)
And let’s hear it for Stacey Abrams.

Crowd: (44:41)
Whoo!

Joe Biden: (44:41)
Nobody, nobody in America has done more for the right to vote than Stacey. Stacey, you’re a change in Georgia. You’ve changed America. And I want to personally thank you again. So let’s hear it for the next Public Service Commissioner, Daniel Blackman. I don’t know where Daniel is, but I know he’s here. Look, and one of the best Mayors America has, and my good friend, Keisha Lance Bottoms. If I had three of her, I could rule the world.

Crowd: (44:48)
We love you!

Joe Biden: (44:48)
I love her, I tell you. And let’s hear it for the next United States Senators Jon Ossoff and the Reverend Warnock. I was just talking with them in the back. They’re talented. They’re principled. They’re qualified. They’re decent. They’re honorable. They mean what they say and they believe what I believe the definition of America is. It’s about possibilities, unlike any other nation in the world, anything’s possible.

Crowd: (44:48)
Yes sir!

Joe Biden: (44:48)
They’re bending the arc of history towards justice and hope and progress. And that’s not hyperbole, that’s real. Folks, this is it. This is it. It’s a New Year. And tomorrow can be a new day for Atlanta, for Georgia, and for America.

Crowd: (44:48)
Yeah!

Joe Biden: (46:11)
First, let me start by saying thank you for electing me and Kamala as President and Vice President of the United States. You voted in record numbers in November. Your voices were heard. Your votes were counted. And the rule of the people prevailed. We won, three times here. Each recount, you know what I mean? I think we should count it as three states. We won three times. And now, we need for you to vote again in record numbers, to make your voices heard again and again, to change Georgia, to change America again. And this is not an exaggeration. Georgia, the whole nation is looking to you to lead us forward, for real. You know it. You cannot turn on any national television show without knowing about what’s going on here and what you all are doing. The power, the power is literally in your hands. Unlike any time in my career, one state can chart the course, not just for the next four years, but for the next generation.

Joe Biden: (47:26)
[crosstalk 00:47:26] By electing Jon and the Reverend, you can make an immediate difference in your own lives, the lives of the people all across this country. Because their election will put an end to the block in Washington, that $2000 stimulus check, that money would go out the door immediately, to help people who are in real trouble. Think about what it will mean to your lives, putting food on the table, paying rent

Joe Biden: (48:07)
Lives, putting food on the table, paying rent, paying part of your mortgage, paying down the credit card, paying the phone bill, the gas bill, the electric bill. Just look around. Millions of people in this country out of work through no fault of their own. No fault of their own. They’re struggling. Many are fearful and many have given up hope. Look at the lines at food banks, hours and hours and hours. This is the United States of America, for God’s sake and there are food lines like we’ve not seen since the depression and they’re getting longer. Families, children, people who have worked their whole lives and never asked for a thing except a fighting chance, now, they’re lining up for food in America and the debate over $2,000 isn’t some abstract debate in Washington, it’s about real lives. Your lives, the lives of good, hardworking Americans and if you’re like millions of Americans all across this country, you need the money, you need the help and you need it now.

Joe Biden: (49:00)
Look, Georgia there’s no one in America with more power to make that happen than you, the citizens of Atlanta, the citizens of Georgia and that’s not an exaggeration. That’s literally true. If you send Jon and the reverend to Washington, those $2,000 checks will go out the door restoring hope and decency and honor for so many people who are struggling right now, and if you send Senators Perdue and Loeffler back to Washington, those checks will never get there. It’s just that simple. The power is literally in your hands by electing Jon and the reverend you can break the gridlock that has gripped Washington and this nation.

Joe Biden: (49:57)
With their votes in the senate, we’ll be able to make the progress we need to make on jobs, on healthcare, on justice, on the environment and so many important things. By electing Jon and the reverend, you’ll be voting to get the states the resources they need to get the vaccines distributed. It’s a shame what’s happening now. It’s a literal shame. I’ve said it before, getting America vaccinated will be one of the most difficult operational challenges this nation’s ever faced but we’ve known it for the last months.

Joe Biden: (51:32)
This administration has gotten off to a God-awful start. The president spends more time whining and complaining than doing something about the problem. I don’t know why he still wants the job, he doesn’t want to do the work. Look, the states need help. There’s a reason why the constitution said the federal government could have a deficit spending in times of crisis and states have to balance their budgets. It’s for this very thing. It’s the whole idea, your states have to balance your budgets. So what’s happening? You’re going to see more and more people laid off, more firefighters, police officers, school teachers, first responders, the people we need badly now. The states need more money to do the job. They need to the federal government to work with them, not attack them and leave them out there hanging.

Joe Biden: (51:48)
It’s going to be tough to get this done, but we have to do it. People’s lives literally depend on it. Our economy depends on it and we’ll get it done by electing Jon and the reverend to be voting to get their states and local government funding the money they need to keep cops, firefighters, teachers, local responders, keep them on the job protecting you, looking out for your children.

Joe Biden: (52:19)
Look, states have been struggling through this pandemic. They need help, by electing Jon and the reverend you’ll be sending a powerful message to congress and to the country. It is time for this nation, for god’s sake to finally come together, finally to work together, to unite, to put the anger and the division and the divisive politics to the past, behind us and here’s one more thing, voting for Jon and the reverend won’t just be good for America, it’ll be good for Georgia and here’s why.

Joe Biden: (52:49)
When you vote for Jon and Raphael, you’ll be sending two senators who will fight for you, who will put Georgia first, who’ll put you first. You don’t have that now. You have two senators that thinks it’s more important to reward wealth than hard work in a tax system. You have two senators now who think they don’t work for you, they work for Trump. I mean it, think about it. You have two senators, who think their loyalty is to Trump, not to Georgia. You have two senators who think they’ve sworn an oath to Donald Trump, not to the Unites States Constitution but let me tell you something.

Joe Biden: (53:24)
I got elected when I was 29 years old and six more times the United States Senator from Delaware and guess what, not once did I think I took an oath to any president, democrat or republican. I took an oath to the United States Constitution and as president, I don’t believe the United States senators are going to work for me, they work for the people of Georgia. That’s why I’m not asking your senators to be loyal to me, I believe they should be loyal to you, to Georgia, the United States Constitution, period and if you vote for Jon and the reverend, that’s what you’re going to get, decent, honorable men.

Joe Biden: (54:14)
They won’t put a president or party first and they sure won’t put themselves first. They know public service is about you. It isn’t about them. It’s not about enriching themselves. It’s about making people’s lives better, about giving people a chance, just an even shot, no guarantee but an even shot. It’s time to start rewarding work and not wealth and if you listen to Jon and the reverend, that’s what they’ve been saying, that’s what they’ve been campaigning on.

Joe Biden: (54:18)
Look, I’m dealing with COVID. I’m revitalizing our economy, our healthcare, our voting rights, criminal justice, racial justice, climate change and the things that matter and will make a difference in your lives and the lives of your families. Georgia, as dark as these days of winter seem, I’m still more optimistic about this country than any time in my entire life. I really mean it. The American people now understand clearly what’s at stake and Jon and Raphael share that optimism. They saw firsthand the power of believing in the promise of America in our darkest months. Jon learned it from my old friend and yours, John Lewis.

Joe Biden: (55:49)
Reverend Warnock sees the power of faith overcome the toughest trials that life can throw at us. He believes as I do, in the quote of the German philosopher, Kierkegaard who said, “Faith sees best in the dark.” I know they share with me that deep faith in the American people in this country, a faith that enables us to overcome adversity, to lift each other up, to be a beacon of light for one another and for the world. That’s who we are and that we should never give up on.

Joe Biden: (56:45)
Look folks, I’ve said many times and I’ll say it here again, there’s nothing and I say this again, nothing, nothing, nothing this country isn’t able to do when we decide to do it together. We have faced tougher times before and we’ve always overcome. We’ve always overcome. We’ve always come out better than we went in, no matter what. I know this campaign has been exhausting. You put the hard work in over the last few years to get to this moment. It’s been intense. It’s been non-stop but I’m asking you to give everything you’ve got one more day, one more day and that one more day, this not hyperbole, you can change America.

Joe Biden: (57:00)
So if you haven’t voted, vote. If you’ve already voted, then I’m asking you one more day of making calls, and safely knocking on doors. Go to iwillvote. com/GA to find your polling location. Just like you did in November, vote, vote, vote. Vote for Jon and the reverend. Vote. In America, as our opposition friends are finding out, all power flows from the people, from the people.

Joe Biden: (58:46)
That’s our history. That’s our law. That’s our tradition. That’s our constitution. That’s our democracy. Politicians cannot assert, take or seize power. Power if given, granted by the American people alone and we can never give that up. It’s always, always the will of the people must prevail. So today, tomorrow vote. Make sure your voice is heard. Do it for yourselves, do it for your families, do it for your children, do it for your state, your country. Do it for all those who’ve given up so much. Think of all those who’ve given up so much to secure that right. Do it for the country you love, because I know you love this country and the future you want to build for everyone in this country.

Joe Biden: (58:47)
Do it for all those around the world who aspire like us to be free and a democratic people who look to us. I’ve been in almost a hundred countries, they all look to America. The power, the power is in your hands. Jon, and Reverend Warnock, we’re counting on you, so is Kamala, so am I and so is America. We’re a nation built on honor, decency, dignity and respect. America is and must continue to be a beacon of light, liberty and democracy and unity. That’s who we are. That’s the United States of America. Vote. Vote. Vote. Vote. God bless you all and may God protect our troops. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you.

Georgia Runoff Election Democrat Rally Transcript: Joe Biden, Raphael Warnock, Jon Ossoff

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