Joe Biden Campaign Rally Speech Transcript Tampa, FL October 29

Speaker 2: (04:42)
Please welcome Chloe Coney.

Chloe Coney: (05:22)
All right. Good evening, Tampa Bay. Let me hear some noise. Come on. Come on, Tampa Bay. Good evening. My name is Chloe Coney. But until November the 1st, I’m changing my middle name. It will be Chloe Vote Early Coney. Chloe Vote Early Coney.

I am grown up from Tampa. I lived here all my life. I helped to integrate the school system here. You heard Congresswoman Castor talk about that. I worked at the court as the very first Black probation and parole officer with Judge Edgecomb, and I have dedicated my life to lifting up this community. I’m a wife to my childhood sweetheart, Pastor Ernest Coney. I am the mother of three wonderful children and I have my son out here, Ernest Coney, Jr. I am a grandmother to three beautiful grandkids.

I am described as a woman that wears many hats. You know me in Tampa. I love my hats. That’s because I have worked to serve Tampa however I can. I am really proud of the decades I have spent working in this community either with Congresswoman Kathy Castor, as our district director, or with Hillsborough County, running the neighborhood service center. I have worked my hardest to revitalize our neighborhoods, bringing jobs and affordable housing to East Tampa, as the founder of the CDC. We want to make sure that we ensure opportunities for all of our families.

I know this community and I know, I’m going to say that real slow, I know we need Joe Biden. Anybody with me? We need Joe Biden. Right now, the president’s refusal to address that virus has left us in public health crisis and severe economic crisis. I lost a very-

… fear economic crisis. I lost a very dear cousin to this pandemic. I can’t see my grandchildren, but I want to. I have to be extremely careful with my 94 year old mother, but we know more than 220 Americans have lost their lives. It does not have to be that way. And after the election, it doesn’t have to be any longer. Joe Biden has a plan to beat coronavirus and build our economy by better lifting up all the communities. Joe is the guy. Are you with me?

Joe is the guy who got the Affordable Care Act passed. I remember before the ACA hearing stories from constituents that could not get insurance because they had pre-existing conditions. Joe changed that. He delivered. And if he gets to the White House, he’s going to strengthen the Affordable Care Act to lower costs and expand coverage. That’s what we need. Everybody agree with me. That’s what we need. Come on Tampa, that’s what we need. That’s exactly what we need.

I met Joe and he has that human touch. It’s a blessing. He knows what we’re going through. He can feel, and you can feel, and know his business and empathy because he has character. So vote early Tampa. Don’t wait. We can change the direction of this country on every issue that matters to us, but only if we vote. Make a plan. Bring your family. Bring your friends, because it’s all on our line.

Tampa, Florida, it is an honor and I’m just so excited to introduce you to a man who will bring the country together and restore the soul. I will say that again, and restore the soul of our nation. The next president of the United States of America, Joe Biden. Let’s give him a Tampa welcome.

Speaker 3: (10:35)
(Singing)

Joe Biden: (11:25)
Whoa. Holy mackerel. Hello, Tampa. Thank you so much, Chloe. You guys look like you’re so far away, you may be in Delaware. Great to see you all. Thanks for so many of you being here. As my mother would say, God love you all.

Joe Biden: (11:41)
Chloe, thanks for sharing your story and for all that you do. We often say that a person contributes to their community, but how many people can you name who have done more for this city and its people than Chloe? Chloe, congratulations. Turned abandoned buildings and dangerous lots into places of life and hope, making sure that bringing the community together to build homes for local families and helping young people around Tampa learn job skills, instill pride and purpose in neighborhoods that have been left behind, and laying the groundwork for economic opportunity that endures through generations. That’s the sort of work that changes the world. So thank you, Chloe. Thank you.

Joe Biden: (12:29)
I also want to thank all the other speakers here tonight, including your remarkable mayor. Jane, you’re something else, kid. Thanks for the passport into town. I appreciate it. And my friends, and these are my friends, Congressman Charlie Chris. You were there in the beginning, Charlie. Thank you, pal. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And Kathy Castor, her district. I sought permission to come. She said, “Okay.” Thanks Kath. And Alan Cohn, who we’ve got to send to Congress. And I just spent some time with one of my best buddies. A guy I served with for a long time in the United States Senate, Bill Nelson. I haven’t served with anyone with more character, courage and decency than Bill and his daughter, Nan, and his son, Billy, as well as amazing Grace who is with him. She’s something else, isn’t she?

Joe Biden: (13:35)
Look folks, five days left. Five days, but who’s counting right? But who’s counting? Scranton. I got a Scranton sign here. I don’t know, man. I’m getting… Wilmington. I’m getting confused here, man. Millions of Americans have already voted, over 75 I’m told. 75 million and millions more are going to vote before this is over. And I believe when you use your power, the power of the vote, we literally are going to change the course of this country for generations to come.

Joe Biden: (14:18)
We’re going to do it both at home and abroad right here in Florida with all of you. You’re the ones who built this country. CEOs and Wall Street didn’t build this country. You did. No, not a joke. I’ve been saying this for years. Middle class people did, hardworking folks and unions built the middle class I might add. And you’re the ones who are going to save this country.

Joe Biden: (14:43)
Look, I said, I got in this race for three reasons a year ago, little over a year, and I meant it. The first was to restore the soul of this country. This is not who we are, is not who we are. We’re more decent, honorable. We’re more respectful. We’re better people than we’ve been seen from this administration. Second reason was to restore the backbone of this country, the middle class and bring everybody along this time. And thirdly, to unite this country. We have to unite us. These final days, keep that sense of empowerment with you. That sense of optimism, what we can do, what we can overcome. That’s the God’s truth. I’ve never been more optimistic about America and America’s chances than I am today. Because I know the American people. I know who we are. We have never, ever, ever, ever let the country down and give it a chance. And on November 3rd, we’re going to unite this country and show the world who American really is.

Joe Biden: (15:55)
I mean it. I know it’s hard. Over these past few months has been so much pain, so much suffering, so much-

Joe Biden: (16:03)
So much pain, so much suffering, so much loss in America. More than 225,000 people dead, 225,000. The estimates are, if we’d have acted responsibly, there’d be 160,000 fewer dead than there are today, because of COVID-19. We’re now past the nine million mark of people infected. More than 16,000 people in Florida have been lost, and millions of people are out of work, on the edge. They can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. It’s like that old bad joke of my generation, it’s a freight train, because that’s what happens if he stays in office. Donald Trump has given up. Over the weekend, the White House Chief of Staff said, and I’m quoting, “We’re not going to control the pandemic.” It’s obvious he’s not.

Joe Biden: (17:04)
At the debate last week with Trump, he said, “We’re rounding the corner. It’s going away. We’re learning to live with it.” Remember what I told him? He’s asking us to learn to die with it. That’s what’s happening. Donald Trump has waved the white flag, abandoned our families and surrendered to this virus. But the American people never give up, we never give in, and we surely don’t cower. And neither will I. Donald Trump just had a super spreader event here again. They’re spreading more than just coronavirus. He’s spreading division and discord. We need a President that’s going to bring us together, not pull us apart. I’ll put a plan in place to deal with this pandemic responsibly, bringing the country together around testing, tracing, masking. Leading doctors in America, including Trump’s own CDC Director and Dr. Fauci last week said that if we just wore a mask, between now and the end of the year, we’d save 100,000 lives.

Joe Biden: (18:22)
Folks, that’s not a political statement. It’s a patriotic duty, for God’s sake. But still Donald Trump refuses to listen to science. And we shouldn’t be politicizing the race for a vaccine. We should be planning for its safe use and free and equitable distribution, providing PPE for national standards for school, businesses to open safely. I laid out a plan back in May how to do that, bringing together Republicans and Democrats to deliver economic relief. That’s already passed by the Democratic House of Representatives for working families, for schools and businesses. I’ve said it before, I’m not going to shut down the economy. I’m not going to shut down the country. I’m going to shut down the virus.

Joe Biden: (19:21)
Donald Trump inherited a strong economy from Barack and me, just like he inherited everything in his life. Oh, it’s a fact. He squandered that economy like he squandered everything else. But folks, I promise you, I guarantee you, we can build back and build back better with an economy that rewards work not wealth, and we can do it without raising taxes a single solitary penny from working class or middle class families. I guarantee you, my word as a Biden, no one making less than $ 400,000 will pay a single penny more in taxes. Not a penny. But I tell you what I’m going to do, and I make no apologies for it, I’m going to ask the wealthiest Americans and the biggest corporations of the Fortune 500 companies, 91 making a collective billions of dollars, didn’t pay a single solitary penny in federal tax. Well, I’m going to make sure they pay their fair share.

Joe Biden: (20:29)
Why should a firefighter, an educator, a nurse pay at a higher rate than the super wealthy or corporate America? Because you do, you do. Why should you pay more taxes than Donald Trump pays? If we made this as a movie 10 years ago, people would think we’re making it up. But it’s true. We’re going to deliver tax relief for working families of the middle class to help you buy your first home, help you pay for health care premiums, for childcare, for caring for your aging loved ones, for eliminating college debt. We’re going to take care of this. And we can afford it. Look, Trump got his Supreme Court Justice, and he did it for one overwhelming reason, something he’s been trying to do since the day he got elected, to destroy the Affordable Care Act. He’s going at it again. If they get their way, 100 million Americans will lose protections for pre-existing conditions, cancer, all diseases that are out there.

Joe Biden: (21:47)
Folks, look, 8.4 million Floridians have pre-existing conditions. Complications of COVID-19 will become the next pre-existing condition, allowing insurers to jack up your premiums, deny your coverage. A lot of you young people don’t even realize it, but before we passed the Affordable Care Act, insurance companies charged women more for the same healthcare as men, just because they were women. Fact, Donald Trump thinks healthcare is a privilege. I think it’s you’re right. If we all get out and vote, we’ll not only restore Obamacare, we’ll strengthen and build on it, so you can keep your private insurance if you like it, and you can choose a Medicare like option if you don’t. We’re going to increase subsidies and lower your payments and deductibles and premiums, out-of-pocket spending, reduce the unknown billing, reduce prescription drug costs by, according to the experts, up to 60%, by allowing, not making this stuff up, by allowing Medicare to negotiate for drug prices.

Joe Biden: (22:59)
We’re going to make sure you keep the protections for people with pre-existing conditions. We’re going to protect social security and Medicare, which they’ve been trying to cut for years. Meanwhile, the social security actuary, the guy who runs it, says the plan like Donald Trump says he wants to institute if he gets reelected, he says will bankrupt social security by 2023. As my wife would say, “Google it.” You’ll see what I’m telling you. You’ve got that right, pal. He said, “Trump is bankrupt.” By the way, he probably is. He owes $400 million to somebody. Anyway, folks, we have to vote. We have to vote for our military families. No, not a joke. Folks, of all the things Donald Trump has said, nothing has bothered me worse than the way he’s spoken to those who served in uniform. He called them losers and suckers.

Joe Biden: (24:00)
Losers and suckers. My deceased son, Beau Biden won the Bronze Star, Conspicuous Service Medal and other awards. Volunteered to go to Iraq for a year, gave up his attorney general job to go with his unit. He wasn’t a sucker, or a loser. He was a patriot. Like all of you who served. Like your sons, your daughters, your parents, and your grandparents. We have to vote for their dignity, respect they are due. We have to vote because while Donald Trump fails to condemn white supremacy, we can deliver racial justice while he’s trying to make it worse. Look, Donald Trump doesn’t believe that systemic racism is a problem. He won’t say black lives matter. We know they matter. That’s why a season of protest has broken out across the nation. But by the way, protesting is not burning or looting. Violence must never be a tactic tolerated, and it won’t. But these protestors are in a cry for justice. The names of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Jacob Blake will not soon be forgotten. Not by me, not by us, not by this country. When I met with the family, his little daughter said, looked at me and she’s only about seven years, and I knelt down to talk to her and the family. She looked at me, and she said, “Mr. Vice President, my daddy is changing the world.” Well guess what? The inspiration coming from her daddy would happen, this new wave of justice in America. But true justice is also more than just dealing with abuse. It’s about economic justice. It’s about schools, housing, access to capital, good paying jobs, a minimum wage of a minimum of $15 an hour. Financial stability. Giving families of color a real shot to own their own home, start a small business, send a child to college debt-free, so we can build wealth and pass on opportunities through generations like we did like, so many middle-class families have in the past. But we have to vote to ensure the full promise of this country. We have to vote to meet the challenge of climate crisis. Because you know in Florida, it is a crisis.

Joe Biden: (26:53)
We’re all seeing the impact more than most. Devastating hurricanes to lay waste to all communities. Economic toll is astounding, and it grows every year, but the human toll is worse. Lost lives, lost homes, small businesses shattered. First responders put at risk from the West Coast burning, the middle part of the country flooding. Donald Trump when he thinks of climate change, he says hoax. Well, guess what? Speaking of hoaxes, remember what he said about these increasing violent hurricanes and the frequency? He actually said, maybe we should detonate a nuclear bomb over the Atlantic. By the way, the same stable genius who said, the biggest problem we had in the revolutionary war is we didn’t have enough airports. Whoa. Man, I tell you, what. His answer to families in Puerto Rico, struggling through Hurricane Maria was, what would he do? Toss rolls of paper towels at them. He doesn’t have any real answers. We know we can do something about it while combating climate change means jobs. We can unleash American ingenuity and manufacturing and build a stronger, more climate-resistant nation, creating millions of new high paying jobs.

Joe Biden: (28:22)
We can change the path we’re on. We’ve got to act now. Time is running out. This country can’t afford four more years of Trump, who thinks he’s only responsible to the people who voted for him. I don’t see the presidency that way. I see an American as an American. I’d run as a proud Democrat. But guess what? It’s starting to rain, and I’m going to shorten this for y’all. I don’t see America that way. In 2008 and 2012, you placed your trust in Barack and me. Well guess what? Each day we were in office, we worked for you, the entire country. It was never about red States or blue States, always about the United States of America. I was reminded of that last month when I visited Gettysburg.

Joe Biden: (29:06)
Folks, you know what? When I went to Gettysburg to make that speech, Abraham Lincoln said a house divided cannot stand. Well, a nation divided cannot stand. I was reminded of that earlier this week. Ladies and gentlemen, you got to go to, IWillVote.com/FLA. Become FL. Return your ballot today. I never forgot what President Kennedy said about going to the moon. He said, “We’re going, you know why? Because we refuse to postpone.” Let’s not postpone and get out of the rain. God bless you all. Thank you.

Joe Biden Campaign Rally Speech Transcript Tampa, FL October 29

Other Related Transcripts

Stay updated.