Kamala Harris Speech Transcript
Kamala Harris: (
00:25) Good evening. Good evening. Good evening. Thank you. Thank you. Good evening. Thank you. Good evening. So Congressman John Lewis, Congressman John Lewis, before his passing, wrote, "Democracy is not a state. It is an act." What he meant was that America's democracy is not guaranteed. It is only as strong as our willingness to fight for it, to guard it and never take it for granted. Kamala Harris: (
01:22) Protecting our democracy takes struggle, it takes sacrifice, but there is joy in it and there is progress, because we, the people, have the power to build a better future. When our very democracy was on the ballot in this election, with the very soul of America at stake, and the world watching, you ushered in a new day for America. Kamala Harris: (
02:10) To our campaign staff and volunteers, this extraordinary team, thank you for bringing more people than ever before into the democratic process and for making this victory possible. To the poll workers and election officials across our country, who have worked tirelessly to make sure every vote is counted, our nation owes you a debt of gratitude. You have protected the integrity of our democracy. Kamala Harris: (
02:53) And to the American people who make up our beautiful country, thank you for turning out in record numbers to make your voices heard. Audience: (
03:05) Yes! Kamala Harris: (
03:08) I know times have been challenging, especially the last several months, the grief, sorrow, and pain, the worries and the struggles, but we have also witnessed your courage, your resilience, and the generosity of your spirit. For four years, you marched and organized for equality and justice for our lives and for our planet. Kamala Harris: (
03:43) Then you voted and you delivered a clear message. You chose hope and unity, decency, science, and, yes, truth. You chose Joe Biden as the next president of the United States of America. Joe is a healer, a uniter, a tested and steady hand, a person whose own experience of loss gives him a sense of purpose that will help us as a nation reclaim our own sense of purpose, and a man with a big heart who loves with abandon. Kamala Harris: (
04:51) It's his love for Jill, who will be an incredible First Lady. It's his love for Hunter and Ashley and his grandchildren and the entire Biden family. While I first knew Joe as vice president, I really got to know him as the father who loved Beau, my dear friend who we remember here today. Kamala Harris: (
05:26) And to my husband Doug and our children Cole and Ella and my sister Maya and our whole family, I love you all more than I can ever express. We are so grateful to Joe and Jill for welcoming our family into theirs on this incredible journey. And to the woman most responsible for my presence here today, my mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, who is always in our hearts. Kamala Harris: (
06:07) When she came here from India at the age of 19, she maybe didn't quite imagine this moment. But she believed so deeply, and in America, where a moment like this is possible. And so, I am thinking about her and about the generations of women, Black women, Asian, white, Latina, Native American women who, throughout our nation's history, have paved the way for this moment tonight, women who fought and sacrificed so much for equality and liberty and justice for all, including the Black women who are often too often overlooked, but so often prove they are the backbone of our democracy. Kamala Harris: (
07:13) All the women who have worked to secure and protect the right to vote for over a century, 100 years ago with the 19th Amendment, 55 years ago with the Voting Rights Act, and now in 2020 with a new generation of women in our country who cast their ballots and continue the fight for their fundamental right to vote and be heard. Kamala Harris: (
07:44) Tonight I reflect on their struggle, their determination, and the strength of their vision to see what can be unburdened by what has been. I stand on their shoulders. What a testament it is to Joe's character, that he had the audacity to break one of the most substantial barriers that exist in our country and select a woman as his vice president. Kamala Harris: (
08:24) But while I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last, because every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities. To the children of our country, regardless of your gender, our country has sent you a clear message: dream with ambition, lead with conviction, and see yourselves in a way that others may not, simply because they've never seen it before. But know that we will applaud you every step of the way. Kamala Harris: (
09:18) And to the American people, no matter who you voted for, I will strive to be a vice president like Joe was to President Obama, loyal, honest, and prepared, waking up every day thinking of you and your family, because now is when the real work begins, the hard work, the necessary work, the good work, the essential work to save lives and beat this epidemic, to rebuild our economy so it works for working people, to root out systemic racism in our justice system and society, to combat the climate crisis, to unite our country and heal the soul of our nation. The road ahead will not be easy, but America is ready, and so are Joe and I. Kamala Harris: (
10:28) We have elected a president who represents the best in us, a leader the world will respect and our children will look up to, a commander-in-chief who will respect our troops and keep our country safe, and a president for all Americans. Audience: (
10:50) Yes! Kamala Harris: (
10:55) And it is now my great honor to introduce the President-elect of the United States of America, Joe Biden. Speaker 5: (
11:06) (singing)
Joe Biden Speech Transcript
Joe Biden: (
12:14) Hello, my fellow Americans and the people who brought me to dance, Delawareans. I see my buddy Senator Tom Carper down there and I think Senator Coons is there and I think the governor's around. Is that Ruth Ann? Audience: (
12:38) Yes, it is! Joe Biden: (
12:39) And now former governor Ruth Ann Minner. Most importantly, my sisters-in-law and my sister Valerie. Anyway, folks, the people of this nation have spoken. They've delivered us a clear victory, a convincing victory, a victory for we the people. We've won with the most votes ever cast for a presidential ticket in the history of the nation, 74 million. Joe Biden: (
13:19) Well, I must admit it surprised me. Tonight, we've seen all over this nation, all cities in all parts of the country, indeed across the world, an outpouring of joy, of hope, renewed faith, and tomorrow bring a better day. I'm humbled by the trust and confidence you've placed in me. Joe Biden: (
13:45) I pledge to be a president who seeks not to divide but unify, who doesn't see red states and blue states, only sees the United States, and work with all my heart, with the confidence of the whole people, to win the confidence of all of you. For that is what America, I believe, is about. It's about people. And that's what our administration will be all about. Joe Biden: (
14:19) I sought this office to restore the soul of America, to rebuild the backbone of this nation, the middle class, and to make America respected around the world again and to unite us here at home. It's the honor of my lifetime that so many millions of Americans have voted for that vision. Now the work of making that vision is real. It's a task, the task, of our time. Joe Biden: (
14:52) Folks, as I said many times before, I'm Jill's husband, and I would not be here without her love and tireless support of Jill, and my son Hunter and Ashley, my daughter, and all our grandchildren and their spouses and all our family. They're in my heart. Joe Biden: (
15:19) Jill's a mom, a military mom, an educator. She's dedicated her life to education. But teaching isn't just what she does. It's who she is. For American educators, this is a great day for you all. You're going to have one of your own in the White House. Jill's going to make a great First Lady. I'm so proud of her. Joe Biden: (
15:50) I'll have the honor of serving with a fantastic vice president. You just heard from Kamala Harris, who makes history as the first woman, first Black woman, the first woman from South Asian descent, the first daughter of immigrants ever elected in this country. Joe Biden: (
16:11) Don't tell me it's not possible in the United States. It's long overdue. We're reminded tonight of those who fought so hard for so many years to make this happen. But once again, America's bent the arc of the moral universe, more toward justice. Kamala, Doug, like it or not, you're family. You've become an honorary Biden. There's no way out. Joe Biden: (
16:42) To all those of you who volunteered and worked the polls in the middle of this pandemic, local elected officials, you deserve a special thanks from the entire nation. To my campaign team and all the volunteers, and all who gave so much of themselves to make this moment possible, I owe you. I owe you. I owe you everything. Joe Biden: (
17:13) All those who supported us, I'm proud of the campaign we built and ran. I'm proud of the coalition we put together, the broadest and most diverse coalition in history. Democrats, Republicans, independents, progressives, moderates, conservatives, young, old, urban, suburban, rural, gay, straight, transgender, white, Latino, Asian, Native American. I mean it, especially in those moments and especially for those moments when this campaign was at its lowest ebb, the African American community stood up again for me. You've always had my back, and I'll have yours. Joe Biden: (
18:00) I said at the outset I wanted this campaign to represent and look like America. We've done that. Now that's what I want the administration to look like and act like. Joe Biden: (
18:10) For all those of you who voted for President Trump, I understand the disappointment tonight. I've lost a couple of times myself. But now let's give each other a chance. It's time to put away the harsh rhetoric, lower the temperature, see each other again, listen to each other again. To make progress, we have to stop treating our opponents as our enemies. They are not our enemies. They're Americans. They're Americans. Joe Biden: (
18:49) The Bible tells us to everything, there's a season, a time to build, a time to reap and a time to sow, and a time to heal. This is the time to heal in America. Joe Biden: (
19:08) Now this campaign is over, what is the will of people? What is our mandate? I believe it's this: American have called upon us to marshal the forces of decency, the forces of fairness, to marshal the forces of science and the forces of hope in the great battles of our time, the battle to control the virus, the battle to build prosperity, the battle to secure your family's healthcare, the battle to achieve racial justice and root out systemic racism in this country. Joe Biden: (
19:45) And the battle to save our planet by getting climate under control. The battle to restore decency, defend democracy, and give everybody in this country a fair shot. That's all they're asking for: a fair shot. Joe Biden: (
20:07) Folks, our work begins with getting COVID under control. We cannot repair the economy, restore our vitality, or relish life's most precious moments, hugging our grandchildren, our children on our birthdays, weddings, graduations, all the moments that matter most to us until we get it under control. Joe Biden: (
20:28) On Monday, I will name a group of leading scientists and experts as transition advisors, to help take the Biden-Harris COVID plan and convert it into an action blueprint that will start on January the 20th, 2021. That plan will be built on bedrock science. It will be constructed out of compassion, empathy, and concern. I will spare no effort, none, or any commitment to turn around this pandemic. Joe Biden: (
21:08) Folks, I'm a proud Democrat, but I will govern as an American president. I'll work as hard for those who didn't vote for me as those who did. Let this grim era of demonization in America begin to end here and now. Joe Biden: (
21:36) The refusal of Democrats and Republicans to cooperate with one another is not some mysterious force beyond our control, it's a decision, a choice we make. If we can decide not to cooperate, then we can decide to cooperate. Joe Biden: (
21:58) I believe that this is part of the mandate given to us from the American people. They want us to cooperate in their interests, and that's the choice I'll make. I'll call on Congress, Democrats and Republicans alike, to make that choice with me. Joe Biden: (
22:18) The American story is about slow yet steadily widening the opportunities in America. Make no mistake, too many dreams have been deferred for too long. We must make the promise of the country real for everybody, no matter their race, their ethnicity, their faith, their identity, or their disability. Joe Biden: (
22:43) Folks, America has always been shaped by inflection points by moments in time where we've made hard decisions about who we are and what we want to be: Lincoln in 1860 coming to save the union, FDR in 1932 promising a beleaguered country a new deal, JFK in 1960 pledging a new frontier, and 12 years ago when Barack Obama made history and told us, yes, we can. Joe Biden: (
23:19) Well, folks, we stand at an inflection point. We have an opportunity to defeat despair, to build a nation of prosperity and purpose. We can do it. I know we can. Joe Biden: (
23:36) I've long talked about the battle for the soul of America. We must restore the soul of America. Our nation is shaped by the constant battle between our better angels and our darkest impulses, and what presidents say in this battle matters. It's time for our better angels to prevail. Joe Biden: (
24:01) Tonight, the whole world is watching America, and I believe, at our best, America is a beacon for the globe. We will lead not only by the example of our power, but by the power of our example. Joe Biden: (
24:21) I know I've always believed, and many of you heard me say it, I've always believed we can define America in one word: possibilities. That in America everyone should be given an opportunity to go as far as their dreams and God-given ability will take them. Joe Biden: (
24:40) You see, I believe in the possibilities of this country. We're always looking ahead, ahead to an America that's freer and more just, ahead to an America that creates jobs with dignity and respect, ahead to an America that cures diseases like cancer and Alzheimer's, ahead to an America that never leaves anyone behind, ahead to an America that never gives up, never gives in. Joe Biden: (
25:10) This is a great nation. It's always been a bad bet to bet against America. We're good people. This is the United States of America. There's never been anything, never been anything, we've been not able to do when we've done it together. Joe Biden: (
25:28) Folks, in the last days of the campaign, I began thinking about a hymn that means a lot to me and my family, particularly my deceased son, Beau. It captures the faith that sustains me and which I believe sustains America. I hope, and I hope, we can provide some comfort and solace to the 230,000 Americans who've lost a loved one due to this terrible virus this year. My heart goes out to each and every one of you. Hopefully this hymn gives you solace as well. Joe Biden: (
26:02) It goes like this. "And he will raise you up on eagle's wings, bear you on the breath of dawn, and make you just shine like the sun, and hold you in the palm of His hand." Now together on eagle's wings, we embark on the work that God and history have called upon us to do. Joe Biden: (
26:23) With full hearts and steady hands, with faith in America and in each other, with love of country, a thirst for justice, let us be the nation that we know we can be, a nation united, a nation strengthened, a nation healed, the United States of America. Joe Biden: (
26:42) Ladies and gentlemen, there's never, never, been anything we've tried we've not been able to do. Remember, as my grandpappy said when I walked out of his home, when I was a kid up in Scranton, he said, "Joey, keep the faith." And our grandmother, when she was alive, she yelled, "No, Joey. Spread it." Joe Biden: (
27:02) Spread the faith. God love you all. May God bless America and may God protect our troops. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
