Mike Pence Campaign Speech Transcript Janesville, Wisconsin September 14

Mike Pence: (06:37)
Well, hello, Wisconsin. To congressmen Steil, to all my fellow Americans from near and far, it is great to be back in the Badgers state. But I’m here for one reason and one reason only, and that is that Wisconsin and America need four more years of President Donald Trump in the White House.

Crowd: (07:11)
Four more years! Four more years! Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!

Mike Pence: (07:28)
It’s still early in the day and you still got that done. I’m really… Great job. Hey, and while we’re at it, we need Janesville to send a rising star back to Washington D.C in a new Republican majority. We need Congressman Bryan Steil back in the US House of Representatives. Isn’t he something?

Mike Pence: (07:55)
What a great young guy. What a great young guy. Had big shoes to fill here in Janesville. And he’s already arrived in Washington D.C and emerged as one of the great conservative voices in our nation’s capital. Will you join me in just thanking his mom and dad? How proud are you? Stand up and take a bow, will you folks? I’ll tell you what. What a great family.

Mike Pence: (08:23)
Before I get started, I know I’m speaking for everybody here, when I express our support and our prayers for all of those affected by the wildfires out West and those that are in the path of hurricane Sally. You’ll be glad to know President Trump approved a major disaster declaration for the state of California in less than 24 hours. He’ll be on the ground on the West coast today in California. He’s meeting with Governor Newsom and emergency officials. FEMA is also on the scene there and in the Gulf. And all of those that are in harm’s way in the Gulf or on the West coast, know that you’re in our prayers and know that we’re going to stay with you every step of the way until we build back bigger and better than ever before. That’s our promise.

Mike Pence: (09:14)
Four years ago, a movement was born, a movement of everyday Americans from every walk of life. I saw it everywhere that I traveled across the country then and in everyday since. I mean, the truth is here in Wisconsin, you believe we could be strong again. You believe we could be prosperous again. You believe America could be respected again. You said yes to President Donald Trump in 2016. And I know in 50 days from today, Wisconsin’s going to say yes to four more years of President Donald Trump in 2020.

Crowd: (09:54)
Four more years! Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!

Mike Pence: (10:02)
And the road to victory runs right through Wisconsin. I mean, look how far we’ve come because of the confidence that you’ve placed in this president, in our team. Four years ago, we inherited a military hollowed out by devastating budget cuts, an economy struggling to break out of the slowest recovery since the Great Depression. Terrorism was on the rise around the world, and we witnessed a steady assault on our most cherished values and liberties. But in three short years, we rebuilt our military. We revived our economy. We cut taxes, rolled back red tape, unleashed American energy fraught for free and fair trade. And the American economy came roaring back in those first three years. Wow. And this president kept his promise. We’ve appointed more than 200 judges to our federal courts at every level. And I’m here to tell you they are all principled conservatives who will support the God given liberties enshrined in our constitution, like the freedom of religion, the freedom of speech, and the second amendment right to keep and bear arms. Beyond all of those high ideals, I couldn’t be more proud to serve as vice president to a president who has stood without apology for the sanctity of human life.

Mike Pence: (12:01)
Under President Trump’s leadership, we’ve stood for security. We’ve stood for our liberties. We’ve stood for prosperity and our highest values. And President Donald Trump has stood every day with the men and women who serve in law enforcement. And we will stand with them for four more years. You know, the President and I know that the men and women who serve in law enforcement are some of the best people in this country. They literally put their lives on the line every day. They count our lives more important than their own. And those who serve in law enforcement deserve the respect of every American, every day. Tragically, this weekend, we all witnessed more, another round of attacks on those who wear the uniform. Two brave Sheriff’s Deputies in Los Angeles were literally shot in cold blood while some stood on the street corner opposite of the incident and laughed. And we’re actually told that protestors gathered outside the hospital and chanted, ” We hope they die.” You know, one of those Sheriff’s Deputies I learned, is a mother of a six year old. The other Sheriff’s Deputy is just 24 years old. They were both on the job for less than a year. I want to tell them and their families and all those who love and cherish our law enforcement, that we are so glad to hear they’re on the road to recovery. They will remain in our hearts and in our prayers.

Mike Pence: (13:58)
But I have to tell you, the President and I will always support the right of Americans to peaceful protest, but rioting and looting is not peaceful protest. Burning businesses is not free speech. Bringing violence against innocent civilians or those in law enforcement must stop, and it must stop now. Those who do such things will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Mike Pence: (14:43)
And you’ve seen this President’s leadership up close, not far from here. When rioting and looting broke out in Kenosha, Wisconsin, President Trump sent in 200 federal law enforcement officers, worked with your courageous state and local law enforcement, and ended the violence. In fact, over the last month we launched what’s called Operation Legend. Literally, we’ve deployed over a thousand federal law enforcement officials to our major cities that have been seeing violent protests. And as we stand here today, working with state and local law enforcement officials, I’m proud to report they’ve made over 2000 arrests of violent protestors all across the country. We are going to have law and order in every city, in every state in this country for every American of every race and creed and color, so help us God.

Audience: (15:45)
USA, USA, USA, USA, USA, USA, USA, USA.

Mike Pence: (16:02)
For months all Joe Biden ever talked about was peaceful protesters, as the American people watched businesses and communities in our major cities burn. Two weeks ago, he did condemn violence in every form it takes. But right after that, he criticized law enforcement. Joe Biden has never called out his campaign staff or his running mate for raising money for bail for violent criminals. And he still hasn’t called on Democrat mayors to get their cities under control. You know, the truth is Joe Biden would double down on all the policies that have led to violence in America’s cities. I mean, when you signal a lack of support or waning support for law enforcement, it emboldens those, it emboldens those who threaten our families and our cities.

Mike Pence: (16:58)
So let me be clear. We’re going to stand with the men and women who serve on the thin blue line of law enforcement. Whether it’s in Los Angeles or Rochester or Kenosha, we are going to back the blue.

Mike Pence: (17:17)
Joe Biden says that America is systemically racist and that law enforcement in his words, has a “implicit bias against minorities.” When asked whether he’d support cutting funding of law enforcement, Joe Biden actually replied, “Yes, absolutely.” But under this President, this Vice President and this administration I’ll make you a promise. We’re not going to defund the police, not now, not ever. President Trump and I know what the people of Wisconsin know. We don’t need to choose between supporting law enforcement and standing with our African American neighbors or any of the minorities that live in our cities, to improve the quality of their lives, their education, their jobs, and their security. From the first day of this administration, we have stood with law enforcement, we have expanded opportunities for African Americans. We have done both for three and a half years. We’re going to do both for four more years in The White House.

Mike Pence: (18:42)
So in three short years, we rebuilt our military, we revived our economy, we stood for law and order. And the results? I can tell you having traveled to 30 countries around the world, America is standing tall again. We have a President who embraces his role as leader of the free world. We have a President that doesn’t apologize for America. He stands for America. And America is respected again, our liberties are more secure.

Mike Pence: (19:19)
And in those first three years, it’s also been about jobs, jobs, jobs. It’s amazing to think. After we cut taxes, rolled back regulation, unleashed American energy and negotiated better trade deals, businesses large and small created more than 7 million good paying jobs all across this country. And wages rose at their fastest pace in more than 10 years. And what meant the most to the President and me was that wages rose most dramatically for hard working, blue collar Americans. The forgotten men and women of America were forgotten no more. I mean, we created the greatest economy in the world. At the end of those first three years, there were more Americans working than ever before. Bottom line, in three short years, we made America great again. We did.

Mike Pence: (20:25)
And then the coronavirus struck from China. And the people of Wisconsin deserve to know that before the very first documented case of community transmission within our country, President Trump did what no other American president had ever done. He suspended all travel from China. He put the health of America first.

Mike Pence: (20:55)
Now, Joe Biden called that xenophobic. But the truth is I can tell you firsthand, having led The White House coronavirus task force, that action alone saved untold American lives. And it bought us invaluable time to stand up the greatest national mobilization since World War II. At the President’s direction, we marshaled not only the full resources of the federal government, but the full potential of the American economy. We reinvented testing where we literally have done more testing than any nation in the world by a factor of five. We’re doing 800,000 tests a day. We saw to the delivery and the manufacturer of billions of medical supplies to our doctors and nurses and hospitals, and no American who required a ventilator was ever denied a ventilator in the United States of America.

Mike Pence: (21:52)
Now, our hearts go out to all the families that have lost loved ones in the course of this pandemic. And there’s not a day gone by that those families haven’t been in our hearts and in our prayers, including the more than 1000 families here in the state of Wisconsin. And I’m proud to report to you that every single day, we’re developing new medicines that are saving lives across the country; convalescent plasma, remdesivir, the innovation that we’re seeing in the development of therapeutics. And even though Joe Biden said, and I quote, “No miracle is coming.” We are on track to have the first coronavirus vaccine before the end of this year. America’s in the miracle business.

Mike Pence: (22:39)
I mean, because of what we’ve all done together as a nation, because of this President’s leadership, we’re slowing the spread, we’re protecting the vulnerable, we’re saving lives and developing life-saving medicines. And in the midst of this pandemic, this President has also worked with leaders in the Congress, including Congressmen Steil. And we secured more than $4 trillion in support, direct aid to American families, and a paycheck protection program that saved 50 million American jobs. It’s true.

Mike Pence: (23:14)
Now, we’re going to continue to put the health of America first because of the strong foundation that we poured in those first three years. And with the unprecedented aid that we were able to provide to families and businesses, large and small. After losing 22 million jobs at the height of this pandemic, we’ve seen 10.6 million Americans already go back to work, including 200,000 people right here in Wisconsin. We’re opening up America again and we’re opening up America’s schools.

Mike Pence: (24:00)
We’re going to get there, Wisconsin. We’re going to get there together and I want to commend each and every one of you for the role that you’ve played in these challenging times. We’ve gone through a time of testing but as I like to say we’re soon coming to a time for choosing. 50 days from today, the American people have a choice to make. As President Trump said in Michigan just a couple of days ago and I quote, “At no time before has there been a clearer choice between the two parties.” Two visions, two philosophies, two agendas for the future. Truth is Joe Biden has put forward the most extreme platform of any major party candidate in U.S. history. In the middle of a global pandemic, Joe Biden wants to raise taxes by $4 trillion. Your president, we cut taxes across the board for working families and we’re going to keep cutting taxes for four more years. Joe Biden wants to bury our economy under an avalanche of red tape like his own version of the Green New Deal. You know the only thing green about the Green New Deal is how much green it’s going to cost all of us if they ever sign it into law.

Mike Pence: (25:29)
This president, he actually signed more laws cutting federal red tape than any president in American history already and we’re going to keep chopping red tape to create jobs for four years to come. You know when we took office, China was literally half of our international trade deficit, $500 billion a year going to China in a trade deficit. It’s incredible, but President Trump made it clear that the era of economic surrender was over. Joe Biden, he’s been a cheerleader for Communist China throughout his career. He actually wants to repeal all the tariffs that are leveling the playing field today for American workers. I’ll make you a promise. President Trump hasn’t [inaudible 00:26:25] stood up to China, we’re going to keep standing up to China until they open their markets and put American workers on a level playing field. Because when American workers are on a level playing field, we can win anywhere in the world. It’s true.

Mike Pence: (26:49)
It wasn’t just our relationship with China. Joe Biden was one of those folks that voted for NAFTA. I don’t have to tell neighbors here across the heartland about the impact NAFTA had. 60, 000 factories actually closed in the years since NAFTA was signed into law and when Joe Biden was vice president they did nothing to fix it, nothing to take out the incentives that existed in NAFTA to move jobs south of our border. Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, NAFTA is history and the USMCA is here to stay.

Mike Pence: (27:26)
You all in Wisconsin know. Under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement, Canada is ending their unfair treatment of dairy farmers and we’re actually expected to increase our dairy exports from here in Wisconsin and all across the country by $300 million a year. That’s a lot of milk. It’s not just milk. USMCA is actually expected to create 600,000 new jobs including 50,000 manufacturing jobs. I got to tell you, it’s just amazing.

Mike Pence: (28:11)
Remember the last administration? You had a president in the summer of 2016 who was asked about manufacturing jobs being lost in places like Wisconsin and Indiana and Michigan, and he said they were never coming back, remember? He said, “What magic wand do you have?” They’d lost 200,000 manufacturing jobs under the last administration. Well we didn’t need a magic wand, we just needed President Donald Trump in the White House. 500,000 manufacturing jobs in our first three years. That’s all you need.

Mike Pence: (28:58)
When it comes to trade, when it comes to taxes and regulations [inaudible 00:29:01], you got a president who will always put American jobs and American workers first. Where Joe Biden and the radical left want to crush American energy. Part of what’s fueling this American comeback we’re experiencing today is low cost energy for families and for businesses. Joe Biden wants to raise the cost of electricity for every household and every business in Wisconsin. This president, he unleashed American energy and believe it or not, we’re now a net exporter of energy for the first time in 70 years. Low cost energy and energy independence, that’s the leadership of President Donald Trump and that’s the choice.

Mike Pence: (29:51)
The choice is clear, whether it’s security, whether it’s prosperity, but it’s also a clear choice when it comes to values. This president from very early on had stood strong for our most cherished liberties and President Donald Trump and our administration have stood for the religious freedom of every American of every faith and we always will. The freedom of religion has been called our first freedom and even a casual study of the American founding will demonstrate to you that people came to this country early on for many reasons but chief among them was the freedom of religion. That’s why this president took such strong steps early on. He’s the first president in American history to actually convene an international conference on religious liberty not once but twice. He spoke at the United Nations about our commitment to the freedom of religion, he ended the enforcement of the Johnson Amendment so that pulpits around the country to be free to speak once again, and President Donald Trump ended the assault on the Little Sisters of the Poor and this year the Supreme Court made it permanent.

Mike Pence: (31:41)
Why that even had to happen, I don’t get it. I was an altar boy. I grew up in a wonderful Catholic family. You got a group of nuns that take a pledge of poverty to spend their entire lives helping the poor, but when Joe Biden was vice president, they became a target of the administration. A target of Obamacare mandates and believe it or not, after the Supreme Court by a 7-2 vote said that President Trump was right when we ended the assault on the Little Sisters of the Poor, Joe Biden actually said they’re going to take it up again. To impose those Obamacare mandates back on the Little Sisters of the Poor. But we’re not going to let it happen. Because we’re going to re-elect President Donald Trump for four more years.

Speaker 1: (32:34)
Four more years! Four more years! Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!

Mike Pence: (32:36)
It’s not just been about our religious liberty, it’s also been about an issue so near and dear to the hearts of tens of millions of Americans in my little family. In Joe Biden, you have a candidate who actually supports taxpayer funding of abortion, all the way up to the moment of birth. It’s extraordinary. Throughout his career, Joe Biden was one of those Democrats that said he supported abortion rights but he always voted for what’s known as the Hyde Amendment which prevents the use of taxpayer dollars from being used to fund abortion, but last year, Joe Biden abandoned that and he now supports taxpayer funding of abortion and I couldn’t be more proud to serve alongside a president who stands for the right to life, and we always will.

Mike Pence: (33:47)
You know Joe Biden is actually calling for historic increases in funding for the largest abortion provider in America, Planned Parenthood.

Speaker 2: (34:01)
Defund Planned Parenthood.

Mike Pence: (34:03)
I got to tell you, it was my privilege, my privilege as President of the Senate, to cast the tie-breaking vote that would allow states across America to defund Planned Parenthood and President Donald Trump signed it into law.

Mike Pence: (34:19)
You know when you look at their agenda in detail, which they didn’t talk about much at their national convention, did you notice that? If you look at it in detail, I wouldn’t want to talk about it either. But men and women across Wisconsin, we got to talk about it in the next 50 days. The truth is, when you look at that agenda, you can see that Joe Biden would be nothing more than a Trojan horse for the radical left. The choice in this election has never been clearer and the stakes have never been higher. Joe Biden said in his convention that democracy was on the ballot. Well I think our economic recovery is on the ballot. Law and order are on the ballot. I also believe that there are things more foundational to our country that are on the ballot as well.

Speaker 2: (35:19)
Our freedom.

Mike Pence: (35:21)
I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. In this election, I think 50 days from now, it’s not going to be so much whether America ends up more conservative or more liberal, more Republican or more Democrat, more red or more blue. I think the choice in this election is whether America remains America. So we’ve got to decide right here and right now that we are going to fight to leave our children and grandchildren a country grounded in our highest ideals. Freedom, free markets, the unalienable right to life and liberty.

Mike Pence: (36:03)
…Markets, the unalienable right to life and liberty. I mean, we stand at a crossroads in a very real sense. My wife loves poetry. Robert Frost was her favorite poet, and the poem she likes the most is the one that talks about two roads diverged in a woods. It says two roads diverged in a woods and I took the road less traveled by and it’s made all the difference. The American people have always taken the road less traveled by, through to more freedom, more personal responsibility, a boundless opportunity. We got to make sure in 50 days that we choose that road again. We got to decide right here and right now that Joe Biden will never be president of the United States. We’re going to reelect president Donald Trump for four more years. The stakes are that high and the opportunity is that great. The president was talking about all our plans at our national convention and just a couple of days ago in Michigan. Four more years means more jobs. For more years means more judges. Four more years means more support for our police, more support for our troops. It’s going to take at least four more years to drain that swamp. So it’s on, Wisconsin. 50 days and counting. Really, it’s great being with all of you. Thank you for coming out. Thanks for coming out on a Monday morning. Really, it’s very humbling for me.

Mike Pence: (38:42)
While I got you, can I just say thank you for the privilege of serving as your vice president. It’s the greatest honor [inaudible 00:38:48]. But now we have work to do. Now we have work to do. Because I want to be your vice president for four more years. It’s interesting, a little more than four years ago, I’d only met our president a couple of times. It’s true. We didn’t know each other very well before he called me to ask me to join this ticket and we’ve gotten to be very close over the last four years. Some people think we’re kind of different.

Mike Pence: (39:50)
But I got to tell you, I got to tell you. Seeing him when the cameras are off, I’ll tell you straight from my heart, president Donald Trump has never stopped fighting to keep the promises that he made to the people of Wisconsin. He has fought for you every day, and now it’s our turn to fight for him. So I encourage you. I got a plane to catch. I’m actually going to Montana today. Sadly, there’s not a horse in my future, but it’s really been great being with you today. I want to encourage you to get out and tell the story.

Mike Pence: (40:38)
I want you to say I was in Janesville the other day. I ran into Mike early on a Monday morning. That guy seems so fired up about everything that we have done for America and he said we’re just getting started. That’s why we need four more years of president Donald Trump in the White House. You got to go tell them. Tell your neighbors and friends. When you do, when you get out there and talk to your neighbors and your friends, at work, at worship, across the backyard fence, just… She just tapped her watch and said, “I want to get out there. Lets go.”

Speaker 3: (41:19)
Wear your heart on your sleeve.

Mike Pence: (41:21)
Yeah, thank you. Thank you. Yeah. She said, “Wear your heart on your sleeve.” Let people see your heart and see the difference that you know this president has made in the country. That’s a beautiful line. Thank you so much. Just tell them what we’ve done. Tell them what the stakes are. Tell them what the stakes are. I think the choice has never been clear and the stakes have never been higher. Just when you go out, just to have faith. Have faith in your neighbors and friends to be able to see through the onslaught, the constant attacks that come from the other side and their allies in the media, to see through, to know everything this president has done for this country and everything that we have yet to do.

Mike Pence: (42:11)
I mean, the American people saw through it in 2016, and I know they’re going to see through it on November 3rd of 2020. Lastly, I’d encourage you to have that other kind of faith too. It seems like if you turn on the television these days that there’s more than divides us in these United States than ever before. But I’ll always believe that there’s always been more that unites us across this country than could ever divide us and chief among those things is our faith. This is a nation of faith.

Mike Pence: (42:45)
So I just say, if you’re inclined like the Pences to bow the head and bend the knee, I’d encourage you to do that too over the next 50 days. On this one, I’m not so much asking that you pray for a candidate or for a cause as much as just pray for our country. Pray for all the American people. Because I’ll always believed those ancient words, that if his people who are called by his name will humble themselves and pray, he’ll do like he’s always done through much more challenging times even than we face today. He’ll hear from heaven and he’ll heal this land, this one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. So pray for America.

Mike Pence: (43:56)
If you all do that, I know that with your continued support, with your voice, with you, she said it, you wear that passion, wear that red hat and wear that love for all the we’ve done together on your sleeve. Between now and November 3rd, we’re going to lead a great American comeback. We’re going to make Wisconsin and America stronger and more prosperous than ever before. We’re going to make it safer, more secure than ever before. With president Donald Trump in the White House for four more years and Congressman Bryan Steil in a new Republican majority in the Congress of the United States and with God’s help, we will make America great again, again. Thank you very much. God bless you. God bless America.