Mike Pence ‘Workers for Trump’ Event Speech Transcript Zanesville, Ohio September 16

Vice President Mike Pence: (09:54)
Wow.

Crowd: (10:04)
Four more years. Four more years. Four more years. Four more years. Four more years. Four more years.

Thank you for that warm welcome. Let’s hear it for the state Republican Chairman, Jane Timken. She’s done a tremendous job for the state. And also, one of the most important advisors to our campaign, Ohio’s own Bob Paduchik.

To all my fellow Americans gathered from near and far, thank you for coming out today. It is great to be back in the buckeye state.

I heard that, but I’m here for one reason and one reason only, and that is that Ohio and America need four more years of President Donald Trump in the White House.

Crowd: (11:05)
Four more years. Four more years. Four more years. Four more years. Four more years. Four more years.

Four years ago, a movement was born, the movement of everyday Americans from every walk of life. Here in Ohio, you believed we could be strong again. You believed we could be prosperous again. You believed America could be respected again. You said yes to President Donald Trump in 2016, and I know in 48 days, Ohio is going to say yes to four more years of President Donald Trump in 2020. And the road to victory goes right through Ohio. But it really is great to be out with all of you today. Before I begin though, allow me to send a word to our fellow Americans who are in the path of Hurricane Sally, and also those being affected by the wildfires out west. I want to assure them and all of you that FEMA is on the scene. The Forest Services deployed thousands out across the west to deal with the fires. But to all in harm’s way, we encourage you to stay safe, listen to your state and local authorities, and know that under this President, this administration, that your fellow Americans are with you in prayer and we’re going to stay with you every step of the way until we rebuild bigger and better than ever before. So thank you for that.

And thanks for coming out. You all look great. You look fantastic. I got to tell you, the President and I grabbed a bite today before I left town. I said, “I’m headed to Ohio,” and I think he sounded just a little bit jealous. But he told me to tell you thank you for your support. Because of Ohio, it’s been three and a half years of promises made and promises kept.

It’s true. I mean, think about it. Four years ago, we inherited a military hollowed out by devastating budget cuts, an economy struggling to break out of the slowest economic recovery since the Great Depression, terrorism was on the rise around the world, and we witnessed a steady assault on our most cherished values. But in those first three years under the leadership of President Donald Trump, we rebuilt our military, we restored the arsenal of democracy.

I got to tell you, I’m the proud father of a United States Marine.

In fact, my unworthy son-in-law’s a pilot in the United States Navy And I couldn’t be more proud to serve alongside a president who cares so deeply about the men and women of our armed forces and their families and our veterans. And it wasn’t just about our national security under this president’s leadership. We revived our economy in those first three years. We cut taxes across the board for working families, small businesses and family farms. We rolled back more federal red tape than any administration in American history.

We unleash American energy and fought for free and fair trade. In a word, we fought to keep every promise we made to the people of Ohio. We did. And I got to tell you, this president fought for jobs here in the Buckeye State and even fought for college football. Just this morning I know you know they made it official, the Big 10 is back and the Buckeyes we’ll be back on the grid iron next month. How great is that?

That’s a little tough for a Hoosier to hear, but they deserve it, so do you. Beyond all of that progress that we’ve made on security and prosperity, this president has stood for the rule of law every day of this administration. We’ve appointed more than 200 conservative judges to our federal courts, including two Supreme Court justices. And I can tell you firsthand, they are all men and women who will uphold 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. It’s true.

And I got to tell you, it’s a great privilege for me to serve as vice president to a president who stands without apology for the sanctity of human life. Beyond all of that, 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. The president and I know what people across the Buckeye State know and that is the men and women who serve in law enforcement are some of the best people in this country. It’s true.

I mean, they put their lives on the line every single day. When they put on that uniform, strap on a sidearm, they walk out the door, they count our lives more important than their own. And those that are gathered here and everyone who serves in law enforcement deserves the respect of every American every day. Would you show them how much you appreciate what they do to protect and serve our families every day. God bless them all.

And we’re living in a very challenging time, men and women that serve on the thin blue line this. Past weekend, I know you all saw it. One more attack on our heroes in uniform. Two Los Angeles Sheriff’s deputies sitting in their squad car were shot in cold blood. One of those deputies we’re told is a mother of a six-year-old, the other is just 24-years-old. Both of them worn the badge for less than a year. Just incredible.

Surveillance video that was recently released shows one of those Sheriff’s deputies, the mother of the six-year-old heroically tending to her partner’s injuries while she herself bled from a gunshot wound to the jaw. Now I know we’re all thankful to hear that both Sheriff’s deputies are on the road to recovery, but they’re going to remain in our prayers and in our hearts until they come all the way back. It wasn’t just the shooting, but a lot of you saw the videos too. Somebody across the street was literally laughing right after the police officers were shot and protestors gathered outside the hospital in Los Angeles and chanted “we hope they die.” Men and women, the disrespect and these attacks on those in law enforcement must stop and they must stop now. Now President Trump and I will always support the right of Americans to peaceful protests. It’s enshrined in our constitution, but rioting and looting is not peaceful protests.

Burning businesses and homes is not free speech. Attacking and threatening civilians and law enforcement officers will not be tolerated. Those who do so will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. I mean, in the wake of this summer’s violence in cities, President Trump took action. Earlier in our administration, we already funded more than 4,000 law enforcement officers through the COPS Program. But this summer we launched what’s called Operation Legend named after a little boy who lost his life in a random shooting as he literally laid in his bed.

Little LeGend Taliferro will not have died in vain. As we speak Operation Legend, we’ve deployed more than a thousand federal law enforcement officers to support state and local law enforcement authorities in major cities around the country. And they’ve made more than 2000 arrests of violent protestors in America. We are going to have law and order in every city in this country for every American of every race and creed and color. So help us God.

Now for months, all Joe Biden ever talked about was peaceful protesters. As the American people watch businesses and our major cities literally burn. But two weeks ago, he did step out and in his words, “Condemn violence in all the form it takes.” But right after that, he criticized law enforcement. The truth is Joe Biden never called out his campaign staff or his running mate for raising money to bail out violent criminals. And he still has never called on Democrat mayors to get their cities under control.

And I think you all know here, Joe Biden would double down on the policies that have contributed to the atmosphere of violence in our cities. And Joe Biden says that, “America is systemically racist” and that law enforcement in his words has, “Implicit bias against minorities.” When he was asked whether he’d support cutting funding the law enforcement, Joe Biden replied. “Yes, absolutely.”

But I’ll make you a promise. Under President Donald Trump, we will always stand with the men and women who serve on the thin blue line. We’re not going to defund the police not now, not ever. I mean the people of Ohio know we don’t have to choose between supporting law enforcement and supporting our African American neighbors or any of the minorities or families that live in our major cities. I mean, we can improve public safety in America, back the blue and also support all the families that live in our major cities with more jobs, better education, better healthcare. That’s what we’ve been doing for the last three and a half years and we’re going to keep doing both for four more years in the White House.

So we rebuilt our military. We revived our economy. We stood for life, our liberties and law and order. And in three short years, you also know what happened across the Buckeye State. Under President Donald Trump, it was jobs, jobs, jobs. I mean after cutting taxes and red tape after fighting for free and fair trade, putting American jobs and American workers first. Fighting for American energy businesses, large and small created more than seven million good paying jobs all across this country.

And I know you all know the story, but President Trump also was willing to roll his sleeves up and fight for Ohio jobs in Lordstown. And I saw it. I mean, y’all know for more than 50 years, General Motors had a plant in Lordstown. Men and women that served in that plant, I mean they created cars that were literally sold across the country and across the world. When the facility closed in March of 2019, it was a heartbreak for that entire community and for the state of Ohio. But President Donald Trump wasn’t having any of it.

He picked up the phone, he called the president of General Motors and he told GM, “Find a way to bring jobs back to Lordstown” and they did. It’s true. On May 8th earlier this year, we actually got the call. President called it great news for Ohio and it was. GM sold their plan to a company that’s going to manufacture pickup trucks and GM announced that they’re going to build a battery plant in Lordstown that could employ up to 1100 people in just a few short years.

I was actually there in June when a Lordstown Motors was unveiled. They rolled out the first fully electric pickup truck on the market in the United States of America. And I’m currently between pickup trucks. So I told them I was in the market. But thanks to President Donald Trump, the Mahoning Valley and Ohio are going to continue that great auto manufacturing tradition for generations to come. That’s called promises made and promises kept. I mean, the truth is this president’s been fighting for jobs, not just here in Ohio, but all across the country from day one. And working men and women around America we’re winning like never before in those first three years. Wages were rising across the board in this country at the most rapid pace that they had in 10 years, but they were rising most rapidly for hard-working blue collar Americans. The forgotten men and women of America were forgotten no more. I mean, in three short years with your support in this president’s leadership, we created the greatest economy in the world.

The end of our first three years, more Americans were working than ever before in the history of this country. And the truth is we have a lot of people to thank, a lot of great partners on Capitol Hill. But let me take a minute just to say thank you to Congressman Troy Balderson and Senator Rob Portman. They’ve been great partners with us all along the way. With their support and your support in three short years, we made America great again. We did.

And then the coronavirus struck from China. The people of Ohio deserve to know that before the first documented case of community transmission in the United States happened, President Trump did what no other American president had ever done. He suspended all travel from China. He put the health of America first.

… all travel from China. He put the health of America first. Now Joe Biden criticized that move. He said it was xenophobic. But I can tell you as the head of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, I know that action 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 the full resources of the federal government and the American economy. We reinvented testing all across the nation. We saw to the manufacture and delivery of hundreds of millions of medical supplies to our doctors and nurses and hospitals. No American that ever required a ventilator was ever denied a ventilator in the United States of America. And we are well on our way to having a vaccine before the end of this year.

Now I want you to know I think that all that we’ve done here is a testament to the strength and the resilience of the people of this state and this nation, incredible commitment of our doctors and nurses and healthcare workers who deserve the admiration of every single American every day. It’s a tribute to our President bold leadership that he’s provided. But I want to also say here in Ohio, it’s also been a tribute to the strong and consistent leadership of Governor Mike DeWine. He has led this state strongly through a challenging time, and he has our thanks. Let’s hear it for Governor Mike DeWine. He’s done a great job for Ohio.

Now I want to tell you our hearts do go out to all the families that have lost loved ones in the course of this pandemic, including more than 4,000 families here in Ohio. I want to assure them if you’re with us today or if you’re looking on, you’ve always been in our hearts and you’ll be in our prayers. I’m happy to report to you that as we speak, we are continuing to develop all new medicines each and every day that are saving lives. And as I said before, while Joe Biden said at their national convention that no miracle is coming, we actually think we might just be a short time away from when America will produce the first safe and effective coronavirus vaccine and we will begin to deliver it to the American people the moment it’s approved. We’re in the miracle business in America, Joe. So we’re slowing the spread. We’re protecting the vulnerable. We’re saving lives and we’re developing life saving medicines. And in the midst of this pandemic, President Trump worked with the leaders in Congress in both political parties to secure support for America’s families and America’s businesses impacted by this virus that came to us from China. We actually appropriated more than $4 trillion in direct aid to families. We created a paycheck protection program that allowed businesses across the state and nation to save 50 million American jobs. It truly is extraordinary. But I promise you, in the days ahead, we’ll continue to put the health of America first. But because of that strong foundation that we poured in those first three years and because of the unprecedented aid we made available to America’s families and America’s businesses, after losing 22 million jobs at the worst moments of this pandemic, we’ve seen 10.6 million Americans already go back to work, including nearly 400,000 people right here in the Buckeye State.

We’re opening up America again and we’re opening up America’s schools. We’ve been going through the time of testing. And I came here today because very soon, we’re going to go through a time of choosing. As President Trump said just a few short days ago and I quote, “At no time before has there been a clearer choice between the two parties, between two visions, between two philosophies or agendas for the future.” As he said, Joe Biden has put forward the most extreme platform of any major party candidate in U.S. history. I mean, think about. In the middle of a global pandemic, Joe Biden wants to raise taxes by $4 trillion dollars. President Trump, we cut taxes across the board for American families and businesses, 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. On Monday, Joe Biden gave a speech where he was touting his own version of the Green New Deal. I mean, 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. I mean, he actually bragged about implementing regulations that would literally destroy Ohio jobs and livelihoods. President Trump, well, we cut more federal red tape than any administration in American history, and we’re going to keep on chopping for four more years. And when it comes to trade, I don’t have to tell all the working Americans gathered here, this Hoosier talking to you today, I saw what happened after NAFTA. I mean, we literally saw 60,000 factories close across this country in the years after NAFTA was signed into law. When Joe Biden was vice president, he did nothing to fix it. The other day, I actually heard him blame Republicans in Congress for the fact that their administration didn’t do anything about NAFTA.

Well, I hate to tell you, but the administration negotiates trade deals. Thanks to President Donald Trump, NAFTA is yesterday and the USMCA is here to stay, and it puts American jobs and American workers first. It’s true. The experts tell us the USMCA could create up to 600,000 new jobs and that includes nearly 50,000 manufacturing jobs. Remember the last administration? It was about this time four years ago, the last president was asked about manufacturing jobs. They’d lost 200,000 manufacturing jobs under the last administration. And he said they were never coming back. Remember? He said, “What magic wand do you have?” Well, we didn’t need a magic wand. We just needed President Donald Trump in the White House. 500,000 manufacturing jobs in just three years.

Telling you what. I mean, out here in the Heartland, I always like to tell people, we do two things really well. We make things and we grow things,. and this is a president who believes. He believes in the strength of the Heartland. We’re going to keep fighting for manufacturing. On the subject of trade, it isn’t just all about our neighbors to the north and the south. When we came into office, half of our international trade deficit was with one country, China. Literally 500 billion a year was being lost in a trade imbalance to China. Joe Biden, for decades, he was a cheerleader for communist China. And where we’ve stood strong to level the playing field, Joe Biden announced about a month ago that he wants to repeal all the tariffs that President Trump put into place to level the playing field for American workers. President Trump, he stood up to China from day one and said, “The era of economic surrender is over.” And I promise you when it comes to trade, President Trump is always going to put American jobs and American workers first.

Finally, I don’t have to tell you here in Ohio that when Joe Biden was vice president, he also tried his level best to shut down the coal industry in this state. Remember? I mean, Joe Biden actually told a group of coal miners once that they should go ahead and quote, “Learn to code.” President Donald Trump, we opened up coal country and the war on coal is over. The truth is Joe Biden and the radical left want to crush American energy and crush American energy jobs. They want to raise the cost of electricity for every household and every business in Ohio. I mean, after months of campaigning on a plan to abolish fossil fuels, Joe Biden actually came out again the other day. And he said, “I am not for banning fracking.” Yeah, right.

You all deserve to know. When Joe Biden was asked in July of last year this question, he was asked, “Would there be any place for fossil fuels, including coal and fracking in a Biden administration?” Joe Biden said, and I quote, “No, we would make sure it’s eliminated.” Last March in a debate, Joe Biden said, quote, “No new fracking.” Here in Ohio, some estimates show that ending fracking would literally cost 700,000 jobs. But when Joe Biden was asked in a debate, specifically he was asked, “Would you be willing to sacrifice hundreds of thousands of blue collar jobs for the sake of their radical environmental agenda?” He said, and I quote, “The answer is yes.”

He even told one supporter, “I guarantee, I guarantee we’re going to end fossil fuels.” Well, men and women of Ohio, I don’t know what they’re saying now, but I think we should believe him. All the times they’ve said before they’re going to ban fossil fuels, they’re going to crush American energy, crush American energy jobs because I think Joe Biden doesn’t understand America’s future depends on energy independence. That’s why President Trump unleashed American energy and we are today energy independent for the first time in 70 years. America is a net exporter of energy. I mean, I’ve always believed that the greatness of this country comes from our faith, our freedom, and our vast natural resources. President Trump and I are going to continue make it possible for us to develop all the great resources of this land that are going to fuel a great American comeback.

Finally, the choice could not be more clear when it comes to values. And this president from very early on stood for all the liberties enshrined, in our founding documents and in our Bill of Rights. And from day one, President 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 in even a casual study of the American founding, I’ll tell you. The folks that came across the pond long before my grandfather did in the 1920s, that generation came here for freedom. They came here for the freedom of religion, chief among them. That’s why this president’s taken such strong steps from early on to defend those God-given rights. He ended the enforcement of the Johnson Amendment and freed up the freedom of speech in every pulpit in America. And it was this president that ended the last administration’s assault on the Little Sisters of the Poor. And the president made that decision on the very first National Day of Prayer. He ended the lawsuit that had-

National day of prayer. He ended the lawsuit that had literally hauled this group of wonderful nuns, women that had taken a vow of poverty to do nothing but to help the poor, had been hauled into court by the Obama administration. The good news was after the president ended that action, the Supreme Court made it permanent earlier this year. They said President Trump was right when he ended the assault on the Little Sisters of the Poor but believe it or not Joe Biden, after even the Supreme Court said that we couldn’t impose the Obamacare mandates on those nuns, Joe Biden said he’s actually going to work to reimpose those mandates on the Little Sisters of the Poor. But you know what? We’re not going to let it happen because we’re going to re-elect President Donald Trump for four more years. 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 including my little family [inaudible 00:43:13]. In Joe Biden you actually have a candidate who supports taxpayer funding of abortion all the way up to the moment of birth and President Donald Trump is the most pro-life president in American history. That’s your choice.

When you look at their agenda, at least when they’re talking about it, as I watched their convention I didn’t hear much about their agenda. They spent most of their time attacking America and attacking America’s president, didn’t they? But when you look at their agenda, it’s clear. Joe Biden would be nothing more than a Trojan horse for the radical left. The choice in this election has never been clearer. Men and women of Ohio, the stakes have never been higher.

You know Ohio has always played an outsized role in presidential politics. You did in 2016, you will again in 2020 and I know you take that to heart. Now Joe Biden said democracy is on the ballot. I think our economic recovery is on the ballot, I think law and order are on the ballot, but I also think there are things much more fundamental and foundational to our country that are on the ballot. In this election, here in Ohio and across America, we will decide not so much whether America will be 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. Whether we are going to chart a future based on the timeless ideals of freedom, personal responsibility, of life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness or whether we’re going to take that hard left turn and take America down a path that you don’t need to look too far around the world to see in Western European social welfare states and the like.

So men and women of Ohio, that’s the choice we face. So we got to decide right here and right now that Joe Biden will never be President of the United States. We’re going to re-elect President Donald Trump for four more years.

Speaker 1: (46:17)
Four more years! Four more years! Four more years! Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!

That’s it. That’s it. You stop your neighbors and friends, at worship, at work. Just walk up to them and say, “Four more years.” That’s all you need. I mean four more years means more jobs. Four more years means more support for our troops and our police. Four more years means more judges and it’s going to take at least four more years to drain that swamp.

Men and women, we got 48 days to go and we’re going to need every single one of you to do your part. I’ve got to know this president over the last four years. I’ve seen him when the cameras are off. Some people think we’re a little bit different. But I got to tell you, I never met anybody more dedicated to this country than our president. I never met anybody that never stopped, never backed down on the promises that he made.

President Donald Trump has been fighting for you every single day. Now is your turn to fight for him. It’s on, Ohio.

I want to thank you all for coming out today. What a beautiful night in Ohio. It is great to be at the Muskingum County Fairgrounds. We’re going to lead a great American comeback and you’re going to have a fair back at the Muskingum County Fairgrounds next summer, and I’ll come back. I’m a small town guy. County fairs are my stripe zone, I’m telling you what. I just love it and this is a beautiful fairgrounds. Thank you all for coming out and thank you. Let me just say on behalf of my family, to the people of Ohio, thank you for the privilege of serving as your vice president. It’s the greatest honor in my life, but I want to be your vice president for four more years.

Speaker 1: (48:51)
Four more years! Four more years!

Thank you. Thank you.

Speaker 1: (48:51)
Four more years! Four more years! Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!

I want to thank you for the support but I also just want to thank you. I want to thank all of the hardworking men and women that are gathered here today [inaudible 00:49:22] for what you do for this country every day. President Trump and I know that all honest work is honorable. It’s been people like you, people that make things, that grow things, that raise a family, support your community. People that work with their hands and the sweat of their brow in the factory or the field that have always made this country good and great and it’s going to be you Americans that make America great again. It is. It’s been the hardworking strength of working Americans, men and women who believe in faith and family and patriotism and hard work. Men and women who believe in the boundless potential of every American to live the American dream. You’re the backbone of this country and it’s our great honor to serve you. It truly is.

So I want you to leave here today saying I was out at the Muskingum County Fairgrounds and I ran into Mike and he talked about everything that we were able to accomplish in those first three years. He talked about this president’s vision and leadership during these challenging times and he talked about how America is opening up again and coming back again.3

I want you to go talk to your neighbors and friends. The truth of the matter is, I’ve always believed the most powerful media in this country is not your big newspapers, not your Columbus Dispatch, it’s not your television networks, it’s not even your social media. It’s the … I don’t know what he said but I think we agree. It’s the home crowd. It’s when people in your hometown find you and talk to you about an issue that’s important to them, to the future of their family, of their community and state and nation. I want you to reach out to your home crowd, at work at and worship. I want to talk you talk about all that we’ve done together and all that we have yet to do because the truth of the matter is for all that we accomplished in those first three years, for all that we have endured together over the course of this years as America is coming back, we’re just getting started. That’s why we need four more years of President Donald Trump in the White House.

When you talk to your neighbors and friends, have faith. Have faith in the ability of the American people to see through all of the noise. All the politics, all the posturing and incriminations, to see straight through to the truth. To see leadership, to know it when they see it, right? Have faith when you talk to your neighbors and friends. I think you study American history, you can see. Every time the American people have been given a choice between more freedom and less freedom, they choose freedom every single time so carry that freedom agenda out because that’s what’s on the ballot.

Finally, if you’re inclined to exercise that other kind of faith, I encourage you to do that too over the next 48 days. It seems like you turn on the television on any given day and it looks like there’s more that divides us in this country than unites us but I’ve been traveling all across America in the last four years and I can tell you, I’m more convinced than ever that there will always be more that unites us in this country than could ever divide us and chief among those things is faith. This is a nation of faith. So if you’re inclined to bow the head and bend the knee over the next 48 days, I encourage you to do that. I truly do believe that if His people who are called by His name will humble themselves and pray, He’ll do like he’s always done. In the long and storied history of this country, 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. Pray for all of the American people. It will make a difference.

So thank you for coming out today. I leave here today with renewed confidence. More confidence than ever that with you’re continued support, you giving voice to all that we’ve done together and all we have yet to do. With President Donald Trump in the White House for four more years, and with God’s help, we’re going to make America great again, again. Thank you all very much. God bless you, God bless Ohio and God bless America.

Mike Pence ‘Workers for Trump’ Event Speech Transcript Zanesville, Ohio September 16

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