Transcript: Speeches at the Iowa Caucuses – Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, Andrew Yang, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar Speak

Bernie Sanders Iowa Caucus Speech Transcript

Bernie Sanders: (00:08)
Thank you. Thank you. Let me begin.

Let me begin by stating that I imagine, have a strong feeling that at some point, the results will be announced. When those results are announced, I have a good feeling we’re going to be doing very, very well here in Iowa.

And the message that Iowa has sent to the nation, it’s a message shared by the American people, is that we want a government that represents all of us, not just wealthy campaign contributors and the 1%.

Tonight in this enormously consequential 2020 election, the first state in the country has voted and today marks the beginning of the end for Donald Trump, the most dangerous President in modern American history. You know, no matter what our political views may be, the people of America understand we cannot continue to have a President who is a pathological liar, who is corrupt, who does not understand our constitution, and is trying to divide our people up based on the color of their skin, based on their religion, their sexual orientation or where they were born. And all of that hatred, all of that divisiveness, is going to end when together we are in the white house.

We are going to win this election because the people of the United States are sick and tired of a massive level of income and wealth inequality. They don’t want tax breaks for billionaires and cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. The American people understand that if you work 40 hours a week, you should not live in poverty, and that we’ve got a raised up minimum wage to at least 15 bucks an hour.

The American people understand that health care is a human right, not a privilege. And that our administration is going to take on the greed and corruption of the insurance companies and the pharmaceutical industry. And whether they like it or not, we will pass a Medicare for all single payer program.

The American people understand that in the year 2020 all of our people, regardless of income, are entitled to get a higher education. And that is why together we will make public colleges and universities tuition free, and why we will cancel all student debt in America. And we’re going to do that through a modest tax on Wall Street speculation. Eleven years ago, we bailed out the crooks on Wall Street. Now it is their time to help the middle class.

And unlike the President of the United States, the American people understand that climate change is not a hoax, but is an existential threat to our country and the entire world. They understand that the time is now for us to take on the fossil fuel industry, to transform our energy system away from fossil fuel to energy efficiency and sustainable energies. And as President of the United States, because this is a global issue, not just an American issue, we are going to speak to the people in China and Russia and countries all over this world and say, maybe just maybe instead of spending 1.8 trillion dollars a year on weapons of destruction designed to kill each other, maybe we should pool our resources and fight our common enemy, which is climate change.

And the people of America know the time is long overdue for major reforms to a broken and racist criminal justice system. We’re going to invest in our young people in jobs and education, not more jails and incarceration.

And the American people also understand that our immigration system is broken, and together we will pass comprehensive immigration reform and a path towards citizenship.

And the American people know that gun safety legislation will be written by the American people, not the NRA.

And the American people most certainly know that it is women who must control their own bodies, not politicians.

So brothers and sisters, yes, together we will defeat Donald Trump, but we’re going to do more than that. Our message to Wall Street, and the insurance companies, and the drug companies, and the fossil fuel industry, and the military industrial complex, and the prison industrial complex, our message to them is change is coming.

Together with the strongest grassroots movement this country has ever seen, where we have knocked on hundreds of thousands of doors here in Iowa. We’re doing it in New Hampshire. So let me conclude by thanking our great staff, our volunteers here in Iowa, and now it is on to New Hampshire, Nevada, South Carolina, California, and onward to victory. Thank you all very much.

Elizabeth Warren Iowa Caucus Speech Transcript

Elizabeth Warren: (00:00)
It is too close to call, so I’m just going to tell you what I do know.

Speaker 2: (00:04)
You won.

As the baby daughter of a janitor, I am so grateful to be up on this stage tonight. Tonight, as a party, we are one step closer to defeating the most corrupt president in American history. Tomorrow, Donald Trump will make a speech about the state of the union, but I have a message for every American, our union is stronger than Donald Trump. And in less than a year, our union will be stronger than ever when that one man is replaced by one very persistent woman.

Audience: (01:02)
Warren, Warren, Warren, Warren, Warren, Warren, Warren, Warren, Warren.

Now, Donald Trump and I see America from very different viewpoints and we have since we were born. Trump grew up in New York City in a 23 room, nine bathroom mansion. I grew up out in Oklahoma in a two bedroom house with one bathroom and a converted garage where my three brothers slept. By the time he was three, Donald Trump was getting a $200,000 allowance every year from his dad’s real estate empire. In total, he got nearly half a billion dollars from his dad. Me, I took on small jobs to make money babysitting, waitressing, sewing dresses for my aunts. Donald Trump claimed bone spurs to avoid the draft. All three of my older brothers signed up for military service and the oldest spent five and a half years off and on in combat in Vietnam.

Before he became a reality TV host, Donald Trump spent most of his career running one company after another into bankruptcy. Stiffing small businesses, ripping off workers and scamming students. I spent most of my career studying why families go broke and fighting to make it easier for them to get back on their feet. Before I was even elected to office, I built an entire federal agency to stop big banks and financial institutions from cheating people. I tell you this …

I love it. But I tell you this because a person’s values matter, a president’s values matter, and the only thing Donald Trump values is Donald Trump. He believes that government is just one more thing to exploit, a tool to enrich himself and his corrupt buddies at everyone else’s expense. I believe government should work for everyone. We don’t know all the results tonight, but tonight has already showed that Americans have a deep hunger for big structural change to make our economy and our democracy work for everyone. Tonight showed that our path to victory is to fight hard for the changes Americans are demanding, changes that Democrats, Independents, and Republicans are demanding. Tonight showed that our agenda isn’t just a progressive agenda. It isn’t just a democratic agenda. It’s an American agenda.

Throughout our history, when moments of prices have called on us to meet big challenges, Americans have answered the call. Even when the doubters and critics say that our dreams are too big and the fights are too hard, we persist. In the 19 … In the 1700s, when people said we can never overthrow a King and form a new Republic, farmers and merchants came together and fought side by side until we won our independence. In the 1800s, people said that slavery would endure forever and African Americans would never see liberation. But abolitionists, enslaved and formerly enslaved people formed an underground railroad and more than 2 million people waged a war to defeat the tyranny of slavery.

And in the 1900s, people said we could never rescue our economy from the depths of the Great Depression or defeat fascism, but we forged a new deal. We mobilized to defeat fascism. We expanded unions. We built a middle class and we marched for civil rights. Americans do big things. That’s who we are. We don’t settle. We don’t back down. We meet big problems with even bigger solution.

So I’m here tonight because I believe that big dreams are still possible in America. Tonight, you showed that when you imagine an America that lives up to its ideals, you can set in motion the process of making it a reality. All it takes is some hard work and better connections. And here in Iowa, that’s what happened. You came together, you organized, you showed that we are united in our conviction, that hope defeats fear, that courage overcomes cynicism. That we will always be a stronger party and a stronger nation. When we unite around our shared values to advance justice and expand opportunity to everyone. Right now, across America there are folks standing with groups of friends or sitting on the couch with loved ones, or maybe even watching this quietly on their phones, because everyone else in the house is asleep, watching and thinking, “Maybe I could help out.”

Audience: (07:38)
Yeah.

Maybe I could volunteer some time. Maybe I could get in the fight. And that is how we’re going to do this. I am here tonight to tell you if you have hope that America can be better than it has been in these last few years and if you have the courage to speak out and do a little organizing with us, then this campaign is for you. If you can imagine an America where corruption doesn’t block our ability to reduce gun violence, an America where we can urgently tackle climate change, an America where we can bring an end to the opioid epidemic, then this campaign is for you.

If you can imagine an economy where every job has dignity, where people are paid a livable wage, and where everyone, everyone has a real chance to thrive, then this campaign is for you. And if you could imagine a democracy where people, not money, come first, this campaign is for you. And if you can imagine an America of moral clarity that lives its values every day, then this campaign is for you. Tonight, we are one step closer to winning the fight for the America we imagined is possible. Tonight is for you. Tonight is for every volunteer who put their feet to the pavement to fight for change. It’s for every organizer who braved the blistering told to knock on doors.

It’s for every person who made a call or sent a text to spread the word. I’m going to tell you about some of our volunteers, because tonight is for the veteran who came back diagnosed with PTSD and who volunteered every week to help us become a nation that honors its promises to its veterans. Tonight is for every undocumented, unafraid organizer and volunteer who proudly knocked on doors to let the world know that the path to progress runs through courage, not fear. Tonight is for the innovative, persistent women who organized babysitting clubs so they could get in more hours of volunteering. And tonight is for the single mother who had been homeless and who was so determined that her twin daughters would grow up in a better world that she found the spare moments to make calls on our behalf. Tonight is for everyone who believes that no matter the color of your skin, who you love, how you worship, where you were born, or what zip code you live in, you should be safe and your opportunities should be pretty much as good as everyone else’s.

In every day and every way, this movement is made up of people who know that the only way to make progress and to build power is to fight from the heart. So tonight, Iowa, and all of you, I want to say thank you. Thank you for living your values, thank you for standing together, fighting together, persisting together. You have made me a better candidate and you will make me a better president. And while I’m at it, I want to thank my sweetie Bruce. I [crosstalk 00:12:36] … And thanks to Bailey. He truly is a good boy.

Together, we have built a movement powered by hopeful, courageous people who will do the work to make the change we need. And we’re just getting started. This race will be decided by people like you and if you believe that something should be done, then I’m asking you to do something. Go to elizabethwarren.com right now, pitch in a few bucks, sign up to volunteer, get involved with our campaign near wherever you live, because this race started right here in Iowa, but from tomorrow it will run from ocean to ocean, East to New Hampshire and then West to Nevada and then down to South Carolina. This fight will stretch across all 57 States and territories that make up this great nation until we unite together as a party in Milwaukee.

The road won’t be easy …

Audience: (14:19)
Warren, Warren, Warren, Warren, Warren, Warren, Warren, Warren, Warren, Warren, Warren.

The road is not going to be easy here, but we are built for the long haul. Yeah, we still have a fight on our hands, but we are fueled by the hope in our hearts. Our optimism and our determination run deep. And no matter what lies ahead, we are not afraid. This is our moment. This is the moment we have been called to. Our moment to make history, our moment to dream big, fight hard, and win.

Joe Biden Iowa Caucus Speech Transcript

Joe Biden: (00:05)
Hello, everyone.

Audience: (00:05)
We want Joe! We want Joe! We want Joe! We want Joe!

Joe Biden: (00:17)
Folks, well, it looks like it’s going to be a long night, but I’m feeling good. I want to thank you all, all our supporters and all those incredible people who hold public office in this state that endorsed us and all the endorsers from all across the country, my colleagues in the Senate and the house and from the vice presidency, all of you, and all the people from Delaware, California, all the people came from all over to campaign here.

Joe Biden: (00:43)
I want to tell you. And most of all, I want to thank the Iowans that are here. Well, the Iowa Democratic Party is working to get this result, get them straight, and I want to make sure they’re very careful with their deliberations. And indications are… From our indications, it’s going to be close. We’re going to walk out of here with our shared delegates. We don’t know exactly what it is yet, but we feel good about where we are. And look. So, it’s on in New Hampshire, Nevada, South Carolina, and well beyond. We’re in this for the long haul.

Joe Biden: (01:27)
And I want us to remember not just tonight but throughout this campaign, this isn’t-

Audience: (01:34)
We love you, Joe.

Joe Biden: (01:35)
This… Thank you. This isn’t just another election. This is well beyond just our party. This is about a ending an era of… well, ending an era, God willing, of a present who… Look. This is bigger than any of us. It really is. We cannot allow Donald Trump to be reelected to the United States presidency again. I’m ready to give him a new nickname, the former President Trump. Chris, the former President Trump.

Joe Biden: (02:18)
And folks, as I said, it’s bigger than any candidate, bigger than any party. And folks, I said from the outset. Jill and I both said. We’re in the battle for the soul of the nation, and that’s not hyperbole. We really believe that, and I think it has been demonstrated every single hour he remains as president of the United States. Folks, each and every one knows that deep in our bones that everything this day she stands for is at stake. And I really mean it. Four more years of Donald Trump will fundamentally alter the character of this nation, and character is on the ballot. That’s what this is. Everything that makes America America is at stake, and literally our democracy is at stake in my view, our view. I say our view because you’ve been doing as hard work as I have.

Joe Biden: (03:12)
Folks, I love her too, man. Well, I’ll tell you what. And the other reason we’re running and we’re going to make sure it happens is we’ve got to rebuild the backbone of this country, the working class, the middle class. They’ve been getting laid out badly by this administration. The middle class is being hurt very badly. But look, you know what? We have to unify this country as well. Everybody understands that CEOs and Wall Street bankers didn’t build America. Ordinary hardworking people led by unions built America. Unions.

Joe Biden: (03:50)
And folks, we needed a president is not only ready to fight but is also ready to heal this country. We can’t hold grudges. We’ve got to be able to go out and unify the country because the president is supposed to heal as well as fight. And that’s exactly what I plan on doing. We plan on doing. All of us in this hall plan on doing. Ladies and gentlemen, I’m going to go all over this country, every part of the democratic party and reunite it, men, women, gay, straight, everyone, Black, Brown, a whole universe of people out there.

Joe Biden: (04:25)
Because folks, there’s nothing, nothing we’ve ever failed at when we’ve tried to do it together. Nothing America has ever, ever failed at. And so, ladies and gentlemen, all my friends… And by the way, I want to say a special thanks again to Harold Schaitberger and the firefighters. You’ve been incredible to us. You’ve been incredible to us.

Joe Biden: (04:52)
But folks, everybody knows who Donald Trump is. Well, it’s fortunate they do know now. They didn’t know last time, I don’t think, but they know now. And folks, we got to let them know who we are. We choose hope over fear. We choose science over fiction, unity over deviation, and compassion over cruelty. And maybe most importantly of all, truth over lies.

Joe Biden: (05:27)
Folks, we’re going to do this. I promise you. I promise you we’re going to get this done. And God willing, God willing, we’ll do it together. May God bless you all and may God protect our troops. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, thank you. On in New Hampshire.

Pete Buttigieg Iowa Caucus Speech Transcript

Audience: (00:00)
(silence)

Audience: (00:00)
Buttigieg. Buttigieg. Buttigieg. Buttigieg. Buttigieg. Buttigieg. Buttigieg. Buttigieg. Buttigieg. Buttigieg. Buttigieg. Buttigieg. Buttigieg. Buttigieg. Buttigieg.

Pete Buttigieg: (01:32)
Thank you. Thank you, Iowa. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. What a night. Because tonight, an improbable hope became an undeniable reality.

Audience: (01:40)
Buttigieg. Buttigieg. Buttigieg. Buttigieg. Buttigieg. Buttigieg. Buttigieg. Buttigieg. Buttigieg. Buttigieg. Buttigieg.

We don’t know all the results, but we know by the time it’s all said and done, Iowa, you have shocked the nation. Because by all indications, we are going on to New Hampshire victorious.

Audience: (02:38)
Pete. Pete. Pete. Pete. Pete. Pete. Pete. Pete. Pete. Pete. Pete. Pete. Pete. Pete. Pete. Pete. Pete. Pete. Pete. Pete.

One year ago, it was in the deep freeze of an Iowa January where we began this unlikely journey to win the American presidency. We weren’t well-known, but we had a new idea. The idea that at this moment when Washington has never felt further from our everyday lives, a middle-class mayor from the American Midwest could carry the voices of the American people all the way to the American capital and make sure they’re actually heard.

We had the belief that in the face of exhaustion and cynicism and division, in spite of every trampled norm and every poisonous tweak, that a rising majority of Americans was hungry for action and ready for new answers. We could see an American majority yearning for leadership to rally us together behind bold ideas to make a difference in our lives. We saw that Americans were ready to come together, but our politics were not.

To seize this moment, we needed a new path forward, a path that welcomed people instead of pushing them away. Brought them together instead of driving them apart, because this is our best and maybe our last shot.

We knew that with this American majority, we are on the cusp of changing the game for ordinary Americans. But that we could not win or govern if we wrote people off who didn’t agree with us 100% of the time. But then if we could come together, the future that we know is possible would start on January 21st, 2021.

Audience: (05:13)
President Pete. President Pete. President Pete. President Pete. President Pete. President Pete. President Pete. President Pete. President Pete. President Pete. President Pete. President Pete. President Pete. President Pete.

There were skeptics, an awful lot of skeptics who said, “Not now. Not this time. All this talk of belonging and of bridging divides is too naive, too risky.” So tonight I say with a heart full of gratitude, Iowa, you have proved those skeptics wrong.

Audience: (06:00)
I-O-W-A, Mayor Pete all the way. I-O-W-A, Mayor Pete all the way. I-O-W-A, Mayor Pete all the way. I-O-W-A, Mayor Pete all the way.

By your effort, and it was by your effort we brought together an extraordinary coalition of Americans. Progressives, moderates, and that good number of what we like to call future former Republicans. That’s how we’re going to win in November, because it’s about adding people to our cause, adding to our majority. That is how we will guarantee that on the day Donald Trump leaves office, we will be ready to move America forward into the era that must come next.

I want to thank every member of our campaign family, every organizer, every volunteer, every caucus-goer who talked to a neighbor or a coworker, every staff member and every supporter who believed. Anyone who shares our vision can join the three-quarters of a million grassroots supporters fueling our movement and chip in right now at PeteforAmerica.com.

Audience: (07:38)
Buttigieg. Buttigieg. Buttigieg. Buttigieg. Buttigieg. Buttigieg. Buttigieg. Buttigieg. Buttigieg. Buttigieg. Buttigieg.

While we’re at it, I want to recognize a few other people who helped us get to this night. My mother, who not only helped raise me, but put her love of language to work, answering letters sent to our campaign.

Audience: (08:08)
[inaudible 00:08:26].

My father who left us just in the very early days of this journey, but whose own journey to this country made tonight possible in the first place. And to the love of my life, keeping my feet on the ground. How about a hand for the future First Gentleman of the United States. Let’s hear it for Chasten.

Audience: (09:00)
Chasten. Chasten. Chasten. Chasten. Chasten. Chasten. Chasten. Chasten. Chasten. Chasten. Chasten. Chasten. Chasten. Chasten. Chasten. Chasten.

I also want to congratulate my fellow democratic competitors in this diverse and formidable field. For months we have been having an honest and respectful but vigorous debate about the course of our party and the future of this nation. Tonight, Iowa chose a new path.

From river to river, and churches and community centers and high school gyms, you joined your neighbors to say that the time has come to turn the page and open up a new chapter in the American story. You chose to move on, not just from the broken policies of these last few years, but the broken politics that got us here.

Tomorrow, because of what we did here, the nation will have that choice too. We take our message onward to New Hampshire, which has a way of making up its own mind, to Nevada, to South Carolina, and beyond to every corner of America. As we do, we will be building the movement that not only will win the election against Donald Trump, but win the era for our shared values.

We have exactly one shot to defeat Donald Trump. We’re not going to do it by overreaching. We’re not going to do it by division. We’re not going to do it by saying, “It’s my way or the highway.”

Audience: (11:20)
Right.

This is our shot. Our only shot to galvanize an American majority to win. Make no mistake. Ours is the campaign that will defeat this president.

Audience: (11:34)
Buttigieg. Buttigieg. Buttigieg. Buttigieg. Buttigieg. Buttigieg. Buttigieg. Buttigieg. Buttigieg. Buttigieg. Buttigieg. Buttigieg.

A president who cuts taxes for corporations while crushing the rights of workers to organize, ought to have to compete with a middle-class mayor who entered politics, fighting for auto workers, and actually lives and works in the industrial Midwest. A president who tries to cloak himself in his wrongdoing and religion should have to debate a candidate not afraid to remind America that God does not belong to a political party. And a president who avoided serving when it was his turn should have to stand next to a veteran, ready to show what troops deserve from a real commander in chief.

Now, this president may get a pass on the floor of the Senate, but this November, the verdict will be up to us. When I am your nominee, we will win big enough to send not just Donald Trump’s presidency, but Trumpism itself into the dustbin of history where it belongs.

Something is stirring in America right now. You can feel it. We saw tonight in the bluest counties, in the reddest, in rural towns and industrial cities, in big communities, in small, and the suburbs in between. We’re seeing Democrats hungry to win. Independent voters who had been turned off by our politics. Republicans tired of trying to look their kids in the eye and explain this presidency. All standing together and all standing together to declare that we are defined not by who we voted for in the past, but by what we’re voting for in the future.

This is the coalition that no pundit saw coming. It’s the coalition the president won’t see coming either. It’s a majority we’re assembling to agree not just on who we’re against, but on what we are for. We are unifying a rising American majority ready to raise wages and empower workers in this fast-changing economy. A majority ready and determined to put an end to endless war. A majority committed to bringing about a day in America where your race has no bearing on your health, your wealth, your access to education, or your relationship with law enforcement. A majority of Americans ready to support our teachers with a president and a secretary of education who believe in public education.

Those Americans are counting on us to come together and act, and they cannot wait. I’ve met Americans not even yet old enough to vote, but who know that we cannot wait. An 11-year-old asking how his family will be able to afford the insulin he needs. He can’t wait for a president who will ensure there is no such thing as an uninsured American or an unaffordable prescription. The 14-year-old who let me know she’s already written out a basic will because she’s terrified the next day in school could be her last. Cannot wait for a president who will see to it that she can walk into her school free of fear. The 10-year-old who let me know he expects to be around in 2100 and look back at whether we acted fast enough to secure his future. He cannot wait for a president prepared to enlist every American in the fight for our climate.

We are running for them. This campaign is giving voice to them. It has room for everyone because no matter who you voted for in elections past. For that matter, no matter who you caucused for tonight, we welcome you in our campaign and you belong in the future that we are building for America.

Audience: (17:15)
Buttigieg. Buttigieg. Buttigieg. Buttigieg. Buttigieg. Buttigieg. Buttigieg. Buttigieg. Buttigieg. Buttigieg. Buttigieg. Buttigieg.

Whether you’re a young woman with autism in Muscatine or a veteran battling addiction in Clermont, you belong. Whether you clean hotel rooms in Las Vegas or are getting a new business up and running in Charleston, you belong.

I believe the presidency has a purpose. The purpose of our American presidency is not the glorification of the president. It is the unification and the empowerment to the American people to solve these big problems.

America has a place for everyone. I believe this not because of my age, but because of my experience. I believe in American unity because of my experience serving. Of lacing up my boots in the dust of a war zone alongside Americans so different we hardly had anything in common besides the flag on our shoulders, yet learned to trust each other with our lives.

Audience: (18:42)
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

I believe in American boldness because of my experience governing, guiding a city once called dying, out of the shadows of our empty factories and into a brighter future.

I believe in American belonging because of an experience you are part of right here tonight. Looking out at you and remembering how it felt to be an Indiana teenager, wondering if he would ever belong in this world. Wondering if something deep inside him meant that he would forever be an outsider. That he might never wear the uniform, never be accepted, never even know love. Now that same person is standing in front of you, a mayor, a veteran, happily married, and one step closer to becoming the next president of the United States.

Audience: (19:42)
[inaudible 00:19:58].

That is the America we are building. That is the America so many Iowans chose tonight. If you are ready to build an American life defined by belonging, this is our chance. If you’re ready to build an American politics defined by boldness, this is our chance. If you are ready to build an American future defined by unity in the face of our greatest challenges, this is our chance.

With hope in our hearts and fire in our bellies, we’re going on to New Hampshire, on to the nomination, and on to chart a new course for this country that we love. Thank you. Thank you, Iowa. Thank you so much. Thank you.

Amy Klobuchar Iowa Caucus Speech Transcript

Amy Klobuchar: (00:02)
Thank you so much. Unbelievable. You probably heard we don’t know the results, but I did not want to let another minute go by without thanking all of you. We know there’s delays, but we know one thing: We are punching above our weight. My heart is full tonight. One, because I have my great chair here. Thank you, Andy McGuire. Two, because I have this fantastic staff with that has stood with us all the time. And three, because my husband and daughter are here with me tonight. And I want to thank them. I want to thank our tireless field organizers, the unstoppable volunteers who would never give up and we are feeling so good tonight, and I cannot wait somehow some way, I’m going to get on a plane tonight to New Hampshire and we are bringing this ticket to New Hampshire.

Even in a crowded field of candidates, even during the well-earned impeachment hearing of Donald J. Trump, which kept me bolted to my Senate desk for the last two weeks, we kept fighting and you kept fighting for me. We have started in a blizzard and a lot of people didn’t predict I’d finish that speech. That’s what they’re … “Like how could she do it?” Then in the summer they kept saying, “Is she going to make it through the summer?” And then debate after debate after debate and all I can say is we are here and we are strong.

And with that same grit that got us through that blizzard, we are now ready to head to New Hampshire. And my friends here in Iowa, you know we have beaten the odds every step of the way. We have done it on the merits, we have done it with ideas and we have done it with hard work because.

Speaker 2: (02:21)
[inaudible 00:02:22], Amy.

Thank you. We know in our hearts that in a democracy it is not about the loudest voice or the biggest bank account. It is about the best idea and it is about the person that can turn those ideas into action. We know that our party can’t win big by trying to out divide the divider in chief. We know that we win by bringing people with us instead of shutting them out. Donald Trump’s worst nightmare is that the people in the middle, the people who have had enough of the name calling and the mudslinging, have a candidate to vote for in November. Donald Trump’s worst nightmare is that our fired up Democrats will march to victory alongside a big coalition of independence and moderate Republicans that see this election just as we do. That this election is yes, an economic check, but it also is a patriotic check. It is a decency check. It is the simple idea. It’s a simple idea that the heart of America is so much bigger than the heart of this guy in the White House.

Our country cannot take another four years of Donald Trump. Our collective sense of decency can’t take another four years. The rule of law can’t withstand another four years of a president that thinks he’s above it. Our democracy cannot tolerate another four years of a president who wants to bulldoze right through it. The American dream cannot take another four years of a president who thinks he can choose who gets it. His playbook is not hard to understand. It is really three words. Divide and demoralize. Well, I have a playbook that’s three words, unite and lead.

That is how I have passed over a hundred bills as the lead Democrat in the United States Senate in the middle of that gridlock. And that is how I have won elections in the reddest of red congressional districts in the bluest of blue congressional districts. The president though, he might as well have a sign on his desk that says the buck stops anywhere but here. Look at what he has done. He blames everyone for our problems. He blames everyone. People that shouldn’t be blamed. Who does he blame? He blames immigrants, right? He blames Barack Obama. He blames the Fed Chair that he nominated, the energy secretary that he appointed, the generals that he commands. And yes, the King of Denmark. He even recently blamed Justin Trudeau for cutting him out of the Canadian version of Home Alone 2. Who does that? Who does that?

Let me tell you what I will do. When I am behind that desk, I will take responsibility instead of passing it on. I will reach across the aisle and work with Americans in good faith. Instead of picking fights, I’ll bring this country together instead of pushing it apart. Some of you may know that old story about Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and it was a story about how after he died, they put his body on a train and it worked its way to Washington, DC. And there’s a story of a reporter who came upon a man who was crying by the side of those tracks and the man had his hat on his chest and he was sobbing and the reporter looked at him and said, “Sir, do you know President Roosevelt? Did you know him?” And the man says, “No, I didn’t know president Roosevelt, but he knew me. He knew me.”

And what we are missing so much right now in our country is that sense of empathy. We are missing that caring and I promise you this, I will bring back that sacred trust between the American people and the President of the United States. If you are sick and tired of hearing how great the economy is when you don’t feel it, when your paycheck is stretched to the breaking point month after month, I know you, and I will fight for you. If you are sick of choosing between paying for daycare for your kids and longterm care for your parents, I know you, and I will fight for you. If you’re sick of being torn between filling a refrigerator and filling a prescription, I know you, and I will fight for you. And if you want a democratic nominee who can make our tent bigger and our coalition wider and our coattails longer-

Speaker 3: (08:00)
Amy! Amy! Amy! Amy! Amy! Amy! Amy! Amy!

If you want that, I know you, and I will fight for you. And if you are sick and tired of the extremes in our politics and the noise and the nonsense, you have a home with me. Please join our campaign at amyklobuchar.com. Join us. Join us because we are going to be here it looks like a really long time tonight, and you will have plenty of time to join us at amyklobuchar.com. Let’s stay up. Let’s stay in a good spirit because you all know what happened out there in those precincts. You know that we have been punching way beyond our weight. You know that despite some limited resources compared to some of those bigger bank accounts, we are way on the board. Let’s stay up. Let’s stay happy and let’s head to New Hampshire. Thank you, Iowa. I love you.

Speaker 3: (09:27)
Amy! Amy! Amy! Amy! Amy! Amy! Amy! Amy!

Andrew Yang Iowa Caucus Speech Transcript

Andrew Yang: (00:26)
Hello. Hello. Good morning. Hello Iowa. Thank you so much. You all are incredible.

I also want to say a special thank you to my wife Evelyn Yang for being such an incredible partner along this journey. I love you so much, baby. Woo. What a night here in Iowa. Thank you all so much for the hard work and dedication you put into making tonight a tremendous night for the yang gang in this campaign. And this is a great time to actually pause for reflection on how far we’ve come. We declared over two years ago. Over 30 people ended up jumping into the race. I remember that first debate stage. There were 20 candidates. They had to break it up into two nights. And I’m going right from here to New Hampshire where I will be one of the seven candidates on the debate stage.

I brought it out in New Hampshire. So many of you dropped everything and came here to Iowa to fight for this campaign. Raise your hand if you’re here from out of state and came here. Let’s give them a round of applause. Let’s give you a round of applause. Look at this. That’s humanity first. That is what has made this campaign the political force of nature that no one saw coming. We’ve raised tens of millions of dollars from almost half a million Americans in increments of only $30 each. And that is because people have made this case to other people at every step of the way. And tonight what happened? We saw that tens of thousands of Iowans around the state realized that the economy is transforming around them in profound ways. I’ve seen it myself. It’s gone from the farms to the factories to the main streets, and eventually we’ll hit the highways. This is what we have to turn around yang gang. We have to actually make an economy that works for us instead of the bottom lines of these huge companies.

To say it is all about our bottom line because we all hear their record high corporate profits, record GDP in this country. You know what else are at record highs in the United States of America right now? Stress, anxiety, drug overdoses, suicides, depression, student loan debt, medical bankruptcies. If your corporate profits are going up and your very life expectancy is going down, which do you listen to?

Crowd: (03:24)
Life expectancy.

That’s right. It’s our lives, yang gang. It’s our lives America. We have to start measuring how we’re doing by how we are doing and not how these giant companies are doing. Because the two are no longer lining up. If anything, they’re heading in opposite directions more and more. And that is what this campaign can change. This campaign can make our country’s bottom line, our family’s bottom line, our kids’ bottom line, our town’s bottom line. Because you look around and you see that our current economy does not reward the kind of work that Evelyn and stay at home parents do every single day.

It doesn’t recognize and reward the kind of work that caregivers like Kyle Christensen, taking care of their ailing mom, do every single day. Volunteers and activists doing work in your communities, artists, people trying to make the community stronger. All of these are getting zeroed out one by one by one. Our very democracy is getting zeroed out because in this country today, we feel money on one side and people on the other. It’s the money that wins. And this campaign is about turning that around. This campaign is about saying the best way we can solve our own problems is by putting economic resources into our hands, the people’s hands, that we know how to improve our lives better than any other government program. That message rang loud and clear here in Iowa tonight thanks to each and every one of you. And now we’re going to take that message to New Hampshire and the rest of the country.

I got to say, I’m a numbers guy. We’re still waiting on numbers from tonight. We’re all looking around and being like, what’s the math? What’s the math? And this is one of those situations where we can essentially just throw some algebra letters up on the wall and being like, I guess we’ll project onto these new letters for now what the numbers are going to be. But the math that I care most about is the fact that this movement has become something that has already shocked the political world, and it’s going to keep on going from here. It’s going to keep on growing from here.

You know what’s fun is when some of the other campaigns hold a fundraiser, they get together in a fancy place. They put on their nice duds. They come together. They say expensive words. They think expensive thoughts. You know the way the yang gang has a fundraiser? We’re going to have a fundraiser right now. What we’re saying is yang gang, if you want to keep this movement growing through New Hampshire, chip in five, 10, 20, 30 bucks tonight, and let’s show that this campaign is going to grow and grow all the way to the White House. We have shocked the world time and time again yang gang. Are we done yet?

Crowd: (06:38)
No.

No. We’re going to go to New Hampshire. I’m going to be in the CNN town hall, the debate stage on Friday. The vote is going to start on the 11th. And then they’re going to see that this campaign has just begun and it is going to go all the way. Thank you, Iowa. Thank you yang gang. Love you all. I love each and every one of you the best. You’re beautiful human beings, and we’re going to keep on going all the way to the White House, and then we’re going to have a big celebration at the end, a year from now the White House lawn. Thank you, yang gang.

Transcript: Speeches at the Iowa Caucuses – Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, Andrew Yang, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar Speak

Bernie Sanders Iowa Caucus Speech Transcript

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Transcript: Speeches at the Iowa Caucuses – Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, Andrew Yang, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar Speak

Bernie Sanders Iowa Caucus Speech Transcript

Elizabeth Warren Iowa Caucus Speech Transcript

Joe Biden Iowa Caucus Speech Transcript

Pete Buttigieg Iowa Caucus Speech Transcript

Amy Klobuchar Iowa Caucus Speech Transcript

Andrew Yang Iowa Caucus Speech Transcript

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