Hello, Michigan. You know,
we, we Minnesotans, you probably know on this,
we're a, we're a stoic people,
people. A few words, but holy hell,
can you throw a party here in Michigan?
Wow, I want to take a moment to acknowledge a
few friends,
folks that I've gotten to know and,
and let's be very clear,
this is someone who I consider my dearest friend and
someone who taught all the other governors how to fix
the damn roads.
Governor Whipper,
you have got a treasure in Michigan.
And I'll tell you what,
we share a lot between US and the upper Midwest.
We share, oh, we need some water.
We have somebody down. We need some water
medic. We need a medic right here.
You got somebody here.
Got them. All right, we got a medic on the
way.
Thank you for caring for your neighbors.
Thank you for showing where Michigan does.
Look, we share a lot of things.
That's one of them. We're neighbors and we're not weird,
that's for sure. But
but I got to tell you something else we share
is a care for the incredible natural resources we in
the upper Midwest,
in our states. We care for 20%
of the world's freshwater in those Great Lakes.
And the the Great Lakes have no better friend than
your senator,
Senator Stabenow.
I got some members of Congress I had the privilege
of serving with and some that are new to that
place.
Let's be clear. We got to put gavels in the
hands of these Democratic representatives so that we can get
some work done.
My friend Dan Kildee, Debbie Dingell,
Haley Stevens. Alyssa Slotkin, Hilary Stolten.
Representative Thander, I believe just one
primary year, Wayne County Executive Warren Evans
and the chair of the Michigan Democratic Party,
Levora Barnes. Thank you.
And I want to just take a moment.
It's been a pretty interesting 24 hours for me.
I'll have to be honest.
And I, I don't know what it how I could
explain to you walking into that arena in Philly or
that field out in Wisconsin or right here to what
I have been told is the largest rally of the
campaign.
And look and look,
this is a place full of
working folks, students, folks who care.
And I think about this,
you came out here early,
found a place to park,
stood in the sun, sat here and wait.
And you did it. You did it for one simple
and eloquent and beautiful reason.
You love this country. You love this country.
I couldn't be prouder to be on this ticket and
to help make Kamala Harris the next president of the
United States.
Every day of her life,
Vice President Harris fights for the American people.
She's taken on predators, fraudsters and transnational gangs.
You heard it. She stood up to powerful corporate interest
and she has never hesitated to reach across the aisle,
try and find some common solutions.
And she has done it.
And this is what we know.
All the things that wake me mad about those other
guys and all the things they do wrong,
the one thing that I will not forgive them for
is their try to steal the joy from this country.
They try and steal the joy.
But you know what? You know what
our next president brings? The joy.
She emanates the joy.
I know a little something about that commitment to people.
I was born in a small town of 400 people
in Nebraska,
and community was the way of life
my mom and dad taught me.
You show generosity to your neighbors,
and you work for a common good amongst them.
At 17, I joined the Army National Guard
and for the next 24 years it was a privilege
to wear the uniform of this country and
and just as it did for my dad,
a Korean War era veteran,
and millions of others. I use the GI Bill to
get a college education.
Followed a bit in my dad's footsteps.
He was a teacher.
My brothers and sisters were teachers
and they married teachers.
I had the privilege of teaching high school social studies
and I coached the football team.
We did win a state championship.
I tell you that because don't ever close the yearbook
is my pro tip to you.
My students are the ones who encouraged me to run
for office.
I never thought much about it,
but they saw. They saw in me what I hope
to instill in them,
a commitment to the common good,
a true belief that one person truly can make a
difference,
can make a difference in the world.
I lived in a district where I didn't know this
at the time.
Only one other Democrat since
1892 had won that district
on On that election night,
my neighbors graced me with the opportunity to go to
the United States Congress and represent them.
I learned how to compromise without compromising my values.
I learned how to work across the aisle to get
good things done for people.
And now as governor of Minnesota,
I bring those experiences together so we can tackle some
of those hard problems,
inequities, climate change, all of the things that we care
about.
We got a lot of shared values in this room.
By the way, is labor in the room?
This might be my chance to use it.
Yes,
we know who built the middle class.
But here's the deal.
What we know is Donald Trump,
He sees the world a bit differently than we see
the world.
And I've been saying it,
He doesn't know the first thing about service
because he's way too busy serving himself.
This is a big difference.
Again and again,
he does things that weakens our country
only to strengthen his own hand.
He mocks our laws. He shows chaos and division amongst
the public.
And that's to say nothing about his record as president.
Let's let's
he is that he is that.
Look, we have the worst crisis of a generation,
and he froze during COVID.
People lost their lives because of that.
He drove the economy into the ground.
And make no mistake, violent crime was up during Donald
Trump's presidency,
and that's not even counting the crimes he committed.
Some of the some of the Gray hairs in here
remember a Republican Party that used to actually talk about
freedom.
These guys when they talk about freedom,
it means government has the freedom to invade your exam
room with your doctor.
Now, I know
look that we got a lot of commonalities and I'll
say this as an NFC North guys,
Vikings fans are proud of the Lions.
I will say that. I will say that.
But in Minnesota, we respect our neighbors personal choices.
We may not agree with them or make them from
ourself.
But I've been saying this,
you all know it. Our grown rule is mind your
own damn business.
Just mind your own business.
It's amazing what minding your own damn business does to
make things work better.
Don't like a book? Don't read it.
Is there anybody in America sitting around in a bar,
bunch of people talking and say,
you know what we need in this country?
We need to bad Animal Farm.
That's the first thing that you can do.
Nobody says that.
But you know what? It would be fun if it
wasn't so dangerous because then they start thinking about things
like IVF and banning IVF.
And I have to tell you,
this is very personal for my family.
When my wife and I decided to have children,
we went through years of fertility treatments.
Remember, every time the phone rang,
I'd catch my breath, I'd feel nervousness,
and then it would be a crushing feeling when they
told us that the treatments didn't work.
The agony of that I can feel to this day.
But I can also feel some joy in this
because it wasn't by chance.
As I say this, when our daughter and we finally
conceived and our daughter was born,
we didn't hesitate at all.
We named her Hope. We named her Hope.
But I do have to tell you something about hope.
My wife always tells me this.
It's not a damn plan.
We can't hope we beat this guy.
We can't hope that things get better.
We go out and work our butts off to make
sure it happens.
So when our next president walks out here and she
talks about freedom,
she means the freedom to make your own healthcare decisions.
And when she comes out here and talks about that,
our children should be free to go to school without
being shot dead in their classrooms.
Look,
we believe strongly in Minnesota in the Second Amendment,
just like you do, but we also believe strongly in
common sense,
gun violence prevention law,
freedoms when education is a ticket to the middle class,
not crushing student loan debt.
And it's a place where we know freedom means
we settle our political differences not through violence,
but with our votes.
You get it. You, you drove out here.
You stood here.
Please, look, and let's all decide right now on this,
whatever. We know it's going to be hard race.
We know it's going to be close,
but let's don't be so close that these guys have
anything to say.
Let's don't be so close.
If there's anything, let's just win the damn thing by
a broader margin.
Simple proposition. This election is about which direction this country
is going to go in.
We know Donald Trump's taking us backwards and don't believe
the ACT.
He's playing dumb. He knows exactly what Project
2025 is going to do to our personal liberties.
Destroy unions, Rig the economy for the ultra wealthy.
We know that when he goes back,
he's picking up and doing the same things he did
when he was there the last time.
Except. Except you all know this.
It will be much, much worse when he comes back.
Raising costs for all of you.
Repealing the Affordable Care Act.
He doesn't care. Gutting Social Security.
And be very clear, they can say whatever they want.
They are banning abortion across this country.
No questions asked. No questions asked.
Yeah. You think this guy,
you think this guy cares about you or your family?
His running mate has the same dangerous and backward agenda
as Trump?
Well, heck, you all know it.
Every every regular person in the heartland went to Yale,
had had Silicon Valley billionaires fund his career,
and then he writes a book trashing the very community
that raised him.
That old thing is, I wasn't calling anybody names.
I was just making an observation about
we can see it. And here's my thing.
There's a lot of things going to happen.
By the way, we got about 91 days.
And I keep telling people it's
91 days. My God, you can do anything for 91
days.
90
Christ, I haven't slept in 24 hours.
You know? You know why?
We'll sleep when we're dead.
Here's my here's my brass ring I'm looking for.
I can't wait to debate this guy.
I cannot wait to talk about what they think.
I can't wait to ask him why he wants to
take healthcare and take reproductive rights and why he wants
to make sure that the wealthiest pay no taxes as
we destroy unions in the middle class.
So here's the deal. You said it.
These ideas that they're putting out there,
they are weird as hell.
No ones asking for it.
No one's asking for it.
We're asking a fair shot.
We're asking for healthcare and childcare.
We're asking for an education.
We're asking for safety in our streets.
That's what we're asking for
and we're going to get it because that's what this
campaign's about. It's about moving forward.
Look,
you know that Kamala Harris believes that you should be
making the own choices in your life.
She believes that every person should have an opportunity to
enter the middle class.
She believes in something so beautiful and simple with joy.
She believes in the promise of this great nation.
Look, she can take care of herself out front.
And she said it. If they want to talk smack,
she said it. Say it to my face,
damn it. Say it to my face.
But what I got to say is we got to
have her back.
We got to have her back.
So, Madam Vice President, thank you for the trust you
placed in me.
Michigan, help me right now.
Give a warm Midwest welcome
to the next President of the United States,
Kamala Harris.
We got this. We're going to do this.
We are doing this.
We are doing this. Thank
you. Thank
you. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you.
OK, Come on. We got things.
We got business to handle.
Good evening, everyone. Good evening.
Good evening. Good evening.
Can we hear it up for Tim Walz?
Isn't he amazing? He's going to be the most incredible
vice president.
All right. So it is good to be back and
to be with so many incredible leaders.
I love you,
Governor Gretchen Whitmer, thank you for your,
thank you for your friendship,
your sisterhood and your leadership.
And we are going to do this together.
Lieutenant Governor Garland Gilchrist, thank you so much.
His parents are over there.
And the members of Congress,
including Senator Debbie Stabenow, my dear friend,
and your next United States senator,
Representative Lisa Slotkin,
we're going to get that done.
Mayor Mike Duggan, thank you for the warm welcome always.
And of course, it is so good to be with
the president of the United Auto Workers,
my dear friend, Sean Fain.
And last year, last week,
it was my, it feels like last year,
last week, it was my great honor to accept the
endorsement of the United Auto Workers.
And the UAW has always worked to lift up the
working people of our nation.
Do we need some help over there?
I need we need a medical over there.
Please. There should be medics in each corner.
We're good. OK, All right,
look, let's all take care of each other and look,
look out for each other,
all right? That's who we are.
We look out for each other.
OK?
So
as I said to Sean,
as I talked to Sean about this,
this election is going to be a fight.
We like a good fight.
When you know what you stand for,
you know what to fight for.
We know what we stand for,
so I'm so proud to have UAW by my side
because y'all know how to fight and you know how
to win.
Today, I also bring greetings from our incredible president,
Joe Biden.
That's right,
Joe,
that's right.
And I know we are all deeply,
deeply grateful to Joe for his lifetime of service to
our nation.
And we thank you, Joe Biden,
each and every day for all you are
and all you still have yet to do.
Thank you, Joe.
I'm going to tell him what you said.
So Michigan, this has been a big week.
On Monday, I officially became the Democratic nominee for president
of the United States.
And yesterday I announced my running mate in this campaign,
Governor Tim Walz.
And as you just heard,
he has an incredible record as governor of the great
state of Minnesota.
And to those who know him best,
some people are just getting to know him.
But I'm going to tell you,
you got to know him real quick because he's incredible.
He's a serious, serious man.
He has been a serious leader and he loves our
country.
And, you know, I've talked to some of the people
who know him best,
like his wife, Gwen, and to Gwen,
Tim Walz's husband. To his
to his kids, hoping Gus,
he is dad. To his fellow veterans,
he is Sergeant major Wolves.
To the people of southern Minnesota.
For 12 years, he was a congressman.
To his former high school students,
he is Mr. Walls.
And to his former high school football players,
he was coach.
And in 90 days, the nation will know Coach Walls
by the title
Vice president of the United States.
So it is so good to be back in Michigan.
And listen, I am clear.
The path to the White House runs right through this
state.
And with your help, we will win.
In November.
We will win.
And I know we are all clear about what we
are up against.
As many of you know,
before I was elected vice president,
before I was elected as a United States Senator,
I was elected attorney general,
and before that elected District Attorney.
And before that I was a courtroom prosecutor.
In those roles, I took on perpetrators of all kinds.
Predators who abused women,
fraudsters who ripped off consumers,
scammers who broke the rules for personal gain.
So hear me, Detroit, when I say
I know Donald Trump's type.
I've been dealing with them my whole career.
For example,
as Attorney General of California,
I took on one of the
country's largest for profit colleges that scammed students.
Well, Donald Trump ran a for profit college that scammed
students.
You remember that
as a prosecutor, I specialize in cases of sexual abuse?
Well, Donald Trump was found liable for committing sexual abuse.
As attorney general, I held the big Wall Street banks
accountable for fraud.
Well, Donald Trump was just found guilty of fraud.
34 counts to be exact.
Hold on,
Hold on. Hold on. You know what here?
Hold on. Here's the thing.
The courts are going to handle that.
We're going to beat them in November.
We're gonna beat him in November.
OK,
we'll beat him in November.
We'll handle that.
But all that to say,
in this campaign, I proudly put my record against his
any day of the week,
any day of the week.
But make no mistake, our campaign,
this campaign is not just about US versus Donald Trump.
It's bigger than that. It is about two very different
visions
for the future of our nation.
One hours focused on the future
and the other focused on the past.
And Michigan. We, we here fight for the future.
We fight for the future.
We fight for a future where every worker has the
freedom to join a union,
where every senior can retire with dignity.
A future with affordable housing,
affordable childcare, affordable healthcare, and paid leave.
A future where we build a broad based economy where
every American has an opportunity to own a home,
to start a business, and to build wealth.
And understand in this fight,
we are joyful warriors.
Because while fighting for a brighter future may take hard
work,
we all here know hard work is good work.
Hard work is good work.
We believe in a future where we lower the cost
of living for
America's families so they have a chance
not just to get by,
but to get ahead.
Because look, while our economy is doing well by many
measures,
prices for everyday things like groceries are still too high.
You know it and I know it.
When I was Attorney General,
I went after price fixing schemes.
And when I am President,
it will be my day one priority to fight to
bring down prices.
To take on the big corporations that engage in illegal
price gouging,
take on corporate landlords that unfairly raise rents on working
families,
to take on big pharma and cap the cost of
prescription drugs for all Americans.
That is the work we will do together.
And all of this to say,
unlike Donald Trump, I will always put the middle class
and working families first
because Coach Walls and I know the middle class built
this great country of ours.
And when the middle class is strong,
America is strong.
And look, as we move our nation forward,
Donald Trump intends to take our nation backward.
Just look at his Project
2025 Agenda, Project 2025.
And please do check out Project
2025 because I'm telling you,
it is a plan. It is a plan to weaken
America's Middle Class
Project 2025 if he is elected.
It's
all good.
It's
all
good. I'm here because we believe in democracy.
Everyone's voice matters. But I am speaking now.
I am speaking now,
so Project 2025. Look, if he is elected,
Donald Trump intends to give tax breaks to billionaires and
big corporations.
He intends to cut Social Security and Medicare.
He intends to surrender our fight against the climate crisis,
and he intends to end the Affordable Care Act.
You know what? If you want Donald Trump to win,
then say that. Otherwise, I'm speaking
and I got you,
and
we're not going back. We're not going
back and we're not going back because we know what
that would look like.
And again, understand Donald Trump intends to end the Affordable
Care Act
and take us back to a time when insurance companies
had the power to deny people with pre-existing conditions.
We all remember what that looked like.
And we're not going back.
We're not going back.
Our fight is a fight for the future and it
is a fight for freedom.
Across our nation we are witnessing a full on attack
on hard fought,
hard won fundamental freedoms and rights and we will not
stand for it.
Attacks on the freedom to vote.
Attacks on the freedom to be safe from gun violence.
The freedom to breathe clean air and drink clean water.
The freedom to love who you love openly and with
pride.
And the freedom of a woman to make decisions about
her own body and not have her government tell her
what to do.
Generations,
generations of Americans before
US-led the fight for freedom.
Now the baton is in our hands,
each and every one of us.
So we who believe in the sacred freedom to vote
will finally pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and
the Freedom to Vote Act.
We who believe in the freedom to live safe from
gun violence will finally pass an assault weapons ban.
Universal back crown text and red flag laws.
We who believe in the freedom to organize will pass
the PRO Act and put an end to union busting
once and for all.
And we who believe in reproductive freedom will fight for
a woman's right to choose,
remembering what Donald Trump did to pick three members of
the United States Supreme Court with the intention that they
would take away this freedom and they did as he
intended.
We who are paying attention to the fact that now
over 20 states in our country have a Trump abortion
ban,
many with no exceptions, even for rape and incest.
And we all know if he wins,
he would sign a national abortion ban to outlaw abortion
in every state,
and that would include the great state of Michigan.
But we're not going back.
And on that point, it is because there is a
thing about who we are that is a bit different
from the folks on the other side.
We trust women to know what is in their best
interest and not have their government telling them what
do.
And when I am president of the United States and
Congress passes a bill to restore reproductive freedoms,
I will sign it into law.
So Michigan, here's the thing,
So much, so much, so much is on the line
in this election.
And we got to remember,
you know, we, we knew we know who he is
and what he was about in 16 and in 20.
But there's also something else that has happened recently that
we really have to
prioritize in our mind about the danger we're looking at.
Last month, the United States Supreme Court
basically just told the former president,
who has been convicted of fraud,
that going forward he will be immune no
matter what he does in the White House.
But think about that, think about that.
Think about what that means.
The man has openly vowed,
if reelected, that he will be a dictator on day
one.
Think about what that means when he said that he
will even,
quote, terminate the Constitution of the United States.
Because let us be very clear,
Someone who suggests we should terminate the Constitution of the
United States
should never again stand behind the seal of the President
of the United States.
Never again
vote
vote.
That's right. So here's the thing to your point,
when it comes down
to all the things that are important about this,
I think the most important thing that bring I love
you back.
And
listen, one of the things that I know brings us
all out today and always is we love our country.
We love our country, we love our country.
And I do believe it is the highest form of
patriotism
to fight for the ideals of our country.
That is how we preserve the promise of America.
After all, the promise of America,
think about it is what makes it possible for Tim
Walz and me to be together on the stage today.
Think about it.
Think about that. 2 middle class kids.
1A daughter of Oakland, CA
who was raised by a working mother.
I had a summer job at McDonald's,
the other a son of the Nebraska plains who grew
up working on a farm.
Only in America.
Is it possible for them together to make it all
the way to the White House?
Only in America. Only in America.
So we are running this campaign on behalf of all
Americans,
from red states to blue states,
from the heartland to the coast.
And when elected, I promise you we will govern on
behalf of all Americans.
So I'll close with this.
Michigan. Ultimately, in this election,
we each face a question.
We each face a question
What kind of country do we want to live in?
A country of freedom, compassion
and rule of law?
Or a country of chaos,
fear and hate?
And the beauty of our democracy,
The beauty of our democracy.
We each have the power
to answer that question. We each have the power to
answer that question.
The power is with the people.
So in the next 90 days,
we need you to use your power.
We need you to knock on some doors.
We need you to register folks to vote.
We need you to organize and energize and mobilize
and make your voices heard.
So Michigan, I ask you,
Are you ready to make your voices heard?
Do we believe in freedom?
Do we believe in opportunity?
Do we believe in the promise of America
and our we ready to fight for it
and when we fight, we win.
God bless you. God bless you.