Remarks by Vice President Harris at a Campaign Event | Charlotte, NC

PNC Music Pavilion
Charlotte, North Carolina

4:47 P.M. EDT

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Hello, North Carolina! (Applause.) Can we hear it for Tyson? (Applause.)

Oh, it's good to be back. It's good to be back. (Applause.)

Charlotte, are we ready to do this? (Applause.)

Are we ready to vote? (Applause.)

Are we ready to win? (Applause.)

Oh, it's good to be back. It is good to be back. (Applause.) And it is good to be back with so many friends and so many leaders.

And I want to thank everyone for taking the time out of your busy lives to be here.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: We got this, Kamala!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: We do. (Applause.) And we are here together. And I thank you all so very much.

Governor Cooper, you are a dear friend. You are an incredible leader. I thank you. (Applause.)

Your next governor, Josh Stein - (applause); your next attorney general, Jeff Jackson - (applause); Congresswoman Adams; Mayor Lyles; DNC Chair Harrison; Kerry Washington - let's give it up for all of them. (Applause.)

And for Brittany Spencer and Khalid, The War and Treaty, and Jon Bon Jovi - (applause).

All right, North Carolina. So, we have three days left - (applause) - in one of the most consequential elections of our lifetime, and we still have work to do. We still have work to do.

But here's the thing I know about everybody here: We like hard work. (Applause.) Hard work is good work. (Applause.) Hard work is joyful work. (Applause.)

And make no mistake, we will win. (Applause.) We will win. We will win.

And here's part of the deal on that. We will win, because when you know what you stand for, you know what to fight for. (Applause.)

And we have an opportunity, in this election, to turn the page - (applause) - on a decade of Donald Trump trying to keep us divided and afraid of each other. We're done with that. We're done. (Applause.) We're exhausted with it. We're done.

And we know who he is. We know who he is. He tells us every day - (laughter) - but, Charlotte, that's not who we are. (Applause.) That's not who we are.

And we know it is time for a new generation of leadership in America. (Applause.) And I am ready to offer that leadership as the next president of the United States of America. (Applause.)

And, North Carolina, here is the thing. You know me. You know me. I'm not afraid of tough fights. (Applause.) For decades, as a prosecutor and a top law enforcement officer of the biggest state in our country, I won fights against the big banks that ripped off homeowners. I won fights against for-profit colleges that scammed veterans and students, against predators who abused women and children. I won fights against the cartels that traffic in guns and drugs and human beings. (Applause.)

And I pledge to you that if you give me the chance to fight on your behalf as president, there is nothing in the world that will stand in my way. (Applause.) Nothing.

And, look, we know who Donald Trump is. This is - so -

AUDIENCE MEMBER: (Inaudible.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Right. We do, don't we?

AUDIENCE: Booo -

THE VICE PRESIDENT: And here is one of the things we know about him. This is not someone who is thinking about how to make your life better. And this is someone who is increasingly unstable -

AUDIENCE: Yes!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: - obsessed with revenge -

AUDIENCE: Yes!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: - consumed with grievance -

AUDIENCE: Yes!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: - and the man is out for unchecked power. (Applause.)

So, look, in less than 90 days, it's either going to be him or me sitting in the Oval Office. (Applause.) We're going to do this. (Applause.)

AUDIENCE: Kamala! Kamala! Kamala!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: (Inaudible.) Thank you, thank you, thank you.

AUDIENCE: Kamala! Kamala! Kamala!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: So, he- - thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. Okay. (Applause.) Come on. Thank you. Okay, okay. Thank you. (Applause.) (Laughs.)

But - okay, but - so, how about sharing with your friends, right? So, this is the thing that we want to share with folks, just to imagine - right? - what this means and the - the choice that is in front of us. Imagine - and let's ask the friends who are not here to imagine the Oval Office. You've seen it on T.V., right? Imagine the Oval Office. And if he is elected, Donald Trump, on day one, would be sitting in that office, stewing over his enemies list.

AUDIENCE: Booo -

THE VICE PRESIDENT: But when I am elected, I will walk in, on your behalf, working on my to-do list - (applause) - to-do.

And at the top of my list is bringing down the cost of living for you. (Applause.) That will be my focus every single day as president.

I will give a middle-class tax cut to over 100 million Americans. (Applause.) I will enact the first-ever federal ban on corporate price gouging on groceries - (applause); fight to make sure that hardworking Americans can actually afford a place to live. (Applause.) And if you are caring for an elderly parent, my plan will cover the cost of home care under Medicare. (Applause.)

(A protestor disruption can be heard.)

AUDIENCE: Kamala! Kamala! Kamala!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: It's all good. It's all good.

AUDIENCE: Kamala! Kamala! Kamala!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: It's all good. You know what? One of the reasons - one of the reasons we are here is because we are fighting for our democracy - (applause) - and the right of people to speak their mind. But right now, I am speaking. (Applause.)

So, bringing down the cost of living for you includes making sure that we are caring for those who are caring for others.

AUDIENCE: (Inaudible.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT: It's okay, y'all. Democracy can be complicated. It's all right. (Applause.) It's all right. It's all right. (Laughs.) This is what democracy looks like. (Laughs.) (Applause.)

So, included in the work we will do is ensuring that Medicare covers the cost of home health care for seniors. And I'll tell you, a lot of how I think about these policies is based on my own experiences.

When my mother was - when my mother was sick, I took care of her.

(A protestor disruption can be heard.)

AUDIENCE: Kamala! Kamala! Kamala!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: That's all right.

AUDIENCE: Kamala! Kamala! Kamala!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: It's all good. It's all good.

AUDIENCE: Kamala! Kamala! Kamala!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: It's all good. Hey, listen, it's all good.

And, look, we all want that war in the Middle East to end. We want the hostages home. (Applause.) And when I am president, I will do everything in my power to make it so.

So, so much about what I care about on your behalf is truly about dignity. It is about dignity. It is about the importance of lifting people up and not trying to tear them down - (applause) - which is why my plan will lower the cost of childcare, cut taxes for small businesses.

Do we have small-business owners in the h- - (applause). Here we do. I love our small businesses. You all are part of the big backbone of America's economy. Keep doing what you do. I love our small businesses. (Applause.) You are.

And our work will include lowering health care costs, because where I come from, in terms of how I think about this, access to health care should be a right and not just a privilege of those who can afford it. (Applause.)

On the other hand, Donald Trump's answer to the financial pressures you face? Same as it was last time: another trillion dollars in tax cuts for billionaires and big corporations.

AUDIENCE: Booo -

THE VICE PRESIDENT: And this time, he will pay for it with a 20 percent national sales tax on everything you buy that is imported: clothes, food, toys, cell phones. A Trump sales tax that economists have estimated will cost you an additional $4,000 a year.

AUDIENCE: Booo -

THE VICE PRESIDENT: And on top of that, Donald Trump still wants to get rid of the Affordable Care Act -

AUDIENCE: Booo -

THE VICE PRESIDENT: - which would throw millions of Americans off their health insurance and take us back to the time when insurance companies could deny people with preexisting conditions. You remember what that was?

Well, we are not -

AUDIENCE: Going back!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: - going back. We are not going back. (Applause.) (Inaudible.) We are not going back. We're not going back.

AUDIENCE: We're not going back! We're not going back! We're not going back!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: We're not going back. And we are not - and we are not going back because ours is a fight for the future. (Applause.) And it is a fight for freedom - (applause) - like the fundamental freedom of a woman to make decisions about her own body and not have her government tell her what to do. (Applause.)

And we all remember how we got here. Donald Trump hand-selected three members of the United States Supreme Court -

AUDIENCE: Booo -

THE VICE PRESIDENT: - and - with the intention that they would undo the protections of Roe v. Wade. They did as he intended. And now, in America, one in three women lives in a state with a Trump abortion ban, including North Carolina and every state in the South, except Virginia -

AUDIENCE: Booo -

THE VICE PRESIDENT: - many with no exceptions even for rape and incest, which is immoral.

And understand, Donald Trump is not done. He would ban abortion nationwide. He would restrict access to birth control. He would put IVF treatments at risk and - get this - force states to monitor women's pregnancies.

AUDIENCE: Booo -

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Just google Project 2025, which still I can't believe they put in writing. (Laughter.)

And I think everyone here knows: One does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree the government shouldn't be telling her what to do. (Applause.) Not the government, and not Donald Trump.

And when Congress passes a bill to restore reproductive freedom nationwide, as president of the United States, I will proudly sign it into law. (Applause.) Proudly. Proudly.

So, North Carolina, I'm here to ask for your vote. (Applause.) I'm here to ask for your vote.

And here - and here is my pledge to you. As president, I pledge to seek common ground and commonsense solutions to the challenges you face. (Applause.)

I am not looking to score political points. I am looking to make progress. (Applause.)

And I pledge to you to listen to those who will be impacted by the decisions I make. I pledge to you to listen to experts, to listen to people who disagree with me - (applause) - because, you see, unlike Donald Trump, I don't believe that people who disagree with me are the enemy. He wants to put them in jail. I will give them a seat at the table. (Applause.)

That's what real leadership looks like. That's what strong leadership looks like. (Applause.) Come on.

And I pledge to always put country above party and self and to be a president for all Americans. (Applause.)

So, that is my pledge to you, Charlotte.

And let me then ask, who here has already voted? (Applause.) Wow. All right. Well, I thank you. (Laughs.)

So, now I'm going to ask you, just please talk to your friends and your family and your neighbors. And, seriously, please share with them - you've taken such time out of all the other ob- - obligations you have. You've taken such time to be here. So, please do share with them why you have taken this time and what your perspective is on this election. It's so important.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: We love you, Kamala!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: And please encourage people - I love you back. (Laughs.) (Applause.)

And let's - let's encourage everyone to know the strength of their voice.

And for anyone who hasn't voted yet, look, first of all, no judgment, but - but please do get to it. (Laughs.) (Applause.)

And - and please take a moment to think about your plan for voting, about when and where you will vote. Election Day is Tuesday, November 5th. Polls are open here in North Carolina from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. (Applause.)

Go to IWillVote.com for any information you need about when and where to vote, because, listen, we need everyone to vote, North Carolina. (Applause.) You all will make the difference in this election. You will make the difference.

So, look, it all comes down to this. We are all here together because we love our country. (Applause.) We love our country.

AUDIENCE: USA!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Yes.

AUDIENCE: USA! USA! USA!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: We love our country.

AUDIENCE: USA! USA! USA!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: And here's what we know - here's what we all know: When you love something, you fight for it. (Applause.) You fight for it.

And I do believe it is one of the highest forms of patriotism, of our love - the expression of our love for our country, to fight for its ideals and to fight to realize the promise of America - the promise of America. (Applause.)

And, look, I have always believed in our nation's promise because I have lived it. I grew up as a child of the Civil Rights Movement. My parents - (applause) - my parents would take me to the marches when I was in a stroller. And what we all know about that time is there were folks from every background, every walk of life, coming together to fight for freedom and for opportunity. (Applause.) Right?

And growing up, I saw how hard my mother worked to give her daughters the same chances our country gave her. And I was blessed to have family by blood and family by love - (applause) - who instilled in me the values of community and compassion and faith. And I have spent my life fighting for people who have been hurt and counted out but who never stop believing that, in our country, anything is possible. (Applause.)

I have lived the promise of America, and today I see the promise of America in everybody who is here - in all of you, in all of us. (Applause.) We are the promise of America. We are the promise of America, in the fathers and the mothers and the grandparents who work every day for our children's future, in the women who refuse to accept a future without reproductive freedom - (applause) - and the men who support them. (Applause.)

I see it - I see it in Republicans who have never voted for a Democrat before but who are putting Constitution of the United States over party. (Applause.)

I see the promise of America every day in the young leaders who are voting for the first time. (Applause.) Where are you? Where are you? Let me see you. Right? I love you guys. I love Gen Z. I love Gen Z. (Laughs.) (Applause.) I - I love this generation.

And because, you know, here's the thing: You all are rightly impatient for change. (Applause.) They are impatient for change. You are determined to live free from gun violence, to take on the climate crisis, and to shape the world you will inherit. (Applause.) I know that.

And for this generation, none of these issues is theoretical. These issues are not political. This is a lived experience for you all. And I see you, and I see your power, and I see your purpose. And I am so proud of you. Can we hear it for the first-time voters? (Applause.) Yeah. Right? See?

I'm telling you, the future of our nation is bright. It is bright. We have so much to be optimistic about.

So, we got three days to get this done. (Laughs.) (Applause.) And no one can sit on the sidelines.

AUDIENCE: No!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Let's spend the next three days so when we look back three days from now, we will have no regrets about what we could have done. (Applause.) Let's knock on doors. Let's text. Let's call. Reach out to your family, your friends, your classmates, your neighbors, your coworkers, your play cousins. (Laughter.) You know what I'm saying.

And please, during the course of these next three days, I ask, let us please be intentional about building community. (Applause.) Let us be intentional about building community.

You know, there's something about this whole Trump era that really was to try and suggest that the strength of a leader is based on who you beat down, instead of what we know: The real strength of a leader is based on who you lift up. (Applause.)

Let's be intentional about building community, and let's be intentional about building coalitions, remembering that the vast majority of us have so much more in common than what separates us. (Applause.) And there is power in that. There is power in that approach, and it will strengthen our country.

And so, I'll leave you with this. Let's remember and please remind everyone: Your vote is your voice, and your voice is your power. (Applause.) And don't let anyone ever take your power from you. (Applause.) Right?

So, North Carolina, today, I ask you: Are you ready to make your voices heard? (Applause.)

Do we believe in freedom? (Applause.)

Do we believe in opportunity? (Applause.)

Do we believe in the promise of America? (Applause.)

And are we ready to fight for it? (Applause.)

And when we fight -

AUDIENCE: We win!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: - we win! (Applause.)

God bless you. And God bless the United States of America. God bless you. (Applause.)

END 5:13 P.M. EDT

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