Remarks by President Biden at a Campaign Event | Detroit, MI

Renaissance High School
Detroit, Michigan

7:24 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Hello, hello, hello. (Applause.) Well, I tell you what -

AUDIENCE MEMBER: We love you!

THE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you. And I love you back.

Look, I wanted to - I'm not going home unless we get one sign, and that is, "Motown is Joetown." And it is. (Applause.)

You don't know how true that is. My dad sold automobiles - got me through high school and college and law school - and selling automobiles and everything. We always looked to Motown. (Applause.)

UAW. (Applause.)

By the way, Pastor Rudolph - you just heard her. She's the AME Church. When I was a - and, you know, I'm still a young guy. But I was a young fella - (laughter) - involved in the Civil Rights Movement in my state, which was segregated by law, I'd always start at Pastor Beaman - now Bishop Beaman's Church, the AME Church in Wilmington. For real. I'd go to 7:30 mass, and then I'd go to 10 o'clock service, because we'd plan what we were going to do, how to desegregate the restaurants and the streets of our city. And I tell you what, now you know why I spent so much time in the AME church. (Laughs.) (Applause.)

Pastor, thanks for that introduction and for your spiritual leadership in the community.

And, by the way, we got a great crowd here tonight, to state the obvious. But my - if I didn't do this, I'd get in trouble with my dad looking down on me.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: We love you! (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT: My dad - my dad would give me hell if I didn't turn and say, "Excuse my back. I apologize." (Laughter and applause.)

Look, folks -

AUDIENCE MEMBER: We got your back!

THE PRESIDENT: - members of Congress, Debbie S- - Debbie -

AUDIENCE: We got your back! We got your back! We got your back!

THE PRESIDENT: I've got your back.

AUDIENCE: We got your back! We got your back! We got your back!

THE PRESIDENT: And I've got - I got your back as well.

Members of Congress, Debbie, Haley, and Sh- - and (inaudible).

By the way, I want you know that I've spent a lot of time with Debbie. She's helped me, like, a lot. And last - we were - I forget which event we were at. And someone said, "You- - you're his wife, aren't you?" (Laughter.) Because she looks like Jill, my wife.

And, Shri, thank you very much. I want - I can't tell you -

Look, we got state leaders: the Lieutenant Governor Gilchrist, who is here somewhere. (Applause.) He's hard to miss; he's 7 foot 3. Secretary of State Benson. (Applause.) Lavora Barnes, Democratic charman [chair]. (Applause.)

We got civil right leaders, faith leaders, labor leaders, including SEIU, CWA, AFL-CIO. (Applause.) Thank you all.

And, by the way, I don't call it "labor." It's - it's simple: unions. (Applause.) I say the word.

I can't tell you how much this means to me. I really mean it. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.

And, folks, look, I'm here for one reason: Kamala and I won Michigan in 2020 because of you, and we're going to win it again in 2024. (Applause.)

And here's how we're going to do it. We're going to stand up for women in America. (Applause.) We're going to protect contraception. We're going to protect IVF, and we're going to - going to restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land. (Applause.) I mean it.

We're going to protect the right to vote. And we're going to fight for Medicare and Social Security, not cut it like the other guy wants to do. (Applause.)

And I'm going - I promise you I'm going to keep lowering the cost of prescription drugs in America. (Applause.) We're going to keep expanding health care. (Applause.)

No matter how many times Trump and his MAGA Republicans come after the Affordable Care Act, we will stop them and stop them and stop them. (Applause.) I mean it. Too many people are depending on it.

We're going to protect our children. We're going to get weapons of war off the street. (Applause.) We're going to ban assault weapons.

Folks, look, more children are killed by the - a bullet than any other reason in America. They die for that - from more than anything else, any disease, any problem. It's sick.

And above all else, we're going to stand up for our Constitution and save our democracy. (Applause.)

Folks, you probably noticed, there's been a - a lot of speculation lately, "What's Joe Biden going to do? Is he going to stay in the race? Is he going to drop out?" Well, here's what I say: I am running, and we're going to win. (Applause.) I'm not going to change that.

In fact, just today, the Marist Poll released a national poll that has me beating Trump 50 to 48. (Applause.)

I don't know where all this drop-off supposedly took place. There's so much of my narrative - my campaign is falling apart, they say.

I'm the nominee of the Democratic Party, the only Democrat or Republican who has beaten Donald Trump ever. And I'm going to beat him again. (Applause.)

I know him. Donald Trump is a loser. (Applause.)

AUDIENCE: Lock him up! Lock him up! Lock him up!

THE PRESIDENT: Well, folks - folks, I'm the nominee. I'm the nominee of this party because 14 million Democrats like you voted for me in the primaries. You made me the nominee, no one else - not the press, not the pundits, not the insiders, not donors. You, the voters - you decided. No one else. And I'm not going anywhere. (Applause.)

I learned a long time ago that when you get knocked down, you get back up. (Applause.)

I've led this nation from the depths of the pandemic to the strongest economy literally in the world. (Applause.)

And we're not done yet. We're not done yet. We have to finish the job and do what - I'm (inaudible) - that's how we're going to do.

Folks, let me tell you something about Donald Trump and his friends down in Mar-a-Lago.

AUDIENCE: Booo -

THE PRESIDENT: Wall Street didn't build this country. You did. The working people and the middle class built this country. (Applause.) And unions built the middle class. (Applause.) That's a fact. That's a fact.

Folks, I'm proud to say I'm the first and only president in American history to walk a picket line. (Applause.) Because I know labor - when labor does well, everybody does well. That's not hyperbole. (Applause.)

I came to Michigan to walk that picket line. I stood shoulder to shoulder with United Auto Workers, the greatest autoworkers in the world. (Applause.)

And I want you to know, I promise you - I give you my word as a Biden - I will always have your back and - because you've always had mine. (Applause.)

Remember what Donald Trump did when I was here walking the picket line? He gave a speech at a non-union shop.

AUDIENCE: Booo -

THE PRESIDENT: So, when Trump comes here to tell you how great he is for the auto industry, remember this: When Trump was president, we lost 86,000 jobs in union. And I created 275,000 auto jobs in America. (Applause.)

In fact, what's been true in the auto industry is true all over America. Since I became president, we've created nearly 16 million new jobs nationwide - (applause) - 390,000 of those jobs right here in Michigan. (Applause.)

We've created 800,000 manufacturing jobs nationwide, including 24,000 in Michigan. (Applause.)

Unemployment is down to 4 percent, record lows for more than two years. Historic-low unemployment for Hispanics, Black, Asian American, including here in Michigan. (Applause.)

Look, just yesterday, it was reported, because of my economic plan, inflation is down again - again. (Applause.) Overall prices fell last month. Core inflation is the lowest it's been in three years. Prices are falling for cars, appliances, airfares. Grocery prices have fallen since the start of this year.

We got more to do. We're going to keep working to take corporate greed - take it on. (Applause.)

You know, since the pandemic, corporations have doubled their profits. I understand corporations. I come from the corporate capital of the world: Delaware. They have more corporations incorporated in my state than every other state in the Union combined. I'm not anti-corporation, but I'm anti-greed. That's what I'm anti. (Applause.)

Meanwhile, Donald Trump - other than riding around in his golf cart, filling out his scorecard before he hits the ball - (laughter) - he's calling for - I'm serious, he's calling for - this is the God's truth - he's calling for a 10 percent tariff on everything we import, including fruits, vegetables, coffee, and other necessities.

AUDIENCE: Booo -

THE PRESIDENT: And the leading economists in this country tell us that his plan would cost working families $2,500 a year in a new tax. That - no, that's a - that's a fact. Not a joke.

Folks, the vast majority agree, our economy is moving in the right direction. Jobs are up, wages are up, the economy continues to grow, and inflation is down.

And I love telling Trump this, even though I don't own any stock: The stock market is a historic high. It closed at over 40,000, Donald. (Applause.)

People are getting a little worried that so many moderate and mainstream Republican - well, they're not all Republican - mainstream economists support me. Look, there are more people that have more money in their 401(k)s than they ever did before.

But, folks, you don't have to take my word for it. Sixteen Nobel laureates in ec- - in economics agree: Under my economic plan, you know, they say we're going to continue to grow and keep inflation down. They say that Trump's plan would make - put the economy in a recession. Because when - 16 Nobel laureates last week say he would put us in recession and inflation would soar.

Folks, look, in fact, I sh- - I guess I should worry, but the new Wall Street Journal survey of economists says inflation would be worse under Trump. That's the Wall Street Journal. Great paper. They're usually not supportive of me. (Laughter.)

Do you really want to go back to the chaos of Donald Trump as president -

AUDIENCE: Nooo -

THE PRESIDENT: - back when the United States lost 3 million jobs?

AUDIENCE: Nooo -

THE PRESIDENT: And, by the way - by the way, Donald Trump is the only president in American history other than Herbert Hoover who lost more jobs than he had when he came in. That's why I call him Donald "Herbert Hoover" Trump. (Applause.)

Remember the days when people were dying - literally dying and we were pushing on the COVID effort? Well, guess what? He told us, "You don't worry about the COVID. It's not that bad. Ju- - just in blea- - just inject some" - really - "inject bleach in your arm." I think he missed; he hit his head. (Laughter.)

Look, remember when Trump was transgressing peaceful protests across the White House lawn who were marching for justice.

Look, folks, it just - it's - you know, if - if it wasn't so serious, it would all - (inaudible) like a made-up novel, what happened.

Now, I'm not complaining; I'm just saying. You may have noticed that since the debate, the press - and they're good guys and women up there - they've been hammering me. I - I make a lot of mistakes.

AUDIENCE: Booo -

THE PRESIDENT: No, no, I - I -

AUDIENCE: Booo -

THE PRESIDENT: No, no, no, no, no, no. It's okay. They - they've been hammering me because I sometimes confuse names. I say that's Charlie instead of Bill.

But guess what? Donald Trump has gotten a free pass. He hadn't done a damn thing until, like, a couple of days ago. He'd been riding around on his golf course - golf cart in his course, filling out his scorecard before he picks up his club.

Rambling about - think of what he sees - been talking about. Hannibal Lecter, he says, is a nice guy. (Laughter.) How Trump would rather be electrocuted than eaten by shark. You know, that whole thing? You remember that?

Poor Donald. He can't even watch TV this week because it's "Shark Week." (Laughter and applause.)

And, by the way, on a more serious note, I had 32 members of the - of the - and from - mostly from Europe, but 32 members of NATO in Washington. And, by the way - and the press has covered this. They give me credit for strengthening NATO, expanding NATO, making it what it is. (Applause.)

But, look, this is deadly earnest. When that butcher, Putin, who I know and have known for a long time -

AUDIENCE: Booo -

THE PRESIDENT: When he invaded Ukraine, here's what Trump said - I'm not making this up either. He called him a "genius" and said it was "wonderful."

AUDIENCE: Booo -

THE PRESIDENT: What in the hell is going on?

But people would rather talk about how I mix up names. I guess they don't remember that Trump called Nikki Haley "Nancy Pelosi." (Laughter.)

Well, no - (applause) - no more. Donald, no more free passes. (Applause.)

Today we're going to shine a spotlight on Donald Trump. We're going to do what the press, so far, hasn't, but I think they're going to soon. We're going to say who he is, what he intends to do.

Folks, Donald Trump is a - Donald Trump is a convicted criminal. (Applause.) He is convicted.

AUDIENCE: Lock him up! Lock him up! Lock him up!

THE PRESIDENT: He was convicted by - he was convicted by a jury of his peers of 34 felonies for paying hush money to a porn star and hiding it from voters in 2016.

Donald Trump was found liable for sexual assault by a judge who told us not to be fooled by Trump's brushing it off. Here is what the judge wrote, quote - the judge in that case wrote, "Mr. Trump attempt to minimize sexual abuse finding it frivolous." "Mr. Trump 'raped' her" - (applause) - no, let - let me - this is the judge's language, not mine - "'raped' her, as many people understand the word 'rape.'"

Folks, Donald Trump is a business fraud. (Applause.) He lost his license to do business in New York state - (applause) - has been fined over $400 million for giving false information to banks. (Applause.) And he still is facing charges for mishandling classified information, which is a criminal offense.

He is still facing charges for his role in January 6th, trying to overthrow the outcome of the 2020 election.

He is still facing charges in Georgia for election interference. Remember his phone call? "I just need 11,780 votes."

Name me another president who has done any of that.

Look, if you want to know how bad a businessman Trump really is, just think about this: He inherited millions of dollars only to squander it. He's filed bankruptcy six times. (Applause.)

He even went - he went bankrupt - even went bankrupt running a casino. I didn't think that was possible.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: The house always wins!

THE PRESIDENT: Doesn't the house always win in a casino?

Most importantly, and I mean this from the bottom of my heart, Trump is a threat to this nation. (Applause.) He led a violent mob on January 6th to overturn the 2020 election, to hold onto power. That I - the election that I won by 7 million votes. (Applause.)

Folks, and, by the way, he made these claims about stealing an election. Guess what?

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Free, free Palestine! Free, free Palestine!

THE PRESIDENT: What happened was -

AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!

THE PRESIDENT: (Inaudible.) By the - by the way, no - you - you - I know.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Hey, hey, what do you say? These babies are dying every day!

AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!

THE PRESIDENT: Folks - folks - (applause) - look, give me - give me one second. Folks, look, I understand her passion. I understand her passion. That's why I put together a detailed plan that the United Nations accepted, that the Israelis accepted, that the Palestinians have accepted to end this war. This war must end. (Applause.) It must end.

Well, look, we saw with our own eyes - we saw how he sent thousands of people to attack the Capitol - Trump. We saw the police being attacked; the Capitol being ransacked; the mob hunting for the speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi; gallows set up to hang Vice President Pence.

We saw - we saw it here in Michigan in a stark attack on your state capitol, a horrendous plot to kidnap your governor; protests surround - protesters surrounding your home - her home - the home of your secretary of state for simply doing her job.

She is here tonight. Madam secretary, I'm proud of you. Where are you, madam secretary? (Applause.) That's why I bestowed on the secretary the Presidential Citizens Medal, one of the nation's highest honors in defense of democracy. (Applause.)

Folks, and now Trump wants to pardon those January 6th insurrectionsts.

AUDIENCE: Booo -

THE PRESIDENT: It's outrageous. It's wrong. And I will never let it happen. (Applause.)

No president has ever attempted to do what Trump tried to do. No president.

But Trump is even more dangerous now. No, I'm serious. He's unhinged. He snapped. And he refuses this time around - he - he refuses this time around to say he'll accept the election - of this election - the results. Can you imagine that?

Look, he says, if he loses, there will be a "bloodbath" when he loses.

And the United States Supreme Court said there's virtually no limit on the power of a president. Trump said if he wins, he'll be a dictator on day one. He means it, folks.

We're not going to let that happen.

AUDIENCE: Nooo -

THE PRESIDENT: Over my dead body will it happen. (Applause.)

Folks, I don't want to complicate it, but just look at his right-wing Project 2025.

AUDIENCE: Booo -

THE PRESIDENT: Oh, but it's really focused on - you heard about it?

AUDIENCE: Yes!

THE PRESIDENT: It's a blueprint for the second Trump term that every American should read and understand. Now, of course, Trump is lying about it now. He said - tries to distance himself, just like he's trying to distance himself from overturning Roe v. Wade, because he knows how toxic it is. But we're not going to let that happen. And the press - and the press shouldn't either.

Project 2025 is run and paid for by Trump people: his top policy people, his campaign press secretary, his personal bag man in the White House, the biggest funders, and more. It was a project built for Trump. Folks, Project 2025 is the biggest attack on our system of government and our personal freedom that has ever been proposed in the history of this country.

And here's the nightmare - it would un- - what it would unleash. Trump Project 2025 will criminalize the shipping of abortion medications - medication anywhere - anywhere to deny contraceptive covers [coverage], allow a ban nationwide. That's what Project 2024 is - 2024 is - -25 is calling about.

Project 2025 will deploy the Department of Justice to prosecute Trump's energy - Trump e- - Trump's en- - Trump's enemies, and that's a real deal. Trump's enemies.

Trump himself calls his campaign - the campaign - this is what he calls it, "revenge" and "retribution." That's what he said.

AUDIENCE: Booo -

THE PRESIDENT: Well, Trump's 2025 Project will eliminate the civil service. No, I'm serious. Not - not a joke. Read it.

And he will let - and it will allow him to hire tens of thousands of civil servants that are running only because they support Trump. They have to take a loyalty oath to Trump beforehand.

AUDIENCE: Booo -

THE PRESIDENT: Folks, that's not the United States of America.

Trump's 2025 Project will cut Social Security and Medicare, rip away protections for preexisting health conditions. It'll eliminate $35-a-month cap on insulin, allowing drug companies to jack up the prices - back up to 400 bucks a month; stop Medicare from negotiating lower drug prices.

And, by the way, I got criticized for taking on Medicare - I mean, on - taking on the drug companies and pharma for that. Well - well it's -

AUDIENCE MEMBER: That's all right.

THE PRESIDENT: Damn right, it's all right. (Laughter.)

But, by the way, you know what it did? When I won, it cut the federal budget by $160 billion. (Applause.)

Trump's Project 2025 would eliminate the Department - he wants to eliminate the Department of Education. Not a joke.

AUDIENCE: Booo -

THE PRESIDENT: He wants to cut school lunch programs.

AUDIENCE: Booo -

THE PRESIDENT: I know this almost sounds like a joke, but it real.

He wants to eliminate Head Start for low-income children.

AUDIENCE: Booo -

THE PRESIDENT: His project will allow him - employers to stop paying overtime for hourly workers, but give -

AUDIENCE: Booo -

THE PRESIDENT: - but - but give the very wealthy another massive tax cut. The tax cut he's proposed is for $5 trillion over the next 10 years.

Folks, Project 2025 - you're going to let him round up over 10 million people in America and put them in detention camps. You heard him say it. You heard him say what he wants to do. That's what he says he is going to do. Ripping them away from their homes, their schools because Trump calls them "animals" who "poison the blood" of America.

Look, folks, there's only one reason only some of Trump's plan of 202- - it goes on for 900 pages. We've never seen anything like this. And it's not a joke. It's time for us to stop treating politics like entertainment and reality TV. (Applause.)

Another four years of Donald Trump is deadly serious - deadly serious. His proposals are deadly serious. America needs to wake up and realize that Trump and his MAGA Republicans - what they're trying to do.

We're going to join them, we're going to engage them, and we're going to stop them. (Applause.)

And, folks, we all know it's not enough just to be against something; we have to be for something. So, I am - today, I'm going to start by laying out the first 100 days in my second term. (Applause.)

And here it is. The first bill I'm going to introduce will restore Roe v. Wade to make it the law of the land. (Applause.)

I will sign the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and the Freedom to Vote Act. (Applause.)

And we're not only going to stop Trump and the MAGA Republicans from cutting Social Security and Medicare, we'll expand and strengthen Social Security and Medicare. (Applause.)

And here's how we're going to do it. The press always ask, "How?" Listen, press. By making the rich pay their fair share of Social Security. (Applause.)

And we're going to - we're going to end medical debt. By that I mean, we've already made sure medical debt can no longer be put on your credit report. (Applause.) We can wipe out it - medical debt for pennies on the dollar.

We're going to raise the federal minimum wage. (Applause.) We're going to pass the PRO Act, ending union busting once and for all. (Applause.)

And I'm going to ban assault weapons again. I did it once, and I'm going to do it again. (Applause.)

We're going to keep leading the world - and we are - on climate and clean energy. (Applause.)

When I signed the American Rescue Plan, the law expanded Child Care Tax Credit to cut child poverty in half in America, and it did. (Applause.) Republicans let it expire. I'm going to make the Child Care Tax cut permanent. (Applause.)

And, by the way, it increases economic growth; it doesn't increase the deficit. People can work when you have a child. No, I'm serious. That's the deal.

We capped the cost of insulin for seniors at 35 bucks - totaling cost. (Applause.) And no senior, beginning on 2025, is going to have to pay more than $2,000 a year for all their prescription drugs - (applause) - including cancer drugs that are $10-, $12-, $14,000 year.

And my second term, here's what I'm going to do: I'm going to make that same plan available for every single American. (Applause.) Again, saving the federal government hundreds of billions of dollars over time.

We're going to make housing more affordable. (Applause.) That means taking on corporate greed and getting the rents down. (Applause.)

We're going to build 2 million housing units and cap rent increases at 5 percent a year so corporate landlords can no longer gouge everyone like they're doing. (Applause.) We can do this.

We're going to end Trump's tax cuts for the very wealthy and the corporations to make the tax code fair.

I kept my commitment. I thoug- - I think a lot of you thought, "Why is Biden doing what he said?" Which is, I said, "No one making less than $400,000 will pay a penny more in federal taxes." I don't know many people making $400,000. In my neighborhood, no one did. But I wanted to be clear that I wasn't going to be taxing anyone who was a working man or even close to it. (Applause.)

But here is what we're going to do. We're going to make billionaires - billionaires - we have a thousand of them in America since the pandemic - pay a minimum of income - a minimum tax of 25 percent. You know what - (applause) - by the way, do you know what they pay now? A billionaire's federal tax is 8.2 percent.

AUDIENCE: Booo -

THE PRESIDENT: Not a joke. I'm not making this up.

Because no billionaire should pay a lower tax rate than a teacher, a firefighter, or a nurse. (Applause.) It's ridiculous.

That one thing alone would generate $500 billion in revenue over the next 10 years, allowing us to do more for childcare, eldercare, bring down the federal deficit, and do so much more.

We're going to continue to secure the southern border.

Look, after Trump killed the bipartisan effort we put together that a lot of Republicans supported as well, he called - he got on the phone, and he called all his friends because he said, "If in fact you vote for it, it - it's going to be a win for Biden and loss for me, so don't do it." Well, the Republican Par- -

AUDIENCE: Booo -

THE PRESIDENT: I got to have to admit to you, I was a little surprised the Republican Party walked away from it.

So, that's when I took executive action. I said - and since I did the border, encounters have gone down over 50 percent. (Applause.) And we're going to keep it going down, fixing our legal immigration and creating pathways for citizenship for DREAMers.

I made it clear, there are over a half a million spouses in America - married to Americans - who don't have a green card after 10 years here. They're now going to get their green card. (Applause.)

Folks, the days of tric- - failed trickle-down economics are over.

My first hundred days of a second term is going to continue to be all about working people of this nation. (Applause.)

Unlike Donald Trump, I don't work for Big Oil. I don't work for Big Pharma. I don't work for the National Rifle Association.

I work for you, the American people. (Applause.) Everyone.

Look -

AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!

THE PRESIDENT: What's America all about? Everyone in America is entitled to a fair shot - just a fair - no guarantee, a fair shot.

But in America, we're going to leave no one behind and give everybody a fair shot. That's all they are. (Applause.)

Folks, let me close with this. I know I look 40 years old - (laughter) - but I'm a little bit older. Hopefully, with age comes a little wisdom. (Applause.)

And here's what I know: I know how to tell the truth. (Applause.) I know right from wrong. (Applause.) I know how and I've demonstrated how to do this job. And I don- - I know Americans want a president, not a dictator. (Applause.)

And I also know no self-respecting American president would ever, ever, ever be put in - Putin's puppy like this guy is. That's what he is.

You know, Americans want to protect their freedom not give them up. I know what America stands for. We stand for the proposition that all - all people are created equal and deserve an equal - (applause) - no, I mean it.

We've never fully lived up to it, but we've never walked away from it though. And I'll be damned if I'm going to let Donald Trump walk this nation from - away from it. (Applause.)

Folks, this race is about your family. It's about your freedom. It's about democracy.

Are you with me? (Applause.) Are we going to stop Donald Trump? (Applause.)

Let's get this done. (Applause.)

And let's remember who we are. We are the United States of America and there's nothing beyond our capacity when we do it together. (Applause.)

God bless you all. And may God protect our troops.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. (Applause.)

7:59 P.M. EDT

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