Remarks by Vice President Harris in Press Gaggle | Philadelphia, PA
Church of Christian Compassion
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
11:31 A.M. EDT
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Hi. Good morning, everyone. Good morning.
Well, it is good to be back in Philadelphia, and we’re going to have a — an active day of speaking with folks in various neighborhoods around town and really highlighting something you hear me say often, which is: I truly believe it’s a lived experience to know the vast majority of us have so much more in common than what separates us.
And so, we’ll be visiting with folks in different parts of town, talking with them about what we all have in common and — and a collective desire to bring the country together and to set a tone that really is about unifying our country around common desires and challenges, whether it be bringing down the prices of everyday necessities or what we can do to invest in our small businesses and lift up our families.
And this obviously will be in stark contrast to Donald Trump, who increasingly is using dark and divisive language, even more than he — he has done in the past.
He talks about America being the garbage can of the world and just continuously, I think, demeans the character and nature of who we are as America and who the American people are. And clearly, it is intended to keep fanning the flames of — of hate and division; referring to beautiful American, historic American cities like Detroit and Philadelphia in such disparaging words. And as we said, even just this morning, I think people are ready to turn the page. And — and that is about all I have.
AIDE: Julia —
(Cross-talk.)
AIDE: Hold on. Julia.
Q Oh, thank you.
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Hi.
Q Madam Vice President, Pennsylvania has been such a focus of this election for both campaigns. What do you make of some of the activity that Elon Musk is involved in in this state? Do you — do you worry about, you know, any little difference, including (inaudible) —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: I haven’t really been paying attention. I’m focused on our work. (Laughs.) But thank you for asking.
(Cross-talk.)
Q Madam Vice President, you’ve talked about new homebuyers and $25,000 for them.
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Yes.
Q What about people who are currently in their homes as neighborhoods gentrify and prices go up? What would you do for them?
THE VICE PRESIDENT: So, for cor- — current homeowners, there are — still facing the challenges, whether it be what we need to do around an issue I’ve addressed over the last four years, dealing with fair appraisal values and making sure that the appraisal system is fair, especially for people living in minority- and Black-owned communities — in terms of housing and home- — high levels of homeownership, we’ve seen bias there.
But also just bringing down the price of everyday living, whether it be groceries and what I’m going to do to address things like price gouging, or what we need to do to expand the Child Tax Credit to help people have more resources at the fundamental phases of their child’s development; the work that we are doing that is about small businesses.
A lot of neighborhoods, as we know here in Philadelphia and around the country — those homeowners often are also small-business owners and need more support. So, a lot of my plan is about giving them tax cuts, but also cutting a lot of the red tape so that they can continue to grow and prosper.
So, there are a multiple — multitude of issues that affect homeowners, including, obviously, the challenges for homeownership itself.
AIDE: Joey.
Q Yeah, Madam Vice President, are you getting the turnout that you need right here in Philadelphia to win Pennsylvania, particularly among Black voters? Are you concerned that you’re going to get the level that you need to to win this state?
THE VICE PRESIDENT: I’m very excited about the reports that we’re getting about enthusiasm here in Philadelphia. And to your point, Philadelphia is a very important part of our path to victory, and it is the reason I’m spending time here, have been spending time here. But I’m feeling very optimistic about the enthusiasm that is here and the commitment that folks of every background have to vote and to — to really invest in the future of our country.
I think people are exhausted with things as they’ve been, and they’re prepared to act on their feelings about that.
AIDE: Akayla.
Q Madam Vice President, the former president has said he’s spoken to Prime Minister Netanyahu multiple times this month. Are you concerned that those conversations are undermining what the administration is trying to do in the Middle East?
THE VICE PRESIDENT: No. And I do believe that it is critically important that we, as the United States of America, be an active participant in encouraging, one, that this war ends, that we get the hostages out, but also that there is a real commitment among nations to a two-state solution and the day after, and we have to fulfill that responsibility.
AIDE: O.J.
Q Yes, Vice President Harris, as you go out in the community today, what is it that you can do or do you have a strategy to dispel all the informa- — all the mi- — misinformation in the political ads and what —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Yeah.
Q — your opponent is spewing?
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, to your point, there is a lot of misinformation, and he’s putting tens of millions of dollars into various TV markets around the country. And what I’m heartened by is that folks in the community, when I am there, they are aware of it and, frankly, don’t want to be played. They are aware of fact.
And what I am seeing is that not only are they aware of the misinformation, but they are also aware, if not eager, to know and hear more details about my plan for them, whether it be, again, on the issue of homeownership; bringing down costs; investing in small businesses; investing in families, including families with children. And — and folks are very receptive to that.
I think people really do want to know and see and feel that their leaders and that their president is prepared to do the hard work of thinking about them, not themselves, unlike Donald Trump, and has a plan that will be implemented on day one. And I’ve been very clear about that as well.
Look, just imagine the Oval Office on January 20th. It’s going to be one of two people. It’s going to be either Donald Trump or me.
If it’s Donald Trump, you can see what’s going — what that day is going to be. It will be him sitting at that desk, stewing over his enemies list. He is full of grievance. He is full of — of dark language that is about retribution and revenge.
And so, the American people have a choice. It’s either going to be that or it’ll be me there, focused on my to-do list, focused on the American people and getting through that list of — of goals and plans to improve the lives of the American people.
AIDE: Last one. Jeff.
Q Madam Vice President, can you give us a sense of your internal polling at the campaign and how that is making or influencing your decisions on what to do over the next nine days?
THE VICE PRESIDENT: So, to be very frank with you, my internal polling is my instinct. (Laughs.) I let the campaign people deal with the poll- — all that other stuff. And I am responding to what I’m seeing.
I mean, just two nights ago, we had 30,000 people show up — I think it was actually more than 30,000 people — with an incredible amount of enthusiasm. If you see the people showing up last night, every event that we do — and the feeling is one of energy and excitement.
What I love about the folks who are showing up is it’s every walk of who we are as a country and as Americans, every race, age, gender, from all different kinds of backgrounds together under one roof. It’s very exciting. The number of young people. You know, I’ve begun to really point out the first-time voters who are there, because now people are actually registered. And — and it’s — it’s very exciting. And the momentum is with us.
Q Do you need to win Pennsylvania —
AIDE: Thank you.
Q — to win this election (inaudible)?
AIDE: Thank you.
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Pennsylvania will be key, no doubt. No doubt.
END 11:39 A.M. EDT
