Remarks by Vice President Harris at a Campaign Event | West Allis, WI
Wisconsin State Fair Expo Center
West Allis, Wisconsin
9:22 P.M. CDT
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Hello, Wisconsin! (Applause.) Let’s hear it for Adrien — (applause) — Cardi B. (Applause.)
Oh, it’s good to be back. Good evening. (Applause.)
Milwaukee, are we ready to do this? (Applause.) Are we ready to win? (Applause.) Are we ready to vote? (Applause.) And we will win. (Applause.)
Oh, it’s good to be back in Wisconsin and to be with so many leaders. I thank everyone here for taking the time out of your busy lives to be here this evening. I thank you. I thank you. I thank you. I thank you. (Applause.)
And can we please hear it for Tammy Baldwin? Let’s reelect her to the United States Senate. (Applause.) County Executive Crowley, Mayor Johnson, Cardi B — let’s give it up. (Applause.)
And can we hear it again for MC Lyte, Flo Milli, GloRilla, Keegan-Michael Key? (Applause.)
Oh, what a good night.
All right, we got work to do in Milwaukee. Okay. Four days left. (Applause.) Four days left in the most consequential election of our lifetime, and we still have work to do. (Applause.)
But here’s the thing about all of us: We like hard work. (Applause.) Hard work is good work. Hard work is joyful work. And make no mistake, we will win. (Applause.) We will win.
And here’s one of the reasons why: Because when you know what you stand for, you know what to fight for. (Applause.) And in this election, we have an opportunity to finally turn the page on a decade of Donald Trump trying to keep us divided and afraid of each other. We are done with it. We are exhausted with it. We are turning the page. (Applause.)
And it’s because we know that’s what he’s about. He is constantly about trying to have Americans point their fingers at each other. But that’s not who we are. That’s who he is. That is not who we are. (Applause.)
And 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. (Applause.)
And, Wisconsin, you know me: I’m not afraid of tough fights, obviously. (Laughs.) (Applause.)
For decades, as a prosecutor and the top law enforcement officer of the biggest state, I won fights. I won fights against the big banks who were ripping off homeowners. I won fights against for-profit colleges that were scamming veterans and students. I won fights against predators who abused women and children. I won fights against cartels that trafficked in guns and drugs and human beings. (Applause.)
And I pledge to you, if you give me the chance to fight on your behalf, there is nothing that will stand in my way as I fight for you. (Applause.)
And, look, we know who Donald Trump is. This is not someone who is thinking about how to make your life better. This is someone who is increasingly unstable — (applause) –obsessed with revenge. (Applause.) He is consumed with grievance. (Applause.) And the man is out for unchecked power. (Applause.)
And, look, in less than 90 days, it’s either going to be him or me in the Oval Office. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Booo —
Kamala! Kamala! Kamala!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thank you.
But let’s get the word out. Let’s get the word out to the folks who are not here to just have them imagine — you know, we’ve all seen the Oval Office on TV. Imagine, on January 20th, that day, it’s either going to be Donald Trump, if he is elected, which he will not be —
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Which he will not be.
But to help people imagine what the stakes are, it’s either going to be him there on day one, walking into that office, stewing over his enemies list —
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: — or when I am elected, walking in on your behalf, with my to-do list. (Applause.) And I’m a hard worker. (Laughs.)
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.) And I will fight to make sure that hardworking Americans can actually afford a place to live. (Applause.)
If you are caring for an elderly parent, if you are in the sandwich generation caring for an elderly parent and young children, I will tell you, my plan will cover the cost of home care under Medicare. (Applause.) Because I took care of — I took care of my mother when she was sick. And I know what you are doing, whether it be trying to cook something that they feel like eating, whether it be trying to help them put on a sweater, trying to find a moment where you can bring a smile to their face or make them laugh. That work is about dignity. That work is about dignity. (Applause.) And I’m going to make sure you have the support and they have the support they deserve. (Applause.)
My plan will lower the cost of childcare. Again, it’s about dignity. It’s about seeing the strains and the pressures.
We will cut taxes for small businesses because our small businesses are the backbone of America’s economy. (Applause.) Where are our small-business owners? Let me see our small-business owners. (Applause.)
And we will lower health care costs, because here’s where I come from on that: Look, I believe access to health care should be a right and not just a privilege of those who can afford it. (Applause.) Dignity — values about the dignity of each of us and the responsibility of real leaders to, unlike my opponent, not think that the measure of their strength is based on who you beat down, but the true measure of strength of a leader based on who you lift up. (Applause.)
And then, you got Donald Trump, who —
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: And his answer to the financial pressures you face is the same as it was the last time: another trillion dollars in tax cuts for billionaires and the biggest corporations.
AUDIENE: 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, foods, toys, cell phones — a Trump sales tax that would cost the average American family — the economists have measured it — more than 4,000 more dollars a year.
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: And on top of that, Donald Trump is still — still trying and 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 when insurance companies could deny people with preexisting conditions. You remember what that was like?
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, we are —
AUDIENCE: Not going back!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: — not going back. We are not going back. We’re not going back.
AUDIENCE: We’re not going back! We’re not going! We’re not going back!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: We’re not going back, no.
AUDIENCE: We’re not going back! We’re not going! We’re not going back!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Because — because, just like Wisconsin’s motto tells us, we will move —
AUDIENCE: Forward!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: — forward. (Applause.) Yes, we will. I love Wisconsin. (Laughs.)
And ours is a fight for the future, 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 telling 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 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. Many —
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Right? Man- — and the harm we’ve seen. Many of those laws with no exception, even for rape or incest, which is immoral.
And he’s not done. He would ban abortion nationwide — yes, even here in Wisconsin.
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Even here in Wisconsin, it would be impacted. And he would restrict access to birth control, put IVF treatments at risk, and force — get this — and force states to monitor women’s pregnancies. Just —
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: — google Project 2025. Just look at it.
And everyone here, I know, understands — and let us agree, one does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to simply agree the government shouldn’t be telling her what to do. (Applause.) Not the government. Not the government. Not the government. Not some people up in a state legislature, and certainly not Donald Trump. (Applause.)
And I pledge to you, when Congress — together with Tammy’s help, 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.
So, Wisconsin —
AUDIENCE: Kamala! Kamala! Kamala!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Thank you.
AUDIENCE: Kamala! Kamala! Kamala!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: We got work to do. Thank you. Thank you.
So, Wisconsin, I am asking for your vote. (Applause.) I am asking 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. I am not — (applause) — I am not looking to score political points. I am looking to make progress. (Applause.) And I pledge — and I pledge to listen to those who will be impacted by the decisions I make.
I pledge to listen to experts, to listen to people who disagree with me, because, you see — (applause) — unlike Donald Trump, I don’t believe that people who disagree with me are the enemy. (Applause.) He wants to put them in jail. I’ll give them a seat at the table. (Applause.) That’s what real leadership is about. That’s what strong leadership is about. (Applause.)
And I pledge to always put country above party and self and to be a president for all Americans. (Applause.) All Americans.
AUDIENCE: USA! USA! USA!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: So, that — that is my pledge to you, Wisconsin, and now I ask you a question: Who here has already voted? (Applause.) Oh, wow.
Okay. Thank you. And now I ask you to please talk to your friends and your family and your neighbors — (applause) — and share your perspective on why this is — election is so important.
And for you who have not voted yet, no judgment. Let me just be clear — (laughs) — no judgment at all. But do get to it, if you can. (Laughter and applause.)
And for those who have not yet voted, please think about, right now, your plan for voting and think about where and when you will vote. And if you live here in Milwaukee, remember you can vote early now through Sunday, November 3rd. (Applause.) And go to IWillVote.com for all the information you need, including when and where you can vote and where to drop off your absentee ballot, because we need everyone in Wisconsin to vote. (Applause.) You are going to make the difference in this election. You will make the difference. You will make the difference.
AUDIENCE: Vote! Vote! Vote!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: So, listen, it all comes down to this. We are here together because we love our country. We love our country. (Applause.) We love our country. And 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 expression for our love of our country, to then fight for the ideals of our country and to fight to realize the promise of America. (Applause.) That’s what this is about.
And I have always believed in our nation’s promise because I’ve lived it. You know, I grew up a child of the Civil Rights Movement. My parents would take me to marches when I was in a stroller, and there were, at those marches, we all know, people from every walk of life coming together to fight for freedom and to fight for opportunity.
You know, growing up, I saw how hard my mother worked to raise her two daughters to have the same chances that our country gave her. And I was blessed to have family by blood and family by love — (applause) — right? — who instilled in me a sense of community and compassion and faith.
And I’ve spent my life fighting for people who have been hurt and counted out but who never stopped believing, in our country, that anything is possible.
I have lived the promise of America, and today I see the promise of America in everyone who is here — in all of you, in all of us. (Applause.) We are the promise of America. We are the promise of America.
It’s the fathers and mothers and grandparents who work hard every day for their children’s future, in the women who refuse to accept a future without reproductive freedom — (applause) –and the men who support them. (Applause.) It’s in the Republicans who never voted for a Democrat before but put the Constitution of the United States above party. (Applause.) Right.
I see the promise of America in all the young leaders that I see right now who are voting for the very first time. Raise your hand. (Laughs.) (Applause.) I love Gen Z. (Laughs.) (Applause.) I really do.
Here’s what I love about you guys. You are rightly impatient for change. (Applause.) I love that about you. I love that about you.
You are determined to live free from gun violence. You are going to take on the climate crisis. You are going to shape the world you inherit. (Applause.) I know that. I know that.
And here’s the thing about our young leaders: None of this is theoretical for them. None of this is political for them. It’s their lived experience. It’s your lived experience. And I see your power. I see your power, and I am so proud of you.
Can we please hear it for our first-time voters? (Applause.) Can we please hear it? Yeah. Yeah. And those who will be first-time voters. (Laughs.) (Applause.)
You know, the future of our country is so bright; we just have to see it. It’s so bright.
So, listen, we got four days to get this thing done. (Applause.) Four days. No one can sit on the sidelines.
So, let’s spend the next four days so that when we look back on these days, we have no regrets about what we could have done. (Applause.) Let’s know we did everything we could do.
So, let’s knock on doors. Let’s text. Let’s call. Let’s reach out to family and friends and classmates and neighbors and coworkers.
And here’s a request that I have in that process: And while we are doing all of that, let’s please be intentional about building community. (Applause.) Let’s please be intentional about building community.
You know, there’s something about these la- — this whole Trump era, and it’s — it’s — you know, it’s — it’s been a — it’s made people feel like they have to — it — it’s been powered by this idea that Americans should be pointing their fingers at each other, you know, and — and to make people feel alone and make people feel small, when we all know that we all have so much more in common than what separates us. (Applause.)
So, let’s be intentional about building community and building coalitions. There is strength and power in that that will be long-lasting.
And finally, I’ll say: Just remember, and let’s remind everybody we know, your vote is your voice, and your voice is your power. (Applause.) That’s your power.
In a democracy, that is a power that is yours. Don’t let anyone take it from you. Don’t let anyone take it from you. (Applause.)
So, Wisconsin — so, Wisconsin, 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.
God bless you. And God bless the United States of America. (Applause.)
END 9:46 P.M. CDT
