I cant breathe. George floyds last words, but it didnt die with them, are still being heard echoing all across this nation. They speak to a nation where too often just the color of your skin put your life at risk. They speak to a nation where more than 100,000 people have lost their lives to violence, 40 million have filed for unemployment with a disproportionate number of those deaths and job losses concentrated in black and brown communities. They speak to a nation where every day millions of people, and millions, not a moment of losing their life, but in the course of living the life are saying to themselves, i cant breathe. Its a wakeup call to our nation in my view. Its for all of us, and i mean all of us. Its not the first time we heard those words. They are the same words we heard from eric garner when his life was taken away six years ago. But its time to listen to those words, to try to understand them, to respond to them, respond with action. They country is crying out for the country is crying out for leadership. Leadership that can unite us and bring us together. Leadership that can recognize pain and deep grief of communities that had a knee on their neck for a long time. There is no place for violence, no place for looting or destroying property or burning churches or destroying businesses. Many of them by the people of billed by the many people of color who in the first time the lights were beginning to realize their dreams and build wealth for their families. Nor is it acceptable for our police sworn to protect and serve all people to resort to excessive violence. We need to distinguish between legitimate peaceful protests and opportunistic violent destruction. We have to be vigilant about the violence thats being done by this incumbent president to our economy and to the pursuit of justice. When Peaceful Protesters dispersed in order for president , a president , from the doorstep of the peoples house, the white house, using tear gas and flash grenades in order to stage a photo op, a photo op among one of the most historic at one of the most Historic Churches in the country, or at least in washington, d. C. , we can be forgiven for believing the president is more interested in power than in principle. More interested in serving the passions of his base than the needs of the people in his care. For thats what the presidency is, the duty to care, to care for all of us, not just those who vote for us, but all of us. Not just our donors, but all of us. The president held up the bible at st. Johns church yesterday. I just wish he opened it once in a while instead of brandishing it. If he opened it, he couldve learned something. They are all called to love one another through love ourselves but its really, really hard work, but it is the work of america. Donald trump isnt interested in doing that work. Instead he is preening and sweeping away all the guardrails that long protected our democracy, guardrails that have helped make possible this nations path to a more perfect union, a union that constantly requires reform and rededication, and yes, the protests from voices that are mistreated, ignored, left out or left behind. But it is a union, a union worth fighting for, and thats why im running for president. In addition to the bible, the president might also want to open the u. S. Constitution once in a while. If he did, he would find a thing called the first amendment. And what it says in the beginning, it says the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition their government for redress of grievances. That is kind of an essential notion built into this country. Mr. President , thats america. Thats america. No horses rising up on their on the hind legs to push back peaceful protests, not using the American Military to move against the american people. This is a nation of values. Our freedom to speak is a cherished knowledge that lives inside of the american almost from the time you are a kid. We will not allow any president to quiet our voice. We will not let those who see this as an opportunity to sow chaos throw up a smokescreen to distract us from the real legitimate grievances at the heart of these protests. We cant leave this moment. We cant leave this moment thinking that we can once again turn away and do nothing. We cant do that this time. We just cant. The moment has come for our nation to deal with systemic racism, to deal with the growing economic inequity that exists in our nation, to deal with the denial of a promise of this nation made the so many. You know, i said from the outset of this election that we are in the battle for the soul of this nation, and we are in the battle of the soul of this nation. What we believe, maybe most importantly, who we want to be, its all at stake. Thats truer today than it is ever been, at least in my lifetime. And its this urgency, its in this urgency, we can find a path forward. Now, the history of this nation teaches us that in some of our darkest moments of despair, we made some of our greatest progress, some of our darkest moments, the 13th, 14th, 15th amendments following the civil war. The greatest Economic Growth in World History grew out of the great depression. Civil rights act of 1964 and the Voting Rights act of 1965 came in the tracks of bull connors vicious dog. To paraphrase, its the morning we find hope. Its in the morning we find hope when we mourn. But its going to take more than talk. We had talk before. We have had protests before. We got to now about to make its vow to makeke it it at least an era of action and reverse the systemic racism with a long overdue concrete changes. The action will not be completed in the first 100 days of my presidency, if i am fortunate enough to be elected, or even in my entire term. Its going to take the work of a generation. But if this agenda will take time to complete, it should not wait for the first 100 days of my presidency to get started. A downpayment on what is long overdue should come now, should come immediately. I call on the congress to act this month on measures that would be the first step in this direction, starting with real police reform. Congressman jeffries has a bill to outlaw choke holds. Congress should put it on the president s desk in the next few days. There are other measures to stop transferring weapons of war to police forces, to create a model use of force standard. That also should be made law this month. No more excuses, no delays. If Mitch Mcconnell can bring in the u. S. Senate to confirm trumps unqualified judicial nominee who will run roughshod over our constitution now, its time to pass legislation that will give true meaning to our constitutional promise equal protection under law. In the first 100 days of my presidency, ive committed to create an oversight commission. I have long believed we need Real Community policing. We need each and every Police Department in the country understand a comprehensive review of their hiring, training, deescalation. Some have already done it, and some are in the process of doing it. The federal government should give the cities and states the tools and the resources they need to implement reforms. More Police Officers meet the Higher Standards of their profession. Most of them do it. All the more reason why bad cops should be dealt with severely and swiftly. We all need to take a hard look at the culture that allows for the senseless tragedies that keep happening. And we need to learn from the cities and the precincts that are getting it right. We know though in order to have true american justice we did Economic Justice as well. Here, too, theres much to be done. As an immediate step, congress should act, should act now to rectify racial inequities that allow covid19 recovery funds to be diverted from where they live. Ill be setting forth my agenda on Economic Justice and opportunity in the weeks and months ahead, but it begins with healthcare. Healthcare should be all right, a right not a privilege, and , the quickest route to universal coverage in this country is to expand on obamacare. We can do it. We should do it. But this president , even now, in the midst of a Public Health crisis with massive unemployment as well wants to destroy it. He doesnt care how many millions of americans will be hurt because he consumed with his blinding ego when it comes to barack obama, president obama. The president should withdraw his lawsuit to strike down obamacare and the congress should prepare to pass the act i propose to expand obamacare to millions more so everyone is covered. These last few months weve seen americas true heroes. Healthcare workers, doctors, nurses, delivery truck drivers, Grocery Store workers. Weve come up with a new phrase for them, essential workers. Essential workers. We need to do more than praise of them. We need to pay them. We need to pay them. Because if it were not clear before, its clear now. This country wasnt built by wall street bankers and ceos. It was built by the Great American middle class, which is built by unions and are our essential workers. I know there is enormous fear, anger, and uncertainty in the country. I understand. I know so Many Americans are suffering, suffering the loss of a loved one, suffering economic hardship, wondering, can i feed my family tomorrow . Whats going to happen . Suffering under the weight of a generation after generation after generation of hurt inflicted on people of color, black, brown and native American Communities in particular. Like many of you, i know what it means to grieve. My losses are not the same as losses felt by so many, but i know what it feels like when you think you cant go on. I know what it means to have that black hole in your chest where your grief is being sucked into it. Just a few days ago marked the fifth anniversary of my son beaus passing from cancer. There are still moments when the pain is so great it feels so different than the day i sat in no different than the day i set in that bed as he passed away. But also know that the best way to bear loss in pain is to turn it into that anger and anguish into purpose. And americans know what our purpose is as a nation. It has to be guided, has to be guided. Its guided us from the very beginning. You know, it has been reported that the day president john f. Kennedy was assassinated, yolanda king came from school and jumped into her daddys arms and said oh, daddy, she said, now we are never going to get our freedom. Her daddy was reassuring, strong, and brave. He said no, dont worry, baby. Its going to be ok. Its going to be all right. Amid the violence and fear, dr. King, he persevered. He was driven by his dream of a nation where justice runs down like water and rushes like a mighty stream. Then in 1968, hate cut him down in memphis. A few days before dr. King was murdered, he gave a final sunday sermon in washington, where he told us that the ark of the moral universe is long, he said that bends towards justice. And we know we can bend it, because we have. We have to believe that still. Thats our purpose. Its been our purpose since the very beginning. To become a nation where all men and women are not only created equal, but they are treated equally. To become a nation defined in dr. Kings words not only write not only by the absence of tension, but by the presence of bob the presence of justice. It is not just attention, but justice. Today in america, its hard to keep faith that justice is at hand. I know that. You know that. The pain is raw. The pain is real. President of the United States must be part of the solution, not the problem. But this president today is part of the problem and accelerates it. When he tweeted the words, when the looting starts, the shooting starts, they werent the words of a president. They were words of a racist miami police chief in the 1960s. When he tweeted that protesters would have been greeted with the most vicious dogs, when people would have been really hurt, they were not the words of a president. They were the kind of words bull connor would have used unleashing his dogs on innocent women and children. You know, the american story is a story about action and reaction. Thats how history works. We cant be naive about it. I wish i could say that hate began with donald trump and will end with him. It didnt, and it wont. American history isnt a fairytale with a guaranteed happy ending. The battle for the soul of this nation has been a constant push and pull for more than 240 years, a tugofwar between the american ideal that we are all greater equal, the harsh reality created equal, and the harsh reality that racism has long torn us apart. The honest truth is that both elements are part of the american character. Both elements. At our best, the american ideal wins out, but its never a rout. Its always a fight, and the battle is never fully won, but we cant ignore the truth that we are at our best when we open our hearts rather than clenching our fists. Donald trump has turned this country into a battlefield divided by old resentments and fresh tears. Fears. He thinks the vision helps him. The vision helps them. His narcissism has become more important than the nations wellbeing that he leads. I ask every american, i mean from the bottom of my heart, i ask of the american, look at where we are now in and think anew. Is this who we are . Is this who we want to be . Is this what we want to pass onto our children and our grandchildren . Fear, anger, fingerpointing, rather than the pursuit of happiness, incompetence and anxiety, self absorption, selfishness . Or do we want to be the america we know we can be . The america we know in our hearts we could be and should be . Look, i look at the presidency as a very big job, and nobody will get it right every time. And i wont either, but i promise you this, i wont traffic in fear and division. I wont fan the flames of hate. Ill seek to heal the racial wounds that have long plagued our country, not use them for political gain. Ill do my job and i will take responsibility. I wont blame others. Ill never forget, i will never forget, i promise you, this job is not about me. Its about you. Its about us. The work to not only rebuild the nation, but to build a better than it was. We are the only nation in the world that goes the crisis and comes out better. To build a better future, thats what america does, to build a better future. We build the future. It may, in fact, be the most american thing to do, build the future. We hunger for liberty the way Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass did. We thirst for the vote like susan b. Anthony and ella baker and john lewis did. We strive to explore the stars, cure disease, make an imperfect union more perfect than its been. We may come up short, but at our best, we try. My fellow americans, we are facing a formidable enemies. They include not only the coronavirus and the terrible impact on the lives and livelihoods, but also the selfishness and fear that if have loomed over our National Life for the last three years. I choose those words wisely, selfishness and fear. Defeating those enemies requires us to do our duty, and that duty includes remembering who we should be, who we should be. We should be the america of fdr and eisenhower, of rosa parks and Martin Luther king, jr. , of jonas salk and neil armstrong. We should be the america that cherishes life, liberty, and courage. And above all, we should be the america that cherishes each other, each and every one of us. You know, were a nation in pain. We must not let our pain destroy us. We a nation enraged, but we cannot let our rage consume us. Were a nation that is exhausted, but we will not allow our exhaustion to defeat us. As president , it is my commitment to all of you to lead on these issues and to listen. Because i truly believe in my heart of hearts we can overcome. When we stand together, finally as one america, we will rise stronger than we were before. We will move that arc closer to justice. We will reach out to one another, so speak out for one another, and please, please do what has been happening, take care of one another. This is the United States of beenca, there has never anything we are unable to do as long as we set our mind to do it, and have done it together. Together. United. Best. S who we are at our may god bless you all, and may god protect our troops. Thank you. [applause] heres a look at our live coverage, wednesday. At 10 00 a. M. Eastern, Rod Rosenstein testifies before the Senate Judiciary committee as part of its investigation into the pfizer process and how it was used during the fbis 2016 pressure probe followed by the confirmation hearing for the white house budget director at 2 30 p. M. Eastern. Clyburn speaks with the Washington Post about weight Race Relations and the nationwide protests over the death of george floyd. Then the senate is back at 10 00 a. M. To consider executive and judicial nominations. 9 00, an3, at confirmation hearing for the nominees picked to serve as members of coming up on washington journal, we preview the Senate Judiciary hearing on the fbis probe with zach cohen
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