Ideological views, all backgrounds. Events, of course, they are predictable, some of them. It comes all over except, of course, from Donald Trumps white house and his allies. We all knew it was coming. You could have set your watches to it. Donald trump has already started his attacks, calling kamala, quote, nasty. Whining about how shes, quote, mean to his appointees. Its no surprise. Because whining is what donald trump does best, better than any president in american history. Is anyone surprised donald trump has a problem with a strong woman or strong women across the board . We know that more is to come, so lets be clear. If youre a working person worried about whether or not youll have a job to go to, whether or not youll be able to pay your mortgage, pay your rent, worried about the poison in the air you breathe, the water you drink, worried about your civil rights, even your basic right to dignity which is under attack with this administration, Kamala Harris has had your back, and now we have to have her back. Shes going to stand with me in this campaign, and all of us are going to stand up for her. On january 20th, 2021, were all going to watch senator harris raise her right hand and swear the oath of office as the first woman ever to serve in the Second Highest Office in america, in this land. And then were going to get to work fixing the mess President Trump and Vice President pence have created both at home and abroad through four years of mismanagement and coddling of terrorists and thugs around the world. Not only will america dig itself out of this hole theyve put us in, were going to build, were going to build back, and were going to build back better. We have a Public Health crisis. While hes in court trying to do away with health care. With more than 5 million reported infections, 165,000 people dead and climbing as a consequence of covid19. And still, months later, no real leadership or plan from the president of the United States how to get this pandemic under control. No real help to the states and local governments trying to fill the vacuum of leadership from the white house. No real help for children and educators, for Small Businesses and frontline workers that are the ones holding our country together. Instead, hes issuing executive orders and making promises that in the end will defund the Social Security system while insisting that this virus will disappear. The joe biden and Kamala Harris administration will have a comprehensive plan to meet the challenge of covid19 and turn the corner on this pandemic; masking, clear sciencebased guidance, dramatically scaling up testing, getting states and local governments the resources they need to open the schools and businesses safely. We can do this. We just need a president and a Vice President willing to lead and take responsibility. Not as this president says, its not my fault. The government the governors should thank me more. As an old saying goes, give me a break. We have an economic crisis and more than 16 million americans, 16 million, till out of work still out of work. Donald trump is on track to break another record, on track to leave office with the worst jobs record of any american president in modern history. But instead of doing the hard work, meeting face to face with congressional leaders, democrats and republicans in the white house like every other president s done in a crisis to get americans the are relief they need and deserve, donald trump is on the golf course. If i told you this three years ago, youd look at me like i was being crazy. He hasnt even met with the leadership. He doesnt have time, it appears. We have a climate crisis, and donald trump refuses to even acknowledge. He thinks about Climate Change, all we hear is the word hoax. The biden Harris Administration is going to meet the climate crisis, protect the health of the american public. And along the way, were going to deliver one word, jobs. Good paying jobs. We have a Racial Justice crisis. Donald trump seeks only to enflame it with his politics of racist rhetoric and appeals to division. You know, todays not only the day im proud to introduce senator Kamala Harris as the Vice President ial nominee of the Democratic Party, its also the third anniversary of that terrible day in charlottesville. Remember . Remember what it felt like to see those neonazis . Close your eyes. And those klansmen, White Supremacists . Coming out of fields carrying lighted torches, faces con contorted, bulging veins, spewing the same antisemitic bile we heard in hitlers germany in the 30s. Remember how it felt to see a violent clash ensue between those celebrating hate and those standing against it . It was a wakeup call for all of us as a country. For me, it was a call to action. My father used to say silence is complicity. Not original to him, but he believed it. At that moment i knew i couldnt stand by and let donald trump, a man who went on to say when asked about what he thought, he said there were very fine people on both sides. Quote, very fine people on both sides. No president of the United States of america has ever said anything like that. To see him continue to attack everything that makes america america, i knew we were in the battle for the soul of the nation. Thats when i decided to run. And im proud now to have senator harris at my side in that battle, because she shares the same intensity i do. Shes someone who knows whats at stake. The question is for all americans to answer, who are we as a nation . What do we stand for . And most importantly, what do we want to be . You know, someone who knows that the future of this Country Limited only by the barriers we place on our own imaginations because theres nothing americans cannot awe achieve when we put our minds to it and we do it together. One of the reasons i chose kamala is because we both believe that we can define america simply in one word, possibilities. Possibilities. Let me say it again, possibilities. Thats america. Thats what sets this nation apart. Everyone, everyone, the ability for everyone and we mean everyone to go as far and dream as big as hard work and their god given ability will take them. When i agreed to serve as president obamas running mate, he asked me a number of questions as ive asked kamala. And the most important was he said to me what, he asked me what i wanted, most importantly. I told him i wanted to be the last person in the room before he made the important decisions. Thats what i asked kamala. I asked her to be the last voice in the room, to always tell me the truth which she will challenge my assumptions if she disagrees, ask the hard questions. Because thats the way we make the best decisions for the American People. I got a chance to spend some time at my home today with kamala and doug, and i want to thank them i thanked them then, and i thank them publicly for agreeing to join and take this journey with jill and me. Doug [laughter] youre going to have to learn what it means to be a barrier breaker yourself in this job youre about to take on. Americas first second gentleman. [laughter] and although theyre not with us here today, i want to thank ellen and cole as well. I had a chance to speak to dougs mom and dad and to ellen and cole, and were going to get our kids together to let em know whats coming. My grandchildren are about a the age of their children. Few campaigns always my campaigns always been a family affair, every campaign ive run, so ive got some news for you, youre all honorary bidens. [laughter] and heres the best part. Kamala, youve been an honorary biden for quite only time. You know, i came first to know who kamala was through our son, beau biden. They were friends. They served as attorneys general with at the same time. They took the same big, they took on the same big fights together; kamala in california, beau here in delaware. Big fights that helped change the entire country. I know how much beau respected kamala and her work, and that mattered a lot to me, to be honest with you, as i made this decision. So now we need to get to work pulling this nation out of these crises we find ourselves in, getting our economy back on track, uniting this nation. And, yes, winning the battle for the soul of america. My fellow americans, let me introduce to you for the first time your next Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris. Kamala . The floor is yours. [inaudible] thank you, joe. Thank you. Thank you, joe. As i said, joe, when you called me, i am incredibly honored by this responsibility, and im ready to get to work. I am ready to get to work. After the most competitive primary in history, the country received a resounding message that joe was the person to lead us forward. And, joe, im so proud to stand with you. And i do so mindful of all the heroic and ambitious women before me whose sacrifice, determination and resilience makes my presence here today even possible. This is a moment of real consequence for america. Everything we care about our economy, our health, our children, the kind of country we hiv in its all on we live in, its all on the line are. Were reeling from the worst Public Health crisis in a century. The president s mismanagement of the pandemic has plunged us into the worst economic crisis since the great depression. And were experiencing a moral reckoning with racism and systemic injustice that has brought a new coalition of conscience to the streets of our country demanding change. America is crying out for leadership. Yet we have a president who cares more about himself than the people who elected him, a president who is making every challenge we face even more difficult to solve. But heres the good news. We dont have to accept the failed government of donald trump and mike pence. In just 83 days, we have a chance to choose a Better Future for our country. So, joe, dr. Biden, thank you for the trust youve placed in me. Jill, i know you will be an incredible first lady, and few husband doug and i i my husband doug and i are so grateful, grateful to become a part of your extended family. And ever since i received joes call, ive been thinking, yes, about the first biden that i really came to know and that, of course, joes beloved son, one of his beloved sons, beau. In the midst of the great recession, beau and i spoke on the phone practically every day. Sometimes multiple times a day. Working together to win back billions of dollars for homeowners from the big banks of the nation that were foreclosing on peoples homes. And will the me just tell you about beau let me tell you about beau biden. I learned quickly that beau was the kind of guy who inspired people to be a better version of themselves. He really was the best of us. And when i would ask hum, whered you get that . Whered this come from . Hed always talk about his dad. And i will tell you the love that they shared was incredible to watch. It was the most beautiful display of the love between a father and a son. And beau talked about how joe would spend four hours every day riding the recalls back and forth from wilmington to washington so he could make breakfast for his kids in the morning and make it home in time to tuck them in bed each night. All of this so two little boys who had just lost their mom and their sister in a tragedy you can accident in a tragic accident would know that the world was still turning x. Thats how came to know joe. Hes someone whose First Response when things get tough never to think about himself, but to care for everyone else. Hes someone who never asks why is this happening to me and instead asks what can i do to make life better for you. His empathy, his compassion, his sense of duty to care for others is why i am to proud to be on this ticket. And joe and i, yes, we are cut from the psalm the same cloth. Family is everything to me too, and i cannot wait for america to get to know my husband doug and our amazing kids cole and ella. Whether im cheering at a swim meet or setting up a college room or helping my goddaughter prepare for her School Debate or building legos with my godson or hugging my two baby nieces or cooking dinner, sunday dinner, my family means everything to me. And ive had a lot of titles over my career, and certainly Vice President will be great. But mamala will always be the one that means the most. And, you know, my mother and father, they came from opposite sides of the world to arrive in america; one from india and the other from jamaica. In search of a world class education. But what brought them together was the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. And thats how they met, as students in the streets of oakland, marching and shouting for this thing called justice in a struggle that continues today. And i was part of it. My parents would bring me to protests strapped tightly in my stroller, and my mother shamaha raised my sister maya and me to believe that it was up to us and every generation of americans to keep on marching. Shed tell us dont sit around and complain about things, do something. So i did something. I devoted my life to making real the words carved in the United States supreme court, equal justice under law. And 30 years ago i stood before a judge for the first time, breathed deep and uttered the phrase that would, that would truly guide my career and the rest of my career. Kamala harris for the people. The people, thats e who i represented as district attorney, fighting on behalf of victims who needed help. The people, thats who i fought for as californias attorney general when i took on Transnational Criminal Organizations who traffic in guns and drugs and human beings. And its the people who i have fought for as a United States senator where i worked every day to hold Trump Officials accountable to the American People. And the people are who joe and i will fight for every day in the white house. And let me tell you, somebody who has presented my fair share of arguments in course, the case against donald trump and mike pence is open and shut. Just look where theyre gotten us. More than 16 million out of work. Millions of kids who cannot go back to school. A cry us of poverty crisis of poverty, of homelessness afflicting black, brown and Indigenous People the most. A crisis of hunger afflicting 1 in 5 mothers who have children or that are hungry. And tragically, more than 165,000 lives that have been cut short. Many with loved ones who never got the chance to say goodbye. It didnt have to be this way. Suggestion years ago, in fact six years ago, in fact, we had a Different Health crisis. It was called ebola. And we all remember that pan dem ig. But you know what happened then . Barack obama and joe biden did their job. Only two people in the United States died. Two. That is whats called leadership. But compare that to the moment we find ourselves in now. When other countries are following the science, trump pushed miracle cures he saw on fox news. While other countries were flattening the curve, he said the virus was just, poof, go away. Quote like a miracle. So when other countries opened back for business, what did we do . With had to shut down again we had to shut down again. This virus has impacted almost every country, but theres a reason it has hit america worse than any other advanced nation. Its because of trumps failure to take it seriously from the start. His refusal to get testing up and running, his flipflopping on social distancing and wearing masks, his delusional belief that he knows better than the experts. All of that is reason, and the reason that an american dies of covid19 every 80 seconds. Its why countless businesses have had to shut their doors for good. Its why there is complete chaos over when and how to reopen our schools. Mothers and fathers are confused and uncertain and angry about childcare and the safety of their kids at school, whether theyll be in danger if they go or fall behind if they dont. Trump is also the reason millions of americans are now unemployed. He inherited the longest economic expansion in history. From barack obama and joe biden. And then, like Everything Else he inherited, he ran out straight into the ground. Because of trumps failures of leadership, our economy has taken one of the biggest hits out of all the major industrialized nations with an Unemployment Rate that has tripled as of today. This is what happens when we elect a guy who just isnt up for the job. Our country ends up in tatters. And so does our reputation around the world. But lets be clear, this election isnt just about defeating donald trump or mike pence, its about building this country back better. And thats exactly what joe and i will do. Well create millions jobs and fight Climate Change through a clean energy revolution, bring back critical supply chains so the future is made in america, build on the affordable cower act so everyone Affordable Care act so everyone has the peace of mind that comes with health insurance. And finally, offer caregivers the dug anity, the respect the dignity, the respect and the paw they deserve. Well protect a womans right to make her own decisions about her own body, root out systemic racism in our Justice System and pass a new Voting Rights act, a john lewis Voting Rights act, that will insure every voice is heard and every voice counted.