West Allis Central High School
West Allis, Wisconsin
1:33 P.M. CDT
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon. (Applause.) Good after- — hi, Wisconsin. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Kamala! Kamala! Kamala!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. (Applause.) Thank you. Tha- — (laughs) — thank you. Thank you, thank you. Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you all. (Applause.) Thank you. Thank you, everyone. Thank you. Tha- — good afternoon, Wisconsin! (Laughs.) (Applause.)
Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you. It is good to be back. Thank you all very much. (Applause.)
Can we please hear it for Leia and her extraordinary story and leadership? (Applause.) Thank you.
And I do believe our teachers do God’s work. They teach other people’s children, and God knows we don’t pay them enough. Let’s thank her. (Applause.)
And it is so good to be here and be back with so many extraordinary leaders, including my friend, the great governor of Wisconsin, Tony Evers. (Applause.) He’s here somewhere.
My dear friend, Senator Tammy Baldwin. (Applause.) And, you know, I had the privilege of serving with Tammy when I was in the United States Senate, and she is always fighting for the people of this state. And I know that the folks that are here are going to make sure you return her to Washington, D.C., in November. (Applause.) Yes, we are going to elect her back to Washington, D.C.
It is so good to be here also with Lieutenant Governor Sara Rodriguez — (applause); Attorney General Josh Kaul — (applause); Wisconsin Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski — (applause); County Executive David — David Crowley — (applause); Mayor Cavalier Johnson — (applause); and the great state party chair, Ben Wikler — (applause) — who I have worked with — Ben, you and I have been working together for years. And I can attest, he knows how to build the infrastructure that delivers wins up and down the ballot. Thank you, Ben. (Applause.)
So, it is good to be back in Wisconsin, and it is great to be in Milwaukee. (Applause.)
As many of you know, our state campaign headquarters are in this city. (Applause.) Yes. And th- — there’s a reason for that: The path to the White House goes through Wisconsin. (Applause.) Yes, it does. And to win in Wisconsin, we are counting on you, right here in Milwaukee. (Applause.)
And you all helped us win in 2020. (Applause.) And in 2024, we will win again. (Applause.) Yes, we will.
So, Milwaukee, I want to start by saying a few words — and I could really speak at length — but a few words about our incredible president, Joe Biden. (Applause.)
It has truly been one of the greatest honors of my life to serve as vice president to our president, Joe Biden. (Applause.)
Joe’s legacy of accomplishment over his entire career and over the past three and a half years is unmatched in modern history. (Applause.)
In one term — think about it. In one term as president, he has already surpassed the legacy of most presidents who served two terms in office. (Applause.)
And I know we are all deeply, deeply grateful for his continuing service to our nation. (Applause.) And it is my great honor to have Joe Biden’s endorsement in this race. (Applause.)
So — so, Wisconsin, I am told, as of this morning, that we have earned the support of enough delegates to secure the Democratic nomination. (Applause.) And I am so very honored. And I pledge to you I will spend the coming weeks continuing to unite our party so that we are ready to win in November. (Applause.)
So, friends, we have 105 days until Election Day. And in that time, we’ve got some work to do. But we’re not afraid of hard work. We like hard work, don’t we? (Applause.) And we will win this election. (Applause.) Yes, we will.
So, as Leia told you, before I was elected vice president, before I was elected a United States senator, I was elected attorney general of the state of California. And I was a courtroom prosecutor before then. (Applause.)
And in those roles, I took on perpetrators of all kinds — (laughter) — predators who abused women, fraudsters who ripped off consumers, cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain. So, hear me when I say: I know Donald Trump’s type. (Applause.) (Laughs.)
AUDIENCE: Kamala! Kamala! Kamala!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: And in this campaign, I promise you I will proudly put my record against his any day of the week. (Applause.)
As attorney general of California, I took on one of our country’s largest for-profit colleges that was scamming students. Donald Trump ran a for-profit college that scammed students.
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: As a prosecutor, I specialized in cases involving sexual abuse. Well, Trump was found liable for committing sexual abuse.
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: As attorney general of California, I took on the big Wall Street banks and held them accountable for fraud. (Applause.) Donald Trump was just found guilty of fraud on 34 counts. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Lock him up!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: But let’s also make no mistake: This campaign is not just about us versus Donald Trump. This campaign is about who we fight for. (Applause.) This is about who we fight for.
Just look at how we are running our campaigns. So, Donald Trump is relying on support from billionaires and big corporations, and he is trading access in exchange for campaign contributions.
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: A couple of months ago — y’all saw that? — a couple months ago at Mar-a-Lago, he literally promised Big Oil companies — Big Oil lobbyists he would do their bidding for $1 billion in campaign donations.
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: On the other hand, we are running a people-powered campaign. (Applause.) And we just had — some breaking news: We just had the best 24 hours — (applause) — of grassroot fundraising in presidential campaign history. (Applause.) All right?
And because we are a people-powered campaign, that is how you know we will be a people-first presidency. (Applause.)
And, Wisconsin, this campaign is also about two different visions for our nation: one where we are focused on the future, the other focused on the past.
We believe in a future where every person has the opportunity not just to get by but to get ahead — (applause); a future where no child has to grow up in poverty — (applause); where every worker has the freedom to join a union — (applause); where every person has affordable health care — (applause) — affordable childcare — (applause) — and paid family leave. (Applause.) We believe in a future where every senior can retire with dignity. (Applause.)
So, all of this is to say: Building up the middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency. (Applause.) Because here’s the thing we all here, Wisconsin, know: When our middle class is strong, American is strong. (Applause.)
But Donald Trump wants to take our country backward. He and his extreme Project 2025 agenda —
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: — will weaken the middle class.
Like, we know we got to take this seriously. And can you believe they put that thing in writing? (Laughter.) Read it. It’s 900 pages.
But here’s the thing: You — when you read it, you will see Donald Trump intends to cut Social Security and Medicare.
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: He intends to give tax breaks to billionaires and big corporations and make working families foot the bill.
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: They intend to end the Affordable Care Act —
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: — and take us back, then, to a time when insurance companies had the power to deny people with preexisting conditions.
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Remember what that was like?
AUDIENCE: Yes!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Children with asthma, women who survived breast cancer, grandparents with diabetes.
America has tried these failed economic policies before, but we are not going back. (Applause.) We are not going back. We’re not going back.
AUDIENCE: We’re not going back! We’re not going back!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: We’re not going back.
AUDIENCE: We’re not going back! We’re not going back!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: We are not going back.
AUDIENCE: We’re not going back! We’re not going back!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: We’re not going back.
AUDIENCE: We’re not going back! We’re not going back! We’re not going back!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: We’re not going back.
And I’ll tell you why we’re not going back: because ours is a fight for the future. (Applause.) And it is a fight for freedom. (Applause.)
Generations of Americas b- — generations — and we have to remember this: the shoulders on which we stand. Generations of Americans before us led the fight for freedom. And now, Wisconsin, the baton is in our hands. (Applause.)
We who believe in the sacred freedom to vote — (applause) — will make sure every American has the ability to cast their ballot and have it counted. (Applause.)
We who believe that every person in our nation sh- — who should have the freedom to live safe from the terror of gun violence — (applause) — will finally pass red flag laws, universal background checks, and an assault weapons ban. (Applause.)
And we who believe in reproductive freedom — (applause) — will stop Donald Trump’s extreme abortion bans because we trust women to make decisions about their own body and not have their government tell them what to do. (Applause.)
And when Congress passes a law to restore reproductive freedoms, as president of the United States, I will sign it into law. (Applause.)
So, Wisconsin, ultimately, in this election, we each face a question: What kind of country do we want to live in?
AUDIENCE MEMBER: (Inaudible.)
THE VICE PRESIDENT: A country — (laughter and applause). And to your point — (laughter) — do we want to live in a country of freedom, compassion, and rule of law — (applause) — or a country of chaos, fear, and hate?
AUDIENCE: No!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: And here’s the beauty of this moment: We each have the power to answer that question. The power is with the people. (Applause.) We each have the power to answer that question.
And in the next 105 days, then, we have work to do. (Applause.) We have doors to knock on, we have phone calls to make, we have voters to register, and we have an election to win. (Applause.)
So, Wisconsin, today I ask you: Are you ready to get to work? (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 1:52 P.M. CDT
