Warwick Hotel Rittenhouse Square Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

1:27 P.M. EDT

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Oh, hi, guys.

Q Hello.

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Okay. Good morning — or af- —

Q Good afternoon.

THE VICE PRESIDENT: — afternoon. Good afternoon. Good afternoon.

Well, let me start by saying I’m really very proud to announce that we’ve had some endorsements this morning, as we’ve been rolling out endorsements, by two leaders in the Republican Party: the mayor of Waukesha and then, of course, former Representative Fred Upton.

And this continues to be, I think, evidence of the fact that people who have been leaders in our country, regardless of their political party, understand what’s at stake. And they are weighing in — courageously, in many cases — in support of what we need to have, which is a president of the United States who understands the obligation to uphold the Constitution of the United States and our democracy.

As for last night, yet again, Trump not showing up, refused to be a part of a CNN debate. And clearly, his staff has been saying he’s exhausted. And the sad part about that is he’s trying to be president of the United States, probably the toughest job in the world, and he’s exhausted.

I said last night what I mean, which is the American people are being presented with a very serious decision, and it includes what we must understand will happen, starting on January 20th, in this choice.

Either you have the choice of a Donald Trump, who will sit in the Oval Office stewing, plotting revenge, retribution, writing out his enemies list, or what I will be doing, which is responding to folks like the folks last night with a to-do list, understanding the need to work on lifting up the American people, whether it be through the issue of grocery prices and bringing them down or investing in our economy, investing in our small businesses, investing in our families.

Happy to take any questions.

Q Madam Vice President, you will be back in Philadelphia with members of your team on Monday, former President Barack Obama, as well as Bruce Springsteen.

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Yes.

Q Do you — can you tell us where you — that may be?

And secondly, any other, as we would say, heavy hitters in your campaign planning to come to Philadelphia in the lead-up to Election Day?

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, I’m very honored to have the support of former President Obama. As you know, he’s been on the campaign trail and has been really wonderful and extraordinary in terms of the time and effort that he’s putting into our campaign. And people like Bruce Springsteen, to have their support — and, of course, he is an American icon — I think it just shows the breadth and depth of the support that we have and also the enthusiasm that a lot of people are bringing to the campaign and feel about our campaign.

Q Any other big names we can share?

THE VICE PRESIDENT: I have nothing to report at this moment. (Laughs.)

Q (Inaudible.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Stay tuned, however.

Q Vice President, what do you make of the gender gap in this election? Why do you think you have stronger support among women than the former president?

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, I have to be honest with you, it’s not what I see in terms of my rallies, in terms of the interactions I’m having with people in communities and — and on the ground. What I am seeing is e- — in equal measure, men and women talking about their concerns about the future of our democracy; talking about the fact that they want a president who leads with optimism and takes on the challenges that we face, whether it be grocery prices or investing in small businesses or homeownership.

So, I’m not actually seeing that kind of disparity, and I intend to be a president for all Americans. And that includes paying attention, yes, to a fundamental freedom that has been taken away because of Donald Trump — the freedom of a woman to make decisions about her own body — and, in equal measure, to prioritize the economic needs of individuals and families in America and what we also must do in terms of upholding our strength and standing on the global stage.

Q Madam Vice President —

THE VICE PRESIDENT: You all sort that out, okay? (Laughter.)

Q How are you going to vote on Prop 36 in California? You are a California voter. Do California and other states need to punish drug and theft crimes more harshly?

THE VICE PRESIDENT: So, I have not yet voted, and I have not yet had the chance to read through the ballot. I will keep you posted on that.

AIDE: We have time for one more question.

Q Madam Vice President, this topic was brought up last night, but will construction of a southern border wall continue in your administration?

THE VICE PRESIDENT: I will tell you that my highest priority is to put the resources into ensuring that our border is secure, which is why I’ve been very clear: I’m going to bring back up, as president, that bipartisan border security bill and make sure that it is brought to my desk so I can sign it into law.

The biggest issue that we have right now is that Donald Trump has stood in the way of what would have been a proven part of the solution to the bigger problem, which is that we have a broken immigration system in America, and we need to fix it. And we have the tools at hand, but we have on the other side of this election, Donald Trump, who would prefer to run on a problem instead of fixing a problem.

I intend to fix the problem in a way that is just about practical solutions that are within our arms reach if we have the commitment to do it.

Okay? Thank you.