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CNN Live Event/Special
Former President Barack Obama and Democratic Presidential Candidate Joe Biden Give Campaign Speeches in Flint Michigan; U.S. Breaks World Record for Single-Day COVID-19 Case Count at Nearly 100,000 Infections; Former President Barack Obama and Democratic Presidential Candidate Joe Biden Emphasize Voter Turnout in Rally Speeches. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired October 31, 2020 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:00]
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: The early vote totals are simply massive at this point. Ninety plus million Americans have cast ballots. The weekend script for both candidates, putting the big focus on the battleground map. Cliche is cliche for a reason in campaigns. Turnout is what matters in the final days. And team Biden and team Trump are looking to drive coalitions that are key to their math. Biden is focusing on African-American voters and suburban women voters, Trump on white working class and rural voters who propelled his 2016 surprise win.
The other impossible to ignore factor this weekend, the coronavirus surge. The president today telling voters that the U.S. is rounding the turn. It is a lie every time he says it. And the nationwide numbers show a picture that is sad and that is stormy -- 47 states failing to push down their coronavirus curve. Only three states are trending in a positive direction. The Friday case number, 99,000 new infections, breaking single day records for the U.S. and for the world, and the scary part of the pandemic somehow is still to come. One expert warning, quote, we're right at the beginning of the steep part of the epidemic curve.
I want to go ahead and bring in Jeff Zeleny so we can see what's going on there in Michigan. And we just watched Joe Biden there. Tell us what we are expecting today, Jeff.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Brianna, we're going to see Barack Obama and Joe Biden appear for the first time together on the same campaign stage of this campaign. And that underscores the pandemic here. In a non-pandemic year, there's no doubt Barack Obama would have been out campaigning extensively for his former vice president, but he is starting here. And it's important that he's starting in the city of Flint in Genesee County. This is where four years ago Hillary Clinton really came up short, some 26,000 fewer votes than Barack Obama and Joe Biden won in 2012.
President Trump only carried the whole state of Michigan by 10,000 votes. That is why every vote matters. That is why Democrats are starting their turnout effort here at the drive-in rally. You can see that we'll be starting momentarily behind me. People are also gathering along the streets here. We're watching the former president come in and Joe Biden.
And also, they will be going to Detroit later today. In that county, Wayne County, Brianna, 75,000 fewer Democrats or people voted in 2016 than in 2012. Adding just those two counties up together, 100,000 fewer people voted for Hillary Clinton. That is what Barack Obama and Joe Biden are after today. It is the math. It is the numbers, trying to turn out those votes. And I am told that the former president is going to speak in personal terms about Joe Biden, why this is a moment the country can turn to him in a moment of unity. Brianna?
KEILAR: And we are watching now the former president, Barack Obama, walking out ahead of this event, as he will be campaigning with Joe Biden today. And I wonder, Jeff, as we're watching this scene, and I might interrupt you if we see him begin to address the crowd here, he is coming in sort of to a different place. Actually, let's listen in. Former President Barack Obama.
BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Hello, Flint! It is good to be back in Michigan. Good to be back in the Midwest, getting a little closer to Chicago from here. How's everybody doing? Can everybody give a big round of applause to Don Ray Young (ph). Fantastic young man. Thank you for the introduction.
Happy Halloween, everybody. I love your masks. Please give a big round of applause as well to Governor Gretchen Whitmer, your own. Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist, my buddy from the Senate, Debbie Stabenow. A man who is always in there fighting for you who we need to send back to the United States Senate, Gary Peters. Your congressman, born and raised right here in Flint, Michigan, Dan Kildee, Mayor Sheldon Neeley, and the big three to come, the next president of the United States, Joe Biden. Three days, Flint. Three days until the most important election of our lifetimes.
[14:05:00]
I love you, too. Listen, I know right now, you've got the Michigan/Michigan State game, and that's a big deal. Paul Bunyan Trophy is on the line. But this Tuesday, everything is on the line. Our jobs are on the line, our health care is on the line, whether or not we get this pandemic under control is on the line.
But here's the good news. On Tuesday, you can choose change. On Tuesday, you can elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. You can choose a better America. And what's even better news is you don't have to wait until Tuesday to cast your ballot, Michigan. You can vote in person right now. Just go to IWillVote.com, find your polling place, get out there, and vote. And if somebody like you already voted, go help your friends and family make a plan to vote, because we need everybody, not just some people. We've got to get everybody out there.
I love you, too. OK, that's it. Put that mask back on. Listen, Michigan. Joe Biden is my brother. I love Joe Biden. And he will be a great president. Now, I'll admit, 12 years ago when I asked him to be the nominee for vice president with me when I was running, I didn't know Joe that well. We had served together in the Senate, but he and I came from different places, part of different generations. But I quickly came to admire Joe as a man who learned early on to treat everybody he meets with dignity and with respect, living by the words his mom taught him, no one is better than you, Joe, but you're no better than anybody else.
And that sense of decency and empathy, the belief in hard work and family and faith, the belief that everybody counts, that's who Joe is. And that's who he'll be as president. I can tell you, the presidency doesn't change who you are. It shows you are. It reveals who you are. And for eight years, Joe was the last one in the room whenever I faced a big decision. And he made me a better president. He's got the character and the experience to make us a better country.
And he and Kamala are going to be in the fight not for themselves but for every single one of us. And we sure can't say that about the president we've got right now. I've said this before, I never thought Donald Trump would embrace my vision. I understood he didn't agree with my policies. But I did hope for the country's sake that he might show some interest in the job, he might take the job seriously. He never has. He hasn't shown any interest in doing the work, or helping anybody but himself and his friends, or treating the presidency as anything more than a reality show to give him the attention that he craves.
But unfortunately, the rest of us have to live with the consequences. Almost 230,000 Americans are dead. More than 100,000 small businesses have closed. Almost 300,000 jobs are gone in Michigan alone. America just had its single worst week of new COVID cases. And what's his closing argument? Here we are. The worst week this week. We've been going through this now for months. The federal government has had an opportunity to respond for months, and his closing argument this week is that the press and people are too focused on COVID. COVID, COVID, COVID, he's complaining. He's jealous of COVID's media coverage.
And now he's accusing doctors of profiting off this pandemic. Think about that.
[14:10:00]
He said this just yesterday. He said doctors are overblowing it because they're going to make money off of it. Doctors. He cannot fathom, he does not understand the notion that somebody would risk their life to save others without trying to make a buck.
His chief of staff said, we're not going to control the pandemic. That's a quote, said it last week, we are not going to control the pandemic. We noticed, Mr. Chief of Staff. We understand you're not going to control the pandemic. But you know who will? Joe Biden will, when we elect him president of the United States.
You remember when Republicans were saying let Detroit go bankrupt? You remember that? Now they might as well be saying let America get COVID, because that's what they're asking. If Trump were focused on COVID from the beginning, cases wouldn't be reaching new record highs across the country. Some of the places he holds rallies have even seen new spikes after he leaves town. There was just a study by Stanford University that just came out showing thousands of people are likely to have gotten sick because of these rallies he's holding.
What is his obsession, by the way, with crowd size? You notice that? He's always worried. This is the one measure he has of success. He's still worried about his inauguration crowd being smaller than mine. It really bugs him. He talked about it. He's still talking about that. Does he have nothing better to worry about? Did no one come to his birthday party when he was a kid? Was he traumatized? What's with crowds?
I've had crowds before. I've had quite a few. But you know when a country is going through a pandemic, that's not what you're supposed to be worried about. And that's the difference between Joe Biden and Trump right there. Trump cares about feeding his ego. Joe cares about keeping you and your families safe. And he's less interested in feeding his ego with having big crowds than he is making sure he's not going around making more and more people sick. That's what you should expect from a president. You can expect something different from a reality TV star, but from a president, you want them to put you above their own ego.
Here's the truth, Michigan. This pandemic would have been challenging for any president. But this idea that somehow this White House has done anything but completely screw this up is nonsense. Canada identified its first case the same week that the U.S. did, just a few miles up, right? It's not close. I may not be pointing north, but Canada's pretty close by. Our mortality rate in the United States is two-and-a-half times higher than Canada. Think about that. If we had the same percentage of folks dying in Canada as we do here, nearly 90,000 Americans would have died instead of 230,000 Americans. If we had handled this pandemic like Canada did, 140,000 of our fellow Americans might still be alive today. Think about that. Think about that.
And yet, despite that, last week, when Trump was asked if he'd do anything different, he said, not much. Really? Not much? Can't think of anything?
Listen, I understand the president was anxious to downplay it because he wanted to get credit for the economy that he inherited, and zero blame for the pandemic he ignored. But it doesn't work that way. The job doesn't work that way. Tweeting at the TV doesn't fix things. Making stuff up doesn't make people's lives better. You've got to have a plan. You've got to put in the work.
[14:15:02]
And along with the experience to get things done, Joe Biden has concrete plans and policies that will turn our vision of a better, fairer, stronger country into reality. Joe's not going to screw up testing. Joe's not going to call scientists idiots. He's not going to host super-spreader events around the country. What Joe will do is get this pandemic under control with a plan to make testing free and widely available, to get a vaccine to every American cost-free, and make sure our frontline heroes never have to ask other countries for the equipment that they need. That's what Joe Biden will do. Joe's plan will guarantee paid sick leave for workers and parents
affected by the pandemic. He'll make sure the small businesses in every community, not just some, not just big corporations, but small businesses that hold our communities together and employ millions of Americans, can reopen safely.
Donald Trump likes to claim he built this economy. America created 1.5 million more jobs in the last three years of the Obama/Biden administration than in his first three years, and that was before he could blame the pandemic. Joe Biden and I, with the help of a Democratic Congress, rescued the auto industry. Gary Peters was there. He told us to bet on Michigan, and we did. And manufacturing in Michigan grew by 15 percent over our last four years. Trump promised he'd make Michigan the manufacturing hub of the world again. It's up one percent under his first four years. Fifteen percent under Obama/Biden, one percent under him. That's Michigan, right here.
We handed him the longest streak of job growth in American history. But the economic damage he did by botching the pandemic response means he'll be the only president since Herbert Hoover to actually lose jobs. Herbert Hoover. That's a long time ago. Joe Biden and Gary Peters know that the key to a strong economy isn't cutting more taxes for billionaires. It's lifting up the prospects for working Americans. And Joe has a plan to create 1 million new auto related jobs by accelerating electric vehicle production. He's got a plan to create 10 million good clean energy jobs and fight climate change and secure environmental justice, something that's relevant to Flint, Michigan. You know something about that. And he'll pay for the plans by rolling back Trump's tax cuts for billionaires.
And this is important. Joe sees this moment not to get back to where we were, but to build on the progress we made together, and finally make long overdue changes so that our economy actually makes life a little easier for everybody, for the waitress trying to raise a kid on her own, for the student figuring out how to pay for next semester's classes, or the shift worker always on the edge of getting laid off, or the cancer survivor who is worried that her preexisting conditions protections will be taken away.
Let's talk about health care for a second. Let's talk about health care for a second. Republicans love to say right before an election that they'll protect your preexisting conditions. That's what they say. Well, you know what? Joe and I actually protected them 10 years ago with the Affordable Care Act.
And since we did so, with no help from Republicans, no votes from Republicans, Republican have tried to repeal or undermine the ACA more than 60 times. Sixty times they've tried to take people's health care away. And when asked, why are you doing that? Why are you being so mean? You don't think these people should have health care? They say, no, no, no, we've got a new plan. It's going to be beautiful. It's going to be terrific. Except it's been 10 years now, and they still don't have a plan. They're trying to bamboozle you.
[14:20:00] Instead of actually coming up with a plan, they've attacked the ACA at every turn. They've driven up cost. They've driven up the number of uninsured. Now they're trying to get the Supreme Court to take your health care away in the middle of a pandemic. In the middle, right at the time when people need health care. They signed on to a case right now in the Supreme Court where they're trying to take insurance away from folks who need it, with nothing but empty promises to take its place.
And now Mitch McConnell is pouring millions of outside super PAC dollars to beat Gary Peters because that's part of their agenda. Michigan, here is the truth. Joe and Kamala and Gary will protect your health care, they will expand Medicare, they will make insurance more affordable for everybody. And the reason you know that's true is because they were there when we did it the first time.
Here's another thing. With Joe and Kamala at the helm, this is a big benefit -- Michelle and I were talking about this over dinner the other day -- you're not going to have to think about them every day. You're not going to have to argue with your family about them every day. It won't be so exhausting. You'll be able to get on with your lives knowing the president is not going to suggest we inject bleach as a possible cure of COVID. You won't have to find out -- you won't wake up in the morning, open your phone, oh, news flash, the president retweeted conspiracy theories that the Navy Seals didn't actually kill bin Laden. You're not going to have a president who goes out of his way to insult people just because they don't support him.
This is not normal behavior, people. We would not tolerate it from a teacher or a coach or a coworker or a family member. If a neighbor was acting like this, you'd stay away from that neighbor. Why would we accept it from the president of the United States?
And you know what, there are consequences to this action. There are consequences to his actions. It's not just a joke. It's not funny. Those actions embolden other people to be mean and divisive, and racist. And it frays at the fabric of all of our lives and it affects how our children see the world and how they treat each other. It affects the way our families get along. It affects the way the world sees America.
That's why Joe talks about the soul of America. That's why he talks about decency and kindness and responsibility and hard work. That more than anything is what separates Joe Biden from his opponent. He actually cares about every American. He does not have a mean-spirited bone in his body. I have seen him spend time with people, strangers that he doesn't know, when he hears about, they're going through a hardship, he talks about what he's gone through. When he sees a kid, his eyes light up, because he thinks about his own kids and grandkids.
Joe Biden tries to live the values we cherish -- honesty, hard work, kindness, humility, responsibility, helping somebody else out. That used to be the definition of manliness, not strutting and showing off, acting important, bullying people. Used to be, being a man meant taking care of your other people. Not going around bragging, but just doing the work. Not looking for credit. Trying to live right, passing on those values to your kids, looking out for a community, carrying your weight, giving up a little bit of what you might have to help somebody who has a real need.
When you elect Joe, that's what you'll see reflected from the White House. And those shouldn't be Republican or Democratic values. They didn't use to be. They're what we grew up learning from our parents and from our grandparents.
[14:25:08]
And they're the values we still try to teach our kids. And they're not white or black or Hispanic or Asian or Native American values. They're American values. And we've got to reclaim them right now. But to reclaim them, we're going to have to turn out like never before. If we're going to reclaim those values, we need to leave no doubt. We can't afford to be complacent, not this time, not in this election. We got a little complacent the last election.
Listen, I understand why Americans get frustrated and sometimes think government is not going to make a difference, voting is not going to make a difference. I understand that. Government is not perfect. The people in government are not perfect, even when it's working. Government is not going to solve every problem. But we can make things better. A president can't by himself solve every challenge facing the economy here in Flint or Michigan, but if we elect people like Gary Peters and Dan Kildee, and we get a House and a Senate joined with a White House that are more focused on working people and getting you the help that you need, they will make a difference. And some folks will get jobs that wouldn't otherwise have jobs, and some folks will have health care that wouldn't otherwise have health care.
A president by himself can't eliminate all racial bias in our criminal justice system, but if we elect district attorneys and state's attorneys and sheriffs focused on equality and justice, and we once again have a Justice Department and a Civil Rights Division in the Justice Department that cares about these issues, we can make things better.
And that's what voting's about -- not making things perfect but making things better. It puts us on a track so that generations from now, we can look back and say, you know what, right about then, things start getting better again. The fact that you don't get 100 percent of what you want right away, that's not a good reason to vote. You've just got to keep at it.
Typically, just over 50 percent of us vote who are eligible. Think about that. Almost half of the people in most elections who are eligible to vote don't vote. Imagine if 60 percent of us voted. Imagine if 70 percent of us voted. Imagine January 20th, when we swear in a president and vice president who's got a plan to get us out of this mess, who care about folks like you, who have been in your shoes, who know what it's like to struggle, who know what it's like to have to work hard, who are thinking about working Americans and have a plan to help you start getting ahead.
Imagine what it's going to be like to have a president and a vice president who believe in science, and who have a plan to protect this planet for our children, and who believe in racial equality and are sending a clear signal that we're all in this together, and are doing the work to bring us closer so that we have an America where no matter what we look like, where we come from, who we love, or how much money we've got, we can make it, and we have a place and we're treated with dignity and respect.
Michigan, that's what's possible. And I'm asking you to remember that it's possible. I want you to remember what this country can be. But you can't just imagine a better future. You can't just wish for it. You've got to fight for it. You've got to fight for it. We've got to outhustle the other side. We've got to vote up and down the ticket like never before right here in Michigan and all across the country. We've got to leave no doubt about who we are and what this country stands for. And if we do, we will send Gary Peters back to the Senate. And we will elect a man who loves this country and who cares about you, and who will fight for every single one of us, and will look out not just for folks who support him, but even the folks who don't. My friend, the next president of the United States of America, Joe Biden. Joe Biden.
(MUSIC)
OBAMA: Joe Biden. Honk if you're fired up. Honk if you are ready to go.
[14:30:09]
OBAMA: Joe Biden.
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Hello Flint. Mr. President, thank you, thank you, thank you. It kind of reminds you how good it can be listening to him, doesn't it? As my mother would say about Barack, God love him, he's a good man.
Folks, it's good to be back with friends, Mayor Neeley, Governor Whitmer, Lieutenant Governor Gilchrist, Debbie Stabenow, my good buddy, Gary Peters, who you are going to send back to the United States Senate because I'm going to need him. We can always count on him to be your senator for you and your family. And my good friend, Congressman Dan Kildee, who we need to send back. Dan's a good man, a good man.
And of course, I wish we could figure out how to send back a guy who we used to have an expression up in Scranton. We'd say when someone wasn't somebody else's ego, we say there wasn't a patch on his jeans. I tell you what, Mr. President, you're still driving him crazy because he knows he wasn't a patch on your jeans. I tell you what.
Barack Obama, it's great to be with the president again. It reminds me of what we can be when you have a president of character, a president respected around the world, a president our kids look up to and did look up to. I want to say something we don't say often enough, and I mean this from the bottom of my heart -- Barack Obama was a great president of the United States of America. And I want to make sure we say here today, Mr. President, thank you, thank you, thank you. We went through eight years without one single trace of scandal, not one single trace of scandal. It's going to be nice to return to that.
Flint, three days, three days, we can put an end to this presidency we have now that has divided the nation. Three days, we can put an end to a presidency that has failed to protect this nation. Three days, we can put an end to this presidency that has fanned the flames of hate all across this nation and made us the laughing stock around the world. Millions of Americans have already voted. Millions more are voting today, tomorrow, and God willing, all the way through to the close of the polls on Tuesday.
And my message is simple. The power to change the country is not figuratively, it's literally in your hands. I don't care how hard Donald Trump tries, there's nothing -- let me say it again -- there's nothing he can do to stop the people of this nation to vote in overwhelming numbers and taking back this democracy.
And when Americans vote, no matter how many threats he makes, America will be heard. When America is heard, I believe the message is going to be loud and it's going to be clear. It's time for Donald Trump to pack his bags and go home. We're done with the chaos, the tweets, the anger, the hate, the failure, the refusal to take any responsibility.
We've got a lot of work to do. We've got a lot of work to do. And if I'm elected your president, we're going to do it. We're going to act. And we're going to need your help in doing it as well. We're going to have to get COVID under control. On day one of my presidency, I'll put in action, a plan I've been talking about for months already laid out. A national mandate, mask-wearing, social distancing, testing, tracing, all things, as President Obama just said, that should have and could have been put in place months and months ago. A plan for full and fair and free, I might add, distribution of therapeutics and vaccines when we get one.
[14:35:00]
Imagine where we'd be if we had a president who wore a mask instead of mocking it. I can tell you this. We wouldn't have 9 million confirmed cases of COVID in this nation, over 230,000 deaths. We wouldn't be seeing a new record of cases we're seeing right now, 90,000 cases. Today, yesterday, 90,000 new cases. We wouldn't be -- by the way, 500,000 in just the past week. This guy tells us it's going away. What makes it go away is if he goes away.
Folks, we wouldn't be facing another 200,000 deaths in the next few months. This president knew in January the virus was deadly. In trying to improve his image, he went up trying to talk to Bob Woodward, he thought he could change his mind. But what he did, he let it be known. All the way back in January, he knew how dangerous this pandemic was. And he hid it from the American people. He knew it was worse than the flu. But he lied to the American people. And he knew it wasn't going to disappear, but he kept telling us, a miracle was coming.
And yesterday, he had the gall to suggest that American doctors, people who are putting their lives on the line, on the front lines, to save other lives, along with nurses and so many others, he's suggested falsely that they're inflating the number of COVID deaths to make more money. What in the hell is wrong with this man? Excuse my language but think about it. It's perverted. He may believe it because he doesn't do anything other than for money.
The people of this nation have suffered and sacrificed for nine months, none more so than the doctors on the front lines and health care workers, and this president is questioning their character, their integrity, their commitment to their fellow Americans. It's more than offensive. It's a disgrace, especially coming from a president who has waved the white flag of surrender to this virus.
Our frontline health care workers, they've given their all to beat the virus. We have a president who has just given up. I will never raise the white flag of surrender. We're going to beat this virus, and we're going to get it under control. And the first step to doing that is beating Donald Trump.
Look, Donald Trump keeps telling us what a great job he's done as president.
(LAUGHTER)
BIDEN: Oh, man. Well, did you know President Obama and I, as he pointed out, created more jobs in the last three years of our administration than he did in the first three years before the pandemic? How about this? Or did you know Donald Trump is going to be the first president in 90 years that's going to finish his term with fewer jobs under his leadership than when he started. Look, that's a lot of presidents. That's a lot of crises. But only Donald Trump is going to have fewer jobs at the end of his presidency than when he started.
You see, I and Barack understand something Donald Trump doesn't. Wall Street didn't build this country. You did. Working people built this country, and unions built the middle class. He's done nothing but wage war on American labor. I see the UAW sign out there. First outfit to ever endorse me when I was a 29-year-old kid. God love you.
Look, we have a different view. We believe we should be awarded work, not wealth in this country. Under my plan, if you make less than $400,000 a year, you're not going to pay a penny in additional taxes. But the wealthiest people, the biggest corporations, 91 of the fortune 500 companies paid zero in federal income tax last year. They're going to start to pay their fair share. The super wealthy are going to pay the same rate they paid at the beginning of George Bush's administration. And corporations are going to start to pay their fair share. Why should a firefighter, an educator, a nurse pay a higher tax rate than someone making literally $1 billion?
[14:40:00]
Or why should you pay more in taxes than Donald Trump. He paid $750 in taxes the one year we know of. He's yet to release -- I've released 22 years of my tax returns. You can go online and look. He hasn't released one. He talks about corruption. What is he hiding? He owes $41 million out there. Who does he owe it to? If you notice, he's the only president I know of with a secret bank account in China, paid 50 times more in Beijing than he's paid in the United States. And this guy talks about corruption?
Look, we're also going to act to protect health care. Trump and the Republicans just jammed through a Supreme Court nominee for one overwhelming reason. As Barack said, the president said, they have been trying over 50 shots to take out Obamacare, destroy the Affordable Care Act. But they're going to be in court, I believe it's seven days after the election. Win or lose, they're going to be in court. And if they get their way, 100 million Americans will lose protections for preexisting conditions, including more than 4 million Michiganders.
Donald Trump thinks health care is a privilege. Barack and I think it's a right for people to have health care. We're not only going to restore Obamacare. We're going to build on it. We're going to keep your private insurance if you like it. And you can choose a Medicare- like public option if you don't. We're going to increase subsidies to lower your premiums and deductibles, out of pocket spending, reduce prescription drug costs by 60 percent.
Look, we're going to make sure you keep protections for people with preexisting conditions. Meanwhile, Donald Trump laid out what he's going to do in the second term, if he's elected, to Social Security. The actuary at the Social Security Administration says if he gets that plan passed, it will, quote, bankrupt Social Security by 2023, something millions of Americans live on, paid for their whole life.
When I said back six years ago, as Debbie will tell you, when I said the Republican are going to try to eliminate Medicare, everybody said, no, that's crazy. First thing Paul Ryan and the Republicans in the Congress did was try to cut billions of dollars out of Medicare. These guys mean what they say. I'm going to protect Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, because it's the lifeline for so many hardworking folks.
But folks, I have to admit to you, it's kind of personal with me. There's nothing worse that this president has done in my view than the way he speaks about our women and men in uniform and those who have given their lives. He called them losers and suckers. My son Beau was a major in the United States Army, gave up the attorney general's job, and petitioned to be able to go with his unit to Iraq for one solid year, after as U.S. attorney, being in Kosovo, I might add. I'm going to be a typical dad. He was the only foreigner in Kosovo that has a 12-foot memorial dedicated to him, a major highway they built, the Beau Biden highway, because of his commitment.
My son came home with a Bronze Star and speak of her service like so many others, before he passed away. But guess what. He wasn't a sucker, he wasn't a loser, nor were any of you who served. You're patriots, just like all of your sons and daughters, your parents and grandparents who served.
The president likes to portray himself -- I love this -- likes to portray himself as a tough guy. When you're in high school, wouldn't you have liked to take the shot? Anyway, that's a different story, but anyway. A macho man. But when is the last time you read about, saw, heard about a president of the United States literally being laughed at by world leaders when he spoke at the United Nations? Laughed at out loud.
[14:45:04]
When is the last time you saw a president of the United States being mocked by the leaders of NATO at a NATO conference? Can you believe we have a president who acts like Vladimir Putin's puppy? Putin put bounties on the heads of American soldiers serving in Iraq, and Trump was too scared to challenge him, talked to him six times and has never mentioned it.
Trump's not strong. He's weak. He commands little respect on the international stage. This is a president who not only doesn't understand sacrifice, he doesn't understand courage, physical courage, it takes to serve in uniform in a war zone. Maybe that's why six generals and admirals who work for him left his administration and said he was unfit to be commander in chief. When is the last time any president has had that happen? Tough guy.
That's why joint special operations commander, General Stanley McChrystal, that's why head of the Navy Seals who oversaw the raid of bin Laden, Admiral Bill McRaven, and 22 other four stars, have endorsed me, saying they support me to be their next commander in chief, because like Obama and Bush and before him, they know we'll respect them and support them.
I've been in and out of war zones as senator and vice president over 35 times. I tell you what, these folks we have, only one percent of the country is in the military. We owe them. They're the backbone. They're the sinew. They're the heart of who we are. That's why we have to support our military and get rid of Trump.
Folks, I want to tell you something. Think about this. This is a guy who says there's no such thing as climate change. He calls it a hoax. I see it as jobs, health, and safety. The impacts of climate too often fall disproportionately on poor communities and communities of color. We're going to make sure communities benefit from the hundreds of billions of federal investment in infrastructure and climate change we're going to do as a consequences of the change in the structure.
We're going to create local jobs to rebuild roads, build sidewalk cracks to live, install broadband, create spaces to live, work, and play safely, to modernize infrastructure so you can turn on the faucet and clean water comes out. And when that happened in Flint, will never happen again anywhere in America.
We can and must do this. Donald Trump has rolled back more than 100 environmental protection laws, many enacted under Barack and me. I'll also holds polluters accountable, with the most ambitious environmental justice agenda ever. Folks, we're going to act to deliver on racial justice in America. Protesting is not burning or looting. Violence cannot be tolerated, and it won't, but these protests are a cry for justice. The names of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Jacob Blake will not soon be forgotten. They're going to inspire new wave of justice in America. America has had their eyes opened up. They're ready. Look, I believe this country has to come together. I know when I
announced well over a year ago when I said I wanted to unite the country, everybody said that's naive. That was a long time ago. You did it before, Biden, but you can't do it again. Well, we can and we must. We have no choice. That's how democracies work.
I'm running as a proud Democrat, but I will govern as an American president. I'll work as hard for those who don't support me as those who do. That's the job of a president, it's a duty to care, duty to care for everyone.
So please vote. You still have an absentee ballot, get it to a drop box as soon as you can. You can also safely vote earlier till Monday afternoon, or you can vote on Election Day. Just make a plan. Help get out the vote.
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As you've heard 10 times already, visit IWillVote.com/MI. Folks, we have such an incredible opportunity.
Well, God love you, thank you very much. But here's the deal, guys. We've got to move up and down the ticket here. I, honest to God, believe, I give you my word as a Biden, I honest to God believe, we're in the cusp, we're at an inflection point, we have a chance to make such enormous progress, because the American people have seen what the other looks like. They've gotten a glimpse of the abyss. I really mean it. They're ready. They're ready to change so much.
I'll never forget what President Kennedy said when he promised to send us to the moon. He used the phrase that has guided me. He said we're doing it because, quote, we refuse to postpone. Well, I refuse to postpone the incredible opportunities to the United States for the American people. There's nothing beyond our capacity. There is no limit to America's future. The only thing that can tear America apart is America itself. And that's exactly what Donald Trump has been doing from the beginning of this campaign, dividing America pitting Americans against one another based on race, gender, ethnicity, national origin. It's wrong, it's un-American. That's not who we are.
Folks, everybody knows who Donald Trump is. Let's keep showing who we are. We choose hope over fear. We choose unity over division. We choose science over fiction. And yes, we choose truth over lies.
My fellow Americans, it's time for us to stand back and stand up and take back our democracy. We can do this. We're so much better than we've been. We can be what we are at our best, the United states of America. God bless you all and may God protect our troops. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
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KEILAR: Former Vice President Joe Biden wrapping things up there in Flint, Michigan, after getting an opener from a big name, his former boss and former President Barack Obama. As we are watching these two attempt to greet there in the era of
coronavirus, I want to bring in Jeff Zeleny, who is there following this event. He's in Flint, Michigan. And Jeff, I wonder, how the Biden campaign is feeling about Michigan. This is a state that Trump won narrowly. This is a state Joe Biden needs. How are they feeling?
ZELENY: Brianna, they are feeling confident but certainly not overconfident. That is why Barack Obama is here in Michigan. And I think the central theme of his speech, perhaps the most important thing, never mind what Barack Obama said about the current president, was to Democrats. Don't be complacent. We got a little too complacent in the last election. And by the numbers, that is exactly what happened. Here in Genesee County where we are, some 25,000 fewer people voted for Hillary Clinton than they did Joe Biden and Barack Obama.
So that is the point here. You can hear those horns honking. You can hear the crowd cheering. Barack Obama was speaking to Democrats saying, look, get out and vote. So it is extraordinary that we should take account of this moment. The first time we have seen these two together, I believe, since January of 2017, when president Obama presented the Medal of Freedom to Joe Biden as vice president in the final days in office. And here they are together on stage again for the first time of two appearances in Michigan today. But that is all we're going to see them.
So there is no question, the pandemic politics here have changed everything, and Democrats are worried that it may not get everyone out to vote, because those old field programs haven't been working as much. And early voting, there's a question of that. so that is what President Obama was here doing, urging Democrats to come out and vote, urging any voters to come out if they're not satisfied with President Trump, Brianna.
KEILAR: I imagine there are a lot nerves there among Democrats in Michigan. We're aware, Jeff, from four years ago as we looked in retrospect, there were folks in Michigan, operatives, Democratic operatives, who had said that they were worried about how the race was shaping up there and they felt that some of their concerns might have fallen on some deaf ears with the Clinton campaign.
[14:55:10]
Certainly, the Biden campaign has the benefit of hindsight, here, but I wonder, as you were listening to the topics that we heard, the former president and former vice president talking about there, they're really trying to define this about coronavirus and about health care.
ZELENY: No question. The words about health care there during former President Obama's speech and then into Joe Biden's, that is the central thing. Of course, it was their signature accomplishment of their administration, the Affordable Care Act, and it is, indeed, on the ballot in every respect because the Supreme Court is going to be considering this just days after the election. And we hear President Trump talking about his health care plan, how he will protect preexisting conditions. But we've not seen a health care plan from him. They have had four years to do it. We've got seen it. So that is central to the Obama/Biden argument here about protecting health care.
And Brianna, you are right. Four years ago, as you well know. You and I covered the Clinton campaign. We were not here in the final days of the campaign. Congresswoman Debbie Dingell from Michigan and others were sounding the alarm in the Clinton campaign, saying come to Michigan. They didn't do it. So that is something the Biden campaign is doing. They're taking nothing for granted.
And the reality is here, as we drive around Flint and talk to voters, there are some union workers and others who simply believe the Democratic Party has left them behind. So President Trump has an appeal to some of those former Democrats, those blue collar workers. So that is what Joe Biden is trying to get across here. And certainly, African-American voters as well here in Flint and in Wayne county.
And you can just see a bit of Trump activity here as well. Some, certainly, last minute campaigning. But President Trump was in Michigan yesterday. He may be coming back. So this is, again, a key battleground here. And on election night on Tuesday, all eyes will be on this blue wall to see if it does stay or if President Trump wins it again, Brianna.
KEILAR: The fight will be fierce.
I want to bring in to our conversation here, Jeff, our political director David Chalian along with our analyst Sabrina Siddiqui, who is the national politics reporter for the "Wall Street Journal," and April Ryan, who is White House correspondent for American Urban Radio Networks. And also, Sabrina, one of the big topics as well was jobs, which Barack Obama was really there to hammer home to folks in Michigan. The question is, is this going to take hold with some of the voters that Donald Trump was able to sway? What do you think?
SABRINA SIDDIQUI, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: That certainly is the hope, and Democrats see President Obama as one of the most effective surrogates on the campaign trail. That's why you've seen him take on a more prominent role over the past week, in addition to his events in Michigan today. He will also be traveling to Georgia and Florida on Monday.
And what Obama's message was really about was not just the president's handling of the coronavirus pandemic and the impact that the pandemic has had on the economy, but just more broadly, his behavior and his conduct in office. And what Obama was really pushing voters to do was to ask themselves why they have been willing to tolerate that behavior from the president of the United States when they wouldn't tolerate it from a friend, a coworker, a teacher, a coach. That was one of the key messages he was trying to drive home, because this isn't really about voter persuasion anymore. It's about boosting turnout with just three days remaining until Election Day.
And Democrats remember all too well that the election in 2016 really came down to roughly 77,000 votes across three states, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan, where the president joined his former vice president today, and hopefully trying to resolve some of the issues that Hillary Clinton faced where she underperformed in those three states four years ago.
KEILAR: April, to that point, one of the things the former president said was, basically, imagine waking up in the morning and you don't have a president who has retweeted a conspiracy theory about the Navy Seals and Usama bin Laden and the raid not really going down the way it went.
APRIL RYAN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, Barack Obama, for many the forever president, came out swinging, talking about Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will be people in the Oval Office, in the White House who you don't have to worry about, because they won't be tweeting, they won't be saying insulting words to people, and so on and so on.
But at the end of the day, President Obama made a very poignant case about this president, Donald John Trump. And he did it from a space that Donald John Trump traveled to four years ago, Flint, Michigan. And if you look at what Donald Trump has done since he went to Flint, Michigan, when he was campaigning to be president, nothing has changed. And it's also spotlighted even more so infrastructure issues across the nation, not just in Flint, but in Washington, D.C. and other states, in the Carolinas and other states.
