Grayhawk Golf Club
Scottsdale, Arizona
12:12 P.M. MST
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Hi, everyone. Good afternoon. Please have a seat. Good afternoon. (Applause.) Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. I appreciate you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. (Applause.)
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I'm touched. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. That means a lot. Thank you, (inaudible). (Applause.)
Thank you. Please, please, please have a seat. I'm — I'm very touched and very honored. And thank you, all leaders who are here.
Mayor Giles, I thank you. You've been an extraordinary friend. And I really — I so appreciate the courage that you have shown to be so open and forward about the importance of us all working together, and your support has meant the world to me. So, in front of all of the friends, I thank you very much for all you've done. (Applause.) Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
And former State Rep Shaw, I thank you as well. Is sh- — I — there you are. (Laughter.) Thank you for all the support that you have given as well. Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
So, we are all here together because we love our country. We love our country. And I was talking with some folks recently about the importance of understanding the — the duality, frankly, that exists in terms of our democracy.
You know, as your vice president, I have now met over 150 world leaders — presidents, prime ministers, chancellors, and kings — and when we, representing the United States, walk in those rooms, traditionally, we've been able to walk in those rooms chin up, shoulders back, with the earned and self-appointed authority to talk about the importance of democracies, rule of law. But I say, to a room of role models, here's the thing about being a role model: When you're a role model, folks watch what you do to see if it matches up to what you say.
And I tell you because I have traveled the country recently — including the many, many trips that I have taken over the last almost four years — but recently, in particular, where world leaders, allies have come up to me — we're now on a first-name basis; I've met with so many of them so many times — and they have said to me, "Kamala, I hope you guys are going to be okay."
One of the things that I think about and weighs on me sometimes is I hope we, as Americans, really understand how important we are to the world. We are so important to the world. Those people who fight for democracy, who fight for freedom, who fight for a life in which they can have opportunity, they hold us up and they hold us out as a model.
And that, as much as anything, is at stake right now in this election. And I know I'm speaking to a group of people who know that and know that well.
You know, I was raised to believe that hard work is important, it is important to look out for each other, it is important to understand that the vast majority of u- — of us have so much more in common than what separates us.
I was raised in a community of folks who understood that when we stand together, when we look for commonality, that's when we thrive.
And part of what we know has been happening in the last several years in our country is there's some powerful forces that are trying to divide us as Americans, would have us and cheer us on if we point fingers at one another.
There's this kind of backward thinking coming from some folks that suggests that the measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you beat down, instead of what we know, which is the real measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you lift up. That's strength. (Applause.)
But — but truly, like i- — but — but I mean that intentionally. It's not only good and right. That's strength.
Because that's part of what is the perversion of what some people are suggesting, as though it is a sign of weakness to have empathy, to have some level of concern and care about the suffering of other people and then take it upon oneself to do something about that that is about lifting the condition of your fellow human being.
So, when we think about what's at stake in this election — whoa, it's packed with some stuff. (Laughter.) It's packed with some fundamental stuff — (applause) — I say rather articulately. (Laughs.) There's so much at stake.
Mayor, you mentioned John McCain. Okay. So, I'll tell you, I was in the United States Senate for about four years, and — and I worked with John McCain. And so, I'll tell you, so there was this — we were on a committee together. And, you know, these committee rooms in the United States Senate, they're very grand and — and very impressive. And John McCain was on one side of the dais; I was on the other — horseshoe.
And he's going after me. He's going after me. We're having some conversation. I think it was about one of the nominees. This — this was during President Trump's years. He's going after me, and I'm going back after him. (Laughter.) I'm going back after him. And that was it. And this is what the public saw.
And then I step onto the floor of the well of the Senate later that day — we had votes — and I passed by John McCain, and he looks at me and he says, "Kid, come over here." (Laughter.) "You're going to make a great senator." (Laughter and applause.) True story. True story. True story.
That was John McCain. That was John McCain.
I was talking about him last night at a rally, right? John McCain, who — you know, we didn't agree on everything, but, man, I mean, what about an incredible American hero? (Applause.)
Again, strength — strength — right? — we know what the former president said about John McCain; I'm not going to repeat it here — but strength.
John McCain stood on principle. He stood on a belief in the — in the importance of — of patriotism, of sacrifice, of what we stand for as a country.
And part of what I talked about at a rally last night is — I — I shared with the folks in the room: I was there on the Senate floor, way into the middle of the night, when it was yet another attempt of the former president to get rid of the Affordable Care Act, which, as we know, has been literally a lifesaver for people, right? (Applause.) What it has done to no longer allow preexisting conditions to be the reason that an insurance company can't give you assistance. Right?
And you all may have seen it. I was there on the floor that night, and we were all standing around because whether or not the Affordable Care Act would continue to be relied on one vote. And we were all standing on the floor. And, of course, I had voted to keep it going. And — and I say this, and it sounds like it's out of a movie, but this is how I experienced it.
On the flo- — floor with my colleagues in the Senate well — it was late into the night, and they — in the Senate, they had the — you walk onto the Senate floor, and there are these big, wooden ornate doors. And those ornate doors opened — (laughter) — and John McCain came out.
And he went to the floor, and he said, "No, you don't." (Applause.) He said, "No, you don't." "No, you don't take away health care for millions of people."
And that is but one example of an individual that we all respect who put country before party in terms of what they thought was right. I am honored to have the endorsement of Jeff Flake, someone I also worked with — (applause) — again, putting country before party.
And so, I say all of that to say that those are examples that are situated right here in this beautiful state of Arizona, a tradition that everyone, and all of us, I will say, stand on.
And then, of course, most recently, what Maricopa did in terms of the clerk refusing to participate in the intention to undo the will of the people in a free and fair election. The people of this state have always shown extraordinary courage to stand up for the principles upon which we as a country were founded. And I thank you for that. I thank you for that.
I know we are going to win this election, and it is not going to be easy. There are forces at play that are making us, as- — as Americans, I think, call into question certain fundamentals that we have always taken for granted, that is part of our pride: freedom — freedom — freedom from the government making decisions about a person's body, a woman's body; freedom to just be; freedom over matters of heart and home, I like to say; fundamental principles around the importance of rule of law, whether we should actually be concerned and have a question — a legitimate question in an election for president of the United States, the commander in chief, of whether they will abide by the oath. (Applause.)
But imagine — imagine. That's a legitimate question we are asking. It's not rhetorical. It's a legitimate question we are asking.
He who said that he would, quote, "terminate" the Constitution of the United States. He who said he would be a dictator on day one. He who intends to weaponize the Department of Justice against his political enemies — take away the independence of the Department of Justice and put in place loyalists.
Fundamental notions about who and what we are as a democracy are at play in this election. And you all, each of you, have had the courage to say, hey, we may not agree on every single thing — that's also what a democracy looks like — but foundational, first principles cannot be in question, not for the sake of our children, not for the sake of our future and well-being, not for the sake of our standing in the world.
And so, I tell you all this to just reaffirm that we — we share not only a concern but a commitment to our country and what's most important about, in a moment of crisis — dare I say, I think this is one — do we stand together as Americans being our first identity and come together around these issues?
And I — I'm going to actually announce — we have press in the room — that I have decided also — not only will I have a Republican in my Cabinet, but I'm also going to — I — I was talking to my team about it. I want to create some structure around the following, which is: I love good ideas. Wherever they come from, I love good ideas. (Applause.) Right?
And so, part of what I intend to do, Mayor, and put some structure around is creating a bipartisan council of advisers who can then give feedback on policy as we go forward. Because here's the thing I also understand and feel strongly about: In order for us as America to maintain our status as the strongest democracy in the world, we need a healthy two-party system. We have to have a healthy two-party system. (Applause.) We have to. It's in the best interest of all of us. It's in the best interest of all of us.
You know, the way that I like to lead — I bring folks in my office all the time, and they know I don't want any "yes" people. I want people to come in and, first of all, be prepared. (Laughter.) Yeah, no time to waste. But come in and then let's — let's, as I often say, kick the tires on ideas. Because the best ideas will survive those kinds of challenges, and the best ideas will then be most relevant to the American people, most in- — effective to the American people.
And so, I'm going to create a bipartisan council so we can put some structure around exactly this point and do the work that is important.
And then I'm — I'm just going to close with this. You know, again, I think on the fundamentals, we have more in common than what separates us, including across faiths.
So, I know there are mem- — a lot of members of the LDS community here, and you may or may not know my pastor actually spoke at the 100th birthday of President Nelson. (Applause.) Yeah. Yeah.
And I just — and that wasn't a plan as part of this. It just is. And — and I just think if we think in our lives and in what we know, there are so many examples of that point. We have so much more in common than what separates us, especially on the fundamentals.
And so, with that, I say that I am committed to all of you to be a president for all Americans and to work as we must — together — again, knowing we have so much more in common than what separates us. And on the biggest and most important issues, I think we know that this is a fight that is not against something as much as it is a fight that is for something. (Applause.)
Thank you.
God bless you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America. Thank you. (Applause.)
