First Lady Dr. Jill Biden delivered remarks at a campaign event on Monday in Wilmington, North Carolina.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Well, North Carolina, you have shown me your heart and I thank you so much.
00:09And thank you, Jason, from your time in uniform to your work at the state and federal level
00:19to supporting military families and veterans.
00:22Few people know this community in North Carolina as well as you do.
00:27So thank you for your support for Joe.
00:34And I'm glad to be joined by Mayor Sacco.
00:37Bill, you know how to build consensus and keep Wilmington moving forward.
00:43I appreciate you being here.
00:47So it's great to be back in North Carolina.
00:54From Camp Lejeune to Fort Liberty to Cherry Point.
01:00And through difficult days and times of joy, I've been honored to learn from you
01:06and to shine a light on your stories.
01:09This is a special community.
01:13And you all help keep it strong.
01:17Four years ago, Joe went from being a military father to being Commander-in-Chief.
01:26It's a responsibility he stepped into with pride.
01:31Because as Joe reminds everyone, any chance he gets,
01:36our U.S. military is the finest fighting military force in the history of the world.
01:48Of all the obligations that Joe has shouldered since he took his oath of office,
01:53he believes the only truly one sacred obligation is to prepare those we send into harm's way
02:02and to care for them and their families when they come home.
02:11Joe knows that military spouses and children may not wear the uniform, but they serve our country too.
02:25That's why he signed an executive order to make sure that military spouses
02:30can build the careers they want for themselves.
02:36And he's lowered the cost of child care and mental health services.
02:41He's also been a champion for joining forces in my White House initiative
02:46to support military and veteran families, caregivers, and survivors.
02:51As Commander-in-Chief, he made the call to end the war in Afghanistan
03:03because the sacrifice of our military families was too steep for too long.
03:11He expanded reproductive health care, including access to IVs.
03:27He signed the PAC Act to give all veterans who've been exposed to toxic substances
03:33the care and benefits that they deserve.
03:39As Commander-in-Chief, President Biden wakes up every morning ready to work for you.
03:48That's what this election is all about. You.
03:54For all the talk out there about this race, Joe has made it clear that he's all in.
04:22That's the decision that he's made, and just as he has always supported my career,
04:29I am all in, too.
04:39I know you are, too, or you wouldn't be here today.
04:43And with four more years, Joe will continue to fight for you,
04:48the military community that he, that we, are humbled and proud to call our own.
04:56My dad, my father, served in World War II as a Navy signalman.
05:01And in 2003, our son Beau joined the Delaware Army National Guard
05:06and then served for a year in Iraq.
05:10This is personal to us.
05:13We know what it's like to wait to connect on a lagging phone call from across the world,
05:19to smile through another holiday with an empty chair at the table.
05:25Let me ask you this, does Donald Trump, does Donald Trump know what it's like?
05:36He disparages those who've sacrificed for this country.
05:40His own chief of staff said he called POWs and those who died in war losers and suckers.
05:50He said he didn't want to be seen with injured veterans because it didn't look good for him.
05:59It's disgraceful.
06:02But it's not surprising.
06:05Donald Trump wakes up every morning thinking about one person and one person only, himself.
06:14We know what Donald Trump was like as commander in chief.
06:20He dismissed the military community and diminished America's leadership around the world.
06:27And it could be worse this time.
06:30He says he wants to become a dictator on day one.
06:35He's called the January 6th insurrectionists great patriots.
06:41And last week the Supreme Court ruled that there are virtually no limits on what a president can do.
06:52Our democracy cannot withstand a Trump presidency with virtually no limits.
06:59Members of our military honor their oath to support and defend the Constitution.
07:06We cannot trust Donald Trump to do the same.
07:11The military community deserves better.
07:15We deserve a commander in chief who serves with integrity and wisdom and character.
07:22And that's my husband Joe Biden.
07:35The military family community is small.
07:38Just a percent of our population.
07:41Why do you do it?
07:43You serve to protect our nation against all enemies, foreign and domestic,
07:49so that our families can sleep safely at night.
07:53You serve because you love this country and freedom and democracy that our flag represents.
08:01You serve because we are the United States of America and we need America.
08:09USA! USA! USA!
08:20Let me leave you with this.
08:22I want you to remember what it felt like the morning after the 2016 election when we fell short.
08:32Remember that feeling?
08:35Remember how you woke up and you said to yourself,
08:39Oh my God, what just happened?
08:44We can't let that happen again.
08:48I don't want to wake up with that feeling thinking like,
08:52Oh, we should have started earlier or we should have given more money or we should have voted.
08:59No, we can't take anything for granted.
09:03We have to meet this moment as if our freedoms are at risk, because they are.
09:18And if the future of America's leadership in the world hangs in the balance, because it does.
09:26As if our democracy is on the line, because it is.
09:33Today we are launching Veterans and Military Families for Biden because we need you in this election.
09:41Talk to your friends and your families about what's at stake.
09:45Sign up for phone banks and canvassing shifts.
09:48And help us make sure that everyone in this community has the balance they need to vote,
09:55no matter where they are stationed.
09:58Together we will witness and together we will build an America that can always live up to the service
10:06and the sacrifice that you all make.
10:10Thank you for being here.