JUST IN: Gretchen Whitmer & Top VP Contender Josh Shapiro Headline Kamala Harris Campaign Event
On Monday, Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) & Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) delivered remarks at an event in support of VP Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign.
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NewsTranscript
00:00🎵
00:30Hello, Pennsylvania!
00:36Wow, this is phenomenal. Are we fired up?
00:43I want to start by thanking all the speakers who shared their stories.
00:46And obviously, I've got to thank one of my very best friends and fellow governors,
00:51the governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro.
01:01How good is Josh Shapiro?
01:03Well, he's gotten a heck of a lot done in just over, well, in over the last year and a half.
01:09And is another example of Democratic governors who believe in our three-part strategy.
01:14Get. Shit. Done.
01:33Okay, my foul-mouthed friends, let's jump in.
01:37I've got to take a minute to shout out my good friend Bob Casey.
01:41We've got to get him re-elected.
01:48And of course, I want to thank a man who dedicated 50 years of his life,
01:54Scranton's own Joe Biden.
01:57Now, for those of you who don't know me, my name is Gretchen Whitmer.
02:12Back home, yes, back home, my friends call me Big Gretch.
02:17So you can, too.
02:20I'm proud to be the governor of Michigan, and I am proud to be here with all of you.
02:26We are fighting, working our tails off to elect Kamala Harris our next president.
02:38And while I'm here, I'll just say, go birds.
02:49With one caveat, when they play my Lions, I'm just saying.
02:54All right, football crowd, let's talk about what we agree on.
02:58And that is that this is a place that, based on how the Phillies are playing this summer,
03:03Pennsylvania knows a little something about gritty, right?
03:10And that's something we share in common.
03:12Pennsylvania and Michigan are a lot alike.
03:14I want to tell you a little bit about me and why I do the work that I do,
03:18because it is about every single one of us.
03:20You know, I was raised in a bipartisan household.
03:23My dad worked for a Republican governor.
03:26My mom worked for a Democratic attorney general.
03:29But they taught my siblings and me the same thing I know a lot of people in this room were taught,
03:34the value of hard work.
03:36My first job was at a lumberyard.
03:38I also stocked the shelves at Target and worked the line at the Royal Fork Buffet.
03:43When I went to Michigan State University is when I did an internship at the AFL-CIO.
03:49And that's when I fell in love with public policy and understood why it's important
03:54that the working men and women of this country have voices and leaders who care about them, right?
04:06I ran for the Michigan legislature at the age of 28.
04:09And a lot of people said that was too bold.
04:12It was too far.
04:13Maybe I should set my sights lower.
04:15But you know what?
04:16I ignored those guys.
04:20And in my first term in the legislature, I became a member of the sandwich generation.
04:25You guys know what that means?
04:27Some of you do.
04:28Yes.
04:29I was sandwiched between two generations of my own family, for whom I was the primary caregiver.
04:34My mother, who was dying of brain cancer at the age of 59,
04:38and my daughter, who I had just given birth to.
04:41And it was really that time of my life that forged who I am now.
04:46I don't have time for baloney.
04:48I don't suffer fools.
04:50I can't countenance people who want to make problems into something that benefits them
04:56instead of just solving the problems, right?
05:03I remember long nights worrying about my baby and arranging her childcare,
05:07fighting with my mom's insurance company,
05:09making sure that I was ready for work the next day and my bills were paid on time.
05:13It was not an extraordinary thing.
05:15So many Americans, so many Pennsylvanians know what I'm talking about.
05:20This is what Americans juggle every single day.
05:24And I was lucky.
05:26I had a great job.
05:28I had daycare.
05:29I had my family and a voice in my community.
05:32And that's what every American in this country deserves, no less.
05:36A job that pays you enough to take care of your family.
05:46Fair wages and good benefits.
05:48Dignity, decency, and respect.
05:51And you know who agrees with me?
05:53Our Vice President Kamala Harris does.
05:56Pennsylvanians are a lot like Michiganders, and Wisconsinites for that matter.
06:08We disagree during Big Ten football season, but we've got a lot in common.
06:13We care about one another.
06:15We're willing to show up and do hard, tough work and take pride in that work.
06:21But we expect to have our freedoms protected.
06:24The freedom to not just get by, but to get ahead.
06:31The freedom to make our own damn decisions about our own damn bodies.
06:40The freedom to be who we are and love who we love.
06:49The freedom to breathe clean air and drink clean water.
06:57The freedom to be safe in school or houses of worship and in your community.
07:07We are the party, as Governor Shapiro likes to say, of real freedom for Americans.
07:19And I know that freedom is center of mind for all of us when we head to the polls in November.
07:27We know that there is a person who will stand shoulder to shoulder with us to fight for our freedoms.
07:34And that is Kamala Harris.
07:42Kamala Harris understands the challenges that we face.
07:46She's been fighting for the people of Michigan and Pennsylvania every day as Vice President.
07:51She's done work to bring down the cost of insulin.
07:54She's done work to add tens of thousands of manufacturing jobs right here over the last few years.
08:01Kamala Harris is the reason that we are making huge investments in infrastructure,
08:06in our roads and bridges from Harrisburg to Lewisburg.
08:16And she'll never stop fighting for our freedoms because she cares about every one of us.
08:21And here's how I know.
08:23Vice President Harris has dedicated decades of her life to public service.
08:28As District Attorney, she put crooks and sex offenders behind bars.
08:38And it makes me think maybe that's why Donald Trump is so scared of her.
08:47As Attorney General, she went after the big banks and got people their money back.
08:57As Senator, she worked across the aisle on legislation to keep people safe.
09:01And worked with Republicans to protect our nation from cyber attacks.
09:05And as Vice President, she helped bring jobs home,
09:09lowered the cost of health care, and led the fight to protect reproductive freedom.
09:17And let's be clear.
09:24Kamala Harris has more experience than the Trump Vance Ticket combined.
09:38Between the two of those dudes, they only have five and a half years and it's not public service,
09:43it's self-service that they're in the business of.
09:52So our Vice President is tough.
09:55She's experienced and she is ready.
09:57And she knows the job is not finished.
10:00That's why she's going to keep fighting for policies that make it easier for us to raise families.
10:05She'll keep fighting to lower costs and create more good-paying jobs.
10:10She'll keep fighting to protect our fundamental freedoms.
10:13And she will get it done because that's who she is.
10:25So the contrast in this election couldn't be more clear.
10:29Donald Trump bragged about overturning Roe v. Wade and sexually assaulting women.
10:35He lost tens of thousands of manufacturing jobs, including right here in Montgomery County.
10:41He tried slashing Medicare and Social Security and repealing the Affordable Care Act.
10:47Thankfully, he didn't win on any of those.
10:54He appointed Supreme Court justices who are rolling back our rights.
11:00He cut taxes for himself and his buddies.
11:04And he tried overturning an election.
11:09Now I gotta take a minute to talk about the guy who joined his ticket a couple weeks ago.
11:16Oh, you heard of him, did you?
11:19J.D. Vance. Yeah.
11:22He's really made his values clear lately.
11:25He does not see women as equals.
11:28He does not want everyone to have a seat at the table.
11:32He's scared of us.
11:34Because Democrats, we want everyone to have a seat at the table.
11:45I mean, even cat lovers and dog lovers alike.
11:50Now, my grandma always said I needed to find at least one good thing about every person.
12:05And so I'll give J.D. this.
12:08He is efficient.
12:10In one sentence, he insulted women, black people, and Jewish people.
12:20That's efficient.
12:22And that's all I got.
12:25Trump and Vance want to take us backwards, but we're not going back.
12:30Our response to them is simple.
12:32Hell no.
12:35Are we going back to less freedom?
12:38Are we going back to cronies and crooks who help themselves at our expense?
12:44Are we going back to dangerous extremists?
12:49Oh, you're so good at this. Thank you.
12:52My friends, the choice is clear.
12:54We are moving forward.
12:56We are going to build a brighter future and a new chapter for America with Kamala Harris.
13:01Can you say hell yeah?
13:03Hell yeah!
13:04Kamala Harris, the prosecutor who keeps communities safe.
13:08Hell yeah!
13:09Kamala Harris, the senator who knows how to deliver results.
13:12Hell yeah!
13:14Kamala Harris, the vice president who puts America back on track.
13:18Hell yeah!
13:19Michiganders and Pennsylvanians have a big job over the next 99 days.
13:24We are on the front lines.
13:26We all remember 2016, where Trump won our states by less than 55,000 votes.
13:32That's just 366 votes a county.
13:35Now you tell me, can you make 366 calls?
13:39Hell yeah!
13:41Well, come on, hell yeah!
13:43Hell yeah!
13:44Can you knock on 366 doors?
13:46Hell yeah!
13:48Can you donate $36.60?
13:50Hell yeah!
13:52When we do the work, we win.
13:56We sealed the deal for Joe Biden.
13:58Let's seal the deal for our next president, Kamala Harris.
14:01Yes!
14:08So, from now until November, we all need to dig deep.
14:13Tell your friends what's at stake.
14:15Like those memes and share TikToks.
14:17But don't just do that.
14:19Knock doors.
14:21Make calls.
14:22Write postcards.
14:23Think about every day, what can you do to make sure that we win this thing?
14:27And take care of yourself along the way.
14:29Eat a vegetable on occasion, okay?
14:33If the last few weeks have shown us anything, it's that energy is contagious.
14:38Joy is contagious.
14:41Let's do the work and let's have fun doing it.
14:44Let's wake up in November and say the words, Madam President.
14:58And with that, join me in welcoming hometown hero and the 48th governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro.
15:07Hey, everybody.
15:13Whoa.
15:16Yeah.
15:23Hello, Montgomery County.
15:25Hell yeah, big grudge.
15:31Big grudge in the house.
15:34You know why they call her Big Grudge in Michigan?
15:39Because she gets big things done.
15:41That's right.
15:43She has fixed the damn roads in Michigan.
15:47She has flipped her legislature from red to blue in Michigan.
15:55And she has made it a mission to protect reproductive rights for women all across Michigan.
16:04And she has succeeded.
16:09Big grudge.
16:11She cut taxes for seniors.
16:13She created jobs in the auto industry.
16:16She invested in students.
16:18She protected our freedoms.
16:21Big Grudge got a whole lot done in Michigan.
16:28And I couldn't be more grateful to have her as a dear friend, a colleague, and as someone who has shown governors the way on how to make meaningful change in their communities.
16:40Governor Whitmer, thank you for being with us today.
16:49Let me tell you, it is so good to be home.
16:55This is the community that raised me.
17:00This is the community that taught me so much.
17:04I love you back.
17:09This is the community where I went out and knocked on 18,000 doors in my neighborhoods in Abington and Upper Dublin.
17:22And you invited me in your living rooms.
17:24And you talked to me on your porches.
17:26And you shared with me your fears.
17:28And you told me about your hopes.
17:30And you sent me to the Capitol to fight for you.
17:33And I've never forgotten the lessons you taught me along the way.
17:43This is the community where I was raised.
17:46And the community that my amazing wife, Lori, Pennsylvania's First Lady, sitting right over there.
17:59Where she and I have chosen to raise our four children.
18:02And we feel blessed to be here.
18:04This is the community that showed me the way, that taught me about three simple letters in the alphabet that I reflect on every day.
18:13Governor Whitmer talked about it earlier, GSD.
18:16We focus on getting shit done here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
18:25It was those lessons that showed me the importance of a quality public education.
18:30And as your governor, we've invested more in public education than at any other time in our Commonwealth's history.
18:41Great schools for our kids.
18:43Safe communities because we've learned you can invest in police and you can make meaningful criminal justice reform.
18:51We've done both here in the Commonwealth.
18:57When I was on your porches and at your doors, you talked to me about making sure we could breathe clean air and drink pure water.
19:04It's right there in Article 1, Section 27 of our state constitution.
19:09And we are delivering that here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
19:19You taught me the valuable lessons that everyone here in the Commonwealth,
19:24no matter what they look like, where they come from, who they love or who they pray to,
19:29should have the freedom to chart their own course and the opportunity to succeed.
19:35And we have delivered on that freedom agenda for you as your governor.
19:46But the most important lesson you taught me on those doors is the importance of being for the people.
19:55Standing up for the people over the power.
19:58You know who else stands up for the people every day?
20:01Kamala Harris stands up for the people every day.
20:06She sure does.
20:10She was a prosecutor, a tough-as-nails prosecutor, who went after dangerous criminals,
20:18but also had a heart to stand up for our victims.
20:22She was Attorney General, like me.
20:24And let me tell you something, she wasn't afraid to take on the powerful.
20:28She took on those opioid companies.
20:30She took on the big banks.
20:32She took on the polluters.
20:33And when she looked them in the eye, she won every single time.
20:46But Kamala Harris for the people wasn't just in a courtroom.
20:51Kamala Harris for the people was in the halls of power, the corridors of power.
20:55As a United States senator, she never forgot those lessons she learned fighting for the underdog.
21:02She stood up every day as a United States senator, fighting for the middle class,
21:07fighting every day for our working families.
21:11Kamala Harris was chosen by our great President Joe Biden, Pennsylvania's own Joe Biden.
21:19Joe! Joe! Joe! Joe!
21:34He chose Kamala Harris to not just campaign with him.
21:38He chose Kamala Harris because he wanted to govern with her and because he knew she was ready.
21:45Vice President Harris has been battle-tested.
21:48She is ready to not just be the standard-bearer of our party,
21:52but to be the 47th President of the United States of America.
22:07She is, she's not only ready, she's damn ready.
22:13And you know who else knows she's ready?
22:15Donald Trump knows she's ready.
22:18And you know, you know how I know this?
22:21Because he's afraid to debate her now, do you see that?
22:24And it's not just because she's a skilled debater and a courtroom prosecutor who knows how to make the case.
22:32He's afraid to debate her because he can't defend his record.
22:38He's afraid to debate her because she knows the truth about how he failed as a president
22:45when he had the keys to the White House four years ago.
22:51I want you to think about it.
22:52I know it's hard to think about, but I want you to remember those days.
22:57Those days, I know you got to think about it for a minute.
22:59Come on, gang.
23:02Those days, those days of chaos.
23:06Those days where you didn't want to pick up your phone and look
23:09because you just didn't want to know what he did that day.
23:14What alliance he broke across the world.
23:18What risk he was posing to our communities at home.
23:23The chaos that he injected into our lives.
23:27We don't want to go back to that, gang.
23:29We don't want to go back to that.
23:31Hell no, right?
23:35He's got a record of failure.
23:38Fewer people went to work in Pennsylvania when Donald Trump was president.
23:42Fewer roads got repaired.
23:44Fewer bridges got built.
23:46And let me tell you what else there was less of when he was president.
23:50There was less freedom when he was president.
23:55Donald Trump packed the Supreme Court with his hand-picked extremists.
24:04And after he was done packing the court, one of the first big things they did
24:08was rip away the freedom from millions of women across this country
24:13when he ended Roe v. Wade.
24:15Donald Trump did that.
24:18Don't forget that.
24:20It was more chaos, less jobs, and far less freedom when Donald Trump was president.
24:28And listen, listen to me.
24:30He did that when he had no earthly idea how to be president back then.
24:36I'm serious.
24:38He didn't know what he was doing.
24:40And there were a whole lot of guardrails still around Donald Trump
24:44when he was president four years ago.
24:47I want to tell you why you should be extra scared today.
24:51Remember that same Supreme Court that he packed
24:54in order to rip away women's fundamental freedoms?
24:58That same Supreme Court, his buddies he put on there,
25:03just ruled that the rule of law doesn't apply to Donald Trump anymore.
25:09They literally ruled that.
25:14He is dangerous.
25:17He is destructive.
25:19And the guardrails are off.
25:22And here's the other thing.
25:24He's told us what he wants to do.
25:26Y'all go crack open that whole Project 2025 thing.
25:32Go take a look.
25:34Go take a look at what his buddies and all his former staff wrote.
25:38That is, hold on, I'm going to repeat it.
25:40These are not my words.
25:41These are the words of this guy in the front row.
25:43That's some scary shit right there.
25:45That's what he just said.
25:47It's really scary.
25:49It is an agenda to take away more of your freedoms.
25:54It is an agenda to use the police and the military in this country
25:59to settle scores with his enemies.
26:03It's an agenda to pollute our air.
26:07And it's an agenda to undermine our public health and our public safety.
26:12It's written right there in that whole Project 2025.
26:16So the guy's more dangerous because he knows what he's doing.
26:20He's got no guardrails around him anymore.
26:22And he's told us what he wants to do.
26:25What Maya Angelou say, when someone tells you who they are, believe them.
26:31Believe them the first time.
26:33He's told us what he wants to do.
26:36And he has shown us who he is.
26:40He has shown us as a guy who doesn't love this country.
26:44He really doesn't.
26:46You see him every day.
26:47He's going on and on about all the bad stuff in this country.
26:51Let me tell you something.
26:53Let me tell you something.
26:54Here in America, we are producing more energy than ever before,
26:59giving us more freedom and more national security.
27:05Let me tell you something else.
27:07Our economy under Joe Biden and Kamala Harris is growing faster, stronger than ever before,
27:11and we are kicking China's butt for the first time in generations.
27:17Let me tell you something else.
27:19Let me tell you something else.
27:21Not just here in Pennsylvania or in Michigan, but this morning in America,
27:25more people went to work than ever before in our nation's history.
27:31This is a great nation.
27:34And so I got a message to Donald Trump.
27:39Stop shit-talking America.
27:42This is the greatest country on the face of the earth.
27:48Let's start acting like it.
27:58I know that's true.
27:59You know that's true.
28:01He doesn't know that's true.
28:03He keeps talking us down, and he keeps trying to rip away our fundamental freedoms.
28:09I mean, I have to laugh.
28:10You ever see this guy?
28:11Like, when he's on a stage, he, like, kind of meanders over, you know,
28:14can't really walk well, and he goes over to the flag,
28:17and he, like, hugs the flag.
28:19I mean, I love the flag, but it's a weird thing he does, right?
28:24But while he's hugging the flag, you know what he's doing?
28:29He's ripping away our freedoms.
28:31That's what he's all about, because here's what I know.
28:35It's not freedom to tell our children what books they're allowed to read.
28:39That's not freedom.
28:45It is not freedom to tell people they can go to work, but they can't join a union.
28:51That's not freedom.
28:56It is not freedom to tell women what they're allowed to do with their bodies.
29:03That's not freedom.
29:11And hear me on this.
29:13I know this well, because I was attorney general.
29:16When he was trying to stop your votes from being counted,
29:19it's not freedom to tell people they can go vote, but he's going to pick the winner.
29:24That is not freedom, and that is what we have to stop.
29:31But you know what we believe in, Pennsylvania?
29:38We believe in real freedom in this Commonwealth and in this country.
29:43And you know who else believes in real freedom?
29:45Kamala Harris believes in real freedom.
29:52Kamala Harris, she believes in the kind of freedom where we invest in that young girl's public school
29:59because we know if we give her a shot, she can make a real difference in life.
30:04That is real freedom.
30:09Kamala Harris knows we've got to invest in public safety to keep our communities safe
30:15so that young girl, when she walks to school and home, she can get to and from her mama safely.
30:21That is real freedom.
30:26Kamala Harris knows real freedom means giving everybody in every community,
30:32especially communities that have been hollowed out and left behind economic opportunity.
30:38That is real freedom, and that is what we are fighting for.
30:44Kamala Harris knows women need to have the freedom to make decisions over their own bodies.
30:50Kamala Harris knows people need to have the freedom to marry who they love.
30:55I say love is love.
31:01Kamala Harris knows real freedom means worshipping where you want, living how you want,
31:07and experiencing the bountiful of freedom all across this nation in rural, urban, and suburban communities.
31:14That is real freedom, and that is what we are fighting for.
31:24Now, Donald Trump sure is dangerous.
31:29And we've seen how close these elections can be.
31:3455,000 votes between Pennsylvania and Michigan back in 2016.
31:40It's scary what he's proposed in this Project 2025.
31:45It's scary that the guardrails are off him.
31:49But let me tell you something, friends.
31:51I'm more optimistic than ever before.
31:56Than ever before.
32:02Because this is a nation that's already freed itself from a king.
32:08And this, this is a nation, and this is a commonwealth that has a unique relationship with freedom.
32:18It was here 248 years ago, just about 15 miles from where we are right now, at Independence Hall,
32:28where patriots decided to declare independence.
32:32Where patriots gathered in taverns and town squares to decide that they wanted to be able to choose their own future, their own destiny.
32:45That work was here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the birthplace of democracy.
32:52And that work continues and falls to us today.
32:57Go back and look at the trajectory of the American story.
33:01Over the last 248 years, it's been patriots who have gathered in those taverns, in those town squares, and today on TikTok.
33:12Don't laugh about TikTok, that's an important place to gather.
33:16But it's been ordinary Americans coming together, rising up, demanding more, seeking justice,
33:23seeing something wrong and trying to make a right in their communities.
33:28You see, the story of America, the progress that we have made here,
33:34hasn't just been made by powerful people with titles next to their names.
33:40It's been made by all of you, deciding that we want to go in a different direction.
33:46Deciding that we would stand up to kings and instead stand together with patriots.
33:52You see, the reason why I am optimistic is because we have been here before.
33:58And as a nation, we have always come through it.
34:01We have always gotten better.
34:04We have always gotten stronger.
34:06We have always gotten more just as a society.
34:16And so, the task falls to each of us now to pick up the mantles from the patriots who came before us
34:24and do that hard work right now to protect our freedoms.
34:28Do that hard work right now to stand up against those who would rip it away.
34:35And do that hard work right now to make clear who we are as a nation.
34:41What we value as a nation.
34:44Listen, Kamala Harris' name is going to be on that ballot.
34:49And I, for one, am going to be pushing that button for Kamala Harris.
34:52I know you will too.
34:58But in many ways, in many ways, this election isn't just about a name on the ballot.
35:04It's an election about all of us.
35:07And what it is that we're willing to fight for.
35:10What it is that we're willing to work for.
35:13And what kind of future we want to build for our children and our grandchildren.
35:18What I know about you, I want a future that is cleaner and greener.
35:22I want a future with better schools and safer streets.
35:26And I want a future with more freedom, not less.
35:30And I want a future where I can look the 47th president of the United States in the eye and say,
35:37Hello, Madam President.
35:40I hope you're with me. Let us get to work.