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00:00I wanted to make a life in national security.
00:03I was recruited by the CIA and did three tours in Iraq alongside the military.
00:08In between, I worked at the White House under President Bush and President Obama, two very
00:13different leaders who both believed that America is exceptional.
00:17You can find that same sense of patriotism here in Wyandotte, Michigan, where I'm speaking
00:22from tonight.
00:23It's a working class town just south of Detroit.
00:26President Trump and I both won here in November.
00:30It might not seem like it, but plenty of places like this still exist across the United States.
00:35Places where people believe that if you work hard and play by the rules, you should do
00:39well and your kids should do better.
00:42It reminds me of how I grew up.
00:44My dad was a lifelong Republican, my mom a lifelong Democrat, but it was never a big
00:48deal because we had shared values that were bigger than any one party.
00:55We just went through another fraught election season.
00:58Americans made it clear that prices are too high and that the government needs to be more
01:02responsive to their needs.
01:05America wants change, but there's a responsible way to make change and a reckless way.
01:10And we can make that change without forgetting who we are as a country and as a democracy.
01:16So that's what I'm going to lay out tonight.
01:19Because whether you're from Wyandotte or Wichita, most Americans share three core beliefs.
01:25That the middle class is the engine of our country, that strong national security protects
01:29us from harm, and that our democracy, no matter how messy, is unparalleled and worth fighting
01:35for.
01:37Let's start with the economy.
01:39Michigan literally invented the middle class, the revolutionary idea that you could work
01:44at an auto plant and afford the car you were building.
01:47That's the American dream.
01:49And in order to expand and protect the middle class, we have to do a few basic things.
01:54We need to bring down the price of things we spend the most money on.
01:57Groceries, housing, health care.
01:59We need to make more things in America with good-paying union jobs and bring our supply
02:04chains back home from places like China.
02:07We need to give American businesses the certainty they need to invest and create the jobs of
02:12the future.
02:14And we need a tax system that's fair for people who don't happen to make a billion dollars.
02:18Look, the president talked a big game on the economy, but it's always important to read
02:23the fine print.
02:24So do his plans actually help Americans get ahead?
02:29Not even close.
02:31President Trump is trying to deliver an unprecedented giveaway to his billionaire friends.
02:36He's on the hunt to find trillions of dollars to pass along to the wealthiest in America.
02:40And to do that, he's going to make you pay in every part of your life.
02:46Grocery and home prices are going up, not down, and he hasn't laid out a credible plan
02:51to deal with either of those.
02:53His tariffs on allies like Canada will raise prices on energy, lumber, and cars, and start
02:58a trade war that will hurt manufacturing and farmers.
03:02Your premiums and prescriptions will cost more because the math on his proposals doesn't
03:07work without going after your health care.
03:10Meanwhile, for those keeping score, the national debt is going up, not down.
03:15And if he's not careful, he could walk us right into a recession.
03:20And one more thing.
03:21In order to pay for his plan, he could very well come after your retirement.
03:25The Social Security, Medicare, and VA benefits you worked your whole life to earn.
03:30The president claims he won't, but Elon Musk just called Social Security the biggest Ponzi
03:36scheme of all time.
03:38While we're on the subject of Elon Musk, is there anyone in America who is comfortable
03:42with him and his gang of 20-year-olds using their own computer servers to poke through
03:47your tax returns, your health information, and your bank accounts?
03:51No oversight.
03:52No protections against cyber attack.
03:54No guardrails on what they do with your private data.
03:59We need a more efficient government.
04:01You want to cut waste?
04:02I'll help you do it.
04:03But change doesn't need to be chaotic or make us less safe.
04:07The mindless firing of people who work to protect our nuclear weapons, keep our planes
04:12from crashing, and conduct the research that finds the cure for cancer only to rehire them
04:17two days later?
04:19No CEO in America could do that without being summarily fired.
04:23Okay, so we've talked about economic security.
04:27How about national security?
04:29Let's start with the border.
04:31As someone who spent my whole career protecting our homeland, every country deserves to know
04:35who and what is coming across its border, period.
04:39Democrats and Republicans should all be for that.
04:42But securing the border without actually fixing our broken immigration system is dealing with
04:47the symptom and not the disease.
04:50America is a nation of immigrants.
04:52We need a functional system, key to the needs of our economy, that allows vetted people
04:57to come and work here legally.
04:59So I look forward to the President's plan on that.
05:02Because here's the thing.
05:04Today's world is deeply interconnected.
05:06Migration, cyber threats, AI, environmental destruction, terrorism.
05:11One nation cannot face these issues alone.
05:14We need friends in all corners.
05:16And our safety depends on it.
05:19President Trump loves to say, peace through strength.
05:22That's actually a line he stole from Ronald Reagan.
05:25But let me tell you, after the spectacle that just took place in the Oval Office last week,
05:30Reagan must be rolling in his grave.
05:33We all want an end to the war in Ukraine.
05:36But Reagan understood that true strength required America to combine our military and economic
05:41might with moral clarity.
05:44And that scene in the Oval Office wasn't just a bad episode of reality TV.
05:49It summed up Trump's whole approach to the world.
05:52He believes in cozying up to dictators like Vladimir Putin and kicking our friends like
05:56the Canadians in the teeth.
05:59He sees American leadership as merely a series of real estate transactions.
06:04As a Cold War kid, I'm thankful it was Reagan and not Trump in office in the 1980s.
06:10Trump would have lost us the Cold War.
06:13Donald Trump's actions suggest that in his heart, he doesn't believe we're an exceptional
06:18nation.
06:19He clearly doesn't think we should lead the world.
06:22Look, America is not perfect, but I stand with the majority of Americans who believe
06:26we are still exceptional, unparalleled, and I would rather have American leadership over
06:32Chinese or Russian leadership any day of the week.
06:36Because for generations, America has offered something better.
06:40Our security and our prosperity, yes, but our democracy, our very system of government,
06:45has been the aspiration of the world.
06:47And right now, it's at risk.
06:50It's at risk when the president decides you can pick and choose what rules you want to
06:53follow, when he ignores court orders and the Constitution itself, or when elected leaders
06:59stand by and just let it happen.
07:03But it's also at risk when the president pits Americans against each other, when he demonizes
07:08those who are different and tells certain people they shouldn't be included.
07:13Because America is not just a patch of land between two oceans.
07:17We are more than that.
07:20Americans have fought and died to secure the fundamental rights that define us.
07:24Those rights and the fight for them make us who we are.
07:28We're a nation of strivers, risk-takers, innovators, and we are never satisfied.
07:34That is America's superpower.
07:37And look, I've lived and worked in many countries.
07:40I've seen democracies flicker out.
07:42I've seen what life is like when a government is rigged.
07:46You can't open a business without paying off a corrupt official.
07:48You can't criticize the guys in charge without getting a knock at the door in the middle
07:53of the night.
07:54So as much as we need to make our government more responsive to our lives today, don't
07:59for one moment fool yourself that democracy isn't precious and worth saving.
08:05But how do we actually do that?
08:06I know a lot of you have been asking that question.
08:09First, don't tune out.
08:12It's easy to be exhausted, but America needs you now more than ever.
08:17If previous generations had not fought for this democracy, where would we be today?
08:21Second, hold your elected officials, including me, accountable.
08:26Watch how they're voting.
08:27Go to town halls and demand they take action.
08:30That's as American as apple pie.
08:32Third, organize.
08:34Pick just one issue you're passionate about and engage.
08:38And doom-scrolling doesn't count.
08:40Join a group that cares about your issue and act.
08:43And if you can't find one, start one.
08:46Some of the most important movements in our history have come from the bottle up.
08:50In closing, we all know that our country is going through something right now.
08:56We're not sure what the next day is going to hold, let alone the next decade.
09:00But this isn't the first time we've experienced significant and tumultuous change as a country.
09:06I'm a student of history, and we've gone through periods of political instability before.
09:12And ultimately, we've chosen to keep changing this country for the better.
09:16But every single time, we've only gotten through those moments because of two things.
09:22Engaged citizens and principled leaders.
09:25Engaged citizens who do a little bit more than they're used to doing to fight for the
09:28things that they care about.
09:30And principled leaders who are ready to receive the ball and do something about it.
09:36So thank you tonight for caring about your country just by watching you qualify as engaged
09:41citizens.
09:42And I promise that I and my fellow Democrats will do everything in our power to be the
09:47principled leaders that you deserve.
09:48Good night, everyone.