Remarks by Vice President Harris and Governor Tim Walz at a Campaign Event in Las Vegas, NV

Thomas & Mack Center
Las Vegas, Nevada

6:24 P.M. PDT

GOVERNOR WALZ:  Wow.  Wow, wow, wow.  Hey — (applause) —

AUDIENCE:  Gov!  Gov!  Gov!

GOVERNOR WALZ:  (Laughs.)  (Applause.)  Wow.  Wow. 

     One more time for Tilly.  Thank you.  (Applause.)

Well, hello, Las Vegas.  (Laughs.)  (Applause.)  Now, I know some of you spent the week googling Minnesota a little bit — (laughter) — and to figure out who these Minnesotans were. 

     Here’s the one thing I can tell you about us.  We spend about half our lives talking about the weather.  (Laughter.)  It’s what we do.  So, I want to say thank you to all of the people since I’ve been here to remind me that it’s a dry heat outside.  (Laughter.)  So — so is your damn oven, but, you know, that’s — (laughter) — I’m melting like a snowman outside. 

But, look, this is incredible.  And I want to say a thank you to a few folks I had the privilege of working with when I served in Congress.  You have two of the best senators you could ever hope for — (applause): Senator Cortez Masto and Senator Rosen. 

Just as a side note, there’s lots of commonalities here — it may not be the weather; we walk on water half the year it’s so damn cold, but that’s what we are.  But we have something in common.  Both Minnesota and Nevada have two women senators, and that’s a pretty good thing.  (Applause.) 

Huge thank you to Congressman Horsford — (applause); Congresswoman Lee — (applause); and — and a longtime friend I served with, Congresswoman Titus.  Grateful.  (Applause.)

A special thank you is for what I’m looking at right here: to every one of you.  You took time out of your busy lives.  You didn’t need to be here.  There’s many things you could have been doing.  You chose.  You braved 108-degree heat — I can’t even believe I’m saying that — (laughter) — just to be here. 
And I have to tell you, I understand, because of the heat, they had to shut the door early and turn thousands of folks away. 

AUDIENCE:  Aww —

GOVERNOR WALZ:  But don’t worry, we’re going to be back a lot.  (Laughs.)  (Applause.)

All the things — you got babysitters; you had to do everything — but you came here for something bigger than yourselves for one simple, eloquent, and beautiful reason: You love this country.  (Applause.)  Thank you.

AUDIENCE:  USA!  USA!  USA!

     GOVERNOR WALZ:  USA!

     AUDIENCE:  USA!  USA!  USA!

GOVERNOR WALZ:  I’m so incredibly proud to be on this ticket — and I want to give a big shout-out — with the support of a special group tonight, Culinary Workers Union 226.  (Applause.)

We’re here for that love, and the end of this road — remember, 87 days.  Rarely in your life do you get an opportunity in 87 days to change the trajectory of not just today or tomorrow but for generations around the world.  (Applause.)

And I keep saying this: We can do anything for 87 days.  And my mantra is, “We’ll sleep when we’re dead.”  We’ll sleep when we’re dead.  (Applause.)  Because when you wake up on that 88th day, you’re going to get to say, “Welcome, Madam President Harris.”  (Applause.) 

This is — this is a leader that wakes up every day to try and do things for the American people.  She will — she took on the predators, the fraudsters, the transnational gangs; stood up against the greed of corporate interests — (applause); stood with working people in organized labor — (applause); and never failed to reach across the aisle if it meant improving people’s lives.  (Applause.) 

I was taught a little something about that commitment too.  I was born in a small town in Nebraska where community was a way of life.  (Applause.)  There’s some Nebraskans in the house.  Yay, Cornhuskers. 

You think I’m kidding.  You think I’m kidding.  Four hundred people, 25 kids in my class, 12 were cousins.  That’s small town.  (Laughter.)  That’s small town. 

     But you know what?  My parents and my community taught me generosity towards my neighbor and to work for the common good.  (Applause.) 

     My — my dad was a chain-smoking, Korean War-era veteran, who two days after my 17th birthday took me down to sign up to join the National Guard.  (Applause.)  I was proud, for the next 24 years, to wear the uniform of this country.  (Applause.) 

Thank — thank you to every single one of you who wore that uniform.  And I have to tell you, like my dad before me and millions of others, the G.I. Bill gave me a shot at a college education.  (Applause.) 

And just — and just like Tilly, my dad was a teacher, my older brother was a teacher, my sister was a teacher, my younger brother was a teacher.  (Applause.)  And we married teachers, so — (laughter).  The privilege of my lifetime was spending two decades teaching in public schools t- — (applause) — and — and, you might have heard, coaching football to a state championship, so — (applause).  Here’s —

AUDIENCE:  Coach!  Coach!  Coach!

GOVERNOR WALZ:  Don’t ever close that yearbook.  That’s my pro tip.  (Laughter.) 

Look, my students and my players are the ones who encouraged me to run for office.  They saw in me what I hoped to instill in them: a commitment to a common good and something so important — the belief, as each and every one of you came here as a single person, a single person can make a difference.  (Applause.)  Can make a difference.

Never planned in my life to run for office, but I think my life prepared me well.  And when my neighbors and — asked if I’d run for office, I was pretty clueless.  I did not know that the district I was running in had only had one Democrat since 1892 before me.  (Laughter.)  But my community graced me with the opportunity to represent them in the United States Congress for 12 years — (applause) — where I had the privilege of serving as the ranking member on the VA committee, working with Republicans to most — pass the most extensive veterans package since the G.I. Bill.  (Applause.)

I learned — I learned the art of compromising without compromising my values.  (Applause.)

And as — now, as governor, I bring all those experience together to tackle the most pressing challenges we have in the great state of Minnesota.  (Applause.) 

Now each of you came here — you came here because you love the country.  You came here because you know a fantastic leader is going to walk out those doors in a minute or two, the person that you see bringing everything to us. 

But just be very clear here: Donald Trump sees the world very differently than all of us here. 

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

GOVERNOR WALZ:  Each of you talk about service.  Donald Trump knows nothing about service.  (Applause.)  It’s —

AUDIENCE MEMBERS:  We’re not going back!  We’re not going back!  We’re not going back!

GOVERNOR WALZ:  Yay.

It’s pretty hard to provide service to others when you’re too busy looking out for only yourself.  (Applause.) 

     Again and again and again Donald Trump made decisions to weaken this country to strengthen his own hand.  He mocked our laws, he sowed division and chaos amongst our citizens, and that’s to say nothing of his record as president. 

He froze in the face of the global COVID pandemic, and our neigh- — and our neighbors died because of it.  By not addressing COVID — by not addressing COVID, he drove our economy into the ground.  (Applause.) 

And I just want to set the record straight, because facts do matter, and there’s not an alternate set of facts.  (Applause.)  Here’s one for you: Violent crime was up during the Trump presidency, and that’s even not counting his crimes.  (Laughter.) 

Some of you — some of you gray-hair or no-hairs in here can actually remember a time when Republicans actually talked about freedom and believed in it.  Not these guys.  These are the guys that believe government should be free to invade your exam room with your doctor. 

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

GOVERNOR WALZ:  I’m sure it’s true here in Nevada, as it’s true in Minnesota: We respect our neighbors’ rights to make their own personal choices.  (Applause.) 

We don’t have to agree with them or make the same choice, but we know that this nation — things work best when you mind your own damn business.  When you mind your own damn business.  (Applause.)

I don’t — I don’t need any help — I don’t need any help from those guys telling me which books to read.  (Applause.) 

I sure the heck don’t need any lecture about morality from those guys.  (Applause.)

And the last thing they can mind their own damn business is I don’t need any help from them talking about my family.  (Applause.)

And this is where it gets personal, where they want to dictate things like IVF and reproductive care. 

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

GOVERNOR WALZ:  I know there’s a lot of you out there — this is the most personal choices we have.  When my wife and I decided to have children, we spent years going through fertility treatments, and I said, I remember —

We have somebody to help?  We have water? 

     AUDIENCE MEMBER:  We need a medic.

     GOVERNOR WALZ:  All right.  Thanks for helping your neighbors.  But I — (applause) —

     You’re going to help them?  You’re good?  All right.  Thank you. 

I remember those — waiting for the phone calls.  You’d go through the treatments.  I would have my neighbor come over to have to give shots to my wife and things like that.  And the phone would ring, and you would just hope so highly that it would be good news.  And then when you found out the treatments didn’t work, it was a darkness that could blot out the sun. 

So, I have to tell you, it wasn’t by chance when that phone call finally came and we found out we were going to welcome our daughter into the world — (applause) — we — we named her the most powerful word in the universe: Hope.  Hope.  (Applause.) 

So, when you hear — when you hear Kamala Harris and I talk about freedom — we’re very clear about this — we mean the freedom to make your own health care decisions — (applause) — and that your children should be free to go to school without worrying about being shot dead in their classroom.  (Applause.) 

Look, again, I know Nevada is a lot like Minnesota.  In Minnesota, we believe in the Second Amendment, but we also believe in commonsense gun violence laws.  (Applause.)

Vice President Harris believes education be a — should be a ticket to the middle class, not crippling student loan debt.  (Applause.) 

     And we come here today because in 87 days, we’re going to settle our political differences not through violence; we’re going to settle it by beating them at the ballot box.  (Applause.) 

So, look, I keep saying this.  This is a pretty — a pretty simple thing here.  This election is about the choice about what direction this country will go in.  And I want to be clear, I know very clearly that I am preaching to the choir, but here’s my words for you: The choir needs to sing.  The choir needs to
sing.  (Applause.) 

So, the other day I was saying this — I started out by saying, “Don’t believe Donald Trump when he plays dumb about 2025,” but then I remembered, you don’t believe him on anything, because that’s what you shouldn’t believe.  (Applause.) 

But, look, I coached football for enough years — when somebody draws up a playbook, they plan on using it — (applause) — and when they do, they’ll restrict our freedoms.  When they do, they’ll do what they’ve done: They’ll rig the economy so that the middle class gets nothing and the rich get richer. 

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

GOVERNOR WALZ:  If this guy gets an opportunity again, he won’t only pick up where he left off, it will be much worse than it was last time.  He’ll gut Social Security, pull your health care, underfund public schools — all of it. 

AUDIENCE:  We’re not going back!  We’re not going back!

     GOVERNOR WALZ:  That’s damn right. 

     AUDIENCE:  We’re not going back!

GOVERNOR WALZ:  Damn right.  We’re not going back. 

     AUDIENCE:  We’re not going back!  We’re not going back!  We’re not going back!

GOVERNOR WALZ:  Look, this guy is not fighting for you or your family.  He doesn’t give a damn.  And his running mate shares his dangerous and backward agenda. 

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

GOVERNOR WALZ:  I said this: All of my friends, we went to Yale, had billionaires fund our career, and then we write a book trashing our neighbors that raised us. 

     Come on.  We’re better than that.  We’re better than that. 

And I said it — I want to be clear: I didn’t call anybody names.  I spent enough years in that lunchroom to know bullies when I see them.  I just made a very clear observation that they seem to be really concerned about.  I pointed out that taking away reproductive freedoms, banning books, raising the price of inlin — insulin, trying to hurt labor unions — nobody is asking for that weird crap.  No one is asking for it.  (Applause.)

Here is the good news.  We do the work — this is about the future.  We do the work, none of that’s going to happen.  Vice President Harris believes in those freedoms.  She knows that every single person should get a chance at the middle class.  She believes in something so beautiful: the promise of America.  It’s that simple: the promise of America.  (Applause.)

Madam Vice President, I want to say thank you for putting the trust in me to be your running mate.  (Applause.)  And I want to say, she has done so much.  And with you together, it’s reminded us about something.  It’s reminded us that this work can be about goodness.  It can be about smiling.  It’s tough work, but we can be happy doing it.  (Applause.)

And — and Kamala Harris has done something that we for forever be grateful for her: She has brought out the joy in our politics.  (Applause.)

Nevada, join me in welcoming the next president of the United States, Kamala Harris. (Applause.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Hey, Nevada!  (Applause.)  Can we hear it for Tim Walz?  (Applause.) 

Oh, it’s so good to be back.  Good evening, everyone.  (Applause.)  Good evening.  Good evening.  (Applause.) 

Oh, I see lots of friends.  Oh, it is good to be back.  It is good to be back.  (Applause.)  Thank you all.  My goodness.  (Applause.)

S- — but, seriously, isn’t Tim Walz fantastic?  (Applause.) 

     And I know, for some folks, you’re just getting to know him and you’ve heard he’s had many titles over his life: governor, congressman, dad, husband, coach.  (Laughs.)  (Applause.)  But in 87 days, our nation is going to know Coach Walz as vice president of the United States of America.  (Applause.)  That’s right. 

And it is so good to be here with so many incredible leaders, including my dear friends Senator Catherine Cortez Masto — (applause); Senator Jacky Rosen — (applause) — who we will reelect to the United States Senate — (applause); Congressmembers Dina Titus — (applause), Steven Horsford — (applause), and Susie Lee.  (Applause.)  

And I know Culinary 226 is in the house.  (Applause.)  (Inaudible) —

AUDIENCE:  226!  226!  226!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  That’s right.

AUDIENCE:  226!  226! 

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And the culinary union, as everyone in Nevada knows, they have helped lead the way in our country for workers’ rights and workers’ dignity.  (Applause.)

And I have to say, for years, I’ve been so proud to work by your side.  When I was attorney general of California, we worked together to crack down on wage theft.  (Applause.)  When I was a United States senator, we fought together for paid family leave and medical leave.  (Applause.)  And earlier this year, right here in Vegas, we celebrated your historic contract win.  (Applause.)

And it is my promise to everyone here, when I am president, we will continue our fight for working families of America — (applause) — including to raise the minimum wage — (applause) — and eliminate taxes on tips for service and hospitality workers.  (Applause.)

And, Nevada, today, I also bring greetings from our incredible president, Joe Biden.  (Applause.)  Joe. 

     AUDIENCE:  Joe!  Joe!  Joe!

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  We love Joe. 

AUDIENCE:  We love Joe!  We love Joe!  We love Joe!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  That’s great.  That’s great.

     And I know — I’m going to tell him what you all just said.  (Laughter.) 

And I know we are all so deeply grateful to Joe Biden for his lifetime of service to our nation — (applause) — and he’s not done.  And he’s not done. 

So, as I said, it’s so good to be back in Las Vegas.  The last time I was here, I stopped by the practice for the Men’s National Basketball Team before they headed out to the Olympics.  (Applause.)

And maybe you saw it on your phone, but just a few hours ago in Paris, they won the gold.  (Applause.) 

AUDIENCE:  USA!  USA!  USA!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And I got more for you.  A few hours before that, our Women’s National Soccer Team won the gold as well.  (Applause.)

AUDIENCE:  USA!  USA!  USA!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  USA.  USA.  That’s right. 

So, in one sport after another, Team USA continues to make our nation proud.  (Applause.)  So much to celebrate.  So much to celebrate.

So, Nevada, we have 87 days until the election — 87 days. And here’s the thing —

AUDIENCE MEMBERS:  We got your back!  (Applause.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  But here’s the thing.  Here’s the thing.  We know this will be a tight race until the very end, and so let’s not pay too much attention to the polls, because we have some hard work ahead of us.  But we like hard work.  (Applause.)  Hard work is good work.  (Applause.)  And with your help this November, we will win.  (Applause.)  We will win.  We will win.  We will win.

     AUDIENCE:  We will win!  We will win! 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And I know we are all clear — toward that win, we are all clear about what we are up against. 

     As many of you know, before I was elected vice president, before I was elected a United States senator, I was an elected attorney general and, before that, district attorney. (Applause.)  And before that, I was a courtroom prosecutor.  (Applause.) 

In those roles — in those roles, I took on perpetrators of all kinds — (applause): predators who abused women, fraudsters who ripped off consumers, scammers who broke the rules for personal gain.  So, Nevada, hear me when I say I know Donald Trump’s type.  (Applause.)  (Laughs.)  I do.  I do. 

AUDIENCE:  Lock him up!  Lock him up!  Lock him up!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Whoa, whoa, hold on.  Hold on.  Hold on.  Hold on.  The courts are going to take care of that.  We just going to beat them in November.  We’ll beat them in November.  (Applause.)  We’ll beat them in November. 

But I’ve certainly been dealing with people like him my entire career. 

For example, as attorney general of California, I took on one of our country’s largest for-profit colleges that scammed students.  Well, Donald Trump ran a for-profit college that scammed students. 

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Remember that.

As a prosecutor, I specialized in cases of sexual abuse.  Well, Donald Trump was found liable for committing sexual abuse.

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  As attorney general, I held Wall Street banks accountable for fraud.  Well — (applause) — Donald Trump was just found guilty of fraud — 34 counts.  (Applause.)

All of this is to say, in this campaign, I will proudly put my record against his every day of the week — every day of
the week.  (Applause.)

That being said, let’s make no mistake: This campaign is not just about us versus Donald Trump.  It is about two different visions for our nation: one, ours, focused on the future; the other focused on the past. 

     AUDIENCE:  We’re not going back!  We’re not going back!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  But we’re not going back.

     AUDIENCE:  We’re not going back!  We’re not going back!  We’re not going back!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  We’re not going back.  We are not going back. 

And we’re not going back because, Nevada, we fight for the future — (applause) — a future with affordable health care, affordable childcare, and paid leave.  (Applause.)

We fight for a future where we build a broad-based economy, where every American has an opportunity to own a home, to start a business, and to build wealth.  (Applause.) 

We believe in a future where we lower the cost of living for America’s families so they have a chance not just to get by but to get ahead — to get ahead.  (Applause.) 

Because, look, while our economy is doing well by many measures, prices for everyday things like groceries are still too high.  You know it and I know it. 

When I was attorney general, I went after price-fixing schemes, and when I am president, I will continue that work to bring down prices.  (Applause.)  I will take on big corporations that engage in illegal price gouging, corporate landlords that unfairly raise rents on working families, and — (applause) — and take on Big Pharma and cap the cost of prescription drugs for all Americans.  (Applause.)

Unlike Donald Trump, I will always — I promise you — put the middle class and working families first. (Applause.) 

     Because, you see, Tim Walz and I may not appear to have a whole lot in common, but we have so much in common.  And I’ll tell you what he and I know: The middle class built the United States of America — (applause) — and when the middle class is strong, America is strong.  (Applause.) 

And so, while we together work to move our nation forward, Donald Trump has a different plan.  Just look at his Project 2025 agenda.

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Which I keep saying, I can’t believe they put that in writing.  (Laughter.)  So, if he is elected, Donald Trump intends to give tax breaks to billionaires and big corporations. 

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  He intends to cut Social Security and Medicare.

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And he intends to surrender our fight against the climate crisis. 

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And I don’t need to tell Nevada every day, because you feel the impact of extreme heat and drought.  (Applause.)  You know the climate crisis is real.  But Donald Trump, well, he claims it’s a hoax. 

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And on top of this, if Donald Trump were to win in November — he won’t — (applause) — but if he were to win in November, he intends to end the Affordable Care Act. 

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Think about that.  To take us back to a time when insurance companies had the power to deny people with preexisting conditions. 

     AUDIENCE:  Booo —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  You remember what that was like?  Children with asthma.  Breast cancer survivors.  Grandparents with diabetes. 

Look, America has tried these failed policies before, and we are not —

AUDIENCE:  Going back! 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — going back.  (Applause.)  We are not going back.  We are not going back. 

     AUDIENCE:  We’re not going back!  We’re not going back!  We’re not going back!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  No.  And we are going to move forward.  We will move forward.  (Applause.) 

And in moving forward, we will take on the biggest issues facing our nation.  For example, we will address the issue of immigration.  (Applause.) 

     I was the attorney of a border state — attorney general of a border state.  I went after transnational gangs, drug cartels, and human traffickers who came into our country illegally.  I prosecuted them in case after case, and I won.  (Applause.)

We know our immigration system is broken, and we know what it takes to fix it: comprehensive reform that includes, yes, strong border security and an earned pathway to citizenship.  (Applause.) 

But Donald Trump doesn’t want to fix this problem.  He talks a big game about a lot of things.  (Laughter.)  But he talks a big game about border security, but he does not walk the walk. 

     Earlier this year, we had a chance to pass the toughest bipartisan border security bill in decades, but Donald Trump tanked the bill because he thought it would help him win an election.

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Well, when I am president, I will sign that bill into law.  (Applause.)

Nevada, ours is a fight for the future, and it is a fight for freedom.  (Applause.)

Across our nation, we have been witnessing a full-on assault on hard-won, hard-fought freedoms and fundamental rights: the — the freedom to vote, the freedom to be safe from gun violence, the freedom to love who you love openly and with pride — (applause) — and the freedom of a woman to make decisions about her own body and not have her government tell her what to do.  (Applause.)  A fight for freedom.

And on that last point, we all know how we got here.  When he was president, Donald Trump handpicked three members of the United States Supreme Court —

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — because he intended for them to undo the protections of Roe v. Wade.  And as he intended, they did. 

Now in more than 20 states, there is a Trump abortion ban, many with no exceptions even for rape and incest. 

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And be sure, if he were to win, he would sign a national abortion ban, which would outlaw abortion in every state, even Nevada. 

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  But we are not going to let that happen — (applause) — because we trust women.  (Applause.) 

And when I am president of the United States and Congress passes a bill to restore reproductive freedoms, I will sign it into law.  (Applause.)

So, I know the folks who are here.  I know the people of Nevada; you are Battle Born.  (Applause.)  You are Battle Born.  And if Donald Trump wants to pick a fight over our most fundamental freedoms, we say: Bring it on.  Bring it on.  (Applause.)  Bring it on. 

AUDIENCE:  Bring it on!  Bring it on!  Bring it on!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Because we’re ready.  We’re ready. 

So, Nevada, generations — generations of Americans before us led the fight for freedom.  Now the baton is in our hands.  (Applause.)  Each and every one of us.

So, we who believe in the sacred freedom to vote will finally pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and the Freedom to Vote Act.  (Applause.)

And we who believe in the freedom to live safe from gun violence will finally pass an assault weapons ban, universal
background checks, and red flag laws.  (Applause.)

So much is on the line.  So much is on the line in this election.  And understand this is not 2016.  This is not 2020. This time around, the stakes are even higher, and that’s because last month, the Supreme Court of the United States basically told —

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — the former president that going forward, he will effectively be immune no matter what he does in the White House. 

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  But — but think about what that means.  Think about what that means. 

     So, Donald Trump has vowed to be a dictator on day one if reelected.

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  He said he will weaponize, essentially, the Department of Justice against his political enemies.

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And even called for the, quote, “termination” of the Constitution of the United States. 

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Let us be very clear: Someone who suggests we should terminate the Constitution of the United States should never again stand behind the seal of president of the United States.  (Applause.)  Never again.

AUDIENCE:  USA!  USA!  USA!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  That’s right.  That’s right.  That’s right.  

We know what we stand for as Americans.  And, you know, it all comes down to this.  We are here together because we love our country.  (Applause.)  We love our country.  And I do believe it is the highest form of patriotism to fight for the ideals of our country.  (Applause.)

That is how we preserve the promise of America.  And think about it, after all, the promise of America is what makes it possible for Tim Walz and me to be together on this stage today.  (Applause.)  Think about that.  Think about that.  Think about it.  

Two middle-class kids.  One a daughter of Oakland, California — (applause) — who was raised by a working mother.  I had a summer job at McDonald’s.  (Applause.)  The other, a son of the Nebraska plains, who grew up working on a farm.  (Applause.)  Think about it.  Think about it.  Only in America is it possible that the two of them would be running together all the way to the White House.  (Applause.)  Only in America.
Only in America.

So, look —

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  We love you!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And I love you back.  (Applause.)  I love you back. 

So, look, we are — together, we are running this campaign on behalf of all Americans — (applause) — from red states to blue states, from the heartland to the coast.  And when elected, we will govern on behalf of all Americans.  (Applause.)  All Americans. 

So, Nevada, ultimately, in this election, I believe we each face a question: What kind of country do we want to live in?  A country of chaos, fear, and hate?

AUDIENCE:  Noo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Or a country of freedom, compassion, and rule of law?  (Applause.)

And the beauty — and the beauty of our democracy — here’s the thing.  The beauty of our democracy is we each — each person has the power — each person has the power to answer that question.  (Applause.)  The power is with the people.  The power is with the people.  (Applause.)  It’s with the people. 

And so, in the next 87 days, we need you to use your power — (laughs) — (applause) — to knock on doors, register folks to vote, and make your voices heard.  (Applause.)

So, Nevada, today, I ask you: Are you ready to make your voices heard?  (Applause.) 

Do we believe in freedom? (Applause.) 

Do we believe in opportunity?  (Applause.)

Do we believe in the promise of America?  (Applause.)

And are we ready to fight for it?  (Applause.) 

And when we fight —

AUDIENCE:  We win!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — we win! 

God bless you.  God bless the United States of America.  (Applause.) 

                         END                 7:12 P.M. PDT 

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