Remarks by Vice President Harris at a Campaign Event | Madison, WI

Alliant Energy Center
Madison, Wisconsin

8:02 P.M. CDT

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Wisconsin!  (Applause.)  Hello, Wisconsin!  (Applause.)  Oh. 

     Let’s hear it for Ty.  (Applause.)

     All right, Madison, are we ready to do this?  (Applause.) 

     Are we ready to vote?  (Applause.)

     Are we ready to win?  (Applause.)

     Oh, it’s good to be back in Madison.  It’s good to be

back.  (Applause.) 

And many of you may know, when I was five years old, my parents taught at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  (Applause.)  And so, for a time, my sister, Maya, and I lived not far from here in a house on Lake Mendota. 

So, it’s good to be back.  And it is good to be with so many incredible leaders.  And I, first of all, want to thank everybody who is here right now for taking the time you have taken to be here. 

I also want to thank our governor of Wisconsin, Evers — Governor Evers.  (Applause.)  Thank you always.  Every time I land, he says, “Welcome home.” 

Senator Baldwin — (applause) — a champion for working families; Representative Pocan — (applause); Mayor Rhodes-Conway — (applause); Mandela Barnes.  (Applause.)

And can we hear for our amazing musicians: Gracie Abrams — (applause); Remi Wolf — (applause); The National — (applause); and Mumford & Sons.  (Applause.)

All right.  So, Madison, early voting has started.  Here in Madison, you can vote early now through Sunday, November 3rd.  And we need you to vote early, Wisconsin, because — (applause) — we have six days left in one of the most consequential elections of our lifetime. 

And we have work to do, but we like hard work.  (Applause.)  Hard work — hard work is good work.  (Applause.)  Hard work is joyful work.  (Applause.)

And make no mistake, we will win.  (Applause.)  We will win.  We will win.  Yes, we will.  We will win.  We will win. 

And I will tell you, we will win — we will win because when you know what you stand for, you know what to fight for.  (Applause.)  And we know we have an opportunity in —

AUDIENCE MEMBERS:  Ceasefire now!  Ceasefire now!  Ceasefire now!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Hey, you know what?  Listen.  We all want the war in Gaza to end and get the hostages out as soon as possible.  (Applause.)  And I will do everything in my power to make it heard and known. 

But — and everyone has a right to be heard, but right now I am speaking.  (Applause.)  Thank you.

So, Madison, we have an opportunity in this election to turn the page on a decade of Donald Trump trying to keep us divided and afraid of each other.  That is who he is, but, Madison, that is not who we are.  (Applause.)

And folks are exhausted and want it to stop — the pointing fingers.  It is time that we start locking arms together as a people who rise and fall together.  (Applause.)

And it is time for a new generation of leadership in America.  (Applause.)  And I am ready to offer that leadership as the next president of the United States.  (Applause.)

And, Wisconsin, you know me.  I’m not afraid of tough fights.  For decades, as a prosecutor and a top law enforcement officer of our biggest state, I won fights.  (Applause.)  I won fights against the big banks that ripped off homeowners, against for-profit colleges that scammed veterans and students, against predators who abused women and children, against cartels that trafficked in guns and drugs and human beings.

And, Wisconsin, if you give me the chance to fight on your behalf as president, there is nothing in the world that will stand in my way of fighting for you.  (Applause.) 

And here is the thing — and here is the thing: We know who Donald Trump is.  This is not someone who is thinking about how to make your life better.  This is someone who is unstable, obsessed — obsessed with revenge, consumed with grievance, and out for unchecked power.  (Applause.)  And in less than 90 days, it’s either going to be him or me in the Oval Office.  (Applause.)

And here’s what — here’s what you know, and it’s — here’s what we know: If he is elected — it’s not going to happen.  But if he were elected, on day one, Donald Trump would walk into that office with an enemies list.  You know, he talks about the “enemies from within.”  When I am elected, I will walk in with a to-do list focused on your needs.  (Applause.)

And at the top — and at the top of my list is bringing down your cost of living.  (Applause.)  That will be my focus every single day as president.  I will give a middle-class tax cut to over 100 million Americans.  (Applause.) 

We will enact the first-ever federal ban on corporate price gouging on groceries.  (Applause.)

We will fight to make sure hardworking Americans can actually afford a place to live.  (Applause.)

And if any of you out there are caring for an elderly parent, well, my plan will cover the cost of home care under Medicare — (applause) — so that seniors can get the help and care they need to stay in their own homes.  (Applause.)  It’s about dignity.  It’s about dignity.

And my plan will lower the cost of childcare, cut taxes for small businesses.  Do we have any small-business owners here?  (Applause.)  I love our small businesses. 

My plan will lower health care costs, because, by the way, I believe access to health care should be a right and not just a privilege of those who can afford it.  (Applause.)

It’s about values.  It’s about values. 

On the other hand, Donald Trump’s answer to the financial pressures you face, well, it’s the same as it was last time: another trillion dollars in tax cuts for billionaires and big corporations.

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Right.  Right.

And this time, he will pay for it with a 20 percent national sales tax on everything you buy that is imported: clothes, food, toys, cell phones.  A Trump sales tax would cost the average American family nearly $4,000 more a year. 

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And on top of that, you would pay even more if Donald Trump finally gets his way and gets rid of the Affordable Care Act.  Remember how many times he’s tried to do that? 

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And you’re booing, because if he were successful, it would throw millions of Americans off of their health insurance and take us back to when insurance companies could deny people with preexisting conditions.  You remember what that was like? 

Well, we are —

AUDIENCE:  Not going back!

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

(inaudible).  (Applause.)  We’re not going back.

Just like Wisconsin’s state motto tells us, we will move forward.  (Applause.)

Because ours is a fight for the future and it is a fight for freedom — (applause) — freedom — like the fundamental freedom of a woman to make decisions about her own body and not

have her government tell her what to do.  (Applause.)

And we all remember how we got here.  When Donald Trump was president, he hand-selected three members of the United States Supreme Court with the intention —

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — with the intention that they would undo the protections of Roe v. Wade.  They did as he intended.  And now, in America, one in three women lives in a state with a Trump abortion ban, many with no exceptions even for rape and incest, which is immoral.

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Immoral.

And look, Donald Trump is not done.  He would ban abortion nationwide.  Yes, even here in Wisconsin.  And he would restrict access to birth control, put IVF treatments at risk, and force states — listen to this — force states to monitor women’s pregnancies.  Just google Project 2025.

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Read the plans yourself. 

And I know we all here know, one does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree the government shouldn’t be telling her what to do with her body.  (Applause.)  Not the government.  Not the government.  Not the government.

And when Congress — together with Tammy’s help, when Congress passes a bill to restore reproductive freedom nationwide, as president of the United States, I will proudly sign it into law.  (Applause.)  Proudly sign it into law.

So, Wisconsin, I am asking for your vote.  (Applause.)  And here is my pledge to you.  As president, I pledge to seek common ground and commonsense solutions to the challenges you face.  I am not looking to score political points.  I am looking to make progress.  And I pledge — (applause) — because I know we can — because I know we can — I know we can make progress. 

And I pledge, then, to listen to experts, to those who will be impacted by the decisions I make, and to people who disagree with me.  Because, look, unlike Donald Trump, I don’t believe people who disagree with me are the enemy.  He wants to put them in jail.  I’ll give them a seat at my table.  (Applause.)

And I pledge to always put country above party and self and to be a president for all Americans.  (Applause.)

So, it all comes down to this.  We are here together for many reasons.  But one of the most important: We are here together because we love our country.  We love our country.  (Applause.)  We love our country, and when you love something, you fight for it.  (Applause.) 

AUDIENCE:  USA!  USA!  USA!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And — and I do believe that one of the highest forms of patriotism — of our expression for the love of our country is to fight for the ideals of our country and to fight to realize the promise of America.  I have always believed in our nation’s promise because I have lived it. 

I grew up as a child of the Civil Rights Movement.  My parents would take me to the marches when I was in a stroller, where people from every walk of life came together to fight for freedom and for opportunity. 

Growing up, I saw how hard my mother worked to give her daughters the same chances our country gave her.  And I was blessed — (applause) — and I was blessed to have family by blood and family by love — (applause) — who instilled in me the values of community and compassion and faith. 

I’ve spent my life fighting for people who have been hurt or who have been counted out but who never stop believing that in our country anything is possible.  I have lived the promise of America.  (Applause.) 

And today, I see the promise of America in all of you — (applause) — in all of you, in everyone here. 

I see it in the women who refuse to accept a future without reproductive freedom — (applause) — and the men who support them.  (Applause.)

I see it in the fathers and mothers who work hard every day for their children’s future. 

I see it in Republicans who never voted for a Democrat before but put the Constitution of the United States over party.  (Applause.)

And every day I see the promise of America in all the young leaders who are voting for the first time.  (Applause.)

(Inaudible) all over the place.

And I love your generation.  I just love you guys.  (Applause.)  And let me tell you why.  Let me tell you why.  One of the reasons is you all are rightly impatient for change.  (Applause.)  Rightly. 

You, who have only known the climate crisis, are leading the charge to protect our planet and our future.  (Applause.)

You, who grew up with active shooter drills, are fighting to keep our schools safe.  (Applause.) 

You — you, who now know fewer rights than your mothers and grandmothers, are standing up for freedom.

And what I know about you is these issues are not theoretical.  This is not political for you.  This is your lived experience.  And I see you, and I see your power.  I see your power, and I am so proud of you.  (Applause.) 

Can we hear it for our first-time voters?  (Applause.) 

So, Wisconsin — okay, we got six days to get this thing done, and no one can sit on the sidelines.  So, let’s spend the next six days so that when we look backward after the sixth day, we will know we did everything we could.  Okay?  (Applause.)

So, now is the time to knock on doors — (applause) — to text, to call, to reach out to family and friends and classmates and coworkers and neighbors.  And as we do, here’s my request: As we do all of that, let’s be intentional about building community, and let’s be intentional about building coalitions.  (Applause.) 

Let’s remember that the vast majority of us have so much more in common than what separates us.  And let’s approach this — (applause) — let’s approach this with that spirit and with the spirit of in the face of a stranger, seeing a neighbor.  Let’s do it that way.  Okay?  (Applause.)  Let’s do it that way. 

And let us remember that your vote is your voice, and your voice is your power.  (Applause.)

So, Madison, 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.  And God bless the United States of America.  (Applause.)

                        END                8:24 P.M. CDT