We have many other bases, temporary bases in many cases, but they have runways. We do not have to have fancy, and I had attack them, sir, from seven different locations. I'd hit them from the front, and I'd hit them from the back. I'd hit them from up top, and I'd hit them from below, sir, and they would not know what the hell hit them. I think we will do it in about three weeks. I said, Why did not you tell this to these people? I said, General, let me give this a little thought. I go back to Washington. I said, You sure you can do this? I can do this. We can do this properly, the way it should be done. I am telling this story. I am telling this story because we have an incredible military, and you have to understand that. When you see these blundering idiots that leave $85 billion worth of equipment behind, the best equipment in the world that I bought. I bought the best Apache helicopters. I bought it. I rebuilt our entire military. We had great people. We had people that got in through the rhinos and got in some bad I mean, for the most part, we rebuilt the entire military. I tell you this because you see these blundering fools on television that say I should not be standing in front of a church with a Bible. I am standing with a Bible in front of a church that these terrorists tried to burn down the day before, and they are saying, Oh, they wish they did not walk because I tell you what. These are fools, but I am telling you because we have an amazing military. So after a short period of time, they hit them hard, and 100% of ISIS was gone. So we have a great military, but we have some fools right now on top. As I announced this week, we will eliminate federal funding for any school that pushes critical race theory or left wing gender ideology. I will get for you parents' rights, including the direct election of principals by the parents. You want to have the parents pick the principal and superintendents. We will keep men out of women's sports. We are not doing this anymore with the men out of women's sports. We are going to end that policy. Every once in a while, you will see one, and they are getting congratulated for having the courage.


I do not know what takes courage, but it does. It takes courage because they get absolutely just decimated by just speaking up about something so basic as that. We will end Joe Biden's war on American energy and restore American energy independence as we had it just two years ago. We were energy independent two years ago for the first time ever, and we were soon going to be energy dominant, and we were going to make so much money with energy that we were going to reduce your taxes even further. I gave you the biggest tax cut in history, bigger than Reagan's, and we were going to reduce it further. We would've paid off the debt of our country. We were going to be supplying Europe with energy, supplying everybody with energy, and they ended it. I will quickly rebuild the greatest economy in the history of our world, and the proven formula is really low taxes. I reduced the taxes, and we took in more revenue after I reduced the taxes. So, you need the revenue. We took in more revenue. I also made it possible for companies to bring in trillions of dollars that they had overseas. They could not bring it in because bureaucratically, it was too tough, and the tax was too high. They had to pay 40% tax. Who is going to bring the money? So they let it stay in Europe, and they let it stay in Asia, and they do things there. So we took in billions, and billions, and billions of dollars came back in, and they used that money to build in our country. We will end the Chinese imports of essential goods and replace them with products made in America and made in New Hampshire, by the way. And I will force China to sell any current holdings in the United States that puts our national security at risk. They are buying land right next to our very important military areas. I took in hundreds of billions of dollars in taxes and tariffs from China. I gave 28 billion to the farmers because they were treated so badly and it was just peanuts compared to what I took in. The farmers love me. You go to Iowa. Those farmers, they better love me. But you have some wiseguy coming and say how great he is to the farmers. No, I do not think they would buy it. I gave them a checks. We split it around. Everybody got, because what China did to the farmers was incredible.

Donald Trump Delivers Keynote Speech at New Hampshire GOP Annual Meeting Transcript


And we brought many businesses back from China because of what I did with the taxes and tariffs. It gave an incentive for them to come back. And no other president has ever done anything like it. And no other president, I took in hundreds of billions. Not one other president took in 25 cents, not 25 cents. They never had the courage to talk 25 cents. And I got along great with President Xi, but he understood that we understood what the game was. What they did with the Wuhan lab, it came out of the Wuhan lab. And I said that for a long time. We will crack down harder on violent crime, investigate radical left wing prosecutors. The Democrats are supposed to do that. You have to get their permission in theory to go in. I did it for a reason. Seattle, they took over Seattle. How about they took over the police station and then ultimately I said, I do not care. We are sending in the National Guard. We sent it in. But you are supposed to wait for the governor or the mayors to ask for approval. I will tell you that. I did it. I did it the right way. The one thing that I have shown how bad they are, how bad they are and how dangerous they are because they would never call. They could have a city or state taken over and they would not call for military help. But we came into, as an example, Minneapolis. And then you have CNN saying, Not much is happening, and the reporter behind them, the whole city's burning. Do you ever see that? Behind him the entire city is in flames. So, I will support a constitutional amendment to impose term limits on members of Congress. And only a non-politician would do that. A lifetime ban on lobbying by former members of Congress because I see the things that are happening. And also cabinet members and a ban on members of Congress getting rich by trading stocks with insider information like Nancy Pelosi and her husband. We will keep America out of foolish foreign wars just as I did as commander- in-chief. And I will restore pre It is called peace through strength. By the way, and everyone thought when I ran, they said, This guy's going to be in world Remember crooked Hillary? He is going to cause a war in his first week in office, because they think that is my personality type. My personality kept us out of war.


And I told you before, would've never happened with Russia. And even now I could solve that in 24 hours. I will bet you have millions. It could be millions of you. They bomb a city to the ground. But, if I were president, you would have zero chance that that war would've happened. I mean, the country, how does it ever rebuild those cities, those magnificent buildings that came down that are a thousand years old with the gold domes? You cannot do that. But it would've just So, so sad to see that. I do not think he would've He would've never done it. And let us see what happens with China and Taiwan because they see how incompetent we are. So, let us see what they are going to do there. But we will root out the deep state and stop the weaponization of federal agencies because there is a weaponization like nobody's ever seen. We will use every tool at our disposal. We will give to Steve to defend election integrity and we will dismantle the illegal censorship regime and bring back free speech to America. And as they say in New Hampshire, live free or die. This is just the beginning of our agenda. Many times I will be with you. I like it here, first of all. But I love the people here. One year from now, we will win the New Hampshire primary. And then, with the help of the good people of this state, I love the people, we are going to take back our country and we will take back the White House and we are going to straighten out the United States of America, okay? And God bless you all. Now, I am going to be reintroducing Chairman Stepanek, who is going to do a very important thing. He is going to make an announcement. So, whoever that is going to be, I am going to immediately start treating him very nicely because he will have a big impact on the election.


Thank you all for that heartwarming reception and heartwarming can be used on this particular day. Well, it is good to be back in the great State of Michigan, and it is great to be in the Tri-City area. You know, being a native midwesterner, I am always happy when I come to this part of the country maybe because you make me feel at home. But you in Michigan champion the bedrock values on which our country was built belief in God, love of family, neighborhood, and good, hard work. Here are steadiness of purpose and strength of patriotism. My opponent may take a negative view of America, but he'd better not try to peddle his doom and gloom in Michigan. Let me just ask you a question. Do you believe America's greatest days are yet to come? Well, let me tell you, you have some outstanding candidates for the Congress who feel just the same way. Jack Lousma served with distinction as a colonel in the Marine Corps and as an astronaut. He piloted the space shuttle Columbia on one of its first flights. And today he is a candidate for the United States Senate. And he believes in keeping your taxes down, and I can guarantee you, his opponent, the present incumbent, does not believe in keeping your taxes down. But Jack knows that this will create opportunity for all Americans, and he believes in keeping America strong to keep America free and at peace. I need Jack Lousma, Michigan needs Jack Lousma, and so does America need Jack Lousma. Bill Schuette is running for the Congress, and I have to tell you he is one of the finest candidates I have ever known. Bill believes, with me, that we can save you billions of dollars by cutting government waste and fraud, and that is what is the principal difference between him and his opponent, the present incumbent. And Bill Schuette, Jack Lousma, and congressional candidate John Heussner are all determined to help us keep your taxes down. So, if you do not mind, I am going to ask a favor. If you plan to vote for our ticket, please vote for our entire ticket. Help spread the word, get out the vote, and do you mind if I say, Win 'em for the Gipper ?

Remarks at a Reagan-Bush Rally in Saginaw, Michigan


You know, I remember that line that he spoke when he made that request, the Gipper, and he said, Wherever I am, I will know about it, and it'll make me happy. But if you do, we will keep building our new future of opportunities for America. You know, Abe Lincoln said that we must disenthrall ourselves with the past and then we will save our country. And 4 years ago, that is what we did. We made a great turn, we got out from under the thrall of a government which we had hoped would make our lives better, but which wound up living our lives for us. Four years ago we began to navigate by certain fixed principles. We knew that economic freedom meant paying less of the American family's earnings to the Government, and so we cut personal tax rates by 25 percent across the board. We knew that inflation, the quiet thief, that thief was stealing, along with record interest rates, stealing your future. We knew that our national military defense had been weakened, so we decided to rebuild and be strong again to be prepared for peace. But America is back, a giant on the scene, powerful in its renewed spirit, powerful in its growing economy, and powerful in its ability to defend itself and secure the peace. And do you know something? Yet 4 years after our efforts began, small voices in the night are sounding the call to go back, to go back to the days of drift, the days of torpor, timidity, and taxes. My opponent's understanding of economics is well demonstrated by his predictions. Just before we took office, he said that our economic program was obviously, murderously inflationary. And just a short time later we brought inflation down from above 12 percent to around 4 percent. And just after our tax cuts, he said the most that he could see was an anemic recovery. And that was just before the United States' economy created 6 million new jobs in 21 months. My opponent said that decontrolling oil prices would cost you, the American consumers, $36 billion. Well, one of the first things we did was eliminate the control of oil prices, and the price of gasoline went down 8 cents a gallon. I have got it figured out that all we have to do to get our economy in absolutely perfect shape is persuade him to predict absolute disaster.


He says he cares about the middle class, but he boasts, I have consistently supported legislation, time after time, which increases taxes on my own constituents. Does not that make you want to be one of his constituents again? He is no doubt proud of the fact that as a United States Senator he voted 16 times to raise your taxes. He is already promised, of course, to raise your taxes. But if he is to keep all the promises that he is made, he will have to raise taxes the equivalent of $1,890 for every household in the United States. That is like having a second mortgage, a Mondale mortgage. one, raise taxes; two, raise them again. The American people do not want his tax increases, and he is not going to get his tax increases. His tax plan would bring our recovery to a roaring stop. You know, if my opponent's campaign plan were a TV show, it would be Let us Make a Deal. You trade your prosperity for his surprise that is hidden behind the curtain. And if it were a book, you'd have to read it from the back to the front to get a happy ending. He sees a day in which every day is tax day, April 15th. Well, we see an America in which every day is Independence Day, the Fourth of July. We want to lower your taxes some more. We want to do it for everybody in this country so your families will be stronger, the economy will be stronger, and America will be stronger. On another subject, I am proud to say that during these last 4 years, not 1 inch of territory in the world has been lost to Communist aggression. But my opponent sees a different world. After the Soviets invaded Afghanistan, he said, It just baffles me why the Soviets these last few years have behaved as they have. But then, there is so much that baffles him. One year ago we liberated Grenada from Communist thugs who had taken over that country. And my opponent called what we did a violation of international law that erodes our moral authority to criticize the Soviets. There is nothing immoral about rescuing American students whose lives were in danger. But you know, let me try to put this all in perspective. I was a Democrat once, and for a large part of my life.


I am sure there are many Democrats present; I hope so, because I know that all across this country are millions of patriotic Democrats who have found they can no longer follow the policies of the leadership of the Democratic Party today. In those days when I was a Democrat, the leaders of the Democratic Party were not members of that blame America first crowd. It is leaders were men like Harry Truman and, later, men like Senator Scoop Jackson and John F. Kennedy men who understood the challenges of the times. They did not reserve all their indignation for America. They knew the difference between freedom and tyranny, and they stood up for one and damned the other. To all the good Democrats who respect that tradition of their party, I say, You are not alone. We are asking you to come walk down the path of hope and opportunity with the rest of us, and in a bipartisan way a solid tradition of this country we will keep America prosperous and free and at peace. Last month an American woman walked in space Kathryn Sullivan made history. And then she returned to a shuttle, a space shuttle, in which some of the great scientific and medical advances of the future will be made. Cures for diabetes and heart disease may be possible up there indeed, I have seen evidence of that from some of the experiments conducted already. But my opponent led the fight against the whole shuttle system. He called it a horrible waste. Well, we support the space shuttle, and we have committed America to meet a great challenge to build a permanently manned space station and to do it within a decade. What America needs is high tech, not high taxes. But the point is, we were right when we made that great turn in 1980. We were right to take command of the ship, to stop its aimless drift, and to get moving again. And we were right when we stopped sending out S.O.S. and started saying U.S.A.! The United States of America was never meant to be a second-best nation. Like our Olympic athletes, this nation should set its sights on the stars and go for the gold. You know, if America could bring down inflation from 12.4 percent to 4, as we did, then we can bring it down from 4 to 0.0, and we are going to do that. If lowering your tax rates led to the best expansion in 30 years, then we can lower them again and keep America growing right into the 21st century.


If we could create those 6 million new jobs in 21 months, then we can make it possible for every American young and old, black or white who wants a job to find a job. And if local governments around this country can establish enterprise zones to create economic growth, then we can elect people to the Congress who will free our national enterprise zones bill. This is a bill to go into the distressed areas of some of our rural areas and our major city areas and, through tax incentives, establish industry and work there that will give jobs to people that presently do not have them. Well, that bill has been buried in a committee of the Congress for more than 2 years now. And if we get the right people back there in the Congress, they will break it out, and we will have this bill that will mean hope for millions in the most distressed areas of America. We are leading a revolution in technology and pushing back the frontiers of space. And if we give American workers the tools they need in industries, old and new, then I think that American workers with the proper tools can outcompete, outsell, outproduce anyone, anytime, anywhere in the world. Our drive in this last year and a half or so to restore excellence in education has reversed a 20-year decline in the scholastic aptitude test scores. And we are going to keep raising those scores and restore American academic excellence second to none. Our crackdown on crime produced the sharpest drop ever in the crime index. And we are going to keep cracking down until your families and friends can walk on the streets at night without being afraid. We have reversed the decline in our military defenses and restored respect for America. And we are going to keep this nation strong to protect freedom and peace for us, for our children, and for our children's children. And if we make sure that America remains strong and prepared for peace, then we can begin to reduce nuclear weapons and one day banish them entirely from the face of the Earth. And as we strengthen our economy, strengthen our security, and strengthen the values that bind us, America will become a nation even greater in art and learning and greater in the love and worship of the God that made us and that has blessed us more than any other people on this Earth have ever been blessed. Now, I ran out of time a couple of weeks ago on the debate, and I did not get to finish something I started to say there. Well I am going to say it now.


And it is to the young people of our country who are here with us today. You, you are what this election is all about you and your future. I have been seeing these young people all across the country on campuses, in schools, in rallies of this kind. And I have to tell you, this generation of young people really sparkles. Your idealism, your love of country are unsurpassed. And I want to tell you that my generation and a few generations between mine and yours -we have a sacred trust. And that is, when the time comes to turn over the reins to you, you young people out there, we are going to turn over to you an America that is every bit as full of opportunity, hope, confidence, and dreams as it was when we were your age and growing up in America. We are going to turn over to you an America that is free in a world that is at peace. We were born to be a special place between the two great oceans with a unique mission to carry freedom's torch. To a tired, disillusioned world we have always been a light of hope where all things are possible. And throughout my life I have seen America do the impossible. We survived a Great Depression that toppled governments in many parts of the world. We came back from Pearl Harbor to win the greatest military victory in world history. And in a single lifetime in my lifetime we have gone from the horse and buggy to landing astronauts on the Moon. We Americans have fought harder, paid a higher price, done more to advance the freedom and dignity of man, than any other people who ever lived on this Earth. Ours is the land of the free because it is the home of the brave. And our people will be free because we are united one people, under God, with liberty and justice for all. I am deeply honored that you have let me serve you for these past 4 years. We must continue to build upon the new beginning that we started 4 years ago. So I have come here today to ask for your support and for your vote. But now, I have gotten a little frightened reading the polls, and I will tell you why. I have a terrible feeling that some may decide their votes are not needed. Go to the polls, vote. And I will tell you, if you are going to vote for me, as you have just indicated, do not send me back there alone. You ain't seen nothin' yet.


Ladies and gentlemen, before we adjourn to the reception in honor of Justice Ginsburg, I'd like to acknowledge the presence here today of Senator Moynihan, who sponsored her so strongly in the Senate, Senator Larry Pressler of South Dakota, Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, and the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, my good friend Jack Brooks from Texas. It is good to see all of you here. This was a very important appointment to me. In one of my former lives I had the great joy and responsibility of teaching the United States Constitution and the decisions of the Supreme Court under it to aspiring but not always interested law students. We breathe life into the values we espouse through our law. It gives to every American, including the most illiterate among us, the most totally unaware of how the legal system works, a fair measure of our ideals and some reality that comes into life from the speeches given by the rest of us. This is a moment, this historic moment, therefore, that all Americans can celebrate. For no one knows better than she that it is the law that provides the rules that permit us to live together and that permit us to overcome the infirmities, the bigotry, the prejudice, the limitations of our past and our present. Her nearly unanimous confirmation by the United States Senate was the swiftest in nearly two decades. Much credit must go to her own brilliance and her thoughtful, balanced reasoning. But I thank Senators Moynihan and D'Amato for their sponsorship and assistance. I thank Chairman Biden and Senator Hatch for their contributions and all the other Senators, including those here present, who supported her. Ruth Bader Ginsburg does not need a seat on the Supreme Court to earn a place in our history books. She has already secured that. As a brilliant young law school graduate she became an early victim of gender discrimination when as a woman and mother she sought nothing more than that which every one of us wants, a chance to do her work. She met this challenge with character and determination. She took on the complex challenges of winning what seems now to be such a terribly simple principle, equal treatment for women and men before the law. Virtually every significant case brought before the Supreme Court in the decade of the seventies on behalf of women bore her mark. Today, virtually no segment of our society has been untouched by her efforts.

Remarks on the Swearing-In of Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg


It is a privilege today to be the guest of the Government of the Republic of Uruguay, and it is a great personal pleasure to which I have looked forward for many years. Here three years ago, in this beautiful city of Montevideo, there was born a new era of friendship and confidence among the Americas. No one is entitled to more credit for this new day than Your Excellency, for you labored unceasingly and generously both as host and as statesman for the success of that conference. I believe that when history comes to be written, the origin of the new American era will be placed here in the memorable year 1933. Truly, it is an inspiration for the average citizen of all our Republics that that conference is giving back its fruits in terms of achievement for the people of the world. During the past week I have become certain of this because I have seen in the faces of the men, women, and children in Rio de Janeiro, in Buenos Aires, and, today, in Montevideo a joyful expression of hope and faith which can and will inspire us, their chosen representatives, to even greater activity in the common cause. You, Mr. President, have used a term in speaking of that great patriot, General Artigas, which can well be the inspiration of us all. You have spoken of his serene and noble spirit of applied justice. It is because of this spirit which actuated the founding fathers of the American Republics that we their followers are inspired to maintain the democratic principles for which they fought. I am particularly grateful for the kind words which you, Mr. President, have spoken concerning our policies in the United States of America. We fully join with you in the thought that the first battlefield of peace is that of securing well-being at home. It has been of special interest to me to know that you in the Republic of Uruguay have made such great advances in behalf of the well-being of your citizens. In the days of General Artigas and of his friend President Monroe, human society had, of course, little conception of the economic and social problems which we face today. None of the fathers of any of our Republics had even heard of an eight-hour day, of minimum wages, of protection for women and children, of collective bargaining between employers and employees, of old-age security, of modern sanitation, of concrete highways, of railroads or steel buildings. The fathers had no thought of the telegraph, the radio, the automobile, or of travel by fast steamships and by air.

Address at Montevideo, Uruguay.


They knew little of the problems of modern science, of modern finance. And yet, you and I are very certain that if they were alive today the founders of our Governments would look with approval on what we are seeking to do to use the processes of democratic government in solving the new problems. I recognize, as you do, that these new problems are common to all our Nations. I am glad that you have said that we have been compelled to abandon the comfortable attitude of statesmen of the old school. Every Nation in all the world has been compelled to recognize the fact of new conditions. It is of the utmost importance that the Nations of the New World have found it possible under vigorous leadership to find the answer within the spirit and the framework of constitutional government and democratic processes. We have not completed our task. In accordance with the objectives and theory of democratic government, that task is a continuing one. sometimes the remedies succeed, and sometimes they must be altered or improved. We learn, and ought to learn, much from each other-much that is good and some things which, from experience, we must avoid. In the case of agriculture, for example, you are familiar with the fact that in the United States we did many things in the past which ran counter to the laws of nature and of sensible economics. In many parts of my country we have used land in such a way as to diminish its productiveness, we have harmed our supply of water, and we have lost our topsoil. Today our Government seeks to work with our farming population in correcting these mistakes and in bringing back a greater prosperity and a more permanent use of the land. I cite this as an example, which you undoubtedly know of, to show the need among all our Republics of keeping in close touch with each other, for many of our problems are similar. On this delightful visit to Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay I have been impressed with the immediate need for better and quicker services of travel and communication between North and South America. I look forward to the day when, instead of the journey being long and unusual, visits between the Nations of South America and those of Central America and of North America will be so usual and simple that tens of thousands of our citizens will meet each other in friendly intercourse every year. And may I add that I hope that we shall have a much greater familiarity with each other's language.

Address at Montevideo, Uruguay.


I appreciate it most highly. I remember how cordial you were when I came here in 1948, and I shall never forget it. I think I told you then about how my grandfather came out here with an ox train load of merchandise, and how Brigham Young helped him out. And since that time the records have been examined and the church files show that it actually happened just as I told it. He had the first train of his own loaded with merchandise for the ENTITY, and when he got here the colonel in charge of the post had another freighter that he wanted to hold and he would not accept my grandfather's load of goods. And it almost broke him, and if it had not been for Brigham Young it would have broke him--but they worked it out and everybody was happy except the colonel in charge of the post. I have been making this trip to campaign for the Democratic Party. I am happy to do that, because I think you suspect by this time that I am a good Democrat. I believe with all my heart that it is in the best interests of the country for the Democrats to win this election. I think we are going to win it. We are going to win on the basis of our record, our platform, and our candidates. On each of these things, when you compare the Democratic situation with the Republican situation, the Democrats look so much better that there is no difficulty whatever to make a choice. The Democratic Party has been giving the country good government for the past 20 years. At home the country is in better shape than it ever has been. Abroad, we are making good progress in building up our defenses against the terrible threat of Communist aggression. At home and abroad, the Republican Party has been against almost every forward-looking proposal that we have made in these years. Now they are trying to rewrite history, but I am not going to let them get away with it. I have been reading the record on them, and I am going to keep it up, and tell the people exactly what the facts are. You see, nearly every place I go, somebody in the crowd around the street will let out a yell Give 'em hell, Harry. Well now, I do not strive for a reputation of that kind. I tell the truth on them, and that is a lot better for the country than giving them hell, because they cannot stand the truth. I hope every one of you will have an opportunity to read the Democratic platform, and the Republican platform, too.

Rear Platform Remarks in Utah and Colorado


They will show you what the difference is between the two parties. I think we have the best platform any political party ever adopted, and think the Republican platform is about the worst one I ever read. Along with everything else they even endorsed that do-nothing 80th Congress. You remember it? 30 in the morning, I told the Democratic Convention that I was going to call a special session of Congress and see whether the Republicans in the 80th Congress would put their platform into effect. Oh, they had a platform that was intended to appeal to everybody in the country, so I called them together and they met for about 3 or 4 weeks and did not do a thing. I knew that was exactly what they would do--because they never do expect to carry out a platform even when it is good, but this one is so bad they cannot carry it out. If they were to win this election, you could count on them giving you the same sort of treatment you had from that 80th Congress-which won the election in 1948 for me. I told you when I was here in 1948 what the Republicans had been trying to do to your reclamation and power programs. They have been trying to do the same ever since-and you cannot trust them. The Democrats have it all over the Republicans in the case of candidates--just like we do everything else. And I do not know of any place where that is clearer than it is here in Utah. You have a fine Democratic candidate here for United States Senator--Waiter K. Granger. Walter K. Granger has made a wonderful record in Congress, and if you will send him to the Senate, you will have somebody there who will look out for your interests. Now I have known Mr. Granger for I do not know how long--15 or 18 years-and he has always been on the side of the people. You need a man like that in the Senate worse than ever now--I will say you need him from this State. For Congress you have Mrs. Reva Beck Bosone. Judge Bosone has also made a grand record in Congress. This is especially true on reclamation matters. If you send her back to Congress, and send Walt Granger to the Senate, you will have a very effective team to work for you on the reclamation projects that mean so much to this great western country. I also hope very much that you will promote your mayor, Earl Glade, to be Governor of this great State of Utah.


I hope you will also send that good Democrat that was just introduced to you, Mr. McKay, to Congress. He impresses me as being a wonderful man. The best thing, you know, for your own safety, is to just vote the Democratic ticket and send them all in. I urge you most strongly to vote for our candidate for President and Vice President-Adlai Stevenson and John Sparkman. I think it would be a tragedy for the present Republican candidate to be elected President of the United States. He has been a great general, but he has already shown in this campaign that he cannot be depended on to master the great political issues with which we are faced. He has surrendered to the most reactionary elements of the Republican Party. He is not the kind of man we ought to have for President. Now I like him. I made him Chief of Staff of the United States ENTITY. I sent him to Europe to command the NATO military setup, and I have every confidence in him as a military man. But as President and politician, he would not know what to do. Now, on the other hand, I am more than ever impressed each day with what Adlai Stevenson offers to the Nation. He is talking sense to the American people. And he will not be taken in by any special interest lobby. If you elect him and a Democratic Congress, the country will be safe for another 4 years. Again I want to thank you very much for this most cordial welcome. I appreciate that greeting very, very much. I am glad to be back here in Helper once more. I was here in 1948 and gave you some down to earth facts about that good for-nothing, do-nothing Republican 80th Congress, if you remember. Then you did your duty at the polls, and I want to congratulate you on the way you voted. I understand Carbon County had the best record of any county in Utah in the vote you gave the Democratic Party in 1948. And I hope you will repeat that again. I am sure you will do it over in 1952, and send Adlai Stevenson to the White House. I have always been interested in the way your good town got its name. They tell me that Helper was named for the helper engines that pull the train up these wonderful mountains you have around here. You know, I think the Republican Party needs some helper engines.


It would take a whole roundhouse full of these helpers to get them elected this fall, with their terrible record holding them back. As for their candidate for President, I do not think helper engines can get him out of the trouble he is in now. With the crew he has got around him, I do not think he will ever be elected. I just do not think the people are going to elect a President who has surrendered to Taft and McCarthy and Jenner and Kern. I am glad to come to your State and tell you that I am proud of the Democratic candidate for United States Senator. Utah has a wonderful man in Walter Granger. He has been one of the best Members of the House of Representatives for the past 12 years, and I know he is going to make a great United States Senator. Your candidate for the House of Representatives, Mr. Ernest McKay, knows the importance of using our national resources for the benefit of all the people, instead of just the special interests. I met Mr. Glade this morning, the present mayor of Salt Lake City--he was there to welcome me, and I understand he is going to be the next Governor of Utah. Now when you vote for President and Vice President, remember that this country has never had two better candidates than Adlai Stevenson and John Sparkman. They have shown by their record that they stand for the interests of the common everyday man. I want to tell you this, too. They are telling the truth in this campaign. They are not like some Republican politicians who are running around distorting the facts and trying to rewrite history. You can count on Stevenson and Sparkman to continue the prosperity you now have. You people here in Price Canyon area know the importance of steady employment. Twenty years ago, when the American people voted the Republicans out of office, there were 12 to 14 million people out of work in this country. But today our country is working full blast, with over 62 million people in good jobs. I told the students up at the Brigham Young University in Provo this morning that in 1932 when they were graduating, they did not know where to go for jobs. There were 14 million people out of jobs, and the graduates of that university would be lucky if they got a job at a dollar a day.


And then I read them an extract from a piece in the San Francisco Chronicle about the graduation of last June from colleges, in which it was said the students now have so many jobs to pick from, they do not know which one to take. Now I think you had better keep up that situation. And the reason you can do that is because the Democratic Party has courage. This thing did not come about by accident. The Democratic Party has had the courage, the wisdom, and the faith to make our economy work in a way that all Americans, not just a special few, could enjoy prosperity and full employment. Our policy is for the people. The Democratic Party's policy is the welfare and benefit of all the people, not just a few. Compare the terrible Republican record and the terrible Republican platform this year with the Democratic record and with the Democratic platform this year, and you cannot possibly go wrong because you will vote the Democratic ticket. You will only come to one conclusion. Vote your own interests--that is what you are doing. You see, the power of the Government in this country is in the people, and the people exercise that power by voting. You go to the polls and vote for your own interests--vote for the welfare of this great Nation, and vote for peace in the world, by voting the Democratic ticket, and the country will be safe for another 4 years. I appreciate it very much--very much indeed this introduction, and I am particularly happy over that synthetic truth brigade that is supposed to be following me. You know, I was shadowed in 1948 by somebody, and now I am being shadowed again. We are telling the truth on them, and that really hurts. I am here in one of my many jobs--campaigning as a leader of the Democratic Party. It is good to come to a Democratic place like this. You gave me a good big majority in 1948. You have been Democratic since 1932. You have a good Democrat representing you in Congress--Wayne Aspinall. Awhile ago when I heard your national committeeman introduce John Metzger, I did not know who he was talking about. I know him as Bill, and I think he is all right, and he will make you a good Governor. I have known him a long, long time. Bill is a go-getter, and he will be an asset to Colorado and to you. Now I want to call your attention particularly to our candidates for President and Vice President.


I do not think that we have ever had abler men to head the Democratic ticket than we have in Adlai Stevenson and John Sparkman. They are both men of experience in government. They are both liberal-minded gentlemen, and they will carry on this great Government of ours in the manner in which it ought to be carried on. And you must elect them in November. I am glad to see the great progress this area is making. I have been reading a copy of your good newspaper just as I came along here. I have been in politics for 30 years, and in elective public office for 30 years, and down in Missouri there are 7 metropolitan papers, and I never had one for me in my whole life. If they did get for me, I would know I was wrong. I wish we had newspapers like that in Missouri. We need them. In most places I visit, the newspapers are against the Democrats. But your paper is a good one, and I am happy to say that about your newspaper. Your paper told of the progress you are making--when most papers keep telling the people how bad things are. If you listen to most of them, you would think the country is just on the verge of ruin. There are more animals in the county this year, as compared with last; there are more acres of bearing orchard and more acres of meadow hay; people own more household furniture; stocks of merchandise are greater; there is more farm equipment, except combines; there has been a great deal of building and improvements; and mining is on the increase. Well now, that is an awful situation for the Republicans to have to swallow in a campaign year. In addition to this, I understand you have a fine new veterans hospital here that will be of great value to this whole area. I congratulate you on that record. You are especially fortunate here, but we are having the same sort of situation all over the United States. This prosperity of ours is driving the Republican politicians almost crazy. That is the reason for those four little men following me. They cannot stand to see the country so well off under a Democratic administration. I was reading a speech by the Republican candidate for President the other day. He was doing his best to prove that this prosperity did not exist--that it was all done with mirrors, according to him.


Do you want to stand still, mired in the mud of this New Deal prosperity, or do you want to march down the shining corridor of progress to the Republican idea of prosperity? Well, what do you think? I know what I think, and I know I am pouring it on them so you will not have to. Do you want to march off under the orders of the Republican general, down that shining corridor --whatever that is--or would you just as soon stay behind, stuck in the mud of this terrible New Deal prosperity ? The last time the Republicans marched off with us we were a long time getting back where we belonged. Today is the first day of your community chest drive, and I hope you will take a little of that prosperity and give it to help others who need it. One of the things that the Republicans are saying is that this prosperity is due to the defense program, and to the fighting in Korea. Do not you believe it. If we did not have the defense program, we would be even more prosperous. We would have a lot of things that we are holding back on now, because of defense. That is true of the atomic energy programs, too. We are developing peaceful uses for the atom--like the submarine I started last summer in Connecticut, that has an atomic engine in it. If it were not for defense, we could go ahead much faster with the peaceful uses of the atom, and of the uranium that you are mining around here in this State. They tell me that the independent uranium producers who are doing so much to get this ore out, are running into difficulties with existing Government procedures. I am going to look into that matter when I get back to Washington and see if it cannot be straightened out, and in a way that will give the little fellow a square break. I am always for the little man. If you look over the Republican policy, you will find that they are for property. The Democratic policy is for people. I think the people come first, then the property will take care of itself. We are working for peace. That is what our defense program is for. And with God's help we will get it. At least, we will have more prosperity if you do not elect the Republicans so they can bring on another depression. Your Government under the Democratic Party has worked with you to create the prosperity we now have--and we will keep on doing just that.


One of the things we hope to do in the future is this Upper Colorado River storage project. This will do a tremendous lot for the whole area. The Secretary of the Interior is working on the planning of this project now, so that the dams can be built in such a way as not to damage the Dinosaur National Monument. In fact, it ought to be enlarged. After this election, we will enlarge it to accommodate the dinosaur wing of the whole Republican Party. We will fill it up with the old Republican fossils. Then maybe we could change the name of it to the Republican National Dinosaur Monument. They are still living so far in the past that they never in the world will catch up with the progress of this great Nation of ours. You cannot count on the Republicans to continue the progress we are making. They are always obstructing measures for the good of the people. And I want you to do something for me. I want you to get out the record and read it, find out just how many projects they tried to sabotage, find out their record on everything that has been for the welfare and benefit of this country; and you will find that the majority of the Republicans in Congress were against them every single time. If you read the record, you will not have any trouble whatever about making up your mind. It is in fine print, and it is the dullest document that was ever published in the history of the world. But it has the facts and the figures in it, and if you are interested in the welfare of your country, you will read that record, and then you will vote for yourselves on election day. The people of this country have the power that makes the Government. And when you exercise that franchise, you put the people in there who are to run your Government. And when you do not vote, and when you do not do your duty, you get just the kind of government you deserve. Now, do not forget, on November the 4th, go to the polls and vote for Adlai Stevenson, and this whole Democratic ticket here in Colorado and the country will be safe another 4 years. I appreciate very much that welcome, You know, when I was here in 1948, we just went through. I would not let them do it this time, because I wanted particularly to tell that band how much I appreciated them getting up at 4 o'clock and coming to serenade the President down here a few miles to the next stop.


The group showed a real and unselfish interest in the Government. If the voters of Colorado and those of the country exercised the patriotism and initiative of young people like these, we would not have to urge constantly that they exercise their right to vote. Everybody ought to take it on himself to vote. There has been a rumor going around that I am out doing some campaigning for the Democratic ticket. That is my privilege as head of the Democratic Party. I am trying to tell you what the facts are and I want you to use your own judgment. That seems to worry a lot of the Republicans for some reason. I just want to tell them this is only the beginning. A lot more of them will be worried before I finish reading the terrible Republican record to the American people from one end of this country to the other. I am out here because I believe that world peace, domestic prosperity, and the principles of justice and decency will be served better by the election of a Democratic ticket. That is just what you are going to do on the 4th of November. Here in this district, you have been ably represented by Congressman Wayne Aspinall. He has done a good job for western Colorado, and I know you will elect him again for another term. I have known Bill Metzger for many, many years. He will make you a good Governor, one that you will be proud of, and I hope you will elect him, too--and I know you will. This year the Democratic Party has at the head of the ticket two of the best candidates this country has ever produced--Adlai Stevenson and John Sparkman. Stevenson and Sparkman understand the problems of the little fellow, and they understand the problems of the West. They know that locked in the hills of western Colorado you have some of the most valuable natural resources to be found any place in the Nation. They know that these resources must be developed for all the people, and not just for the special interests. An example of the way to do this is the Bureau of Mines project for developing gasoline and oil products from coal and oil shale. There are about a thousand square miles in this area north and west of Rifle where beds of oil shale, hundreds of feet thick, will yield an average of 15 gallons or more of oil per ton of shale. This project promises to open up a vast new era of industrial expansion. This is a wonderful example of the way the Government can undertake experimental work and develop resources from which all the people will benefit.


But the Republicans are wildly running around the country trying to fool the people into believing that projects like these are socialism. They say the power dams, reclamation projects, and the whole development of this mountain area should not be carried forward by your own Government for your own benefit. And now the Republican candidate has caved in to the power lobby. He is going around, too, claiming that the Government projects represent a philosophy of the left -whatever that is--and that they are regimenting people and destroying liberty. Well, I have been looking into this subject as I have traveled around the country for the past 8 days, and I have met thousands of wonderful people, and I have not seen anybody in slavery. Nobody has complained to me about having his liberty destroyed. So, do not be fooled by this gloomy poppycock the Republicans are spreading. Vote for the party that believes in you, and believes in the future development and the prosperity of this great country. You yourselves are the Government of this country. The people are the Government, and the way they exercise the powers of government is at the polls on election day. It is your duty to go to the polls and vote for yourselves. Vote for Adlai Stevenson and John Sparkman, and the whole Democratic ticket, and you will have 4 more years of good government all across the country. I appreciate that, and I am greatly enjoying this trip through Colorado. 30 in the morning, and I did not think anybody would be up at that time of day, but the people turned out. They wanted to hear the facts and they wanted to listen--and I see you are doing it better at this time of day, and I appreciate it more than I can tell you. I have enjoyed the visit with your Congressman, Wayne Aspinall, about your progress out here, and your problems. Be sure and send him back to Congress because he has Colorado's interests at heart, and he does his job as well as any Congressman in the Congress. And I would like very much to see you vote for John William Metzger. I have known him a long time, and he is a good man and he will make you a good Governor.


My principal interest in being out here, however, is to get you to understand some of the issues of this campaign, and understand also that the Democrats have nominated a man to head the ticket, and a man for Vice President--two men who are unbearable so far as ability and honor and everything else is concerned--they will never have better candidates for the Office of President than Adlai Stevenson, and John Sparkman. You will make no mistake voting for them. I am not running for office this time--I did not know whether you knew that or not-but I am going to leave the Government of the United States in good hands. Adlai Stevenson is one of the best qualified men ever to run for President. He has been a great Governor of a great State, and he has a lot of experience in foreign affairs. John Sparkman is one of the best men that the Senate has ever had there--and I spent 10 years in the Senate myself, so you know I am paying him a high compliment. One of the things that is most important to your progress and prosperity out here is the Federal program of reclamation and power projects. I have been telling the people in the West that the Republican Party is against these projects, and I have been exposing the record, showing how the Republicans in Congress have voted to hinder and obstruct and slash appropriations for these great dams and irrigation systems and powerlines. A Republican spokesman piped up the other day, and said this was unfair--that a Republican started the reclamation program. That is right, it was a Republican-Theodore Roosevelt, back in 1902, who started it. He was a Republican who had a great sympathy for the West. And you know what happened to him? He was thrown out of the Republican Party by the Wall Street bankers. He had to go out and set up a party of his own--the Bull Moose party. And the special interest groups have run the Republican Party ever since. The Republican Party always kicks out its liberals, or whips them into line. I could tell you a lot about this, and I will before this campaign is over. The reason the Republican Party cannot really be in favor of reclamation and public power, is that they let the private power lobby write their policies for them. The private power lobby has been spending millions of dollars to persuade the people that everything from TVA to Boulder Dam is creeping socialism. So naturally, the Republicans have to call it the same thing.


It is a good American program of developing the resources of the people for the benefit of the people. And the Democratic Party has been doing things through Congress, and getting it done, in spite of the Republican opposition One of the best things for this whole part of Colorado would be the proposed Colorado River storage project. It would bring more electric power and new and bigger industries to this area. It would mean thousands of acres of new irrigated land, and more water for farms. The plans for this project are just about complete. They are being drawn up in the Department of the Interior, under the Secretary of the Interior, Mr. Oscar Chapman. I do not have to tell you people here in Colorado about your fellow citizen, Oscar Chapman. He is one of the greatest friends the people of the West ever had. After Oscar Chapman has approved these plans for the Upper Colorado River storage project, they come to the White House. They have to be approved by the President, and then they go to Congress. Now, I will not be President when that project gets to the White House, and I cannot make any promises for the man who will be there; but I can tell you this, if Governor Stevenson is the President, it will be considered on its merits and decided in the best interests of the people. And his decision will not be dictated by the private power lobby. And that is a lot more than I can say for the Republican candidate. I am afraid he might say that this project is applying the philosophy of the left to the Government--and it might help the housewife get the dishes washed--so he will be against it. And that is what he has been saying about some of the Government dams and power projects that are under construction and have been built in these areas. If you want that Upper Colorado storage project, you had better vote Democratic. Some of you were a little careless up here in 1948, and did not vote the Democratic ticket. The situation is of vital importance to the welfare of the country, and I tell all the people, when I talk to them, that their interests are at stake. You yourselves are the ones who have the interest in this election. When you vote on November the 4th you vote for yourselves, because you are the Government.


Laura and I are honored to welcome Prime Minister John Howard and his wife, Janette, back to the White House. Australia and the United States share timeless values. On opposite sides of the Pacific, our peoples created lands of opportunity and offered millions the hope of new beginnings. As frontier peoples, we cherish the spirit of discovery. We believe that men and women who dream big and work hard can create a better world. Australians and Americans also believe in the power of freedom. Our two nations were once remote outposts of liberty, lands where those escaping tyranny could find a better life. Today, freedom is on the move. Australians and Americans celebrate freedom's advance, because nations that respect the rights and dignity of their own people are the best partners for peace and the strongest anchors of stability in every region of the world. Freedom has enemies, and for more than 100 years, Australians and Americans have joined together to defend freedom. Together we fought the Battle of Hamel in World War I. Together we fought in World War II from the beaches of Normandy to the waters of the Coral Sea. Together we fought in Korea and Vietnam. And together we are fighting and winning the global war on terror. Prime Minister Howard, you and I stood together here at the White House the day before September the 11th, 2001. And our nations have stood together on every day afterwards. We admire your courage, and we appreciate your sacrifice. We share your grief over the loss of your own countrymen who were brutally attacked in Bali. We share your determination to defeat those who murder the innocent to promote their ideology of hatred. To defeat the terrorists, we must stay on the offensive, and Australia has been on the frontlines of every offensive in the war on terror. In Afghanistan, the first casualty among American allies was an Australian. In Iraq, Australian Special Operation forces were among the first coalition units on the ground. The bravery and skill of the Australian military have helped the people of these two nations claim their freedom and deny the terrorists safe havens from which to launch further attacks. War has reaffirmed the strength of our alliance, yet our alliance is only one component of our broad partnership. Australia and the United States signed a free trade agreement in 2004 because we recognize that open markets create greater prosperity for both our peoples. We are cooperating to expand trade worldwide. In the Doha negotiations, Australia and America speak with one voice.

Remarks at a Welcoming Ceremony for Prime Minister John Howard of Australia


This is a very happy day for me. I have had lots of discussions with Senator Glenn about this bill. Bill Clay is happy as a lark. This has put 30 years on his life today. And the Vice President and I had occasion to talk about this quite a lot during the reinventing Government effort. I have some remarks I want to make, but I hope you will forgive me if, just for a moment, since this is my opportunity to speak to the national press and to the American people as well as to speak to you, I make a brief statement about Somalia. Today I have had two serious meetings with my national security advisers, along with the meeting we had last night, to discuss the future course of the United States in Somalia. 350,000 Somalis had starved because anarchy and famine and disease had prevailed. Today we are completing the job of establishing security in Somalia that will not only permit those who are now living to enjoy the immediate fruits of our common efforts with our allies in the United Nations but also to prevent that terrible crisis from occurring as soon as we are gone. It is essential that we conclude our mission in Somalia but that we do it with firmness and steadiness of purpose. I want to emphasize that tomorrow I will be consulting with congressional leaders in both parties and with others, and then I will report to you and to the American people. But this much I want to say today. Our men and women in Somalia, including any held captive, deserve our full support. They went there to do something almost unique in human history. We are anxious to conclude our role there honorably, but we do not want to see a reversion to the absolute chaos and the terrible misery which existed before. I think the American people, and I hope the Congress will be satisfied that we have assessed our position accurately and that we have a good policy to pursue. I will discuss that with them tomorrow, as I said, and then I will be back to the American people and to the press as soon as that is done. Let me say this is something of special importance to me today. When I was a 32-year-old freshman Governor, in my first year, one of the first bills I sponsored in my legislature was a bill repealing restrictions on political activities by State employees in my State.

Remarks on Signing the Hatch Act Reform Amendments of 1993


A bill that, very much like the Hatch Act, had stayed on in its present form because it was needed in a former time when, I am a little embarrassed to say, State employees decades ago would mysteriously turn up with increases in welfare checks right before the election. Well, that has not happened in a long time in my State, or in any other. And so we changed the law. And I can honestly say in all the years since, not a single solitary soul ever lodged a single solitary complaint against any of our public employees for being good citizens. Today, we put an end to a vexing contradiction in America's public life with a solution, I hasten to add, looking at the Members of Congress who are here, that is neither Democratic nor Republican but American in nature. And I thank the members of both parties who supported this important reform. We have been supporting democracy throughout the world. We have been standing up for Boris Yeltsin in the tight he is been in and cheering when he prevailed and cheering when he reaffirmed his determination to have elections. But here in our own country, millions of our own citizens have been denied one of the most basic democratic rights, the right to participate in the political process, because of conditions that have not existed for a very long time. The original purpose of the Hatch Act was to protect Federal employees and other citizens from coming under improper political pressure. But now our Federal work force is the product of merit system, not patronage. We have laws to protect our citizens against coercion and intimidation. We have guarantees that the administration of Federal laws must be fair and impartial. We have an exceedingly vigilant press and people more than eager to talk to them whenever they have been abused or think they have. The conditions which once gave rise to the Hatch Act as it was before this reform bill passed are no longer present, and they cannot justify the continued muzzling of millions of American citizens. The Federal Employees Political Activities Act, which I am about to sign, will permit Federal employees and postal workers on their own time to manage campaigns, raise funds, to hold positions within political parties. They would not be able to run for partisan political office themselves, for example, and there will be some new responsibilities, which I applaud the Federal employees' unions for embracing and supporting. While we restore political rights to these millions of citizens, we also hold them to high standards.


The Federal workplace, where the business of our Nation is done will still be strictly off limits to partisan political activity. Workers on the job will not even be allowed to wear political campaign buttons. At the same time, the reforms will maintain restrictions on the activities of workers in the most sensitive positions, in law enforcement and national security. Because we regard good ethics as the basis of good government, this reform strengthens criminal penalties for anyone convicted of abusing his or her position. And because we want our Federal workers to be responsible, to display an integrity worthy of the public service they perform, this reform includes a provision that allows the garnishment of Federal pay to repay private debt. That is been done in the private sector for many years. And just as we now treat Federal employees like private citizens in their political activities, there is no reason Federal workers should get special protection for privately unpaid bills and obligations. Ultimately, I believe, as Senator Glenn said, that this reform of the Hatch Act will mean more responsible, more satisfied, happier, and more productive Federal workers. When we extend the political rights of any group of Americans, we extend the political rights of all Americans. And we deepen the meaning of our own democracy. Congress has done a lot of work on that just in the last 8 months since I have been President. We have passed the motor voter bill, which expands the franchise to people who have difficulty registering to vote. Thanks to the Vice President, we have a plan that will radically change the way Government operates. It will give rank-and-file Federal employees more meaningful jobs, more say over their work, and enable us to do more with less and increase the confidence taxpayers have in the work we do around here. Serious proposals on campaign finance reform and on lobbying reform have already passed the United States Senate and are now being acted on in the House of Representatives. And I applaud them for it. Aristotle once said that, liberty and equality are best attained when all persons alike share in the Government to the utmost. Working together, we are closing in on that goal. And now, when I sign this bill, 3 million more Americans will have a chance to share in their beloved Government to the utmost.


On this spectacular day, I want to welcome everybody to the White House. This hurts a little bit. It does not hurt as much as the NFC Championship Game hurt but it still hurts, you guys coming to my house to rub it in. What are you going to do, go to Ditka's house next or . You guys have got to work on that. I am surprised they are not wearing cheeseheads. Look, obviously, it is good to have football right around the corner. Like every football fan, I was thrilled to have the lockout ended. Nobody likes long, frustrating negotiations with a rigid opposition, taking it to the brink. I want to recognize Packers President Mark Murphy, GM Ted Thompson, for the outstanding job they have done, as well as Coach Mike McCarthy for guiding them to the next championship. And I would like to welcome all the players to the White House; some of them I have had a chance to meet before, wonderful guys. I guess I especially have to welcome Charles Woodson. I was not asking for some certificate you are about to give me, are not you? He is really rubbing it in. And for those who do not know, I gave Charles a little bulletin board material, apparently, last year. And so after the Packers beat the Bears, Charles addressed the teameverybody on ESPN saw it; I saw it while I was working out in the morningand Charles said, If president does not want to come to watch us at the Super Bowl, then we are going to him. Then I flew to Green Bay later that week to visit a local company, and Governor Walker and Mayor Schmittwhere's Mayor Schmitt? He gave me a jersey from Charles on which he'd written, See you at the White House. So basically, Charles has been giving me a hard time now for several months. Charles, you are a man of your word. Do not mess with Charles Woodson. Now, in the Super Bowl, the Packers showed just what a championship team is made of and that you deserved those rings Coach McCarthy had you fitted on the night before. The game was a lot like your season. Some key players went down with injuries in the first half, including Donald and Charles. Your offense exploded behind one of the greatest performances by a quarterback in a Super Bowl. Your defense was flying all over the place like Clay Matthews's hair. And you brought the Lombardi Trophy back home.

Remarks Honoring the 2011 Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers


304 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions. This was a performance that capped off an incredible playoff run that proved he is not just one of the best quarterbacks in the game, he is one of the best quarterbacks perhaps of all time. And I know that he is going to be having an extraordinary career going forward. We also know that the Packers are made of more than one player or one season. They are made of the people of Green Bay. Back in the twenties, fans passed the hat at the games to support the team. In 1923, after some rough financial years, local businessmen banded together to pay the bills. Two more timesin 1935 and 1950the community came to the rescue to keep the club afloat, and today, 112,000 people own a piece of this franchise. It is the only publicly owned team in pro sports, so . And after the Super Bowl, hundreds of those fans woke up the next day, put on their snow boots, and headed over to Lambeau Field to shovel it out for the victory pep rally. The Packers have raised more than $4 million for charities in communities all across Wisconsin and Michigan. More than 300 schools participate in the Packers Fit Kids program to promote childhood health. They have given scholarships to local students, sponsored food and blood drives, found creative ways to support our troops and their families. So even a Bears fan can admit that the relationship between Green Bay and its team is something special. It reflects those old-school, small-town values of community and hard work that have always defined what it meant to be an American. And Super Bowl spotlight or not, that is something that is alive in towns across this country every single day. Enjoy it while it lasts. September 25 and Sunday Night Football on Christmas Day. And if you guys are on a roll by then, just keep in mind that there is only one placeone person here who can ground all planes in and out of Green Bay if he has to. Charles, what do you got here? You can step up to the mike. Well, on behalf of the Green Bay Packers organization and all the players, we would like to present you with this. Of course, all the fans own the team, and it hurts us a little bit to give you this as well but to give you shares of the Green Bay Packers. We figured this is the only way we could get you away from the Bears.


I appreciate the warm welcome. I want to thank you all for giving me a chance to come and explain why I want to be your President for 4 more years. We have done a lot since I got elected. It is and we have accomplished a lot, and we have been through a lot. The only reason to look backward is to best determine who to lead us forward. So today I am going to talk about some ideas as to how to make this country a safer, stronger, and better place for every citizen, for every single person who lives in this country. I tell the people, in front of these enthusiastic and large crowds we have been having, that, you know, probably the wisest reason to put me back in there is so that she will be the First Lady for 4 more years. I am running with a good man. I admit it, that Dick Cheney is not the prettiest face on the ticket. But that is not why I picked him. I picked him because of his sound judgment, his experience, his ability to do the job. I want to thank Dr. Bob Templin for allowing us to use this important facility. I will tell you why. Part of the reasons I am seeking the Presidency again is because I understand that if we use our community college system wisely, people will be trained for the jobs which will exist. See, in order to keep jobs here in America, we have got to have a workforce that is capable of filling the jobs of the 21st century. And one of the crucial links in making sure people have the skills necessary to fill the jobs that are coming is the community college system. And Bob understands that. I want to thank my friend Senator George Allen for being here. I want to thank Frank Wolf and Ed Schrock. I appreciate Frank's concern and dedication for those who need American help. He understands what I know, that we have a responsibility in the world to help those who hunger and those who are afflicted by disease and those who suffer under tyranny. And I appreciate Frank's deep concern not only about the citizens of this State and our country but also the deep concern about those to whom we can deliver help. Just remember, when people talk about America, just remember they are talking about a country which is leading the fight against ENTITY/ ENTITY, not only here at home but on the continent of Africa. I appreciate your leadership as well. The attorney general is with us today.

Remarks in a Discussion at Northern Virginia Community College in Annandale, Virginia


We have got some of our citizens up here because we are going to talk about a crucial aspect of our vision, which is how to encourage an ownership society to flourish in America. I am going to get to that in a minute. Before I do, I want to talk about a couple of other points. One is that we are making progress in spreading the peace. We also know that freedom is not our country's gift to the world; freedom is the Almighty God's gift to each person in this world. And that is why that is why over the next 4 years, we will continue to work to spread freedom, for our own security and for the sake of others. We have done some hard work over the past 3 years. We must never forget the lessons of September the 11th. First of all, the enemy that we face is cruel. Unlike Americans, they do not have a conscience. They are willing to kill innocent people in order to shake our will and our resolve. As we work to secure our country, we must never forget the nature of the people. You cannot reason with them. You cannot sit down and say, Look, why will not you change your ways? And your President must clearly understand that. That is why it is important for us that is why over the next 4 years, we will engage them in places like Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere so we do not have to face them here at home. Secondly, when this country speaks, it better mean what it says, in order to make the world a more peaceful place. In other words, when we say things, we must mean what we say. And when I said that if you harbor a terrorist, you are just as guilty as the terrorist, I meant exactly that. And that is why we made the decision a tough decision, by the way; nobody wants to commit kids to war. That is what you got to understand. It is the hardest decision a President can make, and you only do so if you are convinced it is going to lead to peace. It is a different kind of war we are in, and therefore, we had to say clearly to those that were providing safe haven that you are going to be held accountable as well. Because, remember, Al Qaida was training in Afghanistan. They had taken over the country. We could not allow that to continue for our own security and for the sake of the people who lived underneath the brutal dictatorship of the Taliban.


And so thanks to our United States military and our friends and allies, Afghanistan is now free. Afghanistan is an ally on the war on terror. I will tell you something really interesting two things I want to share with you about Afghanistan. I can remember earlier in the spring, I think it was, people were talking about how maybe people are not going to vote. Do not you remember, there was some serious terrorist attacks on women, in particular, that had got their registration cards and were in the process. Turns out, over 8 million I think the number is 8 million Afghan citizens have registered to vote, far exceeding expectations. They want to live in a free society. They want to be able to exercise their rights as a human being. Secondly, when I was in Cleveland a while back this is like the last couple of weeks I have been traveling a lot, so it is kind of hard for me to remember exactly where I have been I went to the International Children's Game. I helped kick it off. And I was there speaking to the athletes, and right to my right I will never forget it was the Afghan girls soccer team. Now, let me tell you what is interesting about that. They would not have been in the United States they would not even have been playing soccer under the Taliban. These people were so brutal, so dark in their vision that many young girls did not have a chance to be educated. Not only do we have an ally in the war on terror, there is a more compassionate and decent society growing in Afghanistan, which is in our interests, and it is in the world's interests. As the American people look at this election, they must take a look at the candidates and determine who best understands the lessons to be learned from September the 11th. Another lesson is, is that we must deal with threats before they fully materialize. In this world of threats to our homeland, in this world where there are folks who cannot stand our country and our way of life, we must deal with threats. They must be dealt with hopefully, diplomatically; hopefully, we can cure things, problems peacefully. That ought to be the first priority of any President. However, if diplomacy fails, we must be a country that is willing to take action to defend ourselves. He had used weapons of mass destruction against his own people. He had terrorist organizations in his country. He was a sworn enemy of the United States of America. He is a person that invaded countries in his neighborhood.


We all looked at the intelligence. I looked at it. Members of Congress from both political parties looked at it. My opponent looked at it. Saddam Hussein was a threat. The United Nations Security Council the U.N. Security Council concluded Saddam was a threat and passed a resolution unanimously which said, Disarm, disclose, or face serious consequences. That is what the free world said. And he deceived the world again. I say again because that is what he'd been doing for a decade. And then he deceived the inspectors. Remember, with that period of time, we said, Oh, let the inspections work. We were all for that. But it was clear that he was deceiving them. So I had a choice to make, and that is, whether or not to trust a man who had used weapons of mass destruction, somebody who had used somebody who had defied the free world. My choice was, do I forget the lessons of September the 11th, or do I take actions necessary to defend our country? And given that very difficult choice, I chose to defend America. We did not find the stockpiles that we thought we would find. We have not found them yet. But he did have the capability of making weapons. Knowing what I know today, I would have made the same decision. We could not afford to take the chance that a sworn enemy of America would share capabilities with an enemy which hates us. I will tell you an interesting story and by the way, I think the candidates for President must say yes or no, whether or not they would have made the same decision. I tell the story about the seven men that came to see me in the Oval Office. They had had their right hands cut off by Sad-dam Hussein because his currency had devalued and he was looking for a scapegoat. And they had a X burned in their forehead as well, to brand them as enemies of the state, I guess; I do not know what the symbol was. But they came to see me in the Oval Office. The fellows walked in and were just overwhelmed by the majesty of a shrine to democracy, and it was imagine, seeing ENTITY . And I was emotional because the contrast between what we believe and what Saddam Hussein did to his people is just so amazing, because these people had just come from Houston, Texas, where they had received new hands because of the generosity of an American citizen named Marvin Zindler.


It was just a clear contrast between the brutality of a man who whimsically could have somebody's hand cut off and the great generosity and love of compassion of the American citizens who are willing to help heal somebody, no matter their religion or where they are from. A free Iraq is going to change the world. For those of you with young kids, I want you to think about a world that is going to be much more peaceful, a country more secure because, during these difficult days, we are standing true to our firm belief and our ideals that freedom equals peace. It is hard work because there are people in that in the Middle East that cannot stand the thought of a free society. It just scares them. And they do not scare us. They are tough, but we are resolute because we understand the charge of history, the charge that history has given us. We have a duty. We have a duty to keep our word. We have told the Iraqi people and the people of Afghanistan that we are with you. They are watching carefully to determine whether or not they can take a risk for freedom, or whether or not America's word does not mean anything. These are times when people will look back and say, thank goodness the American people stood true to our belief that liberty is a transforming moment in the history of the world. I talk about a stronger and better America; it means our economy needs to be strong. One of the things we better make sure is we do not raise the taxes on the people. I am going to talk about good education policy to help train workers. I will talk about energy policy to make sure we are not that we are less dependent on foreign sources of energy. Of course, I am going to talk about liability reform, medical liability reform. I will talk about tort reform, so our business people can thrive and hire people. And there are policies we need to put in place to make sure this is the best place in the world to do business. If you want jobs to stay in America, like I do, this better be a place where people feel comfortable taking risks and expanding the job base. So I have spent a lot of time talking about that in the course of the campaign. Today we are going to talk about how to encourage an ownership society in America. If you really think about it, they are much different from the times when we came up. Most of our dads at least guys my age dads worked for one company.


Georges generally worked for one company. At any rate, when we think about it, it was a different society back a couple of decades ago because a person stayed with the same company, had the health plan from the company, retirement plan from the company. You have got moms and dads that are both working, sometimes out of the house. And the economy is changing, and therefore, Government policy ought to change with the times. And one way to bring stability and security into a person's life is to encourage ownership. See, if you own and control your own health care plan, you can move from job to job without worrying as to whether or not you are going to get health coverage for your family. If you own your own home and building equity in your own home and you are changing from job to job, it provides great security and relief. And so we are going to talk about different forms of ownership here. But the point here is, I want you to understand that over the next 4 years we will be working to build a culture of ownership in America. We want more people owning things in this country. Let me put it to you bluntly. In a changing world, we want more people to have control over your own life. And that is a difference there is a difference in philosophy, when you think about it. A lot of the Government policies are, you know as I like to put it, we will give you the orders, and you pay the bills. If you really think about it, there is a philosophical divide here in this campaign. My judgment is, Government ought to be empowering people by giving them more control over their lives. And we will talk about some practical ways to do that. Now, look, one of the things we will always work to do is to take care of those people who cannot help themselves. As a matter of fact, a proper policy of Government is to give people the tools necessary to be able to realize their own dreams. It is making a big difference. I am telling you, when you start asking the question, Can you read and write and add and subtract? It holds people to account. We have got to end this it is a mediocre system when you quit on kids basically because of the color of their skin, you know? We are not going to do that anymore in America. In terms of health care, there is some smart things we can do. We have got to recognize there are people who cannot help themselves.


Media will not show the magnitude of this crowd. Even I, when I turned on today, I looked, and I saw thousands of people here. But you do not see hundreds of thousands of people behind you because they do not want to show that. We have hundreds of thousands of people here and I just want them to be recognized by the fake news media. Turn your cameras please and show what is really happening out here because these people are not going to take it any longer. They are not going to take it any longer. They came from all over the world, actually, but they came from all over our country. I just really want to see what they do. I have never seen anything like it. But it would be really great if we could be covered fairly by the media. Big tech is now coming into their own. We beat them four years ago. We surprised them. We took them by surprise and this year they rigged an election. They rigged it like they have never rigged an election before. And by the way, last night they did not do a bad job either if you notice. And I just, again, I want to thank you. It is just a great honor to have this kind of crowd and to be before you and hundreds of thousands of American patriots who are committed to the honesty of our elections and the integrity of our glorious republic. All of us here today do not want to see our election victory stolen by emboldened radical-left Democrats, which is what they are doing. That is what they have done and what they are doing. Our country has had enough. We will not take it anymore and that is what this is all about. We will stop the steal. Today I will lay out just some of the evidence proving that we won this election and we won it by a landslide. I have been in two elections. I won them both and the second one, I won much bigger than the first. Almost 75 million people voted for our campaign, the most of any incumbent president by far in the history of our country, 12 million more people than four years ago. And I was told by the real pollsters - we do have real pollsters - they know that we were going to do well and we were going to win. What I was told, if I went from 63 million, which we had four years ago, to 66 million, there was no chance of losing.

Read Trump's Jan. 6 Speech, A Key Part Of Impeachment Trial


Well, we did not go to 66, we went to 75 million, and they say we lost. And by the way, does anybody believe that Joe had 80 million votes? Does anybody believe that? He had 80 million computer votes. You could take third-world countries. Their elections are more honest than what we have been going through in this country. Even when you look at last night. They are all running around like chickens with their heads cut off with boxes. We will not let them silence your voices. And I'd love to have if those tens of thousands of people would be allowed. And we want to thank you and the police law enforcement. You are doing a great job. But I'd love it if they could be allowed to come up here with us. And Rudy, you did a great job. He is got guts. He is got guts, unlike a lot of people in the Republican Party. He is got guts. And I will tell you. John is one of the most brilliant lawyers in the country, and he looked at this and he said, What an absolute disgrace that this can be happening to our Constitution. And he looked at Mike Pence, and I hope Mike is going to do the right thing. Because if Mike Pence does the right thing, we win the election. All he has to do, all this is, this is from the number one, or certainly one of the top, Constitutional lawyers in our country. He has the absolute right to do it. We are supposed to protect our country, support our country, support our Constitution, and protect our constitution. They were given false information. They voted on it. They want it back. All Vice President Pence has to do is send it back to the states to recertify and we become president and you are the happiest people. And I actually, I just spoke to Mike. Mike, that does not take courage. What takes courage is to do nothing. That takes courage. And then we are stuck with a president who lost the election by a lot and we have to live with that for four more years. Many of you have traveled from all across the nation to be here, and I want to thank you for the extraordinary love. By the way, this goes all the way back past the Washington Monument. You believe this? Unfortunately gave, they gave the press the prime seats. I cannot stand that. But you look at that behind.


I wish they'd flip those cameras and look behind you. When they make a mistake, you get to see it on television. And do not worry, we will not take the name off the Washington Monument. We will not cancel culture. You know they wanted to get rid of the Jefferson Memorial. Although, with this administration, if this happens, it could happen. They will knock out Lincoln too, by the way. They have been taking his statue down. But then we signed a little law. You hurt our monuments, you hurt our heroes, you go to jail for 10 years, and everything stopped. You notice that? And they could use Rudy back in New York City. They could use you. Your city's going to hell. They want Rudy Giuliani back in New York. We will get a little younger version of Rudy. To save our democracy. You know most candidates on election evening and, of course, this thing goes on so long. They still do not have any idea what the votes are. We still have congressional seats under review. They have no idea. They have totally lost control. They have used the pandemic as a way of defrauding the people in a proper election. But you know, you know, when you see this and when you see what is happening. They said, Sir, in four years, you are guaranteed. We want to go back and we want to get this right because we are going to have somebody in there that should not be in there and our country will be destroyed and we are not going to stand for that. For years, Democrats have gotten away with election fraud and weak Republicans. And we have great ones. Jim Jordan and some of these guys, they are out there fighting. Many of the Republicans, I helped them get in, I helped them get elected. I could name 24 of them, let us say, I will not bore you with it. And then all of a sudden you have something like this. It is like, Oh gee, maybe I will talk to the president sometime later. If this happened to the Democrats, there'd be hell all over the country going on. You are stronger, you are smarter, you have got more going than anybody. And they try and demean everybody having to do with us. And you are the real people, you are the people that built this nation. You are not the people that tore down our nation. I really believe it.


I think I am going to use the term, the weak Republicans. You have got a lot of them. And you got a lot of great ones. But you got a lot of weak ones. They have turned a blind eye, even as Democrats enacted policies that chipped away our jobs, weakened our military, threw open our borders and put America last. Did you see the other day where Joe Biden said, I want to get rid of the America First policy? What is that all about? How do you say I want to get rid of America First? Even if you are going to do it, do not talk about it, right? Unbelievable what we have to go through. What we have to go through. And if they do not fight, we have to primary the hell out of the ones that do not fight. You primary them. I can already tell you, frankly. But this year, using the pretext of the China virus and the scam of mail-in ballots, Democrats attempted the most brazen and outrageous election theft and there is never been anything like this. Everybody knows it. That election, our election was over at 10 o'clock in the evening. We are leading Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia, by hundreds of thousands of votes. Did you see his? I wonder if he enjoyed his flight in last night. Well, I'd like to congratulate the victor. They do not go and look at the facts. But we look at the facts and our election was so corrupt that in the history of this country we have never seen anything like it. You know, America is blessed with elections. All over the world they talk about our elections. You know what the world says about us now? They said, we do not have free and fair elections. We do not have a free and fair press. It suppresses thought, it suppresses speech and it is become the enemy of the people. It is become the enemy of the people. It is the biggest problem we have in this country. And you will hear about that in just a few minutes. Republicans are, Republicans are constantly fighting like a boxer with his hands tied behind his back. It is like a boxer. We want to be so respectful of everybody, including bad people. And Mike Pence is going to have to come through for us, and if he does not , that will be a, a sad day for our country because you are sworn to uphold our Constitution.


Now, it is up to Congress to confront this egregious assault on our democracy. And after this, we are going to walk down, and I will be there with you, we are going to walk down, we are going to walk down. Anyone you want, but I think right here, we are going to walk down to the Capitol, and we are going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women, and we are probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them. Because you will never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength and you have to be strong. We have come to demand that Congress do the right thing and only count the electors who have been lawfully slated, lawfully slated. I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard. Today we will see whether Republicans stand strong for integrity of our elections. But whether or not they stand strong for our country, our country. Our country has been under siege for a long time. We have set it on a much greater course. We have created the greatest economy in history. We rebuilt our military. We get you the biggest tax cuts in history. We got you the biggest regulation cuts. There is no president, whether it is four years, eight years or in one case more, got anywhere near the regulation cuts. Used to take 20 years to get a highway approved, now we are down to two. I want to get it down to one, but we are down to two. And it may get rejected for environmental or safety reasons, but we got it down to safety. We created Space Force, We, we, we. Look at what we did. So we create Space Force which, by and of itself, is a major achievement for an administration. And with us it is one of so many different things. Everybody know about Right to Try. We did things that nobody ever thought possible. We took care of our vets, our vets. The VA now has the highest rating, 91%. The highest rating that it is had from the beginning, 91% approval rating. Always, you watch the VA, it was on television every night, people living in a horrible, horrible manner. We got it so that now in the VA, you do not have to wait for four weeks, six weeks, eight weeks, four months to see a doctor.


If you cannot get a doctor, you go outside, you get the doctor. You have it taken care of and we pay the doctor. And we have not only made life wonderful for so many people, we have saved tremendous amounts of money, far secondarily, but we have saved a lot of money. And now we have the right to fire bad people in the VA. We had 9,000 people that treated our veterans horribly. In primetime, they would not have treated our veterans badly. But they treated our veterans horribly. Joe you are fired. Before you could not do that. You could not do that before. So we have taken care of things, we have done things like nobody's ever thought possible. And that is part of the reason that many people do not like us, because we have done too much. But we have done it quickly and we were going to sit home and watch a big victory and everybody had us down for a victory. I said to somebody, I was going to take a few days and relax after our big electoral victory. But I was going to take a few days. And I can say this. Since our election, I believe, which was such a catastrophe, when I watch. Look at the big leads we had, right. Even though the press said we would lose Wisconsin by 17 points. Even though the press said, Ohio's going to be close, we set a record; Florida's going to be close, we set a record; Texas is going to be close, Texas is going to be close, we set a record. And we set a record with Hispanic, with the Black community, we set a record with everybody. Today we see a very important event though. Because right over there, right there, we see the event going to take place. We are going to see whether or not we have great and courageous leaders, or whether or not we have leaders that should be ashamed of themselves throughout history, throughout eternity they will be ashamed. If they do the wrong thing, we should never, ever forget that they did. With only three of the seven states in question, we win the presidency of the United States. And by the way, it is much more important today than it was 24 hours ago, because I do not . I spoke to David Perdue, what a great person, and Kelly Loeffler, two great people, but it was a setup. And you know, I said, We have no backline anymore.