Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by Vice President Joe Biden in Columbia, South Carolina
Thank you, South Carolina!
We are back!
To all those who have been knocked down, counted out, left behind: This is your campaign.
Just days ago the press and the pundits had declared this candidacy dead.
Now, thanks to you — the heart of the Democratic Party — we haven’t just won. We won big, and we are very much alive.
And the state that launched Bill Clinton and Barack Obama to the presidency has now launched our campaign on the path to defeating Donald Trump.
This campaign is taking off, so join us. Go to JoeBiden.com – sign up, volunteer, contribute if you can.
We need you. We want you. There’s a place for you in our campaign.
But as we celebrate tonight here in Columbia, let me speak directly to Democrats across the nation, especially to those voting on Super Tuesday.
The moment to choose the path forward for our party has arrived. Maybe sooner than anyone guessed or wanted. But it’s here.
And the decisions Democrats make all across America in the next few days will determine what this party stands for, what we believe, and what we will get done.
If Democrats want a nominee who can beat Trump, keep Nancy Pelosi as Speaker, and hold the House — and take the U.S. Senate and state legislatures — Join us.
If Democrats want a nominee who will build on Obamacare, not scrap it; take on the NRA and the gun manufacturers, not protect them; stand up for the middle class, not raise their taxes and make promises that can’t be kept — join us.
And if Democrats want a nominee who is a Democrat — a lifelong Democrat, a proud Democrat, an Obama-Biden Democrat — join us.
We can win big or lose big. That’s the choice.
We need to build on the coalition and legacy of the most successful president of our lifetime: Barack Obama.
And we do this by bringing together Americans of every race, ethnicity, gender, and economic station — Democrats, Republicans, and Independents of every stripe.
Like we did right here in South Carolina.
Like we can do across the entire country on Tuesday and beyond.
Win big or lose big. That’s the choice.
Most Americans don’t want the promise of a revolution. They want results.
They want to give all Americans access to real opportunity — to have affordable and available health care for all Americans.
An environment with clean air and clean water; an education system that funds our schools, pays our teachers, and makes community college free; a nation where we stand up to and beat the NRA; reform our criminal justice system; and mobilize the world against climate change.
An economy that rewards work not just wealth — a job is about a lot more than a paycheck. It’s about dignity, decency, respect. It’s about your place in the community.
For all of our families. For all of our communities.
Because it’s the right thing to do.
We’re Democrats.
Talk is cheap.
False promises are deceptive. And talk of a revolution isn’t changing anyone’s life.
You need real results right now.
I’ve done that my whole career. And I’ll do it as President.
So, this isn’t the election to spend all our time on a battle for the soul of the Democratic Party.
This is a battle for the soul of America.
And in this most perilous moment, winning means uniting America, not sowing more division and anger.
It means not only fighting but healing this country. We must beat Donald Trump and the Republican Party — but we can’t become them.
We must heal our divisions and repair our democracy.
Above all, it’s time for America to get back up.
And once again, fight for the proposition that we hold these truths to be self-evident. That all men and women are created equal. Endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights.
We’ve never lived up to it, but we’ve never walked away from it.
I believe that with every fiber of my being.
I saw it a few days ago at a town hall in Charleston.
I spoke with Reverend Anthony Thompson whose wife, Myra, was studying the words of her bible with eight other parishioners of Mother Emanuel four-and-half years ago.
It was their weekly routine — reading scripture and finding purpose in faith in God and in each other.
In an instant, hate’s vengeance pierced their faith, lost forever.
But what’s remarkable about Reverend Thompson and the families of the “Emanuel 9” is that through their pain and grief — they forgave.
And in their forgiveness, change that had been fought for over 100 years in South Carolina occurred.
The Confederate flag came down and real change began to take place.
That’s why I came back to Mother Emanuel on Sunday services after the funerals for the victims. Because six weeks earlier, we had lost our son Beau, and we needed to be healed.
And with every day of every season that has passed, they have gotten up and found purpose to live a life worthy of their loved ones — worthy of the blessing to live in this remarkable country of ours.
You’re the reason I’m in this race. People like you here tonight and all around the country.
The days of Donald Trump’s divisiveness are soon to be over. We can build a more perfect union, because the American people have seen the alternative.
To all of you here in South Carolina — and especially to Jim Clyburn, my friend —
you lifted me and this campaign on your shoulders.
I will never forget what you have done for us.
And we need to stand behind Jaime Harrison – the next United States Senator from South Carolina.
And we need to send Joe Cunningham back to the House of Representatives.
To the loves of my life, Jill and Ashley. Thank you for everything.
Folks, so let’s get back up.
We are decent, brave, and resilient people.
We can believe again.
We are better than this moment!
We are better than this president!
So get up!
Take back our country!
We are the United States of America!
There is nothing we can’t do – if we do it together!
May God Bless you all.
May God protect our troops.
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