Tim Walz LIVE: Walz Slams Vance’s School Shooting Comments | Trump Vs Harris | US Elections | N18G

thank you HRC wow well thank you for inviting me and more importantly maybe thank you for the privilege of being able to stand with each of one of you president Robinson thank you for the kind introduction I'd also like to say on a point of personal privilege there's a strong contingent of motans in the house so thank you motans so for for all of you here tonight and around the country listening you've done so much to advance the cause of equality and freedom I'm proud to count so many you as friends I'm grateful that you brought your time your talents and your Treasures to be here tonight and I'm fired up to be at your side I got to tell you because of all the things that are going on all the places you could be all the things you could have done you came here tonight one is it's the best party in the country tonight so that's why you're here but the deeper reason you're here is for that very simple and beautiful reason you love this country and that's why you're here you love the principles that we stand for well for some of you who don't know uh I am Tim Walls and I'm a I'm the governor of Minnesota right now but I I like to make sure that I say that I I was a school teacher for a lot of years but right now right now I'm proud to be the running mate of the next president of the United States KLA Harris the privilege of getting to know this phenomenal leader from a prosecutor district attorney Attorney General US senator and vice president yes by the way she's more qualified than anybody that's ever run for this office let's just be clear but she didn't just take those talents for herself she fights every single day on the side of the American people and what I have to say of all the things that the other side has messed up the other things that they've done the thing that I'll not forgive them for is the thing that vice president Harris is fixing most she's bringing Joy back to our politics decency back to how we do things and this is not a new thing for her this started a long time ago and for the folks of California in 2010 our Californians who are here in 2010 this is the joy she brought so here's the scene years earlier as the da of San Francisco vice president Harris took on and took one of the toughest St in the nation against hate crimes she led the fight to end the hateful gay and transgender Panic defense we know what that leads to and we know the countless deaths and misery that was brought upon by that she took it on and she also officiated some of the first same-sex marriages in the entire [Applause] country then she went on to become the Attorney General of the largest state in the country and the moment it arrived to defend marriage equ quity and she threw her whole self into that fight if you know kamla Harris she doesn't just pick these fights when she talks about it and this is the thing to keep in mind all she does is win all she does is [Applause] win so when the word came down that same-sex marriage had been legalized in California two plaintiffs asked KLA Harris to officiate her ceremony while they were at City Hall C celebrating that marriage she got a call from two more plaintiffs saying that a clerk in Los Angeles County was denying their marriage certificate so she grabbed a phone and some of you have seen this she asked them to put the clerk on the line and she did what she did best she didn't mince words and she made it very clear she said this is KLA Harris you must start the marriage [Applause] immediately and then she added and I don't know if this always gets in the videos she added the best line to that she told the clerk have a good day and enjoy it it's going to be fun she hasn't looked back from that day as a US senator she fought hard for the equality act introduced a bill to make sure you ensured access to prep and as vice president and I say this it is not a stretch and the facts are there this is the most Pro lgbtq Plus Administration in American history [Applause] she helped President Biden pass the landmark respect for Mary Jack requiring every state and territory to fully honor same-sex and interracial [Applause] marriage and she helped stop the ignorant and Byzantine practice of banning gay and bisexual men from donating blood [Applause] um I think it's important in this room for us to remember these things because keep in mind there's some other folks on the other side given one chance to get back in the White House they will go back at every one of these things we talk about we talk about progress and moving forward because she said it we're sure the hell not going back on these things we're not going to go back but be clear they're going to be there things like strengthening Mental Health Resources for lgbtq plus youth we know we know what the STA Statics are they're horrific for our young people from suicides to self harm to all of the other things that go with it we know that this fight is the most important fight that's on our that's on our plate so I have to tell you she made human rights for lgbtq plus individuals around the world a top priority in this nation's foreign policy we must lead we must be the country that leads on [Applause] it she worked with President Biden on historic executive orders protecting folks from discrimination and the reason she did it was pretty simple KLA Harris believes in Equal justice under law and that means not very complicated Equal justice under law it is not to be debated it's not that difficult the president is set but look we know what this fight is we know that we can all relate to some of this and I'll tell you this fight and I think about it for me for some of you maybe heard this I was born in a small place called West Point Nebraska I grew up yay somebody's from West Point there we go there's two of us um the town I grew up in had 400 people 24 classmates 12 were cousins somebody brought up the prom dating to me yes it's interesting um but look when you're in a community like that Community was a way of life my folks showed me teach generosity to your neighbors work hard for the common good those are values that I brought work as a social studies teacher and a high school football coach now those of you who teach know this you learn far more from your students than they learn from you no matter how good of teacher you are you know how that works so some of my students and this is in the late 90s were concerned about an uptick in bullying amongst the gay and lesbian community in our school one of those Brave students is here tonight Jacob Ron's a dear friend of mine who's [Applause] here and Jacob look I'm coaching football I'm an old straight white guy I'm teaching social studies you're all picturing the damn stereotype here turns out that I'm like opposite world of Tommy tuberville though so in this for some of you so so when Jake asked if I'd be interested in being the adviser to the gay Strate Alliance I said absolutely I understood what it meant to be that older straight white guy who was coaching [Applause] football Ally ship is a great thing but what many of you in here knows is it's easy to be an ally when it's easy to be an ally what really matters is knowing who's going to be at your side and stand up when it's hard and it was in those moments that those students inspired me years later look I'm a 40-some guy with little kids who is teaching school trying to pay the mortgage the idea of running for office never got to me or thought about it but those students inspired me and what they saw in me is what I was trying to instill in them this commitment to a common good I believe one person can make a difference in other people's lives so in 2006 I took the leap ran for congress no one told me at that time and I of course you know apparently couldn't google it um in that district there had been one other Democrat since 1892 and in that red District I was in a state that had baned same St marriage for a decade but I knew I was right and I ran on the platform that supported equality and this is what I said I got asked at a debate if I supported civil unions I I said sure if that's your thing but I said my marriage to my wife Gwen is most important thing in my life I love her deeply why would I stop anybody else from marrying the person they love that makes no sense now this was this was 2006 and some of you uh with a little more gray hair or less of it can remember this time um that the other side said oh a bate candidate finally showed his true colors by saying this well as it turned out a majority of my neighbors agreed with us and they elected me to represent them in the United States [Applause] house and after it was over some people came up me and said wow you R you won in spite of being uh pro-choice and PR gay marriage and I said no no no you've got this wrong I won because I was for those positions that's why we won so when I got to Congress I showed up there and the house historian told me at the time I was the highest ranking enlisted soldier at the time I served on the house Veterans Affairs committee and I worked with my roommate Patrick Murphy from Bucks County Pennsylvania to overturn don't ask don't [Applause] tell and was proud to be an early supporter for the respect for marriage act that we finally got passed and signed into law now I tell you this again it's not no one should get a pat on the back for doing what's right for God's sakes the bar is pretty damn low here to treat people like human beings Equal justice under law it's not a high bar it's not a high bar but we know the forces that are aligned against it so this is where Champions rise up whether it's a young student at a at a school in southern Minnesota or it was someone who I met and I wished I had not met under the circumstance it was but someone who changed my life I was there when we passed the Matthew Shepard hate crime prevention act and I had the privilege I had the privilege when the final vote was coming up in the house it was going to be close I walked to the house floor through the tunnels from the the Longworth house office building over to the Capal and I made that walk with Matthew's mom Judy Shephard and and the sheriff who found Matthew's body tied to that fence post in Wyoming and I remember walking with a mother who had lost her son and hearing the sheriff tell me the only place it wasn't bloody is where the tears ran down Matthew's eyes and I watched a mother and The Unbelievable pain that I couldn't even fathom to lose a child this way walk with her head held high to make sure that none of the rest of us ever have to get a call from someone so I just want to say my my friend Judy Shepard and her husband Dennis are here tonight and I'd like us all to give them a big round of applause [Applause] this room this room is full of Heroes like that things that were done some of them bigger Small Things ways to make people's lives a little bit easier but what I knew was when I had the chance to get a eled to office and make a difference look there's a lot of people you don't get elected to office to bank political Capital so you can get elected again you get elected to office to burn political Capital to improve lives as quickly as you [Applause] can and so when we got the majority in Minnesota for the first time in over a decade we had the governor's office we had the house and we had the Senate by one vote and we got busy first thing we did is we banned conversion therapy in [Applause] Minnesota we protected transgender community and said in Minnesota you are seen heard loved and respected and safe and safe in Minnesota and we did something a little bit we banned Banning books especially Banning lgbtq books for themes in [Applause] that think about it in this room this is what these folks are focusing on spending all their time like reading about two male Penguins who love each other is is somehow going to turn your children gay and that's what you should worry about but here's what I'll tell you it's a fact of life some people are gay but you know what's not a fact of life that our children need to be shot dead in schools that's not a fact of life [Music] folks are Banning books but they're okay with weapons of war being in our schools look that's not this country it doesn't have to be this way it doesn't happen elsewhere we're going to make sure our children are seen they bring their authentic self and then we're going to make sure they're safe when they get there so thank you all what this election boils down to in a lot of ways it's fundamentally about Freedom now it's not just a great song that vice president Harris walks on to although it is a great song that vice president Harris walks on to but it's truly fundamentally what does freedom mean and some of you in here I keep coming back to it some of us who are a little older because we got to go back a little ways in history here when Republicans used to talk about freedom many of them actually meant it they weren't they weren't going to turn their backs on our allies they weren't going to leave Ukraine to themselves they weren't going to start doing the things they did but that's not true anymore Donald Trump and JD Vance their idea of freedom that the government should be free to invade every corner of our lives our bedrooms our kids schools even our doctor's office and I say this where I come from and I know where all of you come from I respect my neighbors's personal choices I wouldn't make some of the choices they made but you know what when it comes to personal things bodily autonomy your gender identity when to start a family marrying who you love might sound a little bit old-fashioned on that but I think we just need to be really good neighbors everyone just deserves to be treated with [Applause] respect freedom to make that choice and I keep reinforcing this because they talk about this you know there government's to Big in all this big enough to be in my bedroom apparently big enough to be in your uterus big enough to be in every Library big enough to do that but here's the thing this Society works best whether it's small towns or large towns and I say this I bet every state could say this but in Minnesota things work really well because we have a saying that I talk about a lot you know everything works better if you just mind your own damn business and I'll mind mine so nothing this idea and this Obsession and you've heard me say this they're all angry that I'm being mean to them um the other night Donald Trump did a town hall where he got to control what he said and he reassured the audience there 11 times that he was not weird if you're reminding someone you're not weird you're probably yeah but look my point was my point was who is asking for this agenda that they're doing who's asking for them to take away our freedoms who's asking them to take away reproductive freedoms and I spoke personally about this because it's personal for so many of us in here the decision of how and what way and what your family's going to look like once again that's your decision but for us in my family we had to go through fertility treatments thank God we had Insurance thank God we had access to fertility treatments and those of you if you've been through this whatever manage whatever way that looks it's agonizing whether you're waiting for adoption or you're waiting for those phone calls did the treatment work and then finding out it didn't and then starting again it's stressful it's hard I sure the hell don't need JD Vance giving me advice on it it's not helpful it's not helpful and it's a simple fix you worry about your family I'll worry about mine it's a very simple fix so for us I'll have to tell you when that call finally came and our daughter was born it wasn't by chance that we called her hope because that was our belief it was the strongest and most powerful word in the universe and so uh my daughter hope is here tonight with me by the way so and I don't know if if you saw it at the convention here last week the vice president pretty much took back freedom from the other side that that now belongs with us and that's what we're saying took back the flag they don't they haven't cornered patriotism and I'm not going to allow them to talk about Family Values why they're doing everything possible to invade our personal lives on our [Applause] families and I think there's a lot of people this is just my Pro tip of the day look there's two of us there's two of us trying to that have the privilege of it's kind of crazy in a country this big that there's two people one of the two is going to be the next Vice President of the United States so uh so my Pro tip to to my opponent on the other side is quit talking about women's childbearing issues quit talking about it because no one cares what your thoughts are on if my family counts or doesn't no one cares no one [Applause] cares and in Minnesota and this what I'm not going to take a back seat in why those guys were Banning books in their schools we were Banning hunger in ours so if you're going to talk about family values then at least show up and vote when the child tax credit is there which we know can reduce childhood poverty by a [Applause] third they didn't do anything when Donald Trump was in office he made it more difficult they didn't do anything on lowering child care cost did you hear he's got a plan on child care costs that no one in the world understood a damn word about about it not one thing but there are things you can do and we did it in Minnesota and one of the things you can do is you can start making sure that you're doing things like the child tax credit and making it easier for Sams set couples to start and raise their families openly with love and pride and make sure that the sport is [Applause] there so that outdated narrow ideology there's no one asking for it but here's what I worry about for all of you and and for all of us it's not just what they did because they tried hard this time they're not playing they are coming to do the things that they said they wanted to do and I said this as a football coach if somebody takes the time to draw up a Playbook they're going to use it so when you keep hearing us and I'll talk about it every single day because I know what it will do I know what it will do to destroy this country this project 2025 that's out there to restrict freedoms demonize this community bully vulnerable children the message is simple from all of us and here in about 59 days you're going to get a chance to send that message is leave our kids the hell alone leave our kids [Applause] alone and I have to tell you this one too and this is one that we keep remembering and this is a thank you to all those folks we talked about the ask don't tell but I want to make sure that we recognize this too we've had thousands of Brave transgender troops decorated Warriors who served this country in [Applause] uniform When Donald Trump was commanderin-chief he belittled them and he banned them from service thankfully President Biden and vice president Harris rested that stupid bigoted policy if you want to serve this nation you should be allowed to and what we should do is respect that service they should not get incoming fire from their commander-in-chief attacking their basic dignity humanity and patriotism and I will say this I didn't serve for 24 years in this to have those guys diminish another troop service I will stand with them every single time I know I'm preaching to the choir a little bit but we got 59 days to sing so the choir needs to sing and I am a believer look you heard me I I taught school for a couple decades so I do know and I supervise the lunchroom by the way for a lot of those times so I am at once an eternal optimist but two I do know that fear is a good short-term motivator but it doesn't change behaviors we're not running against those guys we need to know what they're going to do we need to know what we're up against we need to know what the threat is from them but what we need to do of the next 59 days is get ready to tell people exactly what we're going to do exactly what vice president then president Harris will do so we'll start by this lowering taxes on working families and making sure those at the top and corporations can pay their fair share they're doing fine they're doing fine we're going to protect Social Security and Medicare and we're going to make sure the Affordable Care Act is strengthened and look about a dozen states have it if you're in one of these states that have it it's great but the rest of the country needs it it is time for us to quit being the last country on Earth to have paid family and medical leave for this it is time to be done and it's going to be very clear every single day this Freedom issue that it's going to be you and people make the decisions about their health care not a politician so look everybody everybody should be free to get an education and that should be a path to the middle class it shouldn't be a path to crippling student loan debt for decades to come we can fix this and I'm going to say it once again our kids should be free to go to school without worrying about being shot dead in the Halls it's that [Applause] simple vice president Harris fight make sure that we continue to pass the equality act enshrine anti-discrimination protections and lgbtq Americans Healthcare the law housing education and so much more now look if it sounds like a tall order I'll say it again I'm an eternal optimist think about this when I was a kid growing up in Nebraska being gay was illegal still technically illegal look how much has changed since this organization was founded 40 years ago can you imagine can you imagine going back to me a high schooler in the early 88s and saying you know what we're going to going to kick down the barriers we're going to open doors we're going to pass laws that lets you bring your authentic self love who you want to love and live the life that you want to live all by yourself with no interference from [Applause] government so I told you I told you hope and my hope is an incredibly powerful room or incredibly powerful word you look around this room you can feel hope you feel that people want to see this we hope we win this election we hope we pass these laws we hope we lift people out of poverty that's a good thing to have but my wife always reminds me of this it's not a damn plan it's not a plan to hope we win this election we've got to have a plan and we've got to work for it and I ask you to look around this room we got about 3,500 people in this room what if we talk to one more person before this election what if we do one more phone bank what if we make one more door knock what if we dig deep and give a little bit more to this campaign cuz what we know is this politics is not an end it's a means to an end if we want that hope to become reality we've got to do the work to make it happen I know you're out there doing it you came here tonight you came here when you could have been somewhere else and in 59 days we get to chart our way forward we organize we donate we volunteer and I've been saying this when in life you you get a chance in 59 days to make an impact that will last for Generations because we [Applause] know if you want to go see what the alternative is it's the worst read in the world but it's 925 Pages it's project 2025 and as vice president Harris said we're not going back to the days we're not going back to the Discrimination we're not going to force our children into situations where they become suicidal we're not going to continue to demonize people because of who they are and we're not going to continue to allow people in this country to go hungry or to be shot dead because we don't make decisions that can improve that so we've got 59 days 59 days each and every one of us what every little bit we can do we can make a difference so I've been saying this and I truly believe this we can do anything for 59 days sleep when you're dead worry about that later but now is the time so it's up to US vice president Harris myself our entire Team all of you HRC we're fighting for a better country a better world we're fighting for the folks who aren't here tonight we're fighting for the folks who may not vote for us but we're doing it because it's the values that this country were founded on so as vice president Harris said if we're willing to fight we win when we fight we win when we fight we win thank you HRC thank you everybody thank you everyone thank thank you HRC wow well thank you for inviting me and more importantly maybe thank you for the privilege of being able to stand with each of one of you president Robinson thank you for the kind introduction I'd also like to say on a point of personal privilege there's a strong contingent of motans in the house so thank you motans so for for all of you here tonight and around the country listening you've done so much to advance the cause of equality and freedom I'm proud to count so many of you as friends I'm grateful that you brought your time your talent talents and your Treasures to be here tonight and I'm fired up to be at your side I got to tell you because of all the things that are going on all the places you could be all the things you could have done you came here tonight one is it's the best party in the country tonight so that's why you're here but the deeper reason you're here is for that very simple and beautiful reason you love this country and that's why you're here you love the principles that we stand for well for some of you who don't know uh I am Tim Walls and I'm a I'm the governor of Minnesota right now but I I like to make sure that I say that I I was a school teacher for a lot of years but right now right now I'm proud to be the running mate of the next president of the United States KLA Harris the privilege of getting to know this phenomenal leader from a prosecutor district attorney Attorney General US senator and vice president yes by the way she's more qualified than anybody that's ever run for this office let's just be clear but she didn't just take those talents for herself she fights every single day on the side of the American people and what I have to say of all the things that the other side has messed up the other things that they've done the thing that I'll not forgive them for is the thing that vice president Harris is fixing most she's bringing Joy back to our politics decency back to how we do things and this is not a new thing for her this started a long time ago and for the folks of California in 2010 our Californians who are here in 2010 this is the joy she brought so here's the scene years earlier as the da of San Francisco vice president Harris took on and took one of the toughest stances in the nation against hate crimes she led the fight to end the hate ful gay and transgender Panic defense we know what that leads to and we know the countless deaths and misery that was brought upon by that she took it on and she also officiated some of the first same-sex marriages in the entire [Applause] country then she went on to become the Attorney General of the largest state in the country and the moment it arrived to defend marriage equality and she threw her whole self into that fight if you know kamla Harris she doesn't just pick these fights when she talks about it and this is the thing to keep in mind all she does is win all she does is [Applause] win so when the word came down that same-sex marriage had been legalized in California two plaintiffs asked kamla Harris to officiate her ceremony while they were at City Hall celebrating that marriage she got a call from two more plaintiffs saying saying that a clerk in Los Angeles County was denying their marriage certificate so she grabbed a phone and some Of You' have seen this she asked them to put the clerk on the line and she did what she did best she didn't mince words and she made it very clear she said this is KLA Harris you must start the marriage [Applause] immediately and then she added and I don't know if this always gets in the videos she added the best line to that she told the clerk have a good day and enjoy it it's going to be fun she hasn't looked back from that day as a US senator she fought hard for the equality act introduced a bill to make sure you ensured access to prep and as vice president and I say this it is not a stretch and the facts are there this is the most Pro lgbtq Plus Administration in American [Applause] history she helped President Biden passed the landmark respect for Mary Jack requiring every state and territory to fully honor same-sex and interracial [Applause] marriage and she helped stop the ignorant and Byzantine practice of banning gay and bisexual men from donating blood [Applause] um I think it's important in this room for us to remember these things because keep in mind there's some other folks on the other side given one chance to get back in the White House they will go back at every one of these things we talk about we talk about progress and moving forward because she said it we're sure the hell not going back on these things we're not going to go back but be clear they're going to be there things like strengthening Mental Health Resources for lgbtq plus youth we know we know what the statistics are they're horrific for our young people from suicides to self harm to all of the other things that go with it we know that this fight is the most important fight that's on our that's on our plate so I have to tell you she made human rights for lgbtq plus individuals around the world a top priority in this nation's foreign policy we must lead we must be the country that leads on [Applause] it she worked with President Biden on historic executive orders protecting folks from discrimination and the reason did it was pretty simple KLA Harris believes in Equal justice under law and that means not very complicated Equal justice under law it is not to be debated it's not that difficult the Precedence is set but look we know what this fight is we know that we can all relate to some of this and I'll tell you this fight and I think about it for me for some of you may you heard this I was born in a small place called West Point Nebraska I I grew up yay somebody's from West Point there we go there's two of us um the town I grew up in had 400 people 24 classmates 12 were cousins somebody brought up the prom dating to me yes it's interesting um but look when you're in a community like that Community was a way of life my folks showed me Teach generosity to your neighbors work hard for the common good those are values that I brought work as a social studies teacher and a high school football coach now those of you who teach know this you learn far more from your students than they learn from you no matter how good of teacher you are you know that works so some of my students and this is in the late '90s were concerned about an uptick in bullying amongst the gay and lesbian community in our school one of those Brave students is here tonight Jacob Ron's a dear friend of mine who's [Applause] here and Jacob look I'm coaching football I'm an old straight white guy I'm teaching social studies you're all picturing the damn stereotype here turns out that I'm like opposite world of Tommy tuberville though so in this for some of you so so when Jake asked if I'd be interested in being the adviser to the gay straight Alliance I said absolutely I understood what it meant to be that older straight white guy who was coaching [Applause] football Ali ship is a great thing but what many of you in here knows is it's easy to be an ally when it's easy to be an ally what really matters is knowing who's going to be at your side and stand up when it's hard and it was in those moments that those students inspired me years later look I'm a 40-some guy with little kids who is teaching school trying to pay the mortgage the idea of running for office never got to me or thought about it but those students inspired me and what they saw in me is what I was trying to instill in them this commitment to a common good I believe one person can make a difference in other people's lives so in 2006 I took the leap ran for congress no one told me at that time and I of course you know apparently couldn't google it um in that district there had been one other Democrat since 1892 and in that red District I was in a state that had banned Sam stch marriage for a decade but I knew I was right and I ran on the platform that supported equality and this is what I said I got asked at a debate if I supported civil unions I I said sure if that's your thing but I said my marriage to my wife Gwen is most important thing in my life I love her deeply why would I stop anybody else from marrying the person they love that makes no sense now this was this was 2006 and some of you uh with a little more gray hair or less of it can remember this time um that the other side said oh a bate candidate finally showed his true colors by saying this well as it turned out a majority of my neighbors agreed with us and they elected me to represent them in the United States [Applause] house and after it was over some people came up to me and said wow you R you won in spite of being uh pro-choice and PR gay marriage and I said no no no you've got this wrong I won because I was for those positions that's why we won so when I got to Congress I showed up there in the house of storian told me at the time I was the highest ranking enlisted soldier at the time I served on the house Veterans Affairs committee and I worked with my roommate Patrick Murphy from Bucks County Pennsylvania to overturn don't ask don't tell and was proud to be an early supporter for the respect for marriage ja that we finally got past and signed into law now I tell you this again it's not no one should get a pat on the back for doing what's right for God's sakes the bar is pretty damn low here to treat people like human beings Equal justice under law it's not a high bar it's not a high bar but we know the forces that are aligned against it so this is where Champions rise up whether it's a young student at a at a school in southern Minnesota or it was someone who I met and I wished I had not met under the circumstance it was but someone who changed my life I was there when we passed the Matthew Shepard hate crime prevention act and I had the privilege I had the privilege when the final vote was coming up in the house it was going to be close I walked to the house floor through the tunnels from the the Longworth house office building over to the capol and I made that walk with Matthew's mom Judy Shepard and and the sheriff who found Matthew's body tied to that fence post in Wyoming and I remember walking with a mother who had lost her son and hearing the sheriff tell me the only place that wasn't bloody is where the tears ran down Matthew's eyes and I watched a mother and The Unbelievable pain that I couldn't even fathom to lose a child this way walk with her head held high to make sure that none of the rest of us ever have to get a call from someone so I just want to say my my friend Judy Shepard and her husband Dennis are here tonight and I'd like us all to give them a big round of applause [Applause] this room this room is full of Heroes like that things that were done some of them bigger Small Things ways to make people's lives a little bit easier but what I knew was when I had the chance to get elected to office and make a difference look there's a lot of people you don't get elected to office to bank political Capital so you can get elected again you get elected at office to burn political Capital to improve lives as quickly as you [Applause] can and so when we got the majority in Minnesota for the first time in over a decade we had the governor's office we had the house and we had the Senate by one vote and we got busy first thing we did is we banned conversion therapy in Minnesota [Applause] we protected transgender community and said in Minnesota you are seen heard loved and respected and safe and safe in Minnesota and we did something a little bit we banned Banning books especially Banning lgbtq books for themes in [Applause] that thinkk about it in this room this is what these folks are focusing on spending all their time like reading about two male Penguins who love each other is is somehow going to turn your children gay and that's what you should worry about but here's what I'll tell you it's a fact of life some people are gay but you know what's not a fact of life that our children need be shot dead in schools that's not a fact of life folks are Banning books but they're okay with weapons of war being in our schools look that's not this country it doesn't have to be this way it doesn't happen elsewhere we're going to make sure our children are seen they bring their authentic self and then we're going to make sure they're safe when they get there so thank you [Applause] all what this election boils down to in a lot of ways it's fundamentally about Freedom now it's not just a great song that vice president Harris walks on to although it is a great song that vice president Harris walks on to but it's truly fundamentally what does freedom mean and some of you in here I keep coming back to it some of us who are a little older because we got to go back a little ways in history here when Republicans used to talk about Freedom many of them actually meant it they weren't they weren't going to turn their backs on our allies they weren't weren't going to leave Ukraine to themselves they weren't going to start doing the things they did but that's not true anymore Donald Trump and JD Vance their idea of freedom that the government should be free to invade every corner of our lives our bedrooms our kids schools even our doctor's office and I say this where I come from and I know where all of you come from I respect my neighbor's personal choices I wouldn't make some of the choices they make but you know what when it it comes to personal things bodily autonomy your gender identity when to start a family marrying who you love might sound a little bit old-fashioned on that but I think we just need to be really good neighbors everyone just deserves to be treated with [Applause] respect freedom to make that choice and I keep reinforcing this CU they talk about this you know there government's too big in all this big enough to be in my bedroom apparently big enough to be in your uterus big enough to be in every Library big enough to do that but here's the thing this Society works best whether it's small towns or large towns and I say this and I bet every state could say this but in Minnesota things work really well because we have a saying that I talk about a lot you know everything works better if you just mind your own damn business and I'll mind mine so nothing this idea and this session and you've heard me say this they're all angry that I'm being mean to them um the other night Donald Trump did a town hall where he got to control what he said and he reassured the audience there 11 times that he was not weird if you're reminding someone you're not weird you probably yeah but look my point was my point was who is asking for this agenda that they're doing who's asking for them to take away our freedoms who's asking them to take away reproductive freedoms and I spoke personally about this because it's personal for so many of us in here the decision of how and what way and what your family is going to look like once again that's your decision but for us in my family we had to go through fertility treatments thank God we had Insurance thank God God we had access to fertility treatments and those of you if you've been through this whatever manage whatever way that looks it's agonizing whether you're waiting for adoption or you're waiting for those phone calls did the treatment work and then finding out it didn't and then starting again it's stressful it's hard I sure the hell don't need JD Vance giving me advice on it it's not helpful it's not helpful and it's a simple fix you worry about your family I'll worry about mine it's a very simple fix so for us I'll have to tell you when that call finally came and our daughter was born it wasn't by chance that we called her hope because that was our belief it was the strongest and most powerful word in the universe and so uh my daughter hope is here tonight with me by the way so and I don't know if if you saw it at the convention here last week the vice president pretty much took back freedom from the other side that that now belongs with us and that's what we're saying took back the flag they don't they haven't cornered patriotism and I'm not going to allow them to talk about family values why they're doing everything possible to invade our personal lives on our [Applause] families and I think there's a lot of people this is just my Pro tip of the day look there's two of us there's two of us trying to that have the privilege of it's kind of crazy in a country this big that there's two people one of the two is going to be the next Vice President of the United States so uh so my Pro tip to to my opponent on the other side is quit talking about women's childbearing issues quit talking about it because no one cares what your thoughts are on if my family counts or doesn't no one cares no one [Applause] cares and in Minnesota and this is what I'm not going to take a back seat in why those guys were Banning books in their schools we were Banning hunger in ours so if you're going to talk about family values then at least show up and vote when the child tax credit is there which we know can reduce childhood poverty by a [Applause] third they didn't do anything when Donald Trump was in office he made it more difficult they didn't do anything on lowering child care costs did you hear he's got a plan on child care costs that no one in the world understood a damn word about it not one thing but there are things you can do and we did it in Minnesota and one of the things you can do is you can start making sure that you're doing things like the child tax credit and making it easier for same set couples to start and raise their families openly with love and pride and make sure that the sport is [Applause] there so that outdated narrow ideology there's no one asking for it but here's what I worry about for all of you and for all of us it's not just what they did because they tried hard this time they're not playing they are coming to do the things that they said they wanted to do and I said this as a football coach if somebody takes the time to draw up a Playbook they're going to use it so when you keep hearing us and I'll talk about it every single day because I know what it will do I know what it will do to destroy this country this project 2025 that's out there to restrict freedoms demonize this community bully vulnerable children the message is simple from all of us and here in about 59 days you're going to get a chance to send that message is leave our kids the hell alone leave our kids [Applause] alone and I have to tell you this one too and this is one that we keep remembering and this is a thank you to all those folks we talked about the don't ask don't tell but I want to make sure that we recognize this too we've had thousand thousands of Brave transgender troops decorated Warriors who serve this country in [Applause] uniform When Donald Trump was commanderin-chief he belittled them and he banned them from service thankfully President Biden and vice president Harris rended that stupid bigoted policy if you want to serve this nation you should be allowed to and what we should do is respect that service they should not get incoming fire from their commanderin-chief attacking their basic dignity humanity and patriotism and I will say this I didn't serve for 24 years in this to have those guys diminish another troop service I will stand with them every single time I know I'm preaching to the choir a little bit but we got 59 days to sing so the choir needs to sing and I am a believer look you heard I I taught school for a couple decades so I do know and I supervised the lunchroom by the way for a lot of those times so I am at once an eternal optimist but two I do know that fear is a good short-term motivator but it doesn't change behaviors we're not running against those guys we need to know what they're going to do we need to know what we're up against we need to know what the threat is from them but what we need to do over the next 59 days is get ready to tell people exactly what we're going to do exact exactly what vice president then president Harris will do so we'll start by this lowering taxes on working families and making sure those at the top and corporations can pay their fair share they're doing fine they're doing fine we're going to protect Social Security and Medicare and we're going to make sure the Affordable Care Act is strengthened and look about a dozen states have it if you're in one of these states that have it it's great but the rest of the country needs it it is time for us to quit being the last country on Earth to have paid family and medical leave for this it is time to be done and it's going to be very clear every single day this Freedom issue that it's going to be you and people make the decisions about their health care not a politician so look everybody everybody should be free to get an education and that should be a path to the middle class it shouldn't be a path to crippling student loan debt for decades to come we can fix this and I'm going to say it once again our kids should be free to go to school without worrying about being shot dead in the Halls it's that [Applause] simple vice president Harris fight make sure that we continue to pass the equality act enshrine anti-discrimination protections and lgbtq Americans Healthcare in the law housing education and so much more now look if it sounds like a tall order I'll say it again I'm an eternal optimist think about this when I was a kid growing up in Nebraska being gay was illegal still technically illegal look how much has changed since this organization was founded 40 years ago can you imagine can you imagine going back to me a high schooler in the early 80s and saying you know what we're going to kick down the barriers we're going to open doors we're going to pass laws that lets you bring your authentic self love who you want to love and live the life that you want to live all by yourself with no interference from [Applause] government so I told you I told you hope and my hope is an incredibly powerful room or an incredibly powerful word you look around this room you can feel hope you feel that people want to see this we hope we win this election we hope we pass these laws we hope we lift people out of poverty that's a good thing to have but my wife always reminds me of this it's not a damn plan it's not a plan to hope we win this election we've got to have a plan and we've got to work for it and I ask you to look around this room we got about 3500 people in this room what if we talk to one more person before this election what if we do one more phone bank what if we make one more door knck what if we dig deep and give a little bit more to this campaign cuz what we know is there this politics is not an end it's a means to an end if we want that hope to become reality we've got to do the work to make it happen I know you're out there doing it you came here tonight you came here when you could have been somewhere else and in 59 days we get to chart our way forward we organize we donate we volunteer and I've been saying this when in life do you get a chance in 59 days to make an impact that will last for Generations because we [Applause] know if you want to go see what the alternative is it's the worst read in the world but it's 925 Pages it's project 2025 and as vice president Harris said we're not going back to the days we're not going back to the Discrimination we're not going to force our children into situations where they become suicidal we're not going to continue to demonize people because of who they are are and we're not going to continue to allow people in this country to go hungry or to be shot dead because we don't make decisions that can improve that so we've got 59 days 59 days each and every one of us what every little bit we can do we can make a difference so I've been saying this and I truly believe this we can do anything for 59 days sleep when you're dead worry about that later but now is the time so it's up to us vice president Harris myself our entire Team all of you HRC we're fighting for a better country a better world we're fighting for the folks who aren't here tonight we're fighting for the folks who may not vote for us but we're doing it because it's the values that this country were founded on so as vice president Harris said if we're willing to fight we win when we fight we win when we fight we win thank you HRC thank you everybody thank you everyone thank thank you HRC wow well thank you for inviting me and more importantly maybe thank you for the privilege of being able to stand with each of one of you president Robinson thank you for the kind introduction I'd also like to say on a point of personal privilege there's a strong contingent of motans in the house so thank you motans so for for all of you here tonight and around the country listening who've done so much to advance the cause of equality and freedom I'm proud to count so many of you as friends I'm grateful that you brought your time your talents and your Treasures to be here tonight and I'm fired up to be a your side I got to tell you because of all the things that are going on all the places you could be all the things you could have done you came here tonight one is it's the best party in the country tonight so that's why you're here but the deeper reason you're here is for that very simple and beautiful reason you love this country and that's why you're here you love the principles that we stand for well for some of you don't know uh I am Tim Walls and I'm a I'm the governor of Minnesota right now but I I like to make sure that I say that I I was a school teacher for a lot of years but right now right now I'm proud to be the running mate of the next president of the United States KLA Harris the privilege of getting to know this phenomenal leader from a prosecutor district attorney Attorney General US senator and vice president yes by the way she's more qualified than anybody that's ever run for this office let's just be clear but she didn't just take those talents for herself she fights every single day on the side of the American people and what I have to say of all the things that the other side has messed up the other things that they've done the thing that I'll not forgive them for is the thing that vice president Harris is fixing most she's bringing Joy back to our politics decency back to how we do things and this is not a new thing for her this started a long time ago and for the folks of California in 2010 our Californians who are here in 2010 this is the joy she brought so here's the scene years earlier as the da of San Francisco vice president Harris took on and took one of the toughest stances in the nation against hate crimes she led the fight to end the hateful gay and transgender Panic defense we know what that leads to and we know the countless deaths and misery that was brought upon by that she took it on and she also officiated some of the first same-sex marriages in the entire [Applause] country then she went on to become the Attorney General of the largest state in the country and the moment it arrived to defend marriage equality and she threw her whole self into that fight if you know kamla Harris she doesn't just pick these fights when she talks about it and this is the thing to to keep in mind all she does is win all she does is [Applause] win so when the word came down that same-sex marriage had been legalized in California two plaintiffs asked KLA Harris to officiate her ceremony while they were at City Hall celebrating that marriage she got a call from two more plaintiffs saying that a clerk in Los Angeles County was denying their marriage certificate so she grabbed a phone and some of you have seen this she asked them to put the clerk on the line and she did what she did best she didn't mince words and she made it very clear she said this is KLA Harris you must start the marriage [Applause] immediately and then she added and I don't know if this always gets in the videos she added the best line to that she told the clerk have a good day and enjoy it it's going to be fun she hasn't looked back from that day as a US senator she fought hard for the equality act introduced a bill to make sure you ensured access to prep and as vice president and I say this it is not a stretch and the facts are there this is the most Pro lgbtq Plus Administration in American [Applause] history she helped President Biden pass the landmark respect for Mary Jack requiring every state and territory to fully honor same-sex and interracial [Applause] marriage and she helped stop the ignorant and Byzantine practice of banning gay and bisexual men from donating blood [Applause] um I think it's important in this room for us to remember these things because keep in mind there's some other folks on the other side given one chance to get back in the White House they will go back at every one of these things we talk about we talk about progress and moving forward because she said it we're sure the hell not going back on these things we're not going to go back but be clear they're going to be there things like strengthening Mental Health Resources for lgbtq plus youth we know we know what the statistics are they're horrific for our young people from suicides to self harm to all of the other things that go with it we know that this fight is the most important fight that's on our that's on our plate so I have to tell you she made human rights for lgbtq plus individuals around the world a top priority in this nation's foreign policy we must lead we must be the country that leads on [Applause] it she worked with President Biden on historic executive orders protecting folks from discrimination and the reason she did it was pretty simple KLA Harris believes in equ Equal justice under law and that means not very complicated Equal justice under law it is not to be debated it's not that difficult the presidence is set but look we know what this fight is we know that we can all relate to some of this and I'll tell you this fight and I think about it for me for some of you maybe you heard this I was born in a small place called West Point Nebraska I grew up yay somebody's from West Point there we go there's two two of us um the town I grew up in had 400 people 24 classmates 12 were cousins somebody brought up the prom dating to me yes it's interesting um but look when you're in a community like that Community was a way of life my folks showed me Teach generosity to your neighbors work hard for the common good those are values that I brought work as a social studies teacher and a high school football coach now those of you who teach know this you learn far more from your students and they learn from you no matter how good of teacher you are you know how that works so some of my students and this is in the late 90s were concerned about an uptick in bullying amongst the gay and lesbian community in our school one of those Brave students is here tonight Jacob Ron's a dear friend of mine who's here and Jacob look I'm coaching football I'm an old straight white guy I'm teaching social studies you're all picturing the damn stereotype here turns out that I'm like opposite world of Tommy tuberville though so in this for some of you so so when Jake asked if I'd be interested in being the adviser to the gay straight Alliance I said absolutely I understood what it meant to be that older straight white guy who was coaching [Applause] football Alli ship is a great thing but what many of you in here knows is it's easy to be an ally when it's easy to be an ally what really matters is knowing who's going to be at your side and stand up when it's hard [Applause] and it was in those moments that those students inspired me years later look I'm a 40-something guy with little kids who is teaching school trying to pay the mortgage the idea of running for office never got to me or thought about it but those students inspired me and what they saw in me is what I was trying to instill in them this commitment to a common good I believe one person can make a difference in other people's lives so in 2006 I took the leap ran for congress no one told me at that time and I of course you know apparently couldn't google it um in that district there had been one other Democrat since 1892 and in that red District I was in a state that had banned Sam STC marriage for a decade but I knew I was right and I ran on the platform that supported equality and this is what I said I got asked at a debate if I supported civil unions I I said sure if that's your thing but I said my marriage to my wife Gwen is most important thing in my life I love her deeply why would I stop anybody else from marrying the person they love that makes no sense now this was this was 2006 and some of you uh with a little more gray hair or less of it can remember this time um that the other side said oh a B- rate candidate finally showed his true colors by saying this well as it turned out a majority of my neighbors agreed with us and they elected me to represent them in the United States [Applause] house and after it was over some people came up to me and said wow you ran you won in spite of being uh pro-choice and PR gay marriage and I said no no oh no you've got this wrong I won because I was for those positions that's why we won so when I got to Congress I showed up there and the house historian told me at the time I was the highest ranking enlisted soldier at the time I served on the house Veterans Affairs committee and I worked with my roommate Patrick Murphy from Bucks County Pennsylvania to overturn don't ask don't [Applause] tell and was proud to be an early supporter for the respect for marage Jack that we finally got passed and signed into law now I tell you this again it's not no one should get a pat on the back for doing what's right for God's sakes the bar is pretty damn low here to treat people like human beings Equal justice under law it's not a high bar it's not a high bar but we know the forces that are aligned against it so this is where Champions rise up whether it's a young student at a at a school in southern Minnesota or it was someone who I met and I wished I had not met under the circumstance it was but someone who changed my life I was there when we passed the Matthew Shepard hate crime prevention act and I had the privilege I had the privilege when the final vote was coming up in the house it was going to be close I walked to the house floor through the tunnels from the the Longworth house office building over to the capital and I made that walk with Matthew's mom Judy Shepard [Applause] and and the sheriff who found Matthew's body tied to that fence post in Wyoming and I remember walking with a mother who had lost her son and hearing the sheriff tell me the only place that wasn't bloody is where the tears ran down Matthew's eyes and I watched a mother and The Unbelievable pain that I couldn't even fathom to lose a child this way walk with her head held high to make sure that none of the rest of us ever have to get a call from someone so I just want to say my my friend Judy Shepard and her husband Dennis are here tonight and I'd like us all to give them a big round of applause [Applause] this room this room is full of Heroes like that things that were done some of them bigger Small Things ways to make people's lives a little bit easier but what I knew was when I had the chance to get elected to office and make a difference look there's a lot of people you don't get elected to office to bank political Capital so you can get elected again you get elected to office to burn political Capital to improve lives as quickly as you [Applause] can and so when we got the majority in Minnesota for the first time in over a decade we had the governor's office we had the house and we had the Senate by one vote and we got busy first thing we did is we banned conversion therapy in [Applause] Minnesota we protected transgender community and said in Minnesota you are seen heard loved and respected and safe and safe in Minnesota and we did something a little bit we banned Banning books especially Banning lgbtq books for themes in [Applause] that think about it in this room this is what these folks are focusing on spending all their time like reading about two male Penguins who love each other is is somehow going to turn your children gay and that's what you should worry about but here's what I'll tell you it's a fact of life some people are gay but you know what's not a fact of life that our children need to be shot dead in schools that's not a fact of life folks are Banning books but they're okay with weapons of war being in our schools look that's not this country it doesn't have to be this way it doesn't happen elsewhere we're going to make sure our children are seen they bring their authentic self and then we're going to make sure they're safe when they get there so thank you [Applause] all what this election boils down to in a lot of ways it's fundamentally about Freedom now it's not just a great song that vice president Harris walks on to although it is a great song that vice president Harris walks on to but it's truly fundamentally what does freedom mean and some of you in here I keep coming back to it some of us who are a little older because we got to go back a little ways in history here when Republicans used to talk about Freedom many of them actually meant it they weren't they weren't going to turn their backs on our allies they weren't going to leave Ukraine to themselves they weren't going to start doing the things they did but that's not true anymore Donald Trump and JD Vance their idea of freedom that the government should be free to invade every corner of our lives our bedrooms our kids schools even our doctor's office and I say this where I come from and I know where all of you come from I respect my neighbor's personal choices I wouldn't make some of the choices they make but you know what when it comes to personal things bodily autonomy you're your gender identity when to start a family marrying who you love might sound a little bit old-fashioned on that but I think we just need to be really good neighbors everyone just deserves to be treated with [Applause] respect freedom to make that choice and I keep reinforcing this because they talk about this you know there government's too big in all this big enough to be in my bedroom apparently big enough to be in your uterus big enough to be in every Library big enough to do but here's the thing this Society works best whether it's small towns or large towns and I say this I bet every state could say this but in Minnesota things work really well because we have a saying that I talk about a lot you know everything works better if you just mind your own damn business and I'll mind mine so [Applause] nothing this idea and this Obsession and you've heard me say this they're all angry that I'm being mean to them um the other night Donald Trump did a town hall where he got to control what he said and he reassured the audience there 11 times that he was not weird if you're reminding someone you're not weird you probably yeah but look my point was my point was who is asking for this agenda that they're doing who's asking for them to take away our freedoms who's asking them to take away reproductive freedoms and I spoke personally about this because it's personal for so many of us in here the decision of how and what way and what your family's going to look like once again that's your decision but for us in my family we had to go through fertility treatments thank God we had Insurance thank God we had access to fertility treatments and those of you if you through this whatever manage whatever way that looks it's agonizing whether you're waiting for adoption or you're waiting for those phone calls did the treatment work and then finding out it didn't and then starting again it's stressful it's hard I sure the hell don't need JD Vance giving me advice on it it's not helpful it's not helpful and it's a simple fix you worry about your family I'll worry about mine it's a very simple fix so for us I'll have to tell you when that call finally came and our daughter was born it wasn't by chance that we called her hope because that was our belief it was the strongest and most powerful word in the universe and so uh my daughter hope is here tonight with me by the way so and I don't know if if you saw it at the convention here last week the vice president pretty much took back freedom from the other side that that now belongs with us and that's what we're saying took back the flag they don't they haven't cornered patriotism and I'm not going to allow them to talk about family values why they're doing everything possible to invade our personal lives and our families and I think there's a lot of people this is just my Pro tip of the day look there's two of us there's two of us trying to that have the privilege of it's kind of crazy in a country this big that there's two people one of the two is going to be the next Vice President of the United States so uh so my Pro tip to to my opponent on the other side is quit talking about women's childbearing issues quit talking about it because no one cares what your thoughts are on if my family counts or doesn't no one cares no one [Applause] cares and in Minnesota and this is what I'm not going to take a back seat in why those guys were Banning books in their schools we were Banning hunger in ours so if you're going to talk about family values then at least show up and vote when the child tax credit is there which we know can reduce childhood poverty by a [Applause] third they didn't do anything when Donald Trump was in office he made it more difficult they didn't do anything on lowering child care cost did you hear he's got a plan on child care costs that no one in the world understood a damn word about it not one thing but there are things you can do and we did it in Minnesota and one of the things you can do is you can start making sure that you're doing things like the child tax credit and making it easier for Sams set couples to start and raise their families openly with love and pride and make sure that the sport is [Applause] there so that outdated narrow ideology there's no one asking for it but here's what I worry about for all of you and for all of us it's not just what they did because they tried hard this time they're not playing they are coming to do the things that they said they wanted to do and I said this as a football coach if somebody takes the time to draw up a Playbook they're going to use it so when you keep hearing us and I'll talk about it every single day because I know what it will do I know what it will do to destroy this country this project 2025 that's out there to restrict freedoms demonize this community bully vulnerable children the message is simple from all of us and here in about 59 days you're going to get a chance to send that message is leave our kids the hell alone leave our kids [Applause] alone and I have to tell you this one too and this is one that we keep remembering and this is a thank you to all those folks we talked about the don't ask don't tell but I want to make sure that we recognize this too we've had thousands of Brave transgender troops decorated Warriors who served this country in uniform [Applause] When Donald Trump was commanderin-chief he belittled them and he banned them from service thankfully President Biden and vice president Harris rested that stupid bigoted [Applause] policy if you want to serve this nation you should be allowed to and what we should do is respect that service they should not get incoming fire from their commander-in-chief attacking their basic dignity humanity and patriotism and I will say this I didn't serve for 24 years in this to have those guys diminish another troop service I will stand with them every single time I know I'm preaching to the choir a little bit but we got 59 days to sing so the choir needs to sing and I am a believer look you heard I I taught school for a couple decades so I do know and I supervise the lunchroom by the way for a lot of those kind so I am at once an eternal optimist but two I do know that fear is a good short-term motivator but it doesn't change behaviors we're not running against those guys we need to know what they're going to do we need to know what we're up against we need to know what the threat is from them but what we need to do over the next 59 days is get ready to tell people exactly what we're going to do exactly what vice president then president Harris will do so we'll start by this lowering taxes on working families and making sure those at the top and corporations can pay their fair share they're doing fine they're doing fine we're going to protect Social Security and Medicare and we're going to make sure the Affordable Care Act is strengthened and look about a dozen states have it if you're in one of these states that have it it's great but the rest of the country needs it it is time for us to quit being the last country on Earth to had paid family and medical leave for this it is time to be done and it's going to be very clear every single day this Freedom issue that it's going to be you and people make the decisions about their healthare not a politician so look everybody everybody should be free to get an education and that should be a path to the middle class it shouldn't be a path to crippling student loan debt for decades to come we can fix this and I'm going to say it once again our kids should be free to go to school without worrying about being shot dead in the Halls it's that [Applause] simple vice president Harris fight make sure that we continue to pass the equality act enshrine anti-discrimination protections and lgbtq Americans Healthcare into the law housing education and so much more now look if it sounds like a tall order I'll say it again I'm an eternal optimist think about this when I was a kid growing up in Nebraska being gay was illegal still technically illegal look how much has changed since this organization was founded 40 years ago can you imagine can you imagine going back to me a high schooler in the early 80s and saying you know what we're going to kick down the barriers we're going to open doors we're going to pass laws that lets you bring your authentic self love who you want to love and live the life that you want to live all by yourself with no interference from [Applause] government so I told you I told you hope and my hope is an incredibly powerful room or an incredibly powerful word you look around this room you can feel hope you feel that people want to see this we hope we win this election we hope we pass these laws we hope we lift people out of poverty that's a good thing to have but but my wife always reminds me of this it's not a damn plan it's not a plan to hope we win this election we've got to have a plan and we've got to work for it and I ask you to look around this room we got about 3,500 people in this room what if we talk to one more person before this election what if we do one more phone bank what if we make one more door knock what if we dig deep and give a little bit more to this campaign because what we know is this politics is not an end it's a means to an end if we want that hope to become reality we've got to do the work to make it happen I know you're out there doing it you came here tonight you came here when you could have been somewhere else and in 59 days we get to chart our way forward we organize we donate we volunteer and I've been saying this when in life do you get a chance in 59 days to make an impact that will last for Generations because we know [Music] if you want to go see what the alternative is it's the worst read in the world but it's 925 Pages it's project 2025 and as vice president Harris said we're not going back to the days we're not going back to the Discrimination we're not going to force our children into situations where they become suicidal we're not going to continue to demonize people because of who they are and we're not going to continue to allow people in this country to go hungry or to be shot dead because we don't make decisions that can improve that so we've got 59 days 59 days each and every one of us what every little bit we can do we can make a difference so I've been saying this and I truly believe this we can do anything for 59 days sleep when you're dead worry about that later but now is the time so it's up to US vice president Harris myself our entire Team all of you HRC we're fighting for a better country a better world we're fighting for the folks who aren't here tonight we're fighting for the folks who may not vote for us but we're doing it because it's the values that this country were founded on so as vice president Harris said if we're willing to fight we win when we fight we win when we fight we win thank you HRC thank you everybody thank you everyone thank thank you HRC wow well thank you for inviting me and more importantly maybe thank you for the privilege of being able to stand with each of one of you president Robinson thank you for the kind introduction I'd also like to say on a point of personal privilege there's a strong tingent of motans in the house so thank you motans so for for all of you here tonight and around the country listening you've done so much to advance the cause of equality and freedom I'm proud to count so many of you as friends I'm grateful that you brought your time your talents and your Treasures to be here tonight and I'm fired up to be at your side I got to tell you cuz of all the things that are going on all the places you could be all the things you could have done you came here tonight one is it's the best party in the country tonight so that's why you're here but the deeper reason you're here is for that very simple and beautiful reason you love this country and that's why you're here you love the principles that we stand for well for some of you don't know uh I am Tim Walls and I'm a I'm the governor of Minnesota right now but I I like to make sure that I say that I I was a school teacher for a lot of years but right now right now I'm proud to be the running mate of the next president of the United States KLA Harris the privilege of getting to know this phenomenal leader from a prosecutor district attorney Attorney General US senator and vice president yes by the way she's more qualified than anybody that's ever run for this office let's just be clear but she didn't just take those talents for herself she fights every single day on the side of the American people and what I have to say of all the things that the other side has messed up the other things that they've done the thing that I'll not forgive them for is the thing that vice president Harris is fixing most she's bringing Joy back to our politics decency back to how we do things and this is not a new thing for her this started a long long time ago and for the folks of California in 2010 our Californians who are here in 2010 this is the joy she brought so here's the scene years earlier as the da of San Francisco vice president Harris took on and took one of the toughest stances in the nation against hate crimes she led the fight to end the hateful gay and transgender Panic defense we know what that leads to and we know the countless deaths and Miser that was brought upon by that she took it on and she also officiated some of the first same-sex marriages in the entire [Applause] country then she went on to become the Attorney General of the largest state in the country and the moment it arrived to defend marriage equality and she threw her whole self into that fight if you know kamla Harris she doesn't just pick these fights when she talks about it and this is the thing to keep in mind all she does is win all she does is [Applause] wi so when the word came down that same-sex marriage had been legalized in California two plaintiffs asked kamla Harris to officiate her ceremony while they were at City Hall celebrating that marriage she got a call from two more plaintiffs saying that a clerk in Los Angeles County was denying their marriage certificate so she grabbed a phone and some of you have seen this she asked them to put the clerk on the line and she did what she did best she didn't mince words and she made it very clear she said this is KLA Harris you must start the marriage [Applause] immediately and then she added and I don't know if this always gets in the videos she added the best line to that she told the clerk have a good day and enjoy it it's going to be fun she hasn't looked back from that day as a US senator she fought hard for the equality act introduced a bill to make sure you ensured access to prep and as vice president and I say this it is not a stretch and the facts are there this is the most Pro lgbtq Plus Administration in American [Applause] history she helped President Biden pass the landmark respect for Mary Jack requiring every state and territory to fully honor same-sex and interation [Applause] marriage and she helped stop the ignorant and Byzantine practice of banning gay and bisexual men from donating blood [Applause] um I think it's important in this room for us to remember these things because keep in mind there's some other folks on the other side given one chance to get back in the White House they will go back at every one of these things we talk about we talk about progress and moving forward because she said it we're sure the hell not going back on these things we're not going to go back but be clear they're going to be there things like strengthening Mental Health Resources for lgbtq plus youth we know we know what the statistics are they're horrific for our young people from suicides to self harm to all of the other things that go with it we know that this fight is the most important fight that's on our that's on our plate so I have to tell you she made human rights for lgbtq plus individuals around the world a top priority in this nation's foreign policy we must lead we must be the country that leads on [Applause] it she worked with President Biden on historic executive orders protecting folks from discrimination and the reason she did it was pretty simple Comm Harris believes in Equal justice under law and that means not very complic ated Equal justice under law it is not to be debated it's not that difficult the precence is set but look we know what this fight is we know that we can all relate to some of this and I'll tell you this fight and I think about it for me for some of you may have heard this I was born in a small place called West Point Nebraska I grew up yay somebody's from West Point here we go there's two of us um the town I grew up in had 400 people 24 classmates 12 were cousins somebody brought up the prom dating to me yes it's interesting um but look when you're in a community like that Community was a way of life my folks showed me Teach generosity to your neighbors work hard for the common good those are values that I brought work as a social studies teacher and a high school football coach now those of you who teach know this you learn far more from your students than they learn from you no matter how good of teacher you are you know how that works so some of my students and this is in the late 9s were concerned about an uptick in bullying amongst the gay and lesbian community in our school one of those Brave students is here tonight Jacob Ron's a dear friend of mine who's here and Jacob look I'm coaching football I'm an old straight white guy I'm teaching social studies you're all picturing the damn stereotype here turns out that I'm like opposite world of Tommy tuberville though so in this for some of you so so when Jake asked if I'd be interested in being the adviser to the gay straight Alliance I said absolutely I understood what it meant to be that older straight white guy who was coaching [Applause] football Alli ship is a great thing but what many of you in here knows is it's easy to be an ally when it's easy to be an ally what really matters is knowing who's going to be at your side and stand up when it's hard [Applause] and it was in those moments that those students inspired me years later look I'm a 40-some guy with little kids who is teaching school trying to pay the mortgage the idea of running for office never got to me or thought about it but those students inspired me and what they saw in me is what I was trying to instill in them this commitment to a common good I believe one person can make a difference in other people's lives so in 2006 I took the leap ran for Congress no one told me at that time and I of course you know apparently couldn't google it um in that district there had been one other Democrat since 1892 and in that red District I was in a state that had banned Sam stch marriage for a decade but I knew I was right and I ran on the platform that supported equality and this is what I said I got asked at a debate if I supported civil unions I I said sure if that's your thing but I said my marriage to my wife Gwen it's most important thing in my life I love her deeply why would I stop anybody else from marrying the person they love that makes no sense now this was this was 2006 and some of you uh with a little more gray hair or less of it can remember this time um that the the other side said oh a bate candidate finally showed his true colors by saying this well as it turned out a majority of my neighbors agreed with us and they elected me to represent them in the United States [Applause] house and after it was over some people came up to me and said wow you R you won in spite of being uh pro-choice and PR gay marriage and I said no no no you've got this wrong I won because I was for those position i s that's why we won so when I got to Congress I showed up there in the house historian told me at the time I was the highest ranking enlisted soldier at the time I served on the house Veterans Affairs committee and I worked with my roommate Patrick Murphy from Bucks County Pennsylvania to overturn don't ask don't [Applause] tell and was proud to be an early supporter for the respect for marriage act that we finally got passed and signed into law now I tell you this again it's not no one should get a pat on the back for doing what's right for God's sakes the bar is pretty damn low here to treat people like human beings Equal justice under law it's not a high bar it's not a high bar but we know the forces that are aligned against it so this is where Champions rise up whether it's a young student at a at a school in southern Minnesota or it was someone who I met and I wished I had not met under the circumstance it was but someone who changed my life I was there when we passed the Matthew Shepard hate crime prevention act and I had the privilege I had the privilege when the final vote was coming up in the house it was going to be close I walked to the house floor through the tunnels from the the Longworth house office building over to the capol and I made that walk with Matthew's mom Judy Shepard and and the sheriff who found Matthew's body tied to that fence post in Wyoming and I remember walking with a mother who had lost her son and hearing the sheriff tell me the only place that wasn't bloody is where the tears ran down Matthew's eyes and I watched a mother and The Unbelievable pain that I couldn't even fathom to lose a child this way walk with her head held high to make sure that none of the rest of us ever have to get a call from someone so I just want to say my my friend Judy Shepard and her husband Dennis are here tonight and I'd like us all to give them a big round of applause [Applause] this room this room is full of Heroes like that things that were done some of them bigger Small Things ways to make people's lives a little bit easier but what I knew was when I had the chance to get elected to office and make a difference look there's a lot of people you don't get elected to office to bank political Capital so you can get elected again you get elected to office to burn political Capital to improve lives as quickly as you [Applause] can and so when we got the majority in Minnesota for the first time in over a decade we had the governor's office we had the house and we had the Senate by one vote and we got busy first thing we did is we banned conversion therapy in [Applause] Minnesota we protected transgender community and said in Minnesota you are seen heard loved and respected and safe and safe in Minnesota and we did something a little bit we banned Banning books especially Banning lgbtq books put themes in [Applause] that think about it in this room this is what these folks are focusing on spending all their time like reading about two male Penguins who love each other is is somehow going to turn your children gay and that's what you should worry about but here's what I'll tell you it's a fact of life some people are gay but you know what's not a fact of life that our children need to be shot dead in schools that's not a fact a lie folks are Banning books but they're okay with weapons of war being in our schools look that's not this country it doesn't have to be this way it doesn't happen elsewhere we're going to make sure our children are seen they bring their authentic self and then we're going to make sure they're safe when they get there so thank you [Applause] all what this election boils down to in a lot of ways it's fundamentally about Freedom now it's not just a great song that vice president Harris walks on to although it is a great song that vice president Harris walks on to but it's truly fundamentally what does freedom mean and some of you in here I keep coming back to it some of us who are a little older because we got to go back a little ways in history here when Republicans used to talk about Freedom many of them actually meant it they weren't they weren't going to turn their backs on our allies they weren't going to leave Ukraine to themselves they weren't going to start doing the things they did but that's not true anymore Donald Trump and JD van their idea of freedom that the government should be free to invade every corner of our lives our bedrooms our kids schools even our doctor's office and I say this where I come from and I know where all of you come from I respect my neighbor's personal choices I wouldn't make some of the choices they make but you know what when it comes to personal things bodily autonomy your gender identity when to start a family marrying who you love might sound a little bit old-fashioned on that but I think we just need to be really good neighbors everyone just deserves to be treated with [Applause] respect freedom to make that choice and I keep reinforcing this because they talk about this you know there no government's too big in all this big enough to be in my bedroom apparently big enough to be in your uterus big enough to be in every Library big enough to do that but here's the thing this Society works best whether it's small towns or large towns and I say this and I bet every state could say this but in Minnesota things work really well because we have a saying that I talk about a lot you know the everything works better if you just mind your own damn business and I'll mind mine so nothing this idea and this Obsession and you've heard me say this they're all angry that I'm being mean to them um the other night Donald Trump did a town hall Hall where he got to control what he said and he reassured the audience there 11 times that he was not weird if you're reminding someone you're not weird you probably yeah but look my point was my point was who is asking for this agenda that they're doing who's asking for them to take away our freedoms who's asking them to take away reproductive freedoms and I spoke personally about this cuz it's personal for so many of us in here the decision of how and what way and what your family is going to look like once again that's your decision but for us in my family we had to go through fertility treatments thank God we had insurance thank God we had access to fertility treatments and those of you if you've been through this whatever manage whatever way that looks it's agonizing whether you're waiting for adoption or you're waiting for those phone calls did the treatment work and then finding out it didn't and then starting again it's stressful it's hard I sure the hell don't need JD Vance giving me advice on it it's not helpful it's not helpful and it's a simple fix you worry about your family I'll worry about mine it's a very simple fix so for us I'll have to tell you when that call finally came and our daughter was born it wasn't by chance that we called her hope because that was our belief it was the strongest and most powerful word in the universe and so uh my daughter hope is here tonight with me by the way [Applause] so and I don't know if if you saw it at the convention here last week the vice president pretty much took back freedom from the other side that that now belongs with us and that's what we're saying took back the flag they don't they haven't cornered patriotism and I'm not going to allow them to talk about family values why they're doing everything possible to invade our personal lives on our [Applause] families and I think there's a lot of people this is just my Pro tip of the day look there's two of us there's two of us trying to that have the privilege of it's kind of crazy in a country this big that there's two people one of the two is going to be the next Vice President of the United States so uh so my Pro tip to to my opponent on the other side is quit talking about women's childbearing issues quit talking about it because no one no one cares what your thoughts are on if my family counts or doesn't no one cares no one [Applause] cares and in Minnesota and this is what I'm not going to take a backseat in why those guys were Banning books in their schools we were Banning hunger in ours so if you're going to talk about family values then at least show up and vote when the child tax credit is there which we know can reduce childhood poverty by a [Applause] third they didn't do anything when Donald Trump was in office he made it more difficult they didn't do anything on lowering child care costs did you hear he's got a plan on child care costs that no one in the world understood a damn word about it not one thing but there are things you can do and we did it in Minnesota and one of the things you can do is you can start making sure that you're doing things like the child tax credit and making it easier for Sam set couples to start and raise their families openly with love and pride and make sure that the sport is [Applause] there so that outdated narrow ideology there's no one asking for it but here's what I worry about for all of you and for all of us it's not just what they did because they tried hard this time they're not playing they are coming to do the things that they said they wanted to do and I said this as a football coach if somebody takes the time to draw up a Playbook they're going to use it so when you keep hearing us and I'll talk about it every single day because I know what it will do I know what it will do to destroy this country this project 2025 that's out there to restrict freedoms demonize this community bully vulnerable children the message is simple from all of us and here in about 59 days you're going to get a chance to send that message is leave our kids the hell alone leave our kids [Applause] alone and I have to tell you this one too and this is one that we keep remembering and this is a thank you to all those folks we talked about the don't ask don't tell but I want to make sure that we recognize this too we've had thousands of Brave transgender troops decorated Warriors who served this country in uniform When Donald Trump was commander-in-chief he belittled them and he banned them from service thankfully President Biden and vice president Harris rended that stupid bigoted policy if you want to serve this nation you should be allowed to and what we should do is respect that service they should not get incoming fire from their commanderin-chief attacking their basic dignity humanity and patriotism and I will say this I didn't serve for 24 years in this to have those guys diminish another troop service I will stand with them every single time I know I'm preaching to the choir a little bit but we got 59 days to sing so the choir needs to sing and I am a believer look you heard I I taught school for a couple decades so I do know and I supervise the lunchroom by the way for a lot of those kinds so I am at once an eternal optimist but two I do know that fear is a good short-term motivator but it doesn't change behaviors we're not running against those guys we need to know what they're going to do we need to know what we're up against we need to know what the threat is from them but what we need to do over the next 59 days is get ready to tell people exactly what we're going to do exactly what vice president then president Harris will do so we'll start by this lowering taxes on Working Families and making sure those at the top and corporations can pay their fair share they're doing fine they're doing fine we're going to protect Social Security and Medicare and we're going to make sure the Affordable Care Act is strengthened and look about a dozen states have it if you're in one of these states that have it it's great but the rest of the country needs it it is time for us to quit being the last country on Earth to have paid family and medical leave for this it is time to be done and it's going to be very clear every single day this Freedom issue that it's going to be you and people make the decisions about their health care not a politician so look everybody everybody should be free to get an education and that should be a path to the middle class it shouldn't be a path to crippling student loan debt for decades to come we can fix this and I'm going to say it once again our kids should be free to go to school without worrying about being shot dead in the Halls it's that [Applause] simple vice president Harris fight make sure that we continue to pass the equality act enshrine anti-discrimination protections and lgbtq Americans healthc care in the law housing education and so much more now look if it sounds like a tall order I'll say it again I'm an eternal optimist think about this when I was a kid growing up in Nebraska being gay was legal still technically illegal look how much has changed since this organization was founded 40 years ago can you imagine can you imagine going back to me a high schooler in the early 80s and saying you know what we're going to kick down the barriers we're going to open doors we're going to pass laws that lets you bring your authentic self love who you want to love and live the life that you want to live all by yourself with no interference from government so I told you I told you hope and my hope is an incredibly powerful room or an incredibly powerful word you look around this room you can feel hope you feel that people want to see this we hope we win this election we hope we pass these laws we hope we lift people out of poverty that's a good thing to have but my wife always reminds me of this it's not a damn plan it's not a plan to hope we win this election we've got to have a plan and we've got to work for it and I ask you to look around this room we got about 3,500 people in this room what if we talk to one more person before this election what if we do one more phone bank what if we make one more door knck what if we dig deep and give a little bit more to this campaign cuz what we know is this politics is not an end it's a means to an end if we want that hope to become reality we've got to do the work to make it happen I know you're out there doing it you came here tonight you came here when you could have been somewhere else and in 59 days we get to chart our way forward we organize we donate we volunteer and I've been saying this when in life do you get a chance in 59 days to make an impact that will last for Generations because we know [Music] if you want to go see what the alternative is it's the worst read in the world but it's 925 Pages it's project 2025 and as vice president Harris said we're not going back to the days we're not going back to the Discrimination we're not going to force our children into situations where they become suicidal we're not going to continue to demonize people because of who they are and we're not going to continue to allow people in this country to go hungry or to be shot dead because we don't make decisions that can improve that so we've got 59 days 59 days each and every one of us what every little bit we can do we can make a difference so I've been saying this and I truly believe this we can do anything for 59 days sleep when you're dead worry about that later but now is the time so it's up to US vice president Harris myself our entire Team all of you HRC we're fighting for a better country a better world we're fighting for for the folks who aren't here tonight we're fighting for the folks who may not vote for us but we're doing it because it's the values that this country were founded on so as vice president Harris said if we're willing to fight we win when we fight we win when we fight we win thank you HRC thank you everybody thank you everyone thank thank you HRC wow well thank you for inviting me and more importantly maybe thank you for the privilege of being able to stand with each of one of you president Robinson thank you for the kind introduction I'd also like to say on a point of personal privilege there's a strong contingent of motans in the house so thank you motans so for for all of you here tonight and around the country listening you've done so much to advance the cause of equality and freedom I'm proud to count so many of you as friends I'm grateful that you brought your time your talents and your Treasures to be here tonight and I'm fired up to be at your side I got to tell you because of all the things that are going on all the places you could be all the things you could have done you came here tonight one is it's the best party in the country tonight so that's why you're here but the deeper reason you're here is for that very simple and beautiful reason you love this country and that's why you're here you love the principles that we stand for well for some of you don't know uh I am Tim Walls and I'm a I'm the governor of Minnesota right now but I I like to make sure that I say that I I was a school teacher for a lot of years but right now right now I'm proud to be the running of the next president of the United States KLA Harris the privilege of getting to know this phenomenal leader from a prosecutor district attorney Attorney General US senator and vice president yes by the way she's more qualified than anybody that's ever run for this office let's just be clear but she didn't just take those talents for herself she fights every single day on the side of the American people and what I have to say of all the things that the other side has messed up the other things that they've done the thing that I'll not forgive them for is the thing that vice president Harris is fixing most she's bringing Joy back to our politics decency back to how we do things and this is not a new thing for her this started a long time ago and for the folks of California in 2010 our Cali Ians who are here in 2010 this is the joy she brought so here's the scene years earlier as the da of San Francisco vice president Harris took on and took one of the toughest stances in the nation against hate crimes she led the fight to end the hateful gay and transgender Panic defense we know what that leads to and we know the countless deaths and misery that was brought upon by that she took it on and she also officiated some of the first same-sex marriages in the entire [Applause] country then she went on to become the Attorney General of the largest state in the country and the moment it arrived to defend marriage equality and she threw her whole self into that fight if you know kamla Harris she doesn't just pick these fights when she talks about it and this is the thing to keep in mind all she does is win all she does is win so when the word came down that same-sex marriage had been legalized in California two plaintiffs asked kamla Harris to officiate her ceremony while they were at City Hall celebrating that marriage she got a call from two more plaintiffs saying that a clerk in Los Angeles County was denying their marriage certificate so she grabbed a phone and some of you've seen this she asked them to put the clerk on the line and she did what she did best she didn't mince words and she made it very very clear she said this is KLA Harris you must start the marriage [Applause] immediately and then she added and I don't know if this always gets in the videos she added the best line to that she told the clerk have a good day and enjoy it it's going to be fun she hasn't looked back from that day as a US senator she fought hard for the equality act introduced a bill to make sure you Ensure access to prep and as vice president and I say this it is not a stretch and the facts are there this is the most Pro lgbtq Plus Administration in American [Applause] history she helped President Biden pass the landmark respect for Mary Jack requiring every state and territory to fully honor same-sex and interracial marriage and she helped stop the ignorant and Byzantine practice of banning gay and bisexual men from donating blood [Applause] um I think it's important in this room for us to remember these things because keep in mind there's some other folks on the other side given one chance to get back in the White House they will go back at every one of these things we talk about we talk about progress in moving forward because she said it we're sure the hell not not going back on these things we're not going to go back but be clear they're going to be there things like strengthening Mental Health Resources for lgbtq plus youth we know we know what the statistics are they're horrific for our young people from suicides to self harm to all of the other things that go with it we know that this fight is the most important fight that's on our that's on our plate so I have to tell you she made human rights for lgbtq plus individuals around the world a top priority in this nation's foreign policy we must lead we must be the country that leads on [Applause] it she worked with President Biden on historic executive orders protecting folks from discrimination and the reason she did it was pretty simple KLA Harris believes in Equal justice under law and that means not very complicated Equal justice under law yeah it is not to be debated it's not that difficult the presidence is set but look we know what this fight is we know that we can all relate to some of this and I'll tell you this fight and I think about it for me for some of you maybe heard this I was born in a small place called West Point Nebraska I grew up yay somebody's from West Point there we go there's two of us um the town I grew up in had 400 people 24 classmates 12 were cousins somebody brought up the prom dating to me yes it's interesting um but look when you're in a community like that Community was a way of life my folks showed me Teach generosity to your neighbors work hard for the common good those are values that I brought work as a social studies teacher and a high school football coach now those of you who teach know this you learn far more from your students and they learn from you no matter how good of teacher you are you know how that works so some of my students and this is in the late '90s were concerned about an uptick in bullying amongst the gay and lesbian community in our school one of those Brave students is here tonight Jacob Ron's a dear friend of mine who's here and Jacob look I'm coaching football I'm an old straight white guy I'm teaching social studies you're all picturing the damn stereotype here turns out that I'm like opposite world of Tommy tuberville though so in this for some of you so so when Jake asked if I'd be interested in being the adviser to the gay straight Alliance I said absolutely I understood what it meant to be that older straight white guy who is coaching [Applause] football Alli ship is a great thing but what many of you in here knows is it's easy to be an ally when it's easy to be an ally what really matters is knowing who's going to be at your side and stand up when it's hard and it was in those moments that those students inspired ired me years later look I'm a 40-some guy with little kids who is teaching school trying to pay the mortgage the idea of running for office never got to me or thought about it but those students inspired me and what they saw in me is what I was trying to instill in them this commitment to a common good I believe one person can make a difference in other people's lives so in 2006 I took the leap ran for congress no one told me at that time and I of course you know apparently couldn't Google it um in that district there had been one other Democrat since 1892 and in that red District I was in a state that had banned Sam St marriage for a decade but I knew I was right and I ran on the platform that supported equality and this is what I said I got asked at a debate if I supported civil unions I I said sure if that's your thing but I said my marriage to my wife Gwen is most important thing in my life I love her deeply why would I stop anybody else from marrying the person they love that makes no sense [Applause] now this was this was 2006 and some of you uh with a little more gray hair or less of it can remember this time um that the other side said oh a bate candidate finally showed his true by saying this well as it turned out a majority of my neighbors agreed with us and they elected me to represent them in the United States [Applause] house and after it was over some people came up to me and said wow you R you won in spite of being uh pro-choice and PR gay marriage and I said no no no you've got this wrong I won because I was for those positions that's why we won so when I got to Congress I showed up there and the house historian told me at the time I was the highest ranking enlisted soldier at the time I served on the house Veterans Affairs committee and I worked with my roommate Patrick Murphy from Bucks County Pennsylvania to overturn don't ask don't [Applause] tell and was proud to be an early supporter for the respect for Mary Jack that we finally got passed and signed into law now I tell tell you this again it's not no one should get a pat on the back for doing what's right for God's sakes the bar is pretty damn low here to treat people like human beings Equal justice under law it's not a high bar it's not a high bar but we know the forces that are aligned against it so this is where Champions rise up whether it's a young student at a at a school in southern Minnesota or it was someone who I met and I wished I had not met under the circumstance it was but someone who changed my life I was there when we passed the Matthew Shepard hate crime prevention act and I had the privilege I had the privilege when the final vote was coming up in the house it was going to be close I walked to the house floor through the tunnels from the the Longworth house office building over to the capital and I made that walk with Matthew's mom Judy Shepard and and the sheriff who found Matthew's body tied to that fence post in Wyoming and I remember walking with a mother who had lost her son and hearing the sheriff tell me the only place that wasn't bloody is where the tears ran down Matthew's eyes and I watched a mother and The Unbelievable pain that I couldn't even fathom to lose a child this way walk with her head held high to make sure that none of the rest of us ever have to get a call from someone so I just want to say my my friend Judy Shepard and her husband Dennis are here tonight and I'd like us all to give them a big round of [Applause] applause this room this room is full of Heroes like that things that were done some of them bigger Small Things ways to make people's lives a little bit easier but what I knew was when I had the chance to get elected to office and make a difference look there's a lot of people you don't get elected to office to bank political Capital so you can get elected again you get elected to office to burn political Capital to improve lives as quickly as you can and so when we got the majority in Minnesota for the first time in over a decade we had the governor's office we had the house and we had the Senate by one vote and we got busy first thing we did is we banned conversion therapy in [Applause] Minnesota we protected transgender community and said in Minnesota you are seen heard loved and respected and safe and safe in Minnesota and we did something a little bit we banned Banning books especially Banning lgbtq books for themes in [Applause] that think about it in this room this is what these folks are focusing on spending all their time like reading about two male Penguins who love each other is is somehow going to turn your children gay and that's what you should worry about but here's what I'll tell you it's a fact of life some people are gay but you know what's not a fact of life that our children need to be shot dead in schools that's not a fact of life folks are Banning books but they're okay with weapons of war being in our schools look that's not this country it doesn't have to be this way it doesn't happen elsewhere we're going to make sure our children are seen they bring their authentic self and then we're going to make sure they're safe when they get there so thank you [Applause] all what this election boils down to in a lot of ways it's fundamentally about Freedom now it's not just a great song that vice president Harris walks on to although it is a great song that vice president Harris walks on to but it's truly fundamentally what does freedom mean and some of you in here I keep coming back to it some of us who are a little older because we got to go back a little ways in history here when Republicans used to talk about Freedom many of them actually meant it they weren't they weren't going to turn their backs on our allies they weren't going to leave Ukraine to themselves they weren't going to start doing the things they did but that's not true anymore Donald Trump and JD Vance their idea of freedom that the government should be free to invade every cor of our lives our bedrooms our kids schools even our doctor's office and I say this where I come from and I know where all of you come from I respect my neighbor's personal choices I wouldn't make some of the choices they make but you know what when it comes to personal things bodily autonomy your gender identity when to start a family marrying who you love might sound a little bit old-fashioned on that but I think we just need to be really good neighbors everyone just deserves to be treated with [Applause] respect freedom to make that choice and I keep reinforcing this because they talk about this you know there government's too big in all this big enough to be in my bedroom apparently big enough to be in your uterus big enough to be in every Library big enough to do that but here's the thing this Society works best whether it's small towns or large towns and I say this I bet every state could say this but in Minnesota things work really well cuz we have a saying that I talk about a lot you know the everything works better if you just mind your own damn business and I'll mind mine so nothing this idea and this Obsession and you've heard me say this they're all angry that I'm being mean to them um the other night Donald Trump did a town hall where he got to control what he said and he reassured Ed the audience there 11 times that he was not weird if you're reminding someone you're not weird you probably yeah but look my point was my point was who is asking for this agenda that they're doing who's asking for them to take away our freedoms who's asking them to take away reproductive freedoms and I spoke personally about this cuz it's personal for so many of us in here the decision of how and what way and what your family is going to look like once again that's your decision but for us in my family we had to go through fertility treatments thank God we had insurance thank God we had access to fertility treatments and those of you if you've been through this whatever manage whatever way that looks it's agonizing whether you're waiting for adoption or you're waiting for those phone calls did the treat treatment work and then finding out it didn't and then starting again it's stressful it's hard I sure the hell don't need JD Vance giving me advice on it it's not helpful it's not helpful and it's a simple fix you worry about your family I'll worry about mine it's a very simple fix so for us I'll have to tell you when that call finally came and our daughter was born it wasn't by chance that we called her hope because that was our belief it was the strongest and most powerful word in the universe and so uh my daughter hope is here tonight with me by the way [Applause] so and I don't know if if you saw it at the convention here last week the vice president pretty much took back freedom from the other side that that now belongs with us and that's what we're saying took back the flag they don't they haven't cornered patriotism and I'm not going to allow them to talk about family values why they're doing everything possible to invade our personal lives and our [Applause] families and I think there's a lot of people this is just my Pro tip of the day look there's two of us there's two of us trying to that have the privilege of it's kind of crazy in a country this big that there's two people one of the two is going to be the next Vice President of the United States so uh so my Pro tip to to my opponent on the other side is quit talking about women's childbearing issues quit talking about it because no one cares what your thoughts are on if my family counts or doesn't no one cares car no one [Applause] cares and in Minnesota and this what I'm not going to take a back seat in why those guys were Banning books in their schools we were Banning hunger in ours so if you're going to talk about family values then at least show up and vote when the child tax credit is there which we know can reduce childhood poverty by a third they didn't do anything when Donald Trump was in office he made it more difficult they didn't do anything on lowering child care costs did you hear he's got a plan on child care costs that no one in the world understood a damn word about it not one thing but there are things you can do and we did it in Minnesota and one of the things you can do is you can start making sure that you're doing things like the child tax credit and making it easier for same set couples to start and raise their families openly with love and pride and make sure that the sport is there so that outdated narrow ideology there's no one asking for it but here's what I worry about for all of you and for all of us it's not just what they did because they tried hard this time they're not playing they are coming to do the things that they said they wanted to do and I said this as a football coach if somebody takes the time to draw up a Playbook they're going to use it so when you keep hearing us and I'll talk about it every single day because I know what it will do I know what it will do to destroy this country this project 2025 that's out there to restrict freedoms demonize this community bully vulnerable children the message is simple from all of us and here in about 59 days you're going to get a chance to send that message is leave our kids the hell alone leave our kids alone and I have to tell you this one too and this is one that we keep remembering and this is a thank you to all those folks we talked about the don't ask don't tell but I want to make sure that we recognize this too we've had thousands of Brave transgender troops decorated Warriors who served this country in [Applause] uniform When Donald Trump was commanderin-chief he belittled them and he banned them from service thankfully President Biden and vice president Harris rested that stupid bigoted policy if you want to serve this nation you should be allowed to and what we should do is respect that service they should not get incoming fire from their commander-in-chief attacking their basic dignity humanity and patriotism and I will say this I didn't serve for 24 years in this to have those guys diminish another troop service I will stand with them every single time I know I'm preaching to the choir a little bit but we got 59 days to sing so the choir needs to sing and I am a believer look you heard I I taught school for a couple decades so I do know and I supervise the lunchroom by the way for a lot of those times so I am at once an eternal optimist but two I do know that fear is a good short-term motivator but it doesn't change behaviors we're not running against those guys we need to know what they're going to do we need to know what we're up against we need to know what the threat is from them but what we need to do over the next 59 days is get ready to tell people exactly what we're going to do exactly what vice president then president Harris will do so we'll start by this lowering taxes on working families and making sure those at the top and corporations can pay their fair share share they're doing fine they're doing fine we're going to protect Social Security and Medicare and we're going to make sure the Affordable Care Act is strengthened and look about a dozen states have it if you're in one of these states that have it it's great but the rest of the country needs it it is time for us to quit being the last country on Earth to have paid family and medical leave for this it is time to be done and it's going to be very clear every single day this Freedom issue that it's going to be you and people make the decisions about their healthc care not a politician so look everybody everybody should be free to get an education and that should be a path to the middle class it shouldn't be a path to crippling student loan debt for decades to come we can fix this and I'm going to say it once again our kids should be free to go to school without worrying about being shot dead in the Halls it's that simple [Applause] vice president Harris fight make sure that we continue to pass the equality act enshrine anti-discrimination protections and lgbtq Americans Healthcare into law housing education and so much more now look if it sounds like a tall order I'll say it again I'm an eternal optimist think about this when I was a kid growing up in Nebraska being gay was illegal still technically illegal look how much has changed since this organization was founded 40 years ago can you imagine can you imagine going back to me a high schooler in the early 80s and saying you know what we're going to kick down the barriers we're going to open doors we're going to pass laws that lets you bring your authentic self love who you want to love and live the life that you want to live all by yourself with no interference from [Applause] government so I told you I told you hope and my hope is an incredibly powerful room or incredibly powerful word you look around this room you can feel hope you feel that people want to see this we hope we win this election we hope we pass these laws we hope we lift people out of poverty that's a good thing to have but my wife always reminds me of this it's not a damn plan it's not a plan to hope we win this election we've got to have a plan and we've got to work for it and I ask you to look around this room we got about 3,500 people in this room what if we talk to one more person before this election what if we do one more phone bank what if we make one more door knock what if we dig deep and give a little bit more to this campaign because what we know is this politics is not an end it's a means to an end if we want that hope to become reality we've got to do the work to make it happen I know you're out there doing it you came here tonight you came here when you could have been somewhere else and in 59 days we get to chart our way forward we organize we donate we volunteer and I've been saying this when in life do you get a chance in 59 days to make an impact that will last for Generations because we [Applause] know if you want to go see what the alternative is it's the worst reading the world but it's 925 Pages it's project 2025 and as vice president Harris said we're not going back to the days we're not going back to the Discrimination we're not going to force our children into situations where they become suicidal we're not going to continue to demonize people because of who they are and we're not going to continue to allow people in this country to go hungry or to be shot dead because we don't make decisions that can improve that so we've got 59 days 59 days each and every one of us what every little bit we can do we can make a difference so I've been saying this and I truly believe this we can do anything for 59 days sleep when you're dead worry about that later but now is the time so it's up to US vice president Harris myself our entire Team all of you HRC we fighting for a better country a better world we're fighting for the folks who aren't here tonight we're fighting for the folks who may not vote for us but we're doing it because it's the values that this country were founded on so as vice president Harris said if we're willing to fight we win when we fight we win when we fight we win thank you HRC thank you everybody thank you everyone thank thank you HRC wow well thank you for inviting me and more importantly maybe thank you for the privilege of being able to stand with each of one of you president Robinson thank you for the kind introduction I'd also like to say on a point of personal privilege there's a strong contingent of motans in the house so thank you Minot so for all of you here tonight and around the country listening you've done so much to advance the cause of equality and freedom I'm proud to count so many of you as friends I'm grateful that you brought your time your talents and your Treasures to be here tonight and I'm fired up to be at your side I got to tell you because of all the things that are going on all the places you could be all the things you could have done you came here tonight one is it's the best party in the country tonight so that's right here but the deeper reason you're here is for that very simple and beautiful reason you love this country and that's why you're here you love the principles that we stand for well for some of you don't know uh I am Tim Walls and I'm a I'm the governor of Minnesota right now but I I like to make sure that I say that I I was a school teacher for a lot of years but right now right now I'm proud to be the running mate of the next president of the United States KLA Harris [Applause] the privilege of getting to know this phenomenal leader from a prosecutor district attorney Attorney General US senator and vice president yes by the way she's more qualified than anybody that's ever run for this office let's just be clear but she didn't just take those talents for herself she fights every single day on the side of the American people and what I have to say of all the things that the other side has messed up the other things that they've done the thing that I'll not forgive them for is the thing that vice president Harris is fixing most she's bringing Joy back to our politics decency back to how we do things and this is not a new thing for her this started a long time ago and for the folks of California in 2010 our Californians who are here in 2010 this is the Joy she brought so here's the scene years earlier as the da of San Francisco vice president Harris took on and took one of the toughest stances in the nation against hate crimes she led the fight to end the hateful gay and transgender Panic defense we know what that leads to and we know the countless deaths and misery that was brought upon by that she took it on and she also officiated some of the first same-sex marriages in the entire country then she went on to become the Attorney General of the largest state in the country and the moment it arrived to defend marriage equality and she threw her whole self into that fight if you know kamla Harris she doesn't just pick these fights when she talks about it and this is the thing to keep in mind all she does is win all she does is [Applause] win so when the word came down that same-sex marriage had been legalized in California two plaintiffs asked KLA Harris to officiate her ceremony while they were at City Hall celebrating that marriage she got a call from two more plaintiffs saying that a clerk in Los Angeles County was denying their marriage certificate so she grabbed a phone and some of you have seen this she asked them to put the clerk on the line and she did what she did best she didn't mince words and she made it very clear she said this is KLA Harris you must start the marriage immediately [Applause] and then she added and I don't know if this always gets in the videos she added the best line to that she told the clerk have a good day and enjoy it it's going to be fun she hasn't looked back from that day as a US senator she fought hard for the equality act introduced a bill to make sure you ensured access to prep and as vice president and I say this it is not a stret and the facts are there this is the most Pro lgbtq Plus Administration in American [Applause] history she helped President Biden pass the landmark respect for Marriage Act requiring every state and territory to fully honor same-sex and interracial [Applause] marriage and she helped stop the ignorant and Byzantine practice I of banning gay and bisexual men from donating blood [Applause] um I think it's important in this room for us to remember these things because keep in mind there's some other folks on the other side given one chance to get back in the White House they will go back at every one of these things we talk about we talk about progress and moving forward because she said it we're sure the hell not going back on these things we're not going to go back but be clear they're going to be there things like strengthening Mental Health Resources for lgbtq plus youth we know we know what the statistics are they're horrific for our young people from suicides to self harm to all of the other things that go with it we know that this fight is the most important fight that's on our that's on our plate so I have to tell you she made human rights for lgbtq plus individuals around the world a top priority in this nation's foreign policy we must lead we must be the country that leads on [Applause] it she worked with President Biden on historic executive orders protecting folks from discrimination and the reason she did it was pretty simple KLA Harris believes in Equal justice under law and that means not very complicated Equal justice under law it is not to be debated it's not that difficult the prence is set but look we know what this fight is we know that we can all relate to some of this and I'll tell you this fight and I think about it for me for some of you may have heard this I was born in a small place called West Point Nebraska I grew up yay somebody's from West Point there we go there's two of us um the town I grew up in had 400 people 24 classmates 12 were cousins somebody brought up the prom dating to me yes it's interesting um but look when you're in a community like that Community was a way of life my folks showed me Teach generosity to your neighbors work hard for the common good those are values that I brought work as a social studies teacher in a high school football coach now those of you who teach know this you learn far more from your students than they learn from you no matter how good of teacher you are you know how that works so some of my students and this is in the late '90s were concerned about an uptick in bullying amongst the gay and lesbian community in our school one of those Brave students is here tonight Jacob Ron's a dear friend of mine who's [Applause] here and Jacob look I'm coaching football I'm an old straight white guy I'm teaching social studies you're all picturing the damn stereotype here turns out that I'm like opposite world of Tommy tuberville though so in this for some of you so so when Jake asked if I'd be interested in being the advisor to the gay straight Alliance I said absolutely I understood what it meant to be that older straight white guy who was coaching football Ali ship is a great thing but what many of you in here knows is it's easy to be an ally when it's easy to be an ally what really matters is knowing who's going to be at your side and stand up when it's hard and it was in those moments that those students inspired me years later look I'm a 40-some guy with little kids who is teaching school trying to pay the mortgage the idea of running for office never got to me or thought about it but those students inspired me and what they saw in me is what I was trying to instill in them this commitment to a common good I believe one person can make a difference in other people's lives so in 2006 I took the leap ran for congress no one told me at that time and I of course you know apparently couldn't google it um in that District there had been one other Democrat since 1892 and in that red District I was in a state that had banned same St marriage for a decade but I knew I was right and I ran on the platform that supported equality and this is what I said I got asked at a debate if I supported civil unions I I said sure if that's your thing but I said my marriage to my wife gwyn's most important thing in my life I love her deeply why would I stop anybody else from marrying the person they love that makes no sense now this was this was 2006 and some of you uh with a little more gray hair or less of it can remember this time um that the other side said oh a b candidate finally showed his true colors by saying this well as it turned out a majority of my neighbors agreed with them and they elected me to represent them in the United States [Applause] house and after it was over some people came up to me and said wow you R you won in spite of being uh pro-choice and pro gay marriage and I said no no no you've got this wrong I won because I was for those positions that's why we won so when I got to Congress I showed up there in the house historian told me at the time I was the highest ranking and enlisted soldier at the time I served on the house Veterans Affairs committee and I worked with my roommate Patrick Murphy from Bucks County Pennsylvania to overturn don't ask don't [Applause] tell and was proud to be an early supporter for the respect for marriage act that we finally got passed and signed into law now I tell you this again it's not no one should get a pat on the back for doing what's right for God's sakes the bar is pretty damn low here to treat people like human beings Equal justice under law it's not a high bar it's not a high bar but we know the forces that are aligned against it so this is where Champions rise up whether it's a young student at a at a school in southern Minnesota or it was someone who I met and I wished I had not met under the circumstance it was but someone who changed my life I was there when we passed the Matthew Shepard hate crime prevention act and I had the privilege I had the privilege when the final vote was coming up in the house it was going to be closed I walked to the house floor through the tunnels from the the Longworth house office building over to the Capal and I made that walk with Matthew's mom Judy Shepard and and the sheriff who found Matthew's body tied to that fence post in Wyoming and I remember walking with a mother who had lost her son and hearing the sheriff tell me me the only place that wasn't bloody is where the tears ran down Matthew's eyes and I watched a mother and The Unbelievable pain that I couldn't even fathom to lose a child this way walk with her head held high to make sure that none of the rest of us ever have to get a call from someone so I just want to say my my friend Judy Shepard and her husband Dennis are here tonight and I'd like us all to give them a big Round of [Applause] Applause this room this room is full of Heroes like that things that were done some of them bigger Small Things ways to make people's lives a little bit easier but what I knew was when I had the chance to get elected to office and make a difference look there's a lot of people you don't get elected to office to bank political Capital so you can get elected again you get elected to office to burn political Capital to improve lives as quickly as you [Applause] can and so when we got the majority in Minnesota for the first time time in over a decade we had the governor's office we had the house and we had the Senate by one vote and we got busy first thing we did is we banned conversion therapy in [Applause] Minnesota we protected transgender community and said in Minnesota you are seen heard loved and respected and safe and safe in Minnesota and we did something a little bit we banned Banning books especially Banning lgbtq books put themes in [Applause] that think about it in this room this is what these folks are focusing on spending all their time like reading about two male Penguins who love each other is is somehow going to turn your children gay and that's what you should worry about but here's what I'll tell you it's a fact of life some people are gay but you know what's not a fact of life that our children need to be shot dead in schools that's not a fact a li folks are Banning books but they're okay with weapons of war being in our schools look that's not this country it doesn't have to be this way it does doesn't happen elsewhere we're going to make sure our children are seen they bring their authentic self and then we're going to make sure they're safe when they get there so thank you [Applause] all what this election boils down to in a lot of ways it's fundamentally about Freedom now it's not just a great song that vice president Harris walks on to although it is a great song that vice president Harris walks on to but it's truly fundamentally what does freedom mean and some of you in here I keep coming back to it some of us who are a little older cuz we got to go back a little ways in history here when Republicans used to talk about Freedom many of them actually meant it they weren't they weren't going to turn their backs on our allies they weren't going to leave Ukraine to themselves they weren't going to start doing the things they did but that's not true anymore Donald Trump and JD Vance their idea of freedom that the government should be free to invade every corner of our lives our bedrooms our kids' schools even our doctor's office and I say this where I come from and I know where all of you come from I respect my neighbor's personal choices I wouldn't make some of the choices they make but you know what when it comes to personal things bodily autonomy your gender identity when to start a family marrying who you love might sound a little bit old-fashioned on that but I think we just need to be really good neighbors everyone just deserves to be treated with respect freedom to make that choice and I keep reinforcing this because they talk about this you know there government's too big in all this big enough to be in my bedroom apparently big enough to be in your uterus big enough to be in every Library big enough to do that but here's the thing this Society works best whether it's small towns or large towns and I say this and I bet every state could say this but in Minnesota things work really well because we have a saying that I talk about a lot you know the everything works better if you just mind your own damn business and I'll mind mine so [Applause] nothing this idea and this Obsession and you've heard me say this they're all angry that I'm being mean to them um the other night Donald Trump did a town hall where he got to control what he said and he reassured the audience there 11 times that he was not weird if you're reminding someone you're not weird you probably yeah but look my point was my point was who is asking for this agenda that they're doing who's asking for them to take away our freedoms who's asking them to take away reproductive freedoms and I spoke personally about this cuz it's personal for so many of us in here the decision of how and what way and what your family is going to look like once again that's your decision but for us in my family we had to go through fertility treatments thank God we had insurance thank God we had access to fertility treatments and those of you if you've been through this whatever manage whatever way that looks it's agonizing whether you're waiting for adoption or you're waiting for those phone calls did the treatment work and then finding out it didn't and then starting again it's stress ful it's hard I sure the hell don't need JD Vance giving me advice on it it's not helpful it's not helpful and it's a simple fix you worry about your family I'll worry about mine it's a very simple fix so for us I'll have to tell you when that call finally came and our daughter was born it wasn't by chance that we called her hope because that was our belief it was the strongest and most powerful word in the universe and so uh my daughter hope is here tonight with me by the way [Applause] so and I don't know if if you saw it at the convention here last week the vice president pretty much took back freedom from the other side that that now belongs with us and that's what we're saying took back the flag they don't they haven't cornered patriotism and I'm not going to allow them to talk about family values why they're doing everything possible to invade our personal lives on our [Applause] families and I think there's a lot of people this is just my Pro tip of the day look there's two of us there's two of us trying to that have the privilege of it's kind of crazy in a country this big that there's two people one of the two is going to be the next Vice President of the United States so uh so my Pro tip to to my opponent on the other side is quit talking about women's childbearing issues quit talking about it because no one cares what your thoughts are on if my family counsel doesn't no one cares no one cares and in Minnesota and this what I'm not going to take a back seat in why those guys were Banning books in their schools we were Banning hunger in ours so if you're going to talk about family values then at least show up and vote when the child tax credit is there which we know can reduce childhood poverty by a [Applause] third they didn't do anything when Donald Trump was in office he made it more difficult they didn't do anything on lowering child care costs did you hear he's got a plan on child care costs that no one in the world understood a damn word about it not one thing but there are things you can do and we did it in Minnesota and one of the things you can do is you can start making sure that you're doing things like the child tax credit and making it easier for Sams set couples to start and raise their families openly with love and pride and make sure that the sport is there so that outdated narrow ideology there's no one asking for it but here's what I worry about for all of you and for all of us it's not just what they did because they tried hard this time they're not playing they are coming to do the things that they said they wanted to do and I said this as a football coach if somebody takes the time to draw up a Playbook they're going to use it so when you keep hearing us and I'll talk about it every single day because I know what it will do I know what it will do to destroy this country this project 2025 that's out there to restrict freedoms demonize this community bully vulnerable children the message is simple from all of us and here in about 59 days you're going to get a chance to send that message is leave our kids the hell alone leave our kids alone and I have to tell you this one too and this is one that we keep remembering and this is a thank you to all those folks we talked about the don't ask don't tell but I want to make sure that we recognize this too we've had thousands of Brave transgender troops decorated Warriors who served this country in [Applause] uniform When Donald Trump was commanderin-chief he belittled them and he banned them from service thankfully President Biden and vice president Harris extended that stupid bigoted [Applause] policy if you want to serve this nation you should be allowed to and what we should do is respect that service they should not get incoming fire from their commanderin-chief attacking their basic dignity humanity and patriotism and I will say this I didn't serve for 24 years in this to have those guys diminish another troop service I will stand with them every single time I know I'm preaching to the choir a little bit but we got 59 days to sing so the choir needs to sing and I am a believer look you heard me I I taught school for a couple decades so I do know and I supervised the lunchroom by the way for a lot of those times so I am at once an eternal optimist but two I do know that fear is a good short-term motivator but it doesn't change behaviors we're not running against those guys guys we need to know what they're going to do we need to know what we're up against we need to know what the threat is from them but what we need to do of the next 59 days is get ready to tell people exactly what we're going to do exactly what vice president then president Harris will do so we'll start by this lowering taxes on working families and making sure those at the top and corporations can pay their fair share they're doing fine they're doing fine we're going to protect Social Security and Medicare and we're going to make sure the Affordable Care Act is strengthened and look about a dozen states have it if you're in one of these states that have it it's great but the rest of the country needs it it is time for us to quit being the last country on Earth to had paid family and medical leave for this it is time to be done and it's going to be very clear every single day this Freedom issue that it's going to be you and people make the decisions about their health care not a politician so look everybody everybody should be free to get an education and that should be a path to the middle class it shouldn't be a path to crippling student loan debt for decades to come we can fix this and I'm going to say it once again our kids should be free to go to school without worrying about being shot dead in the Halls it's that [Applause] simple vice president har fight make sure that we continue to pass the equality act enshrine anti-discrimination protections and lgbtq Americans Health Care into law housing education and so much more now look if it sounds like a tall order I'll say it again I'm an eternal optimist think about this when I was a kid growing up in Nebraska being gay was illegal still technically illegal look how much has changed since this organization was founded 40 years ago can you imagine can you imagine going back to me a high schooler in the early 80s and saying you know what we're going to kick down the barriers we're going to open doors we're going to pass laws that let you bring your authentic self love who you want to love and live the life that you want to live all by yourself with no interference from [Applause] government so I told you I told you hope and my hope is an incredibly powerful room or an incredibly powerful word you look around this room you can feel hope you feel that people want to see this we hope we win this election we hope we pass these laws we hope we lift people out of poverty that's a good thing to have but my wife always reminds me of this it's not a damn plan it's not a plan to hope we win this election we've got to have a plan and we've got to work for it and I ask you to look around this room we got a about 3,500 people in this room what if we talk to one more person before this election what if we do one more phone bank what if we make one more door knck what if we dig deep and give a little bit more to this campaign cuz what we know is this politics is not an end it's a means to an end if we want that hope to become reality we've got to do the work to make it happen I know you're out there doing it you came here tonight you came here when you could have been somewhere else and in 50 9 days we get to chart our way forward we organize we donate we volunteer and I've been saying this when in life do you get a chance in 59 days to make an impact that will last for Generations because we [Applause] know if you want to go see what the alternative is it's the worst read in the world but it's 925 Pages it's project 2025 and as vice president Harris said we're not going back to the days we're not going back to the Discrimination we're not going to force our children into situations where they become suicidal we're not going to continue to demonize people because of who they are and we're not going to continue to allow people in this country to go hungry or to be shot dead because we don't make decisions that can improve that so we've got 59 days 59 days each and every one of us what every little bit we can do we can make a difference so I've been saying this and I truly believe this we can do anything for 59 days sleep when you're dead worry about that later but now is the time so it's up to US vice president Harris myself our entire Team all of you HRC we're fighting for a better country a better world we're fighting for the folks who aren't here tonight we're fighting for the folks who may not vote for us but we're doing it because it's the values of this country were founded on so as vice president Harris said if we're willing to fight we win when we fight we win when we fight we win thank you HRC thank you everybody thank you everyone thank thank you HRC wow well thank you for inviting me and more importantly maybe thank you for the privilege of being able to stand with each of one of you president Robinson thank you for the kind introduction I'd also like to say on a point of personal privilege there's a strong contingent of motans in the house so thank you motans so for for all of you here tonight and around the country listening who've done so much to advance the cause of equality and freedom I'm proud to count so many of you as friends I'm grateful that you brought your time your talents and your Treasures to be here tonight and I'm fired up to be at your side I got to tell you because of all the things that are going on all the places you could be all the things you could have done you came here tonight one is it's the best party in the country tonight so that's why you're here but the deeper reason you're here is for that very simple and beautiful reason you love this country and that's why you're here you love the principles that we stand for well for some of you who don't know uh I am Tim Walls and I'm a I'm the governor of Minnesota right now but I I like to make sure that I say that I I was a school teacher for a lot of years but right now right now I'm proud to be the running mate of the next president of the United States coma Harris [Applause] the privilege of getting to know this phenomenal leader from a prosecutor district attorney Attorney General US senator and vice president yes by the way she's more qualified than anybody that's ever run for this office let's just be clear but she didn't just take those talents for herself she fights every single day on the side of the American people and what I have to say of all the things that the other side has messed up the other things that they've done the thing that I'll not forgive them for is the thing that vice president Harris is fixing most she's bringing Joy back to our politics decency back to how we do things and this is not a new thing for her this started a long time ago and for the folks of California in 2010 our Californians who are here in 2010 this is the joy she brought so here's the scene years earlier as a of San Francisco vice president Harris took on and took one of the toughest stances in the nation against hate crimes she led the fight to end the hateful gay and transgender Panic defense we know what that leads to and we know the countless deaths and misery that was brought upon by that she took it on and she also officiated some of the first same-sex marriages in the entire [Applause] country then she went on to become the attorney Attorney General of the largest state in the country and the moment it arrived to defend marriage equality and she threw her whole self into that fight if you know kamla Harris she doesn't just pick these fights when she talks about it and this is the thing to keep in mind all she does is win all she does is [Applause] win so when the word came down that same-sex marriage had been legalized in California two plaintiffs asked KLA Harris to appreciate her ceremony while they were at City Hall celebrating that marriage she got a call from two more plfs saying that a clerk in Los Angeles County was denying their marriage certificate so she grabbed a phone and some of you have seen this she asked them to put the clerk on the line and she did what she did best she didn't mince words and she made it very clear she said this is KLA Harris you must start the marriage immediately [Applause] and then she added and I don't know if this always gets in the videos she added the best line to that she told the clerk have a good day and enjoy it it's going to be fun she hasn't looked back from that day as a US senator she fought hard for the equality act introduced a bill to make sure you ensured access to prep and as vice president and I say this it is not a stretch and the facts are there this is the most Pro lgbtq Plus administ ation in American [Applause] history she helped President Biden pass the landmark respect for Mary Jack requiring every state and territory to fully honor same-sex and interracial [Applause] marriage and she helped stop the ignorant and Byzantine practice of banning gay and bisexual men from donating blood um I think it's important in this room for us to remember these things because keep in mind there's some other folks on the other side given one chance to get back in the White House they will go back at every one of these things we talk about we talk about progress and moving forward because she said it we're sure the hell not going back on these things we're not going to go back but be clear they're going to be there things like strengthening Mental Health Resources for lgbtq plus youth we know we know what the statistics are they're horrific for our young people from suicides to self harm to all of the other things that go with it we know that this fight is the most important fight that's on our that's on our plate so I have to tell you she made human rights for lgbtq plus individuals around the world a top priority in this nation's foreign policy we must lead we must be the country that leads on it she worked with President Biden on historic executive orders protecting folks from discrimination and the reason she did it was pretty simple KLA Harris believes in Equal justice under law and that means not very complicated Equal justice under law it is not to be debated it's not that difficult the prent is set but look we know what this fight is we know that we can all relate to some of this and I'll tell you this fight and I think about it for me for some of you maybe you heard this I was born in a small place called West Point Nebraska I grew up yay somebody's from West Point there we go there's two of us um the town I grew up in had 400 people 24 classmates 12 were cousins somebody brought up the prom dating to me yes it's interesting um but look when you're in a community like that Community was a way of life my folks showed me Teach generosity to your neighbors work hard for the common good those are values that I brought work as a social studies teacher and a high school football coach now those of you who teach know this you learn far more from your students than they learn from you no matter how good of teacher you are you know how that works so some of my students and this is in the late '90s were concerned about an uptick in bullying amongst the gay and lesbian community in our school one of those Brave students is here tonight Jacob Ron's a dear friend of mine who's here and Jacob look I'm coaching football I'm an old straight white guy I'm teaching social studies you're all picturing the damn stereotype here turns out that I'm like opposite world of Tommy tuberville though so in this for some of you so so when Jake asked if I'd be interested in being the adviser to the gay straight Alliance I said absolutely I understood what it meant to be that older straight white guy who was coaching [Applause] football Ally ship is a great thing but what many of you in here knows is it's easy to be an ally when it's easy to be an ally what really matters is knowing who's going to be at your side and stand up when it's hard and it was in those moments that those students inspired me years later look I'm a 40-some guy with little kids who is teaching school trying to pay the mortgage the idea idea of running for office never got to me or thought about it but those students inspired me and what they saw in me is what I was trying to instill in them this commitment to a common good I believe one person can make a difference in other people's lives so in 2006 I took the leap ran for congress no one told me at that time and I of course you know apparently couldn't google it um in that district there had been one other Democrat since 189 2 and in that red District I was in a state that had banned Sam St marriage for a decade but I knew I was right and I ran on the platform that supported equality and this is what I said I got asked at a debate if I supported civil unions I I said sure if that's your thing but I said my marriage to my wife Gwen is most important thing in my life I love her deeply why would I stop anybody else from marrying the person they love that makes no sense [Applause] now this was this was 2006 and some of you uh with a little more gray hair or less of it can remember this time um that the other side said oh a B- rate candidate finally showed his true colors by saying this why has it turned out a majority of my neighbors agreed with us and they elected me to represent them in the United States House and after it was over some people came up to me and said wow you R you won in spite of being uh pro-choice and PR gay marriage and I said no no no you've got this wrong I won because I was for those positions that's why we won so when I got to Congress I showed up there in the house historian told me at the time I was the highest ranking enlisted soldier at the time I served on the house Veterans Affair committee and I worked with my roommate Patrick Murphy from Bucks County Pennsylvania to overturn don't ask don't [Applause] tell and was proud to be an early supporter for the respect for Mary Jack that we finally got passed and signed into law now I tell you this again it's not no one should get a pat on the back for doing what's right for God's sakes the bar is pretty damn low here to treat people like human beings Equal justice under law it's not a high bar it's not a high bar but we know the forces that are aligned against it so this is where Champions rise up whether it's a young student at a at a school in southern Minnesota or it was someone who I met and I wished I had not met under the circumstance it was but someone who changed my life I was there when we passed the Matthew Shepard hate crime prevention act and I had the privilege I had the privilege when the final vote was coming up in the house it was going to be close I walked to the house floor through the tunnels from the the Longworth house office building over to the capital and I made that walk with Matthew's mom Judy Shepard and and the sheriff who found Matthew's body tied to that fence post in Wyoming and I remember walking with a mother who had lost her son and hearing the sheriff tell me the only place that wasn't bloody is where the tears ran down Matthew's eyes and I watched a mother and The Unbelievable pain that I couldn't even fathom to lose a child this way walk with her head held high to make sure that none of the rest of us ever have to get a call from someone so I just want to say my my friend Judy Shepard and her husband Dennis are here tonight and I'd like us all to give them a big round of applause [Applause] this room this room is full of Heroes like that things that were done some of them bigger Small Things ways to make people's Liv lives a little bit easier but what I knew was when I had the chance to get elected to office and make a difference look there's a lot of people you don't get elected to office to bank political Capital so you can get elected again you get elected to office to burn political Capital to improve lives as quickly as you [Applause] can and so when we got the majority in Minnesota for the first time in over a decade we had the governor's office we had the house and we had the Senate by one vote and we got busy first thing we did is we banned conversion therapy in [Applause] Minnesota we protected transgender community and said in Minnesota you are seen heard loved and respected and safe and safe in Minnesota and we did something a little bit we banned Banning books especially Banning lgbtq books for themes in that think about it in this room this is what these folks are focusing on spending all their time like reading about two male Penguins who love each other is is somehow going to turn your children gay and that's what you should worry about but here's what I'll tell you it's a fact of life some people are gay but you know what's not a fact of life that our children need to be shot dead in schools that's not a fact of life folks are Banning books but they're okay with weapons of war being in our schools look that's not this country it doesn't have to be this way it doesn't happen elsewhere we're going to make sure our children are seen they bring their authentic and then we're going to make sure they're safe when they get there so thank you [Applause] all what this election boils down to in a lot of ways it's fundamentally about Freedom now it's not just a great song that vice president Harris walks on to although it is a great song that vice president Harris walks on to but it's truly fundamentally what does freedom mean and some of you in here I keep coming back to it some of us you are a little older cuz we got to go back a little ways in history here here when Republicans used to talk about Freedom many of them actually meant it they weren't they weren't going to turn their backs on our allies they weren't going to leave Ukraine to themselves they weren't going to start doing the things they did but that's not true anymore Donald Trump and JD Vance their idea of freedom that the government should be free to invade every corner of our lives our bedrooms our kids schools even our doctor's office and I say this where I come from and I know where all of you come from I respect my neighbor's personal choices I wouldn't make some of the choices they make but you know what when it comes to personal things bodily autonomy your gender identity when to start a family marrying who you love might sound a little bit oldfashioned on that but I think we just need to be really good neighbors everyone just deserves to be treated with [Applause] respect freedom to make that choice and I keep reinforcing this cuz they talk about this you know there government's too big in all this big enough to be in my bedroom apparently big enough to be in your uterus big enough to be in every Library big enough to do that but here's the thing this Society works best whether it's small towns or large towns and I say this and I bet every state could say this but in Minnesota things work really well cuz we have a saying that I talk about a lot you know the everything works better if you just mind your own damn business and I'll mind m so nothing this idea and this Obsession and you've heard me say this they're all angry that I'm being mean to them um the other night Donald Trump did a town hall where he got to control what he said and he reassured the audience there 11 times that he was not weird if you're reminding someone you're not weird you probably yeah but look my point was my point was who is asking for this agenda that they're doing who's asking for them to take away our freedoms who's asking them to take away reproductive freedoms and I spoke personally about this cuz it's personal for so many of us in here the decision of how and what way and what your family's going to look like once again that's your decision but for us in my family we had to go through fertility treatments thank God we had Insurance thank God we had access to fertility treatments and those of you if you've been through this whatever manage whatever way that looks it's agonizing whether you're waiting for adoption or you're waiting for those phone calls did the treatment work and then finding out it didn't and then starting again it's stressful it's hard I sure the hell don't need JD Vance giving me advice on it it's not helpful it's not helpful and it's a simple fix you worry about your family I'll worry about mine it's a very simple fix so for us I'll have to tell you when that call finally came and our daughter was born it wasn't by chance that we called her hope because that was our belief it was the strongest and most powerful word in the universe and so uh my daughter hope is here tonight with me by the way [Applause] so and I don't know if if you saw it at the convention here last week the vice president pretty much took back freedom from the other side that that now belongs with us and that's what we're saying took back the flag they don't I haven't cornered patriotism and I'm not going to allow them to talk about family values why they're doing everything possible to invade our personal lives and our [Applause] families and I think there's a lot of people this is just my Pro tip of the day look there's two of us there's two of us trying to that have the privilege of it's kind of crazy in a country this big that there's two people one of the two is going to be the next Vice President of the United States so uh so my Pro tip to to my opponent on the other side is quit talking about women's childbearing issues quit talking about it because no one cares what your thoughts are on if my family counts or doesn't no one cares no one [Applause] cares and in Minnesota and this what I'm not going to take a back seat in why those guys were Banning books in their schools we were Banning hunger in ours so if you're going to talk about family values then at least show up and vote when the child tax credit is there which we know can reduce childhood poverty by a [Applause] third they didn't do anything when Donald Trump was in office he made it more difficult they didn't do anything on lowering child care costs did you here he's got a plan on child care costs that no one in the world understood a damn word about it not one thing but there are things you can do and we did it in Minnesota and one of the things you can do is you can start making sure that you're doing things like the child tax credit and making it easier for same set couples to start and raise their families openly with love and pride and make sure that the sport is [Applause] there so that outdated narrow ideology there 's no one asking for it but here's what I worry about for all of you and for all of us it's not just what they did because they tried hard this time they're not playing they are coming to do the things that they said they wanted to do and I said this as a football coach if somebody takes the time to draw up a Playbook they're going to use it so when you keep hearing us and I'll talk about it every single day because I know what it will do I know what it will do to destroy this country this project 2025 that's out there to restrict freedoms demonize this community bully vulnerable children the message is simple from all of us and here in about 59 days you're going to get a chance to send that message is leave our kids the hell alone leave our kids [Applause] alone and I have to tell this one too and this is one that we keep remembering and this is a thank you to all those folks we talked about the don't ask don't tell but I want to make sure that we recognize this too we've had thousands of Brave transgender troops decorated Warriors who served this country in [Applause] uniform When Donald Trump was commanderin-chief he belittled them and he banned them from service thankfully President Biden and vice president Harris rended that stupid bigoted policy if you want to serve this nation you should be allowed to and what we should do is respect that service they should not get incoming fire from their commanderin-chief attacking their basic dignity humanity and patriotism and I will say this I didn't serve for 24 years in this to have those guys diminish another troop service I will stand with them every single time I know I'm preaching to the choir a little bit but we got 59 days to sing so the choir needs to sing and I am a believer look you heard I I taught school for a couple decades so I do know and I supervise the lunchroom by the way for a lot of those times so I am at once an eternal optimist but two I do know that fear is a good short-term motivator but it doesn't change behaviors we're not running against those guys we need to know what they're going to do we need to know what we're up against we need to know what the threat is from them but what we need to do over the next 59 days is get ready to tell people exactly what we're going to do exactly what vice president then president Harris will do so we'll start by this lowering taxes on working families and making sure those at the top and corporations can pay their fair share they're doing fine they're doing fine we're going to protect Social Security and Medicare and we're going to make sure the Affordable Care Act is strengthened [Applause] and look about a dozen states have it if you're in one of these states that have it it's great but the rest of the country needs it it is time for us to quit being the last country on Earth to have paid family and medical leave for this it is time to be done and it's going to be very clear every single day this Freedom issue that it's going to be you and people make the decisions about their Healthcare not not a politician so look everybody everybody should be free to get an education and that should be a path to the middle class it shouldn't be a path to crippling student loan debt for decades to come we can fix this and I'm going to say it once again our kids should be free to go to school without worrying about being shot dead in the Halls it's that [Applause] simple vice president Harris fight make sure that we continue to pass the equality Act enshrine anti-discrimination protections and lgbtq Americans Healthcare into law housing education and so much more now look if it sounds like a tall order I'll say it again I'm an eternal optimist think about this when I was a kid growing up in Nebraska being gay was illegal still technically illegal look how much has changed since this organization was founded 40 years ago can you imagine can you imagine going back to me a high schooler in the early 80s and saying you know what we're going to kick down the barriers we're going to open doors we're going to pass laws that lets you bring your authentic self love who you want to love and live the life that you want to live all by yourself with no interference from [Applause] government so I told you I told you hope and my hope is an incredibly powerful room or an incredibly powerful world word you look around this room you can feel hope you feel that people want to see this we hope we win this election we hope we pass these laws we hope we lift people out of poverty that's a good thing to have but my wife always reminds me of this it's not a damn plan it's not a plan to hope we win this election we've got to have a plan and we've got to work for it and I ask you to look around this room we got about 3,500 people in this room what if we talk to one more person before this election what if we do one more phone bank what if we make one more door knock what if we dig deep and give a little bit more to this campaign cuz what we know is this politics is not an end it's a means to an end if we want that hope to become reality we've got to do the work to make it happen I know you're out there doing it you came here tonight you came here when you could have been somewhere else and in 59 days we get to chart our way forward we organize we donate we volunteer and I've been saying this when in life do you get a chance in 59 days to make an impact that will last for Generations because we [Applause] know if you want to go see what the alternative is it's the worst read in the world but it's 925 Pages it's project 2025 and as vice president Harris said we're not going back to the days we're not going back to the Discrimination we're not going to force our children into situations where they become suicidal we're not going to continue to demonize people because of who they are and we're not going to continue to allow people in this country to go hungry or to be shot dead because we don't make decisions that can improve that so we've got 59 days 59 days each and every one of us what every little bit we can do we can make a difference so I've been saying this and I truly believe this we can do anything for 59 days sleep when you're dead worry about that later but now is the time so it's up to US vice president Harris myself our entire Team all of you HRC we fighting for a better country a better world we're fighting for the folks who aren't here tonight we're fighting for the folks who may not vote for us but we're doing it because it's the values that this country were founded on so as vice president Harris said if we're willing to fight we win when we fight we win when we fight we win thank you HRC thank you everybody thank you everyone thank thank you HRC wow well thank you for inviting me and more importantly maybe thank you for the privilege of being able to stand with each of one of you president Robinson thank you for the kind introduction I'd also like to say on a point of personal privilege there's a strong contingent of motans in the house so thank you motans so for for all of you here tonight around the country listening you've done so much to advance the cause of equality and freedom I'm proud to count so many of you as friends I'm grateful that you brought your time your talents and your Treasures to be here tonight and I'm fired up to be at your side I got to tell you because of all the things that are going on all the places you could be all the things you could have done you came here tonight one is it's the best party in the country tonight so that's why you're here but the deeper reason you're here is for that very simple and beautiful reason you love this country and that's why you're here you love love the principles that we stand for well for some of you don't know uh I am Tim Walls and I'm a I'm the governor of Minnesota right now but I I like to make sure that I say that I I was a school teacher for a lot of years but right now right now I'm proud to be the running mate of the next president of the United States KLA Harris the privilege of getting to know this phenomenal leader from a prosecutor district attorney Attorney General US senator and vice president yes by the way she's more qualified than anybody that's ever run for this office let's just be clear but she didn't just take those talents for herself she fights every single day on the side of the American people and what I have to say of all the things that the other side has messed up the other things that they've done the thing that I'll not forgive them for is the thing that vice president Harris is fixing most she's bringing Joy back to our politics decency back to how we do things and this is not a new thing for her this started a long time ago and for the folks of California in 2010 or Californians who are here in 2010 this is the joy she brought so here's the scene years earlier as the da of San Francisco vice president Harris took on and took one of the toughest stances in the nation against hate crimes she led the fight to end the hateful gay and transgender Panic defense we know what that leads to and we know the countless deaths and misery that was brought upon by that she took it on and she also officiated some of the first same-sex marriages in the entire [Applause] country then she went on to become the Attorney General of the largest state in the country and the moment it arrived to defend Mary equality and she threw her whole self into that fight if you know kamla Harris she doesn't just pick these fights when she talks about it and this is the thing to keep in mind all she does is win all she does is [Applause] win so when the word came down that same-sex marriage had been legalized in California two plaintiffs asked KLA Harris to officiate her ceremony while they were at City Hall celebrating that marriage she got a call from two more plaintiffs saying that a clerk in Los Angeles County was denying their marriage certificate so she grabbed a phone and some of you have seen this she asked them to put the clerk on the line and she did what she did best she didn't minced words and she made it very clear she said this is KLA Harris you must start the marriage [Applause] immediately and then she added and I don't know if this always gets in the videos she added the best line to that she told the clerk have a good day and enjoy it it's going to be fun she hasn't looked back from that day as a US senator she fought hard for the equality act introduced a bill to make sure you ensured access to prep and as vice president and I say this it is not a stretch and the facts are there this is the most Pro lgbtq Plus Administration in American history [Applause] she helped President Biden pass the landmark respect for Mary Jack requiring every state and territory to fully honor same-sex and interracial [Applause] marriage and she helped stop the ignorant and Byzantine practice of banning gay and bisexual men from donating blood um I think it's important in this room for us to remember these things because keep in mind there's some other folks on the other side given one chance to get back in the White House they will go back at every one of these things we talk about we talk about progress and moving forward because she said it we're sure the hell not going back on these things we're not going to go back but be clear they're going to be there things like strengthening Mental Health Resources for lgbtq plus youth we know we know what the statistics are they're horrific for our young people from suicides to self harm to all of the other things that go with it we know that this fight is the most important fight that's on our that's on our plate so I have to tell you she made human rights for lgbtq plus individuals around the world a top priority in this nation's foreign policy we must lead we must be the country that leads on [Applause] it she worked with President Biden on his historic executive orders protecting folks from discrimination and the reason she did it was pretty simple KLA Harris believes in Equal justice under law and that means not very complicated Equal justice under law yeah it is not to be debated it's not that difficult the precedent is set but look we know what this fight is we know that we can all relate to some of this and I'll tell you this fight and I think about it for me for some of you maybe heard this I was born in a small place called West Point Nebraska I grew up yay somebody's from West Point there we go there's two of us um the town I grew up in had 400 people 24 classmates 12 were cousins somebody brought up the prom dating to me yes it's interesting um but look when you're in a community like that Community was a way of life my folks showed me Teach generosity to your neighbors work hard for the common good those are values that I brought work as a social studies teacher in a high school football coach now those of you who teach know this you learn far more from your students than they learn from you no matter how good of teacher you are you know how that works so some of my students and this is in the late '90s were concerned about an uptick in bullying amongst the gay and lesbian community in our school one of those Brave students is here tonight Jacob Ron's a dear friend of mine who's [Applause] here and Jacob look I'm coaching football I'm an old straight white guy I'm teaching social studies you're all picturing the damn stereotype here turns out that I'm like opposite world of Tommy tuberville though so in this for some of you so so when Jake asked if I'd be interested in being the adviser to the gay straight Alliance I said absolutely I understood what it meant to be that older straight white guy who was coaching [Applause] football Alli ship is a great thing but what many of you in here knows is it's easy to be an Ally when it's easy to be an ally what really matters is knowing who's going to be at your side and stand up when it's hard and it was in those moments that those students inspired me years later look I'm a 40-some guy with little kids who is teaching school trying to pay the mortgage the idea of running for office never got to me or thought about it but those students inspired me and what they saw in me is what I was trying to instill in them this commitment to a common good I believe one person can make a difference in other people's lives so in 2006 I took the leap ran for congress no one told me at that time and I of course you know apparently couldn't google it um in that district there had been one other Democrat since 1892 and in that red District I was in a state that had banned Sam St marriage for a decade but I knew I was right and I ran on the platform that supported equality and this is what I said I got asked at a debate if I supported civil unions I I said sure if that's your thing but I said my marriage to my wife Gwen is most important thing in my life I love her deeply why would I stop anybody else from marrying the person they love that makes no sense now this was this was 2006 and some of you uh with a little more gray hair or less of it can remember this time um that the other side said oh a B- rate candidate finally showed his true colors by saying this well as it turned out a majority of my neighbors agreed with us and they elected me to represent them in the United States [Applause] house and after it was over some people came up me and said wow you R you won in spite of being uh pro-choice and PR gay marriage and I said no no no you've got this wrong I won because I was for those positions that's why we won so when I got to Congress I showed up there and the house historian told me at the time I was the highest ranking enlisted soldier at the time I served on the house Veterans Affairs committee and I worked with my roommate Patrick Murphy from Bucks County Pennsylvania to overturn don't ask don't [Applause] tell and was proud to be an early supporter for the respect for marriage Jack that we finally got passed and signed into law now I tell you this again it's not no one should get a pat on the back for doing what's right for God's sakes the bar is pretty damn low here to treat people like human beings Equal justice under law it's not a high bar it's not a high bar but we know the forces that are aligned against it so this is where Champions rise up whether it's a young student at a at a school in southern Minnesota or it was someone who I met and I wished I had not met under the circumstance it was but someone who changed my life I was there when we passed the Matthew Shepard hate crime prevention act and I had the privilege I had the privilege when the final vote was coming up in the house it was going to be close I walked to the house floor through the tunnel from the the Longworth house office building over to the capital and I made that walk with Matthew's mom Judy Shepard and and the sheriff who found Matthew's body tied to that fence post in Wyoming and I remember walking with a mother who had lost her son and hearing the sheriff tell me the only place that wasn't bloody is where the tears ran down Matthew's eyes and I watched a mother and The Unbelievable pain that I couldn't even fathom to lose a child this way walk with her head held high to make sure that none of the rest of us ever have to get a call from someone so I just want to say my my friend Judy Shepard and her husband Dennis are here tonight and I'd like us all to give them a big round of applause [Applause] this room this room is full of Heroes like that things that were done some of them bigger Small Things ways to make people's lives a little bit easier but what I knew was when I had the chance to get elected to office and make a difference look there's a lot of people you don't get elected to office to bank political Capital so you can get elected again you get elected to office to burn political Capital to improve lives as quickly as you can and so when we got the majority in Minnesota for the first time in over a decade we had the governor's office we had the house and we had the Senate by one vote and we got busy first thing we did is we banned ver verion therapy in [Applause] Minnesota we protected transgender community and said in Minnesota you are seen heard loved and respected and safe and safe in Minnesota and we did something a little bit we banned Banning books especially Banning lgbtq books for themes in [Applause] that think about it in this room this is what these folks are focusing on spending all their time like reading about two male Penguins who love each other is is somehow going to turn your children gay and that's what you should worry about but here's what I'll tell you it's a fact of life some people are gay but you know what's not a fact of life that our children need to be shot dead in schools that's not a fact back alive folks are Banning books but they're okay with weapons of war being in our schools look that's not this country it doesn't have to be this way it doesn't happen elsewhere we're going to make sure our children are seen they bring their authentic self and then we're going to make sure they're safe when they get there so thank you all what this election boils down to in a lot of ways it's fundamentally about Freedom now it's not just a great song that vice president Harris walks on to although it is a great song that vice president Harris walks on to but it's truly fundamentally what does freedom mean and some of you in here I keep coming back to it some of us who are a little older because we got to go back a little ways in history here when Republicans used to talk about freedom many of them actually meant it they weren't they weren't going to turn their backs on our allies they weren't going to leave Ukraine to themselves they weren't going to start doing the things they did but that's not true anymore Donald Trump and JD Vance their idea of freedom that the government should be free to invade every corner of our lives our bedrooms our kids' schools even our doctor's office and I say this where I come from and I know where all of you come from I respect my neighbor's personal choices I wouldn't make some of the choices they make but you know what when it comes to personal things bodily autonomy your gender identity when to start a family marrying who you love might sound a little bit old-fashioned on that but I think we just need to be really good neighbors everyone just deserves to be treated with [Applause] respect freedom to make that choice and I keep reinforcing this CU they talk about this you know there govern is too big in all this big enough to be in my bedroom apparently big enough to be in your uterus big enough to be in every Library big enough to do that but here's the thing this Society works best whether it's small towns or large towns and I say this I bet every state could say this but in Minnesota things work really well because we have a saying that I talk about a lot you know everything works better if you just mind your own damn business and I'll mind mine so nothing this idea and this Obsession and you've heard me say this they're all angry that I'm being mean to them um the other night Donald Trump did a town hall where he got to control what he said and he reassured the audience there 11 times that he was not weird if you're reminding someone you're not weird you probably yeah but look my point was my point was who is asking for this agenda that they're doing who's asking for them to take away our freedoms who's asking them to take away reproductive freedoms and I spoke personally about this because it's personal for so many of us in here the decision of how and what way and what your family's going to look like once again that's your decision but for us in my family we had to go through fertility treatments thank God we had Insurance thank God we had access to fertility treatments and those of you if you've been through this whatever manage whatever way that looks it's agonizing whether you're waiting for adoption or you're waiting for those phone calls did the treatment work and then finding out it didn't and then starting again it's stressful it's hard I sure the hell don't need JD Vance giving me advice on it it's not helpful it's not helpful and it's a simple fix you worry about your family I'll worry about mine it's a very simple fix so for us I'll have to tell you when that call finally came and our daughter was born it wasn't by chance that we called her hope because that was our belief it was the strongest and most powerful word in the universe and so uh my daughter hope is here tonight with me by the way so and I don't know if if you saw it at the convention here last week the vice president pretty much took back freedom from the other side that that now belongs with us and that's what we're saying took back the flag they don't they haven't cornered patriotism and I'm not going to allow them to talk about family values why they're doing everything possible to invade our personal lives on our [Applause] families and I think there's a lot of people this is just my Pro tip of the day look there's two of us there's two of us trying to that have the privilege of it's kind of crazy in a country this big that there's two people one of the two is going to be the next Vice President of the United States so uh so my Pro tip to to my opponent on the other side is quit talking about women's childbearing issues quit talking about it because no one cares what your thoughts are on if my family coun doesn't no one cares no one [Applause] cares and in Minnesota and this what I'm not going to take a back seat in why those guys were Banning books in their schools we were Banning hunger in ours so if you're going to talk about family values then at least show up and vote when the child tax credit is there which we know can reduce childhood poverty by a [Applause] third they didn't do anything when Donald Trump was in office he made it more difficult they didn't do anything on lowering child care costs did you hear he's got a plan on child care costs that no one in the world understood a damn word about it not one thing but there are things you can do and we did it in Minnesota and one of the things you can do is you can start making sure that you're doing things like the child tax credit and making it easier for same- set couples to start and raise their families openly with love and pride and make sure that the sport is [Applause] there so that outdated narrow ideology there's no one asking for it but here's what I worry about for all of you and for all of us it's not just what they did because they tried hard this time they're not playing they are coming to do the things that they said they wanted to do and I said this as a football coach if somebody takes the time to draw up a Playbook they're going to use it so when you keep hearing us and I'll talk about it every single day because I know what it will do I know what it will do to destroy this country this project 2025 that's out there to restrict freedom demonize this community bully vulnerable children the message is simple from all of us and here in about 59 days you're going to get a chance to send that message is leave our kids the hell alone leave our kids [Applause] alone and I have to tell you this one too and this is one that we keep remembering and this is a thank you to all those folks we talked about the don't ask don't tell but I want to make sure that we recognize this too we've had thousands of Brave transgender troops decorated Warriors who served this country in [Applause] uniform When Donald Trump was commanderin-chief he belittled them and he banned them from service thankfully President Biden and vice president Harris rested that stupid bigoted policy if you want to serve this nation you should be allowed to and what we should do is respect that service they should not get incoming fire from their commanderin-chief attacking their basic dignity humanity and patriotism and I will say this I didn't serve for 24 years in this to have those guys diminish another troop service I will stand with them every single time I know I'm preaching to the choir a little bit but we got 59 days to sing so the choir needs to sing and I am a believer look you heard me I I taught school for a couple decades so I do know and I supervised the lunchroom by the way for a lot of those times so I am at once an eternal optimist but two I do know that fear is a good short-term motivator but it doesn't change behaviors we're not running against those guys we need to know what they're going to do we need to know what we're up against we need to know what the threat is from them but what we need to do over the next 59 days is get ready to tell people exactly what we're going to do exactly what vice president then president Harris will do so we'll start by this lowering taxes on working families and making sure those at the top and corporations can pay their fair share they're doing fine they're doing fine we're going to protect Social Security and Medicare and we're going to make sure the Affordable Care Act is strengthened and look about a dozen states have it if you're in one of these states that have it it's great but the rest of the country needs it it is time for us to quit being the last country on Earth to have paid family and medical leave for this it is time to be done and it's going to be very clear every single day this Freedom issue that it's going to be you and people make the decisions about their healthare not a politician so look everybody everybody should be free to get an education and that should be a path to the middle class it shouldn't be a path to crippling student loan debt for decades to come we can fix this and I'm going to say it once again our kids should be free to go to school without worrying about being shot dead in the Halls it's that [Applause] simple vice president Harris fight make sure that we continue to pass the equality act enshrine anti-discrimination protections and lgbtq Americans healthare into law housing education and so much more now look if it sounds like a tall order I'll say it again I'm an eternal optimist think about this when I was a kid growing up in Nebraska being gay was illegal still technically illegal look how much has changed since this organization was founded 40 years ago can you imagine can you imagine going back to me a high schooler in the early 80s and saying you know what we're going to kick down the barriers we're going to open doors we're going to pass laws that lets you bring your authentic self love who you want to love and live the life that you want to live all by yourself with no interference from [Applause] government so I told you I told you hope and my hope is an incredibly powerful room or an incredibly powerful word you look around this room you can feel hope you feel that people want to see this we hope we win this election we hope we pass these laws we hope we lift people out of poverty that's a good thing to have but my wife always reminds me of this it's not a damn plan it's not a plan to hope we win this election we've got to have a plan and we've got to work for it and I ask you to look around this room we got about 3,500 people in this room what if we talk to one more person before this election what if we do one more phone bank what if we make one more door knock what if we dig deep and give a little bit more to this campaign cuz what we know is this politics is not an end it's a means to an end if we want that hope to become reality we've got to do the work to make it happen I know you're out there doing it you came here tonight you came here when you could have been somewhere else and in 59 days we get to chart our way forward we organize we donate we volunteer and I've been saying this when in life do you get a chance in 59 days to make an impact that will last for Generations because we [Applause] know if you want to go see what the alternative is it's the worst read in the world but it's 925 Pages it's project 2025 and as vice president Harris said we're not going back to the days we're not going back to the Discrimination we're not going to force our children into situations where they become suicidal we're not going to continue to demonize people because of who they are and we're not going to continue to allow people in this country to go hungry or to be shot dead because we don't make decisions that can improve that so we've got 59 days 59 days each and every one of us what every little bit we can do we can make a difference so I've been saying this and I truly believe this we can do anything for 59 days sleep when you're dead worry about that later but now is the time so it's up to US vice president Harris myself our entire Team all of you HRC we're fighting for a better country a better world we're fighting for the folks who aren't here tonight we're fighting for the folks who may not vote for us but we're doing it because it's the values that this country were founded on so as vice president Harris said if we're willing to fight we win when we fight we win when we fight we win thank you HRC thank you everybody thank you everyone thank thank you HRC wow well thank you for inviting me and more importantly maybe thank you for the privilege of being able to stand with each of of you president Robinson thank you for the kind introduction I'd also like to say on a point of personal privilege there's a strong contingent of motans in the house so thank you motans so for for all of you here tonight and around the country listening you've done so much to advance the cause of equality and freedom I'm proud to count so many of you as friends I'm grateful that you brought your time your your talents and your Treasures to be here tonight and I'm fired up to be at your side I got to tell you because of all the things that are going on all the places you could be all the things you could have done you came here tonight one is it's the best party in the country tonight so that's why you're here but the deeper reason you're here is for that very simple and beautiful reason you love this country and that's why you're here you love the principles that we stand for well for some of you who don't know uh I am Tim Walls and I'm a I'm the governor of Minnesota right now but I I like to make sure that I say that I I was a school teacher for a lot of years but right now right now I'm proud to be the running mate of the next president of the United States KLA Harris the privilege of getting to know this phenomenal leader from a prosecutor district attorney Attorney General US senator and vice president yes by the way she's more qualified than anybody that's ever run for this office let's just be clear but she didn't just take those talents for herself she fights every single day on the side of the American people and what I have to say of all the things that the other side has messed up the other things that they've done the thing that I'll not forgive them for is the thing that vice president Harris is fixing most she's bringing Joy back to our politics decency back to how we do things and this is not a new thing for her this started a long time ago and for the folks of California in 2010 our Californians who are here in 2010 this is the joy she brought so here's the scene years earlier as the da of San Francisco vice president Harris took on and took one of the toughest stances in the nation against hate crimes she led the fight to end the hateful gay and transgender Panic defense we know what that leads to and we know the countless deaths and misery that was brought upon by that she took it on and she also officiated some of the first same-sex marriages in the entire [Applause] country then she went on to become the Attorney General of the largest state in the country and the moment it arrived to defend marriage equality and she threw her whole self into that fight if you know kamla Harris she doesn't just pick these fights when she talks about it and this is the thing to keep in mind all she does is win all she does is [Applause] win so when the word came down that same-sex marriage had been legalized in California two plaintiffs asked KLA Harris to officiate her ceremony while they were at City Hall celebrating that marriage she got a call from two more plaintiffs saying that a clerk in Los Angeles County was denying their marriage certificate so she grabbed a phone and some of you have seen this she asked them to put the clerk on the line and she did what she did best she didn't mince words and she made it very clear she said this is KLA Harris you must start the marriage [Applause] immediately and then she added and I don't know if this always gets in the videos she added the best line to that she told the clerk have a good day and enjoy it it's going to be fun she hasn't looked back from that day as a US senator she fought hard for the equality act introduced a bill to make sure you ensured access to prep and as vice president and I say this it is not a stretch and the facts are there this is the most Pro lgbtq Plus Administration in American [Applause] history we help President Biden pass the landmark respect for Mary Jack requiring every state in territory to fully honor same sex and interracial [Applause] marriage and she helped stop the ignorant and Byzantine practice of banning gay and bisexual men from donating blood [Applause] um I think it's important in this room for us to remember these things because keep in mind there's some other folks on the other side given one chance to get back in the White House they will go back at every one of these things we talk about we talk about progress and moving forward because she said it we're sure the hell not going back on these things we're not going to go back but be clear they're going to be there things like strengthening Mental Health Resources for lgbtq plus youth we know we know what the statistics are they're horrific for our young people from suicides to self harm to all of the other things that go with it we know that this fight is the most important fight that's on our that's on our plate so I have to tell you she made human rights for lgbtq plus individuals around the world a top priority in this nation's foreign policy we must lead we must be the country that leads on [Applause] it she worked with President Biden on historic executive orders protecting folks from discrimination and the reason she did it was pretty simple KLA Harris believes in Equal justice under law and that means not very complicated Equal justice under law yeah it is not to be debated it's not that difficult the president is set but look we know what this fight is we know that we can all relate to some of this and I'll tell you this fight and I think about it for me for some of you may you heard this I was born in a small place called West Point Nebraska I grew up yay somebody's from West Point there we go there's two of us um the town I grew up in had 400 people 24 classmates 12 were cousins somebody brought up the prom dating to me yes it's interesting um but look when you're in a community like that Community was a way of life my folks showed me Teach generosity to your neighbors work hard for the common good those are values that I brought work as a social studies teacher and a high school football coach now those of you who teach know this you learn far more from your students than they learn from you no matter how good of teacher you are you know that works so some of my students and this is in the late 90s were concerned about an uptick in bullying amongst the gay and lesbian community in our school one of those Brave students is here tonight Jacob Ron's a dear a friend of mine who's [Applause] here and Jacob look I'm coaching football I'm an old straight white guy I'm teaching social studies you're all picturing the damn stereotype here turns out that I'm like opposite world of Tommy tuberville though so in this for some of you so so when Jake asked if I'd be interested in being the adviser to the gay straight Alliance I said absolutely I understood what it meant to be that older straight white guy who was coaching [Applause] football Alli ship is a great thing but what many of you in here knows is it's easy to be an ally when it's easy to be an ally what really matters is knowing who who's going to be at your side and stand up when it's hard and it was in those moments that those students inspired me years later look I'm a 40-some guy with little kids who is teaching school trying to pay the mortgage the idea of running for office never got to me or thought about it but those students inspired me and what they saw in me is what I was trying to instill in them this commit to a common good I believe one person can make a difference in other people's lives so in 2006 I took the leap ran for congress no one told me at that time and I of course you know apparently couldn't google it um in that district there had been one other Democrat since 1892 and in that red District I was in a state that had banned Sam St marriage for a decade but I knew I was right and I ran on the platform that supported equality and this is what I said I got asked at a debate if I supported civil unions I I said sure if that's your thing but I said my marriage to my wife Gwen is most important thing in my life I love her deeply why would I stop anybody else from marrying the person they love that makes no sense now this was this was 2006 and some of you uh with a little more gray hair or less of it can remember this time um that the other side said oh a B- rate candidate finally showed his true colors by saying this well as it turned out a majority of my neighbors agreed with us and they elected me to represent them in the United States [Applause] house and after it was over some people came up to me and said wow you R you won in spite of being uh pro-choice and PR gay marriage and I said no no no you've got this wrong I won because I was for those positions that's why we won so when I got to Congress I showed up there and the house historian told me at the time I was the highest ranking enlisted soldier at the time I served on the house Veterans Affairs committee and I worked with my roommate Patrick Murphy from Bucks County Pennsylvania to overturn don't ask don't tell and was proud to be an early supporter for the respect for Mary Jack that we finally got passed and signed into law now I tell you this again it's not no one should get a pat on the back for doing what's right for God's sakes the bar is pretty damn low here to treat people like human beings Equal justice under law it's not a high bar it's not a high bar but we know the forces that are aligned against it so this is where champions rise up whether it's a young student at a at a school in southern Minnesota or it was someone who I met and I wished I had not met under the circumstance it was but someone who changed my life I was there when we passed the Matthew Shepard hate crime prevention act and I had the privilege I had the privilege when the final vote was coming up in the house it was going to be close I walked to the house floor through the tunnels from the the Longworth house office building over to the Capal and I made that walk with Matthew's mom Judy Shephard and and the sheriff who found Matthew's body tied to that fence post in Wyoming and I remember walking with a mother who had lost her son and hearing the sheriff tell me the only place that wasn't bloody is where the tears ran down Matthew's eyes and I watched a mother and The Unbelievable pain that I couldn't even fathom to lose a child this way walk with her head held high to make sure that none of the rest of us ever have to get a call from someone so I just want to say my my friend Judy Shepard and her husband Dennis are here tonight and I'd like us all to give them a big round of applause [Applause] this room this room is full of Heroes like that things that were done some of them bigger Small Things ways to make people's lives a little bit easier but what I knew was when I had the chance to get elected to office and make a difference look there's a lot of people you don't get elected to office to bank political Capital so you can get elected again you get elected to office to burn political Capital to improve lives as quickly as you [Applause] can and so when we got the majority in Minnesota for the first time in over a decade we had the governor's office we had the house and we had the Senate by one vote and we got busy first thing we did is we banned conversion therapy in Minnesota [Applause] we protected transgender community and said in Minnesota you are seen heard loved and respected and safe and safe in Minnesota and we did something a little bit we banned Banning books especially Banning lgbtq books for themes in [Applause] that think about it in this room this is what these folks are focusing on spending all their time like reading about two male Penguins who love each other is is somehow going to turn your children gay and that's what you should worry about but here's what I'll tell you it's a fact of life some people are gay but you know what's not a fact of life that our children need be shot dead in schools that's not a fact of life folks are Banning books but they're okay with weapons of war being in our schools look that's not this country it doesn't have to be this way it doesn't happen elsewhere we're going to make sure our children are seen they bring their authentic self and then we're going to make sure they're safe when they get there so thank you [Applause] all what the eltion boils down to in a lot of ways it's fundamentally about Freedom now it's not just a great song that vice president Harris walks on to although it is a great song that vice president Harris walks on to but it's truly fundamentally what does freedom mean and some of you in here I keep coming back to it some of us who are a little older because we got to go back a little ways in history here when Republicans used to talk about Freedom many of them actually meant it they weren't they weren't going to turn their backs on our allies they weren't going to leave Ukraine to themselves they weren't going to start doing the things they did but that's not true anymore Donald Trump and JD Vance their idea of freedom that the government should be free to invade every corner of our lives our bedrooms our kids schools even our doctor's office and I say this where I come from and I know where all of you come from I respect my neighbor's personal choices I wouldn't make some of the choices they make but you know what when it comes to personal things bodily autonomy your gender identity when to start a family marrying who you love might sound a little bit old-fashioned on that but I think we just need to be really good neighbors everyone just deserves to be treated with [Applause] respect freedom to make that choice and I keep reinforcing this because they talk about this you know they government's too big in all this big enough to be in my bedroom apparently big enough to be in your uterus big enough to be in every Library big enough to do that but here's the thing this Society works best whether it's small towns or large towns and I say this I bet every state could say this but in Minnesota things work really well because we have a saying that I talk about a lot you know everything works better if you just mind your own damn business and I'll mind mine so nothing this idea and this Obsession and you've heard me say this they're all angry that I'm being mean to them um the other night Donald Trump did a town hall where he got to control what he said and he reassured the audience there 11 times that he was not weird if you're reminding someone you're not weird you probably yeah but look my point was my point was who is asking for this agenda that they're doing who's asking for them to take away our freedoms who's asking them to take away reproductive freedoms and I spoke personally about this because it's personal for so many of us in here the decision of how and what way and what your family is going to look like once again that's your decision but for us in my family we had to go through fertility treatments thank God we had insurance thank God we had access to fertility treatments and those of you if you've been through this whatever manage whatever way that looks it's agonizing whether you're waiting for adoption or you're waiting for those phone calls did the treatment work and then finding out it didn't and then starting again it's stressful it's hard I sure the hell don't need JD Vance giving me advice on it it's not helpful it's not helpful and it's a simple fix you were about your family I'll worry about mine it's a very simple fix so for us I'll have to tell you when that call finally came and our daughter was born it wasn't by chance that we called her hope because that was our belief it was the strongest and most powerful word in the universe and so uh my daughter hope is here tonight with me by the way so and I don't know if if you saw it at the convention here last week the vice president pretty much took back freedom from the other side that that now belongs with us and that's what we're saying took back the flag they don't they haven't cornered patriotism and I'm not going to allow them to talk about family values why they're doing everything possible to invade our personal lives on our [Applause] families and I think there's a lot of people this is just my Pro tip of the day look there's two of us there's two of us trying to that have the privilege of it's kind of crazy in a country this big that there's two people one of the two is going to be the next Vice President of the United States so uh so my Pro tip to to my opponent on the other side is quit talking about women's childbearing issues quit talking about it because no one cares what your thoughts are on if my family counts or doesn't no one cares no one [Applause] cares and in Minnesota and this what I'm not going to take a back seat in why those guys were Banning books in their schools we were Banning hunger in ours so if you're going to talk about family values then at least show up and vote when the child tax credit is there which we know can reduce childhood poverty by a [Applause] third they didn't do anything when Donald Trump was in office he made it more difficult they didn't do anything on lowering child care costs did you hear he's got a plan on child care costs that no one in the world understood a damn word about it not one thing but there are things you can do we did it in Minnesota and one of the things you can do is you can start making sure that you're doing things like the child tax credit and making it easier for samex couples to start and raise their families openly with love and pride and make sure that the sport is [Applause] there so that outdated narrow ideology there's no one asking for it but here's what I worry about for all of you and for all of us it's not just what they did because they tried hard this time they're not playing they are coming to do the things that they said they wanted to do and I said this as a football coach if somebody takes the time to draw up a Playbook they're going to use it so when you keep hearing us and I'll talk about it every single day because I know what it will do I know what it will do to destroy this country this project 2025 that's out there to restrict freedoms demonize this community bully vulnerable children the message is simple from all of us and here in about 59 days you're going to get a chance to send that message is leave our kids the hell alone leave our kids [Applause] alone and I have to tell you this one too and this is one that we keep remembering and this is a thank you to all those folks we talked about the don't ask don't tell but I want to make sure that we recognize this too we've had thousands of Brave transgender troops decorated Warriors who served this country in [Applause] uniform When Donald Trump was commanderin-chief he belittled them and he banned them from service thankfully President Biden and vice president Harris rested that stupid bigoted policy if you want to serve this nation you should be allowed to and what we should do is respect that service they should not get incoming fire from their commanderin-chief attacking their basic dignity humanity and patriotism and I will say this I didn't serve for 24 years in this to have those guys diminish another troop service I will stand with them every single time I know I'm preaching to the choir a little bit but we got 59 days to sing so the choir needs to sing and I am a believer look you heard I I taught school for a couple decades so I do know and I supervise the lunchroom by the way for a lot of those times so I am at once an eternal optimist but two I do know that fear is a good short-term motivator but it doesn't change behaviors we're not running against those guys we need to know what they're going to do we need to know what we're up against we need to know what the threat is from them but what we need to do over the next 59 days is get ready to tell people exactly what we're going to do exactly what vice president then president Harris will do so we'll start by this lowering taxes on working families and making sure those at the top and corporations can pay their fair share they're doing fine they're doing fine we're going to protect Social Security and Medicare and we're going to make sure the Affordable Care Act is strengthened and look about a dozen states have it if you're in one of these states that have it it's great but the rest of the country needs it it is time for us to quit being the last country on Earth to had paid family and medical leave for this it is time to be done and it's going to be very clear every single day this Freedom issue that it's going to be you and people make the decisions about their health care not a politician so look everybody everybody should be free to get an education and that should be a path to the middle class it shouldn't be a path to crippling student loan debt for decades to come we can fix this and I'm going to say it once again our kids should be free to go to school without worrying about being shot dead in the Halls it's that [Applause] simple vice president Harris fight make sure that we continue to pass the equality act enshrine anti-discrimination protections and lgbtq Americans Healthcare into law housing education and so much more now look if it sounds like a tall order I'll say it again I'm an eternal optimist think about this when I was a kid growing up in Nebraska being gay was illegal still technically illegal look how much has changed since this organization was founded 40 years ago can you imagine can you imagine going back to me a high schooler in the early 80s and saying you know what we're going to kick down the barriers we're going to open doors we're going to pass laws that lets you bring your authentic self love who you want to love and live the life that you want to live all by yourself with no interference from [Applause] government so I told you I told you hope and my hope is an incredibly powerful room or an incredibly powerful word you look around this room you can feel hope you feel that people want to see this we hope we win this election we hope we pass these laws we hope we lift people out of poverty that's a good thing to have but my wife always reminds me of this it's not a damn plan it's not a plan to hope we win this election we've got to have a plan and we've got to work for it and I ask you to look around this room we got about 3,500 people in this room what if we talk to one more person before this election what if we do one more phone bank what if we make one more door knock what if we dig deep and give a little bit more to this campaign cuz what we know is this politics is not an end it's a means to an end if we want that hope to become reality we've got to do the work to make it happen I know you're out there doing it you came here tonight you came here when you could have been somewhere else and in 59 days we get to chart our way forward we organize we donate we volunteer and I've been saying this when in life do you get a chance in 59 days to make an impact that will last for Generations because we [Applause] know if you want to go see what the alternative is it's the worst read in the world but it's 925 Pages it's project 2025 and as vice president Harris said we're not going back to the days we're not going back to the Discrimination we're not going to force our children into situations where they become suicidal we're not going to continue to demonize people because of who they are and we're not going to continue to allow people in this country to go hungry or to be shot dead because we don't make decisions that can improve that so we've got 59 days 59 days each and every one of us what every little bit we can do we can make a difference so I've been saying this and I truly believe this we can do anything for 59 days sleep when you're dead worry about that later but now is the time so it's up to us vice president Harris myself our entire Team all of you HRC we're fighting for a better country a better world we're fighting for the folks who aren't here tonight we're fighting for the folks who may not vote for us but we're doing it because it's the values that this country were founded on so as vice president Harris said if we're willing to fight we win when we fight we win when we fight we win thank you HRC we need thank you everybody thank you everyone thank thank you HRC wow well thank you for inviting me and more importantly maybe thank you for the privilege of being able to stand with each of one of you president Robinson thank you for the kind introduction I'd also like to say on a point of personal privilege there's a strong contingent of motans in the house so thank you motans so for for all of you here tonight and around the country listening you've done so much to advance the cause of equality and freedom I'm proud to count so many of you as friends I'm grateful that you brought your time your talents and your Treasures to be here tonight and I'm fired up to be at your side I got to tell you because of all the things that are going on all the places you could be all the things you could have done you came here tonight one is it's the best party in the country tonight so that's why you're here but the deeper reason you're here is for that very simple and beautiful reason you love this country and that's why you're here you love the principles that we stand for well for some of you don't know uh I am Tim Walls and I'm a I'm the governor of Minnesota right now but I I like to make sure that I say that I I was a school teacher for a lot of years but right now right now I'm proud to be the running mate of the next president of the United States KLA Harris the privilege of getting to know this phenomenal leader from a prosecutor district attorney Attorney General US senator and vice president yes by the way she's more qualified than anybody that's ever run for this office let's just be clear but she didn't just take those talents for herself she fights every single day on the side of the American people and what I have to say of all the things that the other side has messed up the other things that they've done the thing that I'll not forgive them for is the thing that vice president Harris is fixing most she's bringing Joy back to our politics decency back to how we do things and this is not a new thing for her this started a long time ago and for the folks of California in 2010 or Californians who are here in 2010 this is the joy she brought so here's the scene years earlier as the da of San Francisco vice president Harris took on and took one of the toughest stances in the nation against hate crimes she led the fight to end the hateful gay and transgender Panic defense we know what that leads to and we know the countless deaths and misery that was brought upon by that she took it on and she also officiated some of the first same-sex marriages in the entire [Applause] country then she went on to become the Attorney General of the largest state in the country and the moment it arrived to defend marriage equality and she threw her whole self into that fight if you know kamla Harris she doesn't just pick these fights when she talks about it and this is the the thing to keep in mind all she does is win all she does is [Applause] win so when the word came down that same-sex marriage had been legalized in California two plaintiffs asked comma Harris to officiate her ceremony while they were at City Hall celebrating that marriage she got a call from two more plaintiffs saying that a clerk in Los Angeles County was denying their marriage certificate so she grabbed a phone and some of you have seen this she asked them to put the clerk on the line and she did what she did best she didn't mince words and she made it very clear she said this is KLA Harris you must start the marriage [Applause] immediately and then she added and I don't know if this always gets in the videos she added the best line to that she told the clerk have a good day and enjoy it it's going to be fun she hasn't looked back from that day as a US senator she fought hard for the equality act introduced a bill to make sure you ured access to prep and as vice president and I say this it is not a stretch and the facts are there this is the most Pro lgbtq Plus Administration in American [Applause] history she helped President Biden pass the landmark respect for Mary Jack requiring every state and territory to fully honor same-sex and interracial [Applause] marriage and she helped stop the ignorant and Byzantine practice of banning gay and bisexual men from donating blood [Applause] um I think it's important in this room for us to remember these things because keep in mind there's some other folks on the other side given one chance to get back in the White House they will go back at every one of these things we talk about we talk about progress and moving forward because she said it we're sure the hell not going back on these things we're not going to go back but be clear they're going to be there things like strengthening Mental Health Resources for lgbtq plus youth we know we know what the statistics are they're horrific for our young people from suicides to self harm to all of the other things that go with it we know that this fight is the most important fight that's on our that's on our plate so I have to tell you she made human rights for lgbtq plus individuals around the world a top priority in this nation's foreign policy we must lead we must be the country that leads on [Applause] it she worked with President Biden on historic executive orders protecting folks from discrimination and the reason she did it was pretty simple KLA Harris believes in and equal justice under law and that means not very complicated Equal justice under law it is not to be debated it's not that difficult the presidence is set but look we know what this fight is we know that we can all relate to some of this and I'll tell you this fight and I think about it for me for some of you may have heard this I was born in a small place called West Point Nebraska I grew up yay somebody's from West Point there we go there's two of us um the town I grew up in had 400 people 24 classmates 12 were cousins somebody brought up the prom dating to me yes it's interesting um but look when you're in a community like that Community was a way of life my folks showed me Teach generosity to your neighbors work hard for the common good those are values that I brought work as a social studies teacher and a high school football coach now those of you who teach know this you learn far more from your students than they learn from you no matter how good of teacher you are you know how that works so some of my students and this is in the late 9s were concerned about an uptick in bullying amongst the gay and lesbian community in our school one of those Brave students is here tonight Jacob Ron's a dear friend of mine who's here and Jacob look I'm coaching football I'm an old straight white guy I'm teaching social studies you're all picturing the damn stereotype here turns out that I'm like opposite world of Tommy tuberville though so in this for some of you so so when Jake asked if I'd be interested in being the adviser to the gay St Alliance I said absolutely I understood what it meant to be that older straight white guy who was coaching [Applause] football alies ship is a great thing but what many of you in here knows is it's easy to be an ally when it's easy to be an ally what really matters is knowing who's going to be at your side and stand up when it's hard [Applause] and it was in those moments that those students inspired me years later look I'm a 40-some guy with little kids who is teaching school trying to pay the mortgage the idea of running for office never got to me or thought about it but those students inspired me and what they saw in me is what I was trying to instill in them this commitment to a common good I believe one person can make a difference in other people's lives so in 2006 I took the leap ran for congress no one told me at that time and I of course you know apparently couldn't google it um in that district there had been one other Democrat since 1892 and in that red District I was in a state that had banned Sam St marriage for a decade but I knew I was right and I ran on the platform that supported equ equality and this is what I said I got asked at a debate if I supported civil unions I I said sure if that's your thing but I said my marriage to my wife Gwyn is most important thing in my life I love her deeply why would I stop anybody else from marrying the person they love that makes no sense [Applause] now this was this was 2006 and some of you uh with a little more gray hair or less of it can remember this time um that the other side said oh a bate candidate finally showed his true colors by saying this well as it turned out a majority of my neighbors agreed with us and they elected me to represent them in the United States [Applause] house and after it was over some people came up to me and said wow you R you won in spite of being uh pro-choice and PR gay marriage and I said no no no you've got this wrong I won because I was for those positions that's why we won so when I got to Congress I showed up there and the house historian told me at the time I was the highest ranking enlisted soldier at the time I served on the house Veterans Affairs committee and I worked with my roommate Patrick Murphy from Bucks County Pennsylvania to overturn don't ask don't [Applause] tell and was proud to be an early supporter for the respect for marriage act that we finally got passed and signed into law now I tell you this again it's not no one should get a pat on the back for doing what's right for God's sakes the bar is pretty damn low here to treat people like human beings Equal justice under law it's not a high bar it's not a high bar but we know the forces that are aligned against it so this is where Champions rise up whether it's a young student at a at a school in southern Minnesota or it was someone who I met and I wished I had not met under the circumstance it was but someone who changed my life I was there when we passed the Matthew Shepard hate crime prevention act and I had the privilege I had the privilege when the final vote was coming up in the house it was going to be close I walked to the house floor through the tunnels from the the Longworth house office building over to the capital and I made that walk with Matthew's mom Judy Shepard [Applause] and and the sheriff who found Matthew's body tied to that fence post in Wyoming and I remember walking with a mother who had lost her son and hearing the sheriff tell me the only place that wasn't bloody is where the tears ran down Matthew's eyes and I watched a mother and The Unbelievable pain that I couldn't even fathom to lose a child this way walk with her head held high to make sure that none of the rest of us ever have to get a call from someone so I just want to say my my friend Judy Shepard and her husband Dennis are here tonight and I'd like us all to give them a big round of applause [Applause] this [Applause] room this room is full of Heroes like that things that were done some of them bigger Small Things ways to make people's lives a little bit easier but what I knew was when I had the chance to get elected to office and make a difference look there's a lot of people you don't get elected to office to bank political Capital so you can get elected again you get elected to office to burn political Capital to improve lives as quickly as you [Applause] can and so when we got the majority in Minnesota for the first time in over a decade we had the governor's office we had the house and we had the Senate by one vote and we got busy first thing we did is we banned conversion therapy in [Applause] Minnesota we protected transgender community and said in Minnesota you are seen heard loved and respected and safe and safe in Minnesota and we did something a little bit we banned Banning books especially Banning lgbtq books for themes in [Applause] that think about it in this room this is what these folks are focusing on spending all their time like reading about two male Penguins who love each other is is somehow going to turn your children gay and that's what you should worry about but here's what I'll tell you it's a fact of life some people are gay but you know what's not a fact of life that our children need to be shot dead in schools that's not a fact of life folks are Banning books but they're okay with weapons of war being in our schools look that's not this country it doesn't have to be this way it doesn't happen elsewhere we're going to make sure our children are seen they bring their authentic self and then we're going to make sure they're safe when they get there so thank you [Applause] all what this election boils down to in a lot of ways it's fundamentally about Freedom now it's not just a great song that vice president Harris walks on to although it is a great song that vice president Harris walks on to but it's truly fundamentally what does freedom mean and some of you in here I keep coming back to it some of us who are a little older because we got to go back a little ways in history here when Republicans used to talk about Freedom many of them actually meant it they weren't they weren't going to turn their backs on our allies they weren't going to leave Ukraine to themselves they weren't going to start doing the things they did but that's not true anymore Donald Trump and JD Vance their idea of freedom that the government should be free to invade every corner of our lives our bedrooms our kids' schools even our doctor's office and I say this where I come from and I know where all of you come from I respect my neighbor personal choices I wouldn't make some of the choices they make but you know what when it comes to personal things bodily autonomy your gender identity when to start a family marrying who you love might sound a little bit old-fashioned on that but I think we just need to be really good neighbors everyone just deserves to be treated with [Applause] respect freedom to make that choice and I keep reinforcing this because they talk about this you know there government's too big in all this big enough to be in my bedroom apparently big enough to be in your uterus big enough to be in every Library big enough to do that but here's the thing this Society works best whether it's small towns or large towns and I say this I bet every state could say this but in Minnesota things work really well because we have a saying that I talk about a lot you know everything works better if you just mind your own damn business and I'll mind mine so [Applause] nothing this idea and this Obsession and you've heard me say this they're all angry that I'm being mean to them um the other night Donald Trump did a town hall where he got to control what he said and he reassured the audience there 11 times that he was not weird if you're reminding someone you're not weird you probably yeah but look my point was my point was who is asking for this agenda that they're doing who's asking for them to take away our freedoms who's asking them to take away reproductive freedoms and I spoke personally about this because it's personal for so many of us in here the decision of how and what way and what your family is going to look like once again that's your decision but for us in my family we had to go through fertility treatments thank God we had Insurance thank God we had access to fertility treatments and those of you if if you've been through this whatever manage whatever way that looks it's agonizing whether you're waiting for adoption or you're waiting for those phone calls did the treatment work and then finding out it didn't and then starting again it's stressful it's hard I sure the hell don't need JD Vance giving me advice on it it's not helpful it's not helpful and it's a simple fix you worry about your family I'll worry about mine it's a very simple fix so for us I'll have to tell you when that call finally came and our daughter was born it wasn't by chance that we called her hope because that was our belief it was the strongest and most powerful word in the universe and so uh my daughter hope is here tonight with me by the way so and I don't know if if you saw it at the convention here last week the vice president pretty much took back freedom from the other side that that now belongs with us and that's what we're saying took back the flag they don't they haven't cornered patriotism and I'm not going to allow them to talk about family values why they're doing everything possible to invade our personal lives and our families and I think there's a lot of people this is just my Pro tip of the day look there's two of us there's two of us trying to that have the privilege of it's kind of crazy in a country this big that there's two people one of the two is going to be the next Vice President of the United States so uh so my Pro tip to to my opponent on the other side is quit talking about women's childbearing issues quit talking about it because no one cares what your thoughts are on if my family counts or doesn't no one cares no one [Applause] cares and in Minnesota and this what I'm not going to take a back seat in why those guys were Banning books in their schools we were Banning hunger in ours so if you're going to talk about Family Values then at least show up and vote when the child tax credit is there which we know can reduce childhood poverty by a [Applause] third they didn't do anything when Donald Trump was in office he made it more difficult they didn't do anything on lowering child care cost did you hear he's got a plan on child care costs that no one in the world understood a damn word about it not one thing but there are things you can do and we did it in Minnesota and one of the things you can do is you can start making sure that doing things like the child tax credit and making it easier for sames set couples to start and raise their families openly with love and pride and make sure that the sport is [Applause] there so that outdated narrow ideology there's no one asking for it but here's what I worry about for all of you and for all of us it's not just what they did because they tried hard this time they're not playing they are coming to do the things that they said they wanted to do and I said this as a football coach if somebody takes the time to draw up a Playbook they're going to use it so when you keep hearing us and I'll talk about it every single day because I know what it will do I know what it will do to destroy this country this project 2025 that's out there to restrict freedoms demonize this community bully vulnerable children the message is simple from all of us and here in about 59 days you're going to get a chance to send that message is leave our kids the hell alone leave our kids [Applause] alone and I have to tell you this one too and this is one that we keep remembering and this is a thank you to all those folks we talked about the don't ask don't tell but I want to make sure that we recognize this too we've had thousands of Brave transgender troops decorated Warriors who served this country in un [Applause] When Donald Trump was commanderin-chief he belittled them and he banned them from service thankfully President Biden and vice president Harris rended that stupid bigoted [Applause] policy if you want to serve this nation you should be allowed to and what we should do is respect that service they should not get incoming fire from their commanderin-chief attacking their basic dignity humanity and patriotism and I will say this I didn't serve for 24 years in this to have those guys diminish another troop service I will stand with them every single time I know I'm preaching to the choir a little bit but we got 59 days to sing so the choir needs to sing and I am a believer look you heard me I I taught school for a couple decades so I do know and I supervised the lunchroom by the way for a lot of those time so I am at once an eternal optimist but two I do know that fear is a good short-term motivator but it doesn't change behaviors we're not running against those guys we need to know what they're going to do we need to know what we're up against we need to know what the threat is from them but what we need to do over the next 59 days is get ready to tell people exactly what we're going to do exactly what vice president then president Harris will do so we'll start by this lowering taxes on working families and making sure those at the top and corporations can pay their fair share they're doing fine they're doing fine we're going to protect Social Security and Medicare and we're going to make sure the Affordable Care Act is strengthened and look about a dozen states have it if you're in one of these states that have it it's great but the rest of the country needs it it is time for us to quit being the last country on Earth to had paid family and medical leave for this it is time to be done and it's going to be very clear every single day this Freedom issue that it's going to be you and people make the decisions about their healthare not a politician so look everybody everybody should be free to get an education and that should be a path to the middle class it shouldn't be a path to crippling student loan debt for decades to come we can fix this and I'm going to say it once again our kids should be free to go to school without worrying about being shot dead in the Halls it's that [Applause] simple vice president Harris fight make sure that we continue to pass the equality act enshrine anti-discrimination protections and lgbtq Americans Health Care into the law housing education and so much more now look if it sounds like a tall order I'll say it again I'm an eternal optimist think about this when I was a kid growing up in Nebraska being gay was illegal still technically illegal look how much has changed since this organization was founded 40 years ago can you imagine can you imagine going back to me a high schooler in the early 80s and saying you know what we're going to kick down the barriers we're going to open doors we're going to pass laws that lets you bring your authentic self love who you want to love and live the life that you want to live all by yourself with no interference from [Applause] government so I told you I told you hope and my hope is an incredibly powerful room or incredibly powerful word you look around this room you can feel hope you feel that people want to see this we hope we win this election we hope we pass these laws we hope we lift people out of poverty that's a good thing to have but my wife always reminds me of this it's not a damn plan it's not a plan to hope we win this election we've got to have a plan and we've got to work for it and I ask you to look around this room we got about 3,500 people in this room what if we talk to one more person before this election what if we do one more phone bank what if we make one more door knock what if we dig deep and give a little bit more to this campaign cuz what we know is this politics is not an end it's a means to an end if we want that hope to become reality we've got to do the work to make it happen I know you're out there doing it you came here tonight you came here when you could have been somewhere else and in 59 days we get to chart our way forward we organize we donate we volunteer and I've been saying this when in life do you get a chance in 59 days to make an impact that will last for Generations because we know [Music] if you want to go see what the alternative is it's the worst read in the world but it's 925 Pages it's project 2025 and as vice president Harris said we're not going back to the days we're not going back to the Discrimination we're not going to force our children into situations where they become suicidal we're not going to continue to demonize people because of who they are and we're not going to continue to allow people in this country to go hungry or to be shot dead because we don't make decisions that can improve that so we've got 59 days 59 days each and every one of us what every little bit we can do we can make a difference so I've been saying this and I truly believe this we can do anything for 59 days sleep when you're dead worry about that later but now is the time so it's up to US vice president Harris myself our entire Team all of you HR we're fighting for a better country a better world we're fighting for the folks who aren't here tonight we're fighting for the folks who may not vote for us but we're doing it because it's the values that this country were founded on so as vice president Harris said if we're willing to fight we win when we fight we win when we fight we win thank you HRC thank you everybody thank you everyone thank thank you HRC wow well thank you for inviting me and more importantly maybe thank you for the privilege of being able to stand with each of one of you president Robinson thank you for the kind introduction I'd also like to say on a point of personal privilege there's a strong contingent of motans in the house so thank you motans so for for all of you here tonight and around the country listening you've done so much to advance the cause of equality and freedom I'm proud to count so many of you as friends I'm grateful that you brought your time your talents and your Treasures to be here tonight and I'm fired up to be at your side I got to tell you because of all the things that are going on all the places you could be all the things you could have done you came here tonight one is it's the best party in the country tonight so that's why you're here but the deeper reason you're here is for that very simple and beautiful reason you love this country and that's why you're here you love the principles that we stand for well for some of you who don't know uh I am Tim Walls and I'm a I'm the governor of Minnesota right now but I I like to make sure that I say that I I was a school teacher for a lot of years but right now right now I'm proud to be the running mate of the next president of the United States KLA Harris the privilege of getting to know this phenominal leader from a prosecutor district attorney Attorney General US senator and vice president yes by the way she's more qualified than anybody that's ever run for this office let's just be clear but she didn't just take those talents for herself she fights every single day on the side of the American people and what I have to say of all the things that the other side has messed up the other things that they've done the thing that I'll not forgive them for is the thing that vice president Harris is fixing most she's bringing Joy back to our politics decency back to how we do things and this is not a new thing for her this started a long time ago and for the folks of California in 2010 our Californians who are here in 2010 this is the joy she brought so here's the scene years earlier as the da of San Francisco vice president Harris took on and took one of the toughest stances in the nation against hate crimes she led the fight to end the hateful gay and transgender Panic defense we know what that leads to and we know the countless death and misery that was brought upon by that she took it on and she also officiated some of the first same-sex marriages in the entire country then she went on to become the Attorney General of the largest state in the country and the moment it arrived to defend marriage equality and she threw her whole self into that fight if you know kamla Harris she doesn't just pick these fights when she talks about it and this is the thing to keep in mind all she does is win all she does is [Applause] win so when the word came down that same-sex marriage had been legalized in California two plaintiffs asked KLA Harris to officiate her ceremony while they were at City Hall celebrating that marriage she got a call from two more plaintiffs saying that a clerk in Los Angeles County was denying their marriage certificate so she grabbed a phone and some of you have seen this she asked them put the clerk on the line and she did what she did best she didn't mince words and she made it very clear she said this is KLA Harris you must start the marriage [Applause] immediately and then she added and I don't know if this always gets in the videos she added the best line to that she told the clerk have a good day and enjoy it it's going to be fun she hasn't looked back from that day as a US senator she fought hard for the equality act introduced a bill to make sure you ensured access to prep and as vice president and I say this it is not a stretch and the facts are there this is the most Pro lgbtq Plus Administration in American [Applause] history she helped President Biden pass the landmark respect for Mary Jack requiring every state and territory to fully honor samex and racial [Applause] marriage and she helped stop the ignorant and Byzantine practice of banning gay and bisexual men from donating blood [Applause] um I think it's important in this room for us to remember these things because keep in mind there's some other folks on the other side given one chance to get back in the White House they will go back at every one of these things we talk about we talk about progress and moving forward because she said it we're sure the hell not going back on these things we're not going to go back but be clear they're going to be there things like strengthening Mental Health Resources for lgbtq plus youth we know we know what the statistics are they're horrific for our young people from suicides to self harm to all of the other things that go with it we know that this fight is the most important fight that's on our that's on our plate so I have to tell you she made human rights for lgbtq plus individuals around the world a top priority in this nation's foreign policy we must lead we must be the country that leads on [Applause] it she worked with President Biden on historic executive orders protecting folks from discrimination and the reason she did it was pretty simple KLA Harris believes in Equal justice under law and that means not very complicated Equal justice under law yeah it is not to be debated it's not that difficult the prence is set but look we know what this fight is we know that we can all relate to some of this and I'll tell you this fight and I think about it for me for some of you may you heard this I was born in a small place called West Point Nebraska I grew up yay somebody's from West Point go there's two of us um the town I grew up in had 400 people 24 classmates 12 were cousins somebody brought up the prom dating to me yes it's interesting um but look when you're in a community like that Community was a way of life my folks showed me Teach generosity to your neighbors work hard for the common good those are values that I brought work as a social studies teacher and a high school football coach now those of you who teach know this you learn far more from your students than they learn from you no matter how good a teacher you are you know how that works so some of my students and this is in the late 90s were concerned about an uptick in bullying amongst the gay and lesbian community in our school one of those Brave students is here tonight Jacob Ron's a dear friend of mine who's here and Jacob look I'm coaching football I'm an old straight white guy I'm teaching social studies you're all picturing the damn stereotype here turns out that I'm like opposite world of Tommy tuberville though so in this for some of you so so when Jake asked if I'd be interested in being the adviser to the gay straight Alliance I said absolutely I understood what it meant to be that older straight white guy who was coaching [Applause] football Alli ship is a great thing but what many of you in here knows is it's easy to be an ally when it's easy to be an ally what really matters is knowing who's going to be at your side and stand up when it's hard [Applause] and it was in those moments that those students inspired me years later look I'm a 40-some guy with little kids who is teaching school trying to pay the mortgage the idea of running for office never got to me or thought about it but those students inspired me and what they saw in me is what I was trying to instill in them this commitment to a common good I believe one person can make a difference in other people's lives so in 2006 I took the leap ran for Congress no one told me at that time and I of course you know apparently couldn't google it um in that district there had been one other Democrat since 1892 and in that red District I was in a state that had banned Sam STC marriage for a decade but I knew I was right and I ran on the platform that supported equality and this is what I said I got asked at a debate if I supported civil unions I I said sure if that's your thing but I said my marriage to my wife Gwen it's most important thing in my life I love her deeply why would I stop anybody else from marrying the person they love that makes no sense [Applause] now this was this was 2006 and some of you uh with a little more gray hair or less of it can remember this time um that the other side said oh a B- rate candidate finally showed his true colors by saying this well as it turned out a majority of my neighbors agreed with us and they elected me to represent them in the United States [Applause] house and after it was over some people came up to me and said wow you R you won in spite of being uh pro-choice and PR gay marriage and I said no no no you've got this wrong I won because I was for those positions that's why we won so when I got to Congress I showed up there in the house historian told me at the time I was the highest ranking enlisted soldier at the time I served on the house Veterans Affairs committee and I worked with my roommate Patrick Murphy from Bucks County Pennsylvania to overturn don't ask don't [Applause] tell and was proud to be an early supporter for the respect for Mary Jack that we finally got passed in signed into law now I tell you this again it's not no one should get a pat on the back for doing what's right for God's sakes the bar is pretty damn low here to treat people like human beings Equal justice under law it's not a high bar it's not a high bar but we know the forces that are aligned against it so this is where Champions rise up whether it's a young student at a at a school in southern Minnesota or it was someone who I met and I wished I had had not met under the circumstance it was but someone who changed my life I was there when we passed the Matthew Shepard hate crime prevention act and I had the privilege I had the privilege when the final vote was coming up in the house it was going to be close I walked to the house floor through the tunnels from the the Longworth house office building over to the capol and I made that walk with Matthew's mom Judy sheer and and the sheriff who found Matthew's body tied to that fence post in Wyoming and I remember walking with a mother who had lost her son and hearing the sheriff tell me the only place that wasn't bloody is where the tears ran down Matthew's eyes and I watched a mother and The Unbelievable pain that I couldn't even fathom to lose a child this way walk with her head held high to make sure that none of the rest of us ever have to get a call from someone so I just want to say my my friend Judy Shepard and her husband Dennis are here tonight and I'd like us all to give them a big round of applause [Applause] this room this room is full of Heroes like that things that were done some of them bigger Small Things ways to make people's lives a little bit easier but what I knew was when I had the chance to get elected to office and make a difference look there's a lot of people you don't get elected to office to bank political Capital so you can get elected again you get elected at office to burn political Capital to improve lives as quickly as you [Applause] can and so when we got the majority in Minnesota for the first time in over a decade we had the governor's office we had the house and we had the Senate by one vote and we got busy first thing we did is we banned conversion therapy in [Applause] Minnesota we protected transgender community and said in Minnesota you are seen heard loved and respected and safe and safe in Minnesota and we did something a little bit we banned Banning books especially Banning lgbtq books for themes in [Applause] that think about it in this room this is what these folks are focusing on spending all their time like reading about two male Penguins who love each other is is somehow going to turn your children gay and that's what you should worry about but here's what I'll tell you it's a fact of life some people are gay but you know what's not a fact of life that our children need to be shot dead in schools that's not a fact of lifee folks are Banning books but they're okay with weapons of war being in our schools look that's not this country it doesn't have to be this way it doesn't happen elsewhere we're going to make sure our children are seen they bring their authentic self and then we're going to make sure they're safe when they get there so thank you [Applause] all what this election boils down to in a lot of ways it's fundamentally about Freedom now it's not just a great song that vice president Harris walks on to although it is a great song that vice president Harris walks on to but it's truly fundamentally what does freedom mean and some of you in here I keep coming back to it some of us who are a little older because we got to go back a little ways in history here when Republicans used to talk about Freedom many of them actually meant it they weren't they weren't going to turn their backs on our allies they weren't going to leave Ukraine to themselves they weren't going to start doing the things they did but that's not true anymore Donald Trump and JD Advance their idea of freedom that the government should be free to invade every corner of our lives our bedrooms our kids schools even our doctor's office and I say this where I come from and I know where all of you come from I respect my neighbor's personal choices I wouldn't make some of the choices they make but you know what when it comes to personal things bodily autonomy your gender identity when to start a family marrying who you love might sound a little bit old-fashioned on that but I think we just need to be really good neighbors everyone just deserves to be treated with [Applause] respect freedom to make that choice and I keep reinforcing this because they talk about this you know there government's too big in all this big enough to be in my bedroom apparently big enough to be in your uterus big enough to be in every Library big enough to do that but here's the thing this Society works better whether it's small towns or large towns and I say this I bet every state could say this but in Minnesota things work really well CU we have a saying that I talk about a lot you know everything works better if you just mind your own damn business and I'll mind mine so nothing this idea and this Obsession and you've heard me say this they're all angry that I'm being mean to them um the other night Donald Trump did a Town Hall where he got to control what he said and he reassured the audience there 11 times that he was not weird if you're reminding someone you're not weird you probably yeah but look my point was my point was who is asking for this agenda that there who's asking for them to take away our freedoms who's asking them to take away reproductive freedoms and I spoke personally about this because it's personal for so many of us in here the decision of how and what way and what your family is going to look like once again that's your decision but for us in my family we had to go through fertility treatments thank God we had insurance thank God we had access to fertility treatments and those of you if you've been through this whatever manage whatever way that looks it's agonizing whether you're waiting for adoption or you're waiting for those phone calls did the treatment work and then finding out it didn't and then starting again it's stressful it's hard I sure the hell don't need JD Vance giving me advice on it it's not helpful it's not helpful and it's a simple fix you worry about your family I'll worry about mine it's a very simple fix so for us I'll have to tell you when that call finally came and our daughter was born it wasn't by chance that we called her hope because that was our belief it was the strongest and most powerful word in the universe and so uh my daughter hope is here tonight with me by the way [Applause] so and I don't know if if you saw it at the convention here last week the vice president pretty much took back freedom from the other side that that now belongs with us and that's what we're saying took back the flag they don't they haven't cornered patriotism and I'm not going to allow them to talk about family values why they're doing everything possible to invade our personal lives and our [Applause] families and I think there's a lot of people this is just my Pro tip of the day look there's two of us there's two of us trying to that have the privilege of it's kind of crazy in a country this big that there's two people one of the two is going to be the next Vice President of the United States so uh so my Pro tip to to my opponent on the other side is quit talking about women's childbearing issues quit talking about it because no one cares what your thoughts are on if my family counts or doesn't no one cares no one [Applause] cares and in Minnesota and this what I'm not going to take a back seat in why those guys were Banning books in their schools we were Banning hunger in ours so if you're going to talk about family values then at least show up and vote when the child tax credit is which we know can reduce childhood poverty by a [Applause] third they didn't do anything when Donald Trump was in office he made it more difficult they didn't do anything on lowering child care costs did you hear he's got a plan on child care costs that no one in the world understood a damn word about it not one thing but there are things you can do and we did it in Minnesota and one of the things you can do is you can start making sure that you're doing things like the child tax credit and making it easier for Sams set couples to start start and raise their families openly with love and pride and make sure that the sport is [Applause] there so that outdated narrow ideology there's no one asking for it but here's what I worry about for all of you and for all of us it's not just what they did because they tried hard this time they're not playing they are coming to do the things that they said they wanted to do and I said this as a football coach if somebody takes the time to draw up a Playbook they're going to use it so when you keep hearing us and I'll talk about it every single day because I know what it will do I know what it will do to destroy this country this project 2025 that's out there to restrict freedoms demonize this community bully vulnerable children the message is simple from all of us and here in about 59 days you're going to get a chance to send that message is leave our kids the hell alone leave our kids [Applause] alone and I have to tell you this one too and this is one that we keep remembering and this is a thank you to all those folks we talked about the don't ask don't tell but I want to make sure that we recognize this too we've had thousands of Brave transgender troops decorated Warriors who served this country in uniform When Donald Trump was commanderin-chief he belittled them and he banned them from service thankfully President Biden and vice president Harris rested that stupid bigoted policy if you want to serve this nation you should be allowed to and what we should do is respect that service they should not get incoming fire from their commander-in-chief attacking their basic dignity humanity and patriotism and I will say this I didn't serve for 24 years in this to have those guys to diminish another troop service I will stand with them every single time I know I'm preaching to the choir a little bit but we got 59 days to sing so the choir needs to sing and I am a believer look you heard I I taught school for a couple decades so I do know and I supervise the lunchroom by the way for a lot of those times so I am at once an eternal optimist but to I do know that fear is a good short-term motivator but it doesn't change behaviors we're not running against those guys we need to know what they're going to do we need to know what we're up against we need to know what the threat is from them but what we need to do over the next 59 days is get ready to tell people exactly what we're going to do exactly what vice president then president Harris will do so we'll start by this lowering taxes on working families and making sure those at the top and corporations can pay their fair share they're doing fine they're doing fine we're going to protect Social Security and Medicare and we're going to make sure the Affordable Care Act is strengthened and look about a dozen states have it if you're in one of these states that have it it's great but the rest of the country needs it it is time for us to quit being the last country on Earth to had paid family and medical leave for this it is time to be done and it's going to be very clear every single day this Freedom issue that it's going to be you and people make the decisions about their health care not a politician so look everybody everybody should be free to get an education and that should be a path to the middle class it shouldn't be a path to crippling student loan debt for decades to come we can fix this and I'm going to say it once again our kids should be free to go to school without worrying about being shot dead in the Halls it's that [Applause] simple vice president Harris fight make sure that we continue to pass the equality act enshrine anti-discrimination protections and lgbtq Americans Healthcare into law housing education and so much more now look if it sounds like a tall order I'll say it again I'm an eternal optimist think about this when I was a kid growing up in Nebraska being gay was illegal still technically illegal look how much has changed since this organization was founded 40 years ago can you imagine can you imagine going back to me a high schooler in the early 80s and saying you know what we're going to kick down the barriers we're going to open doors we're going to pass laws that lets you bring your authentic self love who you want to love and live the life that you want to live all by yourself with no interference from government so I told you I told you hope and my hope is an incredibly powerful room or an incredibly powerful word you look around this room you can feel hope you feel that people want to see this we hope we win this election we hope we pass these laws we hope we lift people out of poverty that's a good thing to have but my wife always reminds me of this it's not a damn plan it's not a plan to hope we win this election we've got to have a plan and we've got to work for it and I ask you to look around this room we got about 3,500 people in this room what if we talk to one more person before this election what if we do one more phone bank what if we make one more door knck what if we dig deep and give a little bit more to this campaign cuz what we know is this politics is not an end it's a means to an end if we want that hope to become reality we've got to do the work to make it happen I know you're out there doing it you came here tonight you came here when you could have been somewhere else and in 59 days we get to chart our way forward we organize we donate we volunteer and I've been saying this when in life do you get a chance in 59 days to make an impact that will last for Generations because we know [Music] if you want to go see what the alternative is it's the worst read in the world but it's 925 Pages it's project 2025 and as vice president Harris said we're not going back to the days we're not going back to the Discrimination we're not going to force our children into situations where they become suicidal we're not going to continue to demonize people because of who they are and we're not going to continue to allow people in this country to go hungry or to be shot dead because we don't make decisions that can improve that so we got 59 days 59 days each and every one of us what every little bit we can do we can make a difference so I've been saying this and I truly believe this we can do anything for 59 days sleep when you're dead worry about that later but now is the time so it's up to US vice president Harris myself our entire Team all of you HRC we're fighting for a better country a better world we're figh in for the folks who aren't here tonight we're fighting for the folks who may not vote for us but we're doing it because it's the values that this country were founded on so as vice president Harris said if we're willing to fight we win when we fight we win when we fight we win thank you HRC thank you everybody thank you everyone thank thank you HRC wow well thank you for inviting me and more importantly maybe thank you for the privilege of being able to stand with each of one of you president Robinson thank you for the kind introduction I'd also like to say on a point of personal privilege there's a strong contingent of motans in the house so thank you motans so for for all of you here tonight and around the country listening you've done so much to advance the cause of equality and freedom I'm proud to count so many of you as friends I'm grateful that you brought your time your talents and your Treasures to be here tonight and I'm fired up to be at your side I got to tell you because of all the things that are going on all the places you could be all the things you could done you came here tonight one is it's the best party in the country tonight so that's why you're here but the deeper reason you're here is for that very simple and beautiful reason you love this country and that's why you're here you love the principles that we stand for well for some of you don't know uh I am Tim Walls and I'm a I'm the governor of Minnesota right now but I I like to make sure that I say that I I was a school teacher for a lot of years but right now right now I'm proud to be the running mate of the next president of the United States KLA Harris the privilege of getting to know this phenomenal leader from a prosecutor district attorney Attorney General US senator and vice president yes by the way she's more qualified than anybody that's ever run for this office let's just be clear but she didn't just take those talents for herself she fights every single day on the side of the American people and what I have to say of all the things that the other side has messed up the other things that they've done the thing that I'll not forgive them for is the thing that vice president Harris is fixing most she's bringing Joy back to our politics decency back to how we do things and this is not a new thing for her this started a long time ago and for the folks of California in 2010 or Californians who are here in 2010 this is the joy she brought so here's the scene years earlier as the da of San Francisco vice president Harris took on and took one of the toughest stances in the nation against hate crimes she led the fight to end the hateful gay and transgender Panic defense we know what that leads to and we know the countless deaths and misery that was brought upon by that she took it on and she also officiated some of the first same-sex marriages in the entire [Applause] country then she went on to become the Attorney General of the largest state in the country and the moment it arrived to defend marriage equality and she threw her whole self into that fight if you know kamla Harris she doesn't just pick these fights when she talks about it and this is the thing to keep in mind all she does is win all she does is win so when the word came down that same-sex marriage had been legalized in California two plaintiffs asked kamla Harris to officiate her ceremony while they were at City Hall celebrating that marriage she got a call from two more plaintiffs saying that a clerk in Los Angeles County was denying their marriage certificate so she grabbed a phone and some of youve seen this she asked them to put the clerk on the line and she did what she did best she didn't mince words and she made made it very clear she said this is KLA Harris you must start the marriage [Applause] immediately and then she added and I don't know if this always gets in the videos she added the best line to that she told the clerk have a good day and enjoy it it's going to be fun she hasn't looked back from that day as a US senator she fought hard for the equality act introduced a bill to make sure you assured access to prep and as vice president and I say this it is not a stretch and the facts are there this is the most Pro lgbtq Plus Administration in American [Applause] history she helped President Biden pass the landmark respect for Mary Jack requiring every state and territory to fully honor same-sex and interracial marriage and she helped stop the ignorant and Byzantine practice of banning gay and bisexual men from donating blood [Applause] um I think it's important in this room for us to remember these things because keep in mind there's some other folks on the other side given one chance to get back in the White House they will go back at every one of these things we talk about we talk about progress and moving forward because she said it we're sure that the hell not going back on these things we're not going to go back but be clear they're going to be there things like strengthening Mental Health Resources for lgbtq plus youth we know we know what the statistics are they're horrific for our young people from suicides to self harm to all of the other things that go with it we know that this fight is the most important fight that's on our that's on our plate so I have to tell you she made human rights for lgbtq plus individuals around the world a top priority in this nation's foreign policy we must lead we must be the country that leads on [Applause] it she worked with President Biden on historic executive orders protecting folks from discrimination and the reason she did it was pretty simple KLA Harris believes in Equal justice under law and that means not very complicated Equal justice under law yeah it is not to be debated it's not that difficult the precence is set but look we know what this fight is we know that we can all relate to some of this and I'll tell you this fight and I think about it for me for some of you may have heard this I was born in a small place called West Point Nebraska I grew up yay somebody's from West Point there we go there's two of us um the town I grew up in had 400 people 24 classmates 12 were cousins somebody brought up the prom dating to me yes it's interesting um but look when you're in a community like that Community was a way of life my folks showed me Teach generosity to your neighbors work hard for the common good those are values that I brought work as a social studies teacher and a high school football coach now those of you who teach know this you learn far more from your students than they learn from you no matter how good of teacher you are you know how that works so some of my students and this is in the late '90s were concerned about an uptick in bullying amongst the gay and lesbian community in our school one of those Brave students is here tonight Jacob Ron's a dear friend of mine who's [Applause] here and Jacob look I'm coaching football I'm an old straight white guy I'm teaching social studies you're all picturing the damn stereotype here turns out that I'm like opposite world of Tommy tuberville though so in this for some of you so so when Jake asked if I'd be interested in being the adviser to the gay straight Alliance I said absolutely I understood what it meant to be that older straight white guy who was coaching [Applause] football Ali ship is a great thing but what many of you in here knows is it's easy to be an ally when it's easy to be an ally what really matters is knowing who's going to be at your side and stand up when it's hard and it was in those moments that those students inspired me years later look I'm a 40-some guy with little kids who is teaching school trying to pay the mortgage the idea of running for office never got to me or thought about it but those students inspired me and what they saw in me is what I was trying to instill in them this commitment to a common good I believe one person can make a difference in other people's lives so in 2006 I took the leap ran for congress no one told me at that time and I of course you know apparently couldn't Google it um in that district there had been one other Democrat since 1892 and in that red District I was in a state that had banned Sam stch marriage for a decade but I knew I was right and I ran on the platform that supported equality and this is what I said I got asked at a debate if I supported civil unions I I said sure if that's your thing but I said my marriage to my wife gwy is most important thing in my life I love her deeply why would I stop anybody else from marrying the person they love that makes no sense now this was this was 2006 and some of you uh with a little more gray hair or less of it can remember this time um that the other side said oh a bate candidate finally showed his True Colors by saying this well as it turned out a majority of my neighbors agreed with us and they elected me to represent them in the United States [Applause] house and after it was over some people came up to me and said wow you R you won in spite of being uh pro-choice and PR gay marriage and I said no no no you've got this wrong I won because I was for those positions that's why we won so when I got to Congress I showed up there and the house historian told me at the time I was the highest ranking enlisted soldier at the time I served on the house Veterans Affairs committee and I worked with my roommate Patrick Murphy from Bucks County Pennsylvania to overturn don't ask don't [Applause] tell and was proud to be an early supporter for the respect for marriage act that we finally got passed and signed into law now I tell you this again it's not no one should get a pat on the back for doing what's right for God's sakes the bar is pretty damn low here to treat people like human beings Equal justice under law it's not a high bar it's not a high bar but we know the forces that are aligned against it so this is where Champions rise up whether it's a young student at a at a school in southern Minnesota or it was someone who I met and I wished I had not met under the circumstance it was but someone who changed my life I I was there when we passed the Matthew Shepard hate crime prevention act and I had the privilege I had the privilege when the final vote was coming up in the house it was going to be close I walked to the house floor through the tunnels from the the Longworth house office building over to the capital and I made that walk with Matthew's mom Judy Shepard and and the sheriff who found Matthew's body tied to that fence post in Wyoming and I remember walking with a mother who had lost her son and hearing the sheriff tell me the only place that wasn't bloody is where the tears ran down Matthew's eyes and I watched a mother and The Unbelievable pain that I couldn't even fathom to lose a child this way walk with her head held high to make sure that none of the rest of us ever have to get a call from someone so I just want to say my my friend Judy Shepard and her husband Dennis are here tonight and I'd like us all to give them a big round of [Applause] applause this room this room is full of Heroes like that things that were done some of them bigger Small Things ways to make people's lives a little bit easier but what I knew was when I had the chance to get elected to office and make a difference look there's a lot of people you don't get elected to office to bank political Capital so you can get elected again you get elected to office to burn political Capital to improve lives as quickly as you can and so when we got the majority in Minnesota for the first time in over a decade we had the governor's office we had the house and we had the Senate by one vote and we got busy first thing we did is we banned conversion therapy in [Applause] Minnesota we protected transgender community and said in Minnesota you are seen heard loved and respected and safe and safe in Minnesota and we did something a little bit we banned Banning books especially Banning lgbtq books for themes in [Applause] that think about it in this room this is what these folks are focusing on spending all their time like reading about two male Penguins who love each other is is somehow going to turn your children gay and that's what you should worry about but here's what I'll tell you it's a fact of life some people are gay but you know what's not a fact of life that our children need be shot dead in schools that's not a fact of life folks are Banning books but they're okay with weapons of war being in our schools look that's not this country it doesn't have to be this way it doesn't happen elsewhere we're going to make sure our children are seen they bring their authentic self and then we're going to make sure they're safe when they get there so thank you [Applause] all what this election boils down to in a lot of ways it's fundamentally about Freedom now it's not just a great song that vice president Harris walks on to although it is a great song that vice president Harris walks on to but it's truly fundamentally what does freedom mean and some of you in here I keep coming back to it some of us who are a little older because we got to go back a little ways in history here when Republicans used to talk about Freedom many of them actually meant it they weren't they weren't going to turn their backs on our allies they weren't going to leave Ukraine to themselves they weren't going to start doing the things they did but that's not true anymore Donald Trump and JD Vance their idea of freedom that the government should be free to invade every corner of our lives our bedrooms our kids' schools even our doctor's office and I say this where I come from and I know where all of you come from I respect my neighbor's personal choices I wouldn't make some of the choices they make but you know what when it comes to personal things bodily autonomy your gender identity when to start a family marrying who you love might sound a little bit oldfashioned on that but I think we just need to be really good neighbors everyone just deserves to be treated with [Applause] respect freedom to make that choice and I keep reinforcing this because they talk about this you know they government's too big in all this big enough to be in my bedroom apparently big enough to be in your uterus big enough to be in every Library big enough to do that but here's the thing this Society works best whether it's small towns or large towns and I say this I bet every state could say this but in Minnesota things work really well cuz we have a saying that I talk about a lot you know everything works better if you just mind your own damn business and I'll mind mine so nothing this idea and this Obsession and you've heard me say this they're all angry that I'm being mean to them um the other night Donald Trump did a town hall where he got to control what he said and he re assured the audience there 11 times that he was not weird if you're reminding someone you're not weird you probably yeah but look my point was my point was who is asking for this agenda that they're doing who's asking for them to take away our freedoms who's asking them to take away reproductive freedoms and I spoke personally about this because it's personal for so many of us in here the decision of how and what way and what your family is going to look like once again that's your decision but for us in my family we had to go through fertility treatments thank God we had insurance thank God we had access to fertility treatments and those of you if you've been through this whatever manage whatever way that looks it's agonizing whether you're waiting for adoption or you're waiting for those phone calls did did the treatment work and then finding out it didn't and then starting again it's stressful it's hard I sure the hell don't need JD bance giving me advice on it it's not helpful it's not helpful and it's a simple fix you worry about your family I'll worry about mine it's a very simple fix so for us I'll have to tell you when that call finally came and our daughter was born it wasn't by chance that we called her hope because that was our belief it was the strongest and most powerful word in the universe and so uh my daughter hope is here tonight with me by the way [Applause] so and I don't know if if you saw it at the convention here last week the vice president pretty much took back freedom from the other side that that now belongs with us and that's what we're saying took back the flag they don't they haven't cornered patriotism and I'm not going to allow them to talk about family values why they're doing everything possible to invade our personal lives on our [Applause] families and I think there's a lot of people this is just my Pro tip of the day look there's two two of us there's two of us trying to that have the privilege of it's kind of crazy in a country this big that there's two people one of the two is going to be the next Vice President of the United States so uh so my Pro tip to to my opponent on the other side is quit talking about women's childbearing issues quit talking about it because no one cares what your thoughts are on if my family counts or doesn't no no one cares no one [Applause] cares and in Minnesota and this is what I'm not going to take a back seat in why those guys were Banning books in their schools we were Banning hunger in ours so if you're going to talk about family values then at least show up and vote when the child tax credit is there which we know can reduce childhood poverty by a third they didn't do anything when Donald Trump was in office he made it more difficult they didn't do anything on lowering child care cost did you hear he's got a plan on child care costs that no one in the world understood a damn word about it not one thing but there are things you can do and we did it in Minnesota and one of the things you can do is you can start making sure that you're doing things like the child tax credit and making it easier for samees set couples to start and raise their families openly with love and pride and make sure that the sport is there so that outdated narrow ideology there's no one asking for it but here's what I worry about for all of you and for all of us it's not just what they did because they tried hard this time they're not playing they are coming to do the things that they said they wanted to do and I said this as a football coach if somebody takes the time to draw up a Playbook they're going to use it so when you keep hearing us and I'll talk about it every single day because I know what it will do I know what it will do to destroy this country this project 2025 that's out there to restrict freedoms demonize this community bully vulnerable children the message is simple from all of us and here in about 59 days you're going to get a chance to send that message is leave our kids the hell alone leave our kids alone and I have to tell you this one too and this is one that we keep remembering and this is a thank you to all those folks we talked about the don't ask don't tell but I want to make sure that we recognize this too we've had thousands of Brave transgender troops decorated Warriors who served this country in [Applause] uniform When Donald Trump was commanderin-chief he belittled them and he Bann them from service thankfully President Biden and vice president Harris rest standed that stupid bigoted [Applause] policy if you want to serve this nation you should be allowed to and what we should do is respect that service they should not get incoming fire from their commanderin-chief attacking their basic dignity humanity and patriotism and I will say this I didn't serve for 24 years in this to have those guys diminish another troop service I will stand with them every single time I know I'm preaching to the choir a little bit but we got 59 days to sing so the choir needs to sing and I am a believer look you heard me I I taught school for a couple decades so I do know and I supervised the lunchroom by the way for a lot of those times so I am at once an eternal optimist but two I do know that fear is a good short-term motivator but it doesn't change behaviors we're not running against those guys we need to know what they're going to do we need to know what we're up against we need to know what the threat is from them but what we need to do over the next 59 days is get ready to tell people exactly what we're going to do exactly what vice president then president Harris will do so we'll start by this lowering taxes on working families and making sure those at the top and corporations can pay their fair share they're doing fine they're doing fine we're going to protect Social Security and Medicare and we're going to make sure the Affordable Care Act is strengthened and look about a dozen states have it if you're in one of these states that have it it's great but the rest of the country needs it it is time for us to quit being the last country on Earth to have paid family and medical leave for this it is time to be done and it's going to be very clear every single day this Freedom issue that it's going to be you and people make the decisions about their Healthcare not a politician so look everybody everybody should be free to get an education and that should be a path to the middle class it shouldn't be a path to crippling student loan debt for decades to come we can fix this and I'm going to say it once again our kids should be free to go to school without worrying about being shot dead in the Halls it's that [Applause] simple vice president Harris fight make sure that we continue to pass the equality act enshrine anti-discrimination protections and lgbtq Americans Healthcare in the law housing education and so much more now look if it sounds like a tall order I'll say it again I'm an eternal optimist think about this when I was a kid growing up in Nebraska being gay was illegal still technically illegal look look how much has changed since this organization was founded 40 years ago can you imagine can you imagine going back to me a high schooler in the early 80s and saying you know what we're going to kick down the barriers we're going to open doors we're going to pass laws that lets you bring your authentic self love who you want to love and live the life that you want to live all by yourself with no interference from [Applause] government so I told you I told you hope and my hope is an incredibly powerful room or an incredibly powerful word you look around this room you can feel hope you feel that people want to see this we hope we win this election we hope we pass these laws we hope we lift people out of poverty that's a good thing to have but my wife always reminds me of this it's not a damn plan it's not a plan to hope we win this election we've got you have a plan and we've got to work for it and I ask you to look around this room we got about 3500 people in this room what if we talk to one more person before this election what if we do one more phone bank what if we make one more door knck what if we dig deep and give a little bit more to this campaign cuz what we know is this politics is not an end it's a means to an end if we want that hope to become reality we've got to do the work to make it happen I know you're out there doing it you came here tonight you came here when you could have been somewhere else and in 59 days we get to chart our way forward we organize we donate we volunteer and I've been saying this when in life do you get a chance in 59 days to make an impact that will last for Generations because we [Applause] know if you want to go see what the alternative is it's the worst read in the world but it's 925 Pages it's project 2025 and as vice president Harris said we're not going back to the days we're not going back to the Discrimination we're not going to force our children into situations where they become suicidal we're not going to continue to demonize people because of who they are and we're not going to continue to allow people in this country to go hungry or to be shot dead because we don't make decisions that can improve that so we've got 59 days 59 days each and every one of us whatever little bit we can do we can make a difference so I've been saying this and I truly believe this we can do anything for 59 days sleep when you're dead worry about that later but now is the time so it's up to US vice president Harris myself our entire Team all of you HRC we fighting for a better country a better world we're fighting for the folks who aren't here tonight we're fighting for the folks who may not vote for us but we're doing it because it's the values that this country were founded on so as vice president Harris said if we're willing to fight we win when we fight we win when we fight we win thank you HRC thank you everybody thank you everyone thank thank you HRC wow well thank you for inviting me and more importantly maybe thank you for the privilege of being able to stand with each of one of you president Robinson thank you for the kind introduction I'd also like to say on a point of personal privilege there's a strong contingent of motans in the house so thank you minnesotans so for for all of you here tonight and around the country listening you've done so much to advance the cause of equality and freedom I'm proud to count so many of you as friends I'm grateful that you brought your time your talents and your Treasures to be here tonight and I'm fired up to be at your side I got to tell you because of all the things that are going on all the places you could be all the things you could have done you came here tonight one is it's the best party in the country tonight so that's right you're here but the deeper reason you're here is for that very simple and beautiful reason you love this country and that's why you're here you love the principles that we stand for well for some of you don't know uh I am Tim Walls and I'm a I'm the governor of Minnesota right now but I I like to make sure that I say that I I was a school teacher for a lot of years but right now right now I'm proud to be the running mate of the next president of the United States KLA Harris [Applause] the privilege of getting to know this phenomenal leader from a prosecutor district attorney Attorney General US senator and vice president yes by the way she's more qualified than anybody that's ever run for this office let's just be clear but she didn't just take those talents for herself she fights every single day on the side of the American people and what I have to say of all the things that the other side has messed up the other things that they've done the thing that I'll not forgive them for is the thing that vice president Harris is fixing most she's bringing Joy back to our politics decency back to how we do things and this is not a new thing for her this started a long time ago and for the folks of California in 2010 our Californians who are here in 2010 this is The Joy she brought so here's the scene years earlier as the da of San Francisco vice president Harris took on and took one of the toughest stances in the nation against hate crimes she led the fight to end the hateful gay and transgender Panic defense we know what that leads to and we know the countless deaths and misery that was brought upon by that she took it on and she also officiated some of the first same-sex marriages in the entire country then she went on to become the Attorney General of the largest state in the country and the moment it arrived to defend marriage equality and she threw her whole self into that fight if you know kamla Harris she doesn't just pick these fights when she talks about it and this is the thing to keep in mind all she does is win all she does is [Applause] win so when the word came down that same-sex marriage had been legalized in California californ two plaintiffs asked KLA Harris to officiate her ceremony while they were at City Hall celebrating that marriage she got a call from two more plaintiffs saying that a clerk in Los Angeles County was denying their marriage certificate so she grabbed a phone and some of you have seen this she asked them to put the clerk on the line and she did what she did best she didn't mince words and she made it very clear she said this is KLA Harris you must start the marriage immediately [Applause] and then she added and I don't know if this always gets in the videos she added the best line to that she told the clerk have a good day and enjoy it it's going to be fun she hasn't looked back from that day as a US senator she fought hard for the equality act introduced a bill to make sure you ensured access to prep and as vice president and I say this it is not stretch and the facts are there this is the most Pro lgbtq Plus Administration in American [Applause] history she helped President Biden pass the landmark respect for Marriage Act requiring every state and territory to fully honor same-sex and interracial [Applause] marriage and she helped stop the ignorant and Byzantine practice of banning gay and bisexual men from donating blood [Applause] um I think it's important in this room for us to remember these things because keep in mind there's some other folks on the other side given one chance to get back in the White House they will go back at every one of these things we talk about we talk about progress and moving forward because she said it we're sure the hell not going back on these things we're not going to go back but be clear they're going to be there things like strengthening Mental Health Resources for lgbtq plus youth we know we know what the statistics are they're horrific for our young people from suicides to self harm to all of the other things that go with it we know that this fight is the most important fight that's on our that's on our plate so I have to tell you she made human rights for lgbtq plus individuals around the world a top priority in this nation's foreign policy we must lead we must be the country that leads on [Applause] it she worked with President Biden on historic executive orders protecting folks from discrimination and the reason she did it was pretty simple Comm Harris believes in Equal justice under law and that means not very complicated Equal justice under law it is not to be debated it's not that difficult ult the precence is set but look we know what this fight is we know that we can all relate to some of this and I'll tell you this fight and I think about it for me for some of you maybe heard this I was born in a small place called West Point Nebraska I grew up yay somebody's from West Point there we go there's two of us um the town I grew up in had 400 people 24 classmates 12 were cousins somebody brought up the prom dating to me yes it's interesting um but look when you're in a community like that Community was a way of life my folks showed me Teach generosity to your neighbors work hard for the common good those are values that I brought work as a social studies teacher and a high school football coach now those of you who teach know this you learn far more from your students than they learn from you no matter how good of teacher you are you know how that works so some of my students and this is in the late '90s were concerned about an uptick in bullying amongst the gay and lesbian community in our school one of those Brave students is here tonight Jacob Ron's a dear friend of mine who's here and Jacob look I'm coaching football I'm an old straight white guy I'm teaching social studies you're all picturing the damn stereotype here turns out that I'm like opposite world of Tommy tuberville though so in this for some of you so so when Jake asked if I'd be interested in being the adviser to the gay straight Alliance I said absolutely I understood what it meant to be that older straight white guy who was coaching football Ali ship is a great thing but what many of you in here knows is it's easy to be an ally when it's easy to be an ally what really matters is knowing who's going to be at your side and stand up when it's hard and it was in those moments that those students inspired me years later look I'm a 40-some guy with little kids who who is teaching school trying to pay the mortgage the idea of running for office never got to me or thought about it but those students inspired me and what they saw in me is what I was trying to instill in them this commitment to a common good I believe one person can make a difference in other people's lives so in 2006 I took the leap ran for congress no one told me at that time and I of course you know apparently couldn't google it um in that District there had been one other Democrat since 1892 and in that red District I was in a state that had banned same St marriage for a decade but I knew I was right and I ran on the platform that supported equality and this is what I said I got asked at a debate if I supported civil unions I I said sure if that's your thing but I said my marriage to my wife G it's most important thing in my life I love her deeply why would I stop anybody else from marrying the person they love that makes no sense now this was this was 2006 and some of you uh with a little more gray hair or less of it can remember this time um that the other side said oh a B- rate candidate finally showed his true colors by saying this well as it turned out a majority of my neighbors agree with us and they elected me to represent them in the United States [Applause] house and after it was over some people came up to me and said wow you R you won in spite of being uh pro-choice and pro-gay marriage and I said no no no you've got this wrong I won because I was for those positions that's why we won so when I got to Congress I showed up there in the house historian told me at the time I was the highest ranking enlisted soldier at the time I served on the house Veterans Affairs committee and I worked with my roommate Patrick Murphy from Bucks County Pennsylvania to overturn don't ask don't [Applause] tell and was proud to be an early supporter for the respect for marriage act that we finally got passed and signed into law now I tell you this again it's not no one should get a pat on the back for doing what's right for God's sakes the bar is pretty damn low here to treat people like human beings Equal justice under law it's not a high bar it's not a high bar but we know the forces that are aligned against it so this is where Champions rise up whether it's a young student at a at a school in southern Minnesota or it was someone who I met and I wished I had not met under the circumstance it was but someone who changed my life I was there when we passed the Matthew Shepard hate crime prevention Act and I had the privilege I had the privilege when the final vote was coming up in the house it was going to be close I walked to the house floor through the tunnels from the the Longworth house office building over to the capol and I made that walk with Matthew's mom Judy Shepard and and the sheriff who found Matthew's body tied to that fence post in Wyoming and I remember walking with a mother who had lost her son and hearing the sheriff tell me the only place that wasn't bloody is where the tears ran down Matthew's eyes and I watched a mother and The Unbelievable pain that I couldn't even fathom to lose a child this way walk with her head held high to make sure that none of the rest of us ever have to get a call from someone so I just want to say my my friend Judy Shephard and her husband Dennis are here tonight and I'd like us all to give them big round of [Applause] applause this room this room is full of Heroes like that things that were done some of them bigger Small Things ways to make people's lives a little bit easier but what I knew was when I had the chance to get elected to office and make a difference look there's a lot of people you don't get elected to office to bank political Capital so you can get elected again you get elected to office to burn political Capital to improve lives as quickly as you [Applause] can and so when we got the majority in Minnesota for the first first time in over a decade we had the governor's office we had the house and we had the Senate by one vote and we got busy first thing we did is we banned conversion therapy in [Applause] Minnesota we protected transgender community and said in Minnesota you are seen heard loved and respected and safe and safe in Minnesota and we did something a little bit we banned Banning books especially Bing lgbtq books put themes in [Applause] that think about it in this room this is what these folks are focusing on spending all their time like reading about two male Penguins who love each other is is somehow going to turn your children gay and that's what you should worry about but here's what I'll tell you you it's a fact of life some people are gay but you know what's not a fact of life that our children need to be shot dead in schools that's not a fact of lie folks are Banning books but they're okay with weapons of war being in our schools look that's not this country it doesn't have to be this way it doesn't happen elsewhere we're going to make sure our children are seen they bring their authentic self and then we're going to make sure they're safe when they get there so thank you [Applause] all what this election boils down to in a lot of ways it's fundamentally about Freedom now it's not just a great song that vice president Harris walks on to although it is a great song that vice president Harris walks on to but it's truly fundamentally what does freedom mean and some of you in here I keep coming back to it some of us who are a little older cuz we got to go back a little ways in history here when Republicans used to talk about Freedom many of them actually meant it they weren't they weren't going to turn their backs on our allies they weren't going to leave Ukraine to themselves they weren't going to start doing the things they did but that's not true anymore Donald Trump and JD Vance their idea of freedom that the government should be free to invade every corner of our lives our bedrooms our kids schools even our doctor's office and I say this where I come from and I know where all of you come from I respect my neighbor's personal choices I wouldn't make some of the choices they make but you know what when it comes to personal things bodily autonomy your gender identity when to start a family marrying who you love might sound a little bit old-fashioned on that but I think we just need to be really good neighbors everyone just deserves to be treated with respect freedom to make that choice and I keep reinforcing this because they talk about this you know they government's too big in all this big enough to be in my bedroom apparently big enough to be in your uterus big enough to be in every Library big enough to do that but here's the thing this Society works best whether it's small towns or large towns and I say this and I bet every state could say this but in Minnesota things work really well because we have a saying that talk about a lot you know everything works better if you just mind your own damn business and I'll mind mine so [Applause] nothing this idea and this Obsession and you've heard me say this they're all angry that I'm being mean to them um the other night Donald Trump did a town hall where he got to control what he said and he reassured the audience there 11 times that he was not weird if you're reminding someone you're not weird you probably yeah but look my point was my point was who is asking for this agenda that they're doing who's asking for them to take away our freedoms who's asking them to take away reproductive freedoms and I spoke personally about this cuz it's personal for so many of us in here the decision of how and what way and what your family's going to look like once again that's your decision but for us in my family we had to go through fertility treatments thank God we had insurance thank God we had access to fertility treatments and those of you if you've been through this whatever manage whatever way that looks it's agonizing whether you're waiting for adoption or you're waiting for those phone calls did the treatment work and then finding out it didn't and then starting again it's stressful it's hard I sure the hell don't need JD Vance giving me advice on it it's not helpful it's not helpful and it's a simple fix you worry about your family I'll worry about mine it's a very simple fix so for us I'll have to tell you when that call finally came and our daughter was born it wasn't by chance that we called her hope because that was our belief it was the strongest and most powerful word in the universe and so uh my daughter hope is here tonight with me by the way [Applause] so and I don't know if if you saw it at the convention here last week the vice president pretty much took back freedom from the other side that that now belongs with us and that's what we're saying took back the flag they don't they haven't cornered patriotism and I'm not going to allow them to talk about family values why they're doing everything possible to invade our personal lives on our [Applause] families and I think there's a lot of people this is just my Pro tip of the day look there's two of us there's two of us trying to that have the privilege of it's kind of crazy in a country this big that there's two people one of the two is going to be the next Vice President of the United States so uh so my Pro tip to to my opponent on the other side is quit talking about women's childbearing issues quit talking about it because no one cares what your thoughts are on if my family counsel doesn't no one cares no one cares and in Minnesota and this what I'm not going to take a back seat in why those guys were Banning books in their schools we were Banning hunger in ours so if you're going to talk about family values then at least show up and vote when the child tax credit is there which we know can reduce childhood poverty by a [Applause] third they didn't do anything when Donald Trump was in office he made it more difficult they didn't do anything on lowering child care costs did you hear he's got a plan on child care costs that no one in the world understood a damn word about it not one thing but there are things you can do and we did it in Minnesota and one of the things you can do is you can start making sure that you're doing things like the child tax credit and making it easier for Sams set couples to start and raise their families openly with love and pride and make sure that the sport is there so that outdated narrow ideology there's no one asking for it but here's what I worry about for all of you and for all of us it's not just what they did because they tried hard this time they're not playing they are coming to do the things that they said they wanted to do and I said this as a football coach if somebody takes the time to draw up a Playbook they're going to use it so when you keep hearing us and I'll talk about it every single day because I know what it will do I know what it will do to destroy this country this project 2025 that's out there to restrict freedoms demonize this community bully vulnerable children the message is simple from all of us and here in about 59 days you're going to get a chance to send that message is leave our kids the hell alone leave our kids alone and I have to tell you this one too and this is one that we keep remembering and this is a thank you to all those folks we talked about the don't ask don't tell but I want to make sure that we recognize this too we've had thousands of Brave transgender troops decorated Warriors who served this country in [Applause] uniform When Donald Trump was commanderin-chief he belittled them and he banned them from service thankfully President Biden and vice president has rest exended that stupid bigoted policy if you want to serve this nation you should be allowed to and what we should do is respect that service they should not get incoming fire from their commanderin-chief attacking their basic dignity humanity and patriotism and I will say this I didn't serve for 24 years in this to have those guys diminish another troop service I will stand with them every single time I know I'm preaching to the choir a little bit but we got 59 days to sing so the choir needs to sing and I am a believer look you heard I I taught school for a couple decades so I do know and I supervise the lunchroom by the way for a lot of those times so I am at once an eternal optimist but two I do know that fear is a good short-term motivator but it doesn't change behaviors we're not running against those those guys we need to know what they're going to do we need to know what we're up against we need to know what the threat is from them but what we need to do over the next 59 days is get ready to tell people exactly what we're going to do exactly what vice president then president Harris will do so we'll start by this lowering taxes on working families and making sure those at the top and corporations can pay their fair share they're doing fine they're doing fine we're going to protect Social Security and Medicare and we're going to make sure the Affordable Care Act is strengthened and look about a dozen states have it if you're in one of these states that have it it's great but the rest of the country needs it it is time for us to quit being the last country on Earth to had paid family and medical leave for this it is time to be done and it's going to be very clear every single day this Freedom issue that it's going to be you and people make the decisions about their healthare not a politician so look everybody everybody should be free to get an education and that should be a path to the middle class it shouldn't be a path to crippling student loan debt for decades to come we can fix this and I'm going to say it once again our kids should be free to go to school without worrying about being shot dead in the Halls it's that [Applause] simple vice president president Harris fight make sure that we continue to pass the equality act enshrine anti-discrimination protections and lgbtq Americans Healthcare into law housing education and so much more now look if it sounds like a tall order I'll say it again I'm an eternal optimist think about this when I was a kid growing up in Nebraska being gay was illegal still technically illegal look how much has changed since this organization was founded 40 years ago can you imagine can you imagine going back to me a high schooler in the early 80s and saying you know what we're going to kick down the barriers we're going to open doors we're going to pass laws that let you bring your authentic self love who you want to love and live the life that you want to live all by yourself with no interference from [Applause] government so I told you I told you hope and my hope hope is an incredibly powerful room or an incredibly powerful word you look around this room you can feel hope you feel that people want to see this we hope we win this election we hope we pass these laws we hope we lift people out of poverty that's a good thing to have but my wife always reminds me of this it's not a damn plan it's not a plan to hope we win this election we've got to have a plan and we've got to work for it and I ask you to look around this room we got about 3,500 people in this room what if we talk to one more person before this election what if we do one more phone bank what if we make one more door knck what if we dig deep and give a little bit more to this campaign cuz what we know is this politics is not an end it's a means to an end if we want that hope to become reality we've got to do the work to make it happen I know you're out there doing it you came here tonight you came here when you could have been somewhere else and in 9 days we get to chart our way forward we organize we donate we volunteer and I've been saying this when in life do you get a chance in 59 days to make an impact that will last for Generations because we [Applause] know if you want to go see what the alternative is it's the worst read in the world but it's 925 Pages it's project 2025 and as vice president Harris said we're not going back to the days we're not going back to the Discrimination we're not going to force our children into situations where they become suicidal we're not going to continue to demonize people because of who they are and we're not going to continue to allow people in this country to go hungry or to be shot dead because we don't make decisions that can improve that so we've got 59 days 59 days each and every one of us what every little bit we can do we can make a difference so I've been saying this and I TR truly believe this we can do anything for 59 days sleep when you're dead worry about that later but now is the time so it's up to US vice president Harris myself our entire Team all of you HRC we're fighting for a better country a better world we're fighting for the folks who aren't here tonight we're fighting for the folks who may not vote for us but we're doing it because it's the values of this country were founded on so as vice president Harris said if we're willing to fight we win when we fight we win when we fight we win thank you HRC thank you everybody thank you everyone thank thank you HRC wow well thank you for inviting me and more importantly maybe thank you for the privilege of being able to stand with each of one of you president Robinson thank you for the kind introduction I'd also like to say on a point of personal privilege there's a strong contingent of motans in the house so thank you motans so for for all of you here tonight and around the country listening you've done so much much to advance the cause of equality and freedom I'm proud to count so many of you as friends I'm grateful that you brought your time your talents and your Treasures to be here tonight and I'm fired up to be at your side I got to tell you because of all the things that are going on all the places you could be all the things you could have done you came here tonight one is it's the best party in the country tonight so that's why you're here but the deeper reason you're here is for that very simple and beautiful reason you love this country and that's why you're here you love the principles that we stand for well for some of you don't know uh I am Tim Walls and I'm a I'm the governor of Minnesota right now but I I like to make sure that I say that I I was a school teacher for a lot of years but right now right now I'm proud to be the running mate of the next president of the United States KLA Harris [Applause] the privilege of getting to know this phenomenal leader from a prosecutor district attorney Attorney General US senator and vice president yes by the way she's more qualified than anybody that's ever run for this office let's just be clear but she didn't just take those talents for herself she fights every single day on the side of the American people and what I have to say of all the things that the other side has messed up the the other things that they've done the thing that I'll not forgive them for is the thing that vice president Harris is fixing most she's bringing Joy back to our politics decency back to how we do things and this is not a new thing for her this started a long time ago and for the folks of California in 2010 our Californians who are here in 2010 this is the joy she brought so here's the scene years earlier as the da of San Francisco vice president Harris took on and took one of the toughest stances in the nation against hate crimes she led the fight to end the hateful gay and transgender Panic defense we know what that leads to and we know the countless deaths and misery that was brought upon by that she took it on and she also officiated some of the first same-sex marriages in the entire [Applause] country then she went on to become the the Attorney General of the largest state in the country and the moment it arrived to defend marriage equality and she threw her whole self into that fight if you know kamla Harris she doesn't just pick these fights when she talks about it and this is the thing to keep in mind all she does is win all she does is [Applause] win so when the word came down that same sex marriage had been legalized in California two plaintiffs asked KLA Harris to officiate her ceremony while they were at City Hall celebrating that marriage she got a call from two more plaintiffs saying that a clerk in Los Angeles County was denying their marriage certificate so she grabbed a phone and some of you have seen this she asked them to put the clerk on the line and she did what she did best she didn't mince words and she made it very clear she said this is KLA Harris you must start the marriage immediately [Applause] and then she added and I don't know if this always gets in the videos she added the best line to that she told the clerk have a good day and enjoy it it's going to be fun she hasn't looked back from that day as a US senator she fought hard for the equality act introduced a bill to make sure you ured access to prep and as vice president and I say this it is not a stretch and the facts are there this is the most Pro lgbtq Plus Administration in American [Applause] history she helped President Biden pass the landmark respect for Mary Jack requiring every state and territory to fully honor same-sex and interracial [Applause] marriage and she helped stop the ignorant and Byzantine practice of banning gay and bisexual men from donating blood um I think it's important in this room for us to remember these things because keep in mind there's some other folks on the other side given one chance to get back in the White House they will go back at every one of these things we talk about we talk about progress and moving forward because she said it we're sure the hell not going back on these things we're not going to go back but be clear they're going to be there things like strengthening mental health res resources for lgbtq plus youth we know we know what the statistics are they're horrific for our young people from suicides to self harm to all of the other things that go with it we know that this fight is the most important fight that's on our that's on our plate so I have to tell you she made human rights for lgbtq plus individuals around the world a top priority in this nation's foreign policy we must lead we must be the country that leads on it she worked with President Biden on historic executive orders protecting folks from discrimination and the reason she did it was pretty simple KLA Harris believes in Equal justice under law and that means not very complicated Equal justice under law it is not to be debated it's not that difficult the Precedence is set but look we know what this fight is we know that we can all relate to some of this and I'll tell you this fight and I think about it for me for some of you maybe you heard this I was born in a small place called West Point Nebraska I grew up yay somebody's from West Point there we go there's two of us um the town I grew up in had 400 people 24 classmates 12 were cousins somebody brought up the prom dating to me yes it's interesting um but look when you're in a Community like that Community was a way of life my folks showed me Teach generosity to your neighbors work hard for the common good those are values that I brought work as a social studies teacher and a high school football coach now those of you who teach know this you learn far more from your students than they learn from you no matter how good of teacher you are you know how that works so some of my students and this is in the late '90s were concerned about an uptick in bullying amongst the gay and lesbian community in our school one of those Brave students is here tonight Jacob Ron's a dear friend of mine who's [Applause] here and Jacob look I'm coaching football I'm an old straight white guy I'm teaching social studies you're all picturing the damn stereotype here turns out that I'm like opposite world of Tommy tuberville though so in this for some of you so so when Jake asked if I'd be interested in being the adviser to the gay straight Alliance I said absolutely I understood what it meant to be that older straight white guy who was coaching [Applause] football Alli ship is a great thing but what many of you in here knows is it's easy to be an ally when it's easy to be an ally what really matters is knowing who's going to be at your side and stand up when it's hard and it was in those moments that those students inspired me years later look I'm a 40-some guy with little kids who is teaching school trying to pay the mortgage the idea of running for office never got to me or thought about it but those students inspired me and what they saw in me is what I was trying to instill in them this commitment to a common good I believe one person can make a difference in other people's lives so in 2006 I took the leap ran for congress no one told me at that time and I of course you know apparently couldn't google it um in that district there had been one other Democrat since 18 92 and in that red District I was in a state that had banned Sam STC marriage for a decade but I knew I was right and I ran on the platform that supported equality and this is what I said I got asked at a debate if I supported civil unions I I said sure if that's your thing but I said my marriage to my wife Gwen is most important thing in my life I love her deeply why would I stop anybody El from marrying the person they love that makes no sense now this was this was 2006 and some of you uh with a little more gray hair or less of it can remember this time um that the other side said oh a bate candidate finally showed his true colors by saying this why is it turned out a majority of my neighbors agreed with us and they elected me to represent them in the United States House and after it was over some people came up to me and said wow you R you won in spite of being uh pro-choice and PR gay marriage and I said no no no you've got this wrong I won because I was for those positions that's why we won so when I got to Congress I showed up there and the house historian told me at the time I was the highest ranking enlisted soldier at the time I served on the house veteran Affairs committee and I worked with my roommate Patrick Murphy from Bucks County Pennsylvania to overturn don't ask don't [Applause] tell and was proud to be an early supporter for the respect for marriage act that we finally got passed and signed into law now I tell you this again it's not no one should get a pat on the back for doing what's right for God's sakes the bar is pretty damn low here to treat people like human beings Equal justice under law it's not a high bar it's not a high bar but we know the forces that are aligned against it so this is where Champions rise up whether it's a young student at a at a school in southern Minnesota or it was someone who I met and I wished I had not met under the circumstance it was but someone who changed my life I was there when we passed the Matthew Shepard hate crime prevention act and I had the privilege I had the privilege when the final vote was coming up in the house it was going to be close I walked to the house floor through the tunnels from the the Longworth house office building over to the capital and I made that walk with Matthew's mom Judy Shepard and and the sheriff who found Matthew's body tied to that fence post in Wyoming and I remember walking with a mother who had lost her son and hearing the sheriff tell me the only place that wasn't bloody is where the tears ran down Matthew's eyes and I watched a mother and The Unbelievable pain that I couldn't even fathom to lose a child this way walk with her head held high to make sure that none of the rest of us ever have to get a call from someone so I just want to say my my friend Judy Shepard and her husband Dennis are here tonight and I'd like us all to give them a big round of applause [Applause] this room this room is full of Heroes like that things that were done some of them bigger Small Things ways to make people people's lives a little bit easier but what I knew was when I had the chance to get elected to office and make a difference look there's a lot of people you don't get elected to office to bank political Capital so you can get elected again you get elected to office to burn political Capital to improve lives as quickly as you [Applause] can and so when we got the majority in Minnesota for the first time in over a decade we had the governor's office we had the house and we had the Senate by one vote and we got busy first thing we did is we banned conversion therapy in [Applause] Minnesota we protected transgender community and said in Minnesota you are seen heard loved and respected and safe and safe in Minnesota and we did something a little bit we banned Banning books especially Banning lgbtq books for themes in that think about it in this room this is what these folks are focusing on spending all their time like reading about two male Penguins who love each other is is somehow going to turn your children gay and that's what you should worry about but here's what I'll tell you it's a fact of life some people are gay but you know what's not a fact of life that our children need to be shot dead in schools that's not a fact of life folks are Banning books but they're okay with weapons of war being in our schools look that's not this country it doesn't have to be this way it doesn't happen elsewhere we're going to make sure our children are seen they bring their auth s and then we're going to make sure they're safe when they get there so thank you [Applause] all what this election boils down to in a lot of ways it's fundamentally about Freedom now it's not just a great song that vice president Harris walks on to although it is a great song that vice president Harris walks on to but it's truly fundamentally what does freedom mean and some of you in here I keep coming back to it some of us who are a little older cuz we got to go back a little ways in history here when Republicans used to talk about Freedom many of them actually meant it they weren't they weren't going to turn their backs on our allies they weren't going to leave Ukraine to themselves they weren't going to start doing the things they did but that's not true anymore Donald Trump and JD Vance their idea of freedom that the government should be free to invade every corner of our lives our bedrooms our kids schools even our doctor's office and I say this where I come from and I know where all of you come from I respect my neighbor's personal choices I wouldn't make some of the choices they make but you know what when it comes to personal things bodily autonomy your gender identity when to start a family marrying who you love might sound a little bit oldfashioned on that but I think we just need to be really good neighbors everyone just deserves to be treated with [Applause] respect freedom to make that choice and I keep reinforcing this cuz they talk about this you know there government's too big in all this big enough to be in my bedroom apparently big enough to be in your uterus big enough to be in every Library big enough to do that but here's the thing this Society works best whether it's small towns or large towns and I say this and I bet every state could say this but in Minnesota things work really well cuz we have a saying that I talk about a lot you know everything works better if you just mind your own damn business and I'll my mind so [Applause] nothing this idea and this Obsession and you've heard me say this they're all angry that I'm being mean to them um the other night Donald Trump did a town hall where he got to control what he said and he reassured the audience there 11 times that he was not weird if you're reminding someone you're not weird you probably yeah but look my point was my point was who is asking for this agenda that they're doing who's asking for them to take away our freedoms who's asking them to take away reproductive freedoms and I spoke personally about this cuz it's personal for so many of us in here the decision of how and what way and what your is going to look like once again that's your decision but for us in my family we had to go through fertility treatments thank God we had Insurance thank God we had access to fertility treatments and those of you if you've been through this whatever manage whatever way that looks it's agonizing whether you're waiting for adoption or you're waiting for those phone calls did the treatment work and then finding out it didn't and then starting again it's stressful it's hard I sure the hell don't need JD Vance giving me advice on it it's not helpful it's not helpful and it's a simple fix you worry about your family I'll worry about mine it's a very simple fix so for us I'll have to tell you when that call finally came and our daughter was born it wasn't by chance that we called her hope because that was our belief it was the strongest and most powerful word in the universe and so uh my daughter hope is here tonight with me by the way [Applause] so and I don't know if if you saw it at the convention here last week the vice president pretty much took back freedom from the other side that that now belongs with us and that's what we're saying took back the flag they don't they haven't cornered patriotism and I'm not going to allow them to talk about family values why they're doing everything possible to invade our personal lives on our [Applause] families and I think there's a lot of people this is just my Pro tip of the day look there's two of us there's two of us trying to that have the privilege of it's kind of crazy in a country this big that there's two people one of the two is going to be the next Vice President of the United States so uh so my Pro tip to to my opponent on the other side is quit talking about women's childbearing issues quit talking about it because no one cares what your thoughts are on if my family counts or doesn't no one cares no one [Applause] cares and in Minnesota and this what I'm not going to take a back seat in why those guys were Banning books in their schools we were Banning hunger in ours so if you're going to talk about family values then at least show up and vote when the child tax credit is there which we know can reduce childhood poverty by a [Applause] third they didn't do anything when Donald Trump was in office he made it more difficult they didn't do anything on lowering child care cost did you hear he's got a plan on child care costs that no one in the world understood a damn word about it not one thing but there are things you can do and we did it in Minnesota and one of the things you can do is you can start making sure that you're doing things like the child tax credit and making it easier for same set couples to start and raise their families openly with love and pride and make sure that the sport is [Applause] there so that outdated narrow ideology there's no one asking for it but here's what I worry about for all of you and for all of us it's not just what they did because they tried hard this time they're not playing they are coming to do the things that they said they wanted to do and I said this as a football coach if somebody takes the time to draw up a Playbook they're going to use it so when you keep hearing us and I'll talk about it every single day because I know what it will do I know what it will do to destroy this country this project 2025 that's out there to restrict freedoms demonize this community bully vulnerable children the message is simple from all of us and here in about 59 days you're going to get a chance to send that message is leave our kids the hell alone leave our kids [Applause] alone and I have to tell you this one too and this is one that we keep remembering and this is a thank you to all those folks we talked about the don't ask don't tell but I want to make sure that we recognize this too we've had thousands of Brave transgender troops decorated Warriors who served this country in [Applause] uniform When Donald Trump was commander-in-chief he belittled them and he banned them from service thankfully President Biden and vice president Harris exended that stupid bigoted policy if you want to serve this nation you should be allowed to and what we should do is respect that service they should not get incoming fire from their commander-in-chief attacking their basic dignity humanity and patriotism and I will say this I didn't serve for 24 years in this to have those guys diminish another troop service I will stand with them every single time I know I'm preaching to the the choir a little bit but we got 59 days to sing so the choir needs to sing and I am a believer look you heard I I taught school for a couple decades so I do know and I supervised the lunchroom by the way for a lot of those kind so I am at once an eternal optimist but two I do know that fear is a good short-term motivator but it doesn't change behaviors we're not running against those guys we need to know what they're going to do we need to know what we're up against we need to know what the threat is from them but what we need to do over the next 59 days is get ready to tell people exactly what we're going to do exactly what vice president then president Harris will do so we'll start by this lowering taxes on working families and making sure those at the top and corporations can pay their fair share they're doing fine they're doing fine we're going to protect Social Security and Medicare and we're going to make sure the Affordable Care Act is strengthened [Applause] and look about a dozen states have it if you're in one of these states that have it it's great but the rest of the country needs it it is time for us to quit being the last country on Earth to have paid family and medical leave for this it is time to be done and it's going to be very clear every single day this Freedom issue that it's going to be you and people make the decisions about their healthare not a politician so look everybody everybody should be free to get an education and that should be a path to the middle class it shouldn't be a path to crippling student loan debt for decades to come we can fix this and I'm going to say it once again our kids should be free to go to school without worrying about being shot dead in the Halls it's that [Applause] simple vice president Harris fight make sure that we continue to pass the equality act enshrine anti-discrimination protections and lgbtq Americans Healthcare into law housing education and so much more now look if it sounds like a tall order I'll say it again I'm an eternal optimist think about this when I was a kid growing up in Nebraska being gay was illegal still technically illegal look how much has changed since this organization was founded 40 years ago can you imagine can you imagine going back to me a high schooler in the early 80s and saying you know what we're going to kick down the barriers we're going to open doors we're going to pass laws that lets you bring your authentic self love who you want to love and live the life that you want to live all by yourself with no interference from [Applause] government so I told you I told you hope and my hope is an incredibly powerful room or an incredibly power ful word you look around this room you can feel hope you feel that people want to see this we hope we win this election we hope we pass these laws we hope we lift people out of poverty that's a good thing to have but my wife always reminds me of this it's not a damn plan it's not a plan to hope we win this election we've got to have a plan and we've got to work for it and I ask you to look around this room we got about 3500 people in this room what if we talk to one more person before this election what if we do one more phone bank what if we make one more door knock what if we dig deep and give a little bit more to this campaign because what we know is this politics is not an end it's a means to an end if we want that hope to become reality we've got to do the work to make it happen I know you're out there doing it you came here tonight you came here when you could have been somewhere else and in 59 days we get to chart our way forward we organize we don't donate we volunteer and I've been saying this when in life do you get a chance in 59 days to make an impact that will last for Generations because we [Applause] know if you want to go see what the alternative is it's the worst read in the world but it's 925 Pages it's project 2025 and as vice president Harris said we're not going back to the days we're not going back to the Discrimination we're not going to force our children into situations where they become suicidal we're not going to continue to demonize people because of who they are and we're not going to continue to allow people in this country to go hungry or to be shot dead because we don't make decisions that can improve that so we've got 59 days 59 days each and every one of us what every little bit we can do we can make a difference so I've been saying this and I truly believe this we can do anything for 59 days sleep when you're dead worry about that later but now is the time so it's up to US vice president Harris myself our entire Team all of you HRC we fighting for a better country a better world we're fighting for the folks who aren't here tonight we're fighting for the folks who may not vote for us but we're doing it because it's the values that this country were founded on so as vice president Harris said if we're willing to fight we win when we fight we win when we fight we win thank you HC thank you everybody thank you everyone thank thank you HRC wow well thank you for inviting me and more importantly maybe thank you for the privilege of being able to stand with each of one of you president Robinson thank you for the kind introduction I'd also like to say on a point of personal privilege there's a strong contingent of motans in the house so thank you minnesot so for for all of you here tonight around the country listening you've done so much to advance the cause of equality and freedom I'm proud to so many of you as friends I'm grateful that you brought your time your talents and your Treasures to be here tonight and I'm fired up to be at your side I got to tell you because of all the things that are going on all the places you could be all the things you could have done you came here tonight one is it's the best party in the country tonight so that's why you're here but the deeper reason you're here is for that very simple and beautiful reason you love this country and that's why you're here you love the principles that we stand for well for some of you don't know uh I am Tim Walls and I'm a I'm the governor of Minnesota right now but I I like to make sure that I say that I I was a school teacher for a lot of years but right now right now I'm proud to be the running mate of the next president of the United States KLA Harris the privilege of getting to know this phenomenal leader from a prosecutor district attorney Attorney General US senator and vice president yes by the way she's more qualified than anybody that's ever run for this office let's just be clear but she didn't just take those talents for herself she fights every single day on the side of the American people and what I have to say of all the things that the other side has messed up the other things that they've done the thing that I'll not forgive them for is the thing that vice president Harris is fixing most she's bringing Joy back to our politics decency back to how we do things and this is not a new thing for her this started a long time ago and for the folks of California in 2010 our Californians who are here in 2010 this is the joy she brought so here's the scene years earlier as the da of San Francisco vice president Harris took on and took one of the toughest stances in the nation against hate crimes she led the fight to end the hateful gay and transgender Panic defense we know what that leads to and we know the countless deaths and misery that was brought upon by that she took it on and she also officiated some of the first same-sex marriages in the entire [Applause] country then she went on to become the Attorney General of the largest state in the country and the moment it arrived to defend marriage equality and she threw her whole self into that fight if you know kamla Harris she doesn't just pick these fights when she talks about it and this is the thing to keep in mind all she does is win all she does is [Applause] win so when the word came down that same-sex marriage had been legalized in California two plaintiffs asked KLA Harris to officiate her ceremony while they were at City Hall celebrating that marriage she got a call from two more plaintiffs saying that a clerk in Los Angeles County was denying their marriage certificate so she grabbed a phone and some of you have seen this she asked them to put the clerk on the line and she did what she did best she didn't mince words and she made it very clear she said this is KLA Harris you must start the marriage [Applause] immediately and then she added and I don't know if this always gets in the videos she added the best line to that she told the clerk have a good day and enjoy it it's going to be fun she hasn't looked back from that day as a US senator she fought hard for the equality act introduced a bill to make sure you ensured access to prep and as vice president and I say this it is not a stretch and the facts are there this is the most Pro lgbtq Plus Administration in American history [Applause] she helped President Biden pass the landmark respect for Marriage Act requiring every state and territory to fully honor same-sex and interracial [Applause] marriage and she helped stop the ignorant and Byzantine practice of banning gay and bisexual men from donating blood um I think it's important in this room for us to remember these things because keep in mind there's some other folks on the other side given one chance to get back in the White House they will go back at every one of these things we talk about we talk about progress and moving forward because she said it we're sure the hell not going back on these things we're not going to go back but be clear they're going to be there things like strengthening Mental Health Resources for lgbtq plus youth we know we know what the statistics are they're horrific for our young people from suicides to self harm to all of the other things that go with it we know that this fight is the most important fight that's on our that's on our plate so I have to tell you she made human rights for lgbtq plus individuals around the world a top priority in this nation's foreign policy we must lead we must be the country that leads on [Applause] it she worked with President Biden on historic executive orders protecting folks from discrimination and the reason she did it was pretty simple KLA Harris believes in Equal justice under law and that means not very complicated Equal justice under law it is not to be debated it's not that difficult the president is set but look we know what this fight is we know that we can all relate to some of this and I'll tell you this fight and I think about it for me for some of you maybe heard this I was born in a small place called West Point Nebraska I grew up yay somebody's from West Point there we go there's two of us um the town I grew up in had 400 people 24 classmates 12 were cousins somebody brought up the prom dating to me yes it's interesting um but look when you're in a community like that Community was a way of life my folks showed me Teach generosity to your neighbors work hard for the common good those are values that I brought work as a social studies teacher in a high school football coach now those of you who teach know this you learn far more from your students than they learn from you no matter how good of teacher you are you know how that works so some of my students and this is in the late 90s were concerned about an uptick in bullying amongst the gay and lesbian community in our school one of those Brave students is here tonight Jacob Ron's a dear friend of mine who's here and Jacob look I'm coaching football I'm an old straight white guy I'm teaching social studies you're all picturing the damn stereotype here turns out that I'm like opposite world of Tommy tuberville though so in this for some of you so so when Jake asked if I'd be interested in being the adviser to the gay straight Alliance I said absolutely I understood what it meant to be that older straight white guy who was coaching [Applause] football Alli ship is a great thing but what many of you in here knows is it's easy to be be an ally when it's easy to be an ally what really matters is knowing who's going to be at your side and stand up when it's hard and it was in those moments that those students inspired me years later look I'm a 40-some guy with little kids who is teaching school trying to pay the mortgage the idea of running for office never got to me or thought about it but those students inspire ired me and what they saw in me is what I was trying to instill in them this commitment to a common good I believe one person can make a difference in other people's lives so in 2006 I took the leap ran for congress no one told me at that time and I of course you know apparently couldn't google it um in that district there had been one other Democrat since 1892 and in that red District I was in a state that had banned same St marriage for a decade but I knew I was right and I ran on the platform that supported equality and this is what I said I got asked at a debate if I supported civil unions I I said sure if that's your thing but I said my marriage to my wife Gwen is most important thing in my life I love her deeply why would I stop anybody else from marrying the person they love that makes no sense now this was this was 2006 and some of you uh with a little more gray hair or less of it can remember this time um that the other side said oh a b rate candidate finally showed his true colors by saying this well as it turned out a majority of my neighbors agreed with us and they elected me to represent them in the United States [Applause] house and after it was over some people came up to me and said wow you R you won in spite of being uh pro-choice and PR gay marriage and I said no no no you've got this wrong I won because I was for those positions that's why we won so when I got to Congress I showed up there and the house historian told me at the time I was the highest ranking enlisted soldier at the time I served on the house Veterans Affairs committee and I worked with my roommate Patrick Murphy from Bucks County Pennsylvania to overturn don't ask don't [Applause] tell and was proud to be an early supporter for the respect for marriage act that we finally got passed and signed into law now I tell you this again it's not no one should get a pat on the back for doing what's right for God's sakes the bar is pretty damn low here to treat people like human beings Equal justice under law it's not a high bar it's not a High bar but we know the forces that are aligned against it so this is where Champions rise up whether it's a young student at a at a school in southern Minnesota or it was someone who I met and I wished I had not met under the circumstance it was but someone who changed my life I was there when we passed the Matthew Shepard hate crime prevention act and I had the privilege I had the privilege when the final vote was coming up in the house it was going to be close I walked to the house floor through the tunnels from the the Longworth house office building over to the Capal and I made that walk with Matthew's mom Judy Shephard and and the sheriff who found Matthew's body tied to that fence poost in Wyoming and I remember walking with a mother who had lost her son and hearing the sheriff tell me the only place that wasn't bloody is where the tears ran down Matthew's eyes and I watched a mother and The Unbelievable pain that I couldn't even fathom to lose a child this way walk with her head held high to make sure that none of the rest of us ever have to get a call from someone so I just want to say my my friend Judy Shepard and her husband Dennis are here tonight and I'd like us all to give them a big round of applause [Applause] this room this room is full of Heroes like that things that were done some of them bigger Small Things ways to make people's lives a little bit easier but what I knew was when I had the chance to get elected to office and make a difference look there's a lot of people you don't get elected to office to bank political Capital so you can get elected again you get elected to office to burn political Capital to improve lives as quickly as you [Applause] can and so when we got the majority in Minnesota for the first time in over a decade we had the governor's office we had the house and we had the Senate by one vote and we got busy first thing we did is we B conversion therapy in [Applause] Minnesota we protected transgender community and said in Minnesota you are seen heard loved and respected and safe and safe in Minnesota and we did something a little bit we banned Banning books especially Banning lgbtq books for themes in [Applause] that think about it in this room this is what these folks are focusing on spending all their time like reading about two male Penguins who love each other is is somehow going to turn your children gay and that's what you should worry about but here's what I'll tell you it's a fact of life some people are gay but you know what's not a fact of life that our children need to be shot dead in schools that's not a fact a lie folks are Banning books but they're okay with weapons of war being in our schools look that's not this country it doesn't have to be this way it doesn't happen elsewhere we're going to make sure our children are seen they bring their authentic self and then we're going to make sure they're safe when they get there so thank you all what this election boils down to in a lot of ways it's fundamentally about Freedom now it's not just a great song that vice president Harris walks on to although it is a great song that vice president Harris walks on to but it's truly fundamentally what does freedom mean and some of you in here I keep coming back to it some of us who are a little older because we got to go back a little ways in history here when Republicans used to talk about freedom many of them actually meant it they weren't they weren't going to turn their backs on our allies they weren't going to leave Ukraine to themselves they weren't going to start doing the things they did but that's not true anymore Donald Trump and JD Vance their idea of freedom that the government should be free to invade every corner of our lives our bedrooms our kids schools even our doctor's office and I say this where I come from and I know where all of you come from I respect my neighbor's personal choices I wouldn't make some of the choices they make but you know what when it comes to personal things B autonomy your gender identity when to start a family marrying who you love might sound a little bit old-fashioned on that but I think we just need to be really good neighbors everyone just deserves to be treated with [Applause] respect freedom to make that choice and I keep reinforcing this cuz they talk about this you know there no government's too big in all this big enough to be in my bedroom apparently big enough to be in your uterus big enough to be in every Library big enough to do that but here's the thing this Society works best whether it's small towns or large towns and I say this I bet every state could say this but in Minnesota things work really well because we have a saying that I talk about a lot you know everything works better if you just mind your own damn business and I'll mind mine so nothing [Applause] this idea and this Obsession and you've heard me say this they're all angry that I'm being mean to them um the other night Donald Trump did a town hall where he got to control what he said and he reassured the audience there 11 times that he was not weird if you're reminding someone you're not weird you're probably yeah but look my point was my point was who is asking for this agenda that they're doing who's asking for them to take away our freedoms who's asking them to take away reproductive freedoms and I spoke personally about this because it's personal for so many of us in here the decision of how and what way and what your family is going to look like once again that's your decision but for us in my family we had to go through fertility treatments thank God we had Insurance thank God we had access to fertility treatments and those of you if you've been through this whatever manage whatever way that looks it's agonizing whether you're waiting for adoption or you're waiting for those phone calls did the treatment work and then finding out it didn't and then starting again it's stressful it's hard I sure the hell don't need JD Vance giving me advice on it it's not helpful it's not helpful and it's a simple fix you worry about your family I'll worry about mine it's a very simple fix so for us I'll have to tell you when that call finally came and our daughter was born it wasn't by chance that we called her hope because that was our belief it was the strongest and most powerful word in the universe and so uh my daughter hope is here tonight with me by the way so and I don't know if if you saw it at the convention here last week the vice president pretty much took back freedom from the other side that that now belongs with us and that's what we're saying took back the flag they don't they haven't cornered patriotism and I'm not going to allow them to talk about family values why they're doing everything possible to invade our personal lives on our [Applause] families and I think there's a lot of people this is just my Pro tip of the day look there's two of us there's two of us trying to that have the privilege of it's kind of crazy in a country this big that there's two people one of the two is going to be the next Vice President of the United States so uh so my Pro tip to to my opponent on the other side is quit talking about women's childbearing issues quit talking about it because no one cares what your thoughts are on if my family counselor doesn't no one cares no one [Applause] cares and in Minnesota and this what I'm not going to take a backseat in why those guys were Banning books in their schools we were Banning hunger in ours so if you're going to talk about family values then at least show up and vote when the child tax credit is there which we know can reduce childhood poverty by a [Applause] third they didn't do anything when Donald Trump was in office he made it more difficult they didn't do anything on lowering child care costs did you hear he's got a plan on child care costs that no one in the world understood it damn word about it not one thing but there are things you can do and we did it in Minnesota and one of the things you can do is you can start making sure that you're doing things like the child tax credit and making it easier for same set couples to start and raise their families openly with love and pride and make sure that the sport is [Applause] there so that outdated narrow ideology there's no one asking for it but here's what I worry about for all of you and for all of us it's not just what they did because they tried hard this time they're not playing they are coming to do the things that they said they wanted to do and I said this as a football coach if somebody takes the time to draw up a Playbook they're going to use it so when you keep hearing us and I'll talk about it every single day because I know what it will do I know what it will do to destroy this country this project 2025 that's out there to restri freedoms demonize this community bully vulnerable children the message is simple from all of us and here in about 59 days you're going to get a chance to send that message is leave our kids the hell alone leave our kids [Applause] alone and I have to tell you this one too and this is one that we keep remembering and this is a thank you to all those folks we talked about the don't ask don't tell but I want to make sure that we recognize this too we've had thousands of Brave transgender troops decorated Warriors who served this country in [Applause] uniform When Donald Trump was commanderin-chief he belittled them and he banned them from service thankfully President Biden and vice president Harris rest standed that stupid bigoted policy if you want to serve this nation you should be allowed to and what we should do is respect that service they should not get incoming fire from their commanderin-chief attacking their basic dignity humanity and patriotism and I will say this I didn't serve for 24 years in this to have those guys diminish another troop service I will stand with them every single time I know I'm preaching to the choir a little bit but we got 59 days to sing so the choir needs is saying and I am a believer look you heard I I taught school for a couple decades so I do know and I supervise the lunchroom by the way for a lot of those times so I am at once an eternal optimist but two I do know that fear is a good short-term motivator but it doesn't change behaviors we're not running against those guys we need to know what they're going to do we need to know what we're up against we need to know what the threat is from them but what we need to do of next 59 days is get ready to tell people exactly what we're going to do exactly what vice president then president Harris will do so we'll start by this lowering taxes on working families and making sure those at the top and corporations can pay their fair share they're doing fine they're doing fine we're going to protect Social Security and Medicare and we're going to make sure the Affordable Care Act is strengthened and look about a dozen states have it if you're in one of these states that have it it's great but the rest of the country needs it it is time for us to quit being the last country on Earth to had paid family and medical leave for this it is time to be done and it's going to be very clear every single day this Freedom issue that it's going to be you and people make the decisions about their healthare not a politician so look everybody everybody should be free to get an education and that should be a path to the middle class it shouldn't be a path to crippling student loan debt for decades to come we can fix this and I'm going to say it once again our kids should be free to go to school without worrying about being shot dead in the Halls it's that [Applause] simple vice president Harris fight make sure that we continue to pass the equality act enshrine anti-discrimination protections and lgbtq Americans Healthcare into law housing education and so much more now look if it sounds like a tall order I'll say it again I'm an eternal optimist think about this when I was a kid growing up in Nebraska being gay was illegal still technically illegal look how much has changed since this organization was founded 40 years ago can you imagine can you imagine going back to me a high schooler in the early 80s and saying you know what we're going to kick down the barriers we're going to open doors we're going to pass laws that let you bring your authentic self love who you want to love and live the life that you want to live all by yourself with no interference from [Applause] government so I told you I told you hope and my hope is an incredibly powerful room or an incredibly powerful word you look around this room you can feel hope you feel that people want to see this we hope we win this election we hope we pass these laws we hope we lift people out of poverty that's a good thing to have but my wife always reminds me of this it's not a damn plan it's not a plan to hope we win this election we've got to have a plan and we've got to work for it and I ask you to look around this room we got about 3,500 people in this room what if we talk to one more person before this election what if we do one more phone bank what if we make one more door knock what if we dig deep and give a little bit more to this campaign cuz what we know is this politics is not an end it's a means to an end if we want that hope to become reality we've got to do the work to make it happen I know you're out there doing it you came here tonight you came here when you could have been somewhere else and in 59 days we get to chart our way forward we organize we donate we volunteer and I've been saying this when in life do you get a chance in 59 days to make an impact that will last for Generations because we [Applause] know if you want to go see what the alternative is it's the worst read in the world but it's 925 Pages it's project 2025 and as vice president Harris said we're not going back to the days we're not going back to the Discrimination we're not going to force our children into situations where they become suicidal we're not going to continue to demonize people because of who they are and we're not going to continue to allow people in this country to go hungry or to be shot dead because we don't make decisions that can improve that so we've got 59 days 59 days each and every one of us what every little bit we can do we can make a difference so I've been saying this and I truly believe this we can do anything for 59 days sleep when you're dead worry about that later but now is the time [Applause] so it's up to US vice president Harris myself our entire Team all of you HRC we're fighting for a better country a better world we're fighting for the folks who aren't here tonight we're fighting for the folks who may not vote for us but we're doing it because it's the values that this country were founded on so as vice president haris said if we're willing to fight we win when we fight we we win when we fight we win thank you HRC thank you everybody thank you everyone thank thank you HRC wow well thank you for inviting me and more importantly maybe thank you for the privilege of being able to stand with each of one of you president Robinson thank you for the kind introduction I'd also like to say on a point of personal privilege there's a strong contingent of motans in the house so thank you motans so for for all of you here tonight and around the country listening you've done so much to advance the cause of equality and freedom I'm proud to count so many of you as friends I'm grateful that you brought your time your talents and your Treasures to be here tonight and I'm fired up to be at your side I got to tell you because of all the things that are going on all the places you could be all the things you could have done you came here tonight one is it's the best party in the country tonight so that's why you're here but the deeper reason you're here is for that very simple and beautiful reason you love this country and that's why you're here you love the principles that we stand for well for some of you who don't know uh I am Tim Walls and I'm a I'm the governor of Minnesota right now but I I like to make sure that I say that I I was a school teacher for a lot of years but right now right now I'm proud to be the running mate of the next president of the United States comma Harris the privilege of getting to know this phenomenal leader from a prosecutor district attorney Attorney General us Senator and vice president yes by the way she's more qualified than anybody that's ever run for this office let's just be clear but she didn't just take those talents for herself she fights every single day on the side of the American people and what I have to say of all the things that the other side has messed up the other things that they've done the thing that I'll not forgive them for is the thing that vice president Harris is fixing most she's bringing Joy back to our politics decency back to how we do things and this is not a new thing for her this started a long time ago and for the folks of California in 2010 our Californians who are here in 2010 this is the joy she brought so here's the scene years earlier as the da of San Francisco vice president Harris took on and took one of the toughest stances in the nation against hate crimes she led the fight to end the hateful gay and transgender Panic defense we know what that leads to and we know the countless deaths and misery that was brought upon by that she took it on and she also officiated some of the first same-sex marriages in the entire [Applause] country then she went on to become the Attorney General of the largest state in the country and the moment it arrived to defend marriage equality and she threw her whole self into that fight if you know kamla Harris she doesn't just pick these fights when she talks about it and this is the thing to keep in mind all she does is win all she does is [Applause] win so when the word came down that same-sex marriage had been legalized in California two plaintiffs asked KLA Harris to officiate her ceremony while they were at City Hall celebrating that marriage she got a call from two more plaintiffs saying that a clerk in Los Angeles County was denying their marriage certificate so she grabbed a phone and some of you have seen this she asked them to put the clerk on the line and she did what she did best she didn't mince words and she made it very clear she said this is KLA Harris you must start the marriage [Applause] immediately and then she added and I don't know if this always gets in the videos she added the best line to that she told the clerk have a good day and enjoy it it's going to be fun she hasn't looked back from that day as a US senator she fought hard for the equality act introduced a bill to make sure you ensured access to prep and as vice president and I say this it is not a stretch and the facts are there this is the most Pro lgbtq Plus Administration in American history [Applause] she helped President Biden pass the landmark respect for Mary Jack requiring every state and territory to fully honor samesex and interracial [Applause] marriage and she helped stop the ignorant and Byzantine practice of banning gay and bisexual men from donating blood [Applause] um I think it's important in this room for us to remember these things because keep in mind there's some other folks on the other side given one chance to get back in the White House they will go back at every one of these things we talk about we talk about progress and moving forward because she said it we're sure the hell not going back on these things we're not going to go back but be clear they're going to be there things like strengthening Mental Health Resources for lgbtq plus youth we know we know what the statistics are they're horrific for our young people from suicides to self harm to all of the other things that go with it we know that this fight is the most important fight that's on our that's on our plate so I have to tell you she made human rights for lgbtq plus individuals around the world a top priority in this nation's foreign policy we must lead we must be the country that leads on [Applause] it she worked with President Biden on historic executive orders protecting folks from discrimination and the reason she did it was pretty simple KLA Harris believes in Equal justice under law and that means not very complicated Equal justice under law yeah it is not to be debated it's not that difficult the precence is set but look we know what this fight is we know that we can all relate to some of this and I'll tell you this fight and I think about it for me for some of you may you heard this I was born in a small place called West Point Nebraska I grew up yay somebody's from West Point there we go there's two of us um the town I grew up in had 400 people 24 classmates 12 were cousins somebody brought up the prom dating to me yes it's interesting um but look when you're in a community like that Community was a way of life my folks showed me Teach generosity to your neighbors work hard for the common good those are values that I brought work as a social studies teacher and a high school football coach now those of you who teach know this you learn far more from your students than they learn from you no matter how good of teacher you are you know how that works so some of my students and this is in the late '90s were concerned about an uptick in bullying amongst the gay and lesbian community in our school one of those Brave students is here tonight Jacob Ron a dear friend of mine who's [Applause] here and Jacob look I'm coaching football I'm an old straight white guy I'm teaching social studies you're all picturing the damn stereotype here turns out that I'm like opposite world of Tommy tuberville though so in this for some of you so so when Jake asked if I'd be interested in being the adviser to the gay straight Alliance I said absolutely I understood what it meant to be that older straight white guy who was coaching [Applause] football Ally ship is a great thing but what many of you in here knows is it's easy to be an ally when it's easy to be an ally what really matters is knowing who's going to be at your side and stand up when it's hard and it was in those moments that those students inspired me years later look I'm a 40-some guy with little kids who is teaching school trying to pay the mortgage the idea of running for office never got to me or thought about it but those students inspired me and what they saw in me is what I was trying to instill in them commitment to a common good I believe one person can make a difference in other people's lives so in 2006 I took the leap ran for congress no one told me at that time and I of course you know apparently couldn't google it um in that district there had been one other Democrat since 1892 and in that red District I was in a state that had banned Sam St marriage for a decade but I knew I was right and I ran on the platform that supported equality and this is what I said I got asked at a debate if I supported civil unions I I said sure if that's your thing but I said my marriage to my wife Gwen is most important thing in my life I love her deeply why would I stop anybody else from marrying the person they love that makes no sense now this was this was 2006 and some of you uh with a little more gray hair or less of it can remember this time um that the other side said oh a bate candidate finally showed his true colors by saying this well as it turned out a majority of my neighbors agreed with us and they elected me to represent them in the United States [Applause] house and after it was over some people came up to me and said wow you R you won in spite of being uh pro-choice and PR gay marriage and I said no no no you've got this wrong I won because I was for those positions that's why we won so when I got to Congress I showed up there and the house historian told me at the time I was the highest ranking enlisted soldier at the time I served on the house Veterans Affairs committee and I worked with my roommate Patrick Murphy from Bucks County Pennsylvania to overturn don't ask don't tell and was proud to be an early supporter for the respect for marriage Jack that we finally got passed and signed into law now I tell you this again it's not no one should get a pat on the back for doing what's right for God's sakes the bar is pretty damn low here to treat people like human beings Equal justice under law it's not a high bar it's not a high bar but we know the forces that are aligned against it so this is where champ I Rise up whether it's a young student at a at a school in southern Minnesota or it was someone who I met and I wished I had not met under the circumstance it was but someone who changed my life I was there when we passed the Matthew Shepard hate crime prevention act and I had the privilege I had the privilege when the final vote was coming up in the house it was going to be close I walked to the house floor through the tunnels from the the Longworth house office building over to the capital and I made that walk with Matthew's mom Judy Shepard and and the sheriff who found Matthew's body tied to that fence post in Wyoming and I remember walking with a mother who had lost her son and hearing the sheriff tell me the only place that wasn't bloody is where the tears ran down Matthew's eyes and I watched a mother and The Unbelievable pain that I couldn't even fathom to lose a child this way walk with her headheld High to make sure that none of the rest of us ever have to get a call from someone so I just want to say my my friend Judy Shepard and her husband Dennis are here tonight and I'd like us all to give them a big round of applause [Applause] this room this room is full of Heroes like that things that were done some of them bigger Small Things ways to make people's lives a little bit easier but what I knew was when I had the chance to get elected to office and make a difference look there's a lot of people you don't get elected to office to bank political Capital so you can get elected again you get elected to office to burn political Capital to improve lives as quickly as you [Applause] can and so when we got the majority in Minnesota for the first time in over a decade we had the governor's office we had the house and we had the Senate by one vote and we got busy first thing we did is we banned conversion therapy in Minnesota [Applause] we protected transgender community and said in Minnesota you are seen heard loved and respected and safe and safe in Minnesota and we did something a little bit we banned Banning books especially Banning lgbtq books put themes in [Applause] that think about it in this room this is what these folks are focusing on spending all their time like reading about two male Penguins who love each other is is somehow going to turn your children gay and that's what you should worry about but here's what I'll tell you it's a fact of life some people are gay but you know what's not a fact of life that our children need to be shot dead in schools that's not a fact alive folks are Banning books but they're okay with weapons of war being in our schools look that's not this country it doesn't have to be this way it doesn't happen elsewhere we're going to make sure our children are seen they bring their authentic self and then we're going to make sure they're safe when they get there so thank you [Applause] all what the this election boils down to in a lot of ways it's fundamentally about Freedom now it's not just a great song that vice president Harris walks on to although it is a great song that vice president haris walks on to but it's truly fundamentally what does freedom mean and some of you in here I keep coming back to it some of us you are a little older because we got to go back a little ways in history here when Republicans used to talk about Freedom many of them actually meant it they weren't they weren't going to turn their backs on our allies they weren't going to leave Ukraine to themselves they weren't going to start doing the things they did but that's not true anymore Donald Trump and JD Vance their idea of freedom that the government should be free to invade every corner of our lives our bedrooms our kids schools even our doctor's office and I say this where I come from and I know where all of you come from I respect my neighbor personal choices I wouldn't make some of the choices they make but you know what when it comes to personal things bodily autonomy your gender identity when to start a family marrying who you love might sound a little bit old-fashioned on that but I think we just need to be really good neighbors everyone just deserves to be treated with [Applause] respect freedom to make that choice and I keep reinforcing this cuz they talk about this you know there government's too big in all this big enough to be in my bedroom apparently big enough enough to be in your uterus big enough to be in every Library big enough to do that but here's the thing this Society works best whether it's small towns or large towns and I say this and I bet every state could say this but in Minnesota things work really well because we have a saying that I talk about a lot you know everything works better if you just mind your own damn business and I'll mind mine so nothing this idea and this Obsession and you've heard me say this they're all angry that I'm being mean to them um the other night Donald Trump did a town hall where he got to control what he said and he reassured the audience there 11 times that he was not weird if you're reminding someone you're not weird you probably yeah but look my point was my point was who is asking for this agenda that they're doing who's asking for them to take away our freedoms who's asking them to take away reproductive freedoms and I spoke personally about this because it's personal for so many of us in here the decision of how and what way and what your family is going to look like once again that's your decision but for us in my family we had to go through fertility treatments thank God we had insurance thank God we had access to fertility treatments and those of you if you've been through this whatever manage whatever way that looks it's agonizing whether you're waiting for adoption or you're waiting for those phone calls did the treatment work and then finding out it didn't and then starting again it's stressful it's hard I sure the hell don't need JD Vance giving me advice on it it's not helpful it's not helpful and it's a simple fix you worry about your family I'll worry about mine it's a very simple fix so for us I'll have to tell you when that call finally came and our daughter was born it wasn't by chance that we called her hope because that was our belief it was the strongest and most powerful word in the universe and so uh my daughter hope is here tonight with me by the way so and I don't know if if you saw it at the convention here last week the vice president pretty much took back freedom from the other side that that now belongs with us and that's what we're saying took back the flag they don't they haven't cornered patriotism and I'm not going to allow them to talk about family values why they're doing everything possible to invade our personal lives on our [Applause] families and I think there's a lot of people this is just my Pro tip of the day look there's two of us there's two of us trying to that have the privilege of it's kind of crazy in a country this big that there's two people one of the two is going to be the next Vice President of the United States so uh so my Pro tip to to my opponent on the other side is quit talking about women's childbearing issues quit talking about it because no one cares what your thoughts are on if my family counts or doesn't no one cares no one [Applause] cares and in Minnesota and this what I'm not going to take a back seat in why those guys were Banning books in their schools we were Banning hunger in ours so if you're going to talk about family values then at least show up and vote when the child tax credit is there which we know can reduce childhood poverty by a [Applause] third they didn't do anything when Donald Trump was in office he made it more difficult they didn't do anything on lowering child care cost did you hear he's got a plan on child care costs that no one in the world understood a damn word about it not one thing but there are things you can do and we did it in Minnesota and one of the things you can do is you can start making sure that you're doing things like the child tax credit and making it easier for same set couples to start and raise their families openly with love and pride and make sure that the sport is [Applause] there so that outdated narrow ideology there's no one asking for it but here's what I worry about for all of you and for all of us it's not just what they did because they tried hard this time they're not playing they are coming to do the things that they said they wanted to do and I said this as a football coach if somebody takes the time to draw up a Playbook they're going to use it so when you keep hearing us and I'll talk about it every single day because I know what it will do I know what it will do to destroy this country this project 2025 that's out there to restrict freedoms demonize this community bully vulnerable children the message is simple from all of us and here in about 59 days you're going to get a chance to send that message is leave our kids the hell alone leave our kids [Applause] alone and I have to tell you this one too and this is one that we keep remembering and this is a thank you to all those folks we talked about the don't ask don't tell but I want to make sure that we recognize this too we've had thousands of Brave transgender troops decorated Warriors who served this country in [Applause] uniform When Donald Trump was commander-in-chief he belittled them and he banned them from service thankfully President Biden and vice president Harris exended that stupid bigoted [Applause] policy if you want to serve this nation you should be allowed to and what we should do is respect that service they should not get incoming fire from their commanderin-chief attacking their basic dignity humanity and patriotism and I will say this I didn't serve for 24 years in this to have those guys diminish another troop service I will stand with them every single time I know I'm preaching to the choir a little bit but we got 59 days to sing so the choir needs to sing and I am a believer look you heard me I I taught school for a couple decades so I do know and I supervis the lunchroom by the way for a lot of those times so I am at once an eternal optimist but two I do know that fear is a good short-term motivator but it doesn't change behaviors we're not running against those guys we need to know what they're going to do we need to know what we're up against we need to know what the threat is from them but what we need to do over the next 59 days is get ready to tell people exactly what we're going to do exactly what vice president then president Harris will do so we'll start by this lowering taxes on working families and making sure those at the top and corporations can pay their fair share they're doing fine they're doing fine we're going to protect Social Security and Medicare and we're going to make sure the Affordable Care Act is strengthened and look about a dozen states have it if you're in one of these states that have it it's great but the rest of the country needs it it is time for us to quit being the last country on Earth to had paid family and medical leave for this it is time to be done and it's going to be very clear every single day this Freedom issue that it's going to be you and people make the decisions about their health care not a politician so look everybody everybody should be free to get an education and that should be a path to the middle class it shouldn't be a path to crippling student loan debt for decades to come we can fix this and I'm going to say it once again our kids should be free to go to school without worrying about being shot dead in the Halls it's that [Applause] simple vice president Harris fight make sure that we continue to pass the equality act enshrine anti-discrimination protections and lgbtq Americans Healthcare into law housing education and so much more now look if if it sounds like a tall order I'll say it again I'm an eternal optimist think about this when I was a kid growing up in Nebraska being gay was illegal still technically illegal look how much has changed since this organization was founded 40 years ago can you imagine can you imagine going back to me a high schooler in the early 80s and saying you know what we're going to kick down the barriers we're going to open doors we're going to pass laws that lets you bring your authentic self love who you want to love and live the life that you want to live all by yourself with no interference from [Applause] government so I told you I told you hope and my hope is an incredibly powerful room or an incredibly powerful word you look around this room you can feel hope you feel that people want to see this we hope we win this election we hope we pass these law lause we hope we lift people out of poverty that's a good thing to have but my wife always reminds me of this it's not a damn plan it's not a plan to hope we win this election we've got to have a plan and we've got to work for it and I ask you to look around this room we got about 3,500 people in this room what if we talk to one more person before this election what if we do one more phone bank what if we make one more door knck what if we dig deep and give a little bit more to this campaign cuz what we know is this politics is not an end it's a means to an end if we want that hope to become reality we've got to do the work to make it happen I know you're out there doing it you came here tonight you came here when you could have been somewhere else and in 59 days we get to chart our way forward we organize we donate we volunteer and I've been saying this when in life do you get a chance in 59 days to make an impact that will last for Generations because we [Applause] know if you want to go see what the alternative is it's the worst read in the world but it's 925 Pages it's project 225 and as vice president Harris said we're not going back to the days we're not going back to the Discrimination we're not going to force our children into situations where they become suicidal we're not going to continue to demonize people because of who they are and we're not going to continue to allow people in this country to go hungry or to be shot dead because we don't make decisions that can improve that so we've got 59 days 59 days each and every one of us what every little bit we can do we can make a difference so I've been saying this and I truly believe this we can do anything for 59 days sleep when you're dead worry about that later but now is the time so it's up to us vice president Harris myself our entire Team all of you HRC we fighting for a better country a better world we're fighting for the folks who aren't here tonight we're fighting for the folks who may not vote for us but we're doing it because it's the values that this country were founded on so as vice president Harris said if we're willing to fight we win when we fight we win when we fight we win thank you HRC thank you everybody thank you everyone thank thank you HRC wow well thank you for inviting me and more importantly maybe thank you for the privilege of being able to stand with each of one of you president Robinson thank you for the kind introduction I'd also like to say on a point of personal privilege there's a strong contingent of motans in the house so thank you motans so for for all of you here tonight around the country listening you've done so much to advance the cause of equality and freedom I'm proud to count so many of you as friends I'm grateful that you brought your time your talents and your Treasures to be here tonight and I'm up to be at your side I got to tell you because of all the things that are going on all the places you could be all the things you could have done you came here tonight one is it's the best party in the country tonight so that's right you're here but the deeper reason you're here is for that very simple and beautiful reason you love this country and that's why you're here you love the principles that we stand for well for some of you who don't know uh I am Tim Walls and I'm a I'm the governor of Minnesota right now but I I like to make sure that I say that I I was a school teacher for a lot of years but right now right now I'm proud to be the running mate of the next president of the United States KLA Harris the privilege of getting to know this phenomenal leader from a prosecutor district attorney Attorney General US senator and vice president yes by the way she's more qualified than anybody that's ever run for this office let's just be clear but she didn't just take those talents for herself she fights every single day on the side of the American people and what I have to say of all the things that the other side has messed up the other things that they've done the thing that I'll not forgive them for is the thing that vice president Harris is fixing most she's bringing Joy back to our politics decency back to how we do things and this is not a new thing for her this started a long time ago and for the folks of California in 2010 our Californians who are here in 2010 this is the joy she brought so here's the scene years earlier as the da of San Francisco vice president Harris took on and took one of the toughest stances in the nation against hate crimes she led the fight to end the hateful gay and transgender Panic defense we know what that leads to and we know the countless deaths and misery that was brought upon by that she took it on and she also officiated some of the first same-sex marriages in the entire [Applause] country then she went on to become the Attorney General of the largest state in the country and the moment it arrived to defend marriage equality and she threw her whole self into that fight if you know kamla Harris she doesn't just pick these fights when she talks about it and and this is the thing to keep in mind all she does is win all she does is [Applause] win so when the word came down that same-sex marriage had been legalized in California two plaintiffs asked KLA Harris to officiate her ceremony while they were at City Hall celebrating that marriage she got a call from two more plaintiffs saying that a clerk in Los Angeles County was denying their marriage certific so she grabbed a phone and some of you have seen this she asked them to put the clerk on the line and she did what she did best she didn't Min words and she made it very clear she said this is KLA Harris you must start the marriage [Applause] immediately and then she added and I don't know if this always gets in the videos she added the best line to that she told the clerk have a good day and enjoy it it's going to be fun she hasn't looked back from that day as a US senator she fought hard for the equality act introduced a bill to make sure you ensured access to prep and as vice president and I say this it is not a stretch and the facts are there this is the most Pro lgbtq Plus Administration in American [Applause] history she helped President Biden pass the landmark respect for marriage Jack requiring every state and territory to fully honor same-sex and interracial [Applause] marriage and she helped stop the ignorant and Byzantine practice of banning gay and bisexual men from donating blood [Applause] um I think it's important in this room for us to remember these things because keep in mind there's some other folks on the other side given one chance to get back in the White House they will go back at every one of these things we talk about we talk about progress and moving forward because she said it we're sure the hell not going back on these things we're not going to go back but be clear they're going to be there things like strengthening Mental Health Resources for lgbtq plus youth we know we know what the statistics are they're horrific for our young people from suicides to self harm to all of the other things that go with it we know that this fight is the most important fight that's on our that's on our plate so I have to tell you she made human rights for lgbtq plus individuals around the world a top priority in this nation's foreign policy we must lead we must be the country that leads on [Applause] it she worked with President Biden on historic executive orders protecting folks from discrimination and the reason she did it was pretty simple KLA Harris believes in Equal justice under law and that means not very complicated Equal justice under law it is not to be debated it's not that difficult the presidence is set but look we know what this fight is we know that we can all relate to some of this and I'll tell you this fight and I think about it for me for some of you may you heard this I was born in a small place called West Point Nebraska I grew up yay somebody's from West Point there we go there's two of us um the town I grew up in had 400 people 24 classmates 12 were cousins somebody brought up the prom dating to me yes it's interesting um but look when you're in a community like that Community was a way of life my folks showed me Teach generosity to your neighbors work hard for the common good those are values that I brought work as a social studies teacher in a high school football coach now those of you who teach know this you learn far more from your students than they learn from you no matter how good of teacher you are you know how that works so some of my students and this is in the late 90s were concerned about an uptick in bullying amongst the gay and lesbian community in our school one of those Brave students is here tonight Jacob Ron's a dear friend of mine who's here and Jacob look I'm coaching football I'm an old straight white guy I'm teaching social studies you're all picturing the damn stereotype here turns out that I'm like opposite world of Tommy tuberville though so in this for some of you so so when Jake asked if I'd be interested in being the adviser to theame straight Alliance I said absolutely I understood what it meant to be that older straight white guy who was coaching [Applause] football Ally ship is a great thing but what many of you in here knows is it's easy to be an ally when it's easy to be an ally what really matters is knowing who's going to be at your side and stand up when it's hard [Applause] and it was in those moments that those students inspired me years later look I'm a 40-something guy with little kids who is teaching school trying to pay the mortgage the idea of running for office never got to me or thought about it but those students inspired me and what they saw in me is what I was trying to instill in them this commitment to a common good I believe one person can make a difference in other people's lives lives so in 2006 I took the leap ran for congress no one told me at that time and I of course you know apparently couldn't google it um in that district there had been one other Democrat since 1892 and in that red District I was in a state that had banned Sam St marriage for a decade but I knew I was right and I ran on the platform that support equality and this is what I said I got asked at a debate if I supported civil unions I I said sure if that's your thing but I said my marriage to my wife Gwen is most important thing in my life I love her deeply why would I stop anybody else from marrying the person they love that makes no sense now this was this was 2006 and some of you uh with a little more gray hair of it can remember this time um that the other side said oh a B- rate candidate finally showed his true colors by saying this well as it turned out a majority of my neighbors agreed with us and they elected me to represent them in the United States [Applause] hour and after it was over some people came up to me and said wow you R you won in spite of being uh pro-choice and PR gay marriage and I said no no no you've got this wrong I won because I was for those positions that's why we won so when I got to Congress I showed up there and the house historian told me at the time I was the highest ranking enlisted soldier at the time I served on the house Veterans Affairs committee and I worked with my roommate Patrick Murphy from Bucks County Pennsylvania to overturn don't ask don't tell and was proud to be an early supporter for the respect for marriage act that we finally got passed and signed into law now I tell you this again it's not no one should get a pat on the back for doing what's right for God's sakes the bar is pretty damn low here to treat people like human beings Equal justice under law it's not a high bar it's not a high bar but we know the forces that are aligned against it so this is where Champions rise up whether it's a young student at a at a school in southern Minnesota or it was someone who I met and I wished I had not met under the circumstance it was but someone who changed my life I was there when we passed the Matthew Shepard hate crime prevention act and I had the privilege I had the privilege when the final vote was coming up in the house it was going to be close I walked to the house floor through the tunnels from the the Longworth house office building over to the Capal and I made that walk with Matthew's mom Judy Shepard [Applause] and and the sheriff who found Matthew's body tied to that fence post in Wyoming and I remember walking with a mother who had lost her son and hearing the sheriff tell me the only place that wasn't bloody is where the tears ran down Matthew's eyes and I watched a mother and The Unbelievable pain that I couldn't even fathom to lose a child this way walk with her head held high to make sure that none of the rest of us ever have to get a call from some so I just want to say my my friend Judy Shepard and her husband Dennis are here tonight and I'd like us all to give them a big round of applause [Applause] this [Applause] room this room is full of Heroes like that things that were done some of them bigger Small Things ways to make people's lives a little bit easier but what I knew was when I had the chance to get elected to office and make a difference look there's a lot of people you don't get elected to office to bank political Capital so you can get elected again you get elected to office to burn political Capital to improve lives as quickly as you can and so when we got the majority in Minnesota for the first time in over a decade we had the governor's office we had the house and we had the Senate by one vote and we got busy first thing we did is we banned conversion therapy in [Applause] Minnesota we protected transgender community and said in Minnesota you are seen heard loved and respected and safe and safe in Minnesota and we did something a little bit we banned Banning books especially Banning lgbtq books for themes in [Applause] that think about it in this room this is what these folks are focusing on spending all their time like reading about two male Penguins who love each other is is somehow going to turn your children gay and that's what you should worry about but here's what I'll tell you it's a fact of life some people are gay but you know what's not a fact of life that our children need to be shot dead in schools that's not a fact of life folks are Banning books but they're okay with weapons of war being in our schools look that's not this country it doesn't have to be this way it doesn't happen elsewhere we're going to make sure our children are seen they bring their authentic self and then we're going to make sure they're safe when they get there so thank you [Applause] all what this election boils down to in a lot of ways it's fundament about Freedom now it's not just a great song that vice president Harris walks on to although it is a great song that vice president Harris walks on to but it's truly fundamentally what does freedom mean and some of you in here I keep coming back to it some of us who are a little older because we got to go back a little ways in history here when Republicans used to talk about Freedom many of them actually meant it they weren't they weren't going to turn their backs on our allies they weren't going to leave Ukraine to themselves they weren't going to start doing the things they did but that's not true anymore Donald Trump and JD Vance their idea of freedom that the government should be free to invade every corner of our lives our bedrooms our kids schools even our doctor's office and I say this where I come from and I know where all of you come from I respect my neighbor personal choices I wouldn't make some of the choices they make but you know what when it comes to personal things bodily autonom your gender identity when to start a family marrying who you love might sound a little bit oldfashioned on that but I think we just need to be really good neighbors everyone just deserves to be treated with [Applause] respect freedom to make that choice and I keep reinforcing this because they talk about this you know there government's too big in all this big enough to be in my bedroom apparently big enough to be in your uterus big enough to be in every Library enough to do that but here's the thing this Society works best whether it's small towns or large towns and I say this I bet every state could say this but in Minnesota things work really well because we have a saying that I talk about a lot you know everything works better if you just mind your own damn business and I'll mind mine so [Applause] nothing this idea and this Obsession and you've heard me say this they're all angry that I'm being mean to them um the other night Donald Trump did a town hall where he got to control what he said and he reassured the audience there 11 times that he was not weird if you're reminding someone you're not weird you probably yeah but look my point was my point was who is asking for this agenda that they're doing who's asking for them to take away our freedoms who's asking them to take away reproductive freedoms and I spoke personally about this because it's personal for so many of us in here the decision of how and what way and what your family is going to look like once again that's your decision but for us in my family we had to go through fertility treatments thank God we had Insurance thank God we had access to fertility treatments and those of you if you've been through this whatever manage whatever way that looks it's agonizing whether you're waiting for adoption or you're waiting for those phone calls did the treatment work and then finding out it didn't and then starting again it's stressful it's hard I sure the hell don't need JD Vance giving me advice on it it's not helpful it's not helpful and it's a simple fix you worry about your family I'll worry about mine it's a very simple fix so for us I'll have to tell you when that call finally came and our daughter was born it wasn't by chance that we called her hope because that was our belief it was the strongest and most powerful word in the universe and so uh my daughter hope is here tonight with me by the way so and I don't know if if you saw it at the convention here last week the vice president pretty much took back freedom from the other side that that now belongs with us and that's what we're saying took back the flag they don't they haven't cornered patriotism and I'm not going to allow them to talk about family values why they're doing everything possible to invade our personal lives and our families and I think there's a lot of people this is just my Pro tip of the day look there's two of us there's two of us trying to that have the privilege of it's kind of crazy in a country this big that there's two people one of the two is going to be the next Vice President of the United States so uh so my Pro tip to to my opponent on the other side is quit talking about women's childbearing issues quit talking about it because no one cares what your thoughts are on if my family couns doesn't no one cares no one [Applause] cares and in Minnesota and this what I'm not going to take a backseat in why those guys were Banning books in their schools we were Banning hunger in ours so if you're going to talk about family values then at least show up and vote when the child tax credit is there which we know can reduce childhood poverty by a [Applause] third they didn't do anything when Donald Trump was in office he made it more difficult they didn't do anything on lowering child care costs did you hear he's got a plan on child care costs that no one in the world understood a damn word about it not one thing but there are things you can do and we did it in Minnesota and one of the things you can do is you can start making sure that you're doing things like the child tax credit and making it easier for same set couples to start and raise their families openly with love and pride and make sure that the sport is [Applause] there so that outdated narrow ideology there's no one asking for it but here's what I worry about for all of you and for all of us it's not just what they did because they tried hard this time they're not playing they are coming to do the things that they said they wanted to do and I said this as a football coach if somebody takes the time to draw up a Playbook they're going to use it so when you keep hearing us and I'll talk about it every single day because I know what it will do I know what it will do to destroy this country this project 2025 that's out there to restrict freedoms demonize this community bully vulnerable children the message is simple from all of us and here in about 59 days you're going to get a chance to send that message is leave our kids the hell alone leave our kids [Applause] alone and I have to tell you this one too and this is one that we keep remembering and this is a thank you to all those folks we talked about the don't ask don't tell but I want to make sure that we recognize this too we've had thousands of Brave transgender troops decorated Warriors who served this country in [Applause] uniform When Donald Trump was commanderin-chief he belittled them and he banned them from service thankfully President Biden and vice president Harris rested that stupid bigoted policy if you want to serve this nation you should be allowed to and what we should do is respect that service they should not get incoming fire from their commanderin-chief attacking their basic dignity humanity and patriotism and I will say this I didn't serve for 24 years in this to have those guys diminish another troop service I will stand with them every single time I know I'm preaching to the choir a little bit but we got 59 days to sing so the choir needs to sing and I am a believer look you heard me I I taught school for a couple decades so I do know and I supervise the lunchroom by the way for a lot of of those times so I am at once an eternal optimist but two I do know that fear is a good short-term motivator but it doesn't change behaviors we're not running against those guys we need to know what they're going to do we need to know what we're up against we need to know what the threat is from them but what we need to do over the next 59 days is get ready to tell people exactly what we're going to do exactly what vice president then president Harris will do so we'll start by this lowering taxes on working families and making sure those at the top and corporations can pay their fair share they're doing fine they're doing fine we're going to protect Social Security and Medicare and we're going to make sure the Affordable Care Act is strengthened and look about a dozen states have it if you're in one of these states that have it it's great but the rest of the country needs it it is time for us to quit being the last country on Earth to had paid family and medical leave for this it is time to be done and it's going to be very clear every single day this Freedom issue that it's going to be you and people make the decisions about their health care not a politician so look everybody everybody should be free to get an education and that should be a path to the middle class it shouldn't be a path to crippling student loan debt for decades to come we can fix this and I'm going to say it once again our kids should be free to go to school without worrying about being shot dead in the Halls it's that [Applause] simple vice president Harris fight make sure that we continue to pass the equality act enshrine anti-discrimination protections and lgbtq Americans Healthcare into law housing education and so much more now look if it sounds like a tall order I'll say it again I'm an eternal optimist think about this when I was a kid growing up in Nebraska being gay was illegal still technically illegal look how much has changed since this organization was founded 40 years ago can you imagine can you imagine going back to me a high schooler in the early 80s and saying you know what we're going to kick down the barriers we're going to open doors we're going to pass laws that lets you bring your authentic self love who you want to love and live the life that you want to live all by yourself with no interference from [Applause] government so I told you I told you hope and my hope is an incredibly powerful room or an incredibly powerful word you look around this room you can feel hope you feel that people want to see this we hope we win this election we hope we pass these laws we hope we lift people out of poverty that's a good thing to have but my wife always reminds me of this it's not a damn plan it's not a plan to hope we win this election we've got to have a plan and we've got to work for it and I ask you to look around this room we got about 3,500 people in this room what if we talk to one more person before this election what if we do one more phone bank what if we make one more door knock what if we dig deep and give a little bit more to this campaign cuz what we know is this politics is not an end it's a means to an end if we want that hope to become reality we've got to do the work to make it happen I know you're out there doing it you came here tonight you came here when you could have been somewhere else and in 59 days we get to chart our way forward we organize we donate we volunteer and I've been saying this when in life do you get a chance in 59 days to make an impact that will last for Generations because we know [Applause] [Music] if you want to go see what the alternative is it's the worst read in the world but it's 925 Pages it's project 2025 and as vice president Harris said we're not going back to the days we're not going back to the Discrimination we're not going to force our children into situations where they become suicidal we're not going to continue to demonize people because of who they are and we're not going to continue to allow people in this country to go hungry or to be shot dead because we don't make decisions that can improve that so we've got 59 days 59 days each and every one of us what every little bit we can do we can make a difference so I've been saying this and I truly believe this we can do anything for 59 days sleep when you're dead worry about that later but now is the time so it's up to US vice president Harris myself our entire Team all of you H RC we're fighting for a better country a better world we're fighting for the folks who aren't here tonight we're fighting for the folks who may not vote for us but we're doing it because it's the values that this country were founded on so as vice president Harris said if we're willing to fight we win when we fight we win when we fight we win thank you HRC than you every body thank you everyone thank thank you HRC wow well thank you for inviting me and more importantly maybe thank you for the privilege of being able to stand with each of one of you president Robinson thank you for the kind introduction I'd also like to say on a point of personal privilege there's a strong contingent of motans in the house so thank you motans so for for all of you here tonight and around the country listening you've done so much to advance the cause of equality and freedom I'm proud to count so many of you as friends I'm grateful that you brought your time your talents and your Treasures to be here tonight and I'm fired up to be at your side I got to tell you because of all the things that are going on all the places you could be all the things you could have done you came here tonight one is it's the best party in the country tonight so that's right you're here but the deeper reason you're here is for that very simple and beautiful reason you love this country and that's why you're here you love the principles that we stand for well for some of you don't know uh I am Tim Walls and I'm a I'm the governor of Minnesota right now but I I like to make sure that I say that I I was a school teacher for a lot of years but right now right now I'm proud to be the running mate of the next president of the United States KLA Harris the privilege of getting to know this phenomenal leader from a prosecutor district attorney Attorney General US senator and vice president yes by the way she's more qualified than anybody that's ever run for this office let's just be clear but she didn't just take those talents for herself she fights every single day on the side of the American people and what I have to say of all the things that the other side has messed up the other things that they've done the thing that I'll not forgive them for is the thing that vice president Harris is fixing most she's bringing Joy back to our politics decency back to how we do things and this is not a new thing for her this started a long time ago and for the folks of California in 2010 our Californians who are here in 2010 this is the joy she brought so here's the scene years earlier as the da of San Francisco vice president Harris took on and took one of the toughest stances in the nation against hate crimes she led the fight to end the hateful gay and transgender Panic defense we know what that leads to and we know the countless deaths and misery that was brought upon by that she took it on and she also officiated some of the first same-sex marriages in the entire [Applause] country then she went on to become the Attorney General of the largest state in the country and the moment it arrived to defend marriage equality and she threw her whole self into that fight if you know kamla Harris she doesn't just pick these fights when she talks about it and this is the thing to keep in mind all she does is win all does is [Applause] win so when the word came down that same-sex marriage had been legalized in California two plaintiffs asked KLA Harris to officiate her ceremony while they were at City Hall celebrating that marriage she got a call from two more plaintiffs saying that a clerk in Los Angeles County was denying their marriage certificate so she grabbed a phone and some of you have seen this she asked them to put the clerk on the line and she did what she did best she didn't mince words and she made it very clear she said this is KLA Harris you must start the marriage [Applause] immediately and then she added and I don't know if this always gets in the videos she added the best line to that she told the clerk have a good day and enjoy it it's going to be fun she hasn't looked back from that day as a US senator she fought hard for the equality act introduced a bill to make sure you ured access to prep and as vice president and I say this it is not a stretch and the facts are there this is the most Pro lgbtq Plus Administration in American [Applause] history she helped President Biden pass the landmark respect for Mary Jack requiring every state and territory to fully honor same and interracial [Applause] marriage and she helped stop the ignorant and Byzantine practice of banning gay and bisexual men from donating blood [Applause] um I think it's important in this room for us to remember these things because keep in mind there's some other folks on the other side given one chance to get back in the White House they will go back at every one of these things we talk about we talk about progress and moving forward because she said it we're sure the hell not going back on these things we're not going to go back but be clear they're going to be there things like strengthening Mental Health Resources for lgbtq plus youth we know we know what the statistics are they're horrific for our young people from suicides to self harm to all of the other things that go with it we know that this fight is the most important fight that's on our that's on our plate so I have to tell you she made human rights for lgbtq plus individuals around the world a top priority in this nation's foreign policy we must lead we must be the country that leads on [Applause] it she worked with President Biden on historic executive orders protecting folks from discrimination and the reason she did it was pretty simple KLA Harris believes in Equal justice under law and that means not very complicated Equal justice under law yeah it is not to be debated it's not that difficult the precence is set but look we know what this fight is we know that we can all relate to some of this and I'll tell you this fight and I think about it for me for some of you may you heard this I was born in a small place called West Point Nebraska I grew up yay somebody's from West Point there we go there's two of us um the town I grew up in had 400 people 24 classmates 12 were cousins somebody brought up the prom dating to me yes it's interesting um but look when you're in a community like that Community was a way of life my folks showed me Teach generosity to your neighbors work hard for the common good those are values that I brought work as a social studies teacher and a high school football coach now those of you who teach know this you learn far more from your students than they learn from you no matter how good a teacher you are you know how that works so some of my students and this is in the late '90s were concerned about an uptick in bullying amongst the gay and lesbian community in our school one of those Brave students is here tonight Jacob Ron's a dear friend of mine who's here and Jacob look I'm coaching football I'm an old straight white guy I'm teaching social studies you're all picturing the damn stereotype here turns out that I'm like opposite world of Tommy tuille though so in this for some of you so so when Jake asked if I'd be interested in being the adviser to the gay straight Alliance I said absolutely I understood what it meant to be that older straight white guy who was coaching [Applause] football Alli ship is a great thing but what many of you in here knows is it's easy to be an ally when it's easy to be an ally what really matters is knowing who's going to be at your side and stand up when it's hard [Applause] and it was in those moments that those students inspired me years later look I'm a 40-some guy with little kids who is teaching school trying to pay the mortgage the idea of running for office never got to me or thought about it but those students inspired me and what they saw in me is what I was trying to instill in them this commitment to a common good I believe one person can make a difference in other people's lives so in 2006 I took the leap ran for Congress no one told me at that time and I of course you know apparently couldn't google it um in that district there had been one other Democrat since 1892 and in that red District I was in a state that had banned Sam stch marriage for a decade but I knew I was right and I ran on the platform that supported equality and this is what I said I got asked at a debate if I supported civil unions I I said sure if that's your thing but I said my marriage to my wife Gwen is most important thing in my life I love her deeply why would I stop anybody else from marrying the person they love that makes no sense now this was this was 2006 and some of you uh with a little more gray hair or less of it can remember this time um that the other side said oh a bate candidate finally showed his true colors by saying this well as it turned out a majority of my neighbors agreed with us and they elected me to represent them in the United States [Applause] house and after it was over some people came up to me and said wow you R you won in spite of being uh pro- choice and PR gay marriage and I said no no no you've got this wrong I won because I was for those positions that's why we W so when I got to Congress I showed up there in the house historian told me at the time I was the highest ranking enlisted soldier at the time I served on the house Veterans Affairs committee and I worked with my roommate Patrick Murphy from Bucks County Pennsylvania to overturn don't ask don't [Applause] tell and was proud to be an early supporter for the respect for marriage act that we finally got passed and signed into law now I tell you this again it's not no one should get a pat on the back for doing what's right for God's sakes the bar is pretty damn low here to treat people like human beings Equal justice under law it's not a high bar it's not a high bar but we know the forces that are aligned against it so this is where Champions rise up whether it's a young student at a at a school in southern Minnesota or it was someone who I met and I wished I had not met under the circumstance it was but someone who changed my life I was there when we passed the Matthew Shepard hate crime prevention act and I had the privilege I had the privilege when the final vote was coming up in the house it was going to be closed I walked to the house floor through the tunnels from the the Longworth house office building over to the capitl and I made that walk with Matthew's mom Judy Shepard and and the sheriff who found Matthew's body tied to that fence post in Wyoming and I remember walking with a mother who had lost her son and hearing the sheriff tell me the only place it wasn't bloody is where the tears ran down Matthew's eyes and I watched a mother and The Unbelievable pain that I couldn't even fathom to lose a child this way walk with her head held high to make sure that none of the rest of us ever have to get a call from someone so I just want to say my my friend Judy Shepard and her husband Dennis are here tonight and I'd like us all to give them a big round of applause [Applause] this room this room is full of Heroes like that things that were done some of them bigger Small Things ways to make people's lives a little bit easier but what I knew was when I had the chance to get elected to office and make a difference look there's a lot of people you don't get elected to office to bank political Capital so you can get elected again you get elected to office to burn political Capital to improve lives as quickly as you [Applause] can and so when we got the majority in Minnesota for the first time in over a decade we had the governor's office we had the house and we had the Senate by one vote and we got busy first thing we did is we banned conversion therapy in [Applause] Minnesota we protected transgender community and said in Minnesota you are seen heard loved and respected and safe and safe in Minnesota and we did something a little bit we banned Banning books especially Banning lgbtq books put themes in [Applause] that think about it in this room this is what these folks are focusing on spending all their time like reading about two male Penguins who love each other is is somehow going to turn your children gay and that's what you should worry about but here's what I'll tell you it's a fact of life some people are gay but you know what's not a fact of life that our children need to be shot dead in schools that's not a fact of life fols are Banning books but they're okay with weapons of war being in our schools look that's not this country it doesn't have to be this way it doesn't happen elsewhere we're going to make sure our children are seen they bring their authentic self and then we're going to make sure they're safe when they get there so thank [Applause] you what this election boils down to in a lot of ways it's fundamentally about Freedom now it's not just a great song that vice president Harris walks on although it is a great song that vice president Harris walks on to but it's truly fundamentally what does freedom mean and some of you in here I keep coming back to it some of us who are a little older because we got to go back a little ways in history here when Republicans used to talk about Freedom many of them actually meant it they weren't they weren't going to turn their backs on our allies they weren't going to leave Ukraine to themselves they weren't going to start doing the things they did but that's not true anymore Donald Trump and JD Vance their idea of freedom that the government should be free to invade every corner of our lives our bedrooms our kids schools even our doctor's office and I say this where I come from and I know where all of you come from I respect my neighbor personal choices I wouldn't make some of the choices they make but you know what when it comes to personal things bodily autonomy your gender identity when to start a family marrying who you love might sound a little bit oldfashioned on that but I think we just need to be really good neighbors everyone just deserves to be treated with [Applause] respect freedom to make that choice and I keep reinforcing this because they talk about this you know there government's too big in all this big enough to be in my bedroom apparently big enough to be in your uterus big enough to be in every Library big enough to do that but here's the thing this Society work best whether it's small towns or large towns and I say this and I bet every state could say this but in Minnesota things work really well because we have a saying that I talk about a lot you know the everything works better if you just mind your own damn business and I'll mind mine so nothing this idea and this Obsession and you've heard me say this they're all angry that I'm being mean to them um the other night Donald Trump did a town hall where he got to control what he said and he reassured the audience there 11 times that he was not weird if you're reminding someone you're not weird you probably yeah but look my point was my point was who is asking for this agenda that they're doing who's asking for them to take away our freedoms who's asking them to take away reproductive freedoms and I spoke personally about this because it's personal for so many of us in here the decision of how and what way and what your family is going to look like once again that's your decision but for us in my family we had to go through fertility treatments thank God we had insurance thank God we had access to fertility treatments and those of you if you've been through this whatever manage whatever way that looks it's agonizing whether you're waiting for adoption or you're waiting for those phone calls did the treatment work and then finding out it didn't and then starting again it's stressful it's hard I sure the hell don't need JD Vance giving me advice on it it's not helpful it's not helpful and it's a simple fix you worry about your family I'll worry about mine it's a very simple fix so for us I'll have to tell you when that call finally came and our daughter was born it wasn't by chance that we called her hope because that was our belief it was the strongest and most powerful word in the universe and so uh my daughter hope is here tonight with me by the way [Applause] so and I don't know if if you saw it at the convention here last week the vice president pretty much took back freedom from the other side that that now belongs with us and that's what we're saying took back the flag they don't they haven't cornered patriotism and I'm not going to allow them to talk about family values why they're doing everything possible to invade our personal lives on our [Applause] families and I I think there's a lot of people this is just my Pro tip of the day look there's two of us there's two of us trying to that have the privilege of it's kind of crazy in a country this big that there's two people one of the two is going to be the next Vice President of the United States so uh so my Pro tip to to my opponent on the other side is quit talking about women's childbearing issues quit talking about it because no one cares what your thoughts are on if my family counts or doesn't no one cares no one [Applause] cares and in Minnesota and this what I'm not going to take a back seat in why those guys were Banning books in their schools we were Banning hunger in ours so if you're going to talk about family values then at least show up and vote when the child tax credit is there which we know can reduce childhood poverty by a [Applause] third they didn't do anything when Donald Trump was in office he made it more difficult they didn't do anything on lowering child care costs did you hear he's got a plan on child care costs that no one in the world understood a damn word about it not one thing but there are things you can do and we did it in Minnesota and one of the things you can do is you can start making sure that you're doing things like the child tax credit and making it easier for same set cou to start and raise their families openly with love and pride and make sure that the sport is [Applause] there so that outdated narrow ideology there's no one asking for it but here's what I worry about for all of you and for all of us it's not just what they did because they tried hard this time they're not playing they are coming to do the things that they said they wanted to do and I said this as a football coach if somebody takes the time to draw up a Playbook they're going to use it so when you keep hearing us and I'll talk about it every single day because I know what it will do I know what it will do to destroy this country this project 2025 that's out there to restrict freedoms demonize this community bully vulnerable children the message is simple from all of us and here in about 59 days you're going to get a chance to send that message is leave our kids the hell alone leave our kids [Applause] alone and I have to tell you this one too and this is one that we keep remembering and this is a thank you to all those folks we talked about the don't ask don't tell but I want to make sure that we recognize this too we've had thousands of Brave transgender troops decorated Warriors who served this country in uniform When Donald Trump was commander-in-chief he belittled them and he banned them from service thankfully President Biden and vice president Harris rended that stupid bigoted policy if you want to serve this nation you should be allowed to and what we should do is respect that service they should not get incoming fire from their commander-in-chief attacking their basic dignity humanity and patriotism and I will say this I didn't serve for 24 years in this to have those guys diminish another troop service I will stand with them every single time I know I'm preaching to the choir a little bit but we got 59 days to sing so the choir needs to sing and I am a believer look you heard I I taught school for a couple decades so I do know and I supervised the lunchroom by the way for a lot of those times so I am at once an eternal optimist but two I do know that fear is a good short-term motivator but it doesn't change behaviors we're not running against those guys we need to know what they're going to do we need to know what we're up against we need to know what the threat is from them but what we need to do over the next 59 days is get ready to tell people exactly what we're going to do exactly what vice president then president Harris will do so we'll start by this lowering taxes on Working Families and making sure those at the top and corporations can pay their fair share they're doing fine they're doing fine we're going to protect Social Security and Medicare and we're going to make sure the Affordable Care Act is strengthened and look about a dozen states have it if you're in one of these states that have it it's great but the rest of the country needs it it is time for us to quit being the last country on Earth to have paid family and medical leave for this it is time to be done and it's going to be very clear every single day this Freedom issue that it's going to be you and people make the decisions about their health care not a politician so look everybody everybody should be free to get an education and that should be a path to the middle class it shouldn't be a path to crippling student loan debt for decades to come we can fix this and I'm going to say it once again our kids should be free to go to school without worrying about being shot dead in the Halls it's that [Applause] simple vice president Harris fight make sure that we continue to pass the equality act enshrine anti-discrimination protections and lgbtq Americans healthc care into law housing education and so much more now look if it sounds like a tall order I'll say it again I'm an eternal optimist think about this when I was a kid growing up in Nebraska being gay was illegal still technically illegal look how much has changed since this organization was founded 40 years ago can you imagine can you imagine going back to me a high schooler in the early 80s and saying you know what we're going to kick down the barriers we're going to open doors we're going to pass laws that lets you bring your authentic self love who you want to love and live the life that you want to live all by yourself with no interference from government [Applause] so I told you I told you hope and my hope is an incredibly powerful room or an incredibly powerful word you look around this room you can feel hope you feel that people want to see this we hope we win this election we hope we pass these laws we hope we lift people out of poverty that's a good thing to have but my wife always reminds me of this it's not a damn plan it's not a plan to hope we win this election we've got to have a plan and we've got to work for it and I ask you to look around this room we got about 3,500 people in this room what if we talk to one more person before this election what if we do one more phone bank what if we make one more door knck what if we dig deep and give a little bit more to this campaign cuz what we know is this politics is not an end it's a means to an end if we want that hope to become reality we've got to do the work to make it happen I know you're out there doing it you came here tonight you came here when you could have been somewhere else and in 59 days we get to chart our way forward we organize we donate we volunteer and I've been saying this when in life do you get a chance in 59 days to make an impact that will last for Generations because we know [Music] if you want to go see what the alternative is it's the worst read in the world but it's 925 Pages it's project 2025 and as vice president Harris said we're not going back to the days we're not going back to the Discrimination we're not going to force our children into situations where they become suicidal we're not going to continue to demonize people because of who they are and we're not going to continue to allow people in this country to go hungry or to be shot dead because we don't make decisions that can improve that so we've got 59 days 59 days each and every one of us what every little bit we can do we can make a difference so I've been saying this and I truly believe this we can do anything for 59 days sleep when you're dead worry about that later but now is the time so it's up to US vice president Harris myself our entire Team all of you HRC we're fighting for a better country a better world we're fighting for the folks who aren't here tonight we're fighting for the folks who may not vote for us but we're doing it because it's the values that this country were founded on so as vice president Harris said if we're willing to fight we win when we fight we win when we fight we win thank you HRC thank you everybody thank you everyone thank thank you HRC wow well thank you for inviting me and more importantly maybe thank you for the privilege of being able to stand with each of one of you president Robinson thank you for the kind introduction I'd also like to say on a point of personal privilege there's a strong contingent of motans in the house so thank you motans so for for all of you here tonight and around the country listening who've done so much to advance the cause of equality and freedom I'm proud to count so many of you as friends I'm grateful that you brought your time your talents and your Treasures to be here tonight and I'm fired up to be at your side I got to tell you because of all the things that are going on all the places you could be all the things you could have done you came here tonight one is it's the best party in the country tonight so that's why you're here but the deeper reason you're here is for that very simple and beautiful reason you love this country and that's why you're here you love the principles that we stand for well for some of you who don't know uh I am Tim Walls and I'm a I'm the governor of Minnesota right now but I I like to make sure that I say that I I was a school teacher for a lot of years but right now right now I'm proud to be the running mate of the next president of the United States KLA Harris the privilege of getting to know this phenomenal leader from a prosecutor district attorney Attorney General US senator and vice president yes by the way she's more qualified than anybody that's ever run for this office let's just be clear but she didn't just take those talents for herself she fights every single day on the side of the American people and what I have to say of all the things that the other side has messed up the other things that they've done the thing that I'll not forgive them for is the thing that vice president Harris is fixing most she's bringing Joy back to our politics decency back to how we do things and this is not a new thing for her this started a long time ago and for the folks of California in 2010 our Californians who are here in 2010 this is the joy she brought so here's the scene years earlier as the da of San Francisco vice president Harris took on and took one of the toughest stances in the nation against hate crimes she led the fight to end the hateful gay and transgender Panic defense we know what that leads to and we know the countless deaths and misery that was brought upon by that she took it on and she also offici iated some of the first same-sex marriages in the entire [Applause] country then she went on to become the Attorney General of the largest state in the country and the moment it arrived to defend marriage equality and she threw her whole self into that fight if you know kamla Harris she doesn't just pick these fights when she talks about it and this is the thing to keep in mind all she does is win all she does is win so when the word came down that same-sex marriage had been legalized in California two plaintiffs asked KLA Harris to officiate her ceremony while they were at City Hall celebrating that marriage she got a call from two more plaintiffs saying that a clerk in Los Angeles County was denying their marriage certificate so she grabbed a phone and some of you have seen this she asked them to put the clerk on the line and she did what she did best she didn't mince words and and she made it very clear she said this is KLA Harris you must start the marriage [Applause] immediately and then she added and I don't know if this always gets in the videos she added the best line to that she told the clerk have a good day and enjoy it it's going to be fun she hasn't looked back from that day as a US senator she fought hard for the equality act introduced a bill to make sure you ured access to prep and as vice president and I say this it is not a stretch and the facts are there this is the most Pro lgbtq Plus Administration in American [Applause] history she helped President Biden pass the landmark respect for Mary Jack requiring every state in territory to fully honor samesex and interracial marriage and she helped stop the ignorant and Byzantine practice of banning gay and bisexual men from donating blood [Applause] um I think it's important in this room for us to remember these things because keep in mind there's some other folks on the other side given one chance to get back in the White House they will go back at every one of these things we talk about we talk about progress and moving forward because she said it we're sure the hell not going back on these things we're not going to go back but be clear they're going to be there things like strengthening Mental Health Resources for lgbtq plus youth we know we know what the statistics are they're horrific for our young people from suicides to self harm to all of the other things that go with it we know that this fight is the most important fight that's on our it's on our plate so I have to tell you she made human rights for lgbtq plus individuals around the world World a top priority in this nation's foreign policy we must lead we must be the country that leads on [Applause] it she worked with President Biden on historic executive orders protecting folks from discrimination and the reason she did it was pretty simple KLA Harris believes in Equal justice under law and that means not very complicated Equal justice under law yeah W it is not to be debated it's not that difficult the presidence is set but look we know what this fight is we know that we can all relate to some of this and I'll tell you this fight and I think about it for me for some of you may have heard this I was born in a small place called West Point Nebraska I grew up yay somebody's from West Point there we go there's two of us um the town I grew up in had 400 people 24 classmates 12 were cousins somebody brought up the prom dating to me yes it's interesting um but look when you're in a community like that Community was a way of life my folks showed me Teach generosity to your neighbors work hard for the common good those are values that I brought work as a social studies teacher and a high school football coach now those of you who teach know this you learn far more from your students than they learn from you no matter how good of teacher you are you know how that works so some of my students and this is in the late 90s were concerned about an uptick in bullying amongst the gay and lesbian community in our school one of those Brave students is here tonight Jacob Ron's a dear friend of mine who's [Applause] here and Jacob look I'm coaching football I'm an old straight white guy I'm teaching social studies you're all picturing the damn stereotype here turns out that I'm like opposite world of Tommy tuberville though so in this for some of you so so when Jake asked if I'd be interested in being the adviser to the gay straight Alliance I said absolutely I understood what it meant to be that older straight white guy who was coaching [Applause] football Alli ship is a great thing but what many of you in here knows is it's easy to be an ally when it's easy to be an ally what really matters is knowing who's going to be at your side and stand up when it's hard and it was in those moments that those students inspired me years later look I'm a 40-some guy with little kids who is teaching school trying to pay the morgage the idea of running for office never got to me or thought about it but those students inspired me and what they saw in me is what I was trying to instill in them this commitment to a common good I believe one person can make a difference in other people's lives so in 2006 I took the leap ran for congress no one told me at that time and I of course you know apparently couldn't google it um in that district there had been one other Democrat since 1892 and in that red District I was in a state that had banned Sam St marriage for a decade but I knew I was right and I ran on the platform that supported equality and this is what I said I got asked at a debate if I supported civil unions I I said sure if that's your thing but I said my marriage to my wife Gwen is most important thing in my life I love her deeply why would I stop anybody else from marrying the person they love that makes no sense now this was this was 2006 and some of you uh with a little more gray hair or less of it can remember this time um that the other side said oh a B- rate candidate finally showed His True Colors by saying this well as it turned out a majority of my neighbors agreed with us and they elected me to represent them in the United States [Applause] house and after it was over some people came up to me and said wow you R you won in spite of being uh pro-choice and prog gay marriage and I said no no no you've got this wrong I won because I was for those positions that's why we won so when I got to Congress I showed up there and the house historian told me at the time I was the highest ranking enlisted soldier at the time I served on the house Veterans Affairs committee and I worked with my roommate Patrick Murphy from Bucks County Pennsylvania to overturn don't ask don't [Applause] tell and was proud to be an early supporter for the respect for marriage act that we finally got passed and signed into law now I I tell you this again it's not no one should get a pat on the back for doing what's right for God's sakes the bar is pretty damn low here to treat people like human beings Equal justice under law it's not a high bar it's not a high bar but we know the forces that are aligned against it so this is where Champions rise up whether it's a young student at a at a school in southern Minnesota or it was someone who I met and I wished I had not met under the circumstance it was but someone who changed my life I was there when we passed the Matthew Shepard hate crime prevention act and I had the privilege I had the privilege when the final vote was coming up in the house it was going to be close I walked to the house floor through the tunnels from the the Longworth house office building over to the capital and I made that walk with Matthew's mom Judy Shepard and and the sheriff who found Matthew's body tied to that fence post in Wyoming and I remember walking with a mother who had lost her son and hearing the sheriff tell me the only place that wasn't bloody is where the tears ran down Matthew's eyes and I watched a mother and The Unbelievable pain that I couldn't even fathom to lose a child this way walk with her head held high to make sure that none of the rest of us ever have to get a call from someone so I just want to say my my friend Judy Shepard and her husband Dennis are here tonight and I'd like us all to give them a big round of [Applause] applause this room this room is full of Heroes like that things that were done some of them bigger Small Things ways to make people's lives a little bit easier but what I knew was when I had the chance to get elected to office and make a difference look there's a lot of people you don't get elected to office to bank political Capital so you can get elected again you get elected to office to burn political Capital to improve lives as quickly as you can and so when we got the majority in Minnesota for the first time in over a decade we had the governor's office we had the house and we had the Senate by one vote and we got busy first thing we did is we banned conversion therapy in [Applause] Minnesota we protected transgender community and said in Minnesota you are seen heard loved and respected and safe and safe in Minnesota and we did something a little bit we banned Banning books especially Banning lgbtq books for themes in [Applause] that think about it in this room this is what these folks are focusing on spending all their time like reading about two male Penguins who love each other is is somehow going to turn your children gay and that's what you should worry about but here's what I'll tell you it's a fact of life some people are gay but you know what's not a fact of life that our children need be shot dead in schools that's not a fact of life folks are Banning books but they're okay with weapons of war being in our school look that's not this country it doesn't have to be this way it doesn't happen elsewhere we're going to make sure our children are seen they bring their authentic self and then we're going to make sure they're safe when they get there so thank you [Applause] all what this election boils down to in a lot of ways it's fundamentally about Freedom now it's not just a great song that vice president Harris walks on to although it is a great song that vice president Harris walks on to but it's truly fundamentally what does freedom mean and some of you in here I keep coming back to it some of us who are a little older because we got to go back a little ways in history here when Republicans used to talk about Freedom many of them actually meant it they weren't they weren't going to turn their backs on our allies they weren't going to leave Ukraine to themselves they weren't going to start doing the things they did but that's not true anymore Donald Trump and JD Vance their idea of freedom that the government should be free to fade every corner of our lives our bedrooms our kids' schools even our doctor's office and I say this where I come from and I know where all of you come from I respect my neighbor's personal choices I wouldn't make some of the choices they make but you know what when it comes to personal things bodily autonomy your gender identity when to start a family marrying who you love might sound a little bit oldfashioned on that but I think we just need to be really good neighbors everyone just deserves to be treated with [Applause] respect freedom to make that choice and I keep reinforcing this because they talk about this you know they government's too big in all this big enough to be in my bedroom apparently big enough to be in your uterus big enough to be in every Library big enough to do that but here's the thing this Society works best whether it's small towns or large towns and I say this I bet every state could say this but in Minnesota things work really well CU we have a saying that I talk about a lot you know everything works better if you just mind your own damn business and I'll mind mine so [Applause] nothing this idea and this Obsession and you've heard me say this they're all angry that I'm being mean to them um the other night Donald Trump did a town hall where he got to control what he said and he reassured the audience there 11 times that he was not weird if you're reminding someone you're not weird you're probably yeah but look my point was my point was who is asking for this agenda that they're doing who's asking for them to take away our freedoms who's asking them to take away reproductive freedoms and I spoke personally about this cuz it's personal for so many of us in here the decision of how and what way and what your family's going to look like once again that's your decision but for us in my family we had to go through fertility treatments thank God we had insurance thank God we had access to fertility treatments and those of you if you've been through this whatever manage whatever way that looks it's agonizing whether you're waiting for adoption or you're waiting for those phone calls did the treatment work and then finding out it didn't and then starting again it's stressful it's hard I sure the hell don't need JD Vance giving me advice on it it's not helpful it's not helpful and it's a simple fix you worry about your family I'll worry about mine it's a very simple fix so for us I'll have to tell you when that call finally came and our daughter was born it wasn't by chance that we called her hope because that was our belief it was the strongest and most powerful word in the universe and so uh my daughter hope is here tonight with me by the way [Applause] so and I don't know if if you saw it at the convention here last week the vice president pretty much took back freedom from from the other side that that now belongs with us and that's what we're saying took back the flag they don't they haven't cornered patriotism and I'm not going to allow them to talk about family values why they're doing everything possible to invade our personal lives and our [Applause] families and I think there's a lot of people this is just my Pro tip of the day look there there's two of us there's two of us trying to that have the privilege of it's kind of crazy in a country this big that there's two people one of the two is going to be the next Vice President of the United States so uh so my Pro tip to to my opponent on the other side is quit talking about women's childbearing issues quit talking about it because no one cares what your thoughts are on if my family counts or doesn't no one cares no one [Applause] cares and in Minnesota and this one I'm not going to take a back seat in why those guys were Banning books in their schools we were Banning hunger in ours so if you're going to talk about family values then at least show up and vote when the child tax credit is there which we know can reduce childhood poverty by a third they didn't do anything when Donald Trump was in office he made it more difficult they didn't do anything on lowering child care cost did you hear he's got a plan on child care costs that no one in the world understood a damn word about it not one thing but there are things you can do and we did it in Minnesota and one of the things you can do is you can start making sure that you're doing things like the child tax credit and making it easier for same set couples to start and raise their families openly with love and pride and make sure that the sport is there [Applause] so that outdated narrow ideology there's no one asking for it but here's what I worry about for all of you and for all of us it's not just what they did because they tried hard this time they're not playing they are coming to do the things that they said they wanted to do and I said this as a football coach if somebody takes the time to draw A playbook they're going to use it so when you keep hearing us and I'll talk about it every single day because I know what it will do I know what it will do to destroy this country this project 2025 that's out there to restrict freedoms demonize this community bully vulnerable children the message is simple from all of us and here in about 59 days you're going to get a chance to send that message is leave our kids the hell alone leave our kids alone and I have to tell you this one too and this is one that we keep remembering and this is a thank you to all those folks we talked about the don't ask don't tell but I want to make sure that we recognize this too we've had thousands of Brave transgender troops decorated Warriors who served this country in [Applause] uniform When Donald Trump was commanderin-chief he belittled them and he banned them from service thankfully President Biden and vice president Harris rested that stupid bigoted policy if you want to serve this nation you should be allowed to and what we should do is respect that service they should not get incoming fire from their commanderin-chief attacking their basic dignity humanity and patriotism and I will say this I didn't serve for 24 years in this to have those guys diminish another troop service I will stand with them every single time I know I'm preaching to the choir a little bit but we got 59 days to sing so the choir needs to sing and I am a believer look you heard I I taught school for a couple decades so I do know and I supervise the lunchroom by the way for a lot of those kind so I am at once an eternal optimist but two I do know that fear is a good short-term motivator but it doesn't change behaviors we're not running against those guys we need to know what they're going to do we need to know what we're up against we need to know what the threat is from them but what we need to do over the next 59 days is get ready to tell people exactly what we're going to do exactly what vice president then president Harris will do so we'll start by this lowering taxes on working families and making sure those at the top and corporations can pay P their fair share they're doing fine they're doing fine we're going to protect Social Security and Medicare and we're going to make sure the Affordable Care Act is strengthened and look about a dozen states have it if you're in one of these states that have it it's great but the rest of the country needs it it is time for us to quit being the last country on Earth to had paid Family and Medical lead for this it is time to be done and it's going to be very clear every single day this Freedom issue that it's going to be you and people make the decisions about their health care not a politician so look everybody everybody should be free to get an education and that should be a path to the middle class it shouldn't be a path to crippling student loan debt for decades to come we can fix this and I'm going to say it once again our kids should be free to go to school without worrying about being shot dead in the Halls it's that [Applause] simple vice president Harris fight make sure that we continue to pass the equality act enshrine anti-discrimination protections and lgbtq Americans healthc care into the law housing education and so much more now look if it sounds like a tall order I'll say it again I'm an eternal optimist think about this when I was a kid growing up in Nebraska being gay was illegal still technically illegal look how much has changed since this organization was founded 40 years ago can you imagine can you imagine going back to me a high schooler in the early 80s and saying you know what we're going to kick down the barriers we're going to open doors we're going to pass laws that lets you bring your authentic self love who you want to love and live the life that you want to live all by yourself with no interference from [Applause] government so I told you I told you hope and my hope is an incredibly powerful room or incredibly powerful word you look around this room you can feel hope you feel that people want to see this we hope we win this election we hope we pass these laws we hope we lift people out of poverty that's a good thing to have but my wife always reminds me of this it's not a damn plan it's not a plan to hope we win this election we got to have a plan and we've got to work for it and I ask you to look around this room we got about 3,500 people in this room what if we talk to one more person before this election what if we do one more phone bank what if we make one more door knock what if we dig deep and give a little bit more to this campaign cuz what we know is this politics is not an end it's a means to an end if we want that hope to become reality we've got to do the work to make it happen I know you're out there doing it you came here tonight you came here when you could have been somewhere else and in 59 days we get to chart our way forward we organize we donate we volunteer and I've been saying this when in life do you get a chance in 59 days to make an impact that will last for Generations because we [Applause] know if you want to go see what the alternative is it's the worst read in the world but it's 925 Pages it's project 2025 and as vice president Harris said we're not going back to the days we're not going back to the Discrimination we're not going to force our children into situations where they become suicidal we're not going to continue to demonize people because of who they are and we're not going to continue to allow people in this country to go hungry or to be shot dead because we don't make decisions that can improve that so we've got 59 days 59 days each and every one of us but every little bit we can do we can make a difference so I've been saying this and I truly believe this we can do anything for 59 days sleep when you're dead worry about that later but now is the time so it's up to US vice president Harris myself our entire Team all of you HRC we're fighting for a better country a better world we're fighting for the folks who aren't here tonight we're fighting for the folks who make may not vote for us but we're doing it because it's the values that this country were founded on so as vice president Harris said if we're willing to fight we win when we fight we win when we fight we win thank you HRC thank you everybody thank you everyone thank thank you HRC wow well thank you for inviting me and more importantly maybe thank you for the privilege of being able to stand with each of one of you president Robinson thank you for the kind introduction I'd also like to say on a point of personal privilege there's a strong contingent of motans in the house so thank you minnesotans so for for all of you here tonight and around the country listening you've done so much to advance the cause of equality and freedom I'm proud to count so many of you as friends I'm grateful that you brought your time your talents and your Treasures to be here tonight and I'm fired up to be at your side I got to tell you because of all the things that are going on all the places you could be all the things you could have done you came here tonight one is it's the best party in the country tonight so that's why you're here but the deeper reason you're here is for that very simple and beautiful reason you love this country and that's why you're here you love the principles that we stand for well for some of you don't know uh I am Tim Walls and I'm a I'm the governor Minnesota right now but I I like to make sure that I say that I I was a school teacher for a lot of years but right now right now I'm proud to be the running mate of the next president of the United States KLA Harris [Applause] the privilege of getting to know this phenomenal leader from a prosecutor district attorney Attorney General US senator and vice president yes by the way she's more qualified than anybody that's ever run for this office let's just be clear but she didn't just take those talents for herself she fights every single day on the side of the American people and what I have to say of all all the things that the other side has messed up the other things that they've done the thing that I'll not forgive them for is the thing that vice president Harris is fixing most she's bringing Joy back to our politics decency back to how we do things and this is not a new thing for her this started a long time ago and for the folks of California in 2010 our Californians who are here in 2010 this is the joy she brought so here's the scene years earlier as the da of San Francisco vice president Harris took on and took one of the toughest stances in the nation against hate crimes she led the fight to end the hateful gay and transgender Panic defense we know what that leads to and we know the countless deaths and misery that was brought upon by that she took it on and she also officiated some of the first same-sex marriages in the entire country then she went on to become the Attorney General of the largest state in the country and the moment it arrived to defend marriage equality and she threw her whole self into that fight if you know kamla Harris she doesn't just pick these fights when she talks about it and this is the thing to keep in mind all she does is win all she does is [Applause] win so when the word came down that same-sex marriage had been legalized in California two plaintiffs asked KLA Harris to officiate her ceremony while they were at City Hall celebrating that marriage she got a call from two more plaintiffs saying that a clerk in Los Angeles County was denying their marriage certificate so she grabbed a phone and some of you have seen this she asked them to put the clerk on the line and she did what she did best she didn't mince words and she made it very clear she said this is KLA Harris you must start the marriage immediately [Applause] Med and then she added and I don't know if this always gets in the videos she added the best line to that she told the clerk have a good day and enjoy it it's going to be fun she hasn't looked back from that day as a US senator she fought hard for the equality act introduced a bill to make sure you ured access to prep and as vice president and I say this it is not a stretch and the facts are there this is the most Pro lgbtq Plus Administration in American [Applause] history she helped President Biden pass the landmark respect for Marriage Act requiring every state and territory to fully honor same-sex and interracial [Applause] marriage and she helped stop the ignorant and bus antine practice of banning gay and bisexual men from donating blood [Applause] um I think it's important in this room for us to remember these things because keep in mind there's some other folks on the other side given one chance to get back in the White House they will go back at every one of these things we talk about we talk about progress and moving forward because she said it we're sure the hell not going back on these things we're not going to go back but be clear they're going to be there things like strengthening Mental Health Resources for lgbtq plus youth we know we know what the statistics are they're horrific for our young people from suicides to self harm to all of the other things that go with it we know that this fight is the most important fight that's on our that's on our plate so I have to tell you she made human rights for lgbtq plus individuals around the world a top priority in this nation's foreign policy we must Le we must be the country that leads on [Applause] it she worked with President Biden on historic executive orders protecting folks from discrimination and the reason she did it was pretty simple KLA Harris believes in Equal justice under law and that means not very complicated Equal justice under law it is not to be debated it's not that that difficult the precence is set but look we know what this fight is we know that we can all relate to some of this and I'll tell you this fight and I think about it for me for some of you maybe you heard this I was born in a small place called West Point Nebraska I grew up yay somebody's from West Point there we go there's two of us um the town I grew up in had 400 people 24 classmates 12 were cousins somebody brought up the prom dating to me yes it's interesting um but look when you're in a community like that Community was a way of life my folks showed me Teach generosity to your neighbors work hard for the common good those are values that I brought work as a social studies teacher and a high school football coach now those of you who teach know this you learn far more from your students than they learn from you no matter how good a teacher you are you know how that works so some of my students and this is in the late '90s were concerned about an uptick in bullying amongst the gay and lesbian community in our school one of those Brave students is here tonight Jacob Ron's a dear friend of mine who's [Applause] here and Jacob look I'm coaching football I'm an old straight white guy I'm teaching social studies you're all picturing the damn stereotype here turns out that I'm like opposite world of Tommy tuberville though so in this for some of you so so when Jake asked if I'd be interested in being the adviser to the gay straight Alliance I said absolutely I understood what it meant to be that older straight white guy who was coaching football Alli ship is a great thing but what many of you in here knows is it's easy to be an ally when it's easy to be an ally what really matters is knowing who's going to be at your side and stand up when it's hard and it was in those moments that those students inspired me years later look I'm a 40-some guy with little kids who is teaching school trying to pay the mortgage the idea of running for office never got to me or thought about it but those students inspired me and what they saw in me is what I was trying to instill in them this commitment to a common good I believe one person can make a difference in other people's lives so in 2006 I took the leap ran for congress no one told me at that time and I of course you know apparently couldn't google it um in that District there had been one other Democrat since 1892 and in that red District I was in a state that had banned Sam stch marriage for a decade but I knew I was right and I ran on the platform that supported equality and this is what I said I got asked at a debate if I supported civil unions I I said sure if that's your thing but I said my marriage to my wife Gwen most important thing in my life I love her deeply why would I stop anybody else from marrying the person they love that makes no sense now this was this was 2006 and some of you uh with a little more gray hair or less of it can remember this time um that the other side said oh a bate candidate finally showed his true colors by saying this well as it turned out a majority of my neighbors agreed with us and they elected me to represent them in the United States [Applause] house and after it was over some people came up to me and said wow you R you won in spite of being uh pro-choice and PR gay marriage and I said no no no you've got this wrong I won because I was for those positions that's why we won so when I got to Congress I showed up there in the house historian told me at the time I was the highest ranking enlisted soldier at the time I served on the house Veterans Affairs committee and I worked with my roommate Patrick Murphy from Bucks County Pennsylvania to overturn don't ask don't [Applause] tell and was proud to be an early supporter for the respect for marriage act that we finally got passed and signed into law now I tell you this again it's not no one should get a pat on the back for doing what right for God's sakes the bar is pretty damn low here to treat people like human beings Equal justice under law it's not a high bar it's not a high bar but we know the forces that are aligned against it so this is where Champions rise up whether it's a young student at a at a school in southern Minnesota or it was someone who I met and I wished I had not met under the circumstance it was but someone who changed my life I was there when we passed the Matthew Shepard hate crime prevention Act and I had the privilege I had the privilege when the final vote was coming up in the house it was going to be close I walked to the house floor through the tunnels from the the Longworth house office building over to the capital and I made that walk with Matthew's mom Judy Shephard and and the sheriff who found Matthew's body tied to that fence post in Wyoming and I remember walking with a mother who had lost her son and hearing the the sheriff tell me the only place that wasn't bloody is where the tears ran down Matthew's eyes and I watched a mother and The Unbelievable pain that I couldn't even fathom to lose a child this way walk with her head held high to make sure that none of the rest of us ever have to get a call from someone so I just want to say my my friend Judy Shepard and her husband Dennis are here tonight and I'd like us all give him a big round of [Applause] applause this room this room is full of Heroes like like that things that were done some of them bigger Small Things ways to make people's lives a little bit easier but what I knew was when I had the chance to get elected to office and make a difference look there's a lot of people you don't get elected to office to bank political Capital so you can get elected again you get elected at office to burn political Capital to improve lives as quickly as you [Applause] can and so when we got the majority in Minnesota for the for the first time in over a decade we had the governor's office we had the house and we had the Senate by one vote and we got busy first thing we did is we banned conversion therapy in [Applause] Minnesota we protected transgender community and said in Minnesota you are seen heard loved and respected and safe and safe in Minnesota and we did something a little bit we banned Banning books especially Banning lgbtq books put themes in [Applause] that think about it in this room this is what these folks are focusing on spending all their time like reading about two male Penguins who love each other is is somehow going to turn your children gay and that's what you should worry about but here's what tell you it's a fact of life some people are gay but you know what's not a fact of life that our children need to be shot dead in schools that's not a fact a lie folks are Banning books but they're okay with weapons of war being in our schools look that's not this country it doesn't have to be this way it doesn't happen elsewhere we're going to make sure our children are seen they bring their authentic self and then we're going to make sure they're safe when they get there so thank you [Applause] all what this election boils down to in a lot of ways it's fundamentally about Freedom now it's not just a great song that vice president Harris walks on to although it is a great song that vice president Harris walks on to but it's truly fundamentally what does freedom mean and some of you in here I keep coming back to it some of us who are a little older cuz we got to go back a little ways in history here when Republicans used to talk about Freedom many of them actually meant it they weren't they weren't going to turn their backs on our allies they weren't going to leave Ukraine to themselves they weren't going to start doing the things they did but that's not true anymore Donald Trump and JD Vance their idea of freedom that the government should be free to invade every corner of our lives our bedrooms our kids schools even our doctor's office and I say this where I come from and I know where all of you come from I respect my neighbor personal choices I wouldn't make some of the choices they make but you know what when it comes to personal things bodily autonomy your gender identity when to start a family marrying who you love might sound a little bit oldfashioned on that but I think we just need to be really good neighbors everyone just deserves to be treated with respect freedom to make that choice and I keep reinforcing this CU they talk about this you know they government's too big in all this big enough to be in my bedroom apparently big enough to be in your uterus big enough to be in every Library big enough to do that but here's the thing this Society works best whether it's small towns or large towns and I say this and I bet every state could say this but in Minnesota things work really well because we have a saying that I talk about a lot you know the everything works better if you just mind your own damn business and I'll mind mine so nothing this idea and this Obsession and you've heard me say this they're all angry that I'm being mean to them um the other night Donald Trump did a town hall where he got to control what he said and he reassured the audience there 11 times that he was not weird if you're reminding someone you're not weird you probably yeah but look my point was my point was who is asking for this agenda that they're doing who's asking for them to take away our freedoms who's asking them to take away reproductive freedoms and I spoke personally about this cuz it's personal for so many of us in here the decision of how and what way and what your family is going to look like once again that's your decision but for us in my family we had to go through fertility treatments thank God we had insurance thank God we had access to fertility treatments and those of you if you've been through this whatever manage whatever way that looks it's agonizing whether you're waiting for adoption or you're waiting for those phone calls did the treatment work and then finding out it didn't and then starting again it's stressful it's hard I sure the hell don't need JD Vance giving me advice on it it's not helpful it's not helpful and it's a simple fix you worry about your family I'll worry about mine it's a very simple fix so for us I'll have to tell you when that call finally came and our daughter was born it wasn't by chance that we called her hope because that was our belief it was the strongest and most powerful word in the universe and so uh my daughter hope is here tonight with me by the way [Applause] so and I don't know if if you saw it at the convention here last week the vice president pretty much took back freedom from the other side that that now belongs with us and that's what we're saying took back the flag they don't they haven't cornered patriotism and I'm not going to allow them to talk about family values why they're doing everything possible to invade our personal lives on our [Applause] families and I think there's a lot of people this is just my Pro tip of the day look there's two of us there's two of us trying to that have the privileg of it's kind of crazy in a country this big that there's two people one of the two is going to be the next Vice President of the United States so uh so my Pro tip to to my opponent on the other side is quit talking about women's childbearing issues quit talking about it because no one cares what your thoughts are on if my family couns her doesn't no one cares no one cares and in Minnesota and this what I'm not going to take a back seat in why those guys were Banning books in their schools we were Banning hunger in ours so if you're going to talk about family values then at least show up and vote when the child tax credit is there which we know can reduce childhood poverty by a [Applause] third they didn't do anything when Donald Trump was in office he made it more difficult they didn't do anything on lowering child care costs did you hear he's got a plan on child care costs that no one in the world understood a damn word about it not one thing but there are things you can do and we did it in Minnesota and one of the things you can do is you can start making sure that you're doing things like the child tax credit and making it easier for sames set couples to start and raise their families openly with love and pride and make sure that the sport is there so that outdated narrow ideology there's no one asking for it but here's what I worry about for all of you and for all of us it's not just what they did because they tried hard this time they're not playing they are coming to do the things that they said they wanted to do and I said this as a football coach if somebody takes the time to draw up a Playbook they're going to use it so when you keep hear ing us and I'll talk about it every single day because I know what it will do I know what it will do to destroy this country this project 2025 that's out there to restrict freedoms demonize this community bully vulnerable children the message is simple from all of us and here in about 59 days you're going to get a chance to send that message is leave our kids the hell alone leave our kids alone and I have to tell you this one too and this is one that we keep remembering and this is a thank you to all those folks we talked about the don't ask don't tell but I want to make sure that we recognize this too we've had thousands of Brave transgender troops decorated Warriors who served this country in [Applause] uniform When Donald Trump was commander in chief he belittled them and he banned them from service thankfully President Biden and vice president Harris rended that stupid bigoted [Applause] policy if you want to serve this nation you should be allowed to and what we should do is respect that service they should not get incoming fire from their commanderin-chief attacking their basic dignity humanity and patriotism and I will say this I didn't serve for 24 years in this to have those guys diminish another troop service I will stand with them every single time I know I'm preaching to the choir a little bit but we got 59 days to sing so the choir needs to sing and I am a believer look you heard I I taught school for a couple decades so I do know and I supervised the lunchroom by the way for a lot of those times so I am at once an eternal optimist but two I do know that fear is a good short-term motivator but it doesn't change behaviors we're not running against those guys we need to know what they're going to do we need to know what we're up against we need to know what the threat is from them but what we need to do over the next 59 days is get ready to tell people exactly what we're going to do exactly what vice president then president Harris will do so we'll start by this lowering taxes on working families and making sure those at the top and corporations can pay their fair share they're doing fine they're doing fine we're to protect Social Security and Medicare and we're going to make sure the Affordable Care Act is strengthened and look about a dozen states have it if you're in one of these states that have it it's great but the rest of the country needs it it is time for us to quit being the last country on Earth to had paid family and medical leave for this it is time to be done and it's going to be very clear every single day this freedom issue that it's going to be you and people make the decisions about their healthare not a politician so look everybody everybody should be free to get an education and that should be a path to the middle class it shouldn't be a path to crippling student loan debt for decades to come we can fix this and I'm going to say it once again our kids should be free to go to school without worrying about being shot dead in the Halls it's that [Applause] simple vice president Harris fight make sure that we continue to pass the equality act enshrine anti-discrimination protections and lgbtq Americans healthc care IND law housing education and so much more now look if it sounds like a tall order I'll say it again I'm an eternal optimist think about this when I was a kid growing up in Nebraska being gay was illegal still technically illegal look how much has changed since this organization was founded 40 years ago can you imagine can you imagine going back to me a high schooler in the early 80s and saying you know what we're going to kick down the barriers we're going to open doors we're going to pass laws that lets you bring your authentic self love who you want to love and live the life that you want to live all by yourself with no interference from [Applause] government so I told you I told you hope and my hope is an incredibly powerful room or an incredibly powerful word you look around this room you can feel hope you feel that people want to see this we hope we win this election we hope we pass these laws we hope we lift people out of poverty that's a good thing to have but my wife always reminds me of this it's not a damn plan it's not a plan to hope we win this election we've got to have a plan and we've got to work for it and I ask you to look around this room we got about 3,500 people in this room what if we talk to one more person before this election what if we do one more phone bank what if we make one more door knck what if we dig deep and give a little bit more to this campaign cuz what we know is this politics is not an end it's a means to an end if we want that hope to become reality we've got to do the work to make it happen I know you're out there doing it you came here tonight you came here when you could have been somewhere else and in 59 days we get to chart our way forward we organize we donate we volunteer and I've been saying this when in life do you get a chance in 59 days to make an impact that will last for Generations because we [Applause] know if you want to go see what the alternative is it's the worst read in the world but it's 925 Pages it's project 2025 and as vice president Harris said we're not going back to the days we're not going back to the Discrimination we're not going to force our children into situations where they become suicidal we're not going to continue to demonize people because of who they are and we're not going to continue to allow people in this country to go hungry or to be shot dead because we don't make decisions that can improve that so we've got 59 days 59 days each and every one of us what every little bit we can do we can make a difference so I've been saying this and I truly believe this we can do anything for 59 days sleep when you're dead worry about that later but now is the time so it's up to US vice president Harris myself our entire Team all of you HRC we're fighting for a better country a better world we're fighting for the folks who aren't here tonight we're fighting for the folks who may not vote for us but we're doing it because it's the values that this country were founded on so as vice president Harris said if we're willing to fight we win when we fight we win when we fight we win thank you HRC thank you everybody thank you everyone [Applause] thank thank you HRC wow well thank you for inviting me and more importantly maybe thank you for the privilege of being able to stand with each of one of you president Robinson thank you for the kind introduction I'd also like to say on a point of personal privilege there's a strong contingent of motans in the house so thank you motans so for for all of you here tonight and around the country listening who've done so much to advance the cause of equality and freedom I'm proud to count so many of you as friends I'm grateful that you brought your time your talents and your Treasures to be here tonight and I'm fired up to be at your side I got to tell you because of all the things that are going on all the places you could be all the things you could have done you came here tonight one is it's the best party in the country tonight so that's why you're here but the deeper reason you're here is for that very simple and beautiful reason you love this country and that's why you're here you love the principles that we stand for well for some of you don't know uh I am Tim Walls and I'm a I'm the governor of Minnesota right now but I I like to make sure that I say that I I was a school teacher for a lot of years but right now right now I'm proud to be the running mate of the next president of the United States KLA Harris [Applause] the privilege of getting to know this phenomenal leader from a prosecutor district attorney Attorney General US senator and vice president yes by the way she's more qualified than anybody that's ever run for this office let's just be clear but she didn't just take those talents for herself she fights every single day on the side of the American people and what I have to say of all the things that the other side has messed up the other things that they've done the thing that I'll not forgive them for is the thing that vice president Harris is fixing most she's bringing Joy back to our politics decency back to how we do things and this is not a new thing for her this started a long time ago and for the folks of California in 2010 our Californians who are here in 2010 this is the joy she brought so here's the scene years earlier as the da of San Francisco vice president Harris took on and took one of the toughest stances in the nation against hate crimes she led the fight to end the hateful gay and transgender Panic defense we know what that leads to and we know the countless deaths and misery that was brought upon by that she took it on and she also officiated some of the first same-sex marriages in the entire [Applause] country then she went on to be become the Attorney General of the largest state in the country and the moment it arrived to defend marriage equality and she threw her whole self into that fight if you know kamla Harris she doesn't just pick these fights when she talks about it and this is the thing to keep in mind all she does is win all she does is [Applause] win so when the word came down that same seex marriage had been legalized in California two plaintiffs asked KLA Harris to officiate her ceremony while they were at City Hall celebrating that marriage she got a call from two more plaintiffs saying that a clerk in Los Angeles County was denying their marriage certificate so she grabbed a phone and some of you seen this she asked them to put the clerk on the line and she did what she did best she didn't mince words and she made it very clear she said this is KLA Harris you must start the marriage immediately [Applause] and then she added and I don't know if this always gets in the videos she added the best line to that she told the clerk have a good day and enjoy it it's going to be fun she hasn't looked back from that day as a US senator she fought hard for the equality act introduced a bill to make sure you ensured access to prep and as vice president and I say this it is not a stretch and the facts are there this is the most Pro lgbtq plus Administration in American [Applause] history she helped President Biden pass the landmark respect for Mary Jack requiring every state and territory to fully honor same-sex and interracial [Applause] marriage and she helped stop the ignorant and Byzantine practice of banning gay and bisexual men from donating blood um [Applause] I think it's important in this room for us to remember these things because keep in mind there's some other folks on the other side given one chance to get back in the White House they will go back at every one of these things we talk about we talk about progress and moving forward because she said it we're sure the hell not going back on these things we're not going to go back but be clear they're going to be there things like strengthening Mental Health resources for lgbtq plus youth we know we know what the statistics are they're horrific for our young people from suicides to self harm to all of the other things that go with it we know that this fight is the most important fight that's on our that's on our plate so I have to tell you she made human rights for lgbtq plus individuals around the world a top priority in this nation's foreign policy we must lead we must be the country that leads on it she worked with President Biden on historic executive orders protecting folks from discrimination and the reason she did it was pretty simple KLA Harris believes in Equal justice under law and that means not very complicated Equal justice under law it is not to be debated it's not that difficult the president is set but look we know what this is we know that we can all relate to some of this and I'll tell you this fight and I think about it for me for some of you maybe heard this I was born in a small place called West Point Nebraska I grew up yay somebody's from West Point there we go there's two of us um the town I grew up in had 400 people 24 classmates 12 were cousins somebody brought up the prom dating to me yes it's interesting um but look when you're in a community like that Community was a way of life my folks showed me Teach generosity to your neighbors work hard for the common good those are values that I brought work as a social studies teacher and a high school football coach now those of you who teach know this you learn far more from your students than they learn from you no matter how good of teacher you are you know how that works so some of my students and this is in the late 90s were concerned about an uptick in bullying amongst the gay and lesbian community in our school one of those Brave students is here tonight Jacob Ron's a dear friend of mine who's [Applause] here and Jacob look I'm coaching football I'm an old straight white guy I'm teaching social studies you're all picturing the damn stereotype here turn out that I'm like opposite world of Tommy tuberville though so in this for some of you so so when Jake asked if I'd be interested in being the adviser to the gay straight Alliance I said absolutely I understood what it meant to be that older straight white guy who was coaching [Applause] football Alli ship is a great thing but what many of you in here knows is it's easy to be an ally when it's easy to be an ally what really matters is knowing who's going to be at your side and stand up when it's hard and it was in those moments that those students inspired me years later look I'm a 40 something guy with little kids who is teaching school trying to pay the mortgage the idea of running for office never got to me or thought about it but those students inspired me and what they saw in me is what I was trying to instill in them this commitment to a common good I believe one person can make a difference in other people's lives so in 2006 I took the leap ran for congress no one told me at that time and I of course you know apparently couldn't google it um in that district there had been one other Democrat since 1892 and in that red District I was in a state that had banned same St marriage for a decade but I knew I was right and I ran on the platform that supported equality and this is what I said I got asked at a debate if I supported civil unions I I said sure if that's your thing but I said my marriage to my wife Gwen is most important thing in my life I love her deeply why would I stop any body else from marrying the person they love that makes no sense [Applause] now this was this was 2006 and some of you uh with a little more gray hair or less of it can remember this time um that the other side said oh a B- rate candidate finally showed his true colors by saying this well as it turned out a majority of my neighbors agreed with us and they elected me to represent them in the United States House and after it was over some people came up to me and said wow you R you won in spite of being uh pro-choice and PR gay marriage and I said no no no you've got this wrong I won because I was for those positions that's why we won so when I got to Congress I showed up there in the house historian told me at the time I was the highest ranking enlisted soldier at the time I served on the house Veterans Affairs committee and I worked with my roommate Patrick Murphy from Bucks County Pennsylvania to overturn don't ask don't [Applause] tell and was proud to be an early supporter for the respect for marriage act that we finally got passed and signed into law now I tell you this again it's not no one should get a pat on the back for doing what's right for God's sakes the bar is pretty damn low here to treat people like human beings Equal justice under laww it's not a high bar it's not a high bar but we know the forces that are aligned against it so this is where Champions rise up whether it's a young student at a at a school in southern Minnesota or it was someone who I met and I wished I had not met under the circumstance it was but someone who changed my life I was there when we passed the Matthew Shepard hate crime prevention act and I had the privilege I had the privilege when when the final vote was coming up in the house it was going to be close I walked to the house floor through the tunnels from the the Longworth house office building over to the Capal and I made that walk with Matthew's mom Judy Shepard and and the sheriff who found Matthew's body tied to that fence post in Wyoming and I remember walking with a mother who had lost her son and hearing the sheriff tell me the only place that wasn't bloody is where the tears ran down Matthew's eyes and I watched a mother and The Unbelievable pain that I couldn't even fathom to lose a child this way walk with her head held high to make sure that none of the rest of us ever have to get a call from someone so I just want to say my my friend Judy Shepard and her husband Dennis are here tonight and I'd like us all to give them a big round of applause [Applause] this room this room is full of Heroes like that things that were done some of them bigger Small Things ways to to make people's lives a little bit easier but what I knew was when I had the chance to get elected to office and make a difference look there's a lot of people you don't get elected to office to bank political Capital so you can get elected again you get elected to office to burn political Capital to improve lives as quickly as you [Applause] can and so when we got the majority in Minnesota for the first time in over a decade we had the governor's office we had the house and we had the Senate by one vote and we got busy first thing we did is we banned conversion therapy in [Applause] Minnesota we protected transgender community and said in Minnesota you are seen heard loved and respected and safe and safe in Minnesota and we did something a little bit we banned Banning books especially Banning lgbtq books for themes in that think about it in this room this is what these folks are focusing on spending all their time like reading about two male Penguins who love each other is is somehow going to turn your children gay and that's what you should worry about but here's what I'll tell you it's a fact of life some people are gay but you know what's not a fact of life that our children need to be shot dead in schools that's not a fact of life folks are Banning books but they're okay with weapons of war being in our schools look that's not this country it doesn't have to be this way it doesn't happen elsewhere we're going to make sure our children are seen they bring their authentic self and then we're going to make sure they're safe when they get there so thank you [Applause] all what this election boils down to in a lot of ways it's fundamentally about Freedom now it's not just a great song that vice president Harris walks on to although it is a great song that vice president Harris walks on to but it's truly fundamentally what does freedom mean and some of you in here I keep coming back to it some of us who are a little older cuz we got to go back a little ways in history here when Republicans used to talk about Freedom many of them actually meant it they weren't they weren't going to turn their backs on our allies they weren't going to leave Ukraine to themselves they weren't going to start doing the things they did but that's not true anymore Donald Trump and JD Vance their idea of freedom that the government should be free to invade every corner of our lives our bedrooms our kids schools even our doctor's office and I say this where I come from and I know where all of you come from from I respect my neighbor personal choices I wouldn't make some of the choices they make but you know what when it comes to personal things bodily autonomy your gender identity when to start a family marrying who you love might sound a little bit old-fashioned on that but I think we just need to be really good neighbors everyone just deserves to be treated with [Applause] respect freedom to make that choice and I keep reinforcing this cuz they talk about this you know they government's too big in all this big enough to be in my bedroom apparently big enough to be in your uterus big enough to be in every Library big enough to do that but here's the thing this Society works best whether it's small towns or large towns and I say this I bet every state could say this but in Minnesota things work really well cuz we have a saying that I talk about a lot you know everything works better if you just mind your own damn business and I'll mind mine so [Applause] nothing this idea and this Obsession and you've heard me say this they're all angry that I'm being mean to them um the other night Donald Trump did a town hall where he got to control what he said and he reassured the audience there 11 times that he was not weird if you're reminding someone you're not weird you probably yeah but look my point was my point was who is asking for this agenda that they're doing who's asking for them to take away our freedoms who's asking them to take away reproductive freedoms and I spoke personally about this cuz it's personal for so many of us in here the decision of how and what way and what your family is going to look like once again that's your decision but for us in my family we had to go through fertility treatments thank God we had Insurance thank God we had access to fertility treatments and those of you if you've been through this whatever manage whatever way that looks it's agonizing whether you're waiting for adoption or you're waiting for those phone calls did the treatment work and then finding out it didn't and then starting again it's stressful it's hard I sure the hell don't need JD Vance giving me advice on it it's not helpful it's not helpful and it's a simple fix you worry about your family I'll worry about mine it's a very simple fix so for us I'll have to tell you when that call finally came and our daughter was born it wasn't by chance that we called her hope because that was our belief it was the strongest and most powerful word in the univers universe and so uh my daughter hope is here tonight with me by the way [Applause] so and I don't know if if you saw it at the convention here last week the vice president pretty much took back freedom from the other side that that now belongs with us and that's what we're saying took back the flag [Applause] they don't they haven't cornered patriotism and I'm not going to allow them to talk about family values why they're doing everything possible to invade our personal lives and our [Applause] families and I think there's a lot of people this is just my Pro tip of the day look there's two of us there's two of us trying to that have the privilege of it's kind of crazy in a country this big that there's two people one of the two is going to be the next Vice President of the United States so uh so my Pro tip to to my opponent on the other side is quit talking about women's childbearing issues quit talking about it because no one cares what your thoughts are on if my family counts or doesn't no one cares no one [Applause] cares and in Minnesota and this what I'm not going to take a back seat in why those guys were Banning books in their schools we were Banning hunger in ours so if you're going to talk about family values then at least show up and vote when the child tax credit is there which we know can reduce childhood poverty by a [Applause] third they didn't do anything when Donald Trump was in office he made it more difficult they didn't do anything on lowering child care costs did you hear he's got a plan on child care costs that no one in the world understood a damn word about it not one thing but there are things you can do and we did it in Minnesota and one of the things you can do is you can start making sure that you're doing things like the child tax credit and making it easier for same set couples to start and raise their families openly with love and pride and make sure that the sport is [Applause] there so that outdated narrow ideology there's no one asking for it but here's what I worry about for all of you and for all of us it's not just what they did because they tried hard this time they're not playing they are coming to do the things that they said they wanted to do and I said this as a football coach if somebody takes the time to draw up a Playbook they're going to use it so when you keep hearing us and I'll talk about it every single day because I know what it will do I know what it will do to destroy this country this project 2025 that's out there to restrict freedoms demonize this community bully vulnerable children the message is simple from all of us and here in about 59 days you're going to get a chance to send that message is leave our kids the hell alone leave our kids [Applause] alone and I have to tell you this one too and this is one that we keep remembering and this is a thank you to all those folks we talked about the don't ask don't tell but I want to make sure that we recognize this too we've had thousands of Brave transgender troops decorated Warriors who served this country in [Applause] uniform When Donald Trump was commanderin-chief he belittled them and he banned them from service thankfully President Biden and vice president Harris rested that stupid bigoted policy if you want to serve this nation you should be allowed to and what we should do is respect that service they should not get incoming fire from their commanderin-chief attacking their basic dignity humanity and patriotism and I will say this I didn't serve for 24 years in this to have those guys diminish another troop service I will stand with them every single time I know I'm pre into the choir a little bit but we got 59 days to sing so the choir needs to sing and I am a believer look you heard I I taught school for a couple decades so I do know and I supervise the lunchroom by the way for a lot of those times so I am at once an eternal optimist but two I do know that fear is a good short-term motivator but it doesn't change behaviors we're not running against those guys we need to know what they're going to do we need to know what we're up against we need to know what the threat is from them but what we need to do over the next 59 days is get ready to tell people exactly what we're going to do exactly what vice president then president Harris will do so we'll start by this lowering taxes on working families and making sure those at the top and corporations can pay their fair share they're doing fine they're doing fine we're going to protect Social Security and Medicare and we're going to make sure the Affordable Care Act is strengthened and look about a dozen states have it if you're in one of these states that have it it's great but the rest of the country needs it it is time for us to quit being the last country on Earth to had paid Family and Medical lead for this it is time to be done and it's going to be very clear every single day this Freedom issue that it's going to be you and people make the decisions about their health heare not a politician so look everybody everybody should be free to get an education and that should be a path to the middle class it shouldn't be a path to crippling student loan debt for decades to come we can fix this and I'm going to say it once again our kids should be free to go to school without worrying about being shot dead in the Halls it's that [Applause] simple vice president Harris fight make sure that we continue to pass the quity act enshrine anti-discrimination protections and lgbtq Americans Healthcare into law housing education and so much more now look if it sounds like a tall order I'll say it again I'm an eternal optimist think about this when I was a kid growing up in Nebraska being gay was illegal still technically illegal look how much has changed since this organization was founded 40 years ago can you imagine can you imagine going back to me a high schooler in the early 80s and saying you know what we're going to kick down the barriers we're going to open doors we're going to pass laws that lets you bring your authentic self love who you want to love and live the life that you want to live all by yourself with no interference from [Applause] government so I told you I told you hope and my hope is an incredibly powerful room or an incredibly powerful word you look around this room you can feel hope you feel that people want to see this we hope we win this election we hope we pass these laws we hope we lift people out of poverty that's a good thing to have but my wife always reminds me of this it's not a damn plan it's not a plan to hope we win this election we've got to have a plan and we've got to work for it and I ask you to look around this room we got about 3,500 people in this room what if we talk to one more person before this election what if we do one more phone bank what if we make one more door knock what if we dig deep and give a little bit more to this campaign cuz what we know is this politics is not an end it's a means to an end if we want that hope to become reality we've got to do the work to make it happen I know you're out there doing it you came here tonight you came here when you could have been somewhere else and in 59 days we get to chart our way forward we organize we donate we volunteer and I've been saying this when in life do you get a chance in 59 days to make an impact that will last for Generations because we [Applause] know if you want to go see what the alternative is it's the worst read in the world but it's 925 Pages it's project 2025 and as vice president Harris said we're not going back to the day days we're not going back to the Discrimination we're not going to force our children into situations where they become suicidal we're not going to continue to demonize people because of who they are and we're not going to continue to allow people in this country to go hungry or to be shot dead because we don't make decisions that can improve that so we've got 59 days 59 days each and every one of us what every little bit we can do we can make a difference so I've been saying this and I truly believe this we can do anything for 59 days sleep sleep when you're dead worry about that later but now is the time so it's up to US vice president Harris myself our entire Team all of you HRC we fighting for a better country a better world we're fighting for the folks who aren't here tonight we're fighting for the folks who may not vote for us but we're doing it because it's the values that this country were founded on so as vice president Harris said if we're willing to fight we win when we fight we win when we fight we win thank you HRC thank you everybody thank you everyone thank thank you HRC wow well thank you for inviting me and more importantly maybe thank you for the privilege of being able to stand with each of one of you president Robinson thank you for the kind introduction I'd also like to say on a point of personal privilege there's a strong contingent of motans in the house so thank you minnesotans so for for all of you here tonight around the country listening who've done so much to advance the cause of equality and freedom I'm proud to count so many of you as friends I'm grateful that you brought your time your talents and your Treasures to be here tonight and I'm fired up to be at your side I got to tell you because of all the things that are going on all the places you could be all the things you could have done you came here tonight one is it's the best party in the country tonight so that's why you're here but the deeper reason you're here is for that very simple and beautiful reason you love this country and that's why you're here you love the principles that we stand for well for some of you don't know uh I am Tim Walls and I'm a I'm the governor of Minnesota right now but I I like to make sure that I say that I I was a school teacher for a lot of years but right now right now I'm proud to be the running mate of the next president of the United States KLA Harris the privilege of getting to know this phenomenal leader from a prosecutor district attorney Attorney General US senator and vice president yes by the way she's more qualified than anybody that's ever run for this office let's just be clear but she didn't just take those talents for herself she fights every single day on the side of the American people and what I have to say of all the things that the other side has messed up the other things that they've done the thing that I'll not forgive them for is the thing that vice president Harris is fixing most she's bringing Joy back to our politics decency back to how we do things and this is not a new thing for her this started a long time ago and for the folks of California in 2010 or Californians who are here in 2010 this is the joy she brought so here's the scene years earlier as the da of San Francisco vice president Harris took on and took one of the toughest stances in the nation against hate crimes she led the fight to end the hateful gay and transgender Panic defense we know what that leads to and we know the countless deaths and misery that was brought upon by that she took it on and she also officiated some of the first same-sex marriages in the entire [Applause] country then she went on to become the Attorney General of the largest state in the country and the moment it arrived to defend marriage equality and she threw her whole self into that fight if you know kamla Harris she doesn't just pick these fights when she talks about it and this is the thing to keep in mind all she does is win all she does is [Applause] win so when the word came down that same-sex marriage had been legalized in California two plaintiffs asked kamla Harris to officiate her ceremony while they were at City Hall celebrating that marriage she got a call from two more plaintiffs saying that a clerk in Los Angeles County was denying their marriage certificate so she grabbed a phone and some of you have seen this she asked them to put the clerk on the line and she did what she did best she didn't mince words and she made it very clear she said this is KLA Harris you must start the marriage [Applause] immediately and then she added and I don't know if this always gets in the video she added the best line to that she told the clerk have a good day and enjoy it it's going to be fun she hasn't looked back from that day as a US senator she fought hard for the equality act introduced a bill to make sure you ensured access to prep and as vice president and I say this it is not a stretch and the facts are there this is the most Pro lgbtq Plus Administration in American history [Applause] she helped President Biden pass the landmark respect for Marriage Act requiring every state and territory to fully honor same-sex and interracial [Applause] marriage and she helped stop the ignorant and Byzantine practice of banning gay and bisexual men from donating blood um I think it's important in this room for us to remember these things because keep in mind there's some other folks on the other side given one chance to get back in the White House they will go back at every one of these things we talk about we talk about progress and moving forward because she said it we're sure the hell not going back on these things we're not going to go back but be clear they're going to be there things like strengthening Mental Health Resources for lgbtq plus youth we know we know what the statistics are they're horrific for our young people from suicides to self harm to all of the other things that go with it we know that this fight is the most important fight that's on our that's on our plate so I have to tell you she made human rights for lgbtq plus individuals around the world a top priority in this nation's foreign policy we must lead we must be the country that leads on [Applause] it she worked with president on historic executive orders protecting folks from discrimination and the reason she did it was pretty simple KLA Harris believes in Equal justice under law and that means not very complicated Equal justice under law it is not to be debated it's not that difficult the president is set but look we know what this fight is we know that we can all relate to some of this and I'll tell you this fight and I think about it for me for some of you maybe you heard this I was born in a small place called West Point Nebraska I grew up yay somebody's from West Point there we go there's two of us um the town I grew up in had 400 people 24 classmates 12 were cousins somebody brought up the prom dating to me yes it's interesting um but look when you're in a community like that Community was a way of life my my folks showed me Teach generosity to your neighbors work hard for the common good those are values that I brought work as a social studies teacher and a high school football coach now those of you who teach know this you learn far more from your students than they learn from you no matter how good of teacher you are you know how that works so some of my students and this is in the late '90s were concerned about an uptick in bullying amongst the gay and lesbian community in our school one of those Brave students is here tonight Jacob Ron's a dear friend of mine who's [Applause] here and Jacob look I'm coaching football I'm an old straight white guy I'm teaching social studies you're all picturing the damn stereotype here turns out that I'm like opposite world of Tommy tuberville though so in this for some of you so so when Jake asked if I'd be interested in being the adviser to the gay straight Alliance I said absolutely I understood what it meant to be that older straight white guy who was coaching [Applause] football Li ship is a great thing but what many of you in here knows is it's easy to be an ally when it's easy to be an ally what really matters is knowing who's going to be at your side and stand up when it's hard and it was in those moments that those students inspired me years later look I'm a 40-some guy with little kids who is teaching school trying to pay the mortgage the idea of running for office never got to me or thought about it but those students inspired me and what they saw in me is what I was trying to instill in them this commitment to a common good I believe one person can make a difference in other people's lives so in 2006 I took the leap ran for congress no one told me at that time and I of course you know apparently couldn't google it um in that district there had been one other Democrat since 1892 and in that red District I was in a state that had banned Sam STC marriage for a decade but I knew I was right and I ran on the platform that supported equality and this is what I said I got asked at a debate if I supported civil unions I I said sure if that's your thing but I said my marriage to my wife Gwen is most important thing in my life I love her deeply why would I stop anybody else from marrying the person they love that makes no sense now this was this was 2006 and some of you uh with a little more gray hair or less of it can remember this time um that the other side said oh a bate candidate finally showed his true colors by saying this well as it turned out a majority of my neighbors agreed with us and they elected me to represent them in United States [Applause] house and after it was over some people came up to me and said wow you R you won in spite of being uh pro-choice and pray marriage and I said no no no you've got this wrong I won because I was for those positions that's why we won so when I got to Congress I showed up there in the house historian told me at the time I was the highest ranking enlisted soldier at the time I served on the house Veterans Affairs committee and I worked with my roommate Patrick Murphy from Bucks County Pennsylvania to overturn don't ask don't [Applause] tell and was proud to be an early supporter for the respect for Mary Jack that we finally got passed and signed into law now I tell you this again it's not no one should get a pat on the back for doing what's right for God's sakes the bar is pretty damn low here to treat people like human beings Equal justice under law it's not a high bar it's it's not a high bar but we know the forces that are aligned against it so this is where Champions rise up whether it's a young student at a at a school in southern Minnesota or it was someone who I met and I wished I had not met under the circumstance it was but someone who changed my life I was there when we passed the Matthew Shepard hate crime prevention act and I had the privilege I had the privilege when the final vote was coming up in the house it was going to be close I walked to the house floor through the tunnels from the the Longworth house office building over to the capital and I made that walk with Matthew's mom Judy Shepard and and the sheriff who found Matthew's body tied to that fence post in Wyoming and I remember walking with a mother who had lost her son and hearing the sheriff tell me the only place it wasn't bloody is where the tears ran down Matthew's eyes and I watched a mother and The Unbelievable pain that I couldn't even fathom to lose a child this way walk with her head held high to make sure that none of the rest of us ever have to get a call from someone so I just want to say my my friend Judy Shepard and her husband Dennis are here tonight and I'd like us all to give them a big round of applause [Applause] this room this room is full of Heroes like that things that were done some of them bigger Small Things ways to make people's lives a little bit easier but what I knew was when had the chance to get elected to office and make a difference look there's a lot of people you don't get elected to office to bank political Capital so you can get elected again you get elected office to burn political Capital to improve lives as quickly as you [Applause] can and so when we got the majority in Minnesota for the first time in over a decade we had the governor's office we had the house and we had the Senate by one vote and we got busy first thing we did we banned conversion therapy in [Applause] Minnesota we protected transgender community and said in Minnesota you are seen heard loved and respected and safe and safe in Minnesota and we did something a little bit we banned Banning books especially Banning lgbtq books put themes in [Applause] that think about it in this room this is what these folks are focusing on spending all their time like reading about two male Penguins who love each other is is somehow going to turn your children gay and that's what you should worry about but here's what I'll tell you it's a fact of life some people are gay but you know what's not a fact of life that our children need to be shot dead in school that's not a fact a lie folks are Banning books but they're okay with weapons of war being in our schools look that's not this country it doesn't have to be this way it doesn't happen elsewhere we're going to make sure our children are seen they bring their authentic self and then we're going to make sure they're safe when they get there so thank you all what this election boils down to in a lot of ways it's fundamentally about Freedom now it's not just a great song that vice president Harris walks on to although it is a great song that vice president Harris walks on to but it's truly fundamentally what does freedom mean and some of you in here I keep coming back to it some of us who a little older because we got to go back a little ways in history here when Republicans used to talk about freed Freedom many of them actually meant it they weren't they weren't going to turn their backs on our allies they weren't going to leave Ukraine to themselves they weren't going to start doing the things they did but that's not true anymore Donald Trump and JD Vance their idea of freedom that the government should be free to invade every corner of our lives our bedrooms our kids' schools even our doctor's office and I say this where I come from and I know where all of you come from I respect my neighbor personal choices I wouldn't make some of the choices they make but you know what when it comes to personal things bodily autonomy your gender identity when to start a family marrying who you love might sound a little bit old-fashioned on that but I think we just need to be really good neighbors everyone just deserves to be treated with [Applause] respect freedom to make that choice and I keep reinforcing this cuz they talk about this you know there no government's too big in all this big enough to be in my bedroom apparently big enough to be in your uterus big enough to be in every Library big enough to do that but here's the thing this Society works best whether it's small towns or large towns and I say this and I bet every state could say this but in Minnesota things work really well because we have a saying that I talk about a lot you know the everything works better if you just mind your own damn business and I'll mind mine so nothing [Applause] this idea and this Obsession and you've heard me say this they're all angry that I'm being mean to them um the other night Donald Trump did a town hall where he got to control what he said and he reassured the audience there 11 times that he was not weird if you're reminding someone you're not weird you probably yeah but look my point was my point was who is asking for this agenda that they're doing who's asking for them to take away our freedoms who's asking them to take away reproductive freedoms and I spoke personally about this because it's personal for so many of us in here the decision of how and what way and what your family's going to look like once again that's your decision but for Us in my family we had to go through fertility treatments thank God we had Insurance thank God we had access to fertility treatments and those of you if you've been through this whatever manage whatever way that looks it's agonizing whether you're waiting for adoption or you're waiting for those phone calls did the treatment work and then finding out it didn't and then starting again it's stressful it's hard I sure the hell don't need JD Vance giving me advice on it it's not helpful it's not help ful and it's a simple fix you worry about your family I'll worry about mine it's a very simple fix so for us I'll have to tell you when that call finally came and our daughter was born it wasn't by chance that we called her hope because that was our belief it was the strongest and most powerful word in the universe and so uh my daughter hope is here tonight with me by the way [Applause] and I don't know if if you saw it at the convention here last week the vice president pretty much took back freedom from the other side that that now belongs with us and that's what we're saying took back the flag they don't they haven't cornered patriotism and I'm not going to allow them to talk about family values why they're doing everything possible to invade our personal lives on our [Applause] families and I think there's a lot of people this is just my Pro tip of the day look there's two of us there's two of us trying to that have the privilege of it's kind of crazy in a country this big that there's two people one of the two is going to be the next Vice President of the United States so uh so my prot tip to to my opponent on the other side is quit talking about women's childbearing issues quit talking about it because no one cares what your thoughts are on if my family counter doesn't no one cares no one [Applause] cares and in Minnesota and this is what I'm not going to take a back seat in why those guys were Banning books in their schools we were Banning hunger in ours so if you're going to talk about family values then at least show up and vote when the child tax credit is there which we know can reduce childhood poverty by a [Applause] third they didn't do anything when Donald Trump was in office he made it more difficult they didn't do anything on lowering child care costs did you hear he's got a plan on child care costs that no one in the world under Ood a damn word about it not one thing but there are things you can do and we did it in Minnesota and one of the things you can do is you can start making sure that you're doing things like the child tax credit and making it easier for same- set couples to start and raise their families openly with love and pride and make sure that the sport is [Applause] there so that outdated Naro ideology there's no one asking for it but here's what I worry about for all of you and for all of us it's not just what they did because they tried hard this time they're not playing they are coming to do the things that they said they wanted to do and I said this as a football coach if somebody takes the time to draw up a Playbook they're going to use it so when you keep hearing us and I'll talk about it every single day because I know what it will do I know what it will do to destroy this country this project 2025 that's out there to restrict freedoms demonize this community bully vulnerable children the message is simple from all of us and here in about 59 days you're going to get a chance to send that message is leave our kids the hell alone leave our kids [Applause] alone and I have to tell you this one too and this is one that we keep remembering and this is a thank you to all those folks we talked about the don't ask don't tell but I want to make sure that we recognize this too we've had thousands of Brave transgender troops decorated Warriors who served this country in [Applause] uniform When Donald Trump was commanderin-chief he belittled them and he banned them from service thankfully President Biden and vice president Harris exended that stupid bigoted policy if you want to serve this nation you should be allowed to and what we should do is respect that service they should not get incoming fire from their commanderin-chief attacking their basic dignity humanity and patriotism and I will say this I didn't serve for 24 years in this to have those guys diminish another troop service I will stand with them every single time I know I'm preaching to the choir a little bit but we got 59 days to sing so the choir needs to sing and I am a believer look you heard me I I taught school for a couple decades so I do know and I supervised the lunchroom by the way for a lot of those times so I am at once an eternal optimist but two I do know that fear is a good short-term motivator but it doesn't change behaviors we're not running against those guys we need to know what they're going to do we need to know what we're up against we need to know what the threat is from them but what we need do over the next 59 days is get ready to tell people exactly what we're going to do exactly what vice president then president Harris will do so we'll start by this lowering taxes on working families and making sure those at the top and corporations can pay their fair share they're doing fine they're doing fine we're going to protect Social Security and Medicare and we're going to make sure the Affordable Care Act is strengthened and look about a dozen states have it if you're in one of these states that have it it's great but the rest of the country needs it it is time for us to quit being the last country on Earth to had paid family and medical leave for this it is time to be done and it's going to be very clear every single day this Freedom issue that it's going to be you and people make the decisions about their health care not a politician so look everybody everybody should be free to get an education and that should be a path to the middle class it shouldn't be a path to crippling student loan debt for decades to come we can fix this and I'm going to say it once again our kids should be free to go to school without worrying about being shot dead in the Halls it's that [Applause] simple vice president Harris fight make sure that we continue to pass the equality act enshrine anti-discrimination protections and lgbtq Americans Healthcare into law housing education and so much more now look if it sounds like a tall order I'll say it again I'm an eternal optimist think about this when I was a kid growing up in Nebraska being gay was illegal still technically illegal look how much has changed since this organization was founded 40 years ago can you imagine can you imagine going back to me a high schooler in the early 80s and saying you know what we're going to kick down the barriers we're going to open doors we're going to pass laws that lets you bring your authentic self love who you want to love and live the life that you want to live all by yourself with no interference from [Applause] government so I told you I told you hope and my hope is an incredibly powerful room or an incredibly powerful word you look around this room you can feel hope you feel that people want to see this we hope we win this election we hope we pass these laws we hope we lift people out of poverty that's a good thing to have but my wife always reminds me of this it's not a damn plan it's not a plan to hope we win this election we've got to have a plan and we've got to work for it and I ask you to look around this room we got about 3,500 people in this room what if we talk to one more person before this election what if we do one more phone bank what if we make one more door knock what if we dig deep and give a little bit more to this campaign cuz what we know is this politics is not an end it's a means to an end if we want that hope to become reality we've got to do the work to make it happen I know you're out there doing it you came here tonight you came here when you could have been somewhere else and in 59 days we get to chart our way forward we organize we donate we volunteer and I've been saying this when in life do you get a chance in 59 days to make an impact that will last for Generations because we [Applause] know if you want to go see what the alternative is it's the worst read in the world but it's 925 Pages it's project 2025 and as vice president Harris said we're not going back to the days we're not going back to the Discrimination we're not going to force our children into situations where they become suicidal we're not going to continue to demonize people because of who they are and we're not going to continue to allow people in this country to go hungry or to be shot dead because we don't make decisions that can improve that so we've got 59 days 59 days each and every one of us what every little bit we can do we can make a difference so I've been saying this and I truly believe this we can do anything for 59 days sleep when you're dead worry about that later but now is the time so it's up to US vice president Harris myself our entire Team all of you HRC we're fighting for a better country a better world we're fighting for the folks who aren't here tonight we're fighting for the folks who may not vote for us but we're doing it because it's the values that this country were founded on so as vice president Harris said if we're willing to fight we win when we fight we win when we fight we win thank you HRC thank you everybody thank you everyone thank thank you HRC wow well thank you for inviting me and more importantly maybe thank you for the privilege of being able to St with each of one of you president Robinson thank you for the kind introduction I'd also like to say on a point of personal privilege there's a strong contingent of motans in the house so thank you motans so for for all of you here tonight and around the country listening you've done so much to advance the cause of equality and freedom I'm proud to count so many of you as friends I'm grateful that you brought your time time your talents and your Treasures to be here tonight and I'm fired up to be at your side I got to tell you because of all the things that are going on all the places you could be all the things you could have done you came here tonight one is it's the best party in the country tonight so that's why you're here but the deeper reason you're here is for that very simple and beautiful reason you love this country and that's why you're here you love the principles that we stand for well for some of you don't know know uh I am Tim Walls and I'm a I'm the governor of Minnesota right now but I I like to make sure that I say that I I was a school teacher for a lot of years but right now right now I'm proud to be the running mate of the next president of the United States KLA Harris the privilege of getting to know this phenomenal leader from a prosecutor district attorney Attorney General US senator and vice president yes by the way she's more qualified than anybody that's ever run for this office let's just be clear but she didn't just take those talents for herself she fights every single day on the side of the American people and what I have to say of all the things that the other side has messed up the other things that they've done the thing that I'll not forgive them for is the thing that vice president Harris is fixing most she's bringing Joy back to our politics decency back to how we do things and this is not a new thing for her this started a long time ago and for the folks of California in 2010 our Californians who are here in 2010 this is the joy she brought so here's the scene years earlier as the da of San Francisco vice president Harris took on and took one of the toughest stances in the nation against hate crimes she led the fight to and the hateful gay and transgender Panic defense we know what that leads to and we know the countless deaths and misery that was brought upon by that she took it on and she also officiated some of the first same-sex marriages in the entire [Applause] country then she went on to become the Attorney General of the largest state in the country and the moment it arrived to defend marriage equality and she threw her whole self into that fight if you know kamla Harris she doesn't just pick these fights when she talks about it and this is the thing to keep in mind all she does is win all she does is [Applause] win so when the word came down that same seex marriage had been legalized in California two plaintiffs asked KLA Harris to officiate her ceremony while they were at City Hall celebrating that marriage she got a call from two more PL PLS saying that a clerk in Los Angeles County was denying their marriage certificate so she grabbed a phone and some of you have seen this she asked them to put the clerk on the line and she did what she did best she didn't mince words and she made it very clear she said this is KLA Harris you must start the marriage [Applause] immediately and then she added and I don't know if this always gets in the videos she added the best line to that she told the clerk have a good day and enjoy it it's going to be fun she hasn't looked back from that day as a US senator she fought hard for the equality act introduced a bill to make sure you ensured access to prep and as vice president and I say this it is not a stretch and the facts are there this is the most Pro lgbtq Plus Administration in American history [Applause] she helped President Biden pass the landmark respect for Mary Jack requiring every state and territory to fully honor same-sex and interracial [Applause] marriage and she helped stop the ignorant and Byzantine practice of banning gay and bisexual men from donating blood [Applause] um I think it's important in this room for us to remember these things because keep in mind there's some other folks on the other side given one chance to get back in the White House they will go back at every one of these things we talk about we talk about progress and moving forward because she said it we're sure the hell not going back on these things we're not going to go back but be clear they're going to be there things like strengthening Mental Health Resources for lgbtq plus youth we know we know what the statistics are they're horrific for our young people from suicides to self harm to all of the other things that go with it we know that this fight is the most important fight that's on our that's on our plate so I have to tell you she made human rights for lgbtq plus individuals around the world a top priority in this nation's foreign policy we must lead we must be the country that leads on [Applause] it she worked with President Biden on historic executive orders protecting folks from discrimination and the reason she did it was pretty simple KLA Harris believes in Equal justice under law and that means not very complicated Equal justice under law yeah it is not to be debated it's not that difficult the president is set but look we know what this fight is we know that we can all relate to some of this and I'll tell you this fight and I think about it for me for some of you maybe heard this I was born in a small place called West Point Nebraska I grew up yay somebody's from West Point there we go there's two of us um the town I grew up in had 400 people 24 classmates 12 were cousins somebody brought up the prom dating to me yes it's interesting um but look when you're in a community like that Community was a way of life my folks showed me Teach generosity to your neighbors work hard for the and good those are values that I brought work as a social studies teacher and a high school football coach now those of you who teach know this you learn far more from your students than they learn from you no matter how good of teacher you are you know how that works so some of my students and this is in the late 90s were concerned about an uptick in bullying amongst the gay and lesbian community in our school one of those Brave students is here tonight Jacob great Ton's a dear friend of mine who's [Applause] here and Jacob look I'm coaching football I'm an old straight white guy I'm teaching social studies you're all picturing the damn stereotype here turns out that I'm like opposite world of Tommy tuberville though so in this for some of you so so when Jake asked if I'd be interested in being the adviser to the gay straight Alliance I said absolutely I understood what it meant to be that older straight white guy who was coaching [Applause] football allly ship is a great thing but with many of you in here knows is it's easy to be an ally when it's easy to be an ally what really matters is knowing who's going to be at your side and stand up when it's hard and it was in those moments that those students inspired me years later look I'm a 40-some guy with little kids who is teaching school trying to pay the mortgage the idea of running for office never got to me or thought about it but those students inspired me and what they saw in me is what I was trying to instill in them this commitment to a common good I believe one person can make a difference in other people's lives so in 2006 I took the leap ran for congress no one told me at that time and I of course you know apparently couldn't google it um in that district there had been one other Democrat since 1892 and in that red District I was in a state that had banned Sam St marriage for a decade but I knew I was right and I ran on the platform that supported equality and this is what I said I got asked at a debate if I supported civil unions I I said sure if that's your thing but I said my marriage to my wife Gwen is most important thing in my life I love her deeply why would I stop anybody else from marrying the person they love that makes no sense now this was this was 2006 and some of you uh with a little more gray hair or less of it can remember this time um that the other side said oh a bate candidate finally showed his true colors by saying this why is it turned out a majority of my neighbors agreed with us and they elected me to represent them in the United States [Applause] house and after it was over some people came up to me and said wow you R you won in spite of being uh pro-choice and PR gay marriage and I said no no no you've got this wrong I won because I was for those positions that's why we won so when I got to Congress I showed up there and the house historian told me at the time I was the highest ranking enlisted soldier at the time I served on the house Veterans Affairs committee and I worked with my roommate Patrick Murphy from Bucks County Pennsylvania to overturn don't ask don't tell and was proud to be an early supporter for the respect for marriage Jack that we finally got passed and signed into law now I tell you this again it's not no one should get a pat on the back for doing what's right for God's sakes the bar is pretty damn low here to treat people like human beings Equal justice under law it's not a high bar it's not a high bar but we know the forces that are aligned against it so this is Champions rise up whether it's a young student at a at a school in southern Minnesota or it was someone who I met and I wished I had not met under the circumstance it was but someone who changed my life I was there when we passed the Matthew Shepard hate crime prevention act and I had the privilege I had the privilege when the final vote was coming up in the house it was going to be closed I walked to the house floor through the tunnels from the the Longworth house office building over to the capol and I made that walk with Matthew's mom Judy Shephard and and the sheriff who found Matthew's body tied to that fence post in Wyoming and I remember walking with a mother who lost her son and hearing the sheriff tell me the only place that wasn't bloody is where the tears ran down Matthew's eyes and I watched a mother and The Unbelievable pain that I couldn't even fathom to lose a child this way walk with her head held high to make sure that none of the rest of us ever have to get a call from someone so I just want to say my my friend Judy Shepard and her husband Dennis are here tonight and I'd like us all to give them a big round of applause [Applause] this room this room is full of Heroes like that things that were done some of them bigger Small Things ways to make people's lives a little bit easier but what I knew was when I had the chance to get elected to office and make a difference look there's a lot of people you don't get elected to office to bank political Capital so you can get elected again you get elected to office to burn political Capital to improve lives as quickly as you [Applause] can and so when we got the majority in Minnesota for the first time in over a decade we had the governor's office we had the house and we had the Senate by one vote and we got busy first thing we did is we banned conversion therapy in Minnesota [Applause] we protected transgender community and said in Minnesota you are seen heard loved and respected and safe and safe in Minnesota and we did something a little bit we banned Banning books especially Banning lgbtq books for themes in [Applause] that think about it in this room this is what these folks are focusing on spending all their time like reading about two male Penguins who love each other is is somehow going to turn your children gay and that's what you should worry about but here's what I'll tell you it's a fact of life some people are gay but you know what's not a fact of life that are children need to be shot dead in schools that's not a fact of life folks are Banning books but they're okay with weapons of war being in our schools look that's not this country it doesn't have to be this way it doesn't happen elsewhere we're going to make sure our children are seen they bring their authentic self and then we're going to make sure they're safe when they get there so thank you all what this election boils down to in a lot of ways it's fundamentally about Freedom now it's not just a great song that vice president Harris walks on to although it is a great song that vice president Harris walks on to but it's truly fundamentally what does freedom mean and some of you in here I keep coming back to it some of us who are a little older because we got to go back a little ways in history here when Republicans used to talk about Freedom many of them actually meant it they weren't they weren't going to turn their back on our allies they weren't going to leave Ukraine to themselves they weren't going to start doing the things they did but that's not true anymore Donald Trump and JD Vance their idea of freedom that the government should be free to invade every corner of our lives our bedrooms our kids schools even our doctor's office and I say this where I come from and I know where all of you come from I respect my neighbor's personal choices I wouldn't make some of the choices they make but you know what when it comes to personal things bodily autonomy your gender identity when to start a family marrying who you love might sound a little bit old-fashioned on that but I think we just need to be really good neighbors everyone just deserves to be treated with [Applause] respect freedom to make that choice and I keep reinforcing this because they talk about this you know they government's too big in all this big enough to be in my bedroom apparently big enough to be in your uterus big enough to be in every Library big enough to do that but here's the thing this Society works best whether it's small towns or large towns and I say this I bet every state could say this but in Minnesota things work really well because we have a saying that I talk about a lot you know the everything works better if you just mind your own damn business and I'll mind mine so nothing this idea and this Obsession and you've heard me say this they're all angry that I'm being mean to them um the other night Donald Trump did a town hall where he got to control what he said and he reassured the audience there 11 times that he was not weird if you're reminding someone you're not weird you probably yeah but look my point was my point was who is asking for this agenda that they're doing who's asking for them to take away our freedoms who's asking them to take away reproductive freedoms and I spoke personally about this because it's personal for so many of us in here the decision of how and what way and what your family is going to look like once again that's your decision but for us in my family we had to go through fertility treatments thank God we had Insurance thank God we had access to fertility treatments and those of you if you've been through this whatever manage whatever way that looks it's agonizing whether you're waiting for adoption or you're waiting for those phone calls did the treatment work and then finding out it didn't and then starting again it's stressful it's hard I sure the hell don't need JD Vance giving me advice on it it's not helpful it's not helpful and it's a simple fix you worry about your family I'll worry about mine it's a very simple fix so for us I'll have to tell you when that call finally came and our daughter was born it wasn't by chance that we called her hope because that was our belief it was the strongest and most powerful word in the universe and so uh my daughter hope is here tonight with me by the way so and I don't know if if you saw it at the convention here last week the vice president pretty much took back freedom from the other side that that now belongs with us and that's what we're saying took back the flag they don't they haven't cornered patriotism and I'm not going to allow them to talk about family values why they're doing everything possible to invade our personal lives on our [Applause] families and I think there's a lot of people this is just my Pro tip of the day look there's two of us there's two of us trying to that have the privilege of it's kind of crazy in a country this big that there's two people one of the two is going to be the next Vice President of the United States so uh so my Pro tip to to my opponent on the their side is quit talking about women's childbearing issues quit talking about it because no one cares what your thoughts are on if my family counts or doesn't no one cares no one [Applause] cares and in Minnesota and this what I'm not going to take a back seat in why those guys were Banning books in their schools we were Banning hunger in ours so if you're going to talk about family values then at least show up and vote when the child tax credit is there which we know can reduce childhood poverty by a [Applause] third they didn't do anything when Donald Trump was in office he made it more difficult they didn't do anything on lowering child care costs did you hear he's got a plan on child care cost that no one in the world understood a damn word about it not one thing but there are things you can do and we did it in Minnesota and one of the things you can do is you can start making sure that you're doing things like the child tax credit and making it easier for same set couples to start and raise their families openly with love and pride and make sure that the sport is [Applause] there so that outdated narrow ideology there's no one asking for it but here's what I worry about for all of you and for all of us it's not just what they did because they tried hard this time they're not playing they are coming to do the things that they said they wanted to do and I said this as a football coach if somebody takes the time to draw up a Playbook they're going to use it so when you keep hearing us and I'll talk about it every single day because I know what it will do I know what it will do to destroy this country this project 2025 that's out there to restrict freedoms demonize this community bully vulnerable children the message is simple from all of us and here in about 59 days you're going to get a chance to send that message is leave our kids the hell alone leave our kids [Applause] alone and I have to tell you this one too and this is one that we keep remembering and this is a thank you to all those folks we talked about the don't ask don't tell but I want to make sure that we recognize this too we've had thousands of Brave transgender troops decorated Warriors who served this country in [Applause] uniform When Donald Trump was commanderin-chief he belittled them and he banned them from service thankfully President Biden and vice president Harris rested that stupid bigoted [Applause] policy if you want to serve this nation you should be allowed to and what we should do is respect that service they should not get any coming fire from their commanderin-chief attacking their basic dignity humanity and patriotism and I will say this I didn't serve for 24 years in this to have those guys diminish another troop service I will stand with them every single time I know I'm preaching to the choir a little bit but we got 59 days to sing so the choir needs to sing and I am a believer look you heard i i t school for a couple decades so I do know and I supervise the lunchroom by the way for a lot of those kind so I am at once an eternal optimist but two I do know that fear is a good short-term motivator but it doesn't change behaviors we're not running against those guys we need to know what they're going to do we need to know what we're up against we need to know what the threat is from them but what we need to do over the next 59 days is get ready to tell people exactly what we're going to do do exactly what vice president then president Harris will do so we'll start by this lowering taxes on working families and making sure those at the top and corporations can pay their fair share they're doing fine they're doing fine we're going to protect Social Security and Medicare and we're going to make sure the Affordable Care Act is strengthened and look about a dozen states have it if you're in one of these states that have it it's great but the rest of the country needs it it is time for us to quit being the last country on Earth to had paid family and medical leave for this it is time to be done and it's going to be very clear every single day this Freedom issue that it's going to be you and people make the decisions about their health care not a politician so look everybody everybody should be free to get an education and that should be a path to the middle class it shouldn't be a path to crippling student loan debt for decades to come we can fix this and I'm going to say it once again our kids should be free to go to school without worrying about being shot dead in the Halls it's that [Applause] simple vice president Harris fight make sure that we continue to pass the equality act enshrine anti-discrimination protections and lgbtq Americans Healthcare into law housing education and so much more now look if it sounds like a tall order I'll say it again I'm an eternal optimist think about this when I was a kid growing up in Nebraska being gay was illegal still technically illegal look how much has changed since this organization was founded 40 years ago can you imagine can you imagine going back to me a high schooler in the early 80s and saying you know what we're going to kick down the barriers we're going to open doors we're going to pass laws that lets you bring your authentic self love who you want to love and live the life that you want to live all by yourself with no interference from [Applause] government so I told you I told you hope and my hope is an incredibly powerful room or an incredibly powerful word you look around this room you can feel hope you feel that people want to see this we hope we win this election we hope we pass these laws we hope we lift people out of poverty that's a good thing to have but my wife always reminds me of this it's not a damn plan it's not a plan to hope we win this election we've got to have a plan and we've got to work for it and I ask you to look around this room we got about 3,500 people in this room what if we talk to one more person before this election what if we do one more phone bank what if we make one more door knock what if we dig deep and give a little bit more to this campaign cuz what we know is this politics is not an end it's a means to an end if we want that hope to become reality we've got to do the work to make it happen I know you're out there doing it you came here tonight you came here when you could have been somewhere else and in 59 days we get to chart our way forward we organize we donate we volunteer and I've been saying this when in life do you get a chance in 59 days to make an impact that will last for Generations because we [Applause] know if you want to go see what the alternative is it's the worst read in the world but it's 925 Pages it's project 2025 and as vice president Harris said we're not going back to the days we're not going back to the Discrimination we're not going to force our children into situations where they become suicidal we're not going to continue to demonize people because of who they are and we're not going to continue to allow people in this country to go hungry or to be shot dead because we don't make decisions that can improve that so we've got 59 days 59 days each and every one of us what every little bit we can do we can make a difference so I've been saying this and I truly believe this we can do anything for 59 days sleep when you're dead worry about that later but now is the time so it's up to us vice president Harris myself our entire Team all of you HRC we fighting for a better country a better world we're fighting for the folks who aren't here tonight we're fighting for the folks who may not vote for us but we're doing it because it's the values that this country were founded on so as vice president Harris said if we're willing to fight we win when we fight we win when we fight we win thank you HR see thank you everybody thank you everyone thank thank you HRC wow well thank you for inviting me and more importantly maybe thank you for the privilege of being able to stand with each of one of you president Robinson thank you for the kind introduction I'd also like to say on a point of personal privilege there's a strong contingent of motans in the house so thank you minnot so for for all of you here tonight around the country listening you've done so much to advance the cause of equality and freedom I'm proud to count so many of you as friends I'm grateful that you brought your time your talents and your Treasures to be here tonight and I'm fired up to be at your side I got to tell you because of all the things that are going on all the places you could be all the things you could have done you came here tonight one is it's the best party in the country tonight so that's right you're here but the deeper reason you're here is for that very simple and beautiful reason you love this country and that's why you're here you love the principles that we stand for well for some of you don't know uh I am Tim Walls and I'm a I'm the governor of Minnesota right now but I I like to make sure that I say that I I was a school teacher for a lot of years but right now right now I'm proud to be the running mate of the next president of the United States KLA Harris the privilege of getting to know this phenomenal leader from a prosecutor district attorney Attorney General US senator and vice president yes by the way she's more qualified than anybody that's ever run for this office let's just be clear but she didn't just take those talents for herself she fights every single day on the side of the American people and what I have to say of all the things that the other side has messed up the other things that they've done the thing that I'll not forgive them for is the thing that vice president Harris is fixing most she's bringing Joy back to our politics decency back to how we do things and this is not a new thing for her this started a long time ago and for the folks of California in 2010 or Californians who are here in 2010 this is the joy she brought so here's the scene years earlier as the da of San Francisco vice president Harris took on and took one of the toughest stances in the nation against hate crimes she led the fight to end the hateful gay and transgender Panic defense we know what that leads to and we know the countless deaths and misery that was brought upon by that she took it on and she also officiated some of the first same-sex marriages in the entire [Applause] country then she went on to become the Attorney General of the largest state in the country and the moment it arrived to defend marriage equality and she threw her whole self into that fight if you know KLA Harris she doesn't just pick these fights when she talks about it and this is the thing to keep in mind all she does is win all she does is [Applause] win so when the word came down that same-sex marriage had been legalized in California two plaintiffs asked kamla Harris to officiate her ceremony while they were at City Hall celebrating that marriage she got a call from two more plaintiffs saying that a clerk in Los Angeles County was denying their marriage certificate so she grabbed a phone and some of you have seen this she asked them to put the clerk on the line and she did what she did best she didn't mince words and she made it very clear she said this is KLA Harris you must start the marriage [Applause] immediately and then she added and I don't know if this always gets in the videos she added the best line to that she told the clerk have a good day and enjoy it it's going to be fun she hasn't looked back from that day as a US senator she fought hard for the equality act introduced a bill to make sure you ured access to prep and as vice president and I say this it is not a stretch and the facts are there this is the most Pro lgbtq Plus Administration in American [Applause] history she helped President Biden pass the landmark respect for Mary Jack requiring every state and territory to fully honor same-sex and interracial [Applause] marriage and she helped stop the ignorant and Byzantine practice of banning gay and bisexual men from donating blood [Applause] um I think it's important in this room for us to remember these things because keep in mind there's some other folks on the other side given one chance to get back in the White House they will go back at every one of these things we talk about we talk about progress and moving forward because she said it we're sure the hell not going back on these things we're not going to go back but be clear they're going to be there things like strengthening Mental Health Resources for lgbtq plus youth we know we know what the statistics are they're horrific for our young people from suicides to self harm to all of the other things that go with it we know that this fight is the most important fight that's on our that's on our plate so I have to tell you she made human rights for lgbtq plus individuals around the world a top priority in this nation's foreign policy we must lead we must be the country that leads on [Applause] it she worked with President Biden on historic executive orders protecting folks from discrimination and the reason she did it was pretty simple KLA Harris believed beles in Equal justice under law and that means not very complicated Equal justice under law yeah it is not to be debated it's not that difficult the presidence is set but look we know what this fight is we know that we can all relate to some of this and I'll tell you this fight and I think about it for me for some of you may have heard this I was born in a small place called West Point Nebraska I grew up yay somebody's from West Point there we go there's two of us um the town I grew up in had 400 people 24 classmates 12 were cousins somebody brought up the prom dating to me yes it's interesting um but look when you're in a community like that Community was a way of life my folks showed me Teach generosity to your neighbors work hard for the common good those are values that I brought work as a social studies teacher in a high school football coach now those of you who teach know this you learn far more from your students than they learn from you no matter how good of teacher you are you know how that works so some of my students and this is in the late 90s were concerned about an uptick in bullying amongst the gay and lesbian community in our school one of those Brave students is here tonight Jacob Ron's a dear friend of mine who's here and Jacob look I'm coaching football I'm an old straight white guy I'm teaching social studies you're all picturing the damn stereotype here turns out that I'm like opposite world of Tommy tuberville though so in this for some of you so so when Jake asked if I'd be interested in being the adviser to the gay straight Alliance I said absolutely I understood what it meant to be that older straight white guy who was coaching [Applause] football Ally ship is a great thing but what many of you in here knows is it's easy to be an ally when it's easy to be an ally what really matters is knowing who's going to be at your side and stand up when it's hard [Applause] and it was in those moments that those students inspired me years later look I'm a 40-some guy with little kids who is teaching school trying to pay the mortgage the idea of running for office never got to me or thought about it but those students inspired me and what they saw in me is what I was trying to instill in them this commitment to a common good I believe one person can make a difference in other people people's lives so in 2006 I took the leap ran for congress no one told me at that time and I of course you know apparently couldn't google it um in that district there had been one other Democrat since 1892 and in that red District I was in a state that had banned Sam St marriage for a decade but I knew I was right and I ran on the platform that supported equality and this is what I said I got asked at a debate if I supported civil unions I I said sure if that's your thing but I said my marriage to my wife Gwen is most important thing in my life I love her deeply why would I stop anybody else from marrying the person they love that makes no sense now this was this was 2006 and some of you uh with a little more gray or less of it can remember this time um that the other side said oh a bate candidate finally showed his true colors by saying this well as it turned out a majority of my neighbors agreed with us and they elected me to represent them in the United States [Applause] house and after it was over some people came up to me and said wow you R you won in spite of being uh pro-choice and PR gay marriage and I said no no no you've got this wrong I won because I was for those positions that's why we won so when I got to Congress I showed up there in the house historian told me at the time I was the highest ranking enlisted soldier at the time I served on the house Veterans Affairs committee and I worked with my roommate Patrick Murphy from Bucks County Pennsylvania to overturn don't ask don't tell and was proud to be an early supporter for the respect for marriage act that we finally got passed and signed into law now I tell you this again it's not no one should get a pat on the back for doing what's right for God's sakes the bar is pretty damn low here to treat people like human beings Equal justice under law it's not a high bar it's not a high bar but we know the forces that are aligned against it so this is where Champions rise up whether it's a young student at a at a school in southern minnes OTA or it was someone who I met and I wished I had not met under the circumstance it was but someone who changed my life I was there when we passed the Matthew Shepard hate crime prevention act and I had the privilege I had the privilege when the final vote was coming up in the house it was going to be close I walked to the house floor through the tunnels from the the Longworth house office building over to the capital and I made that walk with Matthew's mom Judy Shepard [Applause] and and the sheriff who found Matthew's body tied to that fence post in Wyoming and I remember walking with a mother who had lost her son and hearing the sheriff tell me the only place it wasn't bloody is where the tears ran down Matthew's eyes and I watched a mother and The Unbelievable pain that I couldn't even fathom to lose a child this way walk with her head held high to make sure that none of the rest of us ever have to get a call for someone so I just want to say my my friend Judy Shepard and her husband Dennis are here tonight and I'd like us all to give them a big round of applause [Applause] this room this room is full of Heroes like that things that were done some of them bigger Small Things ways to make people's lives a little bit easier but what I knew was when I had the chance to get elected to office and make a difference look there's a lot of people you don't get elected to office to bank political Capital so you can get elected again you get elected to office to burn political Capital to improve lives as quickly as you [Applause] can and so when we got the majority in Minnesota for the first time in over a decade we had the governor's office we had the house and we had the Senate by one vote and we got busy first thing we did is we banned conversion therapy in [Applause] Minnesota we protected trans gender community and said in Minnesota you are seen heard loved and respected and safe and safe in Minnesota and we did something a little bit we banned Banning books especially Banning lgbtq books for themes in [Applause] that think about it in this room this is what these folks are focusing on spending all their time like reading about two male Penguins who love each other is is somehow going to turn your children gay and that's what you should worry about but here's what I'll tell you it's a fact of life some people are gay but you know what's not a fact of life that our children need to be shot dead in schools that's not a fact of life folks are Banning books but they're okay with weapons of war being in our schools look that's not this country it doesn't have to be this way it doesn't happen elsewhere we're going to make sure our children are seen they bring their authentic