Rally in Charlotte, North Carolina with Vice President Kamala Harris | Harris-Walz 2024

when I was pregnant with my daughters everything was great until one day it wasn't I faced dire consequences and complications of my pregnancy when I developed preclampsia and heal syndrome I needed an emergency C-section to save all three of our Lives I cannot express the terror of having to make that decision and the fear of what it might mean for our family but my family was saved by grace and we live each day feeling [Music] grateful but the health of so many people is being put at risk now because Donald Trump thinks he knows better than women thinks he knows better than women and doctors so he's endangering access to Essential Medical Care as she made clear on the debate stage on Tuesday night vice president Harris does not just support women but she is fighting for [Applause] us meanwhile Donald Trump and his allies in hold your booth for a sec including mark Robinson here in North Carolina aim to threaten our access to reproductive care and they're putting all our lives in danger we are not going back we're not going back we're not going back we're not going back we're not going back while my daughters were in the hospital for 98 and 110 days we racked up almost $1 million in medical claims before the Affordable Care Act they would have reached a lifetime coverage cap that made them uninsurable before their first birthday because of the ACA they could get the care they needed without us going [Music] bankrupt my husband and I have never had to worry about being denied healthare due to their pre-existing condition s that they were born with or due to hitting a lifetime coverage cap I am so grateful to the vice president and the president who have fought so hard to shore up the Affordable Care Act while folks like Donald Trump while folks like Donald Trump have a concept of a plan N9 years later nowadays my girls are 10 years old they'll be 11 later this month they are happy fifth graders who are thriving at home in school and with with the care that they need and they will need health care for the rest of their lives because of the issues they face that birth as a mom as a North Carolinian and as a voter I want a president who is fighting for [Applause] us I want to president who will lower our costs and protect our care I want a president who trusts women and protects our freedom to make decisions for our own bodies I believe in president har 's vision for a new way forward and that's what I want for my girls and for all of our children we saw we saw the difference in these candidates clearly on the debate States Trump's extreme project 2025 would roll back rights and freedoms ban abortion Nationwide hurt the middle class and CA families like ours $44,000 in tax hikes his divisive and hateful language is the opposite of what I want for my girls to hear in our nation's leader yes vice president kamla Harris and Governor Tim wolz are the right choice for North Carolina because they fight for families like ours and now it's on all of us to do our part continue to speak out to organize your communities to check and then recheck your voter registration and bring your friends with you when you cast the ballots for Harris wels in November and now it is my joy it is my honor to Welcome to the Queen City of Charlotte the next president of the United States freed me freed Freedom where are you cuz I need freedom to I break chains about myself W let my freedom ride in hell hey I'mma keep on running cuz the winner don't quit on [Music] [Music] themselves I'm a wait I'm a wait through the waters tell a don't move I'm a riot I'm a RI through your borders call me Bullet Proof for [Music] me I'm [Music] good afternoon good afternoon it is L okay all right okay okay we got some work to do [Laughter] oh are we going to do this North Carolina yes it is so wonderful to be back in Charlotte I want to thank you all can we give it up for Stacy for telling her incredible and can we please thank that incredible Anthony Hamilton for his incredible performance I love Anthony Hamilton um and it is so good I love you back I love you back thank you and we have so many outstanding leaders here today including my friend governor Roy Cooper and your next and your next Governor attorney general Josh Stein and here with us is your next Attorney General Congressman Jeff Jackson Mayor ly my dear friend the Council of State candidates and all the leaders who are with us today I thank thank you all everyone everyone here for taking the time and doing the work you are doing thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you all right so here's the thing okay we got a lot of work to do we got a lot of work to do okay so North Carolina you probably know please have a seat if you have a chair two nights ago Donald Trump and I had our first debate and I believe we owe it to the voters to have another debate because this election and what is at stake could not be more important on Tuesday night I talked about issues that I know matter to families Across America like bringing down the cost of living investing in America's small businesses protecting reproductive freedom and keeping and keeping our nation safe and secure but that's not what we heard from Donald Trump instead it was the same old show that same tied Playbook that we've heard for years with no plans for how he would address the needs of the American people because you know it's all about him it's not about you well folks I said it then I say it now it's time to turn the page turn that page turn that page because to your point to your point America is ready for a new way forward we are ready for a new generation of leadership that is optimistic about what we can do together that is why Democrats Republicans and independents are supporting our campaign over 200 people who worked for President George H W bush President George W bush John McCain and Mitt Romney have endorsed me for president former vice president Dick Cheney and congresswoman Liz Cheney are supporting me as well because as they said we have a duty as Citizens to put country above partisanship and defend our Constitution and that is my plg to you I will always put country above party and I will be a president for all Americans and while Donald Trump is trying to pull our nation backward we are fighting for the future a future with affordable child care paid believe in Affordable Health Care a future where we build what I call an opportunity economy so every American has an opportunity to own a home to build wealth to start a business and you know I I talked about it the other night I love our small businesses I really do I love our small businesses my and and then many of whom are here and and the thing about our small businesses is is they are you know my so first of all my mother worked very hard and and there was a a lady who helped raise us who was a second mother to us um Miss Shelton and she was a small business owner and I grew up then understanding who our small business owners are they they're they're the they're leaders in the community they're Civic leaders they hire locally they Mentor they're part of the fabric of the community and and I know they are the backbone of America's [Music] economy so my plan is to give a $50,000 tax deduction to start up small businesses cuz you know not everybody started out with 4 $400 million on a silver platter and then file for bankruptcy six times but a whole lot of people have the Ingenuity the entrepreneurship the work ethic and the ambition to do that kind of work and just need to be seen and supported for what they are and what they do for all of [Music] us an opportunity economy we need to build more housing in America and so we are going to cut red tape and work with the private sector to build 3 million new homes by the end of my first term I have a plan to lower the cost of living for America's families on everything from Health Care to groceries under my plan more than 100 million Americans will get a tax break and thousands of dollars of your hard-earned money will go back into your pockets including $6,000 during the first year of a child's life and I will always put middle class and Working Families First I grew up a middle class kid I was raised by a hardworking mother who saved saved up and by the time I was a teenager she was able to afford to buy our first home I understand how people work hard and have dreams and aspirations for their children and need to be put first understanding again when the middle class is strong America is strong America is strong but Donald Trump Trump well he has a different plan just Google just Google project 2025 it is a detailed and dangerous blueprint for what he will do if he is elected president Donald Trump will give billionaires and big corporations massive tax cuts and cut corporate taxes by over a trillion dollars even as they pull in record profits he will add more than $5 trillion to the national debt he intends to cut Social Security and Medicare and he wants to impose what is in effect a national sales tax I call it a trump sales tax cuz it will be a tax on everyday basic necessities which in the econom economists have measured will cost the average family nearly $4,000 more a year and and the top economists they've previewed our plans they've reviewed them Goldman Sachs says my plan would grow our economy and his plan would shrink it 16 16 Nobel prizewinning economists say he would reignite inflation and Moody says he would ignite a recession by the middle of next year you know he talks a big talk but when folks review the numbers highly respected folks that's what you learn about him that's what you learn and North Carolina on top of all of this Donald Trump intends to end the Affordable Care Act and as Stacy mentioned you heard what he said in the debate he he has no plan to replace it he said he said concepts of a [Music] plan oh you all watch the debate Concepts Concepts no actual plan contests and understand what's at stake on that 45 million Americans are insured through the Affordable Care Act and he's going to end it based on a concept and take us back to when insurance companies had the power to deny people with pre-existing conditions well we are not going back we're not going back we we're not going back no we will move forward we will move forward because ours is a fight for the future and it is a fight for Freedom like the fundamental freedom of a woman to make decisions about her own body and not have her government tell her what to do and we know how we got to this issue cuz Donald Trump handpicked three members of the United States Supreme Court with the intention that they would undo the protections of Ro versus Wade and they did as he intended and now in over 20 States in our nation they have what I call Trump abortion bans including North Carolina and every single state in the South except Virginia think about that every single state in the South except Virginia now one in three women in America lives under a trump abortion ban many with no exceptions even for rape and incest it is immoral it is immoral and I know we all here understand and agree one does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree the government should not be telling her what to do with her body and what we know is that the it the the impact of this is you know it's been over two years now since that decision came down the impact of this is so real it's affecting people every day just based on the stories we know and there are so many stories we don't know think about it because of Trump's abortion bans women are being refused care during miscarriages some are only being treated if they develop sepsis and when asked on Tuesday night Donald Trump refused to say that he would veto a national abortion ban you remember that he refused to answer that question refused to answer that question well I'm going tell you when Congress passes a bill to restore reproductive Freedom as president of the United States I will proudly proudly sign it into law proudly and a across our nation across our nation we are witnessing a fullon assault on other hardfought hard one fundamental freedoms and rights like the freedom to vote the freedom to be safe from gun violence the freedom to breathe clean air and drink clean water and the freedom to love who you love openly and with pride and North Carolina has a history of the point I'm about to make Generations generations of Americans before us led the fight for freedom and now the Baton is in our hands it is in our hands so we who believe in the sacred freedom to vote will finally passed the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and the freedom to vote at it and we who believe in the freedom to live safe from gun violence will finally pass an assault weapons ban Universal background checks and red flag laws so much so much is at stake in this election so much is at stake in this election and understand this is not 2016 or 2020 for a number of reasons including why the stakes are higher because two months ago the United States Supreme Court basically told the former president that he will effectively be immune no matter what he does in the White House think about that think about that just imagine Donald Trump with no guard rails right he he who has vowed that if reelected he'll be a dictator on day one that he will weaponize the Department of Justice against his political enemies and has called for the quote termination of the Constitution of the United States of America think about that and let us be very clear somebody who suggests we should terminate the Constitution of the United States should never again stand behind the Seal of the president of the United States never again never again never again and you know what one of the points that I mentioned on Tuesday so let the people who served under him at the White House who saw him every day right his National Security advisor his defense secretary his chief of staff and his vice president all have warned all who worked with him every day in the White House sat with him in the Oval Office have warned America Donald Trump is not fit to be president of the United States and should never again occupy our nation's highest office so North and we're not going back not going so so it comes out to this it comes down to this we are here together because we love our country we love our country and we understand the awesome the awesome responsibility that comes with the greatest privilege on Earth the privilege and pride of being an American that's right that's right that's right that's right that's right right and so I believe it is the highest form then of patriotism to fight for the ideals of our country and to fight to realize the promise of America so North Carolina we have 54 days until election day 54 days and just 35 days just 35 days until early voting begins and it's not only the presidency that's on the ballot there are many important races including Josh Stein running for governor whose opponent was handpicked by Don Trump and wants a ban a total ban on abortion in this state right so these are the stakes in this election up and down the ballot up and down the ballot but we know the power is with the people the power is with the people and your voice is your vote North Carolina your vote is your voice and we know here's the thing also we're all we've got we are just we are loving our campaign aren't we we are loving this campaign we're having a good time we're having a good time I know that but here's also the thing ours will be a very tight race Until the End okay it's going to be a tight race until the end and we are the underdog understand that we are the underdog there are powerful forces trying to convince people that their vote doesn't matter there are powerful forces here too but I say all that to say we've got some hard work ahead of us but here's the thing I love about everybody here we love hard work hard work is good work hard work is good work hard work is good work and with your help we will win in November we will win we will we will win so North Carolina today I then ask you are you ready to make your voices heard do we believe in Freedom do we believe in Opportunity do we believe in the promise of America and are we ready to fight for it and when we fight we win God bless you and God bless the United States of America n for