Former President Bill Clinton's Full Remarks at the 2020 Democratic National Convention
MILWAUKEE—Below are former President of the United States Bill Clinton's full remarks as prepared for delivery from night two of the 2020 Democratic National Convention.
The Honorable Bill Clinton
Former President of the United States
Democratic National Convention
Tuesday, August 18, 2020
Remarks as Prepared for Delivery

Good evening.

A presidential election is the world’s most important job interview. At the end we hire a leader to help us solve problems, create opportunities, and give our kids better tomorrows.

That’s a tall order this year, with the COVID-19 outbreak on a path to killing 200,000 people and destroying millions of jobs and small businesses.

How did Donald Trump respond? At first he said the virus was under control and would soon disappear. When it didn’t, he was on TV every day bragging on what a great job he was doing, while scientists waited to give us vital information. When he didn’t like the expert advice he was given, he ignored it.

Only when COVID exploded in even more states did he encourage people to wear masks. By then many more were dying. When asked about the surge in deaths, he shrugged and said, “It is what it is.” But did it have to be this way?

No. COVID hit us much harder than it had to.

We have just 4 percent of the world’s population, but 25 percent of the world’s COVID cases. Our unemployment rate is more than twice as high as South Korea’s, 2 1/2 times the United Kingdom’s, and more than three times Japan’s.

Donald Trump says we’re leading the world. Well, we are the only major industrial economy to have its unemployment rate triple. At a time like this, the Oval Office should be a command center. Instead, it’s a storm center. There’s only chaos. Just one thing never changes—his determination to deny responsibility and shift the blame. The buck never stops there.

Now you have to decide whether to renew his contract or hire someone else. If you want a president who defines the job as spending hours a day watching TV and zapping people on social media, he’s your man. Denying, distracting, and demeaning works great if you’re trying to entertain and inflame. But in a real crisis, it collapses like a house of cards.

COVID doesn’t respond to any of that. To beat it, you’ve got to go to work and deal with the facts.

Our party is united in offering you a very different choice: a go-to-work president. A down-to-earth, get-the-job-done guy. A man with a mission: to take responsibility, not shift the blame; concentrate, not distract; unite, not divide.

Our choice is Joe Biden.

Joe helped bring us back from a recession before, and he can do it again.

In 2009, Barack Obama and Joe Biden started with the worst economy since the Great Depression and when they were done, they had delivered more than six straight years of job growth. What did Joe do? He accepted responsibility for implementing the Recovery Act. His work created a lot of new jobs and started many new companies in communities across America.

Now Joe is committed to building America back again.

How? He’s given us smart detailed plans to invest in areas vital to our future: innovative financing for factories and small businesses; good jobs in green energy and conservation to combat climate change; a modern infrastructure that brings small town and rural America the connectivity and investment others take for granted; and a plan to ensure that Blacks, Latinos, Native Americans, women, immigrants, and other communities left behind are full participants in the economy and our society.

Joe Biden wants to build an economy far better suited to our changing world. Better for young people. Better for families, working and raising their kids. Better for people who lost jobs and need new ones. Better for farmers tired of being collateral damage in trade wars. Better for workers caring for the sick, elderly, and people with disabilities.

Better because of a living wage, and access to affordable higher education and health care, including prescription drugs, childcare, a secure retirement, and paid family and medical leave. Joe won’t just put his signature on a check and try to fool you into thinking it came from him. He’ll work to make sure that your paycheck reflects your contribution to, and your stake in, a growing economy. In this job interview, the difference is stark. You know what Donald Trump will do with four more years: blame, bully, and belittle. And you know what Joe Biden will do: build back better.

It’s Trump’s “Us vs. Them” America against Joe Biden’s America, where we all live and work together. It’s a clear choice. And the future of our country is riding on it.

Thank you.
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About the Democratic National Convention

The Democratic National Convention is the formal event during which delegates of the Democratic Party choose the party’s nominees for president and vice president in the 2020 election. At the convention, the Democratic Party also adopts the official Democratic Party platform as well as the rules and procedures governing party activities, including the nomination process for presidential candidates in the next election cycle. www.demconvention.com

Democrats Announce Highlights for Night Three of the 2020 Democratic National Convention: “Uniting America”
Wednesday Night’s Theme is “A More Perfect Union”
MILWAUKEE—The Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC) today previewed the official program for night three of the 2020 Democratic National Convention, happening Wednesday, August 19 from 9:00-11:00 PM Eastern.

The theme of Wednesday’s program is “A More Perfect Union.” America is not going back to normal, because normal wasn’t good enough. As he leads us out of crisis, Joe Biden will help us build back better. An economy that helps working families and small businesses rise up. A climate change plan that is one of the most ambitious ever proposed. He will reform our broken immigration system, fight for sane gun laws, and ensure equal pay and strong health protections for women. And he will have a historic partner in these efforts: the first female vice president.

Tonight Americans will hear from Former President Barack Obama, Senator Kamala Harris—the 2020 Democratic nominee for Vice President of the United States, and many others who are committed to working alongside Joe Biden to achieve his goals to form a more perfect union.

Highlights from tonight’s program are listed below:

A MORE PERFECT UNION

Welcome to Wisconsin
The Honorable Tony Evers
Governor of Wisconsin


A MORE PERFECT SOCIETY

Introduction
Kerry Washington
American actress

A More Perfect Union Means...Ending Gun Violence

“America Rising: March for our Lives”
Featuring activist and Parkland survivor Emma Gonzalez, whose generation has risen up to say enough to gun violence.

Remarks
DeAndra Dycus
A mother whose son was left paralyzed by a stray bullet at the age of 13.

Remarks
The Honorable Gabrielle Giffords
Former Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Arizona

A More Perfect Union...Means Tackling Climate Change

Remarks
The Honorable Michelle Lujan Grisham
Governor of New Mexico

The Biden Plan: Climate Change
A video focused on Joe Biden’s plan to combat climate change and secure a clean-energy future, narrated by an IBEW union worker from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

A Conversation with Young Climate Activists
Young organizers talk about how they’re taking control of their future, and why they need a president like Joe Biden who will work with them.

Performance
Billie Eilish
American singer-songwriter

A More Perfect Union...Means Keeping Immigrant Families Together

“A Letter to Trump on Immigration”
“Mr. President, you tore our world apart.”

Remarks
The Sanchez Family
Silvia Sanchez, an undocumented immigrant in North Carolina, with her daughters Jessica, who is a Dreamer, and Lucy.

America Rising: Immigrants Rebuilding America
We can never say it often or loudly enough: immigrants and refugees revitalize and renew America. Immigrants built this country, and immigrants will rebuild this country.

Performance
Prince Royce
Dominican-American singer-songwriter

A More Perfect Union...Means Women Lead

America Rising: From Women’s Suffrage to the Women’s March
It has been 100 years this week since women won the right to vote, and they've been leading ever since.

Remarks
The Honorable Hillary Clinton
2016 Democratic Nominee for President of the United States
Former United States Secretary of State
Former United States Senator, New York

Remarks
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives

Remarks
Mariska Hargitay
American actress and advocate
Ruth Glenn
CEO and President of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence
Carly Dryden
At-Large Regional Advisor, “It’s On Us”

“When You See Something Wrong”
A video highlighting Joe Biden’s leadership on the Violence Against Women Act and its legacy.

A MORE PERFECT ECONOMY

Remarks
The Honorable Hilda Solis
Los Angeles County Supervisor
Former United States Secretary of Labor

“You Built America” - A More Perfect Union: A Conversation on the Economy with Vice President Biden
Joe Biden listens to, and engages with, union workers around how to build back better a new economy for our families and the next generation.

“America Recovering”
Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, and U.S. Representative from Iowa Cindy Axne talk to small business owners in their communities about how they’re struggling in Donald Trump’s economy.

Remarks
The Honorable Elizabeth Warren
United States Senator, Massachusetts

MORE PERFECT LEADERSHIP

Remarks
The Honorable Barack Obama
44th President of the United States

Nominating Speech
Maya Harris, Meena Harris, and Ella Emhoff

Remarks
The Honorable Kamala Harris
2020 Democratic Nominee for Vice President of the United States
United States Senator, California

Performance
Jennifer Hudson
American singer and actress