On Saturday, Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) spoke to the South Carolina Democrats at an event in Columbia.
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00:00Wow. Good morning, South Carolina. Wow. Wow. Well, first of all, Madam Chair,
00:17thank you for the kind introduction. More importantly, thank you for the commitment
00:21to making sure that our representatives are there to make sure they're improving lives of the people
00:28all across this great state. So thank you for that. Boy, I'll tell you, and I think some of you were
00:35here, can Jim Clyburn put on a party? Holy smokes. I got to tell you, the fish is one thing,
00:46but the sense of excitement down here is really something. And I think for many of you,
00:53paying tribute to the patron saint of the Palmetto State and Jim Clyburn is something
00:58that was a privilege for me. I tell people this, when I first got to Congress, I did not know my
01:03ass from my elbow when I got there. So it's a common affliction in the House of Representatives,
01:09so as you well know. But Democrats do something a little different, and there was a cure,
01:14and that cure was Jim Clyburn. He took me and so many of my colleagues when we got there
01:20and showed us how to be good public servants, showed us how to be good members of Congress,
01:26not just showing us how things work, but showing us how you conduct yourselves. And I always remind
01:32this to people, yeah, as a brand new Congressman, I equated it, it was like learning music from
01:38Beethoven, someone who had done it, someone who had the gravitas to teach it, but someone who understood
01:45and demonstrated it. Congressman Clyburn's superpower is his moral compass. And I'll tell you this,
01:56it's wherever he goes is where our parties should go. It's where his moral compass takes us is where we
02:02should end up. So again, a huge thank you, and I'll never get the privilege of being able to serve in
02:10Congress, but the privilege of serving alongside someone like Jim Clyburn. And there were days when
02:16I would have to, like, think they were going to throw me out because I didn't belong there.
02:21I would set between Jim Clyburn and John Lewis and listen to them talk about how we got to where we
02:27got. That is pretty special. So to South Carolina, on behalf of the other 49 states,
02:36thank you for Jim Clyburn. Thank you for sending him. Well, now the real VIPs. To all of the delegates
02:45here today, thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Veterans in here, I saw you stand up a little
02:52more. Thank you for the service that you give to this country and continue to give. Union members,
03:00thank you for standing up for the middle class.
03:07Special shout out to my fellow public school teachers. Thank you for that work.
03:16And all the party leadership, you are the true leaders of the Democratic Party. When I get asked
03:22who's the leaders of the Democratic Party, well, I'm looking at them right here today,
03:26and that's the way it's supposed to be. So thank you for all you do.
03:32Honored to be with you all. And the real reason is, is because all of you could be anywhere else.
03:38My God, it's summer already. I was saying that I don't know how to respond to this because it's
03:44still a little bit wintery in Minnesota and I come down here and it's warm. You could be anywhere.
03:49The midterms aren't for 500 days. But you come here for the simple reason, very simple reason.
03:55You love this country. That's why you're here today. That's the reason.
04:03And that's the reason I'm here. And I just need to say this to you all. I could not have been prouder
04:09to have been on the ticket last fall with someone as talented and as accomplished as Vice President
04:16Kamala Harris. We know it, and America knows it, that we are far better off because of her grace,
04:31her courage, and her patriotic leadership. And dammit, I would love to turn on the TV and see
04:39her instead of what we see every day. Since that election, I've been doing a lot of thinking
04:48and a lot of traveling. I spent a lot of time on the road. I was in Wheeling, West Virginia,
04:54Omaha, Nebraska, Youngstown, Ohio, Fort Bend, Texas. I know you're all thinking it, wow, those are strong
05:02Democratic strongholds, each and every one of those. But I went to those places because those are places
05:08with Republican members of Congress in states that voted for Donald Trump. And I went there
05:14to listen to folks. And I want to tell you, they are really pissed off about what's going on in
05:19Washington. Recently, it's been the talk about the big, beautiful bill. I used to teach fourth grade,
05:33and I was going to say it sounds like a fourth grader came up with it, but that would be insulting to my
05:37fourth graders. I did not. Trump and Republicans are trying to ram this monstrosity through Congress
05:46before any of us figure out what's really in it. Well, you know what's in it. A record-setting shift
05:53of wealth to the rich from all the rest of us. If you're a young couple raising a child with a
05:59disability, getting your health care through Medicaid, you could be one of 15 million that are
06:08going to lose your health care. If you're a single mom working, relying on SNAP, this bill would kick
06:15you and your kids off and nearly 11 million of our fellow Americans off this vital lifeline.
06:21If you're a young guy holding down a job making solar panels like we're doing in Minnesota,
06:26your gig could be one of the 700,000 jobs that this bill will kill alone.
06:32So are working people get the shaft? Who benefits from this bill?
06:36I don't know if anyone you'll there may be we'll see if somebody in here, if you make $4 million a
06:42year, if you make $4 million a year, you get a $400,000 tax break. And if you and your spouse are
06:50worth over $30 million, you get to pass that wealth down to your Nepo children tax-free.
06:58But if you make less than $50,000 a year, the best you're going to get out of this is about 300 bucks.
07:05Less than a decent set of tires will buy.
07:09But it is a little something, I'll give you that. But it won't make up for what you're going to lose
07:13in having to pay to go to the doctor's office or the grocery store. So to put it plainly,
07:19the rich are going to feast and the rest of us will be lucky if we get scraps.
07:2413 million kids will be kicked off free school lunch. Those kids get to go to school hungry.
07:31And all but two Republicans voted for this big, beautiful pile of bullshit. All but two.
07:44You know when they voted for it? Right before 3am.
07:49Every heist needs the color of darkness to get through, as you all know. But when Trump and
07:55the Republicans aren't sacrificing our livelihoods at the altar of massive tax cuts for the rich,
08:00they're finding plenty of other ways to screw us over and make life hell.
08:04You talk to my mom, or roughly one in five South Carolinians who rely on Social Security as their
08:11major retirement income. They're terrified. You've got some 19-year-old doge-dweeb rooting around in
08:18government systems, mainlining four locos, and messing everything up. If they flip a wrong switch,
08:25my mom, your relatives, people that depend on Social Security, they don't get a paycheck,
08:32which means they don't get to pay for the heat in their home or their groceries.
08:36But I want to give Elon a little bit of credit. I know you're finding that hard to believe, but I'm
08:40going to. Somebody said, do you think he does anything right? Yes, this week he did. He finally
08:46quit and found government ways. Isn't it funny that they want to drug test SNAP recipients,
08:58but not that dude? Just saying.
09:04And I know this one's going to really depress you on a beautiful Saturday morning when you're here.
09:09This shitshow has only been going on for four months. Four months. But the story of Trump's
09:15second term is already clear to all of us. Everything this guy does has two motivations.
09:22It's either cruelty or corruption. Very simple with this guy. He's not a complicated guy.
09:31Ripping your health care away, that's the cruelty. Cutting taxes for his billionaire buddies,
09:37that's the corruption. Tariffs blowing up all of our budgets and destroying small businesses,
09:43that's the cruelty. A free jet from Cotter, that's the corruption. Disappearing people off the streets,
09:51that's the cruelty. Selling White House access to crypto bros, that's the corruption.
09:58And those bastards didn't even get a decent stake out of that deal either.
10:02Look, I find my joy in small things. I find the joy in small things.
10:08But don't forget for a minute, and all of you know this, he didn't do it alone.
10:13All of those Republicans in Congress are fully complicit in this. Every one of them.
10:18And here's the thing that really gets me, the ones who've tricked the press into calling them moderates.
10:29You know, they get Susan Collins on TV and she's always deeply concerned about things.
10:33Well, do something then, instead of being deeply concerned.
10:37Because there's nothing moderate about caving to Donald Trump every single time he asks.
10:45Every single time.
10:50Which brings us to why you're here on a beautiful Saturday morning,
10:54giving of your time. You could be doing things for yourself, things for your family.
10:59You could be thinking about your little part, but you're not.
11:02You're not only not just thinking about yourself, you're thinking about others, neighbors.
11:08You're thinking about people you don't even know.
11:10And you're thinking about those who are less fortunate that can't be here today
11:14because they're working three jobs just to put food on the table for their kids.
11:18That's who you're thinking about. And you know what the payoff at the end of this is?
11:22We're going to make them pay come the midterms for everything they're doing.
11:32Now look, this is the place where I got to say we got to be honest with ourselves.
11:36We're in this mess. We know who Trump is. He told us and he does it every day.
11:41But we're in this mess too because we lost our way. We lost our way a bit as a party.
11:45And I'll tell you, I get it, all of you sitting there is.
11:48This dude's the last guy I want to tell us about we lost our way. You're the guy who lost.
11:53But I'll tell you what. None of us, none of us can afford to shy away right now
12:00from asking the hard questions and doing the things we need to do to fix it so that we win elections.
12:06It's when we lose elections, people's lives are put at risk. This is not a game.
12:12This is not yay, yay, our team wins. This is people's lives at stake.
12:16So here's what I've come to terms with. Here's what I've come to terms with. The party, the party that
12:27my party, the party was there to lift my family up when my dad dies and my mom's got two kids staying
12:34at home. The Democratic Party that was the party of the working class, we lost a big chunk of the
12:40working class in this last election. And the thing that bothers me to no end and drives me to do
12:49something about it, we didn't just lose the working class, we lost the working class to a billionaire
12:57who gives tax cuts to other billionaires. This last election, you could hear the primal scream of
13:05folks. Working class folks were in pain. They were yelling from the top of their lungs,
13:10do something, do something. The system's not fair. You can't own a home. I can't get health care.
13:17I'm worried about my kids. I'm worried about gun violence. And for all of the boneheaded,
13:24self-serving, despicable crap that Donald Trump does, that guy knows how to sniff out a problem.
13:31And he puts on one hell of a show pretending that he cares about those people.
13:36Now look, I hear a version of this everywhere I go. You know this, you've heard it.
13:41Well, I don't really like Trump. And I don't know if he's right. I don't even know what he's doing
13:47is going to make a difference. But damn it, he's willing to shake things up and give it a try.
13:52You hear it. What about us then? How do they do us? Well, Democrats, we have no shortage of good ideas.
14:01We talk about it all the time. You heard some of the things we did in Minnesota. But when we get into
14:06power, we haven't been able to get the stuff done. At least not the stuff that people actually care
14:12about and feel in their lives. You know this is true. Some of you here have knocked your damn
14:19fingers until they were bloody on doors and called people. It's terrible to pick up the phone and call
14:24somebody cold and say, I'm calling from the Democratic Party, piss off, you know, or whatever
14:28they do. You've been there. You've done the work. But they, they don't see it transferring.
14:36And you have to keep going back and asking folks. The other day, I saw this. I read about a Democrat
14:41down in Georgia. They asked this woman, simple question, describe the Democratic Party.
14:48This is a Democrat. This woman is a Democrat. And she said, a deer in the headlights.
14:54She said, it's like they see the car coming, but they just stand there and get run over by the damn
14:59thing anyway. That's a review of our party by someone who actually likes us.
15:08It's a damning indictment. But I think it's right on the money.
15:13The problem isn't just an existential threat politically. This isn't about winning elections.
15:19This is about what's demanded of us morally. Because we're fighting for working people.
15:26That's the DNA of the Democratic Party. Working for working people. Our party used to have the courage
15:34to do big and bold things. We're the people. And the people who sat in these chairs before you
15:40who built Social Security from scratch. We're the people who secured personal freedoms.
15:46We're the people who rescue the economy every damn time the Republicans crash it.
15:55It's like two or three times we've had to do this. And you know we're going to have to do it again.
16:03Look, we also used to have the competency to get the basic stuff done. Like helping you find meaningful
16:10work. Living in safe, secure neighborhoods. And sending your kids to good schools. Until somehow we
16:17strayed away from that North Star. But right here, right now, while Trump and the Republicans are showing
16:23the working class what they truly look like, we've got an opportunity to be their champions again.
16:30How? And this is for me. I think it's pretty simple. We've just got to show them that we've got the guts
16:35to fight for them. That we truly believe it. That we will fight for the working class.
16:42All of you are saying, we brought this guy all the way down here to tell us that. And you're like
16:47thinking, no shit. That's what we have to do. That's what we have to do. But I will make the case.
16:53I think it's been missing, and I want to be specific here, at a national level. At a national
16:59level of who we are, what's our party brand. Right now, I think governors have an opportunity as much
17:06as anyone to make a difference. And I would make the case. That's why you need to elect one here, by the way.
17:13You know, there's a program with your tax dollars that you can feed hungry children in the summer
17:24with a summer nutrition program. And you got governors like right here that say, we don't
17:29want that money. We don't want to turn it away. We don't want to expand it. Or Medicaid. You can
17:34expand Medicaid coverage. Don't want to expand Medicaid coverage. In Minnesota though, I think we've got a
17:41little different blueprint. Now, you may have heard us. We talk about this a lot. In Minnesota,
17:45we are not the Democratic Party. We're the Democratic Farmer Labor Party. We're two parties that came
17:52together. There's a reason for that. We know who we work for in Minnesota. And we also know that
17:59those are folks, whether it's labor or ag or middle class folks, that you need to get the job done.
18:06So look, I was just mentioning to some of your senators this morning, that we were talking
18:11together. You think of Minnesota as being a blue state? Oh, my, my, my. We are a purple state.
18:18From 1990 to 2010, we didn't have a Democratic governor. It was all Republicans. When I got elected
18:25in 2018, that was the first time in our state's history we ever had back-to-back Democratic governors.
18:31We'd never done it before. And when we took full power in 2022, where we had the House and the
18:43Senate and the governor's office, we had a one-seat majority. One seat in the Senate. And what I said
18:51when we all got together the day after the election was, we don't win these elections to bank that
18:57political capital so that we can run again and win again. We burn this capital as fast as we can
19:04to improve people's lives. Every bit of it.
19:11And I said, we get everything done. We can go home and do something else and set up here and argue
19:15about politics all the time. Because I don't know about you. I enjoy being here and everything,
19:20but I wouldn't mind being mowing my yard or golfing or doing something else.
19:24But it requires us to be here. So I said, let's get to work. And the first thing we did was,
19:29we created the nation's biggest child tax credit, cutting childhood poverty by a third,
19:35and making Minnesota having the lowest childhood poverty rate in the country.
19:43In Minnesota, if you or someone in your family gets sick, or you have a child, or you need to have
19:48something done, you get 12 full weeks of paid family and medical leave for the work to be able to do
19:54that. And I taught school for a couple decades. And I'll tell you what, the saddest damn thing in
20:01the world was to see a kid come in, put their number into the machine and see they had no money
20:05in their lunch account and see them turn them around. So in Minnesota, we don't ask you to fill
20:10out any damn paperwork or say anything. Every kid who walks through the door of the school gets free
20:14breakfast and free lunch every single day. Every day.
20:23And we're damn tired of corporations having all the decisions about this. So we expanded the nation's
20:28largest and most aggressive expansion of labor rights and union organizing in the country.
20:33We invested in manufacturing. We are home to the per capita highest number of Fortune 500 companies,
20:43and we have the longest longevity of new company startups of any place in the country.
20:48We made the largest investments in our public schools, and we are now at a 30-year low of driving
20:54down violent crime across our state. So you get a tax credit. Your kids can go to school in a good
21:04school with teachers being paid a fair wage and eat a fair meal. You can get health care coverage.
21:09If you get sick, you get paid family and medical leave. Your kids don't get shot dead in the classrooms,
21:14and as they shouldn't. And all of those things happened because we went from being in the minority
21:22to being in the majority by one vote, and we had a governor who was willing to sign those things
21:27into law. And guess what happened? People saw their lives improve, more money in their pocket,
21:32the middle class being in charge, and labor unions expanded. Those were things that the working class
21:41cared about. And guess what? If you do those things, they'll vote for you the next time. They will come
21:49back and do the work. So every day, we're proving what's possible is instead of Trump's cruelty and
21:58corruption, we focus on courage and competency. Have the courage to vote for those things.
22:04Have the courage to stand up and do what's right. Have the courage to not worry about if you get
22:09reelected as long as it improves someone's life and get the things done.
22:13And we're not afraid. I'm not afraid to reach across and work with Republicans. But I'm also not
22:26afraid to stand up and say there's no way in hell that we are compromising on basic human rights and
22:32basic personal freedoms. So now we're one of the friendliest states to start a business in.
22:42So Democrats, get this. You can stand up for working people. You can stand up for labor unions.
22:48You can stand up for fair wage. You can stand up for the idea that health care is a human right.
22:53But you can also be, because all of those things make businesses healthier, make the economy
23:00healthier, make businesses grow. We're the party of business. We're the party of the economy.
23:06We're the party that grows personal wealth. And I'll tell you what, we're also one of the freest
23:15states in the country where you make your decisions. We trust you. We're no damn nanny state that tells
23:20you what to read and who you sleep with and whatever else you do. Those are your decisions. Those are your
23:26decisions. And in the surveys that come out, there's two that I'm really proud of. We were recently ranked
23:34the best place to have a child in the country, from health care to the things that we have. And I'll
23:40tell you what, this one. We dropped to second in this category. And we got a little more work to do,
23:47but I think this matters. When they rate all the 50 states, Minnesota ranks second in happiness.
23:54We are the second happiest state. And it's cold as hell, too. And we're still happy.
24:03No such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing. The reason I'll settle for second is Hawaii's first,
24:09so they're happy as heck. Look, I left a public school classroom at age 41 to run for public office
24:17for that very simple reason all of you are here, to fight for working families just like my own.
24:22Now, there's those that doubted us, but I'll tell you what. I ran in a district, by the way,
24:27I didn't know this. I'm glad I didn't know it. There had only been one other Democrat since 1892
24:32in that congressional district. I know. And you know how it goes. You see this. Oh,
24:37we can't put money in South Carolina. That's a red state. And I said last night,
24:41and I'll say it today, it doesn't look very red to me. It looks pretty blue. Looks pretty blue.
24:46You said we couldn't win because we didn't have any experience. You're going to watch candidates
24:52come up here and say, I don't know, but I'm running for office. And they'll tell you their
24:56name and they're going to do it. Support them. Help them out. What are we going to do? You ever see
25:01these races where we don't even run anybody? Look, we got them in Minnesota. Trust me. We got these
25:09people who I don't know how they get elected, but I don't know South Carolina. This Nancy Mace thing is
25:15really something to me. I'm saying it. But just think about it. In 500 days, we work hard. We get
25:23somebody up here. She's got to answer for the damage she's done to people. And
25:31and then you won't see her on TV anymore again. And you'll see someone else.
25:38And to the teachers out here, I'm going to encourage you this.
25:41Um, you have to listen to people tell you that, you know, oh, I don't know. You're overpaid. You
25:46only work nine months out of the year. You know this. One of the reasons I ran for office, too,
25:51was I was sick and tired of people beating up on public servants like our police and like our
25:55firefighters and like our teachers and like our nurses. Look, none of us expected to get rich doing
26:02those jobs if we didn't take a damn oath of poverty to do it. So you pay them. You pay them. And guess
26:08what happens when you do that? You get really good people who can afford to buy a house and raise
26:12their family. And they serve the rest of us. And the thing is, is for all of you out there,
26:17and I'm speaking to you, public school teachers, this is one thing I learned when they told us we
26:21weren't going to do this. Just don't ever underestimate a public school teacher. They're
26:24pretty damn tough. They're pretty damn tough group of folks. So look,
26:31it's a bit old school in this. And I'm doing some soul searching. And I was the guy who was there
26:36during this last one. But I'm convinced there's an appetite out there for this style of governing,
26:42this idea of competency, this idea of compassion, this idea of being able to get things done.
26:48When you poll people, they love our policies, but they can't love those policies if we don't enact them.
26:55And if we don't elect Democrats, we don't get a chance to do it. So this is not a chicken and the egg
27:00type of thing. You need to elect people who are in it for the right reasons, who want to improve
27:05people's lives, who are willing to do the work and build the coalition behind them with a strong
27:10party unit, strong county units, strong democratic infrastructure to get those folks work. And look,
27:17the thing we have to do is we have to get we have to get past this thing that I saw recently that
27:24apparently the Democrats got together and hired a bunch of people and they went into with the hotel
27:34to discuss how we could best message to people, how we could come up with the calibrate our words
27:40that we're using. That's how we got into this damn mess. That's because we're really cautious.
27:48And look, I know all of you in here. We say stuff like, oh, you know, we have because we believe it
27:56and we're kind people, compassionate. We have to fight food insecurity. You're right. But just say,
28:03we have to fight kids going hungry in the richest country in the world. Just tell people where they're
28:08at. And don't be afraid and stay away from the poll tested things that are out there, because what
28:16Republicans what Republicans understood was is they identified the problem with people and they got
28:22people thinking that they were with them like Donald Trump. What the hell does he know about
28:27somebody in South Carolina struggling to make ends meet? Almost nothing. But people believe that
28:33because what I have to think about is we've got to have people know that we're actually listening to
28:39them, that we're actually hearing what they're saying. And then I'm just going to say this because
28:43it seems so simple and I don't get it. We've got to show the guts that we're willing to.
28:48I feel like there's folks that aren't willing to say the things necessary because they might be
28:53worried they might not get reelected if they say that. I'm not going to say that. And I don't think
28:59any of us can. I'm getting called out on this because I called Donald Trump a wannabe dictator.
29:06It's because he is. It's because he is. Oh,
29:13the governor's being mean and the governor's speaking out on that. Well,
29:16maybe it's time for us to be a little meaner. Maybe it's time for us to be a little more fierce
29:23because we have to ferociously push back on this. And again, I'll speak to my teacher colleagues in here.
29:32The thing that bothers a teacher more than anything is to watch a bully, to watch this bully and to stop
29:38it. And when it's a child, you talk to them and you tell them why bullying is wrong. But when it's
29:44adult like Donald Trump, you bully the shit out of him back. You push back. You make sure they know it's
29:51not there. Because at heart, at heart, this is a weak, cruel man that takes it out and punches down on
30:00people. What they don't want to do is stand toe to toe and punch back with someone who's calling
30:06them out for what they do, who's being there. And for Democrats, here's what we need to know. You need
30:11to embrace this. We win hearts and minds. We win the issues. If you go ask people if they want children
30:19to eat, they'll say yes. If you go ask people if they want smart things to make sure our children
30:24aren't shot in schools, they'll say yes. If they say, do you want us to pay our public servants a
30:29decent wage, they will say yes. We win the hearts and minds. They win power. And when they take power,
30:37they move with it and exercise it. So I'll tell you what, we have got to have and understand an
30:44unshakable responsibility that we have to make sure that come hell or high water. Everyone in this
30:50country can afford a decent life, enjoy a secure and dignified retirement. Women can still get
30:58reproductive care. And no one, no one, regardless of their status, goes without due process and the
31:09rights to rule of law. For those who tell us, for those who tell us we get distracted with these
31:24issues, I've seen politicians, Democratic politicians say, well, we can't get distracted with this issue
31:32of them scooping folks up and sending them to El Salvador because we got to talk about the economy.
31:37Can we not do two things at once? Can we not stand on basic rule of law and human dignity and
31:45the foundations of this country and also say tariffs are stupid as hell and they're hurting us?
31:51They're hurting us. We can do that.
31:55We can educate our children and invest in good schools and also talk about they shouldn't be
32:01being shot dead with weapons in those schools. It shouldn't be there. We can do that.
32:08And I don't care if you're in South Carolina or New York City. You can't be supportive of kids being
32:13shot dead in schools. That's a unified position. So look, we've allowed ourselves and I think it's
32:20fine because we are this. We're defined as anti-Trump. You damn right. You damn right. We are anti-Trump.
32:28But we also have to spend the time letting voters know what we stand for. And once we stand for those
32:34things, if you truly stand for them, then you actually have to get it done. You've got to build
32:41government with a bold vision that's actually delivering on those policies. Because I'm guessing
32:46in here, it would be pretty popular if you said, and if you put it to the ballot and asked South
32:53Carolinians, do you think we should have paid family medical leave in South Carolina? I think
32:58they would say yes. I think they would say yes. You know when they would really say yes?
33:04When someone in their family got cancer and they were able to care for them and get them through
33:09that, then they would say yes. When they don't have to choose between taking care of a sick child
33:15and losing their job or losing the pay that keeps the roof over their heads. Those are basic things.
33:20And when you do those things, guess what happens? The economy grows. And people find themselves more
33:25secure in life. And we have a better, more equal, more just country. And then the side effect of that is
33:32people no longer wonder what the Democratic Party stands for. The Democratic Party stands for
33:37taking care of my family. The Democratic Party stands for doing things that improve people's lives.
33:42And so now all of a sudden, and I'll say this too, you got a whole bunch of young people and my son is
33:50one of them. By the way, I'm really proud of this. This feels like my greatest accomplishment.
33:55My son Gus is graduating on Tuesday. So that is my proudest moment.
34:04But Gus tells me a lot of young men, you might have seen this, a lot of young white men did not
34:10vote for this ticket. And they're wondering what we'll do with them. My son says, Dad,
34:14most of them don't know about the policies and stuff. And if they do, they probably agree with you.
34:19They just think the other side, it's cooler to belong to this. They just think it sounds tough
34:25to belong to this. Or they feel like you're at least going to them and talking to them
34:30instead of having people they don't know up there with you. And so this idea, and I've said this a lot
34:39of times, people want to belong to something. They want to be with other people. Most of us,
34:44sometimes other people bug us, and we want to be alone. We know that. But I know this as a teacher.
34:51I was involved, yeah, coaching sports, but I was also involved with helping with the musicals. And I
34:56was also involved helping with the speech program, and also that. And I did those things that I liked
35:02them. But providing a place for a young person to feel like they're part of is really important. And I
35:09would argue that's true. In a society where we have become more divided, less personal, where people
35:15look down at their phones and text, and I'm not dogging on technology, but I'm saying, I think it's
35:20made us more isolated. I think it's made people lonelier. I think that's especially true with a lot of
35:25men. They want to belong to something. Donald Trump knows that. It may not be a football team, but he
35:30provides them a uniform, that damn red cap. He provides them a common language that they talk about.
35:38He provides them something that they belong. Now, we know in healthy organizations, you don't need
35:44to demonize someone else. But since he's only offering anger and animosity and belittling others,
35:54he still offers something. We, as a Democratic Party, have to offer a place that is, yes, welcoming,
36:02but we could, I can't imagine. People don't go to his rallies to listen to his dumb crap that he's
36:09saying. I don't believe that. I think they go to those rallies to be next to people who think like
36:14them. I think they go next to those rallies to feel like they're part of something. I bet you they go to
36:20those rallies to talk about their kids to one another and talk about what's going on in their lives.
36:25And in a society that seems more divisive, that political party or that movement that he has,
36:31I would argue a compassionate, kind place where everybody's involved is a place they should be,
36:38too. But damn it, we should be able to have some fun and be joyful. We should be able to gather in
36:44these places. We should make them feel like they matter. So look, we've got the guts and we need
36:51to have it to push back on the bullies and the greed and punch them right where it needs to be done,
36:57to telling our policies are better, our policies improve your lives, and what you're doing
37:02is cruel and corrupt. And it cannot stand. We need to say that. We need to bust down systems.
37:09And again, this is my take on this. What Donald Trump has taught me is,
37:13I've been in this now elected office for 20 years. And there's issues that I have worked on
37:20for 20 years. And they're like, well, it takes a little time to get this done.
37:24People have been born and gotten old. And yes, I'm proud. In 2010, I voted for the ACA to improve
37:36health care to everyone. I voted for Obamacare. And I went in front of town halls and defended that vote.
37:44And I heard people tell me, you're going to lose your job over that vote. And I said,
37:48sounds pretty good to me. If people are going to get health care, I'll go back to teaching school
37:52and coaching football. Because that's worth it. That's worth it.
37:58Donald Trump figured out was, it shouldn't take 20 years. So I'm just cautioning everybody,
38:04when we win, and we will, we're going to win the Virginia governor's race come this November.
38:10We're going to win New Jersey. We're going to take back the House of Representatives.
38:17But I'll tell you what, and the people in this room are probably the most impatient.
38:22When we get back and win that election in 28, we damn sure better not say, you know,
38:27I think we're going to tweak some of these things around health care to make it easier for you to
38:32talk to your insurance companies. Really, you think you better maybe deal with that? You think maybe
38:37we better be bold? You think maybe we better make real changes in people's lives? Because here's the deal.
38:45I think it's unconstitutional, and the courts will determine if it's illegal.
38:49But what Trump learned from his first term to this one is, if you say you're going to get things done
38:53and actually do it, even if it's not the right thing, people still give you credit for getting
38:59something done. They give you credit for doing it. Now it's destructive as hell on their side.
39:04Think how powerful a tool that will be if we move with the same speed that he's moving to give everybody
39:11health care, to improve our education system, to address the climate crisis, to defend human rights,
39:21both here and abroad. Imagine how powerful that is. So look, here's the time. Here's the time for all of us.
39:28Donald Trump is the existential threat that we knew is coming. It is going to be. I'm not going to
39:36whistle past the graveyard. It is going to be a challenging few years here. But it starts this
39:42November. Actually, it starts this Saturday as us starting to organize. Donald Trump ran for president
39:49for four years after he got beat in 2020. The Republican Party ran for four years. Their school
39:57board members ran for four years. All of those things were happening. And what I know about our
40:04party is we know how to work. We're people with grit and resilience. We know how to get things done.
40:10We're used to getting the shaft. We're used to being on the short end of things. It's who we are.
40:15But when we do that, and when we know what we have, this is a moment. This is a moment not just to win
40:23an election. This is a moment to transform back to the Democratic Party. When I was growing up,
40:30I didn't, many of you, if you're my gray hairs in here, know this. My family wasn't overly political.
40:38They weren't overly political. And we were in a small town. But there was no question for me as a 17 or
40:4318 year old. If I got asked, what's the Democratic Party? Oh, that's the unions. And that's the folks
40:50that work for working people. That's who they are. Well, who are the Republicans? That's the country
40:54club and the rich people. That's who they are. And it was pretty clear. And then you started to figure
41:00out this social security thing is a good idea. Who came up with that? Democrats. This GI Bill and
41:08Pell Grants to make college more affordable, who came up with that? Democrats.
41:11Democrats. This idea that you should trust women to make their own health care decisions? Who came
41:16up with that? Democrats. You knew that. This is our opportunity. And for the leadership that's in
41:25this room, let's define who we are. Let's define it with a fierce defense of those who can't defend
41:34themselves against a bully. Let's let's fiercely push back everywhere we can.
41:45And then let's decide we're not retreating from that fight. We won't retreat from that fight.
41:50But we can simultaneously decide to let people know the issues we were told not to touch because they're
41:57too big and they're too bold. It was those big, bold things that solidified Democratic control
42:03for decades. It was those big, bold ideas that let us win elections. But that was the means to the end.
42:10It was those big, bold ideas that were enacted by the Democratic Party that improved the lives of
42:17millions of Americans. It was those big, bold ideas that gained our reputation around the world that the
42:23United States was the good guys who stood with people who were less fortunate. It was the United
42:29States who stood up to places like Russia, like North Korea, instead of voting with them.
42:36That's our opportunity. This is an opportunity to do the things that we need to do. Now, look,
42:41some of you are saying, oh, my God, we've been through this. We ran elections. Look, losing an election is
42:47an opportunity to reflect. It is an opportunity to reflect. But it damn sure better be an opportunity to
42:52fight a little harder coming back the next time. That's all I would say. So
43:00I'll cop to this. I am an eternal optimist, but I came about it legitimately. I supervised the lunchroom
43:07for almost two decades. You don't survive that gig if you're not an optimist. You do not survive it.
43:15But I know and I think it's just perfect as I see this. Some of you, some of you heard me talk about
43:21this a lot. I think the most powerful word, my wife says this, most powerful word in the universe
43:26is hope, is the hope for it. And the motto of this great state, while I breathe, I hope.
43:32While I breathe, I hope. I'll take that one step further. Hope is the energy that gets us believing
43:39in a better tomorrow. But as as my wife, as my wife, Gwynne says, though, she says,
43:50but hope is not a damn plan. We can't hope that Donald Trump quits acting like he is.
43:56We can't hope that we win an election. We can't hope that these people aren't as cruel as we think
44:02they are. We can't hope that people get the health care that they so desperately need.
44:07We have to plan for it. And that's what brings you here today. You're giving of your time,
44:13your treasure, your talent, to build what's necessary. And I'll tell you this, those things
44:19we accomplished in Minnesota wouldn't have happened without restructuring our entire Democratic Party,
44:24putting the power back in the county units, putting the power back in the state units.
44:27And it wouldn't have happened without some soul searching, because I'll end with this. I don't
44:35want you to believe, you know, oh, my God, everything is like heaven in Minnesota. You know, no, no,
44:43because last weekend was the five year anniversary of the murder of George Floyd on a street to
44:50Minneapolis. We always like to think of ourselves that we're on the right side of that civil war.
44:55But I want to be very clear with this. I had a woman a few years ago, we were talking about
45:02racism, intolerance, structural barriers that were put in place to hold people back.
45:10And this woman was sitting with me in Duluth, Minnesota, about as far north as you can get
45:14up on Lake Superior. And she came from Arkansas. And she said, yeah, Arkansas is racist.
45:18She says, but in Minnesota, the racism's quieter, but it's meaner.
45:22And I think the acknowledgement of this, we know we've got work to do.
45:28That's why we're a group of people that believes it's important to teach our history,
45:32our true history to every one of our children.
45:38And a great state and a great country can acknowledge where we've got it wrong.
45:44But once we start to do that, and in the five years since George Floyd, whether it was getting rid of
45:50some of the techniques in policing, or coming to the grips that our police can't be asked to solve
45:56all of our problems in the middle of a crisis, while we brag a lot that Minnesota has some of the highest
46:03graduation rates and achievements, it starts a little different when you disaggregate that data and
46:08you start to see the gap between black and white students is as big as any place in the country.
46:13So we took those things on. We didn't admire the problem by calling it out. We tackled it.
46:19And just this couple weeks ago, we announced we had closed that graduation rate to the
46:24greatest amount that we had between black and white students in state history.
46:28Now, I tell you this, for all of you in here, I don't believe you get patted on the back for
46:37doing what you're supposed to do. So we as a Democratic Party, I know those will say,
46:41oh, you focus too much on this diversity and this equity and this inclusion.
46:46We focus on it because it's foundational to everything we do.
46:49We focus on it that closing that gap is not only morally the right thing to do,
46:55our future depends on us closing that gap. Our future depends on it. The leadership in this
47:02country, in Minnesota, in Minnesota alone, 80% of our workforce will come from communities of color
47:08over the next 75 years. Even if you have no moral courage in your body at all, if you want to see
47:13us survive economically, you damn sure better start investing in black communities and making sure
47:18they're healthy and educated. So to all of you, the work's in front of us. It's not going to be easy.
47:30We're facing a pretty unprecedented time in our history. But what comes with that is the privilege.
47:37We get to be part of that fight. When the story is written of what happened during this time period,
47:43they will scarcely believe that this country chose Donald Trump over Kamala Harris.
47:48But they did. But the real story that will be written is how did we respond after that election?
47:56How did we respond to the challenges?
48:00And it starts with an individual and it gets bigger and bigger. So here we are in one of the red
48:07estates according to that stupid map that you'll find with a room full of people who care about their
48:15neighbors, a room full of people who's willing to take the good, the bad, the ugly, the warts and the
48:20highest achievements we've had as a country and recognize that this towards a more perfect union
48:26is still going on. We're not there. But each and every one of us get the chance to do something about
48:31it. So on behalf of my family and my children and my future grandchildren, let's hope, um,
48:41thank you all. Thank you for caring enough about this country. Thank you for taking time out of
48:46your lives. Thank you for showing this. And I will leave you with this, that in states that are either
48:52purple or blue, nothing inspires us more than to see progressive Democrats fighting in the reddest
48:59counties, in the places that are most good. Because that takes courage. That's where change happens.
49:08And that's where South Carolina will make a difference. Thank you all for having me.
49:13Keep up the fight. We'll see you soon.
49:19Thanks, folks.