Joe Biden’s Remarks in Reno, Nevada

Last week the House of Representatives opened an inquiry into whether the President of the United States has committed impeachable offenses.

Its investigation will focus on evidence that Donald Trump attempted to extort a foreign government — the Government of Ukraine — to manufacture charges against me, to go after my family, and to undermine my candidacy for President.

That he corrupted and weaponized key agencies of government to include the National Security Council, the Justice Department, the State Department, and the Office of the Vice President to do his personal political bidding.

That he betrayed the foreign policy and national security interests of the United States in service of his re-election.

For years, Trump has dismissed and excused Russian aggression in Ukraine, including the illegal annexation of Crimea.

And, for years, Trump has made no secret of his desire to welcome Vladimir Putin back into the fold at Ukraine’s expense.

Trump and his emissaries have sought, repeatedly, to extort the existential fears of Ukraine’s leaders for political advantage.

Now we know that he may have held up political support and vitally needed aid appropriated by Congress to pressure Ukraine to give-in to his political demands.

And he personally told the leader of Ukraine that American foreign policy wasn’t going to run through the State Department — it was going to run through his personal, private lawyer who was demanding non-existent dirt on me.

And the State Department — instead of carrying out our nation’s foreign policy — was enlisted to do his bidding.

People around the president knew that what he was doing was wrong — profoundly wrong.

So they tried to cover it up by hiding the evidence.

Now because of the courageous actions of a whistleblower, Trump’s scheme has been exposed.

He did it because like every bully in history, he’s afraid.

He’s afraid of just how badly I would beat him next November.

And now that all this has come out, Trump’s predictable response has been to attack me and my family.

Desperate and defensive, Trump sends one crazed tweet after another insinuating that the whistleblower should be executed, threatening to prosecute the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, warning direly of civil war.

He is repeatedly smearing me and my family. His party fans out to carry the smear, are blanketing the airwaves — paid for by the special interests so well served by his presidency.

Let me make something clear to Trump and his hatchet men and the special interests funding his attacks against me: I’m not going anywhere.

You’re not going to destroy me. And you’re not going to destroy my family. I don’t care how much money you spend or how dirty the attacks get.

Trump knows there is no truth in his charges and attacks against me. None. Zero.

Every independent news organization that has reviewed his charges at length found them to be a flat out lie. Every single one of them.

What I did in Ukraine was to carry out the official policy of the United States government to root out corruption in Ukraine in conjunction with the European Union, the International Monetary Fund, our closest democratic allies, and courageous reformers I met on the ground.

This was a fully transparent policy carried out in front of the whole world. And fully embraced by the international community of democracies.

We weren’t pressing Ukraine to get rid of a tough prosecutor. We were pressing them to replace a weak prosecutor who wouldn’t do his job with someone who, at the time, we hoped would finally crack down on corruption.

Trump on the other hand was secretly putting at risk our national security to pursue a personal political vendetta against me because he does not want to run against me.

And what is truly stunning about this are the exhortations involved in holding back desperately needed military assistance and political support from our Ukrainian friends while they are engaged in a live war with the Russians — a war that has cost thousands of Ukrainian lives.

This isn’t a game. This is deadly serious.

But as we all know all too well, the truth doesn’t matter to Donald Trump. It never has. And it never will.

Which is why I do not think the American people are going to believe him.

The American people know me — and they know him.

And I will put the integrity of my whole career in public service to this nation up against his long record of lying and cheating and stealing any day of the week.

The idea of Donald Trump attacking anyone’s integrity is a joke. But it’s important to step back from the heated 24-hour news cycle and focus carefully on the larger story.

It’s not about Donald Trump’s antics.

It’s about what has brought Donald Trump and the nation to this sobering moment in our history — and to the choice facing us in 2020.

What has brought us here is simply this: the abuse of power.

The abuse of power is the defining characteristic of the Trump presidency.

The American presidency is an office of immense power. That’s why character matters more in a president than any other office in our government.

That’s why one of the gravest threats to our democracy is a president who puts their own personal gain ahead of the public good.

And that is why Trump will do anything it takes to hold on to it.

We need to be clear about something. The threat posed by this president isn’t just to our constitution. This isn’t just an academic exercise in political theory. A president who puts his own self-interest ahead of the public good and national security also poses a threat to each and every American in our daily lives.

This was on full display just a few days after the House opened its impeachment inquiry — when we saw a wounded president meeting with the head of the NRA in the Oval Office.

Do you think they were talking about the safety of the American people?

Or do you think they were talking about how much money the NRA was going to spend to keep Trump in office?

What do you think mattered more to Trump? His reelection? Or the safety of our children?

Or do you think they talked about Trump protecting the NRA and the NRA protecting Donald Trump?

You want an example of what happens when a president puts his own selfish interests ahead of the national interest — when a president abuses his power?

I’d say that’s Exhibit A.

You want another example? Climate change.

It’s not possible for Trump to do any more for the fossil fuel industry.

He’s turned his back on the science. He’s pulled America out of the Paris Agreement. He’s repealed the new fuel economy standards that we put in place in our administration.

And in return? The money is pouring in.

We’re facing an existential crisis. The UN tells us we have roughly ten years to deal with this problem. And he is single handedly standing in the way.

And what about health care? Trump has relentlessly — cynically — attacked Obamacare. He has no replacement. He just wants it gone.

It doesn’t matter how many people are hurt. It doesn’t matter that it will put at risk the preexisting condition protections that are in place for more than 100 million Americans. It doesn’t matter that women will once again be charged more just because of their gender.

It’s an Obama achievement — so it has to go.

And, if in the process he can pocket big money for his from the insurance companies, all the better.

Or how about his wall? You know the one Mexico was going to pay for. His big promise from 2016. Going nowhere.

Instead of comprehensive immigration reform, we have political grandstanding about a wall that — no, Mexico will not pay for — and yes, cruel and unusual policies that separate families and seek to keep kids in cages indefinitely without basic necessities like soap or toothbrushes continues.

Donald Trump acts, reacts, twists and turns according to what he thinks is good for him, for his ego, his personal politics, his campaign money.

And virtually every day he launches a barrage of tweets to attack, to disparage, to insult, to threaten anyone who does not bathe him in praise.

He’s even gone so far as to threaten the whistleblower.

Now fearful about his reelection, he is becoming more unhinged. Trump wants a campaign on his terms.

He imagines he can pick his opponent and face only the candidates he thinks he can beat.

We are not going to let Donald Trump pick the Democratic nominee for President.

That’s why he picked up the phone, called the leader of Ukraine, and pressured him to manufacture a case to smear the opponent he least wants to face.

Here’s what Trump and the special interests paying for his campaign know. They know I’ve taken them on in the past and beat them. And they know I will again.

They know I’m not just promising change. They know I’ll deliver it.

I’ve taken on the NRA — twice — and beat them both times.

We made the Brady bill the law. We banned assault weapons. We limited magazine clips. And we can do it again.

We took on the health insurance industry when we passed Obamacare. And I’ll take them on again.

My plan is to build on Obamacare with a public option. The health insurance companies hate it.

That’s why they’ve already attacked my plan. They don’t want the competition that will come from a public option, and drug companies don’t want their profits cut.

And here’s what they really fear: they know I can get it done. Not in five years. Not in ten years. Now.

Our administration made the largest ever investment in clean energy with the Recovery Act and assembled an international coalition to combat climate change. Trump has abdicated American leadership on climate. I will reassert it.

I’m not surprised Donald Trump asked a foreign government for help to beat me. I’m not surprised the head of the NRA met with Trump to prop him up. I’m not surprised Trump’s special interest friends are spending millions to attack me. And I’m not surprised this President’s allegations of wrongdoing against me have been debunked across the board.

I’m not going to let him get away with this. I’m not backing down.

And I’m not going to be distracted by all his lies, smears, distortions, and name calling.

I’m going to let Congress do its job on impeachment. And I’m going to stay focused on your lives.

What we can’t lose sight of in this election is that this election is about you. Your kids. Your family.

And you can’t wait when it comes to health care or jobs or education or guns or climate.

The world can’t wait for America to once again lead a stable peaceful international order.

I have said it before and I’ll say it again.

Like JFK when he spoke about taking America to the moon, I refuse to postpone the work that has to get done. For you.

That takes vision — and yes it takes plans — but that’s not enough. It takes the proven ability to get things done.

There is no one in this race who has a stronger record of passing big, consequential legislation than me.

From the ban on assault weapons to the Violence Against Women Act to Obamacare. I’ve been there. I know what it takes to get it done.

Let me finish with this: a lot of my opponents say we have to do more than just beat Donald Trump.

And I agree.

We do have to do more than beat Donald Trump.

We have to beat him like a drum.