The Vice President. I gotta tell you, we've had a great day on the bus, on the road all across Iowa. [cheers and applause] We rallied supporters from Sioux City, Council Bluffs, but I'm here to tell you, I'm here for one reason, and one reason only, and that is that Iowa and America need four more years of President Donald Trump in the White House. [cheers and applause]
Crowd. [chanting] Four more years! Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
The Vice President. You know, I'm here because I stand with President Donald Trump. [cheers and applause] When this president stands up for American jobs and American workers, I stand with President Donald Trump. [cheers and applause] When this president stands up for faith, and family, and the American flag, I stand with President Donald Trump. [cheers and applause] And when this president stands up to the radical Democrats, their endless investigations, and their partisan impeachment, we stand with President Donald Trump. [cheers and applause]
You know, four years ago, a movement was born. A movement made up of everyday Americans from every walk of life. Here in Iowa, you believed we could be strong again. You believed we could be prosperous again. You said "yes" to President Donald Trump in 2016, and I know Iowa's going to say "yes" to four more years of Donald Trump in 2020. [cheers and applause]
It's all about the results. When you think about the last three years, I think there's only one way you can describe it. It's been three years of action. [cheers and applause] It's been three years of results. It's been three years of promises made and promises kept, but we're just getting started, Iowa. [cheers and applause]
I mean, think about it. President Trump promised to rebuild our military. [cheers and applause] Restore the arsenal of democracy. And this president has already signed the largest increase in our national defense since the days of Ronald Reagan. [cheers and applause]
And where the last administration sent pallets of cash to terrorists in the Iran Nuclear Deal—[booing]—under this president, we got out of the Iran deal and we've taken the fight to radical Islamic terrorists on our terms, on their soil. [cheers and applause]
I mean, think about just the last month. When one American life was lost at the hands of Iranian-backed militias, President Trump launched the first air strikes against those militias in the last 10 years. [cheers and applause] And when militants stormed our embassy in Baghdad on New Year's Eve, this president sent in the Marines. [cheers and applause] And he said "No more Benghazis!" [cheers and applause]
Crowd. [chanting] USA! USA! USA! USA!
The Vice President. And when American lives were threatened by the most dangerous terrorist in the world, President Trump took action, and Qasem Soleimani is gone. [cheers and applause] Thanks to the skill and heroism of our military on the ground, despite their missile attack, no American casualties and Iran is standing down. [cheers and applause] That's what leadership looks like, Iowa! That's the strong leadership of President Donald Trump! [cheers and applause]
So we've stood for a strong national defense, and I have to tell you, as the proud father of a United States Marine—[cheers and applause]—I couldn't be more proud to be vice president to a president who cares so deeply about the men and women of our armed forces and their families. [cheers and applause] And that includes our veterans. President Donald Trump has stood with America's veterans as never before. [cheers and applause]
As I told a rally of veterans today at Council Bluffs, thanks to President Trump's leadership, we're finally giving our veterans access to the real-time world-class healthcare that you earned in the uniform of the United States. Veterans' Choice is now available for every veteran in America. [cheers and applause] Thank you.
And last year, President Trump eliminated every last penny of student debt owed by permanently disabled veterans. [cheers and applause] With a stroke of a pen, he wiped out 750 million dollars owed by 25,000 heroes across our nation. [cheers and applause]
So we've stood with those who serve and those who served, the heroes who've kept our nation safe. But this president knows that national security starts with border security. [cheers and applause] And under President Trump's leadership, we've made historic investments in border security. Apprehensions on our southern border are down by 70% and we've already started to build that wall on the southern border of the United States [cheers and applause]
Crowd. [chanting] Build that wall! Build that wall! Build that wall! Build that wall!
The Vice President. Oh, we're building it. [cheers and applause] And the first 100 miles are already done. [cheers and applause] And to support the rule of law, this president has stood every day with the men and women who serve on the thin blue line of law enforcement, and we always will. [cheers and applause]
And to uphold the rule of law, President Trump kept the word that he gave to the people of Iowa and this country. As I stand here today, this president has already appointed more than 180 principled conservatives to our federal courts at every level. [cheers and applause] And I'm here to tell you, they are all principled conservatives who will uphold all the God-given liberties enshrined in our Constitution, like the freedom of speech, the freedom of religion, and the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. [cheers and applause]
I say from my heart, I couldn't be more proud to serve as vice president to a president who stands without apology for the sanctity of human life. [cheers and applause] President Donald Trump is the most pro-life president in American history. [cheers and applause]
So it's about security. It's about liberty. It's about our values. And it's about three more things. Under this president, it's about jobs, jobs, jobs. [cheers and applause] I mean, from the first day of this administration, President Trump went to work to revive the American economy. We worked with great leaders representing this state in Washington, D.C., like Senator Chuck Grassley and Senator Joni Ernst. [cheers and applause] We cut taxes across the board, for working families and businesses large and small. This president's actually cut more red tape already than any president in American history, and we unleashed American energy. This year America. will be a net exporter of oil and natural gas for the first time in 70 years. [cheers and applause] Amazing.
And from day one, this president's fought for free, fair, and reciprocal trade that puts America. first. [cheers and applause] And thanks to the president's leadership, this economy is booming. [cheers and applause] Since Election Day 2016, businesses large and small have created 7.1 million new jobs, including 18,000 good-paying jobs right here in the Hawkeye State. [cheers and applause] Unemployment is at a 50-year low, the stock market is soaring, and there are more Americans working today than ever before in the history of this country. [cheers and applause]
And wages are rising. All across the board, you know it, you see it, in your place of work. And what means the most to the president and me is that wages are rising most rapidly for hardworking blue-collar Americans, the forgotten men and women of America. are forgotten no more. [cheers and applause]
And with the strong help of Iowa's former governor, now ambassador Terry Branstad—[cheers and applause]—President Trump's been building on that success. We just signed a phase one deal with China that will increase agricultural exports by more than 40 billion dollars. [cheers and applause] And yesterday on the South Lawn of the White House, you saw it. Building on all the momentum in this economy, President Trump signed the largest trade deal in American history. Thanks to the president's leadership, NAFTA ended yesterday—[cheers and applause]—and the USMCA is here to stay. [cheers and applause]
It's a big win. A big win for American jobs and American farmers. I mean, the truth is, thanks to President Trump's leadership, the strong support of Iowa's conservative leaders in Congress, and all of you, in three short years, we've made America. great again. [cheers and applause]
But to keep America. great, Iowa, we need you to decide right here and right now that Iowa's going to vote for four more years of President Donald trump in the White House. [cheers and applause] You gotta do it.
Crowd. [chanting] Four more years! Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
The Vice President. That's the idea. I mean, think about it. Four more years means more jobs. [cheers and applause] Four more years means more judges. [cheers and applause] Four more years means more support for our troops. [cheers and applause] And it's gonna take at least four more years to drain that swamp. [cheers and applause]
Crowd. [chanting] Drain that swamp! Drain that swamp! Drain that swamp! Drain that swamp!
The Vice President. Oh, we're draining it. You know, the choice in this election couldn't be clearer. And I don't have to tell you all here in the Hawkeye State, stakes couldn't be higher. Today we have a president who loves this country, stands by our military, our workers, and our freedoms. He never quits, he never backs down, he believes in you, and he fights for you every single day. [cheers and applause] It's true.
And then you got this crowd of Democrat presidential candidates running around Iowa this week. [booing] I mean, I don't know, I don't know if you saw that debate in Des Moines the other night. [shouting] I didn't. [laughter] I watched three rounds. [laughter] I mean, I figure there's a vice presidential candidate in there somewhere, right? You know, those people were standing so far on the left, I thought that stage was gonna tip over. [cheers and applause] You know, the remarkable thing--you deserve to know that every single one of the Democrats on that debate stage actually criticized the president's decision to take out Qasem Soleimani. [booing] Bernie Sanders called the president's decision, in his words, quote, "assassinating a government official." [booing] Well, I got news for Bernie Sanders. Soleimani was not some government official, he was a terrorist, and President Donald Trump was right to take him down. [cheers and applause]
I mean, I don't have to tell you here in Iowa, you see it every day. Today's Democrat party has been taken over by radical leftists. They want higher taxes, open borders, late-term abortion, and openly advocate socialist policies that would crush this economy. [shouting] And worst of all, after three years of endless investigations, the Democrats in Congress actually voted to impeach our president. [booing] They sent those articles of impeachment to the Senate, where they are being considered even as we speak. [shouting] You know, what the Democrats in Washington are doing in the Senate is a disgrace. [shouting] They rushed their partisan impeachment through the House in a shameful attempt to overturn the will of the American people.
And I gotta tell you, I think Democrats are trying to run down this president because they know they can't run against this president. [cheers and applause] I think Democrats are trying to impeach this president because they know they can't defeat this president in November 2020. [cheers and applause] But don't worry about it. House Democrats had their say in December, Senate Republicans are gonna have their say real soon. But don't forget, come November, you're gonna have your say when you vote to send President Donald Trump back to the White House for four more years! [cheers and applause]
Crowd. [chanting] Four more years! Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
The Vice President. You know, despite three years of non-stop resistance, I can tell you first-hand, I've seen it every day. My friend, our president, has never stopped fighting for you. But now, Iowa, it's our turn to fight for him. It's on. [cheers and applause] Ladies and gentlemen, I can tell you President Donald Trump is the real deal. [cheers and applause] He's a man who says what he means and means what he says. [cheers and applause] He gets up every day and fights to keep the promises that he made to the people of this great state and the people of this nation. So in every day that remains between now and Election Day this November, and in those caucuses, come this next week, I want you to bring your enthusiasm.
Keep voicing your support. Keep telling your neighbors and friends all that we've accomplished under the leadership of President Donald Trump. [cheers and applause] Have confidence. You know in 2016, it was all about--we were out there campaigning, talking about what this president could do for this country. Now, men and women of Iowa, we can talk about what we've done. [cheers and applause] So go tell the story to your neighbors and friends, in living rooms and places of worship and work, just tell them. Tell them everything you heard tonight, everything you're about to hear tonight.
Crowd Member. Yes sir!
The Vice President. And in these divided times, have faith. [cheers and applause] Have faith in this president. [cheers and applause] His drive and heart and vision have made America. great again and will make America. greater than ever before. Have faith in this president. [cheers and applause] Have faith in your fellow Americans, that when we tell our neighbors and friends about everything we've been able to do, bringing this country back to the ideals and principles and practices that have always made America. strong and secure and prosperous, the American people will rally to her cause in 2020, just like they did in 2016. [cheers and applause]
And lastly, if you're of a mind to bow the head and bend the knee from time to time, I'd encourage you to exercise that kind of faith too. [cheers and applause] In these divided times, I believe in those ancient words that Americans have clung to in much more challenging times than we could possibly imagine.
Crowd Member. God bless you Mike!
The Vice President. That if His people, who are called by His name, will humble themselves and pray, He'll do like He's always done in the long and storied history of this country. He'll hear from Heaven, and He'll heal this land. [cheers and applause] This one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all, so pray for America. Pray for all the American people. [cheers and applause]
Well, it's been great to be with you tonight. I'm gonna get off the stage because the man is in the building. [cheers and applause] And I know he can't wait to get out here. But I leave here today with renewed confidence, a great day in Iowa and a great night with you. I know that with your continued support, with strong leaders like your great governor with those two great senators, your representatives in Washington, with allies in your State House, and all of your enthusiasm, and with God's help—[cheers and applause]—I know we're gonna deliver another great victory for the American people in November of 2020. We're gonna keep on winning, we're gonna keep America. safe, we're gonna keep America. strong, and with President Donald Trump in the White House for four more years, we will keep America. great. Thank you, Iowa. God bless you. God bless America. Let's go get it done. [cheers and applause]
[Music: Brooks & Dunn, Only In America.]
[Music: Village People, Macho Man.]
[Music: Phil Collins, In The Air Tonight.]
Crowd. [chanting] Trump! Trump! Trump! Trump!
[Music: Village People, Y.M.C.A.]
[Music: Lee Greenwood, "God Bless the U.S.A."]
Crowd. [chanting] USA! USA! USA! USA!
Crowd Member. I love you! [cheers and applause]
The President. I worked so hard for this state. I worked so hard. You just got two of the greatest trade deals, and add Japan to it, by the way. Let's make it three, 40 billion from Japan—[cheers and applause]—USMCA, all done. China, all done for the farmers. It's done, that I can tell you. You're gonna have to get bigger tractors and a hell of a lot more land. [cheers and applause] You've gotta produce a lot of product. I don't know if you can, but, hello Des Moines. It's great to be with you. I'm thrilled to be back in American heartland with thousands of loyal, hardworking American patriots. [cheers and applause] Great people. This November we're going to defeat the radical socialist Democrats that are right down the street. [cheers and applause]
I mean, I don't even know. I just saw a poll, New York Times, can you believe? [booing] Failing New York Times. When we leave in 10, 14, 18, 22 years from now, the New York Times will be out of business and so will a lot of others. But, did you see they did a New York Times poll, I think, and Sienna, Sienna, New York Times of Iowa, and they have me pitted against every one of the socialists, and we're winning by a lot. Everyone. We're beating them all. [cheers and applause] We're beating them all. We're beating them all. We're beating them like they haven't been beaten before. You know, all the noises about their crazy debates, nobody's watching their debates—[laughter]—but it's all about their debates. They don't care about the farmer. Everything out here, they love Trump, and you should love Trump with what I've done.
So, we're gonna win the great state of Iowa and it's gonna be a historic landslide. And if we don't win, your farms are going to hell. I can tell you right now. [shouting] Sell, sell, they'll be saying "Sell." No, we love the farmers, and we love the ranchers, and we love the manufacturers, frankly. You got plenty of that too in this state. The great state. [cheers and applause]
Crowd Member. We love you!
The President. And you have a great governor, by the way. [cheers and applause] You have a great governor.
But every day we're achieving extraordinary victories for the citizens of the Hawkeye State. [cheers and applause] The Iowa unemployment rate has reached an all-time low in history. [cheers and applause] That's not bad. That's not bad. Oh, let's vote for Pocahontas. [laughter] Let's vote for Bernie. [booing] Let's vote for Sleepy Joe. [booing] He's falling asleep. Joe, Joe, Joe. He always gets the name wrong. How many times has he missed it? He's in Iowa. He says, "Great to be in the great state of Ohio." And they say, "Joe, you're in Iowa." [laughter] You can't do that. No matter how great you speak. If you're Winston Churchill, if you make that mistake at the beginning of your speech, it's over. [laughter] You might as well just wrap it up. There's the fake news. They would just absolutely destroy you. [booing] They would absolutely destroy you.
You can't do that. You can't do that, Joe, Sleepy Joe, but you have these guys. You have these people. How about Buttigieg? [laughter] Buttigieg. They call him Mayor Pete. You know why? Because nobody can pronounce his name. Nobody has any idea. [laughter] Buttigieg. They say, "Say 'edge edge.'" He presides over a city that's failed. It's doing so badly, in a state that's having the greatest year they've ever had, and they have a great governor also, and they had a great governor. You just heard from him, right? [cheers and applause] The great state of Indiana. So I don't see that one. Go down the line. We have some people. Let's not talk about them. What happened to mini-Mike? Where is he? He's not running. He's skipping four or five states. Mini-Mike. I've had him up to here.
More people are working right now in Iowa than ever before. Now think of it. Think of it. Yesterday we replaced a NAFTA disaster with the incredible brand new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. [cheers and applause] The USMCA, you know when you have a hard time with that one, memory is a great thing. I've always had a great memory for whatever reason, but memory's a great thing. Having a great memory, but sometimes you take little clues.
Crowd Member. We love you Trump!
The President. USMCA. Thank you, darling. I love you, too. [cheers and applause] Where is that person? Look at that. Wow. What a good, strong voice. [cheers and applause]
But you know how you remember it? The song I just walked in on. They're playing the song Y.M.C.A. So, when you're having a hard time, "Gee, what's U.S... .," just think of the song Y.M.C.A., and you'll remember it, USMCA. It's a massive win for Iowa farmers and workers of all kinds. It's a massive win and it creates some fairness with Canada. It creates fairness with Mexico. Probably the biggest reason that I ran was the unfair trade that I've seen, and one after one, China, Mexico, Canada, Japan, South Korea, we've made all these deals, and we have plenty left over. [cheers and applause] Plenty left over. Europe, Europe, Europe is next. I wanted to finish China before we started on Europe. I like to do them one at a time, one at a time. I'm a very organized person.
But weeks ago we also signed a terrific new trade agreement with China that will boost American agriculture by 50 billion dollars every year—[cheers and applause]—and many other businesses like manufacturing, banking, finance, overall 250 billion, and you know with the farmers, because I have a place in my heart for the farmers, big. I went and I saw Ambassador Lighthizer's in charge, he's fantastic. I said, "What are you doing?" We're getting ready for the final deal. "What are you doing?" He said, "I'm putting in 20 billion." Because I asked Sonny Perdue. He's great. You know who he is, right? Secretary of Agriculture. I said, "Sonny, what's the biggest number that China's ever done with the farmers?" He said, "Sir, 16 billion. Last year, 16 billion." This was two years ago. I said, "So, 16 billion is the biggest," because you know, they targeted you, and now we're friends with China.
In fact, maybe we've never had a better relationship and were working with them very closely on the coronavirus. We're working with them very, very closely. We only have five people. Hopefully everything's gonna be great. They have somewhat of a problem, but hopefully it's all gonna be great. But, we're working with China just so you know, and other countries very, very closely, so it doesn't get out of hand, but it's something that we have to be very, very careful with, right? We have to be very careful. [cheers and applause]
But I said to Sonny Perdue, Secretary of Agriculture, I said, "Sonny, what's the number?" 16 and 12 the year before, and you were targeted. I don't blame China. Look, they're smart. They're negotiators. They targeted Trump states. Where do they love Trump? They love him in Iowa. They love him in Nebraska. They love him in all these states. They love him in Wisconsin. They love him. We won Wisconsin. They like him in Wisconsin, and a lot of the farm states, and they targeted. And the farmers came to see me and they said, "Sir, you have to do what's right." And when the fake news would interview farmers, the farmers would say, "No, no, President Trump is doing the right thing. It should have been done years ago. Should've been done years and years ago." [cheers and applause]
But you couldn't have made it because it was too much money, 16 billion. So, what I did is I put a 25% tariff on everything coming in from China, 250 billion, and then more tariffs on things beyond the 250 billion dollar market. We took in billions and billions and billions of dollars. We still are, and then what happened? When I heard about the farmers and I saw the farmers, they were in the White House. They came to see me. I had 36 farmers and I said, "I'm going to give you ..." They said, "Sir, we don't want anything." I said, "What do you mean you don't want anything? I've never heard that before." Everybody wants money. They want every—they said, "We just want a level playing field." I never forgot it. They said, "We don't want anything. We just want a level playing field, and we've been treated badly for years, for years." [cheers and applause]
And I said, "Well, you haven't been given a level playing field for many, many years, for decades. You haven't been given a level playing field. We're gonna give you the levelest field that you ever had. But, but in the meantime, I'm gonna give you 12 billion, out of these tens of billions that we're collecting." Don't worry, we had plenty of left over, because we never got 10 cents from China. China took from us. We didn't take from China, right? I said, "I'm gonna give you 12 billion for the year before, and I'm gonna give you 16 billion for this year." That was last year for this year. So, they got, meaning a lot of you in this audience, got 12 billion, and you got 16, so you got 28 billion dollars over that short period of time, and you were able to actually, in some cases, I guess thrive. And I told Sonny, "I wanna take care of the small farmer too, not just the big monsters. I want to take care of everyone, everyone." [cheers and applause]
But, I never forgot when CNN fake news and all these people, they go around interviewing the farmers. They could never find anyone saying bad about Trump. They'd go into diners. "What do you think about Trump? Isn't it a terrible what he's doing with the trade?" And the farmer would say, "No, he's doing what should have been done 20 years ago." [cheers and applause] And now, you people are gonna make so much money. You're not gonna do ...
Crowd Member. Fake news!
The President. Just, you know what? Just relax. Take it easy. Put it away. Enjoy your life. But you're gonna make a lot of money. You're gonna make a lot of money. Again, we have never had, because they respect us now, they didn't respect us. We have never had a better relationship with China than we do right now. It's a beautiful story. They respect us. [cheers and applause] The whole world respects us now. We're respected again. America is respected again. Okay? [cheers and applause]
And we're fighting for products made in America and grown right here in this great, great state of Iowa. [cheers and applause] To keep America safe, we have fully rebuilt the United States military. It's now stronger, more powerful, more lethal than ever before. We have all brand-new equipment and it was all built in the USA. [cheers and applause] And thanks to the courage of American heroes, the ISIS caliphate has been totally destroyed and its founder and leader, the animal known as al-Baghdadi, is dead. [cheers and applause]
And Crazy Nancy Pelosi said, "Don't call him an animal. He's a human being." No, he's an animal. He's an animal. [cheers and applause] And two weeks ago, at my direction, the United States military delivered another historic win for American justice. Our brave warriors launched a flawless precision strike that killed the world's number one terrorist, Qasem Soleimani. [cheers and applause] Qasem Soleimani. He was the mastermind of the roadside bomb. He loved roadside bombs. When you see your friends and great soldiers of our country and other countries, frankly, walking around, they don't have legs, they don't have arms in some cases. Some cases they don't have both. You see them walking around, or riding around, or—the most brave people, these people have the greatest attitude. I go to Walter Reed and I see him and the young man, his legs were blown off. "How you doing?" "Sir, I want to get back. I want to get back, sir." I'll tell you, the spirit of these people, it may even top the farmers. [cheers and applause] It may even top the farmers, which is pretty good.
But he was responsible, more than anybody else, 90% they say of these roadside bombs sent to fight us, he was responsible and he took a hard hit. He took a very hard hit. He was responsible for murdering and maiming thousands and thousands of Americans, and hundreds of thousands of other people. Not acceptable. Soleimani was actively planning new attacks, but we ended his bloody rampage forever. [cheers and applause]
Yet, Washington Democrats, true, like Crazy Bernie and Nancy Pelosi, opposed our decision to eliminate Soleimani, and to save American lives. That had a tremendous impact.
While we're proudly creating jobs and killing terrorists, Congressional Democrats are consumed with partisan rage, and obsessed with a deranged witch hunt hoax. [booing] You know, we're having probably the best years that we've ever had in the history of our country, and I just got impeached. Can you believe these people? I got impeached. [shouting] They impeached Trump. The best trade deals, the strongest military, I took care of the vets. We got choice. We got accountability for the vets, accountability. We got all these things and they impeach your president. No, that's not gonna work. Watch, just watch.
They want to nullify your ballots, poison our democracy, and overthrow the entire system of government. That's not happening, I can tell you that. [cheers and applause] Washington Democrats have spent the last three years trying to overturn the last election.
Crowd Member. Get them out!
The President. Why am I not worried? I should worried. Remember Nixon, it was like a dark period, right? It's a very dark period. It was like oh, you think about it. Right? And with Clinton it was not good. They say that with Johnson, it was a long time ago, none of us remember, but they say it was a very dark period. This is a happy period for us. [cheers and applause] It's a happy period.
Crowd. USA! USA! USA! USA!
The President. It's a happy period because we call this impeachment light. This is light.
Crazy Schiff. Shifty Schiff. [booing] He's a sick puppy. He's a sick puppy. But, you know what? Today you saw it, I hit my highest poll numbers since I got elected—[cheers and applause]—because the American people, and frankly, people all over the world, know it's a hoax. They understand it. They know it's a hoax, and we have a great party, the Republican party. They know what's going on. They know what's going on and they're gonna treat us very fairly. But the Democrats are trying to overturn the last election. We will make sure that they face another crushing defeat—[cheers and applause]—right? In 2020. [cheers and applause]
November 3, November 3, mark it off. November 3, mark it off. Was that a great day? 2016 November. [cheers and applause] Remember? "He's not gonna do well with this group." I did well. "He's not gonna do well with that group." I won that group. "He's not gonna do well here or there." Even the exit polls, they took it right up. You know what they didn't know about the exit polls? When people are leaving, they're always very accurate. People leave. "Who you voted for?" "I voted for Trump." "Who you voted for?" "I voted for Crooked Hillary. I don't care that she's a stone cold crook. I'm voting for her." Who are you voting for? I'm voting for Trump, or Clinton, or Trump. They're always very accurate, but this time something happened.
Crowd Member. Hillary for prison.
The President. Many people, many--I like that idea. [cheers and applause] I like it. I like it. Wouldn't we like to run against her. Who's tougher? Her, Crazy Bernie, Biden, Buttigieg? Who would be the closest? [laughter] Buttigieg. [shouting] I don't know. Maybe we take another crack at Crazy Hillary. Would that be okay? [cheers and applause] She was so easy. Remember that speech so innocently given talking about "deplorables." Remember? Remember "deplorables?" But you know the only thing I didn't understand, I said, "That's terrible." But she said another word that was worse. "Irredeemables." I said, "Boy," shows you how good I am at politics, I said, "She's in trouble. She said our people are irredeemable." To me that was worse. Well, it wasn't that word that caught on. It was "deplorable." The next day I'm speaking, and women are walking around, "I'm deplorable." Everyone's got "deplorable." I say, "I think she made a bad speech last night." But "irredeemable," remember? She called them deplorable and irredeemable, and me being so brilliant, I said, "I think that "irredeemable" is gonna get her." No, "deplorable" got her. A lot her like lack of ability.
Together we are going to win back the House. We are going to hold the Senate, and we are going to keep that beautiful, gorgeous, incredible White House. [cheers and applause] People don't realize this is a lot of work. I just left Michigan, and Michigan is booming now because of me—[cheers and applause]—meaning, my people. I say to Prime Minister Abe, he's a friend of mine, "Shinzo," Japan, "You got to do something. You got these massive deficits for our country. You got to open up plants in Michigan fast, Shinzo. Fast. You've got to do it." "Yes, I will do it." He'll do it, and he's doing it. Countries are coming in from all over the world. They're going to Michigan. They're coming to Iowa. They're buying your stuff again, like crazy, like crazy. [cheers and applause]
They're going to Ohio. They're going to Pennsylvania. They're going to South Carolina. They're going to North Carolina. They're going to Florida. They're coming in like never before. They're all coming back. I ran on the issue, trade. I ran on a lot of different issues, but trade was one of them that was so big. To me, it was so big. I used to say, how do we allow these companies to close, fire everybody, go to another country? Mexico, wherever it may be, make product, sell the product into our country, pay no tax. Who the hell would allow this to happen? Who would allow to happen? [shouting]
It's like in South Korea. I went to him, I said, "Listen, your deal is no good. We have to make a new deal." South Korea, we're protecting them, all these different things. I said, "Number one, you gotta pay us more." They agreed to. They gave us 500 million dollars a year more. They said, "But nobody's ever asked." They gave us 500. That's nothing compared to what they have to do. That's okay. That's okay. They'll pay more. But you know, they made a trade deal with the United States. Hillary Clinton was in charge of the deal, right? And she said it's gonna produce 250,000 jobs, and she was right, 250,000. You know who it was for? For South Korea, not for us, it was for South Korea. So, we renegotiated the deal, if I have your permission, we renegotiated the deal and now we have a good deal with South Korea, okay? [cheers and applause]
This deal is gonna produce, remember—this deal is going to produce 250,000 jobs for South Korea. She didn't lie. Can't say she lied. She lies about a lot of other things, but she didn't lie. How is she taking her defeat? Okay? [laughter] I think so. Remember the debate? "Do you promise, if you lose, that you will support the winner," and I sort of, I didn't exactly say yes. [laughter] I didn't say yes, in all fairness, but I got sort of like six the 68% there. But she said, "See, he won't." She's the one that doesn't. [shouting] No, no, I feel badly because it's too late for her to get in. I kept hoping, but I think, honestly I think that Sleepy Joe, Crazy Bernie, I don't even wanna put Buttigieg in, but I think they'd actually be tougher than her.
During this campaign season, the good people of Iowa have had a front-row seat to the lunacy and the madness of the totally sick left. This is a radical left people that we're dealing with. Today's Democrat party, I don't say Democratic party, it sounds so much better in a speech, right? Democratic party, the Democrat, but that's not their name. It's called the Democrat party. You know some people aren't allowed to say the Democrat party because it doesn't sound good. I don't even like it. I don't like the way it sounds in this speech, but I'm gonna say it because I'm not looking to have them look good.
Today's Democrat party is run by left-wing extremists who want to massively raise your taxes, increase regulations, cancel your health plans, raid Medicare, shut down American energy, destroy your social security, they will destroy your social security—[booing]—eliminate religious liberty, punish free speech, confiscate your guns, abolish your borders—[booing]—and indoctrinate America's children with hateful, left-wing ideology. Other than that, they're okay. Other than that, they're fine people. In short, this election is a choice between American freedom and Democratic socialism, and in some cases, in my opinion, it's worse than socialism. Socialism's a kind word by comparison. The Democrats will lose because America will never be a socialist country. We can't. [cheers and applause]
Crowd. USA! USA! USA! USA!
The President. They're all watching tonight. They're sitting in their hotel room, little hotels right down the street, and they're looking at this crowd. The press never talks about my crowds. Did you see in New Jersey a couple of nights ago? [cheers and applause] We had sign-ups for 175,000 people. We had an arena that held about 9,000 people. We could have sold it out like 15 times. Okay? They don't talk about that. You know what they talk about? They said "Donald Trump who spoke before a nice crowd." If Bernie or Sleepy Joe has, I mean Joe had a crowd that was so small the other day that they set up a round table. No, it's true. [laughter] No, they were in a gymnasium. There were in a gymnasium, and they set up a round table, and people that went there to hear his speech are now being asked, "What do you think of socialism?" They just said, "I just wanna be here to watch his speech."
They set up a round table because the crowd was so small, and then they'll say, "It was a brilliant round table. It was wonderful." [laughter] They never mention crowds. They never mention crowds. They never mention anything. I'll tell you, USMCA, The biggest trade deal ever signed in the history of the world. Okay? It is, wait. [cheers and applause] It barely got any mention. We signed it. It barely got any mention. They talk about the impeachment hoax. They talk about all the other stuff, but the trade deal, that's gonna change our country. It's gonna bring growth. Wait until you see, toward the end of next year, the growth will be astronomical because of the China trade deal, the USMCA, Japan, South Korea, Europe, when that happens. It will happen because they have no choice. They have no choice. [cheers and applause]
But in the papers, and on the fake news cable shows, and the regular, look, NBC is horrible, the NBC Nightly News, it's terrible. The good news is people don't watch it like they used to, because they don't believe in it. They don't believe in it. And as Sean Hannity would say, MSDNC, you know what MSDNC is, right, so bad. CNN, total fake stuff. Oops, their camera just went off. Look! The camera just went off! CNN! [booing] Their camera just went off. That always happens—[shouting]—whenever I say CNN, their camera goes off.
But Americans, across the political spectrum, were disgusted by the Washington Democrats, the partisan hoaxes, the witch hunts, the con jobs. It's all a con job. And so, they don't love our country, I swear they don't. You look at Nancy Pelosi's district in San Francisco. It was so beautiful, and now it's a disgrace, being watched all over the world. Needles all over the place, everything else all over the place. I'm not gonna get into it, washing down into the ocean, washing down onto their beaches, people living in tents if they're lucky. I mean, you never saw anything, living on their most important entryways into what was a great city, San Francisco. What's happened? And all she does is work on the hoax and work on all of the stuff.
Really, these people are very, very bad for our country. We have to take back the House of Representatives, we have to. [cheers and applause] Registered Democrats and Independents are leaving the Democrat party in droves, and we are welcoming these people, and these great voters, to the Republican Party with wide-open arms. [cheers and applause]
And we are thrilled to be joined tonight by a lot of your great leaders, a lot of your really wonderful people. I'm not gonna mention all the names, because all those cameras that are rolling, they don't like it when I do it, but one they don't mind is Governor Kim Reynolds. Come up, Kim, come up here! [cheers and applause] Also First Gentleman, Kevin Reynolds, Kevin! [cheers and applause]
Kim, come on, come on.
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds.Do we love him? Do we love him? Are we gonna win Iowa for President Trump? Yes! Four more years!
Crowd. [chanting] Four more years! Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
Reynolds. You're doing great.
Crowd. [chanting] Four more years! Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
The President. You wanna say something?
Crowd. Four more years!
Reynolds. On February 3rd, we're gonna caucus. On November 3rd, we're gonna vote. And on November 4th, we're gonna celebrate four more years of President Trump! [cheers and applause]
The President. Great, great job. Thank you.
Oh, she was driving me a little bit batty. She would call me up, Kim, you would call. "What about ethanol?" [laughter] I said Kim, "I mean, I'm doing a lot for that place."
"No, no. We want ethanol." Then, "we want biofuel." Then she's asking for things I never even heard of, but we got them all, whatever that hell she wanted, we got. Right? [cheers and applause] And by the way, Joni Ernst and the great Chuck Grassley are, right now, in Washington fighting for fairness, fighting the hoax, fighting for all of us. So they called, they said, "Do you mind if we don't go tonight? We have to stay." I said, "I don't want you to be there. I want you to be where you are," because they're fighting for us. They're great people. They are great people.
And they would call too. Chuck Grassley, Joni Ernst, they would call, "We gotta help our farmers, sir."
"Yes. Okay, we're gonna help the farmer." They were great. Lieutenant Governor Adam Gregg. Thank you, Adam. [cheers and applause] Thank you, Adam. Great job, Adam. Speaker of the Iowa House of Representatives, a man with really fantastic genes—[laughter]—gotta have like the best genes in the world. Although you had an ex-governor here that had very good genes, too. We have his son in the audience, too, but this is Representatives Pat Grassley. [cheers and applause] Those genes, those two young men have the greatest genes anyone has ever had for politics. Thank you, fellas, thanks. [cheers and applause] I sent one of them, the father, to China, and he's now ambassador to China. Do you think he's happy? Is he happy? I think so. I think he's happy. Great governor, longest-serving governor in history, actually, 24 years. We have the Chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa, Jeff Kaufmann. [cheers and applause] Great job.
And just quickly, we have the world's tallest campaign manager, Brad Parscale. [cheers and applause] And Republican National Committee Co-Chair, who has done an incredible job, Tommy Hicks. [cheers and applause] And we have the great negotiator, the great man, Bob Lighthizer with us here, someplace. [cheers and applause] Where's Bob? What a job he did negotiating for you.
And we have somebody that you never heard of, somebody that's a fantastic person, but you never heard of, somebody named Sarah Sanders. Have you ever heard of her? [cheers and applause] Come here, Sarah! Come on! That's pretty good! And we have a great football player, from Iowa, Matt Whitaker is here, Matt. [cheers and applause] Say something.
Sarah Huckabee Ssnders: Thank you. How much do we love this president? [cheers and applause] And Mr. President, how much do we love the state of Iowa? [cheers and applause] So much. This is an incredibly special place, I actually met my husband here in Des Moines, so I love being back in Iowa. It's an amazing place. We're sorry you have had so many crazy, liberal Democrats running around here the last year. But the good news is, it's not gonna matter, because at the end of the day, this guy will still be our president. [cheers and applause] Thank you very much. God bless you.
The President. Thank you, Sarah. Very popular. She's a terrific person, great person. So thanks to Republican leadership, America now has the hottest economy anywhere on the planet Earth, not even close. Every prime minister, president, king, queen, dictator, whatever you wanna call them, they all say, "How do you do it?" And, the truth is we have certain advantages, but we also have a people advantage. We have the greatest people in the world. I really mean that. [cheers and applause]
Since the election, we have created seven million new jobs. The average unemployment rate, under my administration, listen to this, is lower than any previous administration in the history of our country. Can you believe that? The lowest unemployment rate. African-American, Hispanic-American, and Asian-American unemployment rates have reached the lowest levels ever recorded, think of that. [cheers and applause]
More than two million millennials, you know what millennials are, young, great people with a lot of future, they've gotten jobs, and their wages have grown by nearly 5% annually. That's a record. [cheers and applause] Another record is that between the ages of 25 and 34, people are now working, and that's a record, the number of people, 25 to 34. [cheers and applause]
And under the so-called Trump economy, the lowest-paid earners are reaping the fastest gains of any group. And that's a great thing. This is a blue-collar boom, and that's a good thing too. That's a good thing. [cheers and applause]
Earnings for the bottom 10% are rising faster than earnings for the top 10% for the first time ever, for the first time ever.
And median household income is at an all-time high, just for one second, president Bush, eight years, 450 dollars. President Barack Hussein Obama, eight years, eight years, 975 dollars. President Donald John Trump—[cheers and applause]—two and a half years, not three, because the numbers were taken at two and a half, now it's actually higher. Two and a half years, including the tax cuts, which are massive, and including all of the regulatory cuts, and the other things you've gotten, 10,000 dollars. Think of it. [cheers and applause]
So you have eight years, 450. Eight years, 975. Two and a half years, think of it, 10,000 dollars. It's one of the reasons the economy is doing so well. And let the people down the road tell you about that, okay? Let them tell you about that. And those tractors that I told you to buy, your tractors will be 60 years old if they have anything to do with it. They'll be 60 years old. They'll be old, tired, exhausted. Your land will be exhausted. You'll be exhausted.
We've ended the war on American energy. The United States is now the number one producer of oil and natural gas anywhere on Earth, by far. [cheers and applause] We're also proudly promoting American ethanol, and I recently approved E15 to be used all year round! [cheers and applause] Biofuel also, but the socialist Democrats wanna shut down American energy. They support Representative Ocasio-Cortez. [cheers and applause]
That's a real beauty. That's a real beauty. That's a beauty. I can't even believe it, but I don't wanna knock it, because the Green New Deal, which would crush our farms, destroy our wonderful cows. I love cows. They wanna kill our cows. You know why, right? You know why?
Crowd Member. Why?
The President. Don't say it. They wanna kill our cows. That means you are next. And they wanna wipe out, totally, Iowa ethanol. They wanna wipe it out. But we will never let that side get in, and by the way, that's the least of it. But I don't wanna attack the Green New Deal, because they may change it.
They said to me the other day, they said, "What do you think of the Green New Deal?" I said, "Well, it should be studied carefully. We should look at it, look at it closely. I don't wanna talk about until about two months before the election. And then I'll tell you how totally insane it is."
How about this crazy, crazy senator from Hawaii? They said, "I'm totally in favor," not the smartest. She said, "I'm totally in favor of the Green New Deal." Well, that would mean there's no more airplanes. "Oh!" So they started screaming at her in Hawaii, they said, "How the hell are we gonna get to Hawaii?" They said, "We're gonna build a railroad." She said that would be "the world's longest track." It's the world's longest. She doesn't know that they don't want airplanes anymore, and yet they fly around in brand-new Gulfstreams, in brand-new planes all over the place. They're flying from place to place. They're talking about the carbon footprint. "We're gonna destroy the carbon footprint! What time is my plane taking off, please?"
To lift up forgotten communities, the Republican tax cut launched opportunity zones, jobs, and investment, and now rushing into over 60 newly—and this is incredible, brand, newly designated opportunity zones right here in Iowa alone. Rich people are investing vast amounts of money. Tim Scott, Senator Tim Scott, South Carolina, came into my office. He said, "I have an idea that I've wanted to do for years, but we have never had a president that could pull it off." I said, "What is it, Tim?" And he talked about opportunity zones, first time I heard it. And we did it, and there is nothing, nobody has ever seen anything like it. Money is being poured into these communities that would have never been there. What's happening is incredible. Opportunity zones. Remember it.
For decades, politicians ran for office, promising to protect American farmers and workers. You've heard it all your lives, right? But then, they went to Washington. They looked at those beautiful marble columns, and that gorgeous ceiling painted, and all that gold, the way they used to build the buildings, they don't build them that way anymore. We could, but they just don't know how. By the way, we're building the wall. You know the wall is over 100 miles long. It's over 100 miles long already and moving fast.
So they went to Washington and they sold you out. That's what happened. They sold your jobs out. They sold everything out. Globalist politicians allowed other countries to raid our factories, ravage our farms, rob our workers, and ransack our communities. But the era of economic surrender is over, because now we are finally putting America first, America first. [cheers and applause]
Crowd. [chanting] USA! USA! USA! USA!
The President. Before I took office, Washington looked the other way while China stole our secrets from American agriculture. You know, your business, what they do scientifically, nobody understands what they have done to a seed. It doesn't sound complicated. It is genius, what they've been able to do, what you've been able to do. But those secrets were being stolen, stolen. And installed massive barriers to your exports. You couldn't do anything with exports, so people, not only China, many, many other places were stealing your secrets.
Our new agreement with China will protect our intellectual property and pry open vast new markets for American beef, pork, poultry, seafood, soybeans, rice, dairy, and much, much more. [cheers and applause]
The President. But you know, it is true. China's so big, 1.5 billion people. We have 350. 1.5 billion people, think of that, and we are just touching it. This deal will be so big. If it all works out, and you have the best product, the best product in the world, if it all works out, it'll just keep expanding. 250 billion will end up being much, much more than that. [cheers and applause]
And you know, I've told this story before, when we were signing, we were almost finished and I said, "How much are the farmers getting?" Meaning how much are they gonna purchase from the farmers. And Ambassador Lighthizer said, "We put 20, 20 billion, sir. The highest ever was 16, so we made it 20." I said "Make it 50." [cheers and applause] They said, "What?" And then people, even farm people, said, "Sir, we can't produce that much." I said, "That's a good problem, not a bad problem." I said, "Make it 50," so we now have, in the contract, from 40 to 50 billion dollars' worth of purchase." Make it 50, make it 50! [cheers and applause] Right, Jared? I said, "Jared, you better make it 50."
I want those farmers to come back, say, "Sir, sir, we can't do it. We can't produce that much, sir, what are you doing to us?" I don't think that would ever happen? Do you think that would happen? [shouting] I said they'll figure a way. He's going "Absolutely not." Nah, I said, "Don't make it 20, make it 50."
The USMCA is another colossal victory for American agriculture like you have never had before. It's time. You know, we suffered for a year and a half, almost two years. Think of it, but not really because I was able to give you those, I won't call them subsidies. I made that mistake once with the farmers. I said to this group of farmers that came in, "Subsidy." I used the word "subsidy." That was the worst word, "Sir, we don't want subsidy! Please don't ever use that word." I said, "I won't, I promise."
Crowd Member. Amen!
The President. But we helped. And it will increase total agriculture exports by more than 2 billion dollars annually. Think of that, including the huge dairy in Iowa, dairy, pork and poultry alone, so two billion just in those small fields. [cheers and applause] Just in that small, little grouping where you were doing nothing. It's called promises made, promises kept. [cheers and applause] Promises made—true.
The last time I came, I never did this before, I never ran, so they all said, "You never ran before. You can't do this if you never ran," so whatever happened, it happened. One by one, they started dropping out, right? And then I was left with one, Hillary Clinton—[laughter]—and that worked out very nicely. "He cannot get to 270," remember, 270, electoral college. "He cannot get to 270."
I went to Maine. It's true, Maine, too. It's got one point, right, one. I went there a lot, many times. Everyone said, well, they kept getting me, maybe if I have a great night, 269, but 269 loses. Right? But we got 306 to 223. [cheers and applause] Three-oh-six, 223, so they were right, "You cannot get to 270, you get to 306, but not to 270."
In the eight years before my election, net farm income plummeted by 20%, you know that. I got here--if you look at a chart, for 15 years actually, not eight, for 15 years, it's like a roller coaster ride down for the farmer. Soybeans. Take a look at it all. It was just a one-way street. Everybody was ripping off the American farmer. Now you're gonna see numbers that are gonna be great. Look at even what's happened recently. It's incredible what's going on and I love it, because you deserve it. You suffered a lot, with people that were stupid. They were stupid! Under three years of my administration, net farm income has already gone up nearly 50% and will now be rising even faster. What are you gonna do? You gonna vote for Bernie? You gonna vote for Bernie?
Here I am on the debate stage, "Well, net income's gone up for the farmers 50%." Tell me, how the hell do I lose this debate? How do I lose? And based on the polls, I guess I'm not gonna lose in this state. I don't think I'll lose in any other state either. [cheers and applause] Because this is really true all over the country. This is happening all over the country, not just Iowa.
On no issue have Washington Democrats more thoroughly betrayed the American people than on immigration. Illegal immigration costs our nation hundreds of billions of dollars, drains public services, overcrowds our schools and hospitals, and threatens innocent American lives at a number that you wouldn't even believe. But we've got it closed up, but we're getting your people in. You have people that have worked for you for a long time, don't you? I know the people that you have, and they are hard workers. We have a lot of great people. You have a lot of great people out there. Right here in Des Moines, a twice-deported, illegal alien was charged with shooting and killing a woman, her 11-year-old daughter, and her five-year-old son.
In this region of the county alone, last year, ICE officers arrested nearly 4,000 illegal aliens charged or convicted of heinous crimes, including robbery, rape, and murder.
Yet today's Democrat party glorifies illegal immigration. We have no idea, now we do now, but people would come in by the hundreds of thousands. We have no idea who they are. Many are fine people and all of that, but some are stone-cold rapists, and murderers, and people that their countries don't want, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and even Mexico. Right now we have a love affair with Mexico because the Democrats, the Democrats wouldn't give us what we needed and I got Mexico, they're great. They put up 27,000 soldiers on our southern border and the numbers are plummeting, 87% down. [cheers and applause]
So the president of Mexico is doing a great job. And we ended catch and release. You think that was easy? Catch and release, you know what catch and release is? You catch a criminal, you take the number, and you release him into the-- They never come back. We say, "Come back please in three years," this is a Democrat deal. "Come back if you don't mind, in three years." We release them into our country. We totally ended it through a very, very slick group of rules. [cheers and applause]
Catch and release. "May we please have your address and your phone number?" "Yes!" "What have you done?" "I got out of jail." "Oh, well, welcome to the United States. Please, may we have a little information? Okay, and now we're gonna release you, and in three and a half years, we schedule a court appearance for you." Do you believe, this is the only country in the world. They catch somebody on the border. You're supposed to be Perry Mason. You take them to court. Other countries catch somebody at the border. They say, " Sorry, you gotta get out." We say, "Oh, may we have your information? We're taking you to court." [laughter] Man.
Today's Democrat party glorifies illegal immigration, vilifies the heroes of law enforcement, and pledges to dissolve immigration control entirely. They want open borders. They want hundreds of thousands of people to flow into our country. And some of those people, some of those people are stone-cold killers. Some of those people, in the caravans, right? I came up with that name but they won't give me credit for that. They don't give me credit for anything. They don't give me credit for fake news. Wasn't that my term? Now they say, I see CNN, they said, "Fake news has reported," no, no, you're fake news, that fake news is you. You're fake news. [booing]
They turned the term around. They're reporting that fake news is reporting, they're fake news. Left-wing politicians even support deadly sanctuary cities that release criminal aliens directly into American communities. We don't want them. In New York City, the Mayor's sanctuary policy recently forced the release of a criminal illegal alien charged with assault. After being set free, the same criminal raped, brutalized, and murdered a 92 year-old woman. [booing] They wouldn't give him to the ICE warriors. They're warriors. They're tough and they love our country. They're very tough and they love our country. [cheers and applause] And they're taking MS-13 gang members--they're about as tough as you get--and they're taking them out of our country by the thousands. By the thousands. That's a tough job but they love to do it. They love our country.
Sanctuary city policies aren't just wrong, they're immoral, and they're lethal, and they really are something that has to be stopped. They have to be stopped now. What's happening is a disgrace. [cheers and applause]
Thankfully here in Iowa, your great Republican governor, sometimes referred to as Governor Reynolds, signed a state-wide ban on sanctuary cities. Thank you, Kim. That is why we need to elect more Republicans nationwide, to end sanctuary cities in all 50 states. Thank you, Kim Reynolds. [cheers and applause] You know, I endorsed her, so I wanna take full credit for the job she's done. [laughter] I endorsed her very early, right? Very early I endorsed her. I know talent. She's done a great job.
Democrats stand for crime, corruption, and chaos. Republicans stand for law, order, and justice. It's true. [cheers and applause] We are finding the illegal game members, drug dealers, predators, and we are throwing them the hell out of our country, ideally. And we don't wanna put them in prison because you know what? We gotta pay for them for the next 50 years, but sometimes we have to. If they're too dangerous we have no choice.
Thanks to our tireless efforts to secure the border we have reduced illegal border crossings seven straight months in a row, and they're getting lower, and lower. [cheers and applause] And shockingly, as that wall gets longer, the crossings get less. Remember the Democrats? "You don't need a wall. You don't need a wall. You don't need it." Seven years ago they all voted for it, they just didn't have the ability to build it. You know it's not easy, with land, and this, and that, and property, and rights. They couldn't figure it out but I can figure it out. The problem was we couldn't get the money, but we got all the money we need now. We have everything. We have everything. [cheers and applause] And you know, the last time, this last budget, they didn't really fight us on the wall. You know why? Because they learned it's a really bad issue for them. It's a really bad issue. But I made one mistake with the wall. I should've said, "We will never ever build a wall." They would've given me so much money to build a wall. That was my only-- Because I used to go, "We will build the wall," right? That was a mistake. I should have said, "We will never ever build it. Under no circumstances," and they would have forced its building and I would have said, "Okay." [cheers and applause]
And by the way, in all due respect, you know who's gonna pay for the wall, right? [shouting] No, no, they play-- The fake news plays. No, no, through remittance, illegal aliens from Mexico are going to pay for the wall. That's what it is. Remittance. 100% because when I say something I mean it. I said I was gonna build a wall.
You think it's easy when you have a party that controls the House, you gotta end that. You gotta end that. They said they picked up the House in '18 but I didn't run in '18. You know, big difference when you run, '16 I ran, '18 I didn't run. And they did, they picked up, they picked up some seats. I didn't run, but I'm running this time and we've gotta take back the House. Kevin McCarthy will be a great Speaker of the House. Kevin McCarthy will be a great Speaker, watch. [cheers and applause]
But getting something built when you have a party that controls one of the three, getting it built is-- Honestly I don't wanna brag, nobody else could have done it. Nobody else could have done it. And it's the real deal wall. It's the wall that border security wanted. Remember I thought I could just build concrete slabs? They didn't want that because you have to be able to see through. I said, "Oh, come on." This is the expensive version. This is the best version. This is steel, and concrete, and rebar in between. It's--it's really something.
Did you see the other day where drug dealers got caught at the top? They couldn't get over. We had to get the fire department to get them down. They couldn't get over and they're like mountain climbers. They got used to climbing. They got caught because you know that panel? That's an anti-climb panel. It's very hot and very tough. It's a very hard panel to climb, the panel on top. Sometimes I'd say, "You know, I'd rather do without that panel," because I'm a very visual person. They said, "Sir that's anti-climb panel." I said, "Oh, it is? Okay, let's put it on. To hell with it." It's true. Anti-climb panel.
And the wall is the top of the line. That's what they wanted. Mostly 30 feet tall. That's very tall. That's maximum. And it's really doing a big trick. A lot--wherever we have it--100 miles is all of a sudden a lot, but where you have that it's incredible. 99.9%, especially when we're watching it. We're watching the sections.
Illegal crossings now are down 75% since last spring. [cheers and applause] And the powerful border wall is starting to set--I mean, pretty soon we'll be setting records in speed. It's going up very rapidly. Very rapidly. And you're seeing it all over and it's gonna be really something. Look, it would be nice if we didn't have to have it. It would be great, but we have to have it. They said, "Oh, we could have drones." Oh what are you going to do with drones flying around? When people are going through your border with nowhere -- They're gonna have drones flying around. They know because they were all for it. They were all for it. Now all of a sudden they're against, but they want drones. Well we're gonna have drones too but the drones are policing the wall.
In terms of human trafficking, people don't even talk about it. Because of the Internet, sadly, the worst in the history of our world. All over the world. Trafficking in women and children all over the world. All over the world. The worst it's ever been, but when we have this border it makes it very, very tough for them to come into the United States with women and with children stuffed in trunks in the back of a car. [cheers and applause]
The Washington Democrats have never been more extreme. One hundred and thirty-two congressional Democrats have signed up for Bernie Sanders' government healthcare takeover bill. It's a takeover of your healthcare that would strip all of those 180 million great Americans of your private coverage. You don't want that. You got great deals. You're able to negotiate, you're able to keep your doctor, keep your area, keep your hospitals, keep everything that you wanted. Now they wanna take it away. Report to an operating room when you have a cold, okay? In your local hospital. I don't think so. One hundred and eighty million people, but I'm not gonna knock it because I want Bernie to bring it right up to the end and we'll debate it the day before the election. Okay? [cheers and applause] We are saving your healthcare while socialist Democrats are trying to take away your healthcare.
And Sleepy Joe has no idea what he's even talking-- He doesn't even know what he's talking about. He's so lost. Honestly, that poor guys is so lost. They talk healthcare. She said, "It's over for him." It was over for him, actually, if you knew him, a long time ago. Now it's really over.
We are making healthcare better and cheaper. We got rid of the individual mandate, the most unpopular thing—[cheers and applause]—which essentially killed Obamacare. We are protecting people with pre-existing conditions and we always will, the Republican party. [cheers and applause] We're stopping surprise medical billing and making everything totally transparent. And I signed it already. Everything now is going to transparencies, where hospitals, doctors, everybody has to tell you how much things are costing. Watch those prices come down. [cheers and applause] Right? Right?
I have an expert on healthcare. He said transparency because it's a big deal. It's a big deal. Nobody else would have gotten it done, that I can tell you. Transparency is bigger than healthcare because you will see prices tumbling like you wouldn't believe. People go in for a blood test, they get charged 2,700 dollars. Down the road they get the same test for 57 dollars. The same exact test. Maybe it's better. Maybe it's better. It's crazy. When you have transparency it's all gonna come, you watch. You watch. But this person, a real expert, said, "This is bigger than healthcare," and I got it done. Unfortunately it won't really start kicking in until after the election because it takes a period of time. They have certain statutory requirements, et cetera.
Well, you better let me win. Can you imagine? Can you imagine? I did transparency, I took the guts, I did transparency and then I'm gonna watch as somebody else says, "Didn't he do a great job for transparency?" You better let me win because I want the credit for that one.
We're buying cheaper drugs from other countries and approving more generic drugs than ever, ever, ever before. We are defending your right to keep the doctor. We are defending your right to keep your plan. Remember Obama 28 times, "You can keep your doctor. You can keep your doctor"? 28. "You can also keep your plan. You can keep it. You can keep it." Twenty-eight times he lied. We should impeach him. [cheers and applause] No, he got it on a lie. He got it on a lie, but we've run it much better. But essentially it's totally different because of individual mandate. Because that really took the guts out of it and we're running it much better.
I had a choice, do we run it well or do we run it poorly? If we run it poorly everyone's gonna blame me. If we run it well everyone's gonna give him credit, especially the fakers back there, right? [laughter] But you know what? We gotta run it well but we're coming up with a healthcare that if we win the House we will have the best healthcare of any country in the world, by far. [cheers and applause]
We're fighting the lobbyists and we're fighting the special interest, in case you didn't notice. And we are serving only you. Thanks to our bold reforms we're now offering health plans that are 60% cheaper than Obamacare. We're offering a lot of different things. And we have just passed, recently, 10 months ago, Right to Try. I love Right to Try.
You know what that is? [cheers and applause] That's people are terminally ill and they can't use medicine because--and they've been trying to pass this, almost for 50 years--you can't use the medicine. We have the greatest doctors, labs, hospitals in the world. They come up with a medicine but it has to go through the FDA procedure, right? And you can't do anything. You can't use it. They won't let you use it. Now I have you sign an agreement, you're not gonna sue the United States, you're not gonna this, your family, et cetera, et cetera. Very simple. And they can use it. You have no idea the results that are taking place. You have no idea. [cheers and applause] You have no idea the results. People's lives are being saved.
For me it was simple. I said, "Wait a minute, you're worried about hurting somebody? These people are dying. They're terminally ill. They're admitting they're terminally ill and you won't let them use a drug that may work? Let them use the drug." And we're letting them use the drug and it's working in a lot of cases.
We have transformed veterans' healthcare, including VA Choice. The best. You know, I think I'm a totally brilliant human being. I think I'm the smartest person, so, so I came up with a plan. I'll never forget, I was in New Hampshire, I came up with this idea because everybody kept coming up to me and saying, "Sir, it's really terrible what's happening with healthcare. We're waiting in line for two weeks, for four weeks, for seven weeks." Honestly, people were waiting in line, they weren't very sick, they were terminally ill, truthfully, before they saw a doctor. By the time they got to the doctor. So I came up with this incredible plan. Only I could think of this. I said, "Here's what you do. Here's what you do, if somebody can't get a doctor quickly," because we have great doctors at the VA. They don't get enough credit. "If you can't get to a doctor quickly you go outside, you go locally, you get a doctor, we pay the bill, you get yourself all better." Right?
So I went back. I went back and I told my people, "Do you have any idea how smart I am? Listen to this plan I have." They said, "Actually sir, we've known about that plan for 52 years, we just couldn't get it approved." So I said, "Oh, that's too bad, I thought it was brilliant," but what I am good at is getting things approved and I got it approved and people are using it and it's great. [cheers and applause]
And I know the people of Iowa don't care about this but we are making substantial investments in rural healthcare. We are combating the opioid epidemic. Drug overdose deaths have declined for the first time in nearly 31 years. That's a great thing. [cheers and applause] And our great First Lady is helping us with that. That is such a big thing for Melania. [cheers and applause] Big, big thing. She is really involved.
And we will never let the Democrats give away your healthcare to illegal immigrants, especially when we say, "Come in. Come in, we'll give you healthcare." You know, it's one thing they come in and it's a rough situation because we all have hearts but when people are saying, like in California this wacky governor, he says, "Come in, we're gonna give you healthcare. We're gonna give you free education. We're gonna give you everything. We're gonna give you a beautiful Rolls-Royce." See to show you how fake they are one of the newscasters said, "Donald Trump said that the governor of California promised a Rolls-Royce to illegal immigrants. He didn't promise them. This was a lie and a misrepresentation by President Trump." They can't take a little humor. They can't take it. These people are sick. They're sick. [booing] No. They're sick people.
Them and Shifty Schiff is a very sick person. He lies awake at night shifting and turning, Shifty. Shifting and turning in his bed, sweating like a dog. "How am I gonna get him? He didn't do anything wrong, how am I gonna get him?" Oh what a sick guy he is.
Virtually every top Democrat also now supports late-term abortion, ripping babies straight from the mother's womb. [booing] Right up until the moment of birth. That is why I have asked Congress to prohibit extreme late-term abortion, because Republicans believe that every child is a sacred gift from God. [cheers and applause]
Democrats are now the party of high taxes, high crime, open borders, late-term abortion, socialism, and blatant corruption. No matter how you cut it, that's what it is. The Republican party is the party of the American worker, the American family, the American dream, and the late great Abraham Lincoln. You know that, right? Abraham Lincoln. Honest Abe.
Remember I always said, "I can be more presidential than any other past president, other than perhaps Abraham Lincoln when he's wearing the hat," right? [laughter] Because it's easy to be presidential but only have about three people in front of me. Be a, "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Is everything okay in Iowa? Oh I see, the world is ripping you off. Well, there's not a thing I can do about that. Thank you. Good night everybody. Good night." No, we gotta do it the right way. Republicans ...
And by the way, can I be honest? Doing this takes far more talent than doing that. Doing that is very easy. This is not easy. Especially when you just left Michigan, and you just left other places—[cheers and applause]—and you got maniacs doing a number on you all the time for three years. You got the maniacs for three years. I think before I came down the escalator with our future First Lady I think really they were doing it then. They started even before I came down on the escalator. These people are maniacs, so you have all that. So you're fighting that and you're doing farm bills.
We got your farm bill approved by the way. We got your farm bill approved. [cheers and applause] I don't even mention that because that's massive by any other standard, but it's peanuts compared to the USMCA and the China deal, right? So I don't even mention it.
Anyway, Republicans are fighting for citizens from every background and from every race, religion, color, and creed. It's true. And our numbers with African-American workers, people, are through the roof. Are through the roof because-- [cheers and applause] Remember I used to say, "What do you have to lose?" I'd read the down the worst on crime, the worst on education. They got this, they got that, they got 10 different things, all horrible. And one day I'm in front of this tremendous group of people and I'm reading this list, African-American, they have the highest crime rate, they have the highest this, they have the worst education, they have the worst schools, they have the worst-- I said, "Stay with me," because they were with the Democrats for a hundred years, more. I said, "Stay with me. What the hell do you have to lose?"
And you know what? You know what? Remember that? [cheers and applause] And now they have the best employment and unemployment numbers, they have the best poverty numbers, they have numbers that nobody would believe. They're doing so great. It's so great to see it. It's incredible. Youth unemployment, African-American youth. [cheers and applause] It's been great.
We're asking all Americans to join our incredible movement. We are a big tent and a big party with big, bold, beautiful ideas for the future. We're what the country was based on originally. It was called greatness. It was called greatness. [cheers and applause]
And, during National School Choice Week, School Choice, everybody, we continue our fight to rescue children trapped in failing government schools. Iowa became one of the first states to pass School Choice. That was over 10 years ago. Now Governor Reynolds, Senator Ernst, Senator Grassley, and more than 100 members of Congress are supporting our plan to give School Choice to every child in America who needs it. It's a great plan. [cheers and applause]
To give former prisoners a second chance at life we passed criminal justice reform. [cheers and applause] Think of that. Think of that. We had a lot of great conservatives who wanted it, we had liberals who wanted it. They couldn't get it passed. President Obama couldn't even come close. He didn't try too hard. He talked like, "Oh, I'll try."
To uphold the rule of law we have confirmed 191 federal judges, a record, who will interpret the Constitution as written. [cheers and applause] And two great Supreme Court justices, by the way. [cheers and applause] As part of-- Right? Two great ones.
As part of my commitment to rebuild our military we secured an 8.5 million-dollar facility to support our Iowa Guardsmen at Camp Dodge, right here in Des Moines, Iowa. Right here, Camp Dodge. Camp Dodge, everybody. We take care of Camp Dodge.
I recognized Israel's true capital and opened the American embassy in Jerusalem. [cheers and applause] We recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. [cheers and applause] And yesterday we just released a historic new plan for peace. We're gonna to see if we can get that done.
Crowd Member. We love you!
The President. It's one of the toughest deals of all. One of the toughest deals, but we have a shot at it.
For years you watched as your politicians apologized for our country. They apologized. They would say, "I'm sorry." Now you have a president who is standing up for America and we are standing up for the great people of Iowa. We are standing up for Iowa. [cheers and applause]
At stake in our present battle is the survival, frankly, of our nation. Look, you know, I can make this speech really short. All I have to do is say, "Hello Iowa, you have no choice. You have to vote for me. Otherwise everything that you've built in your entire life will be gone. Goodbye Iowa, have a good time." Instead I work my ass off up here, okay? [cheers and applause] Yeah. True. Do you think this is easy? It's a little hot in this room. This room wasn't designed for this many people.
If you want your children to inherit the blessings that generations of Americans have fought and died for, then we must devote everything we have toward victory in November of 2020. We have to. [cheers and applause]
And by the way, for those beautiful farmers that wanna leave your small farms or businesses to your children, because of our great tax bill, the biggest tax cut in the history of our country, the biggest that you benefit by. Because of that there is no death tax or inheritance tax, as they call it. [cheers and applause] So I always say, "If you love your children that's a great thing. If you don't love your children don't leave it to them—[laughter]—and that particular tax won't matter." But if you love--is there anybody here that does not love your children? Is there anybody here who loves your children? [cheers and applause] Well it's Iowa. It's Iowa. You love your children. You know you have no tax to pay, you leave your ...
In the old days, meaning before Trump, what would happen? You'd leave your farm, they'd assess your farm for a massive amount that kids would go out to a bank, they'd borrow money up to their, up to their eyeballs and they'd end up losing the farm. Now you can leave your farm--and they did that to pay the tax. Now you can leave your farm, you don't pay inheritance tax or estate tax. [cheers and applause] No, it's great. So when you're looking down at your children, you're saying, "Oh, did you get lucky? Did you get lucky? Look at them, they're enjoying life."
But only this way can we save the America we love and drain the Washington swamp once and for all. That swamp is bad. That swamp is bad. I had no idea it was gonna be this sick and this degenerated. It's a degenerate swamp. I had no idea. When I came out, I said, "We're gonna drain this swamp." I had no idea that the swamp was that evil, but we're winning. We're winning because we're in The White House. [cheers and applause] We're winning.
With your help we will lift millions more of our citizens from welfare to work, dependence to independence, and poverty to prosperity. That's what's happening all over our country. Together we will elect a Republican Congress to create a fair, safe, sane, and lawful system of immigration. It's already happening. We will continue to enact new trade deals that result in more products made, raised, farmed, and grown right here in the USA. We will achieve new breakthroughs in science and medicine, finding new cures for childhood cancer and ending the AIDS epidemic in America in less than 10 years. We've already started.
Should have been started in the last administration. Incredible. Should have been started earlier, but we started. In less than 10 years, the AIDS epidemic will be eradicated, will be gone. Who would have thought? Who would have thought that was possible? When they came in and told me that a couple of years ago, I said, "Really? Nobody knows that." Incredible, the strides that we've made.
We will defend privacy, free speech, religious liberty, and the right to keep and bear arms. [cheers and applause] In the state of Virginia they wanna take your guns away, you believe it? Virginia, I love Virginia. [booing] Of all states, they wanna take your guns away. The Democrats. Not gonna happen.
Above all, we will never stop fighting for the sacred values that bind us together as one America. We are one great America. [cheers and applause] We support, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. We stand with the incredible heroes of law enforcement. [cheers and applause] We believe in the dignity of work and the sanctity of life. [cheers and applause] We believe that family and faith, not government bureaucracy, are the true American way, not government bureaucracy. We believe that children should be taught to love our country, honor our history, and to always respect our great American flag. [cheers and applause] And we live by the words of our national motto, "in God we trust." We live by those words, "in God we trust."
From Cambridge, good old Cambridge. Who's from Cambridge here please? Cambridge. What the hell do I mention it for when there's two people here? Can I say it anyway? I'll say it anyway. Good place Cambridge. Good, he said it's amazing. Well, from Cambridge to Council Bluffs, from Cedar Rapids, where I made my last speech prior to the election. What a place, 32,000 people. I said, "I'm gonna win tomorrow." To Rock Rapids, from Melbourne to Moorhead, and from Davenport to right here in Des Moines, Iowa. [cheers and applause] We stand on the shoulders of true red-blooded American heroes.
This great state was founded by tough, tough, tough frontiermen [sic]. These are tough people. Let's see how big and how tough. They're tough.
Crowd Member. [unintelligible]
The President. Anybody like to join ICE? You wanna join ICE? He says, "No thank you." And strong pioneer women who defied the dangers to carve out a life and a beautiful home with great families and great neighbors. They tamed the wilderness, braved the elements, tilled the soil, planted the fields, and helped make this the greatest nation ever to exist on the face of the Earth and we are making it greater and greater every single day. [cheers and applause]
Crowd. [chanting] USA! USA! USA! USA!
The President. Proud citizens like you helped to build this country and together we are taking back our country. [cheers and applause] We are returning power to you, the American people, where it has always belonged. It's coming back to you, you see that. [cheers and applause] With your help, your devotion, and your drive we are going to keep on working and we are going to keep on fighting and we are going to keep on winning, winning, winning. [cheers and applause]
We are one movement, one people, one family, and one glorious nation under God. [cheers and applause] America is thriving like never before, and ladies and gentlemen, and especially the great ladies and gentlemen of Iowa, the best is yet to come. [cheers and applause] True, true. Because together we will make America wealthy again. [cheers and applause] We will make America strong again. [cheers and applause] We will make America proud again. [cheers and applause] We will make America safe again. [cheers and applause] And we will make America great again. Thank you, Iowa. Thank you. Thank you. [cheers and applause]
[Music: The Rolling Stones, You Can't Always Get What You Want.]
NOTE: The President spoke at the Knapp Center at Drake University. Also speaking were Vice President Mike Pence, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, and White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. The president spoke for about 1 hour and 20 minutes.
This transcript prepared for the American Presidency Project by UCSB student research assistant Katya Kiseleva.
Donald J. Trump, Remarks at a "Keep America Great" Rally in Des Moines, Iowa Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/351198
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