Harris told him she was proud to have earned the nomination, and spent several minutes blasting Trump over issues related to democracy, concluding by saying “I think, frankly, sir, that is why some former Trump supporters are supporting me. I think January 6th, for a lot of people, was just a bridge too far”:
MR. ACEVEDO: Thank you, Martha. Thank you, Madam Vice President.
Our next question comes over here from Mario Sigbaum. He was born in Uruguay but became a U.S. citizen 28 years ago. He lives in California. Mario, (speaks Spanish).
Q Sí.
MR. ACEVEDO: Tu pregunta, por favor.
Q (Speaks Spanish.)
MR. ACEVEDO: (Interpreting.) I’m reg- — registered as an independent.
Q (Speaks Spanish.)
MR. ACEVEDO: (Interpreting.) I voted Democrat and Republican, but I’m confused right now.
Q (Speaks Spanish.)
MR. ACEVEDO: (Interpreting.) You became a candidate without going through the primary sort of caucus, like it usually happens.
Q (Speaks Spanish.)
MR. ACEVEDO: (Interpreting.) I’m right now leaning towards Trump, but I haven’t made a decision. I’m also concerned about the way I feel President Biden was pushed aside.
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Oh.
Q (Speaks Spanish.)
MR. ACEVEDO: (Interpreting.) I think it’s extraordinary circumstances, given how close we are to the election.
(Speaks Spanish.) (Laughs.) The question, Mario.
Q (Speaks Spanish.)
MR. ACEVEDO: (Interpreting.) How do you respond to this process and how you —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Sure. And —
MR. ACEVEDO: (Interpreting.) — how you got the candidacy?
THE VICE PRESIDENT: First of all, thank you for being so candid and allowing me to answer the question. Thank you.
President Biden made a decision that I think history will show was probably one of the most courageous that a president could make, which is he decided to put country above his personal interest. And he made that decision. He very — within that same period of time, supported my candidacy and urged me to run. He and I have been partners for the last four years as his vice president to — to him as the president.
And I am honored to have earned the Democratic nomination. I am honored to have the endorsement of people from every walk of life. You will probably find that I probably have a bigger coalition of people who couldn’t seem to be more different than each other, who have come together around my candidacy — from 200 Republicans who worked with and for both Presidents Bush, John McCain, Mitt Romney; including Liz Cheney, the former congresswoman, and her father, the former vice president, Dick Cheney, who is supporting me; former members — very esteemed members, including generals, of the national security community. I have the endorsement and support of Alberto G- — Gonzales, most recently, who, of course, was attorney general.
I have the support of people from every background, and I believe this is the reason why: It is incredibly important — and I know you and I can see you are a patriot — that we have the president of the United States who honors the oath that they take to support the Constitution of the United States.
There is a huge contrast in this election. Donald Trump has said he will be a dictator on day one. Many people come from backgrounds and countries of origin, and we know what that means when you’re talking about someone who wants to be president of the United States and wants to be a dictator and what that means in terms of taking freedoms from their people.
Donald Trump has said he would weaponize the Department of Justice against his political enemies. I urge you to look at Project 2025, and you will see. He will strip the Department of Justice of its independence and put in and hire across the board, instead of career public servants, his people, who are his loyalists.
Donald Trump said he would — and I’m using a quotation — “terminate” the Constitution of the United States. Imagine. The Constitution of the United States, which guarantees the Fourth Amendment against unreasonable search and seizure by a government on you; the Fifth Amendment; the Sixth Amendment.
So, I believe that the stakes right now are extraordinarily high and potentially — some might say, historians have said — unprecedented. And so, maybe the whole situation, including your point, is a bit unprecedented, but this is an unusual time, where we are literally having a choice, as the American people, about choosing a path either that is about rule of law, democracy, or something that is about admiring dictators and autocracy.
Did you see the most recent report about the COVID — we talked about COVID — the COVID test? The most recent report: Donald Trump, according to that report, during the height of COVID — I’m sure there are people here who have family members or friends who died, and he secretly shipped off COVID tests to Vladimir Putin of Russia, when people by the hundreds were dying every day.
D- — President Biden and I would work on it, because disproportionately Latinos and African Americans were dying.
So, I present that to you, sir, to say this is an extraordinary time. It’s an extraordinary time. And what is being presented to the voters of America right now is a real choice and a real difference — so fundamental. This is not about a debate on trickle-down economic theory. It’s literally about: Do we support our democracy and the Constitution of the United States, or are we going to go on the path of somebody who is a sore loser and lost the election in 2020 and tried to have a violent mob undo it? A violent mob that attacked the United States Capitol, that injured 140 uniformed law enforcement officers — some died — to undo the will of the American people in a free and fair election.
And I think, frankly, sir, that is why some former Trump supporters are supporting me. I think January 6th, for a lot of people, was just a bridge too far. It was just one step too far.
So, I hope to earn your vote, and I thank you for your candor. Thank you.
.
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