ANNOTATED:
Good evening, #Resistance! Throughout this week, I’ve tried to offer something political to talk about that isn’t filled with fear-mongering, flat-out lies & Russian propaganda. I’ve tried to talk strategically about every way we can increase turnout & maximize the
Good evening, #Resistance! Throughout this week, I’ve tried to offer something political to talk about that isn’t filled with fear-mongering, flat-out lies & Russian propaganda. I’ve tried to talk strategically about every way we can increase turnout & maximize the
margin by which @JoeBiden will defeat Donald Trump. But if we need anymore reminding of just what kind of moment this election, I want you to help remind someone you know just what it is they’re thinking of voting for. Right now, there are many people throughout the #Resistance
who have decided to watch what will be the #TrumpVirus acceptance speech for their own personal reasons while many of us have gone the other way for our own reasons. To be honest, I really didn’t see the point in it. For one, the psychological aspect would be completely one-sided
as #TrumpVirus would be getting the ratings he so desperately craves while I would just get more infuriated by the gaslighting & falsehoods throughout. For those #Resisters who could withstand that, you are quite tough & should be commended. But the other reason one might
actually watch the speech is to be informed or to learn something new. At this point, there’s not anything I could learn watching this speech that I didn’t already know. I already know that he is claim that nobody’s done more for #COVID19 without showing any real empathy for the
the 180,000 Americans who have lost their lives. I already know that he will claim he built an economy back from the ashes when the story he’s telling is about the #ObamaBiden administration. I know he will claim that the United States is more respected around the world when the
reality is that we’re thought of so little that foreign services are afraid to share intel with us & nearly all countries around the world won’t let Americans in due to how badly we’ve handled #COVID19. I know he will claim that we’re safer than we were 4 years ago when
North Korea & Iran are greater nuclear threats & Russia goes unquestioned in meddling in our elections & other world affairs. I know he will claim he’s done more for Black & Hispanic communities than anyone when we all know that both his policies & his lifetime of discrimination
show him to be a dirty, old racist. I know he will claim he’s the candidate of #LawAndOrder when we know he’s broken every law from bank fraud to tax evasion, from obstruction of justice to sexual assault & rape. Not to mention the 7 indicted associates, 6 of which have either
plead or found guilty as well as many more who have clearly committed crimes but have yet to be charged. He is estimated to have told over 20,000 lies just since January 20, 2017, but there’s one big broad lie that should stand out over most. A lie that has been bought the
the hardest by those who have supported Donald Trump the most ardently over the last 4 years. It’s the lie that he puts America First, when the thing that Donald Trump always puts first is Donald Trump. The most common occurrence of this is anything having to do with either the
sanctity of American election or in dealing with Vladimir Putin. Those two things tend to come together in a consistent pattern from accepting & welcoming Wikileaks dumps to his taking Putin’s word over his intelligence people in Helsinki. His dereliction of duty to protect our
elections as well as our troops from bounties has shown unprecedented weakness & emboldened not just Putin, but all foreign adversaries to do what they wish.
He could’ve put America first by advocating the proper measures to protect us from #COVID19, but instead he ignored the
He could’ve put America first by advocating the proper measures to protect us from #COVID19, but instead he ignored the
scientists & prioritized profits first because he cared more about his re-election prospects than the sanctity of 180,000 American lives. He could’ve put America first by trying to heal the nation’s longstanding racial divisions, but he believes racial division benefits him
politically. He could’ve put America first by ensuring not just that ballots are delivered, but that all mail continued being delivered as usual, but he was willingly to sacrifice late checks & medications because he believes it will help him win re-election. Now if anyone on the
MAGA side happens to listen to this speech, they’re gonna dismiss a lot of what I’ve just said as “liberal tears.” That I’m just a sore loser because Trump won & that hate has blinded me to his greatness. Let me say something in response to that inevitable dig: I believe that
most people who consider themselves anti-Trump, #NeverTrump or part of the #Resistance deep down wish they could’ve been proven wrong about Donald Trump. Who wish he would be someone who rise to the job & be someone who tried to unite our country & who showed compassion for those
that have suffered the deepest loss. Personally, I can name 2 specific moments in time where I genuine hoped that Donald Trump would rise to the occasion. The first was late into the night following his acceptance speech where he struck a conciliatory tone, different from the
angry bombast we'd all grown accustomed to. It’s tradition that many who opposed the new President would at least want them to succeed. But after thinking it over, I realized that conciliatory guy wasn’t the true Donald Trump. And with the fact that @HillaryClinton pulled ahead
in the popular vote, any doubt that I was going to stop resisting was gone. But the following year on the night of October 1, I had just gotten home from a full shift at work when I had texted Nikki, the love of my life, who was at the Route 91 festival on the Strip. She quickly
replied that there was a shooting & that she was being taken to safety with her friends & many others. I turned on the local news & saw the reports of shots fired from Mandalay Bay, a hotel that I’ve actually had the privilege of staying in. I made sure to tell her mother & that
we Facetimed her as she waited in an airport hangar for the coast to clear. Soon, our @Sheriff_LVMPD announced that 50 people had died with hundreds more in hospitals across the city. The Strip was completely blocked off with each of us on different sides of the famed Las Vegas
Boulevard. She went to stay the night far on the other side of our home as I stayed up for much of the night in shock & in despair. After just a few hours of sleep, I woke to our dogs barking loudly. I looked outside to see a line of people to donate blood at the United Blood
Services that was literally behind our house. The line went around our coldesac & back out to the street, which was largely blocked off to allow certain vehicles quicker access.
Eventually, Nikki was dropped off nearby & we were reunited in a whole new world. Our city was
Eventually, Nikki was dropped off nearby & we were reunited in a whole new world. Our city was
grieving as hospital floors were covered in blood & questions arose about what exactly would drive someone to do the sinister act of mass murdering concertgoers. On top of press from all over the world, it was announced that Donald Trump was going to be coming to Las Vegas.
Knowing the way he would ignite tensions at the wrong moments, I told myself that he better not hurt this city.
He arrived here along with Melania, where he greeted the officers before visiting victims at the hospital. Afterwards, he made a public statement where the words he
He arrived here along with Melania, where he greeted the officers before visiting victims at the hospital. Afterwards, he made a public statement where the words he
spoke were right for the moment & not inflammatory. But I wanted this to be a moment where I could overlook every other thing that I hated about this man & believe that he could bring some solace to our city. I wanted to be able to look into his soul & know he cared for the
victims & their families. But as much as I wanted that, it just wasn’t there. His soul was empty & cold. He may have spoken all the right words, but it was clear it came one of his aides & not his heart. He may not have caused harm with his words or his presence, but based on his
narcissistic patterns, there’s an understandable explanation why he didn’t pour gasoline on the tragedy of 1 October. Since the victims of this strategy were country music fans at a country music festival, the assumption in Donald Trump’s mind must be that those are “his people.”
If you replaced country music with hip-hop & took Jason Aldean off the stage & replaced him with Jay-Z, maybe his calculation might have been very different. We know he’s not afraid to exploit tragedy when he thinks it suits his political agenda. He certainly did so after the
Pulse Nightclub shooting Orlando as well as the targeted killings inside a Wal-Mart in El Paso. A sense of empathy is a most basic trait of human decency & a trait so uniquely lacking in Donald Trump. We remember the comfort @BarackObama brought to the victims of so many
tragedies from Tucson to Aurora, from Newtown to Charleston. We remember George W. Bush going to Ground Zero & for a brief moment in time being able to rally our country around him in the aftermath of 9/11. We remember @BillClinton consoling Oklahoma City & Columbine following
their moment in need. We remember Ronald Reagan consoling the children who watched the Challenger explode as it "slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God." And had she been President, I know @HillaryClinton would’ve brought comfort to the city of Las Vegas.
2020
2020
has been the most tragic & testing year of recent memory. But once this year is in the past, everyday people will still need comforting from the loss of loved ones whether it be to #COVID19, a mass shooting or an unjustified death of a black man at the hands of the police. But
what can be different is that we will have a President who can & will comfort us in our times of need. @JoeBiden is someone who understands as well as anybody what it means to suffer the most debilitating loss one can bare. But he also understands as well as anybody how to
overcome that loss & to turn it into purpose. After losing his wife Neilia & his daughter Naomi in a horrific car crash, his sons Hunter & Beau laid in a hospital injured physically as well as emotionally. He was ready to give up the Senate seat he had just won, but ultimately
took the oath at his children’s bed side & what followed is a lifetime of public service. Some people will try to say that being in Washington so long makes you corrupt & swampy, but Washington has never gone to the head of @JoeBiden. Even as a Senator, he still made time to take
conversation & to this day, will give out his personal phone number to those who need a friend to reach out to. Joe Biden has never forgotten what public service means & that’s not serving himself, but we the people. It was that personal touch that helped lead @BarackObama to
make what he calls the best decision he ever made: Selecting him as his running mate in 2008. He helped Barack in every major issue that came across his desk from saving the economy from going into a full-blown depression to helping pass the landmark #AffordableCareAct. From
saving the auto industry to getting us into the Paris Climate Accord. From ending Osama Bin Laden’s shadow on us to helping achieve a deal that would prevent Iran from going nuclear. While 8 years has worn down the relationship between other recent Presidents & their VPs,
@BarackObama & @JoeBiden remained closely knit throughout their time in office with a bromance for the ages that inspired many online memes & GIFs. But all of the testaments to his greatness as Vice President was how Joe persevered through the loss of Beau Biden to brain cancer.
Losing one child in life is soul-crushing but losing a second child would be do much to bare for some. @JoeBiden suffered this loss while serving in one of the hardest jobs in the world & yet continued to serve honorably as our Vice President. No doubt @BarackObama helped Joe
persevere as he assigned him head of a “cancer moonshot” to make advancements when it came to dealing with cancer. You could also say it was Barack’s way of comforting & consoling Joe’s loss the way Joe had comforted & consoled so many in his life. @JoeBiden’s decency & lifetime
of public service speaks for itself. He doesn’t need to run for President or any office to gain any respect or admiration, but he is doing so because the soul of America is at stake in 2020 in a way it hasn’t been in any modern election. He’s running to ensure that this country
remains the beacon of freedom of the world & to free us from the dark forces that seek to turn us into something less free, less equal. But if you know someone who questions whether @JoeBiden can tackle the obstacles in front of us, the answer is simple: He can do it because
he’s done it before. He can tackle the current pandemic because he helped curve previous diseases in H1N1 & Ebola. He can build our economy back better because he helped build back our economy following the financial collapse of 2008. He can take on the NRA & gun manufacturers
because he’s done so as a Senator helping to pass an Assault Weapons ban that needs renewing. But when it comes to our national mood, he can lift us through our darkness because his life story is a testament to his ability to lift himself from the hardest losses one can bare.
When an American community suffers a natural disaster or a dark tragedy, he’s not going to care whether that state voted for him or whether the state & local officials were nice enough to him. He’s going to muster the power of the federal government to help those communities
#BuildBackBetter because he isn’t going to be a blue state President, he will be an American President. He will actually spend time doing the tenets of the job, reading his national security briefings instead of worrying about every little slight said about him on cable news. He
knows the true difference between America’s friends & America’s adversaries. He will stand up for democracy where people seek to be free & tell Vladimir Putin to his face that there are consequences for meddling in our elections & placing bounties on our troops. He will accept
the responsibilities the job of President entails & admit when he makes a mistake. He can say the phrase #BlackLivesMatter & back it up with policies that aim to improve black wealth, protect the sanctity of black life & ensure #AfricanAmerican votes aren’t suppressed. He will
stand up for the children who have been ripped from their parents & put into cages, ending family separation & treating these kids with the dignity & decency they deserve. He will also stand up for the rights of women from issues of income gaps to what it is women do with their
bodies. And as the author of the Violence Against Women Act, he would stand up for victims of domestic violence & aim to restore that legislation. You might hear someone either close to you or on your social media say something akin to “Well, there’s no real difference between
Joe Biden & Donald Trump.” If you hear this, you need to remind them of just how starkly different the 2 candidates are. There’s no doubt that Joe Biden is the candidate of empathy, leadership & the one who actually has a vision for this nation. You can go to the Joe's Vision
page on his website & see dozens of detailed plans for everything from how to rebound from #COVID19 to improving on & making an even bigger deal on the ACA to plans for various racial & religious minorities in this country. This election is the most joebiden.com/joes-vision/
important of all our lifetimes. While getting @JoeBiden elected & removing the #TrumpVirus is existential, what’s just as important is the margin by which we do so. We can’t settle for a narrow victory & let Trump or any of his supporters cling to any narrative about the result
being rigged or for any of them to think the Trump ideology has any future in this country. We need a victory so huge that it forces many Trump voters to look deep into their souls & see the toxicity that has consumed them. With that landslide defeat, perhaps that Trump-loving
Uncle of yours may finally take that ugly, red hat off their head & see it as the symbol of racism & hate that it represents. However you vote, vote ASAP. If you want to vote by mail because it is safe & socially distance, then you should request your ballot & return it ASAP to
your local election dropbox. If you would rather vote early in-person either because you prefer the in-person voting experience or want to ensure your vote be counted on Election Night, than cast your vote as soon as early voting begins in your state. If those don't go as planned
then make sure you request #ElectionDay Tuesday Nov 3 off from your job & be prepared to spend the entire day there if you must. Bring a breakfast, a lunch, a chair, plenty of water, a book to read & anything else you would need to make what could be a long wait easier to bare.
We have one chance to get this moment right. We have one chance to proof to ourselves, to the world & to history that the #TrumpVirus doesn’t represent who America is or what it wants to be. Let’s use this next 68 days to be get as many registered to vote as possible to elect
@JoeBiden President & to elect @KamalaHarris as our first female, African-American & Indian-American Vice President. And we when elect them, America will have built back better to the nation that serves as a beacon of freedom, as that shining city on a hill, as the can do people
who say “Yes We Can.” Thank you to everyone who has listened. I wanna wish the folks in Louisiana & all around the Gulf Coast well during this hurricane season as well the citizens of #Kenosha, who are suffering right now. See you around the Twitterverse!
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