Administration of Joseph R. Biden, Jr., 2024

April 23, 2024

The President. Hello, Florida! Hello, hello, hello.

Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!

The President. Well, God love you. Well, thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Kaitlyn, thank you for that introduction. And more importantlyââ

Audience member. [Inaudible]

Audience member. [Laughter] We love you, Joe.

The President. Well, thank you for that introduction and for your courage, if you're back thereâyour courage for theâand to share your story. That's not an easy thing to do.

You know, Kaitlyn represents millions of women who are enduring unbearable pain and cruelty because of Donald Trump.

Audience member. Boo!

The President. Sadly, it's pain and cruelty that millions of women in Florida now face. You know, but as I saidâas she just said, it's not inevitable. It's not inevitable. We can stop it. When you vote, we can stop it.

And thanks to Representative Kathy Castor. Kathy, where are you? There she is. Stand up, Kathy. Kathy is doing an incredible job in Congress, and Iâand is a great, great friend. Thanks for riding over with me from the airport.

You know, the worst sentence in the English language these days is, "The President is at the airport." It means you've got to show up, you know? [*Laughter*] But anyway, thank you.

And I want to thank Debbie, our next U.S. Senator. Deb, stand up. As oneâas one senior Senator, years ago when I was a freshman running for reelection in the United State Senate, said to meâhe said, "I'll campaign for you or against you, whatever will help the most." [*Laughter*]

It's really important you win. This is a critical, critical race. Debbie is running against Rick Scottââ

Audience members. Boo!

The President. ââwho wants to sunset Social Security.

Audience members. Boo!

The President. I think that voters are going to sunset Rick Scott. It's important, man.

And thanks to all of you here today. It's good to be at a community college. As a matter of fact, my wife has been campaigning all over the country with me between classes. My wife still is a full-time professor at Northern Virginia Community College.

[*At this point, an audience member dropped a cell phone*.]

You lost your phone. Get that man his phone. He's going to be in trouble. Or that woman her phone. [*Laughter*]

She's teaching this very day, Jill is. Community college, as she often says, is one of the best kept secrets in America. No, I really mean it.

You know, if I have my way in the next 4 years, I'm going to make community college free.

And it will grow the economy. It won't cost the taxpayers.

Look, next week, one of the Nation's most extreme anti-abortion laws will take affect here in Florida. It's criminalizing reproductive health care forâbefore women even know whether they're pregnant. I mean, this is bizarre. I can putâyou can put a doctor in prison if he takes care of a patient, as you just heard some version of from Louisiana.

You know, this extreme Florida law is going to impact 4 millionâ4 millionâwomen in the State of Florida. Florida is one of the twenty-one States in Americaâwhere Americaâyou can't get access you need for care. This adds up to one in three women throughout the United States of America have this limitation.

For 50 years, the Court ruled that there was a fundamental constitutional right to privacy, but 2 years ago that was taken away. Let's be real clear. There's one person responsible for this nightmare, and he's acknowledged it, and he brags about it: Donald Trump.

Audience members. Boo!

The President. In fact, Trump has bragged about overturning Roe v. Wade, which meant there's no Federal right, no decision can be madeâall those decisions are made at a State level. A lot of people don't even know that. They don't focus on it. It's aâevery State can make a decision.

Well, you know, now Trump says the law is, quote, "working the way it's supposed to." Trump goes on to say individual State laws are workingâhis wordsâ"brilliantly." "Brilliantly." It's a 6-week ban in Florida. It's really brilliant, isn't it? Even before women know they're pregnant. Is that brilliant?

Audience members. No!

The President. Look, just take a look at Arizona. That goes all the way back to 1864, before Arizona was even a State and before women had the right to voteâconcluding that that's the law of the land in Arizona. And today, MAGA Republicans refuse to repeal that ban in Arizona.

Trump is literally taking us back 160 years. He says it's up to the States and this is all about States' rights. But he's wrong. The Supreme Court was wrong. This should be a constitutional right in the Federal Constitution, a Federal right.

And it shouldn't matter where in America you live. It's aboutâthis isn't about States' rights. It's about women's rights. No, I reallyâI mean this. Iâlookâfolks, look, now he's worried that voters will hold him accountable for saying he's responsible for getting *Roe v. Wade *overturned. [*Laughter*] Donald Trump is worried voters are going to hold him accountable for the cruelty and chaos he created.

Audience member. We will!

Audience member. We will!

The President. Folks, the bad news for Trump is that we are going to hold him accountable.

We are. He should be held accountable.

He should be accountable for States enacting extreme laws that put IVF treatments at risk for women desperately trying to have families.

Voters are going to hold Trump accountable for women being turned away from emergency rooms, like my introducer was; forced to travel hundreds of miles to get basic health care; forced to go to court to plead for help to protect herself and her ability to have children in the future.

Folks, voters are going to hold Trump accountable. When women are told by extreme politicians and judges to wait, get sicker and sicker to the point where your life is determined to be in danger. Pregnant women in America are riskâat risk, particularly Black women in America.

Audience member. Yes.

The President. No, that's the statistic. Data shows they're already too likely to die from complications at birth.

I believe voters are going to hold Trump accountable when family members and doctors are threatened with prosecution for trying to help them. Not only that, I believe voters are going to hold Trump accountable and his MAGA extremist friends to prevent all women in America from getting safe and effective medication, like mifepristone. Approved by the FDA 20 years ago, they're trying to outlaw that now.

For 50 years, the Court had recognized that women in America had a fundamental, constitutional right, and then Trump took it away by theâwith the deal he made. Now, in America today, in 2024, women have fewer rights than their mothers and their grandmothers had because of Donald Trump.

Look, I don't think we're going to let them get away with it. Do you?

Audience members. No!

The President. And, folks, in a sense, I don't know why he'sâwe're surprised by Trump.

How many times does he have to prove we [he; White House correction] can't be trusted?

Trump bragged how proud he was to get rid of *Roe v. Wade *overturned; he took credit for it.

He said there has to be "punishment" for women exercising their reproductive freedom.

Audience members. Boo!

The President. His words, not mine.

He described the *Dobbs *decision as a "miracle." Maybe it's coming from that Bible he's trying to sell. [*Laughter*] Whoa. I almost wanted to buy one just to see what the hell is in it. [*Laughter*]

Folks, it was no miracle. It was a political deal to get rid of *Roe *v.âa deal. A political deal he made with the Evangelical base of the Republican Party to look past his moral character âif they looked past his moral and character flaws in exchange for his commitment to appoint Justices of the Supreme Court who would overturn *Roe*.

Don't think he's making the deal right now with MAGA extremists to ban nationwide abortion in every single State, because he's making it. In fact, the MAGA majority in the House of Representatives has introduced three separate bansâthree separate bans to choiceâto ban choice nationwideâin every single State, based on the Stateâeach State.

These billsâthey're overwhelmingâhave overwhelming support of Republicans in Congress. But know this: As long as I have the power of the Presidency, it's never going to happen. [*Applause*] I mean it. Congress everâif Congress ever passes a ban, I will veto that ban.

Elect a Democratic Congress. Kamala and I will make *Roe v. Wade *the law of the land again.

Let's be clear. The overturning of *Roe v. Wade *also puts at risk broader rights of privacy for everyone. If you think I'm exaggerating, here's what Justice Thomas wrote in his concurring opinion in *Roe v. Wade*. He wrote that the future cases of the Court should reconsiderâ reconsiderâall substantive due process precedents, from *Griswold*â*Griswold *legalized the use of contraceptionâand *Obergefell*âlegalized same-sex marriage.

Justice Thomas means it, and so does Donald Trump.

Again, here's what that means: the right to make the best decisions for your health, the right to use birth control, the right to marry the person you love. All that is at risk now because there it is no longer viewed by some of our good friends in the Court as a constitutional guaranteed right.

Are we going to let that happened?

Audience members. No!

Audience member. No way, Joe! [Laughter]

The President. I like it, man. Will you come with me? [Laughter]

Folks, the extreme laws passed since overturning *Roe v. Wade *have no place in the United States of America. But what does have a place in America is your voice.

In its decision overturning *Roe v. Wade *and saying States should make the decisions, the Court practically dared womenâpractically dared womenâto be heard. Here's what they wrote in that decision, "Women are not without electoral or political power." [*Laughter*] No kidding. No kidding. I mean, almost challenging you.

I said at the time, I don't think the Court of the MAGA Republicans have a clue about the power of women in America. [*Applause*] I mean it. I mean it. But they're beginning to find out.

Since the *Dobbs *decision, which States said should make these decisionsâthe Court said that the State should make the decisionâStates all over this country, from Ohio, Kansas, Michigan, Kentucky, Wisconsin, Virginiaâwomen and men in every background voted to record numbers to protectâin record numbers to protect reproductive freedom.

This November, you can add Florida to that list. You can. Are you ready to do that? You've got to show up and vote. Are you ready to protect freedom?

It was Donald Trump who ripped away the rights of freedom of women in America. It will be all of us who restore those rights for women in America. And when you do that, we'll teach Donald Trump and the extreme MAGA Republicans a valuable lesson: Don't mess with the women of America. [*Applause*] And I mean it.

Folks, let's get this done. Go to JoeBiden.com, sign up, get involved. I know you all in this room are involved. Talk to your family and friends. Organize your community. Register voters. Get them out to vote the old-fashioned way. Pick them up on election day. Call. "Do you need a ride to the polls?"

And let's remember who we are. We're the United States of America. And there is nothingâ nothing beyond our capacity if we work together.

May God bless you all, and may God protect our troops. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you.

We're going to get this done. *Audience member. *We love you, Joe! *The President*. Love you.

Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!

The President. Let's get it done.

NOTE: The President spoke at 3:04 p.m. at Hillsborough Community College Dale Mabry Campus. In his remarks, he referred to Kaitlyn Joshua, community organizer, Power Coalition for Equity and Justice; former President Donald J. Trump; Florida Democratic senatorial candidate former Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell; Sen. Richard L. Scott; and Vice President Kamala D. Harris. The transcript was released by the Office of the Press Secretary on April 24.

Categories: Addresses and Remarks : Campaign event in Tampa, FL. Locations: Tampa, FL.

Names: Biden, Jill T.; Castor, Katherine A.; Harris, Kamala D.; Joshua, Kaitlyn; Mucarsel- Powell, Debbie; Scott, Richard L.; Thomas, Clarence; Trump, Donald J.

Subjects: 2024 Presidential election; Abortion; Arizona, State Supreme Court decision restricting abortion access; Community colleges; Economic improvement; Florida, ballot initiative to protect access to reproductive health care; Florida, Democratic Party event; Florida, President's visit; In vitro fertilization and reproductive assistance services; Reproductive health care; Supreme Court Associate Justice; U.S. Supreme Court opinion overturning 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade; Vice President; Voter participation.

DCPD Number: DCPD202400328.