American politician (1942- )
The coronavirus is not Donald Trump's fault, but he does bear responsibility for our response and taking his duty seriously. It's about doing the job as a president. His failures and his delays continue. We continue to see it. And it's caused a real pain for so many Americans.
JOE BIDEN
speech to AFL-CIO union members, April 7, 2020
Donald Trump is not to blame for the coronavirus, but he does bear responsibility for our response. And I, along with every American, hope he steps up and starts to get this right.
JOE BIDEN
NPR, March 23, 2020
The greatest sin a man or woman can commit is the abuse of power.
JOE BIDEN
Esquire, Jan. 2012
Americans should be leading the world, marshaling a coordinated global response, both on the public health and on economic fronts. Giving our skilled union members what they need to manufacture the equipment, supplies and medicines we need now so we can take care of our people here at home and support the needs of vulnerable populations around the world. Unfortunately, President Trump is still not moving very quickly. Not quickly enough I should say that from my perspective. He's not prioritizing workers. He's not getting out of the way and let the scientists make the judgments. He's not using all the authority he has under the federal law to make sure healthcare workers are getting equipped and the supplies they need. He's not directing OSHA to enforce the law to protect workers from infectious disease. He's not helping governors who are forced to bid against one another and the federal government to get what they need.
JOE BIDEN
speech to AFL-CIO union members, April 7, 2020
There is truth and there are lies, lies told for power and for profit. And each of us has a duty and a responsibility as citizens, as Americans, and especially as leaders, leaders who have pledged to honor our Constitution and protect our nation, to defend the truth and defeat the lies.
JOE BIDEN
Inaugural Address, January 20, 2021
Bernie as a nominee, I will not only support him, I will campaign for him. I believe the people who support me will do the same thing. Because the existential threat to the United States of America is Donald Trump. It's critical. I would hope that Bernie would do the same thing if I am the nominee, and encourage all of his followers to in fact, support me as well. Because it's much bigger than either of us. Character of the nation is on the ballot. It goes well beyond whether or not Senator Sanders and I both agree ... healthcare should be a right, not a privilege. We both agree we have to deal with student debt. We both agree we have to deal with education and access to education. We both agree that we have a new Green Deal to deal with the existential threat that faces humanity. We disagree on the detail of how we do it, but we don't disagree on the principle. We fundamentally disagree with this president on everything.
JOE BIDEN
Democratic Debate, March 16, 2020
I believe the measure of a man isn't just the road he's traveled; it's the choices he's made along the way.
JOE BIDEN
acceptance speech, Aug. 27, 2008
Later today, you'll hear from the president in his daily briefing. These briefings are an important opportunity to inform and reassure the American public. They're not a place for political attacks, or to lash out at the press. They're about the American people. So I hope today and in the days ahead, the president will give us the unvarnished truth. That's who the American people need and what they deserve. I hope we let some medical experts and FEMA leaders and others carrying out the work to take center stage, to hear from them directly. And I hope we hear less talk and see more evidence of fast action.
JOE BIDEN
speech on Coronavirus, March 23, 2020
Four more years of Donald Trump will fundamentally change the nature of who we are as a nation. We've got to restore this country's soul, that's essential. As long as this president is there, we're not going to be able to that.
JOE BIDEN
Democratic Debate, March 16, 2020
We kept our promise to remove all American troops from Iraq -- Iraqi cities. We kept our promise to end our combat mission last August and to reduce our forces in Iraq to 50,000. At the end of this month, we will keep our promise to remove our remaining troops from Iraq, which, when we came to office, numbered 140,000 American forces. Where I come from, where the President comes from, a promise made is a promise kept. And we are keeping our promise.
JOE BIDEN
remarks at event to honor U. S. and Iraqui service members, Dec. 1, 2011
There are periods in our country's history when Americans re-examine the essence of our social contract. They have occurred half a dozen times. These periods invariably include debate over the meaning of our "civil bible" -- the Constitution -- because we have relied so much on that document to articulate how we see ourselves as a people and how we see ourselves as a nation.
JOE BIDEN
speech, Jul. 29, 2005
One role of government is to go where venture capital won't. In the Civil War, you had a president pay the railroads $16,000 for every mile of track they laid. You had Eisenhower invest $25 million in a defense agency called ARPA that came up with a thing that became the internet.
JOE BIDEN
Car and Driver, Sep. 2011
To overcome these challenges, to restore the soul and secure the future of America, requires so much more than words. It requires the most elusive of all things in a democracy: unity.
JOE BIDEN
Inaugural Address, January 20, 2021
The vice-presidency is not a job designed to enhance your standing.
JOE BIDEN
Esquire, Jan. 2012
To all those who supported our campaign, I'm humbled by the faith you've placed in us. To all of those who did not support us, let me say this. Hear me out as we move forward. Take a measure of me and my heart. If you still disagree, so be it. That's democracy. That's America.
JOE BIDEN
Inaugural Address, January 20, 2021
Trump likes to say he's a wartime president. Well, he needs to step up and act like it.
JOE BIDEN
speech to AFL-CIO union members, April 7, 2020
No matter how well intended our country is, we cannot expect other nations to trust us as much as we trust ourselves.
JOE BIDEN
Promises to Keep
Our intelligence officials were warning of coronavirus threat in January. Just based on public information that I had, I warned the threat was getting worse way back on January the 27th and urged the need to put signs first, draw on emergency funds to get response started, think about invoking disaster powers to respond. Many of us talked about the need to get the U.S. scientists on the ground to see firsthand what was happening in China rather than relying on what came from China. My point is not simply that the president was wrong. My point is that the mindset, that was slow to recognize the problem in the first place to treat it with a seriousness is deserved, is still too much a part of how the president is addressing the problem. South Korea detected their first case of coronavirus on the same day we did, but they had tests and sophisticated tracing programs to stop the spread of the virus, so they didn't have to put the entire country on lockdown. We had none of that.
JOE BIDEN
speech on Coronavirus, March 23, 2020
Iran is not a monolith. Our greatest allies against the theocracy are the Iranian people. They admire America. But we never get our side of the argument into Iran to the people who could insist, over time, that the government change course. They never hear our voice. America, whose greatest strengths are her ideas and ideals, has become afraid to talk. It's time to find our voice again.
JOE BIDEN
speech, Oct. 31, 2006
Barack Obama has a vision of American greatness based not just on our unmatched military might, but on our economic, intellectual, and moral strengths. They were once the envy of the world. They can be again
JOE BIDEN
speech, Jul. 15, 2008