governing congress like no other. since 1979 we have been your primary source for capitol hill. providing balance, unfiltered coverage of government. taking to you to where the policies are debated and decided with the support of america's cable's companies. 45 years and counting, powered by cable. >> ohio senator and 2024 republican vice presidential nominee j.d. vance spoke to supporters in wilmington, north carolina that focused on immigration. he also criticizes the biden harris administration's handling of recent natural disasters in the state. and he takes questions from reporters. this is 40 minutes. ♪ ♪

♪ sen. vance: thank you, thank you all. [cheering] [crowd chanting] wow. it is great my friends to be in

wilmington, north carolina. and it is great that we are going to win wilmington in the state of north carolina and make donald trump the next president of the united states. i'm going to tell you something, i bet very few, maybe no one knows this, i was an extra in a tv show filmed in wilmington, north carolina. did you ever see "one tree hill" ? that was filmed here. when i was in the marine corps, semper fi to the marines here. they showed up one day and said we will feed you and pay you $300 to be an extra in one tree hill. that was my exposure to wilmington. it's good to be back and it's good to be back as your vice presidential candidate and we

are going to win this race, i'm telling you. i've got to say, i love you, proud of middletown. i was singing about this. i saw tim walz's plane this morning. [crowd booing] no, i got to tell you honestly i feel bad for tim walz. think about it, he's got to defend the record of, harris and i've got to defend the record of donald trump and that is a helluva record to run on and we are proud of him. we are proud of him because he did a good job for the american people. you don't have to agree with everything i say, you don't have to agree with every policy or everything donald trump says, but who can dispute that when he was the president of the united states we had rising take-home

pay, low inflation and a secure southern border? let's get back to it. let's get back to those commonsense policies. tim walz has to defend kamala harris. he has the toughest job in america, he's got to defend the record of kamala harris. i don't know if you know but when, harris is running for president, she pretends that she has never met joe biden, she runs as far away from joe as she possibly can. you would think she had never even seen the president of the united states and yet she is the sitting vice president who is not just the sitting vice president but bribed for years she was the last person in the room before joe biden made so many disastrous decisions that increased the cost of groceries, increase the cost of housing, opened the southern border. joe biden is kamala harris and we are going to fire kamala harris, not center to the white

house and give her a promotion. [cheering] i will say, she is making it a little easier for us. i think she's the only candidate who's ever run for president where every time she opens her mouth we gain about 100,000 votes on the other side. i am going to be try to be reasonably quick here because i believe that in about 10 minutes she is going to do the first non-softball interview she has ever done. on fox news. now, of course president trump and i we do non-softball interviews every single day because we think that's what you ought to do if you want to run for president you want to get out there and answer the people's questions and actually do the job of running for president. you will hear people say well, kamala harris is given more softball interviews lately. and i say well, the problem with the softball interview if you still have to be able to hit a

softball. and i see the great attorney general candidate dan bishop in the audience. stand up and say hello to folks. you know, i was thinking this, kamala harris, she can't hit a softball, she cannot even hit a t-ball. that's the problem here. the reason she does so bad in these interviews is because her record is so bad for the american people. let's just think about this. in the state of north carolina, we've got people who are paying $1000 more a month thanks to her policies then when donald trump was president. thanks to kamala harris's policies, this country, this state, and this community have been flooded with millions upon millions of illegal aliens. not just flooded but kamala harris has welcomed them with

open arms and then said if you make it into this country illegally she wants to give you free medicare and free housing. and you know our message in the trump campaign is just a little bit different. our message to illegal aliens is if you came to this country illegally, pack your bags because in four months you're going home. [crowd chanting: usa] now, now, thanks to kamala harris casting the deciding vote on trillions of dollars in new spending and going to war on american energy, north carolina families are paying more for gas, about 25% more than they were when donald trump was president. they are paying 20 5% more for groceries than when donald trump . they are paying 53% more for

housing then when donald trump was president. now here is the simple donald trump plan to restore a golden age of prosperity in this country. we are going to cut taxes for american workers. we are going to cut down on the terrible regulations that make it harder to hire and create a business in the united states of america. we are going to unleash american energy and lower the cost of fuel and electricity for american families. and we are going to make it harder for companies to ship american jobs overseas. we are going to create prosperity right here in north carolina and all across the united states of america. because for too long we've had leaders like kamala harris, and again, she has been in office for 1400 days. we have leaders like kamala harris who would like to reward

companies for shipping jobs overseas instead of creating good american jobs right here at home. perhaps the worst of all of kamala harris's policies is she wants to tax you and tax year friends and families and pay people to buy electric vehicles made in china. and you know what donald trump and i think? we think you ought to be able to drive whatever the hell you want to because this is america and we want to support american automakers. now, one of the things the media doesn't like to talk about even though it is as clean as day is that we have a housing crisis in this country because we've got millions upon millions of people shouldn't be here in the first place. this is just common sense. think about this, if you let ian 25 million people into the country illegally, people who have no right to be here, you have to put them somewhere. they have to have housing somewhere. if you take away housing that

ought to go to american citizens what are you going to do? you are going to have what we have in this country today is that young people can't afford to buy a home. i'm a big believer in the american dream of homeownership. and to all the young people, especially those watching at home or watching some of the clips, we are going to fight for american citizens to be able to afford american homes. and it is really that simple. you just have to get illegal immigrants out of our country. you've got to put the interest of our citizens first and then you've got to lower the mortgage interest rates because thanks to kamala harris's policies the interest rates are just too dam high and donald trump is going to lower them. and this is how we are going to lower them. we are going to lower them because we are going to stop spending money we don't have. we are going to lower them by unleashing american energy. lower the price of everything. and we are going to lower

interest rates by making sure that american homes don't go to illegal aliens. it is very simple. it's going to work and it's going to make the american dream of homeownership more affordable. i want to talk -- look, there are all these disagreements we have with kamala harris. there all these issues were be could say well, donald trump supports lower taxes on american families and kamala harris supports raising them. donald trump supports closing the border and building a wall and kamala harris wants to open the border. donald trump wants to build a world of peace and stability and kamala harris seems to encourage chaos and war to break out everywhere. set aside all these policy disagreements we have with kamala harris. the most important thing about kamala harris is that she is incompetent. she does not have the competence to be president. think about this. we of course in the state of north carolina but all across

the southeast in appalachia, a lot of folks were hit very hard by hurricane helene and i know a lot of us are praying people, we ought to say a prayer for those folks every single day they are fighting to rebuild their lives. they are fighting to grieve loved ones and rebuild out of a terrible situation. and look, that storm was a terrible act of nature. but the bureaucratic incompetence that delayed resources getting to people, that was an act of kamala harris and failed leadership and we can't let people forget about it. now, think about this. probably shocked to hear me praise -- i am going to do something that is going to really surprise you, i am going to see something really nice about barack obama. in 2010 -- lady back here said yeah, i am shocked by this. surprised everyone here. 2010 there was a caramel -- a terrible earthquake in haiti. two days later the air force was

in haiti. god bless the 82nd airborne. we had a terrible natural disaster one hour away from the 82nd airborne and it took six days for them to get to north carolina. that is kamala harris and joe biden's fault. it is a disgraceful failure of leadership. when donald trump and i are in the lighthouse is not can happen. we are going to have fema helping our people and the american government is going to fight for american citizens once again. [crowd chanting: usa] here's the thing. there's a lot of crazy stuff out there on the internet. i actually don't think that it was some malicious intent that made fema as unresponsive and

delayed the critical deployment of the 82nd airborne. i think it is just because people are incompetent. joe biden was on the beach, probably didn't know where he was. kamala harris was at a san francisco fundraiser when the critical test of leadership comes in a moment of crisis. at that moment of crisis for the people of north carolina, kamala harris wasn't doing her job. i promise you that donald j. trump will and he will fight to do his job for you every single day. i want to say just a couple more things here before we take some question. the main thing i want you to take away from this event today is that yes, donald trump is going to be the president of the united states and i really do believe that, my friends. i think we are going to win this state. trust me. those of us in the trump campaign, the staff, the people

at the top of the ticket and certainly our man donald trump, we are feeling good about this race and it's because y'all are working hard and we are grateful for it. but the only way we are going to get president trump and me across the finish line is if we get out there and vote. i'm going to make a few requests of you. the first is that i want every single person here to get out there and vote 10 times. some of y'all are shifting uncomfortably and saying well, we only vote once. that's what republicans do. we follow the law. here is the legal way to go and vote 10 times. take yourself and take nine friends and family to the polls. that is what i want all of yes -- all of you to do. this is true of every single person out here including me. we've got people in our lives who are smart.

they are competent people but they don't pay that close attention to politics. we have got to motivate them. we have to encourage them to say even if they don't care that much about politics, politics cares about them. and if we don't get donald trump back in the white house this terrible affordability crisis and a terrible crisis at the southern border is going to continue so let's get our people out there. even the ones who don't care about politics, maybe especially the ones who don't care about politics, we've got to make sure they get out there and vote. number two, again, i'm going to talk for a little longer and then take questions from the press. but whether it is now or five minutes from now or 10 minutes from now, i want each of you to take out your phones, take a photo of this event, take a photo of that you to full airplane -- i gotta tell your growing up in a working-class family raised by my grandmother it is wild to be flying around in a plane with your name on. that is pretty cool. great testament to the american

dream and the possibilities of this country. take out your phone, take a photo. texting a lot of people, emailing a lot of people, social media, x.com, facebook, whenever you use, post-it and talk about why you are voting for donald trump for president. i don't know exactly how many people we have here. looks probably around 1000 people. if every single one of us reaches 100 people, that's 100,000 people that would not have heard the pro-trump message. trust me, they are not hearing it from the corporate media so they've got to hear from us. we have power. we have an ability to reach people. we just have to use the tools god has given us. luckily in this era of great communication we have a lot of tools to get the message out about why we need to support donald trump. here is the third and final thing. i want you to go to this website

and i want to make sure i get it right. it is swap the vote usa.com. swamp the vote usa.com. that is a website that we built so the people can check their registration, check where their polling location is, maybe they can request an absentee ballot, maybe they are going to vote early. just get out there and vote before november 5. that's the deadline. look, i'm one of these people, i don't like election season. i like election day. but as donald trump would say, it is what it is. if we are going to have a long election season the republicans have got to take advantage of that stuff as much as democrats are and that is exactly what we have to do. get out there and make your voice heard and that is how we are going to make donald j. trump the next president of the united states. i know apparently kamala is

doing this interview soon with fox news. i want to point out an interview she did 10 days ago because frankly my friends it blew up the entire narrative of her campaign. most of us here hopefully know she is running a dishonest campaign but a lot of folks are watching this who may not realize that kamala harris bears the responsibility for the failures of the biden administration. she gave this interview to the view, and they said what would you do differently than joe biden? and her answer was nothing comes to mind. i think by the way that should be the slogan of the kamala harris campaign. nothing comes to mind. i think that is unfortunately true. but think about this. after running on the idea that she would lower prices for american citizens, nothing comes

to mind that she would've done differently. after talking about how she is going to restore peace and stability in a world that has been ripped apart by war and chaos, nothing comes to mind that she would have done differently. after 94 executive orders that opened up the border and flooded our communities with fentanyl, nothing comes to mind she would have done differently. if nothing comes to mind that she would have done differently over the last 3.5 years than we need to get the real candidate of change donald j. trump back in the white house to restore peace, restore prosperity, and restore common sense to the united states of america. so here's what we are going to do and i will take some questions. here is what we are going to do. when we make donald trump the next president we are going to make groceries and housing more affordable. when we make donald trump the next president we are going to secure the southern border and stop the mexican drug cartels from waging war on our country.

when we make donald trump the next president we are going to make the american dream affordable for american citizens again. and when we make donald trump the next president we are going to usher in a golden age of american prosperity for the state of north carolina and the people all across this incredible land. let's go get it done my friends. get out there and vote. make donald trump the next president. the country needed and we are going to fight for every single day. 19 days to go. let's make it count and let's get our man across the finish line. god bless y'all. thank you. [crowd chanting: jd] again, i want to take some questions from reporters and i'm going to start with the local reporters. but it is getting a little

chilly out here. this is north carolina, it is supposed to be a little warmer in mid-october. maybe it has just been too long since i have been here. there is a cold front apparently. thank you, sir. i need to get better weather reporting from my staff. for all the gratitude i have for folks for being out here i just want to say of course that the person i am most thrilled to have with me, the two people are my beautiful wife and my son. i love you guys. he is sitting over there with a blanket over him saying why the hell did i agree to come with dad on the plane today. he is not a child built for cold weather. but we love you guys. as you all know this is so much fun for me but it is a lot of sacrifice for the family and we

are thrilled honey that you could come with me and bring our beautiful boy. we love you and i know the crowd loves you. so, what i'd like to do is start with a local reporters and because it is pretty chilly we might only get through three or four but we will try and do as many as we possibly can. let's start with the first question. >> my first question for you, dockworkers recently went on strike asking for higher wages and protection against automation. what would your administration do to make sure these workers are confident in making this temporary agreement a permanent and accessible one? sen. vance: look, we love our dockworkers. i would not be surprised if we have dockworkers in his audience right now. look, the very simple reason the dockworkers went on strike is because a dollar just doesn't go as far as it did 3.5 years ago. this is why donald trump calls

inflation a country buster because if you think about it, if the dockworkers aren't making enough to survive and then they go on strike, then we can't get the goods we need, this just becomes a vicious spiral. we have to get back to common sense economic policies so our dockworkers can thrive and so that everybody can thrive depends on their very important work. here is what i would say about this. look, we believe in technological innovation in the republican party. we believe in technological innovation in our country. but we can have technological innovation while protecting the wages of our workers. whether at our ports, our manufacturing facilities. when you have an innovative economy, that leads to higher wages and higher take-home pay for all workers. the problem with the kamala harris economy is we don't have nearly as much innovation. we have to get that to the dollar being worth something again. that will happen when donald trump is back as president and we have to get back to innovation in our economy. thank you.

>> thanks for the opportunity. i notice mark robinson has not been at an event in some time. he is not here today. frankly he is falling behind in the polls. can you clarify if your campaign still endorses mark robinson for governor and why? sen. vance: look, first of all, i think mark robinson did a helluva job with the hurricanes getting out and helping people. i thought that was very admirable. i really appreciate that. but my view on this issue is who the north carolina voters make their next governor is up to the people of north carolina. what i am here to do is to persuade them that they need to make donald trump their next president and i think that's what they are going to do and we are going to keep on fighting for that every single day. >> welcome to wilmington. law enforcement recently

arrested an armed man for threats made against fema workers in rutherford county. i am just wondering if you have a comment on the threats made against the men and women who are working to help victims in counties recover from hurricane helene. sen. vance: look, we have course condemn threats of violence. it is disgraceful to threaten violence against anybody, especially relief workers. and we ought to remind people that are criticism here is not for the fema workers on the ground, it is the broken political leadership in washington. think about it. fema is the federal emergency management agency. that is what fema stands for. why is the agency that is set up to help american citizens in the face of disaster spending billions of taxpayer dollars resettling illegal immigrants? it ought to focus on its core mission. why is the leadership of fema

focused on resettling migrants instead of preparing and presenting resources for the next storm? that's a failure of leadership. it is not a failure of people on the ground trying to help people. but i will tell you, if you know someone in western north carolina, i imagine pretty much everyone in this crowd does, a lot of them will say 1.5 weeks into the storm they didn't see anybody. they weren't getting any help. they weren't getting any relief. so the scandal here is not that a crazy person, as much as we condemn them, that's always a bad thing. b scandal here is people in western north carolina went days and weeks without the help of their own government. and that's what we have to fix and we will when donald trump is president. next question. >> thank you. i'd love to hear more about the one tree hill moment, but for another day. i wanted to ask you about what you had said earlier in

pennsylvania about the 2020 election results. you have been asked that on the debate stage and then again in the new york times interview, five times, and by other reporters. [booing] sen. vance: ma'am, my answer on this, and i answered this question a million times when i ran for the senate. i have answered this in the 2022 general election. i have answered this 10 times recently. i think big tech rigged the election in 2020. if you disagree with me, that's fine. >> answer it now. why did you enter the question now? why did you answer the question now? sen. vance: i have given that exact question for years. this is such a preposterous thing that the american media does. i have given this answer to this question for literally years.

and the american media once to focus on what happened four years ago and the fact that north carolinians can't afford groceries, i think that's a disgrace. do your job and focus on the problems the american people care about rather than ballshit from four -- rather than bullshit from four years ago. [crowd chanting: jd] look, i honestly -- my friends, i'm sure there are as many opinions about what happened four years ago as there are people in this audience. if you disagree with me on an issue, or if you disagree with me about what i just said, for you disagree about a particular policy view of the trump administration, that's fine. because i believe in the united states of america. it's ok to disagree. what i think we are all united

on is that we need to get kamala harris out of the oval office that americans can afford to live a good life again. >> i wanted to ask you -- ok [booing] sen. vance: no, it's all right. i always joke, she's actually one of the good cnn reporters. they do exist. but i always wonder if i say that if you are welcomed back at the newsroom in cnn. >> i spend more time in the field. anyway, friday at your event, you said the attorney general job would be the most important role, after president of course. houthi you want to see in that role, and what do you make of trump's former appointments? sen. vance: i am not going to make any news about who we are

looking at for attorney general. obviously the president makes the final decision but we are looking at a lot of good people. the reason i said that is very simple and this is a little bit of a hit for my ego. i would like to say the person who's most important after the president would be me. i appreciate that. but what we have seen out of the department of justice in the last four years of this country i think is such a disgrace and we have to do better. we really have to. one of the fundamental principles of our country is equal justice under law. you've got catholic pro-life fathers of seven arrested like a common criminal for exercising their first amendment rights peacefully. you've got government bureaucrats encompassing big tech companies to censor their fellow americans. you've got people who are protesting peacefully at their children's school board meetings and then in investigation is launched into them.

everybody focuses on corruption at the doj and focuses on how that is affected. president trump and some of his close advisors, that obviously matters. but the federal government weaponizing law enforcement to go after him and citizens is a disgrace and we have to stop it. that is why i think it is so important that we get a good attorney general. >> i have one more question. of course our hearts and prayers go out to those in western north carolina. here in our area, we go through a lot of flooding as well, especially heavy flooding. what can the federal government do to assist state and local governments and preparing and recovering from flood events that happened from an unnamed storm? sen. vance: a really good question. we have to have competence back

in government. when these things happen you need someone who is paying attention and focusing and making sure resources go to the people who need it. you can't have a government where nobody is actually in charge and unfortunately that is what we have way too much thanks to kamala harris's leadership. two things in particular. when you have a crisis like what happened in western north carolina, obviously this part of the state has been affected by a number of storms too. you have so many different bureaucratic agencies. one of the things you've got to do is just have a leader who is saying all of you are empowered to save lives to rescue people. go get to work and cut out worrying about the redtape. that is a big part of what you need, that empowerment of some local responses. this is a big issue in north carolina, probably a bigger issue in florida and georgia. but it is an issue all across the southeast. insurance is getting way too expensive for a lot of our homeowners. this is a big problem.

not just homeowners but folks who are getting car insurance. i think we can do a better job of lowering car and home insurance rates. and again, making that american dream of owning a home and owning a car more affordable for more of our citizens. of course one of the ways that people really struggle in the wake of these disasters is if they don't have the right home insurance policy. we've got to make smarter policy choices so people get the insurance they need. and i'll do one more question you noted yesterday in pennsylvania what we have seen in public polling, which is there seems to be a pretty stark gender gap between your campaign and vice president harris's. i was curious if you could speak to what you think is behind that. why do you think there is such a discrepancy between men and women in this election? sen. vance: well, you know, first of all, i will say, look,

there is clearly a gender gap. but i think it is not nearly as big as the polls say it is. i think that is important to point out. i think we are going to get a lot of women supporting the trump/vance ticket. and of course a lot of men too, because we are united for common sense. one of the arguments i think we can make better, especially to women voters -- it matters to all voters but particularly women voters, moms of small children, we see that moms care a lot about public safety. they want to be able to take their kid walking in the neighborhood at 9:00 at night without the fear that they are going to be involved or without the fear that an illegal alien is going to commit some violent assault. we have to get back to public safety. the fbi it looks like just released some updated crime

numbers which suggested crime was higher than the previously led on in 2022. i am shocked by that. just kidding. look, what is so interesting about violent crime is it is a very small number of people who commit the gross majority of violent crimes in our country. what president trump and i want to do is empower law enforcement, lock up the violent criminals and make our streets safer. that is a message that works with a lot of women voters and that's what we're going to keep on talking about. all right. so, one more time, the third time i have set it, i am sick of it. swamp the vote usa.com. i see some folks have my book, i am sorry i can't sign them because i have to hit the road but it is available wherever bookstores are sold. here is what i want to say. i know it is easy to get frustrated with the policies of kamala harris, i certainly do. it is easy to get frustrated

with the fact that she apparently doesn't even care about public policy and governance. that's why she gives these word salad answers to all these questions. i just want somebody competent who cares about this country to be is less leader and that is clearly not kamala harris. what i would ask'ya is to not let our frustration at kamala harris blind us to the fact that this is still the greatest country in the history of the world and we ought to be proud of it. [crowd chanting: usa] and i see my beautiful son over there. i am sure he's annoyed that his daddy is embarrassing him right now. but one of the coolest things about running for vice president is that i've gotten to see the country from the perspective of my seven-year-old, my four-year-old and my two-year-old. we go around, we talk to a ton of people.

we were and a small business earlier today buying some dog treats for our dog in rural pennsylvania and now we are here in beautiful north carolina watching a pink and purple sunset. i mean, this is an incredible country we have. it's the most beautiful country in the world. but it is also a country where we have incredible natural resources. resources the chinese and the russians would literally kill for and in some cases have. and of course the best natural resource of all is that we have the best people anywhere in the world. the only thing that is broken about the united states of america is the failed leadership of a generation of politicians like kamala harris. so i ask you, we've got 19 days to go. let's span every single one of those days fixing the broken leadership and giving the

american people at president who is fit to lead this great nation. that's donald j. trump. let's work our tale ends off and get it done. god bless you all. thank you for having me and we will see you soon, north carolina. ♪

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♪ >> thursday on c-an, our campaign 2020 four cerage continues with j.d. vance speaking at a rally in pittsburgh, live at 12:30 p.m.. at 3:00, tim walz is joined by bill clinton in durham, north carolinao kick off early voting in e ate. and at 8 p.m. on c-span, vice president kamala hars holding a rally in green bay, wisconsin, marking her sixth visit to the state since the start of her presidential campaign. you can watch our live campaign coverage on the free c-span now video app. or online at c-span.org. ♪ >> attention middle and high school students across america. it is time to make your voice heard. c-span's student cam documentary contest is here. this is your chance to create a documentary that can inspire change. raise awareness, and make an

impact. your documentaries should answer this year's question -- your message to the president. what issue is most important to you or your community? whether you are passionate about politics, the environment, or community stories. student cam is your platform to share your message with the world. with $100,000, including a grand prize of $5,000, this is your opportunity not only to make an impact but also be rewarded for your creativity and hard work. enter your submissions today. studentcam.org for all the details on how tr. the deadline is january 20, 2025. >> c-span is your unfiltered view of government. we're funded by these television companies and more. including wow. >> the world has changed. today the fast reliable internet connection is something no one

can live without. wow is there for our customers with speed, reliability value and choice. now more than ever, it all starts with great internet. wow. >> wow. supports c-span as a public service along with these other television providers, giving you a front row seat to democracy. >> president biden former president obama and bill clinton and former house speaker nancy pelosi were together to remember the late ethel kennedy during a memorial service at the cathedral of st. matthew the apostle in washington, d.c. ethel kennedy is the widow of robert f. kennedy, jr.. she died on october 10 f complications from a stroke. she was 96 years old. -- after complications from a stroke. she was 96 years old. >> i ask president barack obama to come forward.

president obama: good morning. to president biden, president clinton, speaker pelosi, friends, admirers, it is a great honor to be with you today to say a few words about my dear friend ethel kennedy. most americans got to know ethel as a wife, mother, grandmother, a great grandmother. you can hear some of those great-grandchildren as we speak. the woman who standing alongside her husband helped the idealism of an entire generation. the matriach who instilled a

commitment to justice and helped raise a legion of changemakers and public service. she was proud of those roles. she loved family just as she loved friendship. . she loved family just as she loved friendship. as anyone who ever met her nose, she was a lot more than that. while bobby was shy and serious, ethel was not. she was a spitfire from a young age. some of you have heard the stories, the school yearbook, in

college, demerits for a long list of infractions including chewing gum and disorder in the tea room. i can only imagine what that was like. that spirit did not leave when she left school when she was married, had children, became a grandmother. there was the famous party where she pushed the fellow cabinet members into the pool, the touch football game where she bit the rider on the ankle. of course the cast of family pets, dogs, horses, chickens, turtles what made her mischief

special was how it was always joined to kindness and generosity, perspective. in the same way that her joy, her love for people helped feed a righteous anger towards the many injustices in our world. her life had more tragedy and heartbreak than most of us could bear. she would have been forgiven if at any point she had stepped away from public life. after all she had her family had

been through. that is not who she was. we know the story on the train she famously walked up and down the aisle. in the years that followed she kept doing what they intended to do. fighting for what is right, supporting causes that she believed in. encouraging those willing to take on the powers that be. lifting up the stories of those whose voices had been set aside. so her children, great-grandchildren felt the

responsibility to do the same. she became a passionate advocate for everything from juvenile justice, civil rights, environmental protection, well into her 80's she is still out there marching for something. through the center she created, she salivated journalists, activists, educated people about threats to human the gritty. she was willing to go to extraordinary lengths to support any cause close to her heart. a bucket of ice water over her head. i remember this because she tried to talk me into doing the same. i wrote a check instead.

probably the only time i ever said no to ethel. she wasn't too happy about it. as serious as ethel was, she never seemed to take herself too seriously. there is no pretension, no attitude. she treated everybody with the same respect, same curiosity, the same humor. her ability to connect to people high-end love regardless of background, her capacity to see the best in you and not just assume the worst made her such a

force for change. what a gift it was to have her on your side. she had a way of believing in you i don't remember exactly the date, shortly after i spoke at the democratic convention. i had just emerged on the national scene. i'm not sure if i had been sworn in to the senate. it was like being shot out of a cannon. suddenly this small woman marches right up to me and grabs me by both hands. i realize it's ethel kennedy,

which is even more disoriented. she says i like you. you are going places. i said you are so kind, it is an honor to meet you. she cut me off. you know you are going places just make sure you enjoy the ride. she didn't have much patience for sentiment because she was too busy enjoying life and getting stuff done. if she were here today i would imagine her whispering to somebody that it's time for me to wrap up.

let me end with this, we live in a time of such rancor and division and loneliness and we isolate ourselves with gadgets, diversions, we are encouraged to chase after things, we have trouble distinguishing what is true from what is false and we succumb to those voices that find it profitable. in resisting such voices we saw ourselves becoming sin assists. what better time to remember the life ethel kennedy lived.

a woman who understood our salvation comes from turning towards each other, not turning away. someone who reminds us that life goes on no matter how deep the grief. that there is joy and purpose to be found no matter what hand we have been dealt. each of us has the power if we so choose to make somebody else's life a little bit better. that we could have some fun and make some mischief in the process. what a gift. i sure did love ethel kennedy. i miss her. i miss her smile, warmth, generosity, gr -- may god bless

her and may she rest in the eternal peace. [applause] >> i ask nancy pelosi to come forward.

speaker pelosi: again, mr. president, mr. president, mr. president, how great for her to have three great presidents of the united states. have three great presidents of the united states. we all know the passing of ethel kennedy is a deep personal loss for her beloved family and friends. i'm honored and grateful for the opportunity to share some thoughts about her from an official standpoint and also from a girlfriend standpoint. as we all know after the tragic

loss of bobby, there was a profound dedication to carry out not just their commitment to expanding opportunity, promoting civil-rights and promoting a more peaceful world. we talk frequently about hope because people would say where is hope. her deep faith in what we said, hope is sitting where it always has been. right between faith and charity. her deep faith in god and goodness of others, her faith in the charity of others gave her hope as well. she gave us strength to help america cope in establishing the

robert f kennedy center for justice and human rights, which he carried on. they transform their communities , her lifetime of service for the nation and was honored the presidential medal of freedom for that recognition. [applause] i met her maybe 60 some years before president obama in 1960 when my father was fresh out of being the mayor of baltimore and chair of the jfk campaign for president of the united states. the first event we had was tea

to welcome the kennedys to maryland. my father was the mayor, he became the person putting on the tea. the kennedy ladies would have an abundance of flowers, music, all of the rest. he saw this as such a great honor for baltimore to welcome them. ethel gave him that day, it meant everything to him. that is how we met her through her kindness. he was determined it would be a spectacular event to model the rest of the nation. over the years i saw her humor and communication skills, she

was a great writer, storyteller, and funny person in addition to being a person of great faith. her 90th birthday party, some of you were there in florida was like a sweet 16 party. it was so much fun. the guest of honor was so beautiful and full of joy. everything that we talked about was what we were going to be doing for a long time to come at this party. we shared stories about her. in 1979, larry bird was signed by the celtics. signed by the celtics and ethel was asked to have a dinner for him.