President Biden delivers remarks at the Bloomberg Global Business Forum — 09/24/2024

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[Applause]

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thank you thank you thank

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you thank

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you

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I thank

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you thank you thank you thank you if I

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were smart I'd leave

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now thank you all so very much Mr Mayor

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Michael thank you you know I I word at

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the presidential meas of freedom because

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you've literally revolutionized our

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economy it's not hyperbole you

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transformed how we consume information

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you challenge and solve the toughest

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issues and thank you for hosting this

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important for and thank all the Business

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Leaders here today and thank my cabinet

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members for their work as well well

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Energy Secretary Jennifer grol is here

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the EPA administrator Michael Reagan's

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here you know four years ago Comm and I

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inherited the worst pandemic in a

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century the worst economic crisis since

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the Great Depression I get a hold minute

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here and tell you a little story when I

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uh when I I sat in the Oval Office every

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morning at 9:00 and then ended the day

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with Barack for eight years and there

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was only one there was only one portrait

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of above the fireplace a portrait of

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George Washington fairly small but a

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beautiful portrait and so I when I

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didn't realize at the time all the times

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I've been in the oval that the incoming

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president cannot go into the oval on the

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20th until until after 4:00 and the

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outgoing president has to leave by 10:

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although the outgoing president never

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showed up anyway

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uh but so I asked my brother Jim who has

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a better taste than I do

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to uh pick what we needed for the to

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pick what desk you want what rug you you

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know the things you want in your office

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and I said only wanted a couple things I

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wanted to make sure I had the Resolute

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desk and I wanted looking next to next

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to the fireplace I wanted a a uh the

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bust of Martin Luther King who was one

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of my heroes as I was coming up as a

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young civil rights guy and uh Bobby

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Kennedy I great great my admiration for

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John Kennedy but I can never picture him

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at my kitchen table anyway so we're

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stand I walk in and my brother showing

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in I look up and there's this giant

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portrait of Franklin

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Roosevelt and and John meum was on the

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on the speaker and I said why Franklin

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Ros I admire him but why Franklin roosev

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well no one's inherited an economy more

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disarrayed than when Franklin rosev was

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President I said isn't that

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wonderful swear to God true story look

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to the left was Abraham Lincoln I said

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why Abraham Lincoln I admired the hell

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out of Lincoln but why said the country

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has never been as divided since the

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Civil War said I'm the hell out of here

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anyway but look A lot's changed A lot's

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changed when he came to office the

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climate and in crisis and one

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existential threat that fa All Nations

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Mayor Bloomberg Michael you've you've

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convene leadership National and

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international levels to lead the charge

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and change the mindset

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you know uh I just met with the

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president of the UAE who was a massive

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investor in clean energy around the

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world that's what he wanted to talk to

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me about I just hosted a three-day

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conference at the quad in

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Delaware the prime minister of India

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Australia and Japan three of the fastest

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growing economies in the world they

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understand you can't remain dependent on

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fossil fuels they need to lean the Clean

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Energy Future I had a discussion with

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the president of Kenya whom I hosted in

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the state for state visit Kenya is also

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a global leader in clean energy together

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together we've launched the US Kenya

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climate and clean energy and Industrial

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partnership all this matters now I want

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to Pivot to home here since I've been

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president I've flown over more wild

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fires unfortunat to God's truth in

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helicopters from Arizona idah home all

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the way to Montana and I more acreage

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I've looked down I've seen more acreage

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burned on the ground to to the ground

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than the entire state of Maryland in

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terms of the area just

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wildfires they they I we I've toured the

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community ravaged by tornadoes and

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floods more than more that cost lives

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and livelihoods it cost taxpayers and

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billions of dollars in damage but when K

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and I came to office there was no real

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plan place to do anything about it as

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the government we were doing nothing

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virtually nothing we were determined not

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only to deliver immediate economic

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relief to the American people but to

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transform our how our economy works in

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the long term to write a new economic

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Playbook to grow the economy from the

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middle out in the bottom up instead of

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the top down that way workers do well no

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one's left behind and the wealthy still

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do very well and leave no and Foster

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Fair competition invest in all of

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America and all Americans and I've been

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pointing out when it comes to the

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climate every time I talk about it

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whether I was trying to convince labor

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or business to come along I'd say I

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think climate I think jobs I think jobs

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and I mean it good union paying jobs in

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fact I'm proud to kept my commitment to

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bring unions and business to to The

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Climate table that's what we're seeing

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rather than climate conservation about

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sacrifice conversation about sacrifice

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are focused on doing less Comm and I

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have pursued an ambitious climate policy

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focused on growth and the public and

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private sector LED lead all it you you

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all of you in this we've LED building

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our economic capacity together we've

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proven the strong middle class thriving

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Innovation and Manufacturing are the key

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to winning climate here at home and

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abroad here here are the key climate

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pages from the new economic Playbook we

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rejoined the Paris agreement immediately

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after my predecessor had walked away we

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got to work planning private Capital off

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pulling private Capital off the

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sidelines getting the workers in the

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game and once again leading the world on

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climate bringing jobs back home

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manufacturing and Technology we invented

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here in the United States decades ago

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bringing it back we're bringing back

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hope and pride in communities opening

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shuttered factories and zip codes too

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often left behind I might point out I

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was criticized very much for having done

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more to invest in red States than blue

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States but I made a commitment that when

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I ran I'd be president for all people

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all people whether they voted for me or

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not

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and we're doing that in what I call

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investing in America agenda I wrote and

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signed the law the inflation reduction

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act most significant climate law ever

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passed in the history of the world we

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were told it couldn't get done but we

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did it more than $369 billion dollar in

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climate and and clean energy a s not a

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single Republican voted for but the the

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inflation reduction act lowers energy

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costs for families with rebates and tax

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credits to install rooftop sold and

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energy efficient appliances weatherizing

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their windows and doors and high-tech

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insulation and more efficient heating

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and cooling systems and so much more and

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you get a tax credit for doing it the

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groundbreaking laws also catalyze clean

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energy innovation in areas like Battery

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Technology nuclear energy

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geothermal that will create hundreds of

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thousands of jobs for American workers

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in fact along with other historic

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investments in infrastructure and our

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infrastructure bill was a trillion 300

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billion in science and technology

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private companies in the United States

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and globally have announced Investments

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of nearly $1 trillion doll in clean

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energy manufacturing here in America in

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the last three

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[Applause]

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years and you all are the leaders of

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that you're the ones we're just getting

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started in the face of the dangerous

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deadly impacts of climate change we're

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also making our cities and towns more

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resilient this is a new formula on

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climate creating jobs reducing pollution

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cleaning up our water and air improving

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our quality of life building a better

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America for example once in a generation

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modernization of our grid means this

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year we'll add more new electric

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capacity than we have in two decades and

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96% of what that will be clean energy

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I went to the University of Delaware and

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a university Professor was the first

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Professor the first solar powered

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building inspired residential solar

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adaptation more than 80% of the solar

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panels and and components are

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manufactured in China though but now

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we're turning that around American Solar

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pan manufacturing is up four times what

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it was four years ago with more to come

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America inherit invented the lithium ion

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battery technology that's powering our

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clean energy transformation including

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electric vehicles in the grid but when

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common L came to office America was

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barely making any any of these batteries

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all other countries are commercializing

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them but not

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anymore there more than 14 gigafactories

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massive large scale factories up opening

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were under construction and make

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advanced batteries here in America and

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more to come we're also making the

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battery components here in America

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making sure we the supply chain starts

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in America and all this is helping Power

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and Electric Revolution and

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transportation we've quadrupled the

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development of electric vehicles since

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it took office we're deploying a fleet

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of clean school buses that will not only

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will not pollute the air our postal

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service is going fully electric we've

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invested $45 billion in electric trains

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in America because if a person can

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choose between a car and a train to get

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to the destination at the same time

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7 80% of that they will take the train

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and it's 70 80% less pollution than

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driving the same

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distance and we now have tools to lower

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emissions from building materials for

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the first time ever we're beginning to

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produce clean steel cement and aluminum

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I think most Americans have no idea how

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much pollution has occurred when you

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when you make

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cement well the American people know how

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much pollution heavy Industries produce

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since each one produces as much

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pollution as a small

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country we are now making most

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significant investment ever in Rural

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America 880,000 Farms Across America are

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implementing climate smart agriculture

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cover crops nutrient management storing

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carbon in the soil which creates new

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sources of wealth for Farmers families

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and at the same time we're also carrying

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out the most ambitious conservation

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agenda in a long time we're on track to

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conserve a commitment I made 30% of all

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our lands and Waters by the year 2030

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since taking office my Administration

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has already conserved over 42 million

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Acres inflation reduction Act is also

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the most significant law ever advanced

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in environmental justice for

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disadvantage in so-called fence line

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communities like cancer alley in

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Louisiana or rout 9 Carter in Delaware

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we're making sure these communities

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receive 40% of the benefits and of the

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key investments in pollution reduction

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clean energy and infrastructure all all

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this matters it matters a great deal

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just under four years the economy has

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created nearly 16 million jobs the most

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ever in a single presidential term in

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just two years since the inflation

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reduction act we've created more than

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330,000 clean energy

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jobs I should say you've created You'

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created that clean energy jobs are going

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toward tce as fast in the econom as the

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economy overall clean energy workers to

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join Union is the highest level in

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history and I'm really proud have

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launched the American climate Corp

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pattern after the Peace Corp and

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American Corp to put tens of thousands

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of young people on the path to good

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paying clean energy jobs to improve our

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environment and grow our economy and you

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know the United States has reasserted

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America's position as a global leader in

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climate we're leading in all OD effort

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to partner with Nations to reduce Global

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emissions to limit global warming to

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1.5°

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C you all remember when Putin invaded

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Ukraine which sent food and energy

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prices soaring around the world and

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showing just how volatile and fragile a

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fossil fuel-based economy can be the

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United States rallied the world against

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Putin's aggression who've led the world

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in releasing oil reserves and

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stabilizing Global energy markets while

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also working quickly as possible to

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deploy clean energy

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resources you know I conven Summit

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leaders on climate and the American

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leader Summit the African leader Summit

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I should say and cop 28 United States

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galvanized the world to commit for the

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first time to transition away from

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undebated fossil fuels across the board

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America's climate leadership has

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encouraged American companies to invest

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in private capital for clean energy

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development and to load to Middle inome

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Nations and so much more I Thank The

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Business Leaders are here today for

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leading the way and I mean that all this

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historic climate change is in stark

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contrast to my

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predecessor he says he'd repeal the

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inflation reduction act he let our

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Factory shut down he moved the world

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backwards his denial of climate change

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condemns our future generations to a

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more dangerous world and by the way

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windmills do not cause cancer

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I think we've laid out a better choice

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and today we're better position than any

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other nation of the world to to promote

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a clean energy future in fact it's a

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perfect time to go big the market for

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clean energy is booming inflation is way

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down in America the Federal Reserve just

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announced lowering interest rate and I I

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predict they'll go f further down we

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should give business even more

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confidence to invest trillions of

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dollars that are on the sidelines in the

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clean energy industries of the future

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I'm doing my part now I'm calling

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another company comp with the capital in

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the room to invest more and do more

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Now's the Time let me close with this

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four years though we've gone from

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historic crisis to histo Historic

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process progress and in doing it with a

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new playbook based on one of the oldest

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truths of our nation invest in America

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believe in America believe in

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possibilities and share it with the

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world that's what I see if I could see

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all of you when I look at all of

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you I really mean this I know I only

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look like I'm 40 years old but I'm a

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little

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older you know I've been doing this a

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long time 51 years in elective office

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and

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uh it's hard to say it's hard to say but

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I give my words Biden I'm never more

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optimistic about America's future and

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Michael let me go back to you your

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initiative your commitment your vision

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your dedication have literally changed

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the

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world and got a long way to encourage

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the Americans to be convinced once again

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we can do anything we just remember who

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the hell we are we're the United States

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of America there is nothing beyond our

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capacity when we act together folks

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as a student of History we're the only

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nation in the world that's come out of

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every major crisis we've entered

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stronger than we went in every single

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time every single

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time this assembly in this room you're

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the leaders not only in America you're

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the world the rest of the world looks to

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us it's not about my being president I

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give you my word think about it if we

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didn't lead who the hell leads who fills

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the vacuum without America lead

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that's who we are that's Our obligation

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and that's our incredible

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opportunity so folks I really am

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optimistic I really mean it you listen I

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didn't even go into all the things that

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are going on in the rest of the world in

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terms of how they want to transition

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away from from fossil fuels want to use

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peaceful nuclear technology a whole

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range of things hydrogen so many things

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are on the table and we can do this we

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really can

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and we owe it to our children and quite

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frankly we owe it to lead the

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world if my mom was here she' say Joey

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end it

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okay and I will so God bless you all may

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God protect our troops thank you very

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very much

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[Music]

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[Applause]

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you

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[Music]