Video, Transcript: Pres. Obama in Miami: Americans Should Vote FOR Clinton, Not Just AGAINST Trump

I was watching something on television that explained the last time the Cubs had won, Thomas Edison was alive, and they hadn’t invented sliced bread yet, so you know the expression, ‘This is the greatest thing since sliced bread?’ This is actually for Cubs fans, the greatest thing since sliced bread. I’d like to congratulate the Chicago Cubs for an amazing season, but it’s tempting to want to not really focus on our government and our politics, but this election is critical, and the good news is, once you get past all of the noise and all of the distractions and all the okey doke, the choice could not be clearer because Donald Trump –”

AUDIENCE MEMBERS: “Boo!”

BARACK OBAMA: “Don’t, don’t boo–”

AUDIENCE MEMBERS: “Vote!”

BARACK OBAMA: “Don’t boo!”

AUDIENCE MEMBERS: “Vote!”

BARACK OBAMA: “Don’t boo!’

AUDIENCE MEMBERS: “Vote!”

BARACK OBAMA: “Come on guys, you know that. You already knew that. You can’t boo. He can’t hear you boo, but he can hear you vote. Don’t boo, vote! Donald Trump is uniquely unqualified to be president. No, I’m not joking. You laugh. I’m not joking. He is temperamentally unfit to be commander in chief.

Here’s a guy who says he’s a great businessman, but it seems like a lot of his businesses is built around stiffing small businesses and workers out of what he owes them, work they’ve done. He thinks it’s cute or smart or funny to basically not pay somebody who’s done work for him and say, ‘Go ahead and sue me because I’ve got more money than you, and you can’t do anything about it.’ It’s not fair. Here’s somebody who for decades has refused to release any tax returns. Now, maybe it’s because he’s not as rich as he says he is, but he has admitted he does not pay federal income taxes for years. Not a dime! So he’s not helping to support our troops or our veterans. He’s not helping to build roads or build schools or help young people finance a college education because he’s not putting anything in. He’s taking a lot out, but he doesn’t put anything in.

He says that he’s going to be his own foreign policy advisor. He says that’s because he’s got a good brain. Now, I won’t opine on his brain. What I can say is that anybody who suggests that America should torture people or ban entire religions from entering America or insult POWs or attack a Gold Star mom –”

AUDIENCE MEMBER: “Boo!”

BARACK OBAMA: “Don’t boo!”

AUDIENCE MEMBERS: “Vote!”

BARACK OBAMA: “Or talks down about our troops. That’s not somebody who’s fit to be president. Listen, you even have a Republican senator saying, ‘You cannot afford to give the nuclear codes to somebody so erratic.; And as Hillary points out, ‘Anybody you can bait with a tweet is not somebody you can trust with nuclear weapons.’ Anybody, anybody who is upset about a Saturday Night Live skit, you don’t want in charge of nuclear weapons. No, I’m serious. This is a guy who tweets, ‘They should cancel Saturday Night Live. I don’t like Alec Baldwin imitating me.’ Really? That’s the thing that bothers you, and you want to be president of the United States? Come on, man! Come on! Can’t do it!

Somebody who spent his life without ever showing any regard for working folks, but he has insulted minorities and immigrants and Muslims and Americans with disabilities. That’s the voice you want? You want a voice who’s bragging about how being famous let’s you get away with what would qualify as sexual assault and calls women pigs and dogs and slobs? And when he pays attention to women it’s because he’s grading them on a scale of one to ten. What kind of message are we sending if that’s our voice?

I tell you what, we’re going to teach our kids — I want to teach all American kids — that our diversity is our strength, that in America it’s not about what you look like but who you are and what you do and what your character is, that women are not just full and equal citizens, they may be a lot more capable of doing what a man can do. Look, the problem is that he has said so much stuff, and our culture and our media’s just gotten so reality TVized — I know that’s not a word, but you get my drift — It’s become normal when somebody just says wacky stuff, as long as they’re famous, we thinks it’s ok. I mean — and you hear people justifying it. They’re all like, ‘Well, he maybe — it’s just ‘locker room talk,’ or ‘I don’t really like what he’s saying, but as long as he supports Republican policies and he cuts taxes for the wealthy, that’s what I care about,’ saying character doesn’t matter.

Let me tell you something about this office that I’ve been in for eight years. Who you are, what you are does not change after you occupy the Oval Office. All it does is magnify who you are. All it does is shine a spotlight on who you are. If you disrespected women before you were in office, you will disrespect women as president. If you accept the support of Klan sympathizers before you are president, you will accept their support after you’re president. If you disrespect the Constitution before you’re president and threaten to shut down the press when it says something that you do not like. Or threaten to throw your opponent in jail in a live presidential debate and without any regard for due process.

If you discriminate against people of different faiths before you are president, then that is what you will do in office. Except, you will have more power to carry out the twisted visions that you had before you were in office. So you can not make excuses for this stuff. This is not a joke, this is not ‘Survivor’. This is not ‘The Bachelorette’, this counts. This has to do with what is going to happen in your family, in your community, to soldiers, to veterans. The safety of our kids. Listen, I am a strong Democrat. But I will tell you what, we are not born Democrats or Republicans, we are Americans first.

And I have good friends who are Republicans and I know they don’t think this way about women, they don’t think this way about Muslim, they don’t think this way about immigrants — what they are doing is something different entirely. It is different from what we have seen before and the good news is all of you are uniquely qualified to make sure that this uniquely unqualified person does not become president. And all you got to do is make sure that you go out there and you vote!

The other good news is you don’t just have to vote against this guy because you have a candidate who’s actually worthy of your vote. Somebody who is smart, somebody who is steady, somebody who is tested, somebody who is perhaps the most qualified person ever to run for this office, our next president, Hillary Clinton.

This is somebody who has dedicated her life to making this country better. Think about how she got her start — while Donald Trump and his developer dad were being sued by the Justice Department for denying housing to African American families, Hillary was going undercover from school to school to make sure minority kids were getting an equal shot at a good education. She has not stopped fighting for justice, fighting for equality ever since.

Her heart’s always been in the right place, works hard every single day. I know she worked hard when she was running against me — I was worn out! She worked hard when she was working for me. She was there in Situation Room as my, making the argument to go after bin Laden  even when it was risky, circled the globe as Secretary of State, earned the respect of world leaders. Her efforts weren’t always flashy, they weren’t always fully appreciated, which is true for a lot of the work that women do, by the way. Just want to make that observation.

She made me a better president. She understands policy, she understands how the world works, she understand that this stuff that we do, the challenges we face, aren’t abstract, they mean something to real people. She knows that she’s got to work hard because you are out there working hard. And by the way, she doesn’t whine or complain or blame others or suggest that everything’s rigged when things aren’t going her way. She just works harder. She just comes back better. Because she knows no matter how hard things may be for her, there are a lot of people who are having an even tougher time trying to pay the bills or trying to find a job or trying to finance a college education. So she doesn’t have time to whine, she just gets up and does the work!

And she the knows the decisions you make as president mean something to that soldier or that veteran or our military families. That a parent who’s trying to make end’s meet, they need a president who cares and knows what they’re doing. That a student that’s trying to go to college for the first time needs somebody with an actual plan to help them. That a young person who was brought to this country as a child has never known another country, is American by every standard except they don’t have a piece of paper. She knows they need to have a chance to give back to this country they love. She’s got plans that will actually help these people. She’s going to be a leader who actually values hard work, respects working Americans. And she will be an outstanding commander-in-chief because she’s been in the room when tough decisions were made.

You worry about keeping America safe? She’ll do it because she knows our military and knows our diplomats. She doesn’t just talk about it, she doesn’t play one on TV, she’s been there. She will be a smart, steady president for the United States.

And the one thing I got to remind you, though, is she’s not going to do it alone. That’s why we got to have a Congress that is also focused on you. Patrick Murphy — he’s got the same values Hillary does. Unlike his opponent, Marco Rubio, Patrick — don’t boo, what are you supposed to do? Come on!

Unlike his opponent, Marco Rubio, Patrick actually shows up to work. He puts you ahead of politics. He didn’t try to defund Planned Parenthood. He didn’t think that some politicians should be making decisions, he said, ‘Let women make their own healthcare decisions.’ He didn’t, he didn’t walk away from Florida’s Latino community when the politics got tough. He kept on, Patrick kept on fighting for comprehensive immigration reform and a pathway to citizenship. He actually believes in science and, as a consequence, believes climate change is a problem for the people of Florida and that we should do something about it.

Patrick Murphy brought Democrats and Republicans to fund Everglades restoration — he has a track record of caring about the environment. As your next senator, he and Hillary will help protect this planet for our kids and help make sure Florida is protected against some of the worst consequences of climate change. This should be a no brainer. And there’s one other big difference between Patrick and Marco. Marco supports Donald Trump. Now keep in mind, earlier this year, he called Donald a ‘dangerous con artist.’ He said that Donald Trump spent a career sticking it to working people. And he tweeted — this is Marco Rubio — he tweeted, ‘Friends don’t let friends vote for con artists.’

Friends don’t friends vote for con-artists. So, guess who just voted for Donald Trump a few days ago? Marco Rubio. Obviously he did not have good enough friends. Now if you knew better when you were running against Trump. You knew he was a con-artist. Spent a lot of time sticking it to working people. This is what you said. I am not making this up I just want to be clear. He said this. Quoted. Taped. If you knew better and then went ahead and voted for this guy anyway. That means that you are somebody who will say anything or be anything, be anybody, just so you can get elected or cling to power. You know what, if that’s the kind of person you want representing you, I guess you should vote for Marco Rubio, then I guess that’s who you should vote for.

If you want a senator who will show up and work for you. And has some integrity. And has some consistency. And will actually say what he thinks and what he means, and then act on that. Somebody you have confidence in, than you should vote for Patrick Murphy. I trust Patrick Murphy. I believe in Patrick Murphy. And Hillary needs Patrick Murphy in the United States Senate to make sure she gets stuff done. Part of the reason that it’s important to get Patrick in. Part of what I want to say about this election is this about more than just plans and policies.

There is something more fundamental at stake. What’s at stake is the character of our nation. You know when Hillary was young, her mom taught her the Methodist creed. Do all you can for all the people you can, all the ways that you can, for as long as you can. That’s what guides her. That’s her North Star. She believes that we can summon the best in this country and make it better for all people, not just some. That’s what America is all about, isn’t it. We are a country like no other. Not just because of the height of our skyscrapers, not because of the size of our military. It’s because this is a place founded on an ideal. ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident. That all men and women are created equal. That we are all endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights.’

We don’t have to be born to will, or privilege. You don’t have to have a certain last name or look a certain way. Or do you hair a certain style. You’ve just got to be willing to contribute. You’ve just got to care.  You just got to care enough about other people. Making sure everybody’s got a fair shot. If you do that, then you are a patriot. And you can contribute to this country that you love and you can go as far as your dreams take you.

That’s what makes this place special. That’s what drove patriots to choose revolution over tyranny. To found this nation. That’s what lead GI’s to liberate a continent. That’s what […] women to march to get the ballot. That’s what lead marches to cross a bridge in Selma to win their rights. That’s what allowed workers to organize for collective bargaining and better wages. That’s what’s made America exception. That’s what’s made America always great.

We never been about just doing for ourselves but about what we can do together. It’s about what can be achieved by us, the people together through the hard soul and yes, frustrating work of self-government. That’s not Donald Trump stands for, but it is what Hillary stands for. The idea that in this big diverse country of ours we don’t demonize each other. We reach out and try to work together. We recognize that issues aren’t always black and white. And sometimes you got to compromise. Even when you are right.

She knows none of us our perfect but she knows that some of us who have been blessed with positions of leadership should try to conduct ourselves with a sense of decency and big-heartedness that will sent an example for our kids. I know Hillary will do that. I know she will continue the progress that we’ve made and she’ll need allies like Patrick. I know we don’t need Hillary stuck with a Republican Congress that’s behaving the way they’ve been behaving. They have not worked with me since I’ve been in office. They didn’t work with me when we were about to go into a great depression.

Even now, they control the Senate and the house, they can’t pass their own stuff. They’re so accustomed to just saying no. Obstruction. Gridlock. We’re against whatever it is Obama proposes. I will sometimes propose their own stuff and they’ll oppose it. It surprises them. I’ll be like this is in your Republican handbook. This is in your talking points. I thought y’all were for this. ‘No, you’re for it we can’t be for that, I’m sorry.’ C’mon man!

So apparently they don’t have much confidence in their nominee. So, instead they’re already promising more unprecedented dysfunction in Washington. Now, it’s hard to promise more dysfunction. That’s a hard thing to do. But, they’re promising that. They’re promising years of investigations. Years of hearings. Years of shut-down. Years of repeal Obamacare votes.

Can I just say — by the way, I know I’m running long. We have given 20 million health insurance that didn’t have it before. 20 million people. The parade of horribles, haven’t talked about. Death panels, do you remember that? None of what they’ve said has happened. So, now after 60 votes to repeal this thing that hasn’t succeeded, Donald Trump says we got to call a special session to repeal. And he had a big press conference. He had a couple of doctors, a nurse, Ben Carson, and some people. No, really, he’s an excellent neurosurgeon, but I don’t know what happened with the whole political thing. They come and spent like an hour. ‘Oh, we’re going to repeal Obamacare.’ ‘Okay, then what are you going to do?’ ‘Well, then we are going to repeal it and give you something great.’ ‘Okay, what?’ ‘Well, something, because premiums are going up for a handful of people who don’t get tax-credits’ We’re going to do a lot about and would have already done it if the Republicans had helped. But, keep in mind their alternative would have been no health insurance. That’s what they had before.

The reason I point this out because you watch the press conference and you realize they got no plan. They want to repeal because ideologically they’re opposed to helping these 20 million people get health insurance. They don’t even have a pretense of a plan. They don’t even have a semblance of a plan. There is not even a hint of plan, not even a moat, not even a — there’s no plan! Nothing, zero, nada! C’mon! You can’t just be against something. You’ve got to be for something!  You’ve got to be for something.

You can’t spend eight years being against me and now you’re going to be against Hillary, but you haven’t been for anything. Come on! Now, you’ve got some of these senators are talking about how we won’t even appoint another Supreme Court justice. Now, we’ve had nine Supreme Court justice for a really long time, and part of the reason you have nine is to break ties. And some of the same folks who just a while back said, ‘Well, we can’t have hearings and vote for the guy Obama nominated because we’re so close to the election. We should let the next president make the nomination.’ Right? That’s what they said.

So now, they think Hillary might win. They say, ‘Well, we might block hers, too.’ Wait, but I thought you said that the people were going to decide? Can I talk to the press for a second? What happened? Do we ever run back the tape? Do we ever kind of go, ‘Well, what happened?’ That’s what they said, and now they’re saying something entirely different. Come on, man! This has got to be on the level. Don’t pretend that gridlock is happening because somehow Democrats and Republicans are equally obstructionists. It’s just not true!

Gridlock — if you think ‘vote for gridlock’ is a good slogan, you should vote for Republicans. But if you think America can do better, if you think we should be doing something to create jobs for working families, if you think we should be providing health care for folks that need it, if you think we should be helping single moms with childcare so they can go to their job, if you think we should have equal pay for equal work, or raise the minimum wage, then you need to vote for Democrats up and down the ticket. You’ve got to vote for Hillary and Patrick, people who will roll up their sleeves and move the country forward.

Alright, I’ve gone on for too long! I know I’ve gone on for a little too long. My staff is going to talk about me when I get back there. They’ll say, ‘What was going on? You’re talking too long.’ So let me end with this, let’s take it down for a second because I want to make this point to young people especially. Just, just give me one second. I know a lot of you are cynical about politics. There’s a lot about this election that gives you reason to be but I’m here to tell you that right now, you have the chance to move history in a better direction. You have the chance to reject divisive politics and mean spirited politics. You have a chance to elect a leader who spent her life trying to move this country forward, the first female president who can be an example for our sons and our daughters. You have a chance to shape history, and I want young people to understand those moments don’t come often.

There are times when history is movable where you can make things better or worse. This is one of those moments, and it’s in your hands, this incredible power that each of you have. I know you care about a lot of issues, young people. I’ve heard from you. I’ve seen you march for criminal justice reform, that’s great. But if you care about criminal justice reform, it’s not just enough to protest. You’ve got to vote for a president and Congress and prosecutors who care about disrupting that pipeline of underfunded schools to overcrowded jails and make sure that the criminal justice system is accountable and fair.

So Florida and young people especially, I’m asking you the same thing I asked of you eight years ago, I’m asking you to believe. Not just in my ability to change things, one person’s ability to change things, even I’m not just asking you to believe in Hillary’s ability to change things. I’m asking you to believe in your ability to change things. You remember my slogan wasn’t ‘Yes, I Can.’ It was ‘Yes, We Can.’ And I’m not on the ballot this time, but fairness is on the ballot. Decency is on the ballot. Justice is on the ballot. All of the progress we’ve made is on the ballot. Immigration reform is on the ballot. A higher minimum wage is on the ballot. Equal pay for equal work is on the ballot. Democracy is on the ballot. Hillary Clinton will move us forward if you give her a chance. And if we win Florida, we will win this election. It is in your hands.

So go out there and vote. Get your friends to vote. Get your family to vote. Get your cousins and neighbors and coworkers to vote. Tell them that this is the moment where America makes a stand about who we are and what we believe. Tell them this is the moment we reject cynicism and reject fear. This is the moment we choose hope. Choose hope, choose hope, choose hope, choose hope. Go out there and vote, and if you do, we will elect Hillary Clinton the next president. We’ll elect Patrick Murphy the next senator. We’ll continue this amazing journey. We will finish what we started. We’ll show the world why America’s the greatest nation on Earth.

I love you guys. Bye bye!”