President Obama at OH Rally to Support Dr. Amy Acton & Sherrod Brown

[2:02] welcome Dr. Amy Acton. [2:04] We're here today from the bottom of our hearts. [4:13] All the support and all the love you have showed us this past week and every day on [4:20] the trail. [4:21] Thank you. [4:22] Thank you. [4:29] We've got it. [4:30] My name is Dr. Amy Acton. [4:33] And I'm a doctor, not a politician, but I am a lifelong public servant. [4:46] And I have spent my entire career fighting to make life better for Ohioans. [5:00] Ohio girl, through and through, I grew up in Youngstown. [5:09] Stuff of Bruce Springsteen songs. [5:13] And like a lot of you, my grandfather immigrated here from the old country, escaping persecution [5:19] to work in the steel mills. [5:21] When I grew up, we didn't know what party you were in. [5:26] We knew what union you were in. [5:28] We knew what branch of the military you served in. [5:36] We knew where you worshipped. [5:38] We knew what civic groups you were in. [5:41] But the biggest thing we knew was that you had one another's backs. [5:51] And if it weren't for the tough, deeply resilient community I had, I wouldn't be here today. [5:58] They had my back when I needed it most. [6:02] As you've probably heard by now, as a young child, my brother and I experienced a lot of [6:15] child abuse and neglect. [6:17] We moved countless times as kids and even wound up living in a tent in the middle of winter. [6:23] And now my opponent has chosen to exploit intentionally my childhood to save his struggling campaign. [6:44] But it's not going to work. [6:47] It's not going to work because compassion and decency still matter. [7:21] These experiences drove me to become a doctor and to spend my career in public service fighting [7:32] to make sure that every kid gets a fair shot. [7:37] And I know that I am not the only one in this room who saw a thing or two in their childhood. [7:45] But our stories, Ohio's stories, is one of resilience, of grit, of grace, and yes, of hope. [7:56] Our guest today knows a little something about hope. [8:14] It's a very powerful thing. [8:16] It's what got me through living in a cold, dark basement when I wasn't sure where my next meal [8:22] was coming from. [8:24] Hope is what got me through sexual abuse, living through cold nights where all I could think [8:29] about was how to keep my brother safe and warm. [8:33] It's what drove me to work three jobs and put myself through college and medical school. [8:50] And hope is what kept me going as a young mom working the night shift in residency. [9:01] Hope is what made me dedicate my career, my entire career, to keeping Ohioans safe and well. [9:08] And hope, guys, is what drives this campaign. [9:12] Because when we're in this together, we can make life better for all Ohioans. [9:39] And that is why we are fighting, fighting to make life affordable again in Ohio. [9:46] Big. [9:51] To end the cost of corruption, save our public schools, our libraries, our hospitals, our libraries, [10:01] and build an Ohio where no one is left behind. [10:07] Because my definition of hope, I do have a definition. [10:11] Hope is optimism plus a plan. [10:15] A plan. [10:19] We've got plans. [10:20] I'm running for governor because I refuse to look the other way. [10:26] And we are refusing to look the other way. [10:29] While people are struggling in this state, bad actors and special interests keep taking [10:35] the state backwards on every single measure, it is time for a change in Ohio. [10:44] It is time. [10:54] Over the last two and a half years, we've traveled everywhere in this state. [10:59] In my Jeep Wrangler, we've listened deeply about your lives and what's keeping you up at [11:05] tonight, it has been the honor of a lifetime to hear your stories. [11:10] I'll never forget about a family I met early on, a young couple in Claremont County. [11:15] They're doing everything right. [11:16] They stretched to buy a house. [11:18] They finally did. [11:19] But they had premature twins. [11:22] And they found themselves $300,000 in medical debt. [11:28] That's on top. [11:29] From the NICU bills. [11:30] That's on top of the groceries, the gases, the property taxes, trying to take care of aging [11:35] parents. [11:37] This couple is doing everything right, but there is no more breathing room. [11:42] The math just doesn't add up. [11:44] I hear this story everywhere I go. [11:46] 95% of what I hear from Ohioans, no one would disagree on. [11:52] But everyone in the state is longing for something. [11:56] We are longing for public servants again, who actually solve problems instead of making [12:14] problems. [12:15] Here we now, we have a plan on day one to make life better for working families. [12:27] Instead of a tax break for people at a million plus like my opponent's friends, it is time [12:34] for a tax cut for the rest of us. [12:40] That's right, working families. [12:44] As governor, I'm going to alleviate medical debt. [12:47] I'm going to fully fund our public schools. [12:50] Child care affordability, lower utility bills, make sure parents and our families can age in [13:12] place with dignity. [13:13] All of this, Ohio, is my promise. [13:16] I'm going to make it all cost less. [13:20] Now, let's talk about my opponent for a moment. [13:32] You know Mr. Ramaswamy, the guy who moved his business to Texas before running for governor [13:45] of the state of Ohio, probably not a good idea. [13:48] He will absolutely put the wants of billionaires over the needs of working families. [13:57] Mr. Ramaswamy has said Medicaid and Medicare are mistakes. [14:03] He wants to completely dismantle them and Social Security too. [14:09] All while our hospitals are collapsing, I hear stories of folks going an hour and 15 minutes [14:15] in the state to deliver a baby, to have their kids' cavity filled, to get their cancer care. [14:22] As governor, I will fight to fight to protect Medicaid and keep Ohioans insured. [14:31] Look, I could go on and on. [14:40] In Ohio, we work hard and we watch out for one another. [14:46] My opponent just doesn't get it. [14:48] Mr. Ramaswamy, you are not just out of touch. [14:51] You are out for yourself and you are a danger to my state. [14:56] Apparently, there is no low to which you won't stew. [15:23] But look, I am a scrappy kid from Youngstown. [15:29] Kids from Youngstown, we never back down from a fight. [15:37] And that's what we have on our hands, everyone. [15:46] We've got to fight. [15:47] My opponent and his billionaire friends have spent over $110 million and counting in these [15:55] lies and hate. [15:56] And guess what? [15:58] It hasn't moved the needle one bit. [16:01] It hasn't worked. [16:06] Because my fellow Ohioans, we know what is at stake. [16:13] It is no longer about party. [16:15] It isn't. [16:17] It is about extreme wealth, power, ideology against all the rest of us. [16:24] But together, in a people-powered movement fueled once again by hopes, Ohioans are linking [16:34] arms. [16:35] And we are going to tell Mr. Ramaswamy, in no uncertain terms, you cannot buy this stake. [16:43] You can't buy us. [17:02] You can't do it. [17:04] That's right. [17:05] I'm standing here today in all honor. [17:09] I truly am honored because of people and community and neighborhoods who also refuse to look the [17:17] other way. [17:17] And they gave me a fair shot. [17:19] My opponent keeps mistaking kindness for weakness. [17:25] And I think that is a big, big mistake. [17:29] That is a big mistake. [17:47] Kindness. [17:47] Kindness isn't weakness. [17:50] It's a fierce, fierce commitment to justice. [17:55] Seeing the God in one another, the humanity in one another. [17:59] And that is also on the ballot in 26. [18:04] You see, I am not afraid. [18:12] I am determined. [18:14] I'm determined. [18:21] But I need you. [18:24] I need you to do every single thing you can do in the next 10 days. [18:30] And I need you to help me heal this thing that has been broken. [18:34] Don't give up on anyone in your life. [18:36] Don't. [18:37] Even after the election, don't. [18:39] Because together, we are going to take on Mr. Ramoswamy and this whole axis. [18:45] And we will win. [18:47] We will win. [18:49] The sun is rising. [19:04] The sun is rising and a new day is dawning in Ohio over the great state of Ohio. [19:12] I feel it in my bones and I know you do too. [19:15] And I will be fighting with you every step of the way. [19:20] Thank you, Ohio! [19:22] Please welcome Senator Sherrod Brown. [21:40] Dr. Acton, Dr. Acton, thank you for your strength, your courage, your integrity. [21:47] Thank you, Senator. [22:04] My wife, my wife Connie is here. [22:07] Wonderful wife, wonderful mother, wonderful grandma. [22:15] And oh yeah, one of our nation's best writers. [22:27] Our three daughters, seven of our grandchildren are also here. [22:37] How lucky we are. [22:38] One of the best parts about getting to do this is to compliment my family in front of thousands [22:50] of people. [22:50] So thank you. [22:51] As you know, Connie, our children, our grandchildren, all of us like you are all in for this campaign [23:22] and we're going to win. [23:23] I want to thank, I sow from the bottom of my heart, I want to thank President Obama for coming to Ohio. [23:43] National media is never going to write off Ohio ever again. [23:55] The president knows what I know, that Ohioans don't have a voice in the United States Senate [24:03] and we deserve better than John Hustad. [24:06] So Cleveland, Cleveland, let me ask you, are you ready to win in 10 days? [24:19] Are you ready, are you ready to have a voice in the U.S. Senate standing up to billionaires, [24:34] standing up to corporations and fighting for you? [24:41] So, so much excitement in this room today. [24:43] I, I feel traveling the state as Amy has, I feel the same enthusiasm in Toledo and Mansfield [24:50] and Asheville, in Columbus and Cincinnati, all over this state. [25:00] I feel it, I feel that enthusiasm in cities, in suburbs, in small towns, in farm country. [25:08] We see people showing up, like today, like never before. [25:12] They're angry, they're frustrated, they demand change and we're fighting for it. [25:24] They know, Democrats, Republicans and Independents, they all know the system is rigged more than [25:31] ever. [25:32] Corruption, corruption is woven into everything. [25:38] Corporate profits have soared, executive salaries have exploded. [25:42] The average CEO makes $17 million a year. [25:50] You know, that, that's bad enough. [25:52] But what's worse is that CEOs are making 300 times what the average worker is making. [26:01] Yet, yet Ohio workers are more productive than ever. [26:05] You work harder than ever. [26:07] But no matter how hard you work, your pay doesn't keep up. [26:11] Too often you simply can't get ahead. [26:14] Families, families see more money going out the door, not enough money coming in. [26:24] To pay for utilities and healthcare and groceries, everything. [26:28] And no one, no one in the Senate is standing up to these corrupt corporations who game the [26:35] system and raise your prices. [26:37] Instead, politicians who are supposed to be working for you are cashing in. [26:46] When they're in, when they're in office, they play the stock market. [26:52] And when they leave, they become lobbyists. [26:55] Shameful. [26:57] But speaking of, let's talk about John Husted. [27:06] Special interest John in Columbus, who looked out for the insurance industry and utility [27:18] companies. [27:19] Now, special interest John in Washington, looking out for the data centers and Wall Street. [27:24] You know, they say, they say you are the company you keep. [27:33] So I want to talk to a moment, for a moment, about the kinds of people John Husted surrounds [27:38] himself with. [27:39] John Husted had to testify in a criminal trial in defense of the indicted First Energy utility [27:49] executives. [27:50] In the state's largest bribery scandal ever, Husted was called in to defend his utility executive [28:02] buddies. [28:03] And John Husted took $116,000 from Jeffrey Epstein's co-conspirator. [28:12] $116,000 more than, more by a factor of three than any member of Congress. [28:23] And then he voted to block the release of the Epstein files. [28:27] So as, as Husted surrounds himself with utility executives and pedophile protectors in our [28:39] state, he's backed by the data center companies, the big tech billionaires and dark money from [28:47] out of state. [28:48] Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Donald Trump. [29:10] They've, the three of them and others, they've poured hundreds of millions of $300 million [29:49] already in this race, more than any race in Senate history. [29:53] $300 million and counting. [29:55] They've, they've dumped, they've, because they, they know that John Husted's their boy. [30:00] They know he will do whatever they want. [30:03] They know I will stand up to them and make them accountable. [30:06] The billionaires, the billionaires, the trillionaires and shady corporations all know John Husted is for sale. [30:25] He'll put them, he'll put them before hardworking Ohio families every single time. [30:35] And then, then he has the nerve to turn around and tell struggling Ohioans, they just, in his words, they just don't know how to navigate the real world. [30:49] He says, again, his words, he said, these struggling people just need to know, his words, how to budget. [31:01] And most, most insulting of all, he says that your work ethic is broken. [31:10] So, so John, get out of Washington and come home. [31:16] Come to Cleveland or go to any public school in Ohio. [31:19] Talk to the teacher who dips into her home pocket to pay for school supplies. [31:24] And look, look that teacher in the eye and say, your work ethic is broken. [31:37] Or talk, talk to the custodian, cleaning them, cleaning the hallways long after everyone has gone home and tell them, your work ethic is broken. [31:48] Or go to Dominion's public school, middle school in Columbus, Ohio, and talk to a cafeteria worker who serves hundreds of kids a day. [32:00] Look her in the eye and tell her your work ethic is broken. [32:04] Or, for everyone in this room, think about your own jobs. [32:10] How dare John Husted say your work ethic is broken? [32:14] How dare John Husted says you don't know how to navigate the real world? [32:18] Such contempt, such contempt for working Ohioans. [32:24] That's, that's how John Husted talks. [32:29] What he does hurts families all over the state. [32:31] John Husted voted 14 times, 14 times for the war in Iran. [32:37] 14 times. [32:38] The war has raised the price of needles, of diesel and fertilizer for trucks and farmers, and gas and groceries for all of us. [32:52] And get this, get this, John Husted says the war is going, again, his words, the war is going much better than anyone thought it would. [33:04] And, and there's more. [33:11] John Husted voted, not once, not twice, nine times, nine times against lowering health insurance premiums. [33:18] Nine times. [33:19] I mean, why? [33:22] Why? [33:23] Why? [33:24] It's pretty simple. [33:25] He's taken $700,000 from the same insurance companies that are jacking up premiums for all of us in this state. [33:33] He cast, and I know, I see Joyce here, and I know, I know that Chantel was here. [33:43] He cast, voted, of course, the other way. [33:45] John Husted cast the deciding vote to take healthcare away from 490,000 Ohioans. [33:52] Again, again, you ask why. [33:58] Why? [33:59] To pay for a tax cut for his billionaire buddies and his corporate cronies. [34:03] And he was, he was at the center, he was at the center of the largest bribery scandal in Ohio history. [34:13] A $61 million bribe that almost doubled your electric rates. [34:18] And look, and look what he's done with data centers. [34:24] John Husted, John Husted is the face of data centers. [34:30] He led the charge to bring 226 data centers to our state, to our community. [34:38] 226. [34:43] Then, then he gave these corporations $2.5 billion of our tax dollars. [34:49] Now, and now, we pay thousands of dollars more on our utility bills. [34:54] So, in Washington, Husted's still working for them. [35:02] Writing a toothless bill that helps the data center industry doesn't help Ohioans. [35:08] Pedophiles, big corporations, billionaires, what do they all have in common? [35:13] I got an answer for that, too. [35:19] What do they all have in common? [35:20] They own John Husted. [35:22] Husted works for them. [35:24] Ohioans, Ohioans in the Senate don't have any, Ohioans don't have anyone fighting for you. [35:37] Until November. [35:39] Talk, talk to your neighbors and friends and tell them, Ohio doesn't have to accept this corruption. [35:54] Tell them we're going to end this war. [35:57] We're going to end these terrorists. [35:59] We're going to go after and clean up the corruption in Washington and in Columbus. [36:05] Tell them, tell them how we're fighting to ban, to stop health insurance companies from denying care that your doctor says you need. [36:25] If that doesn't work, if that doesn't work, we'll fine them when they deny your claims. [36:30] Tell them how we're working to make it illegal for drug companies to charge Americans more than they do in other countries. [36:42] The same pill should be the same price. [36:51] You know, it's not hard to see why this corruption keeps happening. [36:56] Last year, last year, members of Congress made more than $635 million in stock trades. [37:04] And after they leave, far too many of them become lobbyists. [37:11] So, here's the thing. [37:13] If you're running for office, if you can't pledge, you won't trade stocks. [37:17] If you can't pledge, you won't be a lobbyist after you leave. [37:21] You got no business being in public office. [37:24] Ohioans won't stand for this rigged system any longer. [37:50] Ohioans, Ohio's fighting back. [37:52] You're showing up. [37:53] You're insisting on change. [37:55] You're demanding a senator who will work for Ohio, not for First Energy, not for data centers, not for Epstein, not for Wall Street, someone on your side. [38:05] We're demanding a government that works for Ohio. [38:21] So, make a plan to vote today. [38:26] And when you go to early vote, take five friends with you. [38:30] These corporations, these billionaires, may try to buy this election for their golden boy, John Hustedt. [38:43] But you know, there's way more of us than there are of them. [38:48] So, talk to your family members. [38:59] Talk to your friends at church. [39:01] Talk to your neighbors. [39:02] And especially, don't forget the power that your voice holds. [39:07] You are the experts, and people will listen to you. [39:10] We need everyone to show up this November, because when you love this country, you fight for the people who make it work. [39:17] Now the best part of the day. [39:59] I remember the first time I welcomed Senator Barack Obama to our state. [40:09] I was not yet a senator, but he was helping me to become one. [40:20] But I remember the first time welcoming to our state. [40:23] Look at all he's done since. [40:25] For Ohio, and for our country, ladies and gentlemen, please give a Cleveland welcome to President Obama. [40:33] With your governor, Amy Ackham, Senator Sherrod. [42:16] If y'all got seats, feel free to sit down. [42:36] I got some stuff to say here today. [42:38] But let's face it, I've been doing this a long time. [42:51] Sherrod talks about the first time I came here, did not have a single gray hair. [42:59] Not one. [43:03] And so I've been doing this a long time, and some people might say a little too long. [43:11] And one of those people is Michelle Obama. [43:17] But she gave me a hall pass this weekend. [43:30] And when you have been campaigning, as long as I have been campaigning. [43:39] When you've worked as many elections as I have. [43:42] You can tell when an election comes along that just feels a little bit different. [43:50] An election where people are so ready for something new. [43:56] So hungry for something better. [43:58] So sick and tired of being sick and tired that everywhere you go, it feels like change is in the air. [44:07] And Ohio, that's how I'm feeling right now. [44:15] That's what you get a chance to do in 10 days. [44:20] After two years of chaos and cruelty and corruption and incompetence. [44:31] The likes of which we have not seen in modern times. [44:37] You get a chance to say, enough's enough. [44:40] We are voting for change right here in Ohio. [44:44] And the great thing is here in Ohio, you can vote early through November 1st. [44:58] So don't procrastinate, don't equivocate. [45:03] Make a plan to vote early in person or on election day. [45:09] If you need to find out how to do it, go to iwillvote.com slash OH. [45:15] OH, some things don't change. [45:21] I love you back, you know that. [45:27] Now, you've heard some great speakers. [45:31] I do not have to tell you how tough things are out there. [45:34] But I do think, I do think it's worth reminding ourselves how we got here. [45:44] And the promises that the current occupant of the White House was making on the campaign trail two years ago. [45:52] Don't boo! [45:54] By the way, y'all must not have been to my rallies before, because you know you're not supposed to boo. [45:59] What are you supposed to do? [46:00] Correct. [46:02] They can't hear your boos. [46:04] They'll hear your vote. [46:05] Now, two years ago, there were a lot of people who, they weren't crazy about, [46:21] the guy's character, but they were frustrated about post-COVID inflation. [46:28] They were seeing prices go up. [46:30] And they heard him make a bunch of promises to get costs under control. [46:37] And those weren't the only promises he made. [46:42] He also promised he'd impose tariffs that would bring down the deficit. [46:46] He promised he'd stop getting us involved in unnecessary wars. [46:51] He promised he'd pass a beautiful health care bill, the most beautiful bill that would make everyone's lives better. [46:59] So I think we should examine, how did these promises work out? [47:06] First of all, if you thought everything cost too much before you-know-who, everything is more expensive now. [47:21] Your mortgage costs more. [47:25] Your health care costs more. [47:27] Your utility bills cost more. [47:29] Interest rates are up. [47:31] And then there's gas. [47:33] Four dollars a gallon. [47:35] Five dollars a gallon. [47:36] Diesel is over six in climate. [47:39] I want to be fair. [47:42] As a former president, I can tell you, sometimes factors beyond a president's control end up foiling the best laid plans. [47:55] That happens. [47:57] A president doesn't have control over the entire economy. [48:00] But that is not the case here. [48:06] In this case, this administration's actions are directly responsible for rising costs. [48:18] The current president chose to make a series of bad decisions. [48:30] Most importantly, he decided to start an unnecessary war that nobody asked for and nobody voted for. [48:36] Now, this is something I know a little about. [48:43] Let's think about this Iran war. [48:47] The original rationale was, we're going to go in there and get them to give up their nuclear program, their nuclear weapons. [48:56] Now, the thing was, Iran didn't have nuclear weapons. [49:00] Because I had put a deal in place that everybody acknowledged kept them from getting nukes. [49:09] And I didn't have to fire a missile to do it. [49:12] I just had to engage in diplomacy. [49:15] He pulled out of it, starts this war. [49:19] Seven months later, months after they declared victory. [49:30] Because remember, they said, well, this is the best war ever. [49:33] It's going great. [49:34] So seven months later, how's that war going? [49:38] Our allies and our bases have been attacked. [49:42] Americans have been killed. [49:47] Hundreds of Americans have been wounded. [49:50] We have run down our stock of missiles. [49:54] And Iran now has veto power over the Strait of Hormuz where oil goes through to the world market. [50:03] This is the reason why the price of oil is up. [50:08] Nobody disputes that. [50:10] This is the reason the price of diesel is up. [50:15] This is the reason why the price of just about everything is up. [50:20] Meanwhile, you've got the defense secretary who's squarely focused. [50:29] Wait, wait, don't boom. [50:30] Wait, wait, wait. [50:31] No, no, no. [50:33] He's very focused on important matters like the jawlines and testosterone levels of our troops. [50:40] And live streaming executions. [50:45] Because that's how he thinks you cultivate that manly warrior spirit. [50:51] How much time do you think this defense secretary spends looking at himself in the mirror in the morning? [50:59] I mean, you know he's working his hair because that's how warriors look. [51:10] These are not serious people. [51:12] Not serious people. [51:17] And the problem is you end up having to pay the price for their lack of seriousness. [51:23] These aren't the only reason prices keep going up. [51:29] There's also this whole tariff business. [51:31] Our current president loves tariffs. [51:35] Loves them. [51:36] Tariffs. [51:38] He was warned at the time when you impose tariffs, consumers pay the tab. [51:46] Because it's not just the goods that you use directly that have been imported from someplace else. [51:53] It's also the car you build here in America, they might need to park from somewhere else and now suddenly there's a tariff on it. [51:59] So the prices go up. [52:00] He was warned about that. [52:02] No, no, no. [52:03] That's not what's going to happen. [52:04] This is going to be great. [52:05] Everything's going to turn out great. [52:08] No, that's not what happened. [52:09] In fact, tariffs helped contribute to rising prices. [52:15] And the big trade war he's starting now is with that well-known evil empire. [52:22] Canada. [52:24] Canada. [52:29] I mean, these are the people who gave us maple syrup and Martin Short. [52:35] These are the Canadians. [52:38] They're the nicest people. [52:40] They're so nice. [52:44] They're like our friendly neighbors to the north. [52:47] He's like picking a fight with them. [52:52] And instead of bringing down deficits like he said with these tariffs, we're now running a debt to the tune of $40 trillion. [53:02] $40 trillion. [53:04] Now, you would think that with all this going on, our current president must have at least passed some legislation to bring down prices. [53:18] You would think. [53:21] Right? [53:23] But of any significance in the last two years was a trillion dollar tax break that mostly benefited the richest Americans. [53:38] Don't. [53:41] What did I say? [53:44] What did I say? [53:45] Don't boom. [53:46] I've heard the argument the president's done some things folks wanted him to do, like tightening up the border. [54:00] And you know what? [54:01] I believe that we do need to make sure that our border is orderly and secure. [54:06] And that people who want to come here do so lawfully. [54:09] And in fact, when I was president, I got criticized by some close Democratic allies for tightening up enforcement at the border. [54:20] But I don't recall anybody campaigning on sending masked agents running through our streets. [54:29] I don't recall anybody talking about law abiding citizens being arrested, detained or shot. [54:36] We did not ask for that. [54:38] That's not what we have to do to get our borders under control. [54:55] So when you go through all this, the tally of promises, things have not worked out the way we might have expected. [55:03] Although, I must say, I did expect it. [55:07] And let's be honest. [55:10] Does anybody really think this guy in the White House right now is spending all that time thinking about these issues? [55:19] I mean, I don't know if you've noticed, but he seems very focused on home renovations. [55:28] He should be on HGTV. [55:30] Guys building a ballroom that's bigger than the White House. [55:36] It's paved over the Rose Garden. [55:39] Put a helicopter pad on the south lawn. [55:42] And there's gold everywhere. [55:44] What's up with the gold? [55:48] Everything. [55:49] More gold. [55:50] He's got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a cheesecake factory. [55:54] There's gold everywhere. [55:58] Totally. [56:00] So, he's clearly not focused on lowering prices for you. [56:08] Now, there is one thing he does seem to focus on in addition to home renovation. [56:15] And that is how to enrich himself and his family and his clones. [56:19] Just look at the last couple of weeks. [56:23] We've got a U.S. United States ambassador shaking down a donor to pay off a $100,000 credit card bill. [56:32] Then we learn there's a Venezuelan billionaire who wanted a pardon. [56:38] Paid one of Trump's personal lawyers $50 million to be general counsel at a company nobody knows anything about. [56:48] And lo and behold, he gets the pardon, falls out of the sky, and this culture is set at the top. [56:56] We have never seen a president excel so wildly and just straight up drifting on your dime. [57:06] Never seen a president so intent on selling favors and shaking folks down. [57:14] We have lost count of all the deals he and his family have done. [57:22] From meme coins to taxpayer-funded contracts for his kids' companies. [57:27] And this is someone who has become billions of dollars wealthier in office. [57:36] And by the way, this is not disputed. I'm not making this up. It's all there. [57:41] And not a single Republican in Congress has done anything to stop him. [57:50] Not John Huston, not any of the Republicans on the ballot here in Ohio. [57:58] Most of them have supported him every step of the way. [58:02] So you remember that whole thing about drain the swamp? [58:06] The only thing that got drained was the reflecting pool in the National Mall after some no-big contract got it all messed up. [58:16] And then they tried to blame a three-time Olympian and say he vandalized it. [58:21] All right. I mean, the list could go on. [58:27] And here's the tough part, all right? Like it or not. [58:34] So I want a little reality check. We got two more years in this administration. [58:41] Wait, wait, wait. I mean, wait, hold up. I mean, I'm just, that's how our system of government works. [58:49] But you know what? You know what we're not stuck with? We're not stuck with a spineless Congress. [58:58] And Republican governors who are enabling lawlessness and carelessness and cruelty and indifference for working people. [59:12] We don't, we're not stuck with that. We're not stuck with folks who are enabling policies that take more and more out of your paycheck [59:20] and cut your healthcare and drive up prices. We're not stuck with that. [59:25] This election is our last best chance to at least rein in some of the foolishness of this administration. [59:36] It's the circuit breaker in the system. We need to flip that circuit breaker. [59:42] We need to start bringing some accountability to this administration. [59:46] And just as important, we need to start showing the American people who are hungry for solutions, [59:55] what real leadership looks like, what concrete plans look like that actually lower costs, [1:00:02] and actually make healthcare more affordable, and make housing more affordable, [1:00:06] and get utility bills under control. [1:00:08] We can't just be against this administration's behavior. [1:00:12] We have to start showing them what a future on the other side of this administration can look like. [1:00:19] And that starts with you, Ohio. That starts with you. That starts with electing Amy Acton Governor. [1:00:33] Just sending Sherrod Brown to the United States Senate. [1:00:39] That starts with them. I almost feel bad for their Republican opponents. Almost. [1:00:57] Because after spending the past couple years just singing this president's phrases, doing his bidding, [1:01:06] they've now come to realize he's pretty upset about all these broken promises. [1:01:13] So what are they doing? First of all, they're pretending like they've never heard of the guy. [1:01:21] Donald who? I'm sorry. Who? And then, of course, they're also doing what they always do, [1:01:38] which is running all kinds of scary ads to make you think Democrats are radicals and communists, [1:01:43] and that the woke police will arrest you and force-feed you tofu, or we're not going to fall for that. [1:01:55] They run that same okey-doke every election, and we're not going to — it's tired. Tired. [1:02:04] We're clear about the choice in this election. [1:02:07] There's a guy who, as Sherrod already mentioned, voted not once, not twice, [1:02:16] voted 14 times to support the Iran war that's helping drive up gas prices here in Ohio. [1:02:23] Fourteen times. Don't vote out. [1:02:28] Three times to block folks from reining in the tariffs that have been driving up costs. [1:02:36] Voted to kick hundreds of thousands of Ohioans off Medicaid and raise healthcare costs. [1:02:44] And by the way, this is the same guy who, as lieutenant governor, pushed so hard for data centers, [1:02:50] he's been called a data center's best friend. [1:02:53] Now, I don't know if that's a title I'd want, but that's it. [1:02:59] You know who hasn't been called that? Sherrod Brown. [1:03:04] If there is one thing we all know about Sherrod Brown, and I've known him for two decades, [1:03:22] is that he is not looking out for the high and mighty. [1:03:30] He's not working on behalf of people living high on the hall. [1:03:34] He's looking out for folks who are doing an honest day's work [1:03:38] and are still having trouble getting by. [1:03:40] And that's who he is. That's who he's always been. [1:03:44] And by the way, you can tell by how he's dressed. [1:03:51] I mean, this is not a guy who enriched himself cozy enough to corporations. [1:03:58] He still is wearing the same suit he was in when I met him 20 years ago. [1:04:05] You know, he got a haircut for this rally. [1:04:20] But you all know he's too cheap to get a haircut more than, I don't know, once every couple months. [1:04:28] He's got this quarter zip. [1:04:31] That's all kind of told him, you know what, we got to spruce you up a little bit. [1:04:36] He's not somebody pretending to look out for working folks. [1:04:46] He has always been there for you. [1:04:48] Even when it's hard. Even when he might lose an election. [1:04:54] Even when he knows folks are going to spend millions of dollars against them. [1:05:00] He's always challenging the status quo. [1:05:03] Always taking on the system. Always fighting for you. [1:05:06] And that's what he'll do in the United States Senate. [1:05:11] He'll ban members of Congress from trading stocks. [1:05:15] Ban them for life from lobbying after they leave. [1:05:20] He'll put a cap on how much utility companies can raise rates. [1:05:23] And when it comes to data centers, he'll make sure corporations and not Ohioans [1:05:27] are paying the full cost of their energy needs. [1:05:30] He'll fight to make sure decisions about data centers are made not in secret deals, [1:05:37] but out in the open by you in Ohio communities. [1:05:40] And he'll build on the great work we did. [1:05:43] Because he was there every step of the way passing the Affordable Care Act. [1:05:47] And he's going to make it illegal for drug companies to charge Americans more than what they charge in other countries. [1:05:53] And taking on insurance companies who are denying Ohioans care. [1:06:00] And protecting healthcare. [1:06:04] For hundreds of thousands of Ohioans, that's who Sherrod is. [1:06:07] So if you want more costs, vote for change. [1:06:14] Vote for Sherrod. [1:06:15] You want to end the war and get gas prices under control, vote for change and vote for Sherrod. [1:06:20] You want to stop corruption and gripping, vote for change. [1:06:25] Vote for Sherrod Brown. [1:06:26] And then you've got a governor's race here. [1:06:41] Let's talk about that. [1:06:44] Now there's one political observer who was recently asked whether Vivek Ramaswamy wants to be a good governor or some kind of political celebrity. [1:06:57] And the political observer said, I don't know. [1:07:00] I assume he wants to be both. [1:07:02] This wasn't some Democratic pundit who said this. [1:07:06] It was Republican Governor Mike DeWine. [1:07:08] Supporters. [1:07:15] You know, it's all about what's in it for him. [1:07:18] We all know that guy. [1:07:19] You know, who's just like thirsty, just wants to get attention no matter what. [1:07:25] Willing to do anything. [1:07:26] And in recent days, we've seen there is no line he will not cross. [1:07:30] No low he will not sink to, to try to get in the limelight. [1:07:37] I mean, think about this latest ad he ran. [1:07:39] Do not vote. [1:07:42] I want us to just focus on this. [1:07:45] Wait, wait. [1:07:56] There's a lot of transparency that we should expect out of our public officials. [1:08:04] And I don't know what's happened where the standards of behavior have gotten so low that somebody can run an ad like that. [1:08:12] There's got to be something inside you where you just say, you know, no office is worth duping that low. [1:08:22] Because you know what? Character matters. [1:08:28] Amy has spoken movingly about her painful childhood and all she's experienced, and abuse, neglect, and homelessness. [1:08:38] And she's never forgotten the people who looked out for her, who refused to look the other way when she needed a helping hand. [1:08:47] And that's why she dedicated her life and her career for looking out for Ohioans. [1:08:56] Looking out for people in need. [1:08:58] Looking out for people who maybe didn't get a fair shot. [1:09:02] That's what she did when Mike DeWine recruited her to join his cabinet and lead Ohio's health department. [1:09:10] And that's what she's going to do as governor. [1:09:13] She'll cut taxes for as many as 775,000 Ohio families to lower costs and put money in your pockets and lift people out of poverty. [1:09:31] She understands childcare shouldn't bust the family budget, so she'll make childcare more affordable. [1:09:38] Forgive medical debt, because no one should go broke because they need a medical procedure. [1:09:45] And on day one, as governor, she will sign anti-corruption executive orders to make sure Ohio's government is working for Ohioans and not special interests. [1:09:55] Amy Action is not in this to be some kind of political celebrity. She's in it for you. [1:10:10] Look, these are unsettling times. These are unsettling times. The economy is changing fast. [1:10:26] AI is here, and we need to make sure it benefits everyone, not just a few billionaires. [1:10:34] We need to revamp our education for the new era that AI is ushering in. [1:10:40] We're facing a housing shortage, and we need to build millions of homes. [1:10:45] We need to rein in the cost of childcare so young families can afford it. [1:10:50] We need to make sure no one has to worry about high healthcare premiums. [1:10:56] I get the frustration. I get the anger and the cynicism because the system is not working. [1:11:04] Partly because of gerrymandering. [1:11:08] Partly because rich and powerful folks are able to buy and sell elections like never before, [1:11:14] pouring the kind of money we've never seen. [1:11:16] Partly because we've got a Republican Party that used to stand for smaller government, [1:11:24] and now seems to stand for corrupt government, or inept government, or no government. [1:11:33] And partly because this is also true. [1:11:36] Too often, even among well-intentioned folks, including Democrats. [1:11:41] There are times when we get so caught up in process and bureaucracy that we don't deliver the goods fast enough to make a real difference in people's lives. [1:11:51] And people get frustrated. They don't see enough change out there. [1:11:55] And that's the reason we need serious people in Washington and in state capitals. [1:12:04] These are serious times. [1:12:06] And what is striking about this moment is just how unserious the people in charge are right now. [1:12:20] People who are more interested in performance and flexing and texting and putting people down instead of lifting them up. [1:12:33] And what all that means is that when you see somebody like Sher, when you see somebody like Amy, [1:12:43] somebody who genuinely cares about people, somebody who has a strong track record and is offering real solutions, [1:12:52] somebody who isn't in it to enrich themselves or because they want the limelight or because they want to serve, [1:13:00] then you've got to realize how precious that is. [1:13:05] And we've got to deliver for them. [1:13:09] We've got to make sure we elect them as United States Senator and as governor. [1:13:15] Because, because Aaron and Shami understand this election is not about them. [1:13:29] It's about you. It's about us. [1:13:31] And there's, there's one other thing they understand. [1:13:33] They understand that what ails us right now, what is throwing our country so out of kilter. [1:13:40] It's not just about prices. It's not just about economics. [1:13:44] Those things are really important. [1:13:46] But it's also about values. [1:13:49] There is a moral component to the choices we face right now. [1:13:55] We are not going to fix the economic system or the political system that's broken. [1:14:02] We're not going to unrig our economy so long as we've got a culture where anything goes. [1:14:08] And where people in the highest offices in the land think it's okay to lie and cheat and bully. [1:14:14] And where money is the only measure of our worth. [1:14:18] And that's part of what's going on right now. [1:14:25] We have lost touch with those things that really matter in life. [1:14:29] Families and helping our neighbors and looking after our children and laughing with them and hugging them [1:14:42] and keeping our word and having integrity and treating other people with respect. [1:14:47] Just basic stuff. [1:14:49] Stuff that used to be wasn't democratic or wasn't republican. [1:14:58] It was American. [1:14:59] It was human. [1:15:00] It was how we treat each other. [1:15:02] Just basic decency. [1:15:04] That's what we are missing in our public discourse. [1:15:22] Just basic decency. [1:15:25] We need to remember the words of a 25 year old preacher. [1:15:32] who gave a sermon in 1954 where he said, [1:15:37] if we are to go forward today, [1:15:40] we've got to go back and rediscover some mighty precious values that we've left behind. [1:15:48] That was Martin Luther King Jr. at 25 years old. [1:15:52] He said, we haven't learned how to be just. [1:15:56] We haven't learned how to be honest and kind and true and loving. [1:16:01] And that is the basis of our problem. [1:16:05] The real problem, he said, is that through our scientific genius, [1:16:18] we have made a world of neighborhood, but through our moral and our spiritual genius, [1:16:25] we failed to make it a brotherhood. [1:16:27] And Ohio, what was true then is true today. [1:16:30] Yes, we need to lower costs. [1:16:32] We need to put money in people's pockets. [1:16:34] Yes, we need to end this war and the corruption in Washington, [1:16:39] but we don't do any of those things if we don't fix our moral compass as a nation. [1:16:45] If we don't return to some of those old fashioned virtues, [1:16:49] if our fundamental attitude to each other is to try and hurt other people [1:16:57] so they don't hurt us first, if we're driven by fear instead of by hope. [1:17:01] If we think it's okay to snatch children from parents or cut programs for the aged [1:17:07] or the infirm so the powerful can get whatever they want, [1:17:10] we will continue to fester in anger and division. [1:17:15] And I don't know about you, but I'm tired of being angry. [1:17:18] And I'm tired of being divided. [1:17:21] I want to, I want to, I want to reach out and shake my neighbor's hand. [1:17:27] I want to get to work doing something for somebody else. [1:17:32] We didn't get into this moment overnight. [1:17:37] We won't get out of it overnight. [1:17:40] And none of us should pretend that any single person in any single office [1:17:46] is somehow going to save the day for us [1:17:49] and that the rest of us can just go back to acting the same way. [1:17:54] We're going to have to all make some changes. [1:17:57] But Ohio, here's what I know. [1:17:59] This election can be a start. [1:18:02] This election can be an inflection point. [1:18:06] This election can be a course correction in America's long journey [1:18:10] toward a more perfect union. [1:18:12] Because if we're willing to turn out in big numbers here in Ohio and across the country, [1:18:19] if we're willing to vote for change and vote for Democrats up and down the ballot, [1:18:24] then this election might just mark the moment this country began moving in a better direction. [1:18:31] When we leave our worst impulses behind and start aligning our politics with our highest ideals, [1:18:39] Ohio, you and I have proved before that it is hard to stop a change whose time has come. [1:18:47] In 10 days, you have a chance to do it again. [1:18:52] So I'm asking you, are you fired up? [1:18:55] Let's make Amy Acton governor. [1:19:01] Let's make Cheryl Brown senator. [1:19:03] Let's get on the path to making America better. [1:19:08] Thank you. I love you. God bless you. [1:19:10] God bless the United States of America. Good night.