Before I begin, I want to send a message to everyone who has been affected by Hurricane Laura: Our hearts are with you. The president will continue to support you every step of the way. And just as Americans always do, the nation will come together to help you rebuild your homes, businesses and communities -- stronger,and more resilient than ever before. Four years ago, I introduced you to a builder,an entrepreneur, an outsider and the people's nominee for president of the United States. Tonight, I stand before you as the proud daughter of the people's president. He is our commander-in-chief, champion of the American worker, defender of common sense and our voice for the forgotten men and women of this country. He is our president and my father, DonaldJ. Trump. This evening, I want to tell you about the leader I know, and the moments that I wish every American could see. I want to tell you the story of the president who is fighting for you from dawn to midnight, when the cameras have left, the microphones are off, and the decisions really count. When Jared and I moved with our three children to Washington, we didn't exactly know what we were in for. But our kids loved it from the start. My son Joseph promptly built grandpa a Legoreplica of the White House. The president still displays it on the mantelin the Oval Office and shows it to world leaders, just so they know he has the greatest grandchildrenon earth. I agree. Over the last 4 years we’ve learned a lot. I've seen that in Washington, it's easy forpoliticians to survive if they silence their convictions and skip the hard fights. I couldn't believe that so many politicians actually prefer to complain about a problem, rather than fix it. I was shocked to see people leave major challenges unsolved, so they can blame the other side and campaign on the same issue in the nextelection. But Donald Trump did not come to Washingtonto win praise from the beltway elites. Donald Trump came to Washington for one reason,and one reason alone: To Make America Great Again! My father has strong convictions.
He knows what he believes, and says what he thinks. Whether you agree with him or not, you always know where he stands. I recognize that my dad's communication style is not to everyone's taste. And I know his tweets can feel a bit -- unfiltered. But the results speak for themselves. He is so unapologetic about his beliefs that he has caused me and countless Americans to take a hard look at our own convictions, andask ourselves, what do we stand for? What kind of America do we want to leave for our children? I am more certain than ever before that we want a future where our kids can believe in American greatness. We want a society where every child can livein a safe community and go to a great school of their choice. We want a culture where differences of opinions and debate are encouraged, not canceled; where law enforcement is respected; where our country's rich diversity is celebrated; and where people of all backgrounds, races, genders and creeds have the chance to achieve their God-given potential. This is the future that my father is working to build each day. Building, after all, is what he is done his whole life. He has admired and befriended construction workers on countless job sites. But it has been a new and profound experience for him, and for me, to see these stoic machinists and steel workers come to him with tears in their eyes and thank him for being the only person willing to go to the mat for them -- for their jobs, for their families and for their futures. To the hardworking men and women across America,and here tonight, You are the reason my father fights with allhis heart and all his might. You are the reason he ran for president inthe first place. And you are the reason he's going to keep fighting for four more years. I remember one evening in early February of 2018. We were in the Oval Office, with my father's top economic advisors, and the president was pushing to keep the promise he made to renegotiate the bad trade deals that had gutted millions of middle-class jobs. Most of his advisors argued that the economy was so strong following our historic tax and regulatory cuts, that it didn't make sense to risk "rocking the boat." After the meeting, as I walked with my fatherback to the Residence, he said, "You know, the reason this has never been done before is because our leaders haven't had the guts. When the economy is good, they settle for good, and when things are bad, they don't have the will or ability, so they kick the can until it's someone else's problem." He was right. If my father didn't take on these fights,no one would. In the months that followed, President Trump refused to settle for a good deal, he wanted a great deal -- and ultimately, that's exactly what we got. I remember each time he was updated on theprogress of the new trade deal with Mexico and Canada, he would say "Don't let down thosedairy farmers I met in Wisconsin. ... I don't want them to like this deal, Iwant them to love it!" Today, in the midst of an unprecedented global pandemic, it's more clear than ever that our president was absolutely correct to take ontrade when he did -- and bring our jobs, factories, and life-saving medicines back to the USA.
As our nation endures this grave trial, I pray for the families who are mourning the loss of a loved one, for all those who are battling COVID-19, and for the first responders and healthcare heroes who remain on the frontlines of this fight. The grief, sorrow, and anxiety during this time is felt by all. I've been with my father and seen the painin his eyes when he receives updates on the lives that have been stolen by this plague. I have witnessed him make some of the mostdifficult decisions of his life. I sat with him in the Oval Office as he stopped travel to Europe. I watched him take the strongest, most inclusive economy in our lifetime; the lowest unemployment in half a century, and the highest wage increase for working families in decades -- and close it down to save American lives. This is why our President rapidly mobilized the full force of government and the private sector to produce ventilators within weeks-- to build the most robust testing system in the world -- and to develop safe and effective treatments, and very soon a vaccine. My father isn't deterred by defeatist thinkers. The word "impossible" -- it only motivates him. Donald Trump rejects the cynical notion that our greatest achievements are behind us -- he believes that nothing is beyond our reach,and the best is yet to come. I’ve seen all my life, how my dad believesin the potential of each individual. Earlier this evening, we were all inspired by the incredible testimony of Alice Johnson -- a great-grandmother who was sentenced to life in prison for a first-time, non-violent drug offense. I was with my father when he decided to commute Alice's life sentence. Together, we watched Alice leave prison afternearly 22 years. As she ran into the arms of her family, andthey celebrated a joyful reunion, my father was very quiet – I could see the emotion on his face. After a long silence, he looked at me andsaid: "Imagine how many people there are just like Alice." From that point on, he became a voice for those unfairly silenced in our prison system. President Trump rectified the disparities in the 1994 Biden crime bill that disproportionately hurt African Americans. Against all odds, he brought together Republicans and Democrats, and passed the most significant Criminal Justice Reform of our generation-- and we're just getting started.
My father did not campaign on this issue. He tackled this injustice because he has adeep compassion for those who have been treated unfairly. More than rhetoric and political prose, theability to build consensus and achieve bipartisan success will help heal our country's racialinequities and bring us forward -- together. President Trump is advancing the American values of work and family. Four years ago in Cleveland, I said that PresidentTrump would deliver for working women. Last year, over 70% of all new jobs were secured by women. Four years ago, I told you my father would focus on making childcare affordable and accessible. In President Trump's first term, we secured the largest-ever increase for childcare funding, giving more than 800,000 low- income familiesgreat childcare at a cost they can afford. As part of Republican tax cuts, in 2019 alone,our child tax credit put over $2,000 dollars into the pockets of 40 million American families. Democrat politicians recently introduced aplan to increase the child tax credit, yet when I was fighting less than three yearsago, at the president's direction, to get Congress to double the child tax credit, nota single Democrat voted to pass the law -- we got it done anyway! Four years ago, I promised that PresidentTrump would support mothers in the workforce. In his first year in office, he signed intolaw the first-ever National Paid Leave Tax Credit. Today, 8 million more Americans have access to this benefit. Four years ago, I said that Americans needan economy that permits people to rise again. During President Trump's first three yearsin office, 72% of new jobs went to Americans who had been OUT of the work force. Four years ago, I told you I would fight alongsidemy father, and, four years later, here I am. Many of the issues my father has championedare not historically Republican priorities -- yet where Washington chooses sides, ourpresident chooses common sense. Where politicians choose party, our president chooses people. Since the day he took the oath of office,I've watched my father take on the failed policies of the past and do what no otherleader has done before. Recently, he took dramatically action to cutthe cost of prescription drugs despite fielding angry calls from the CEOs of every major pharmaceuticalcompany.
Now, when we see an attack ad paid for by Big Pharma, my dad smiles and says to me, "You know we're doing something right whenthey're hitting us so hard." This spring, our President saw that American crops were going to waste because food supply chains were disrupted by the virus. He directed Secretary Perdue and me to finda way to get this nutritious food -- fresh fruit, vegetables, meat and dairy -- to families most in need. Within a matter of days, we launched the Farmers to Families Food Box Program, which has now delivered over 100 million meals into thehands of American families. To protect the most vulnerable among us, I'veworked alongside the president as he signed into law nine pieces of legislation to combatthe evil of human trafficking. 've stood by my father's side at Dover AirForce Base as he has received our fallen heroes, and each time it steeled his resolve to finallystop the endless foreign wars. To change the paradigm in the Middle East,he took a fresh approach. I heard foreign leaders beg him not to movethe American Embassy to Jerusalem, yet he delivered on the promise also made -- andunfulfilled -- by past presidents, because my father knew that it was the right thingto do. Defying all expectations, just weeks ago,he re-wrote history by making a peace agreement in the Middle East -- the biggest breakthroughin a quarter century. For the first time in a long time, we havea president who has called out Washington's hypocrisy and they hate him for it. Dad, people attack you for being unconventional,but I love you for being real, and I respect you for being effective. Our President refuses to surrender his beliefsto score points with the political elite. To my father, you are the elite. You are the only people he cares about scoring points with. If these problems were easy to solve, previous presidents would have done so. But you don't achieve different results by doing things the same way. Washington has not changed Donald Trump. Donald Trump has changed Washington. America doesn't need another empty vessel who will do whatever the media and the fringe of his party demands. Now more than ever, America needs four more years of a Warrior in the White House.
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