Washington, DC…President Biden Delivers Remarks at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

Transcript

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[Applause]
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thank you thank you thank
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you if you think you’re Irish
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grandparents are
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wondering my great great grandparents
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that get here in
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1846 and when what in the hell’s going
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on I want to thank you for the warm
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welcome but please not so
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loud Donal was
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listening sleepy Don
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I kind of like that I may use that
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again Kelly O’Donnell president of the
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White House correspondence Association
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thank you for having me thank you
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sir
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kellyo let’s be honest you’re way too
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young to be
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president it’s been a year since I
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delivered this speech and my wife Jill
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was with me tonight was worried how I do
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I told her don’t worry just like riding
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a bike
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she says that’s what I’m worried
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about of course the 20124 elections in
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full swing and yes age is an
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issue I’m a grown
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man running against a
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six-year-old well I feel great I really
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feel great I’m campaigning all over the
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country Pennsylvania Georgia North
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Carolina I’ve always done well in the
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original 13
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colonies and speaking of History did you
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hear what Donald just said about the
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major Civil War
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battle quote Gettysburg
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wow Trump’s speech was so embarrassing
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the statue of Robert El surrendered
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again
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but
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look age is the only thing we have in
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common my vice president actually
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endorses
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me I had a great stretch since the State
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of the Union but Donald has had a few
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tough days lately you might call it
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stormy weather
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what the
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hell Trump so desperate he started
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reading those Bibles he’s
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selling then he got to the first
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commandment you shall have no other gods
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before
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me that’s when he put it down and said
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this book’s not for
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me look being here is reminder that
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folks think what’s going on in
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congress’s political
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theater that’s not true
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if Congress were theater they’d have
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thrown out Lauren bobert a long time
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ago to all my friends in the
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press and Fox
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News some of you complain that I don’t
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take enough of your
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questions no
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comment of course the New York Times
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issued a statement blast me for quote
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active and effectively avoiding
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independent journalists hey if that’s
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what it takes to get the New York Times
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to say I’m active and effective I’m for
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it it’s
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okay I have higher higher standards I do
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interviews with strong independent
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journalist who millions of people
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actually listen to like Howard
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Stern and I know you’re looking around
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and saying this guy’s been doing this
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for 50 years he’s had his moment give
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him some give someone else a
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chance to say that I say Lauren ignore
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the
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critics ignore the
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critics Lauren’s a great friend who’s
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had eight comedians play me over the
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years on Saturday Night Live eight and
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who the hell says I’m not a real job
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Creator look Lawrence had even more Comm
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Comedians and actors joke about me like
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the funny guy in Weekend
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Update Michael
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Shay he’s
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[Applause]
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hilarious Scarlett Johanson you did such
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an incredible job in your state of the
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union rebuttal that you should be
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weekend to do Weekend
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Update
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clearly you’re you’re the funny one in
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the
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family look folks on a serious note in
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addition to marrying up Colin and I have
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another thing in
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common we both find strength in family I
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got to spend some time with his family
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yesterday in the Oval Office Colin’s dad
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was a high school teacher in Staten
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Island and his mom is an incredible
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woman a family of firefighters was chief
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medical officer in New York City Fire
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Department on
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911 as a doctor she rushed to Ground
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Zero risking her own life treating in
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saing fellow First
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Responders rushing into danger for
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others is my definition of patriotism
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and
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heroism and so is what all of you do
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when you report truth over
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lies that’s why I want to close tonight
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with my genuine thanks to the Free
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Press there are some who call you the
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enemy of the people
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that’s wrong and it’s
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dangerous you literally risk your lives
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doing your
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job you
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do covering everything from natural
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disasters to pandemics to Wars and so
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much more and some of your colleagues
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have given their lives and many have
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suffered Grievous
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injuries other reporters have lost their
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freedom journalism is clearly not a
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crime not here not there not anywhere in
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the world
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and Putin should release Evan and also
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immediately just we’re doing everything
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we
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can we’re doing everything we can to
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bring home journalist fellow journalist
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Austin and all Americans like Paul wh
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you know who wrongfully detained all
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around the world and I give you my ERS a
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Biden we’re not going to give up until
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we get them home all of them all of them
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in the third anniversary of January 6th
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I went to Valley Forge and I said the
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most urgent question of our time is
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whether democracy is still is still the
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sacred cause of
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America that is the question the
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American people must answer this year
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and you the prefess play a critical role
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in making sure the American people have
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the information they need to make an
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informed
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decision a defeated former president has
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made no secret of his attack on our
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democracy he said he wants to be a
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dictator on day one and so much more he
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tells supporters he is their revenge and
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retribution when in God’s name you ever
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heard of another president say something
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like that and he promised a bloodbath
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when he loses again we have to take this
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seriously eight years ago you could have
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written off it was just Trump talk but
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no longer not after January
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6th I’m sincerely not asking of you to
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take sides but I’m asking you to rise up
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to the seriousness of the
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moment move past the horse race numbers
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and the gotcha moments and the
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distractions the sides shows that have
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come to dominate sensiz our
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sensationalize our
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politics and focus on what’s actually at
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stake and I think in your hearts you
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know it it was at stake the stakes
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couldn’t be
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higher every single one of us has rol to
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play a serious role to play making sure
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democracy endures American democracy I
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more my role but all due respect so do
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you in the age of
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disinformation credible information the
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people can trust is more important than
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ever and that makes you and I mean this
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from the bottom of my heart makes you
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more important than ever so tonight I’d
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like to make a
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toast to a free press to an informed
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citizenry to an America where freedom
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and democracy endure God Bless
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[Applause]
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[Music]
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America
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now I’m going to turn it over to Kelly
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then you hear from a real
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comedian I think I know what I’m in for
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you know Colin joose has taken a at me
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before with his jokes oh I’m sure ready
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like saying after winning the South
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Carolina primary Biden barely edged out
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his closest rival
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time
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Colin when I win I’m going to have a
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whole hell of a lot of time and I’m
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going to be watching pal Kelly back to
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you thank you