{"id":108736,"date":"2020-10-18T09:36:46","date_gmt":"2020-10-18T16:36:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/69.46.6.243\/?p=108736"},"modified":"2020-10-18T09:36:46","modified_gmt":"2020-10-18T16:36:46","slug":"president-trump-on-protecting-americas-seniors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=108736","title":{"rendered":"President Trump on Protecting America\u2019s Seniors"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Fort Myers, FL&#8230;Thank you. What a nice group.  AUDIENCE: USA! USA! USA!  THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you very much.  AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!  THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. Please.  We\u2019re going to be talking to our great senior citizens. That\u2019s what I\u2019m here for today. (Applause.) We love our senior citizens.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/heLoSdRLRw4\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>And I\u2019m honored to be here in Fort Myers to reaffirm my solemn pledge to America\u2019s seniors. It\u2019s so important to me. I happen to be a senior. (Laughter.) I will protect you, I will defend you, and I will fight for you with every ounce of energy and conviction that I have. (Applause.) You devoted your life to this country, and I am devoting my life to you. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>My administration is working every day to give our amazing senior citizens the care, support, and respect that you deserve. And you understand that. We\u2019ve worked together for a long time.<\/p>\n<p>As President, I\u2019m deeply aware that America\u2019s 54 million seniors have borne the heaviest burden of the China virus. Many older Americans have endured months of isolation, missing weddings, births, graduations, church, and family reunions. You know that very well. You know it all too well.<\/p>\n<p>My heart breaks for every grieving family that has lost a precious loved one. I feel their anguish and I mourn their loss. I feel their pain. I know that the terrible pain that they have gone through and you lose someone, and there\u2019s nothing to describe what you have to bear. There\u2019s nothing to describe it.<\/p>\n<p>In times of challenge, we turn to our fellow Americans for a shoulder to lean on, and we turn to God for healing and strength. And together, we will overcome. We will overcome. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>My message to American seniors today is one of optimism, confidence, and hope. Your sacrifice has not been in vain. The light at the end of the tunnel is near. We are rounding the turn. I say that all the time. Some of the media doesn\u2019t like hearing it. (Applause.) But I say it all the time: We\u2019re rounding that turn.<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t listen to the cynics and angry partisans and professional pessimists. We are Americans and we will prevail. We are prevailing and we are. It\u2019s amazing what\u2019s happening, if you look at what\u2019s going on. It\u2019s been really very amazing.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m moving heaven and earth to safeguard our seniors from the China virus, to deliver lifesaving therapies in record time, and to distribute a safe and effective vaccine before the end of the year. (Applause.) And we\u2019re really doing it, even sooner than that. You see what\u2019s going on. We have the vaccines getting ready to go.<\/p>\n<p>Seniors will be the first in line for the vaccine. And we will soon be ending this pandemic. Hasn\u2019t happened, a thing like this, since 1918, 1917. And that was a bad one, too. That was a real bad one.<\/p>\n<p>I will not rest until we\u2019ve eradicated this plague from our country and our lives and our world. We want it out. When the China virus arrived, we launched the largest mobilization since World War Two. Our aggressive and early action saved more than 2 million lives compared to the best estimates from last spring. You remember when they were giving you estimates.<\/p>\n<p>Since the beginning, our nation\u2019s seniors have been my top priority. It was obvious very early on that it was affecting the seniors \u2014 not young people. Young people are \u2014 they have that strong immune system. And I give all credit to them, but they have a strong immune system. And 99.99 \u2014 think of that.<\/p>\n<p>But when you get into people that have a few more years, it\u2019s a little bit \u2014 it\u2019s a little bit more difficult. When you get a lot more years, it\u2019s a lot more difficult. But what they\u2019ve done with therapeutics now and what they\u2019ve done with all of the other things that they\u2019re doing, it\u2019s incredible.<\/p>\n<p>We heightened mitigation and surged testing to protect those at highest risk. We sent billions and billions of dollars in funding to personal protective equipment and distributed rapid testing to 15,400 nursing homes all over the country. And we\u2019ve worked with a lot of governors. (Applause.) Yeah. We\u2019ve worked with a lot of governors. And some have done a great job, and some have done a not a great job, and some have done a very poor job, actually. But some have done a great job. But we\u2019re working very closely with the governors of states.<\/p>\n<p>Just this week, even the New York Times \u2014 this was shocking \u2014 was forced to admit that, quote, \u201cExperts are saying with genuine confidence that the pandemic in the United States will be over far sooner than they expected.\u201d And \u2014 (applause) \u2014 and they\u2019re right. But I was shocked to hear it coming out of the New York Times, right? I was a little sur- \u2014 and it\u2019s thanks to my administration\u2019s Operation Warp Speed. Incredible people. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Because of advances in treatment we pioneered \u2014 and we have many treatments, but because of these great advances, we\u2019ve reached the point where the fatality rate is reduced by 85 percent since April. And now it\u2019s up to probably 91 percent. (Applause.) Well, I\u2019m here \u2014 I\u2019ll tell you. (Laughter and applause.)<\/p>\n<p>AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT: Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>Well, I don\u2019t know what they gave me, but give me some more of it right now, and you can have some. (Applause.) No, I know exactly what they gave me. It was actually pretty amazing.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m also working with the FDA and HHS to make the antibody treatment that I received. It\u2019s called Regeneron, plus \u2014 also, it\u2019s incredible. And, you know, what they what they can do today is incredible. And they felt very confident, even six months ago, when they started. Think of it: We got this all done in a very short period of time. And now we\u2019re going for emergency use because we\u2019re going to make it available to everyone who needs it for free \u2014 anybody in the country. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>And Eli Lilly is making a very similar drug. And, Alex, they\u2019re working very hard on that, right? Alex Azar. So thank you very much \u2014 because I want people to get it, and we\u2019re getting it free. Right? So we got to do that. (Applause.) If you need it. If you don\u2019t need it, that\u2019s even better, okay? That\u2019s even better. But if you need it \u2014 right? \u2014 you get it.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s really pretty amazing what happened, because I wasn\u2019t feeling great. And the next day, I wake up and I\u2019m saying, like, \u201cWho can I fight today?\u201d (Laughs.) (Applause.) Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>So our groundbreaking therapies have significantly approved and improved our outcomes for elderly patients, but I\u2019ll not relent until all American seniors are safe. You\u2019re going to be safe \u2014 100 percent safe. And we\u2019re right \u2014 we\u2019re at a point where, really, so much progress has been made.<\/p>\n<p>Under Operation Warp Speed, we\u2019re on track to deliver at least 100 million doses of a vaccine this year \u2014 and could even be a little bit sooner than what they were originally anticipating \u2014 with hundreds of millions more to quickly follow, Alex. Remember that, Alex.<\/p>\n<p>Today I\u2019m thrilled to announce that we have just finalized the partnership with CVS and Walgreens \u2014 two places you know pretty well, I guess \u2014 to immediately deliver the vaccine directly to nursing homes at no cost to our seniors. No cost. (Applause.) Right? No cost.<\/p>\n<p>And once you have that vaccine \u2014 these are very effective. Once you have that vaccine, you can open those doors and say, \u201cHere I am.\u201d (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>But with everything that I say and everything I do, if you feel safer at home \u2014 and, you know, we can all be like, \u201cLet\u2019s get out there.\u201d And I felt, as President \u2014 I knew there was risk, but I had to be out. I can\u2019t just be locked in a basement to put it \u2014 (applause) \u2014 lock him in a basement. I felt I had to be out there.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019d see Gold Star families who would say \u2014 and they\u2019ve been looking forward, for months, to coming to the White House and many, many other people \u2014 military people and heads of state. And I know you put yourself at risk, but you can\u2019t \u2014 you have to lead your life.<\/p>\n<p>But I say this: There are people also that would rather stay in place, stay where you are. And to those people \u2014 and I understand that very well: Stay. Just relax. Stay until it\u2019s gone. And it\u2019ll be gone, but stay. Don\u2019t feel badly or don\u2019t feel good about it. Just stay. If you feel safe, stay.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m working as hard as I can so you can kiss and hug your children and grandchildren very soon. (Applause.) That\u2019s something I missed also, I will be honest with you.<\/p>\n<p>As we shelter high-risk Americans with extreme vigilance, we must also allow lower-risk Americans to return to work and return to school. I mean, children should go to school. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>My young son, Barron, had it. And he had it, and all of a sudden, he doesn\u2019t have it. It\u2019s like \u2014 you know, it was different; it\u2019s a whole different deal. And they should go to school, and they have to. Because, you know, I talk about the cure, right? It cannot be worse than the problem itself. It\u2019s a very simple statement. But the cure cannot be worse than the problem itself.<\/p>\n<p>And with young children, they have to go to school. They have to be with other kids. They have to grow up. You can\u2019t \u2014 they can\u2019t lose a year of their life. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>And if you look at some of, you know, these lockdowns that the Democrats are doing in some states \u2014 if you look at North Carolina and Pennsylvania and Michigan \u2014 we won the case against her in Michigan. I mean, she\u2019s running like \u2014 (applause) \u2014 she\u2019s running, like, a prison, except for her husband, who\u2019s allowed to go boating. That doesn\u2019t work out somehow. Fortunately, they caught him. He was going to go on the lake, boating. Oh, that\u2019s nice. But nobody else was allowed to do it.<\/p>\n<p>But we won the case against her for Michigan, and we freed up the state, and it\u2019s a great thing. I mean, it\u2019s a great thing. We freed up the state. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Because that whole thing, with the drugs and alcohol and depression, and all of the horrible things \u2014 we could go over a long list of things \u2014 but we can\u2019t let that happen. So we want the Democrat \u2014 radical left, in many cases \u2014 Democrats \u2014 we want them to open their states. Open up your states. And we are very careful with our seniors, and that\u2019s different. But open up your states. Get it back.<\/p>\n<p>Despite punishing society-wide lockdowns in Europe \u2014 I don\u2019t know if you\u2019ve been watching \u2014 they\u2019re now experiencing a massive surge in cases. Daily cases are 2,500 percent higher in the United Kingdom, as an example, and 722 percent higher in Europe than in the United States. Okay? Think of that. No, think of that. And we wish them \u2014 and we\u2019re working with them closely. We\u2019re making ventilators for them \u2014 for many of the countries over there.<\/p>\n<p>We became the ventilator king. I mean, we didn\u2019t have many ventilators. We had \u2014 we had \u2014 really, we inherited bare cupboards. I say, \u201cThe cupboards were bare.\u201d And many of the states, they had \u2014 cupboards were bare. And now they\u2019re loaded up, and they\u2019re ready.<\/p>\n<p>But we make \u2014 the hardest thing are the ventilators because of the complexity of the machine, and the cost and the size and \u2014 but the pure complexity. And we make thousands of ventilators now a month, and we\u2019re sending them all over the world. We\u2019re all set with the ventilators, but we\u2019re sending them all over the world. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>But hopefully you won\u2019t need them. Soon, you won\u2019t even need them. I really think you\u2019re going to not need the ventilators, hopefully soon \u2014 very soon.<\/p>\n<p>But sadly, in Europe, the average daily deaths are \u2014 are really soaring: 402 percent higher in the United Kingdom; 493 percent higher in Europe. Meanwhile, in the United States, deaths have decreased by 37 percent. So that\u2019s something, right? (Applause.) So the fake news doesn\u2019t want to tell you that. Right? They just \u2014 they don\u2019t want \u2014 they want no piece of that. They don\u2019t want anything to do with that.<\/p>\n<p>So whether you\u2019re Republican or Democrat, we must choose facts over fear \u2014 we have to; science over hysteria; hope over despair; and the common good over partisan politics. And again, stay \u2014 if you feel good, if you feel safe \u2014 because it\u2019s going to be gone \u2014 stay where you are. Don\u2019t leave. Don\u2019t say, \u201cOh gee, I have to get out. The President said, \u2018Let\u2019s get out.\u2019\u201d Stay where you are. I have a lot of friends, they\u2019re strong people. They\u2019re senior citizens. Great people. Very successful people.<\/p>\n<p>Hi. Look, she is waving. (Laughs.) Hi. (Applause.) Thank you. Thank you, hon.<\/p>\n<p>But, you know, they\u2019re \u2014 they\u2019re tough actually. And \u2013but, they \u2014 you know, they feel comfortable, until this is gone. And there are people \u2014 and I do that. Do that. I might do that. If I weren\u2019t in this position, maybe I\u2019d be doing it myself. In this position, it\u2019s a little tougher.<\/p>\n<p>But we cannot allow unscientific, panic-driven, fear-based policies to deny our children and grandchildren their future and their dreams. We can\u2019t take a year or two years out of their life. (Applause.) There\u2019s a whole social thing going on there, too.<\/p>\n<p>These left-wing lockdowns will crush America. And my plan is very simple: We\u2019re going to crush the virus and go back to exactly where we were. We\u2019re almost getting back there now. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>So, together, we will end this pandemic, we will rebuild our economy, and we will ensure our seniors can live long, happy, secure, and healthy lives with your grandchildren and your children. You\u2019re going to hug them, right? It\u2019s good. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Under my leadership, next year will be one of the greatest years in the history of our country economically. We\u2019re grateful to be joined today by Secretary of Health and Human Services, Alex Azar. Alex, we\u2019re counting on you. (Applause.) We\u2019re counting on you. I\u2019m going to blame him if this stuff doesn\u2019t happen fast. Right?<\/p>\n<p>Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services \u2014 a fantastic woman \u2014 Administrator Seema Verma. Thank you, Seema. Great job you\u2019re doing. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>And a friend of mine who\u2019s become very, very popular. I guess that was what that big applause was. I was backstage, and I said, \u201cWho just came in?\u201d I thought Elvis entered the room. (Laughter.) It was your Florida Governor, Ron DeSantis. (Applause.) Stand up, Ron. That\u2019s great, Ron. Great.<\/p>\n<p>And, by the way, we have some crowd. You see what\u2019s going on outside? The mayor said he\u2019s never seen anything \u2014 he\u2019s never seen anything like that. (Applause.) He\u2019s never seen anything. No, that\u2019s a lot \u2014 there\u2019s a lot of love outside, I want to tell you. It\u2019s \u2014 that\u2019s a lot of love.<\/p>\n<p>And, you know, we\u2019re leading in the State of Florida, just so we understand. (Applause.) By perhaps a lot.<\/p>\n<p>Also with us, some warriors: Representatives Gus Bilirakis. Gus. Gus. (Applause.) Great job, Gus. And another friend of mine \u2014 these are really terrific people \u2014 Greg Steube. Greg. Thank you very much, Greg. Thank you. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Thanks as well to Fort Myers Mayor Randy Henderson. Randy. (Applause.) Thank you. Thank you, Randy. Good job, Randy. That\u2019s quite a crowd, huh?<\/p>\n<p>MAYOR HENDERSON: Welcome to town, Mr. President.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT: That\u2019s good. (Laughs.) Thank you very much.<\/p>\n<p>And Cape Coral Mayor Joe Coviello. Joe Coviello. Thank you Joe. (Applause.) Great job. Great job.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re also tremendously honored to be joined by World War Two and Korean War veteran, a very brave guy, Wally Cortese. Wally Cortese. (Applause.) Thank you, Wally. You look good, Wally. I\u2019ll tell you, two wars and you\u2019re looking \u2014 you\u2019re looking good. Thank you, Wally. Appreciate it. Beautiful. Thank you very much.<\/p>\n<p>Thanks also to all of the members of the VFW Golden Gate Honor Guard. They\u2019re with us today. Thank you. That\u2019s so great, huh? (Applause.) That\u2019s so great. VFW. Fantastic job. Thank you very much for being here.<\/p>\n<p>As I fight to protect our amazing seniors from the China virus, I\u2019m also fighting to protect you from another danger, one which threatens everything we cherish, value, and worked our entire lives to build and to defend. As we gather today, seniors are under threat from a radical-left movement that seeks to destroy the American way of life. We\u2019re not going to allow it. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>And you know one thing: Sleepy Joe can do nothing about it. (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>The left has been taken over by socialists and Marxists and extremists, and they have. They want to transform our nation into a country that would no longer be recognizable. And their agenda will shatter America\u2019s seniors. Their plan to delay the vaccine, delay therapies, and prolong the pandemic will cost thousands and thousands of lives \u2014 will be horrifying for our country.<\/p>\n<p>Their plan for higher taxes \u2014 they want to quadruple taxes; every company will move out. They\u2019ll go back to where they came. We had tremendous people, tremendous companies come into our country. We\u2019re bringing tremendous jobs \u2014 160 million jobs. We\u2019ve never had anything like it before the plague, and then we\u2019re building it back up again. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>The last four months, we\u2019ve set records on employment, on hiring, employment. And, you know, a number that, let\u2019s say a year ago, wouldn\u2019t have sounded great but now sounds incredible: 7.8 percent unemployment. Think of it. People were talking about 42 percent. We\u2019re back down to 7.8, and we\u2019ll be soon down to the number where we were seven months ago. Pretty amazing. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>I never thought I\u2019d be happy with 7.8 percent, but, you know, when you think about it \u2014 right? \u2014 it\u2019s \u2014 they were talking 39 percent, 42 percent. Ron, 7.8 is a pretty \u2014 an amazing thing. We did that in a rapid fashion. Nobody has ever seen anything like it, actually.<\/p>\n<p>Their plan for higher taxes and crippling regulations, however, would crater our economy. They\u2019re insane energy polices \u2014 because you know they\u2019re going to be fracking.<\/p>\n<p>Hey, Biden, for a year and a half, was saying, \u201cThere will be no fracking.\u201d Then he lucks out; he gets the nomination because Elizabeth Warren refused to get out. So Bernie \u2014 a second time. That happened twice to Bernie. Bernie \u2014 he\u2019s a hell of a loser, that\u2019s one thing I\u2019ll say. (Laughter.) He knows how to lose. (Applause.) Well, he knows how to lose. And loses \u2014 he goes back to work like nothing happened. (Laughter.) No, they took it away from him twice. I think the second time, in a way, worse \u2014 because she stayed in, and she took the votes. And Sleepy Joe just got in there. (Laughter.) That\u2019s why you got to be careful. You got to be careful. You never know what happens.<\/p>\n<p>But if you take a look \u2014 and we can\u2019t let any of this stuff happen. And you look at what\u2019s happened to other countries where they\u2019ve had this philosophy, where they\u2019ve had this ideology. We can\u2019t let. But you watch what they\u2019re saying about the fracking, where he said, \u201cNo, there\u2026\u201d And he said it with such \u2014 you know, it\u2019s not like, \u201cWell, I\u2019ll think about it.\u201d He\u2019s doing the same thing with the courts right now. They\u2019re going to pack the Supreme Court. You see what they want to do.<\/p>\n<p>AUDIENCE: Booo \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT: That would be destruction of our country. But you take a look. So he says, \u201cNo, there will be no fracking.\u201d These are the words. \u201cThere will be no fracking. You don\u2019t understand what I just said. There will be no fracking.\u201d And he gets very agitated. (Laughter.) \u201cThere would be no fracking.\u201d (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>And he gets the nomination, goes to Pennsylvania. They inform him that they have a million jobs, and fracking is a big deal. And they like inexpensive energy. Right? And so he goes from \u201cThere will be no fracking,\u201d with great anger, to \u201cI never said there wouldn\u2019t be fracking.\u201d (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s the craziest thing. If that ever happened to me \u2014 (laughter) \u2014 and the media doesn\u2019t even talk about it. That\u2019s just one of many things. Then he does the thing with the courts. You \u2014 you see that, right? He goes, \u201cI\u2019ll tell you left \u2014 I\u2019ll tell you after the election what I\u2019m going to do.\u201d How important is it? Because he\u2019s going to put on radical-left, crazy judges that will destroy your lives.<\/p>\n<p>You know, it\u2019s the most important. They\u2019ve \u2014 they\u2019ve always said \u2014 I\u2019ve always heard \u2014 Ron, I\u2019ve always heard this: that the most important thing a President does is pick Supreme Court justices, right? (Applause.) I would say maybe the military, you know? But \u2014 but let\u2019s say it\u2019s right there. And they have to \u2014 he has to create a list of more than just that. He has to create a list and let you know. And he has to pick from that list. That\u2019s what I did. I created a list of 25 people \u2014 highly, highly capable people. And a lot of people said that\u2019s why I won the election, actually. So I don\u2019t know if that\u2019s true or not, but it was \u2014 it was a very important part, Mayor. You understand, mayors. You know that.<\/p>\n<p>So their insane energy policies will abolish millions of jobs and cost seniors thousands of dollars per year in higher energy bills. Their anti-police agenda will empower violent mobs and put every community at risk.<\/p>\n<p>Their anti-suburban agenda threatens the property values of millions of American seniors, and your families, who own homes in residential neighborhoods in the suburbs. I\u2019m saving the suburbs. You know, people were saying, \u201cWell, women in the suburbs, do they like Trump?\u201d I said, \u201cYeah, they like me. You know why they like me? Because I\u2019m saving their homes.\u201d (Applause.) That\u2019s why they like me. They may not like me, but they like what I\u2019m doing, and that\u2019s more important.<\/p>\n<p>Oh, boy, they have these crazy people. The \u2014 the people on television, \u201cI don\u2019t know if suburban women\u2026\u201d Suburban women want security, they want safety, they want law and order. They want their homes to be protected. (Applause.) The socialist ideology \u2014 ideology that they will use and indoctrinate our youth with is \u2014 it\u2019s like poisonous anti-American propaganda.<\/p>\n<p>The plan by Washington Democrats to give amnesty and free healthcare to illegal border-crossers will obliterate Medicare, bankrupt your Social Security, robbing you of the benefits that you\u2019ve paid for your entire lives.<\/p>\n<p>You know, look, take a look at Venezuela. You know, people don\u2019t realize that was a wealthy country 18, 17 years ago. It was so wealthy. And it\u2019s gone from being wealthy \u2014 they don\u2019t have medicine. They don\u2019t have food. They don\u2019t have water. They don\u2019t have anything. And it\u2019s \u2014 you know, it can happen here, just a much larger version with that ideology. And that\u2019s the ideology that they\u2019re looking at. It\u2019s crazy.<\/p>\n<p>These radicals will destroy Medicare with totally open borders. And, by the way, you know the wall? It\u2019s up to almost 400 miles. (Applause.) Four hundred. Four hundred miles. And it goes down deep, (inaudible). It goes down deep and up very high. No, it\u2019s had a tremendous \u2014 we\u2019ve never had a stronger southern border than we have right now. (Applause.) It\u2019ll be finished very soon. We\u2019re doing 10 miles a week. That\u2019s a lot. Ten miles a week. Army Corps of Engineers are also doing Lake Okeechobee and lots of other things. Right? They\u2019re doing a good job, right? (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>They\u2019re giving away your benefits \u2014 that\u2019s what they want to do \u2014 to anyone in the world who trespasses into our country. And, you know, we all have big hearts, and we want to take care of people. But when you say, \u201cWe\u2019re going to give you free healthcare. We\u2019re going to give you college education\u2026\u201d I sarcastically said once, \u201cWe\u2019re going to give you a beautiful, brand-new Rolls Royce\u201d \u2014 (laughter) \u2014 okay? \u2014 \u201cif you\u2019re an illegal immigrant.\u201d And CNN went, and they said, \u201cThe President lied to the seniors.\u201d (Laughter.) You know, they just don\u2019t get it. They get it. Actually, unfortunately, they get it more than you would think. They\u2019re a little bit on the evil side.<\/p>\n<p>But, you know, they \u2014 you\u2019re going to bring millions of people. You\u2019re going to bring millions and millions of people. It\u2019s like when you say \u201cfree healthcare\u201d and \u201cfree education,\u201d and \u201cfree this and that,\u201d millions of people are going to pour into the country. It\u2019s not going to be stoppable. And we can\u2019t let that happen. They care more about illegal aliens than they care about senior citizens \u2014 the Democrats.<\/p>\n<p>The left is coming after me because I\u2019m defending you, and that\u2019s true. That\u2019s why they come after me every day. (Applause.) But we caught them on the Russian hoax. We finally caught them after two and a half years \u2014 the Russian hoax. (Applause.) Turned out to be the exact opposite: They\u2019re the ones that were playing with Russia. That was a beauty. Hillary \u2014 Crooked Hillary.<\/p>\n<p>AUDIENCE MEMBER: Lock her up!<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT: No, they\u2019re the ones.<\/p>\n<p>AUDIENCE MEMBERS: Lock her up! Lock her up!<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT: Yeah. I agree with you. I used to just be quiet. I agree with you 100 percent. They paid \u2014 they paid \u2014 millions and millions of dollars they paid. And they tried to show it. It was the greatest hoax and the greatest political crime in the history of our country. That\u2019s what they committed.<\/p>\n<p>But I\u2019m the only one standing between their open borders and extremism and the healthcare benefits that you\u2019ve earned and paid for \u2014 all your life you paid for. As long as I\u2019m President, no one will lay a hand on your Medicare or your Social Security. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>As a candidate, I made a sacred promise that I\u2019d strengthen, protect, and defend your Medicare benefits, and that\u2019s exactly what I\u2019ve done. I\u2019ve done that, right? (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>My administration has fought to deliver greater security, affordability, fairness, economic stability to our nation\u2019s seniors. Under eight years of the previous administration, premiums for Medicare health plans went up, including a 25 percent increase right here in Florida. That\u2019s for the previous people.<\/p>\n<p>Under my administration, we\u2019ve lowered Medicare Advantage premiums by a number nobody even believes \u2014 34 percent nationwide. (Applause.) And today it\u2019s the lowest level in 14 years. Did you know that, Ron? That\u2019s not a bad thing for you to put into your speech, right? Who would think that? No, but seriously, we\u2019ve brought it way down. They\u2019ve done a great \u2014 this group over here, they\u2019ve done a great job.<\/p>\n<p>Thanks to our efforts \u2014 (applause) \u2014 there are 2,000 \u2014 thank you. There are 2,000 more Medicare Advantage plans today than there were three years ago, Seema. Huh? That\u2019s incredible. Think of it. That means more choice and more competition for better care at a much lower cost.<\/p>\n<p>When we rapidly expanded telehealth for Medicare beneficiaries during the pandemic, the number of telehealth users increased from 14,000 a week to 1.7 million a week. What\u2019s that percentage? (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Yet, all of this danger \u2014 it\u2019s all in danger because if these other people get in, they will end all of that. The telehealth, it\u2019s \u2014 you know, it\u2019s interesting. We\u2019ve learned something. For children, they\u2019re much better in a classroom than they are on a laptop. Okay? Children. (Applause.) But for your health, and what you can do, you can do so much of it. It\u2019s such a big percentage. Better than going out and going through \u2014 this telehealth has been amazing. It\u2019s been really incredible. It\u2019s been an incredible thing.<\/p>\n<p>So it\u2019s \u2014 it\u2019s increased like 6-, 7,000 \u2014 I think 6,500 percent. And it\u2019s probably the only thing that came out of this whole deal that we really can take pleasure at: telehealth. So it\u2019s been really an incredible thing that\u2019s happened.<\/p>\n<p>Over 130 Democrats in Congress, including far-left Senator Kamala Harris, who is the most left \u2014<\/p>\n<p>AUDIENCE: Booo \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT: (Laughs.) I said, \u201cHe\u2019ll never choose her because nobody treated him worse than her.\u201d Nobody. Plus, she was \u2014 her poll numbers were sinking. She never even got to Iowa. She never got there. And when I said, \u201cOh\u2026\u201d \u2014 and, by the way, did Mike Pence do a good job the other day? (Applause.) Right? He\u2019s a good man. Did a great job.<\/p>\n<p>AUDIENCE MEMBER: (Inaudible.)<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT: And I had a great \u2014 thank you. I had a really \u2014 (laughs) \u2014 I had a lot of fun last night with that. That was a nice \u2014 (laughter) \u2014 that was a nice evening. It was a nice, pleasurable evening, as I have somebody going totally crazy last night. (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>But I told you \u2014 I told you that. She told me she\u2019s going to \u2014 oh, okay I believe you, right? (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>No, but I understand that worked out very well last night. That\u2019s what the word is. So that\u2019s good. (Applause.) Another evening in paradise, I call it. (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>They\u2019re sponsoring a socialist healthcare plan that would annihilate your Medicare. The Democrats\u2019 policy proposals may go by different names \u2014 they put all sorts of names. They say \u201csingle payer\u201d or so-called the \u201cpublic option,\u201d but really, they\u2019re all based on the same core promise: raiding Medicare to fund a socialist healthcare takeover. And it\u2019s going to destroy your Medicare. That\u2019s the one thing you know for sure.<\/p>\n<p>Every one of their plans involves rationing care, restricting access, denying coverage, slashing quality, extending wait times, and massively raising your taxes. Other than that, it\u2019s actually quite good. (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>As we know from seeing these left-wing policies in action around the world, seniors will be the victims. And that\u2019s what happens. The first to go are the seniors. The victims are really the seniors. It\u2019s \u2014 you know, this is nothing that unique.<\/p>\n<p>Socialist healthcare plans always end up denying care and coverage to the sick and the elderly in order to control costs. And they always feel that this is the easiest way to do it. We must not let them bring this lethal and deadly agenda to America. Don\u2019t let it happen. (Applause.) You got to vote them out. Get out and vote.<\/p>\n<p>Democrat healthcare proposals would abolish private insurance for 180 million Americans. Just so you know, there are many people \u2014 they\u2019ve had a good life, they\u2019ve done well, they have private plans. They are unbelievable. They love their plan. Those plans are gone. Those plans are gone.<\/p>\n<p>They\u2019d abolish the Medicare Advantage program that benefits 24 million seniors, including one out of two Hispanic seniors and one out of three African American seniors who enrolled in the Medicare Advantage, right? And that would all be ended, it would be abolished for big, fat, ugly socialized medicine. You go to a hospital \u2014 if you don\u2019t feel good, go to a hospital room and wait for three days to see a doctor.<\/p>\n<p>I will never allow that to happen. Under my administration, your Medicare Advantage is safe, your benefits are protected, and I will always protect patients with preexisting conditions. Always. Always. (Applause.) Always.<\/p>\n<p>They always play that card, right? You know, remember, they used to say, \u201cOh, he\u2019s going to give up\u2026\u201d \u2014 first they said I was going to be in a war within the first week. Whatever happened to that, right? (Laughter.) Just the opposite. Our great warriors are coming home. They\u2019re all coming home. They\u2019re all coming home. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Look at North Korea; they thought it would be a war \u2014 in a war immediately with North Korea. How\u2019s that worked out, right? It\u2019s worked out very nicely. You know, talk; we\u2019ll talk, keep talking. But it worked out very well.<\/p>\n<p>But the other thing they\u2019d say, \u201cHe will destroy your Social Security.\u201d Really? Did I? I said, \u201cNo.\u201d No, they\u2019re going to destroy, because they\u2019ll destroy our country. They\u2019ll destroy your Social Security and they\u2019ll destroy your country. And Joe won\u2019t have any idea what happened because he\u2019s gone. Let\u2019s face it. (Laughter.) He\u2019s gone.<\/p>\n<p>Another critical issue for senior citizens is the price of prescription drugs. This is something I\u2019m very proud of, because we\u2019ve lowered Part D prescription drug premiums by 12 percent, saving senior citizens $1.9 billion. (Applause.) But the big is yet to come.<\/p>\n<p>I stood up to big pharma, and that\u2019s not easy. They got big money. They\u2019re the biggest lobbyists in this country, by far. And I signed an executive order implementing a \u201cmost favored nations\u201d policy for the United States. (Applause.) You know, for years, you\u2019ve heard we pay more for drugs than any other country. Well, that\u2019s not even close. We pay much more.<\/p>\n<p>And then other countries, that we know very well, take advantage of us, and they pay a fraction. I mean, a frac- \u2014 you wouldn\u2019t even believe how much less. But a fraction. Ten cents for a pill as opposed to two dollars for a pill. Same pill from the same lab, plant. Right? And I instituted a favored nations clause. I said, \u201cIf Germany or some other country is getting our stuff low, I want a favored nations.\u201d Meaning, I want it for the same price. And they have gone crazy. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>I have never seen so many ads. They put on more ads against me now than Sleepy Joe Biden. (Laughter.) I\u2019m telling you.<\/p>\n<p>And they understand, and it\u2019s \u2014 you know, look, it should have been done a long time ago. This should have been done years ago. Plus, I got rid of the middlemen. And I gave Ron DeSantis the right to go to Canada in the meantime, because I think eventually you\u2019ll be using this. But in the meantime \u2014 (applause) \u2014 you\u2019ll also be getting the rebates. Okay? Rebates \u2014 you know who they go to? The middlemen. You know how rich the middlemen are? I\u2019m rich. These guys blow everyone away. I don\u2019t know \u2014 nobody even knows who the hell they are. Did you ever hear \u2014 does anybody know a middleman?<\/p>\n<p>AUDIENCE MEMBER: (Inaudible) Biden! (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT: We\u2019d like to meet.<\/p>\n<p>Yeah, it\u2019s Biden\u2019s son. It\u2019s Hunter. (Laughter.) Oh, it\u2019s Hunter. (Applause.) Oh \u2014 I\u2019ll bet you Hunter is a middleman; he\u2019s collecting \u2014 he\u2019s like a vacuum cleaner. He follows his father around collecting. (Applause.) What a lot of disgrace. It\u2019s a crime family. (Applause.) You want to know something? It\u2019s a crime family. He\u2019s following his father. Hunter Biden is a middleman. Oh, that\u2019s wild. No, these people are amazing. These middlemen \u2014 you\u2019re right.<\/p>\n<p>Hunter made no money until his father became Vice President, and now he\u2019s like a vacuum cleaner. (Laughter.) His father goes to Germany; Hunter is right there. \u201cHey, give me a couple of million.\u201d Not couple of million; a hell of a lot more than a couple of million. It\u2019s a shame. I\u2019ll tell you what: It\u2019s an organized crime family, as far as I\u2019m concerned. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>I capped out-of-pocket costs. And the way they get protected by big tech and by the media \u2014 the media doesn\u2019t want to ask \u2014 you know, they didn\u2019t ask \u2014 this is the hottest subject there is right now. And I didn\u2019t watch Sleepy Joe last night. I just wanted to see what he looked like. He wasn\u2019t looking too good. (Laughter.) I just couldn\u2019t watch. It was too painful. (Laughter.) But \u2014 but, you know, they didn\u2019t \u2014 I understand that they did not ask him a question about this. Can you believe it?<\/p>\n<p>No, think of it. And Stephanopoulos interviewed me two weeks ago, and it was a \u2014 you know, he was nasty. (Laughter.) He was nasty. I mean, he was tough. He was \u2014 he\u2019s a tough guy. I watched last night \u2014 the little stuff I watched \u2014 and what I heard, it was like softballs everywhere. It was so \u2014 but he didn\u2019t \u2014 this is the hottest subject there is. They didn\u2019t ask him one question about their corruption in the family. They didn\u2019t ask him one question about how big tech is protecting him.<\/p>\n<p>Big tech is not allowing anybody \u2014 how about this? They took down, I guess, Kayleigh, but they took \u2014 how about Kayleigh? Is she great? No, but they took down \u2014 (applause) \u2014 they took down her Twitter site because she had the audacity to put up an article written in the New York Post, which is one of the biggest newspapers in the country. I think it\u2019s the oldest newspaper in the country. And they put up a article, and they took down her site. Can you believe what\u2019s going on in this country?<\/p>\n<p>And then they talk about \u2014 they talk about \u201cfreedom of the press.\u201d They also said last night \u2014 it was very interesting; they talked about the transition, the friendly transition. \u201cWill you agree to the friendly trans-\u2026\u201d And, of course, the answer is \u201cyes.\u201d First of all, I don\u2019t think there\u2019s going to be a transition, because we\u2019re going to win. (Applause.) But, you know. Let\u2019s hope we don\u2019t have to worry about it.<\/p>\n<p>No, but think of this. They get up, \u201cWe demand a friendly transition.\u201d And yet we caught them spying on my campaign and trying to take down the President of the United States. Right? That wasn\u2019t too friendly. Right? That wasn\u2019t too friendly. And they \u2014 and we caught them cold.<\/p>\n<p>Anyway, let\u2019s get back to the medical parts of the world. This is much simpler to understand if you think about it.<\/p>\n<p>But I capped out-of-pocket costs for insulin at $35 a month. People were going \u2014 literally, they were going bankrupt over insulin, or they weren\u2019t getting the insulin, which is a terrible thing. So it\u2019s $35 a month or less for seniors in many Medicare drug plans, saving them an average of nearly $450. I mean, that\u2019s a tremendous saving. Right? (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>In many cases, much less than 35. Seema, in many cases, much less than the 35, right? Did you say one dollar, in some cases? What\u2019s your lowest number? Come on, Seema, let\u2019s hear it.<\/p>\n<p>ADMINISTRATOR VERMA: (Inaudible.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT: Huh? I \u2014 she doesn\u2019t want to get too much. I think maybe one dollar is too much. Okay. She\u2019s very straight. She\u2019s a straight player. And you brought it down from what number? The 35, down from what, Seema?<\/p>\n<p>ADMINISTRATOR VERMA: (Inaudible.)<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT: Tremendously, yeah. It\u2019s a great job, but you \u2014 you did that. But she would come up to me for a year and a half talking about the insulin. The insulin is the biggest \u2014 it\u2019s such a problem for people, where they just \u2014 they\u2019d go without it. They had no choice because it was too expensive.<\/p>\n<p>So, great job, both of you. Thank you very much. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>I also announced that more than 35 million Medicare beneficiaries will soon receive a card in the mail with $200 that you can use to help pay for prescription drugs. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>But I was going to tell you, I\u2019ve allowed Ron DeSantis now to go to Canada and buy your prescription drugs. Now, why am I doing that? (Applause.) Because before all of the favored nations and everything kick in \u2014 which, ultimately, I think that\u2019s what you\u2019re going to be using more than anything \u2014 but Canada gets the drugs for about 50 percent of what we get them for. Same drug, same exact pill, company, everything \u2014 Johnson &#038; Johnson, whatever the company.<\/p>\n<p>Ron is going to buy from Canada, and he\u2019s just cut your price in half. (Applause.) Right? Right? When are you starting that, Ron? When do you think you\u2019ll start?<\/p>\n<p>GOVERNOR DESANTIS: (Inaudible.)<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT: When?<\/p>\n<p>GOVERNOR DESANTIS: Very soon.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT: Very soon. So, Alex, get him approved up, okay? Whatever you have to do. I think it\u2019s great. You know, some people say, \u201cWell that doesn\u2019t\u2026\u201d My attitude is: Whatever the hell it takes. We have this terrible system that\u2019s taken years and years to rig, like the ballots. Right? Like the ballots. It\u2019s taken them years and years to rig. So they\u2019re very simple: Go buy from Canada. We get rid of the middleman. We get rid of all of this nonsense. You like that, Mayor? You like that, Mayor? (Applause.) Both of you? It\u2019s pretty great, Ron. Do it fast, Ron. Do it fast.<\/p>\n<p>To care for \u2014 I mean, you\u2019re not going to believe what\u2019s going to be happening with your numbers. I mean, they\u2019re coming \u2014 they\u2019re coming down big. We\u2019re not talking about 1 percent. I mean, I don\u2019t even want to mention it, but last year, out of 51 years, this is the first time that prescription drug prices have come down in 51 years. They didn\u2019t even come down much. They came down, like, 1 percent, which I don\u2019t want to mention in one way, but in another way, it tells you something. First time in 51 years where drug prices come down. But now you\u2019re talking about a 50, 60, 70, and 80 percent redro- \u2014 reduction in your prescription drug prices. (Applause.) So we got to get it all finished now.<\/p>\n<p>Wouldn\u2019t it be terrible if Sleepy Joe took this over \u2014 the system that I\u2019ve created? And you people will say, \u201cMan, has he been a great President. Look at what he\u2019s done.\u201d Like, as an example, transparency starts on January 1st. I said to my people, \u201cYou couldn\u2019t start it, like, in August \u2014 back?\u201d They said, \u201cSir, you have to go statutorily here, here, here.\u201d I say, \u201cYeah, but I better win this damn election.\u201d Because can you imagine, Mayor? He\u2019ll be saying, \u201cBoy, I\u2019m getting a lot of credit. What the hell did Trump do? This is unbelievable.\u201d And I promise you they won\u2019t give the credit to us, will they? Huh? No. But I think we\u2019re not going to have to worry about it. I hope that. So get out and vote, vote, vote. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>To care for our nation\u2019s veterans, I signed into law VA Choice and VA Accountability. Nobody thought that would be possible. (Applause.) Huh? Nobody thought that would be possible. And we\u2019ve also invested billions and billions of dollars in research and innovative treatments for Alzheimer\u2019s disease, kidney disease, sickle cell disease, AIDS, cancer, and many other illnesses.<\/p>\n<p>And I will say this: Age will be eradicated in this country now in six years. I started right at the beginning. President Obama should have started \u2014 he could have started it two years before, two and a half years before. They wasted two years. But we started it right at the beginning of the administration, and it was a 10-year program. We\u2019re down to six years. In six years, it will be essentially eradicated in our country. Think of that. Who would have thought that? (Applause.) It\u2019s an amazing \u2014 it\u2019s an amazing thing. Should have been started before I got into office. It could have been.<\/p>\n<p>Day after day, I\u2019m fighting to defend our seniors from the virus, from big pharma \u2014 oh, they love me \u2014 (laughs) \u2014 special interests, and from the radical, socialist left. American seniors remind us that we\u2019ve inherited an incredible, extraordinary legacy.<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019re the generation that defeated fascism and triumphed over communism, sent American astronauts to the Moon. You built our country into the greatest and most powerful nation the world has ever known. And, frankly, right now, it\u2019s more powerful than it ever was. When I took over, we had a depleted military. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>We have \u2014 now our military \u2014 we have the greatest weapons on Earth. We are the envy of the world. We have the greatest weapons \u2014 the missiles, rockets, tanks, the tankers, the freight- \u2014 freighters, the boats, the ships, the jet fighters \u2014 F-35s, the F-18s, F-16s. Nobody has the equipment that we have in the world; not even close \u2014 (applause) \u2014 even the hypersonic missiles.<\/p>\n<p>You know, under the Obama administration, they sol- \u2014 they stole our plans for hypersonic. That\u2019s the super-duper. I call them the \u201csuper-duper missiles,\u201d the ones that go so fast, you can\u2019t even see them. And now we have that. You probably read about it last night. We have the fastest, by far, in the world.<\/p>\n<p>No, we\u2019re doing a great job. And our seniors and generations of Americans before you, they did not pour out their heart and soul and blood and tears for this country only now to surrender our freedom, our flag, and our American way of life. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>You, as seniors, have protected us. And now, I, as a senior, and all of my people, we are protecting you. Your courage, your leadership, your patriotism, and your faith are an inspiration to us all.<\/p>\n<p>And with your help, we will transcend every obstacle, defeat every threat, and triumph over every single challenge. We will lift our nation to new heights of greatness and glory, and America will emerge stronger, more united, more independent, and more prosperous than ever before.<\/p>\n<p>For our nation, for our great seniors, and for our beloved children and grandchildren, the best is yet to come. Thank you. God bless you, and God bless America. Thank you very much. (Applause.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fort Myers, FL&#8230;Thank you. What a nice group. AUDIENCE: USA! USA! USA! THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years! THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. Please. We\u2019re going to be talking to our great senior citizens. That\u2019s what I\u2019m here [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":108737,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,5,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-108736","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-government","category-news","last_archivepost"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Fullscreen-capture-10182020-93427-AM.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108736","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=108736"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108736\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/108737"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=108736"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=108736"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=108736"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}