Remarks By President Biden On Building A Better America
MARCH 02, 2022
2:29 P.M. CST
THE PRESIDENT: I got to tell you a story. (Laughter.) I hadn’t planned on this. When Jill and I met and fell in love, she let me know her favorite day in the calendar was Valentine’s Day. The first Valentine’s Day that we were together when I was Vice President — the Vice President’s office faces the Eisenhower building — the big, granite building you see on the other side of the White House. And there’s a triple set of stairs coming down from that building, and they come right — they look right in the Vice President’s office as you come down.
And the press comes down that way all the time. And so, the night before this Thanksgiving — this Valentine’s Day — the first one — Jill got — in typical professor/teacher form, she got the maintenance guys to bring up a 16-foot ladder.
And on — I think there are a total of, I don’t know, 19 panes of each — in each window — big panes of glass. And with that erasable paint you can have, she put a heart in every single of the five windows — four windows, saying “Joe loves Jill.” (Laughter.)
And that night, my press guy got a call from CBS Morning News — would I be on CBS Morning News to talk about Valentine’s Day. He said, “You ought to do it.” So I did. And while we’re getting ready to — excuse me — while we’re getting ready in the office, all the lights are down — and I think I — I think I’ve told my colleagues in the House and the Senate this story.
While they’re — it’s dark, they’re fixing the lights, and I’m sitting knee to knee with a woman named Juju Chang, who used to be — work with — for CBS. And while they’re fixing the lights, she looks at me and she says, “Everybody says you and your wife have a great love affair.” And I said, “I think so.” And I said, “But everybody knows I love her more than she loves me.” (Laughter.) And she responded — my word — “That’s what everybody says.” (Laughter.)
And then she said she had done a study that — she had been on, I guess, two or three parts on the morning show over a period of weeks before. And I think — don’t hold me to this, I think it was — I think it was Yale and Stanford had done this study: what makes marriages last the longest and the most romantic.
You can always tell when the couple is not only in love but they’re — when it’s romantic, no matter how old they get. And — (laughs) — she said, “You know what it is?” I said, “No.” She said, “It’s when the husband loves the wife more.”
I want to tell you, Jilly, this was worth the trip to come out here today. (Laughter.) Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you, thank you, thank you.
If the Secret Service agents weren’t sworn to secrecy, they could tell you they’ve never heard anything like that said from the podium by Jill. (Laughter.)
I love Wisconsin and Minnesota. (Applause.) Thank you. Thank you.
Hello, Wisconsin. (Applause.)
And if you can hear me across the river, hello, Minnesota. (Applause.)
I’m Jill Biden’s husband, Joe. (Applause.) And, Gordon, thank you, for that introduction. And Governor Evers and Governor Walz and — thank you both for — for welcoming me to both your states.
And, Mr. Mayor, Jim Paine, thank you for the passport. (Laughter.) And, Emily, from Duluth — the Mayor of Duluth — when we got off the plane, she had — I don’t think she had a coat on — (laughter) — she had on a — she — I mean, I tell you, you’re tough, kid. (Laughter.) Thank you for the passport to both your cities.
And thanks for your three outstanding senators, and I mean that sincerely — all friends — (applause) — Tammy Baldwin, Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith, and Congressmen Mark Pocan and Ron Kind. You got a hell of a delegation — all of you. (Applause.)
Last night, I was with your senators and representatives, along with their colleagues in Congress, to speak about the state of the union. And together, we sent an unmistakable signal to Ukraine and to the world that we, the United States of America, stand with the Ukrainian people. We stand with them. (Applause.)
And Vladimir Putin’s — Vladimir Putin’s latest attack on Ukraine was premeditated and unprovoked. He’s rejected repeated efforts at diplomacy. He thought the West and NATO wouldn’t respond. He thought he could divide us at home. But he was wrong. We were ready.
We spent countless hours unifying the European Allies. We countered Russia’s lies and[with] truth — we countered them by letting them know what was being planned. And now the free world is holding him accountable.
Putin is now isolated from the world more than ever. And we’ll continue to aid the Ukrainian people as they defend their country and help ease their suffering in the process.
When the history of this era is written, Ukraine will have left Russia weaker and the rest of the world stronger. (Applause.)
Folks — they’re amazing. They’re amazing people. You see those scenes. I’ve been to Ukraine. I’ve spoken to the Rada. I’ve spent much time there over the years. They’re amazing people.
And we’re growing stronger here at home as well.
As I said last night, there is no greater testament to the grit and resilience of the American people than the progress you’ve all made in the middle of a pandemic.
Thanks to the American Rescue Plan, we lifted this country out of crisis, created 6.5 million jobs — more jobs than any American has ever created in a single year. (Applause.)
Our economy grew — our economy grew at 5.7 percent — the strongest growth in 40 years.
And Vice President Harris and I — we ran for office with a new economic vision for America: invest in America; educate the American people; grow the workforce; and build an economy from the bottom up and the middle out, not just from the top down.
Because we know that when the middle class grows, the poor have a way up, and the wealthy do very well. Everyone does fine.
My Rescue Plan reflects that vision and that’s — that was just the first step. We also had to invest in the country itself.
America used to have the best infrastructure in the world — the best bridges, roads, airports, et cetera. Now our infrastructure ranks number 13 in the world according to the World Economic Forum.
We can’t compete for jobs of the 21st century if we don’t fix that. That’s why it was so important to pass the
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law — the most sweeping investment to
rebuild America in all of American history. (Applause.) Bipartisan.
And I want to thank your senators and representatives here today for helping lead that charge. And that was literally what they did — lead the charge.
When I signed that infrastructure law 100 days ago, we already had — we already had the ground run — we hit the ground running, announcing $100 billion in new investments to create jobs for millions of Americans — modernizing our roads, our airports, our ports, our waterways. And we’ll do it — we’ll do it all to withstand the devastating effects of climate and to promote environmental justice in the process.
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