Hegseth Gaslighting Word Salad

 SECRETARY HEGSETH:  Well, unnecessary word  good morning.

We just <— red flag word, either say when if it’s important or delete finished an update with Admiral Brad Cooper, the CENTCOM commander across the CENTCOM AOR; our leadership and troops, as you would expect, doing a fantastic job. you don’t get this freebie opinion without evidence and few people expect anyone associated with this administration to be doing a decent job much less a favorite word of the shitstain who holds your puppet strings. Therefore, this appears, to discerning and informed listeners, deceptive until proven otherwise.

Two days ago, under the direction and direct orders of President Donald J. Trump, the Department of War there is no legal Department of War. That’s an incorrect and costly fake name illegally assigned by the shitstain and used by cult members that he had kompromat on launched Operation Epic Fury, another childish and embarrassing name assigned by the embarrassing profa pedophile party the most-lethal, immature hyperbole  most-complex and most-precise aerial operation in history. 🚨‼️🚩ADMISSION THAT THEY PURPOSELY TARGETED AN SCHOOL FULL OF LITTLE GIRLS

For 47 long years, all years are the exact same length you unprofessional, ignorant, unqualified puppet the expansionist and Islamist regime in Tehran has waged a savage, one-sided war against America. hyperbole and dishonest. In your position, every word, breath, inflection matters and you must be held accountable, by world law, for selecting the best words (not in the sense that shitstain claims but fails to use them but you emulate him perfectly) They didn't always declare it openly, except for their constant chants of "Death to America"; remember that time a presidential candidate on your side made a fool of himself singing bomb bomb bomb Iran on national news? Should have when you spoke these words as well as many other times people in this country shouted similar words, even in the faces of Iranian-Americans who were simply living their lives here not hurting anyone they did it through the blood of our people, car bombs in Beirut, rocket attacks on our ships, murders at our embassies, roadside bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan, funded and armed by Iranian Quds Force and IRGC killers. So YOU want to be just like them? Killing people for Israel? WE THE PEOPLE don’t agree. My generation of veterans were YOU fighting Bush’s illegal blood-for-oil wars?!  carried the names of brothers who never came home, brothers butchered by Iranian-backed roadside bombs and well-armed militias, thousands of our own.Reminder: YOU are wasting US citizen lives and dollars to do the same for Israel because they are too busy doing it to others. Please, work some logic puzzles and build some critical thinking skills before you get us all killed. 

We didn't start this war, YOU DID AND YOU BRAGGED ABOUT IT but under President Trump, we are finishing it. At the order of a dying, demented, dangerous, jealous, resentful, loser of a man you are killing people because he wants everyone to be as miserable as he is and to take us all down with him so we can’t celebrate his death the way he is celebrating the ones he ordered. Their war on Americans has become our retribution against their ayatollah and his death cult. Says the man who’s proud to be associated with the fake Department of War for the profa pedophile party that tried to convince voters that Democrats wanted to give them healthcare because they were “death panels” and then became that (self-fulfilling prophecy) death panel themselves and took away healthcare and leaves people to die? Hypocrites and liars are not good people. It took the 47th president, a fighter who always puts America first,lies - provable lies, he puts Israel and Russia and pedophiles before us, he is weak by every definition and diagnosis, and he doesn’t fight. He bullies, he cheats, he steals. Strong men don’t need to do any of that to succeed to finally draw the line after 47 years of Iranian belligerence. He reminded the world, as he has time and time again, being an American means something unbreakable. HE HAS BROKEN THE UNITED STATES AND IS CURRENTLY TRYING TO BREAK THE REST OF AMERICA. Yes, I screamed that part in writing and would do the same in person if forced to be in the presence of your evil spirit. If you kill Americans, if you threaten Americans anywhere on Earth, we will hunt you down Start with ICE. Clean up your own house first unless you enjoy looking like a hypocritical, lying fool without apology and without hesitation and we will kill you. Did you feel like a big boy saying those words? Your mother failed you but it’s never too late for one of you to correct that mistake. 

President Trump has also been very consistent. Crazy oops - punctuation and grammar errors here *ly needed on the end of consistent, small c, and move the period to behind crazy. AI messes up occasionally and you should learn to catch the errors regimes like Iran hell-bent on prophetic Islamist delusions cannot have nuclear weapons. It's common sense. I will argue that it is not common knowledge. If it were, the United States would not have nuclear weapons with this administration in power. Many have said it, many have said you aren’t qualified for your position but it takes guts to actually enforce it, guts? Is ten your age or your IQ? and our president has guts.current seeping out his neck and anus

Iran's stubborn and self-evident nuclear pursuits, their targeting of global shipping lanes and their swelling arsenal of ballistic missiles and killer drones were no longer — are no longer tolerable risks. Iran was building powerful missiles and drones to create a conventional shield for their nuclear blackmail ambitions. Do you own a mirror? Let me say that again:Let me say that again: Do you own a mirror? Is ten your age or IQ? a conventional shield for their nuclear blackmail ambitions, our bases, our people, our allies, all in their crosshairs. Iran had a conventional gun to our head as they tried to lie their way to a nuclear bomb. Paranoia and exaggeration are unsuitable traits for war game players. Resign. 

It almost worked under Obama and his terrible deal, 🏆there it is! The big reveal. Shitstain’s jealousy of President Obama’s Peace Prize and succesful negotiations is why he wants to start WWIII but not under this president. Turns out the regime who chanted "Death to America" and "Death to Israel" was gifted my opinion is that the word gifted in this instance is deserving of prison time for you. There should be a law against terroristic embarrassment of the country you are supposedly representing death from America and death from Israel.

This is not a so-called regime-change war, LIAR - in ‘things my mother neglected to teach me’ you can add: using immature designations like so-called only makes you look stupid but the regime sure did change, and the world is better off for it.

Today, in their desperation, the enemy is unmasked. As are you. Let’s get ICE unmasked as well. As Iranian missiles and drones rain down indiscriminately on the hotels, airports, apartments and other civilian targets ^^^^ way up there you proudly admitted that YOU TARGETED AND KILLED SCHOOL CHILDREN so sit-the-fuck-down of their neighbors, cowardly terrorist tactics - from a regime that for decades has trafficked oops, another tell - Trumpstein trafficking in the room in cowardly terrorist tactics, often referred to as DHS ICE tactics lies, death and destruction to this day.

The Iranian leadership has built nothing except proxies and missiles and drones and deeply-buried nuclear factories and facilities. Peaceful nuclear ambitions do not need to be buried underneath mountains. Truth doesn’t need to be buried under hyperbole so you’re even here

Last June, Operation Midnight Hammer obliterated their nuclear program to rubble. And they rebuilt it in this short time?! Afterward, we told them plainly, "That's it. Now make a deal." They arrogantly if anyone knows arrogance, it’s you. Maybe you do have a mirror refused. We said, "Rebuild it and we'll stop you again, this time, far worse." Well, President Trump, Secretary Rubio, Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, they bent over
backwards for real diplomacy, offering pathway after pathway to peace. I watched it. I was there. They tried over and over and over again, earnest attempts at peace. The former regime had every chance to make a peaceful and sensible deal. But Tehran was not negotiating; they were stalling, buying time to reload their missile stockpiles and restart their nuclear ambitions. Their goal: Hold us hostage, threatening to strike our forces. Damn. I am a sarcastic bitch and you wore me out. I think listeners probably played Shitstain and slept through this part so readers most likely did, too. 

Well, President Trump doesn't play those games, speaking of games, do you know how many millions of taxpayer dollars that cheater and thief had spent on golf and schmoozing with victims of obvious unlicensed plastic surgeons? It’s a crime. and as Secretary Rubio said after the Maduro raid, "If you don't know, now you know." Such profanity! President Trump puts America and Americans first. No matter how many times he ordered you to say that, I promise not even the bottom tier cult members are buying it.  He doesn't hesitate, and neither do our troops. The mission of Operation Epic Fury is laser-focused: On school girls! Do they think they’re on Trumpstein Island? Destroy Iranian offensive missiles, destroy Iranian missile production, destroy their navy and other security infrastructure and they will never have nuclear weapons. Or, stop being such dicks that people want to nuke you? Have you thought of that? We're hitting them surgically, back to the island again? Or the ranch this time? Can we hope you guys are delving into those doctors? overwhelmingly and unapologetically. Mom failure list: ly words don’t belong in important documents or speeches. Use them at your own risk of looking unserious or unprepared.

With every passing day, Shit! I was heartset on thinking only of days that never end. our capabilities get stronger and Iran's get weaker. Busting bubble time: no proof of either We set the terms of this war, from start to finish. Nice of you to own your failure.  Our ambitions are not utopian; they are realistic, scoped to our interests and the defense of our people and our allies. Liar - you are using U. S. military and treasury to serve as Israeli mercenaries 

Speaking of people, we hope the Iranian people take advantage of this incredible opportunity. President Trump has been clear: Now is your time. Shitstain hasn’t uttered a clear sentence since - when was that Riley encounter? Decades ago feels safe. 

To Iranian security forces, choose wisely. President Trump has also been clear about your fate in either direction. Reliving your G. I. Joe days? 

To the media outlets and political left screaming "endless wars," stop. This is not Iraq. This is not endless. I was there for both. Doing what, exactly? Following or giving orders? Our generation knows better and so does this President. General Bone Spurs? He called the last 20 years of nation building wars dumb, and he's right. This is the opposite. Same profa war-for-oil mongers, different stuffed suit fall guys 

This operation is a clear, devastating, decisive *** please, DO keep reminding us that you targeted little school girls mission: destroy the missile threat, destroy the navy, no nukes. Israel has clear missions as well for which we are grateful, capable partners, as we've said since the beginning, capable partners are good partners, unlike so many of our traditional allies who wring their hands and clutch their pearls, hemming and hawing about the use of force. You alienated our ethical allies and put us in danger. Thanks for owning that part, too. 

America, regardless of what so-called Mama Hegseth, please finish your job. Motherhood is for life. international institutions say, is READER BREAK UNLESS YOU’RE CLUTCHING A G. I. Joe doll:  following is nothing more than Petey Boy trying to impress you with words he believes are impressive unleashing the most lethal and precise air power campaign in history. B-2s, fighters, drones, missiles, and of course classified effects. All on our terms with maximum authorities. No stupid rules of engagement, no nation-building quagmire, no democracy building exercise, no politically correct wars. We fight to win, and we don't waste time or lives.

As the President warned, an effort of this scope will include casualties. I remind you, in callous, sociopathic parlance and tone War is hell and always will be. And the profa pedophile protecting party wants you to live (or die) through a hell of their making. A grateful nation honors the four number increased already Americans we have lost thus far and those injured, the absolute best of America.

May we prosecute the remainder of this operation in a manner that honors them. No apologies, no hesitation, epic fury for them and the thousands of Americans before them taken too soon by Iranian radicals.

Before I turn it over to General Caine for the operational update, let me speak straight to you, the Joint Force, our warriors on the front lines. This is your moment. This is the generational turning point America has waited for since 1979 and since the rudderless wars of hubris, my generation, our generation endured, don't listen to the noise, just stay focused. Our commander-in-chief is steady at the wheel. We face a determined enemy, but you are better, but we must prove it every single day. History doesn't care if we're tired, if we're scared, or if the fight feels big. It demands warriors who rise anyway.

Peace through strength, <— we will fuck for virginity later the warrior ethos, lethality, unity of purpose, those are not slogans. They're the beating heart of what it means to wear the uniform, that uniform. You think clearly under fire, you act decisively in chaos, you uphold the constitution and you uphold our country without hesitation. We are not defenders anymore. We are warriors, trained to kill the enemy and break their will. History is watching. And history will not be kind to you or anyone responsible for putting you in the position you’re in now Be the force you swore an oath to be focused, disciplined, lethal, and unbreakable. AND REMEMBER YOU DO NOT HAVE TO FOLLOW ILLEGAL ORDERS

We will finish this on America-first conditions of President Trump's choosing, nobody else's as it should be. And know this above all, President Trump and I have your back always, Liar through fire, through criticism, through fake news, through everything, we unleash you because you are the best, most powerful, most lethal fighting force the world has ever seen.

May Almighty God there is no almighty god. They are all equal and must be sleeping because your administration would have been smited if they weren’t watch over you and his providential arms of protection extend over you. Godspeed warriors and keep going.

Out of All His Closets

 On a serious note, my innate compassion has been almost impossible to overcome the last few days. It’s so damned annoying and puts me on a steeper emotional roller coaster  than I normally live on. 

When I saw the profa felon fall out of all his closets and fawn over Mamdani like the pubescent, abused, gay Democrat that he has had to carry unrecognized and unloved or unlived most of his life, I was happy for him. I hoped for nearly 24 hours that it might lead to better days for him and for us - that in this demented state, wishing for a ticket into heaven, he might clear his conscience and live his truth. He might have no more reason to punish the world for his misery.

Then, he walked out yesterday without makeup or hairspray, in his Mamdani clothes, and I imagined someone being tasked with managing overnight to find that outfit for him. I pictured toddler Twitler throwing the world’s most memorable temper tantrum for a superman costume and no one even hearing him. And that’s how owning a cult  of misfit sycophants became necessary for him. 

And that took me to, “Quiet, Piggy.” I went back to watch the video again and felt it. One of the monsters who created and abused him surely pointed fingers at him and said those words to him when he threw tantrums begging for the things he thought he needed. It’s heartbreaking for me. 

I’m working my hatred for everything he has done back to the necessary forefront in my bank of emotions. Meanwhile, this might be the first roller coaster of any kind I have hated.

The Superpower Of Kamala's Positive Energy

Now that little eyes aren’t here reading over my shoulder, I want to share a Granddaughter #3 story that will join an essay I wrote about a similar special moment with #2 when she was around the same age. 

 This story started with #3 seeing Kamala Harris on television. She smiled immediately but the smile disappeared almost as quickly as it had come. With a somewhat troubled expression, she asked why I stuck Amy over the top of Kamala on my bumper. I explained that during that primary race--which, since she's seven years old, required an entire lesson about political parties, primaries, and generals--Kamala Harris and Amy Klobuchar were tied in first place for me. I was excited about the prospect of having either of them as the next president. There was one big thing that I liked better about each of them so I was having a hard time deciding who I was going to vote for in that election. I sent donations to both while I decided. 

Of course she asked, and I explained what it was for each. I told her why I had decided to go with Kamala - a story and a confession this time. I had left my daughters at home while I went to pick up a mixed-race teen from basketball practice. My experience had always been that the car was the best time to get kids to open up and I suspected he had been carrying some heavy thoughts for days. The alone-in-the-car trick worked. He opened up and went deeper than I anticipated. He said he was having a hard time figuring out who he was supposed to be. He already had a white mother and felt like I was a second white mother which seemed like a betrayal to his mother and to make it even worse, he felt white but he looked black like his father. And then he hit me with what sounded like regret that he looked black because no black man had ever been president so he didn't believe he could be anything he wanted to be. 

This was not a cross country drive and I am a big talker so I wasn't sure I was going to be able to make even a tiny dent in the conversation before we reached the house. My inept response was that he was beautiful and perfect just the way he was, and he sure as hell could be anything he wanted to be. And I found some awkward words about being grateful that his mother shared so much of him with me because if I had a son of my own I would want my son to be just like him. 

By the time we got to the house, I realized that my daughter might have had some of these same concerns. I'm white and her father is brown and we've never had a Hispanic president, either. I hated myself a little for never thinking of her as anything but my beautiful daughter, even years before when I had asked why her friend down the street always came to our house and never invited her to their house, and I got the disappointing response - a shrug and, "I don't know. Her mom said her dad doesn't like chicks so I can't come to their house." I was certain the word wasn't chicks so I was glad her little friend was on our front porch waiting when we got home every night and stayed until bedtime. 

But I didn't consider that my daughter had known what that meant. Or wondered if she heard things like that at school. What if she had feelings similar to the ones this young man was expressing to me. What if she thought there were things she couldn't do because she was brown? We all had a serious talk over dinner that night. 

So, the Kamala bumper sticker went on the car because my daughter and granddaughters needed to see a brown woman be president. Of course, I shortened that story quite a bit and made it seven-year-old appropriate. And explained that when Kamala dropped out of the race and I felt certain she had a chance at VP slot, I left her bumper sticker on my car and put Amy’s over the corner of it - still wanting to show my support for both. 

#3 liked my reason for choosing Kamala first, keeping her on, and supporting both. We talked a bit about how we liked saying her name. I picked up on that when she repeated it several times for no reason. I told her about Mamala. She loved that.

And I told her, once again, how much she (#3) has in common with little #2, who is 14 years older than #3. #2 walked around saying BarackObamaBarackObamaBarackObama the way other kids sing Baby Shark. She also wrote it up and down the sidewalk and in front of my neighbors’ doors. We didn’t need yard signs. 

#3 reminded me that she loves Barack Obama, too. I said of course you do, everyone does. (I didn't remind her that when she was a baby, she called me Obama instead of Gramma for about a year and we never figured out if she did that because she couldn't pronounce Gramma of if it was because she knew how much I loved him.) She asked why. I asked why do I love him or why does everyone love him? 

I explained both. I adore him because he’s the closest anyone had ever come to being just like my dad to me, and what makes that special is that just being their presence makes people feel better. They both exude (exuded, in Daddy’s case) palpable goodness. And I saw huge tears in her eyes. I expected her to say. “Your dad is dead,” but apparently she has outgrown reminding me and her mother that our dads are dead. 

When I asked about the tears, she said she was embarrassed to tell me and I said it might make me cry if I have to know she doesn’t feel comfortable telling me something. So, she told me - hearing me talk about Barack Obama makes her love him "that" much. She just “feels” it. The love comes off of me onto her.

Wow! I told her that proves what I was saying about him. The profound positive energy that I felt the first time I was in a room with him will live in me forever, and I am able to share that with her, and with other people. She blinked more tears off and nodded. Like she really got it. 

She thought for a few seconds before she asked, “Can you really do that? Share the energy? And he can, too?” I assured her that she does the same. She’s the kindest person I know and she spreads that good energy everywhere she goes. It’s her superpower that she didn’t even know she had. 

“And love?” she asked. “We can spread love into the world?” Yep. I promised we can. And we can receive it if we spend our time with the right people. 

And that is exactly what Kamala Harris is doing right now. She is spreading positive energy. We're laughing and dancing and exhaling. Oh, how we are exhaling. Years of stored up good energy that we were afraid wouldn't have anywhere to land. Now, everyone is ready to inhale that good energy and blow it back out into the world.

I made a special point to tell her that because I am old and don’t work or go to school, I have the luxury of seeing only people I want to see now. And because I am especially susceptible to the energy around me, I carefully choose to only spend my time with people who have good hearts and want the best for everyone. She doesn’t have that luxury yet so she needs to work on putting out her positive energy and not taking in energy from people who want to hurt others. The sweet girl held her hand in front of her face and showed me that she can breathe back in her own positive energy if she's around bad people.

We spent some time inhaling deeply and exhaling loving energy that we both admitted we were receiving from the other without any effort. It was like Qigong on the couch.

The kids need Kamala Harris to be our next President (that's not a trumpish error - I believe she will absolutely win that capital P. And the world will be a better place because of her.

JCPS BusGate

Call me a conspiracy theorist if you want. It won't make me wrong or you right. My record of connecting dots and identifying conspiracies is near perfect so I am sharing this prediction. 

This JCPS bus mess is undoubtedly tied to RW takeover of Jefferson County and is to be used to help unqualified, deplorable Daniel Cameron. The irony is that HE (and the unbelievable and unexplainable Republican takeover of AG, SoS, and both state houses for the first time in a century) owns the most hideous part of the Breonna Taylor case and this is and will be connected by outsiders to Breonna Taylor in an attempt to use this to start a racial war and allow Republicans to take over Louisville. We cannot let this happen.

THINK: FL Rs firing ELECTED Democrats. It has happened in other red states. And they all share a brain and an agenda.

Go To Hell, Please, Ma'am

 Several things on Facebook and a conversation with my sister over the past few days have reminded me how progressive and wise my mother was. And, I realized late in her life, after my father's death, that she was pretty much a mirror of the men in her life so my dad probably gets much of the credit. 

The most recent reminder involves actions versus words. We were not required or encouraged to say ma'am and sir, to call people Mr and Mrs, or to use aunt and uncle, especially for people who were not blood relatives. I asked her once, when I was around eight years old, why the neighbor kids were required to say ma'am and sir, and should I have to say that to their parents since they said it to mine. She said no, I didn't have to use those words if they didn't feel natural to me. More importantly, though, she told me that I was always polite and kind, and as far as she knew, no one thought I was disrespectful to them. Yet, there were kids in the neighborhood who called her ma'am but their tones and actions were disrespectful. She laughed and said one boy's parents would be okay with him telling her to go to hell as long as he added, "Please, ma'am," at the end.

And that's why I don't play stupid games. You get what's real from me.

Republicans Remain Free To Incite Violence

 

These words,

<>"as long as the former president remains free to incite violence in much
the way he did on Jan 6, 2020"<> 

clipped from this RawStory.com article, The worst is yet to come, were red flag words to me and should be a call to action for all of us who want to see the people who make threats, incite violence, and act out their (or that of their favorite politicians) hatred through violence held accountable.

 

I saw both Kentucky Senators (McConnell and Paul) get air time to trot their wives out and feign fear of Democrats/liberals/perceived enemies who had said unkind words to them in public, which is the only place those of us who have to suffer their lies and votes can communicate with them since they only invite donors and known sycophants to their events and use guards, law enforcement, and hired thugs to keep the public away from them and their offices. The clear, although carefully crafted legally veiled messages to their radicalized, heavily-armed  domestic terrorist base was to STOP the people who said words or carried posters that they didn't appreciate.  

 

I recognized exactly what they were doing and knew we needed to act.

 

We've all seen, even those who refuse to admit it, Republicans insisting that the first amendment gives them the right to use the second amendment to stop anyone who doesn't agree with them, and how those not-so-subliminal messages have been acted on by people who heard them. See Palin and Trump(ers) at the January 6 Insurrection. I published these three articles, shared them widely, and screamed from my roof top (or desk chair).

 

Mitch McConnell, Rand Paul, Trump, GOP, WE HEAR YOU Inciting Violence Against Democrats

 

McConnell Can't Hide From This 

 

Brown Shirts, Red Caps, McConnell and Trump Mobs and Thugs

 

And things have gotten progressively worse at rapid speed so I'm screaming louder today.

 

I am calling on everyone to make official reports to local law enforcement and FBI about every credible threats or examples of anyone (especially elected officials) inciting violence. They know the words that mask the threats and dog whistles and use them to mask their words. However, what they are doing and the results have become so blatantly obvious that law enforcement cannot continue to ignore it if enough people report and give them a paper trail with which to take action.

 

When possible, draw them into a conversation where they elevate those threats. They usually will if you question and stop just short of their level because they believe staying on top makes them the winner. And, from my experience, have little self control and want to impress their friends with their violence. Record or screenshot the evidence when you can. 

 

As with stalking and other crimes, things that appear harmless when isolated look much worse when there are multiple cases. I remember clearly the day that I walked into the police department, spread all of my evidence across a conference table, and heard the rewarding words, "You finally have enough for a stalking charge." 

 

The wheels of Justice do turn slowly so we have to do the work to speed up the process and stop the violence. 

Reporting Crime

President Biden delivered remarks in Philadelphia on Thursday [Sept 1, 2022]

I enjoy hearing political speeches, unless they are delivered by a Bush or Trump, in which case I can't bear to listen. But, I get more out of the transcripts. Somewhere in my hoards of old printouts or collection of old computers, I probably still have worn transcripts of every speech Al Gore made - because, like with Pat Conroy's writing, there's too much to grasp from each sentence the first time through. 

I am posting the transcript of President Biden's Philadelphia speech on September 1, 2022 with highlights to show how I hear and read important speeches. This might be the most important one I
remember in my lifetime although I have listened to speeches from President Kennedy until the present. 

There is no legend to identify the colors, fonts, lines . . .  maybe you'll figure it out. 

Contrary to what some have said, there are great verbs in here.

President Biden delivered remarks in Philadelphia on Thursday [Sept 1, 2022] about what he described as ongoing threats to democracy in the United States. The following is a transcript of his remarks, as recorded by The New York Times.

My fellow Americans, please, if you have a seat, take it.

I speak to you tonight from sacred ground in America: Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pa.

This is where America made its declaration of independence to the world more than two centuries ago, with an idea unique among nations: that in America, we’re all created equal.

This is where the United States Constitution was written and debated. This is where we set in motion the most extraordinary experiment of self-government the world has ever known.

With three simple words: we, the people; we, the people. These two documents and their ideas they embody — equality and democracy — are the rock upon which this nation is built.

They are how we became the greatest nation on earth. They are why, for more than two centuries, America has been a beacon to the world.

But as I stand here tonight, equality and democracy are under assault. We do ourselves no favor to pretend otherwise.

So, tonight, I’ve come to this place where it all began to speak as plainly as I can to the nation about the threats we face, about the power we have in our own hands to meet these threats and about the incredible future that lies in front of us, if only we choose it.

We must never forget, we, the people, are the true heirs of the American experiment that began more than two centuries ago.

We, the people, have burning inside of each of us the flame of liberty that was lit here at Independence Hall. A flame that lit our way through abolition, the Civil War, suffrage, the Great Depression, world wars, civil rights. That sacred flame still burns. Now on our time as we build an America that is more prosperous, free, and just. That is the work of my presidency, a mission I believe in with my whole soul.

But first, we must be honest with each other and with ourselves.

Too much of what’s happening in our country today is not normal. Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our Republic.

Now, I want to be very clear, very clear up front. Not every Republican, not even the majority of Republicans, are MAGA Republicans. Not every Republican embraces their extreme ideology. I know, because I’ve been able to work with these mainstream Republicans.

But there’s no question that the Republican Party today is dominated, driven and intimidated by Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans. And that is a threat to this country.

These are hard things, but I’m an American president, not a president of red America or blue America, but of all America. And I believe it’s my duty, my duty to level with you, to tell the truth no matter how difficult, no matter how painful.

And here, in my view, is what is true: MAGA Republicans do not respect the Constitution. They do not believe in the rule of law. They do not recognize the will of the people. They refuse to accept the results of a free election, and they’re working right now as I speak in state after state to give power to decide elections in America to partisans and cronies, empowering election deniers to undermine democracy itself.

MAGA forces are determined to take this country backwards, backwards to an America where there is no right to choose, no right to privacy, no right to contraception, no right to marry who you love. They promote authoritarian leaders, and they fanned the flames of political violence that are a threat to our personal rights, to the pursuit of justice, to the rule of law, to the very soul of this country.

They look at the mob that stormed the United States Capitol on Jan. 6, brutally attacking law enforcement, not as insurrectionists who placed a dagger at the throat of our democracy, but they look at them as patriots. And they see their MAGA failure to stop a peaceful transfer of power after the 2020 election as preparation for the 2022 and 2024 elections.

They tried everything last time to nullify the votes of 81 million people. This time, they’re determined to succeed in thwarting the will of the people. That’s why respected conservatives like Federal Circuit Court Judge Michael Luttig has called Trump and the extreme MAGA Republicans “a clear and present danger” to our democracy.

But while the threat to American democracy is real, I want to say as clearly as we can, we are not powerless in the face of these threats. We are not bystanders in this ongoing attack on democracy. There are far more Americans, far more Americans from every background and belief, who reject the extreme MAGA ideology than those that accept it. And folks, it’s within our power, it’s in our hands, yours and mine, to stop the assault on American democracy.

I believe America is at an inflection point, one of those moments that determine the shape of everything that’s to come after. And now, America must choose to move forward or to move backwards, to build a future or obsess about the past, to be a nation of hope and unity and optimism or a nation of fear, division and of darkness.

MAGA Republicans have made their choice. They embrace anger. They thrive on chaos. They live, not in the light of truth but in the shadow of lies. But together, together, we can choose a different path. We can choose a better path forward to the future, a future of possibility, a future to build a dream and hope, and we’re on that path moving ahead.

I know this nation. I know you, the American people. I know your courage, I know your hearts, and I know our history. This is a nation that honors our Constitution. We do not reject it. This is a nation that believes in the rule of law. We do not repudiate it. This is a nation that respects free and fair elections. We honor the will of the people. We do not deny it. And this is a nation that rejects violence as a political tool. We do not encourage violence. We are still an America that believes in honesty and decency and respect for others. Patriotism, liberty, justice for all, hope, possibilities — we are still at our core a democracy.

And yet, history tells us that blind loyalty to a single leader and a willingness to engage in political violence is fatal to democracy.

For a long time, we’ve told ourselves that American democracy is guaranteed, but it’s not. We have to defend it, protect it, stand up for it, each and every one of us. That’s why tonight, I’m asking our nation to come together, unite behind the single purpose of defending our democracy regardless of your ideology.

We’re all called by duty and conscience to confront extremists who put their own pursuit of power above all else. Democrats, independents, mainstream Republicans, we must be stronger, more determined and more committed to saving American democracy. And MAGA Republicans are destroying American democracy.

We, the people, will not let anyone or anything tear us apart. Today, there are dangers around us we cannot allow to prevail. We hear — you’ve heard it, more and more talk about violence as an acceptable political tool in this country. It’s not. It can never be an acceptable tool. So, I want to say this plain and simple: There is no place for political violence in America, period, none, ever.

You saw law enforcement brutally attacked on January the 6th. We’ve seen election officials, poll workers, many of them volunteers of both parties, subject to intimidation and death threats. And, can you believe it, F.B.I. agents just doing their job as directed, facing threats to their own lives from their own fellow citizens.

On top of that, there are public figures today, yesterday and the day before predicting and all but calling for mass violence and rioting in the streets. This is inflammatory. It’s dangerous. It’s against the rule of law. And we, the people, must say this is not who we are.

Ladies and gentlemen, we can’t be pro-insurrectionist and pro-American. They’re incompatible. We can’t allow violence to be normalized in this country. It’s wrong. We each have to reject political violence with all the moral clarity and conviction this nation can muster now.

We can’t let the integrity of our elections be undermined, for that is a path to chaos. Look, I know politics can be fierce and mean and nasty in America. I get it. I believe in the give and take of politics, in disagreement and debate and dissent. We’re a big complicated country, but democracy endures only if we, the people, respect the guardrails of the Republic. Only if, we the people accept the results of free and fair elections. Only if, we the people see politics, not as total war, but mediation of our differences. Democracy cannot survive on one side believes there are only two outcomes to an election: Either they win or they were cheated. And that’s where the MAGA Republicans are today.

They don’t understand what every patriotic American knows. You can’t love your country only when you win. It’s fundamental.

American democracy only works only if we choose to respect the rule of law and the institutions that were set up in this chamber behind me. Only if we respect our legitimate political differences.

I will not stand by and watch — I will not — the will of the American people be overturned by wild conspiracy theories and baseless evidence-free claims of fraud. I will not stand by and watch elections in this country stolen by people who simply refuse to accept that they lost. I will not stand by and watch the most fundamental freedom in this country, the freedom to vote and have your vote counted, and be taken from you and the American people.

Look, as your president, I will defend our democracy with every fiber of my being, and I’m asking every American to join me.

Throughout our history, America has often made the greatest progress coming out of some of our darkest moments like you’re hearing in that bullhorn. I believe we can and must do that again, and we are.

MAGA Republicans look at America and see carnage and darkness and despair. They spread fear and lies. Lies told for profit and power.

But I see a different America — an America with an unlimited future, an America that’s about to take off. I hope you see it as well. Just look around. I believe we could lift America from the depths of Covid, so we passed the largest economic recovery package since Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and today America’s economy is faster, stronger than any other advanced nation in the world. We have more to go. I believe we can build a better America, so we passed the biggest infrastructure investment since President Dwight D. Eisenhower, and we’ve now embarked on a decade of rebuilding the nation’s roads, bridges, highways, ports, water systems, high-speed internet, railroads.

I believe we can make America safer, so we passed the most significant gun safety law since President Clinton.

I believe we could go from being the highest cost of prescriptions to the world to making prescription drugs and health care more affordable, so we passed the most significant health care reform since President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act.

And I believed we could create a clean energy future and save the planet, so we passed the most important climate initiative ever, ever, ever.

The cynics and the critics tell us nothing can get done, but they’re wrong.

There is not a single thing America cannot do, not a single thing beyond our capacity if we do it together. It’s never easy. But we’re proving that America, no matter how long the road, progress does come.

Look, I know the last year, few years have been tough, but today Covid no longer controls our lives. More Americans are working than ever. Businesses are growing, our schools are open, millions of Americans have been lifted out of poverty. Millions of veterans once exposed to toxic burn pits will now get what they deserve for their families in compensation. American manufacturing has come alive across the heartland, and the future will be made in America, no matter what the white supremacists and the extremists say.

I made a bet on you, the American people, and that bet is paying off, proving that from darkness, the darkness of Charlottesville, of Covid, of gun violence, of insurrection, we can see the light. Light is now visible. Light that will guide us forward. Not only in words but in actions. Actions for you, for your children, for your grandchildren, for America.

Even in this moment with all the challenges we face, I give you my word as a Biden, I’ve never been more optimistic about America’s future. Not because of me, but because of who you are.

We’re going to end cancer as we know it, mark my words. We’re going to create millions of new jobs and a clean energy economy. We’re going to think big. We’re going to make the 21st century another American century because the world needs us to. That’s where we need to focus our energy. Not in the past, not on divisive culture wars, not on the politics of grievance, but on a future we can build together.

The MAGA Republicans believe that for them to succeed, everyone else has to fail. They believe America, not like what I believe about America. I believe America is big enough for all of us to succeed, and that is the nation we’re building, a nation where no one is left behind.

I ran for president because I believed we were in a battle of the soul of this nation. I still believe that to be true. I believe the soul is the breadth, the life and the essence of who we are. The soul is what makes us, us.

The soul of America is defined by the sacred proposition that all are created equal in the image of God, that all are entitled to be treated with decency, dignity and respect, that all deserve justice and a shot at lives of prosperity and consequence. And that democracy, democracy must be defended, for democracy makes all these things possible.

Folks, and it’s up to us. Democracy begins and will be preserved, and we the people’s habits of the heart — in our character, optimism that is tested, yet endures, courage that digs deep when we need it. Empathy that fuels democracy. The willingness to see each other not as enemies but as fellow Americans.

Look, our democracy isn’t perfect. It always has been. Notwithstanding those folks you hear on the other side there. They’re entitled to be outrageous. This is a democracy. But history and common sense — good manners is nothing they have ever suffered from — but history and common sense tell us that opportunity, liberty and justice for all are most likely to come to pass in a democracy. We have never fully realized the aspirations of our founding, but every generation has opened those doors a little bit wider to include more people who have been excluded before.

My fellow Americans, America is an idea; the most powerful idea in the history of the world, and it beats in the hearts of the people of this country. It beats in all our hearts. It unites America. It is the American creed.

The idea that America guarantees that everyone be treated with dignity. It gives hate no safe harbor. It installs in everyone the belief that no matter where you start in life, there’s nothing you can’t achieve. That’s who we are. That’s what we stand for. That’s what we believe.

And that’s precisely what we’re doing — opening doors, creating possibilities, focusing on the future — and we’re only just beginning.

Our task is to make our nation free and fair, just and strong, noble and whole, and this work is the work of democracy, the work of this generation. It is the work of our time for all time. We can’t afford to leave anyone on the sidelines. We need everyone to do their part, so speak up, speak out, get engaged, vote, vote, vote!

And if we do our duty, if we do our duty, in 2022 and beyond, then ages still to come will say we, all of us here, we kept the faith. We preserved democracy. We heeded our words. We heeded not our worst instincts but our better angels. We proved that for all its imperfections, America is still the beacon to the world, an ideal to be realized, a promise to be kept. There’s nothing more important. Nothing more sacred. Nothing more American. That’s our soul. That’s who we truly are. And that’s who we must always be.

I have no doubt, none, that this is who we will be and that we’ll come together as a nation that will secure our democracy. That for the next 200 years we’ll have what we had the past 200 years, the greatest nation on the face of the earth. We just need to remember who we are. We are the United States of America, the United States of America. And may God protect our nation, and may God protect all those who stand watch over our democracy.

God bless you all. Democracy. Thank you.