[8.0] Vice President 2 (2023,2024)

As many of us remember, last year, on this stage, I warned of the imminent invasion of Ukraine by Russia. And let us all recall: Many at the time wondered how we would all respond. Many wondered: Could Russia be stopped? Would NATO come together? Would NATO break apart? And would Ukraine be prepared?

Colleagues, today, a year later, we know. Kyiv is still standing. Russia is weakened. The transatlantic Alliance is stronger than ever. And most importantly, the spirit of the Ukrainian people endures.

And under Joe Biden, President of the United States, our country has demonstrated decisive leadership. As President Biden often says: The United States will support Ukraine for as long as it takes. We will not waver.

And today ... I will describe what we all continue to have at stake: the moral interest, the strategic interest, and the reason Ukraine matters for the people of America, for the people of Europe, and for people around the world.

First, from the starting days of this unprovoked war, we have witnessed Russian forces engage in horrendous atrocities and war crimes. Their actions are an assault on our common values, an attack on our common humanity.

And let us be clear: Russian forces have pursued a widespread and systemic attack against a civilian population -- gruesome acts of murder, torture, rape, and deportation. Execution-style killings, beatings, and electrocution. Russian authorities have forcibly deported hundreds of thousands of people from Ukraine to Russia, including children. They have cruelly separated children from their families.

Think of the images of Bucha. Civilians shot in cold blood. Their bodies left in the street. The jarring photograph of the man who was riding his bike. Think of the four-year-old girl who the United Nations recently reported was sexually assaulted by a Russian soldier. A four-year-old child. Barbaric and inhumane.

The United States has formally determined that Russia has committed crimes against humanity. And I say to all those who have perpetrated these crimes and to their superiors who are complicit in these crimes: You will be held to account.

The fight in Ukraine has far-reaching global ramifications. No nation is safe in a world where one country can violate the sovereignty and territorial integrity of another; where crimes against humanity are committed with impunity; where a country with imperialist ambitions can go unchecked.

Again, the United States will continue to strongly support Ukraine. ... We also know Ukraine will continue to be supported by a united transatlantic community. Putin thought he could divide NATO ... he has failed. The NATO Alliance is stronger now than ever before, and the United States commitment to NATO and to its Article 5 is ironclad.

There will be more dark days in Ukraine. The daily agony of war will persist. The global ripple effects will continue to be felt by countries near and far -- from Africa, to Southeast Asia, to the Caribbean. But if Putin thinks he can wait us out, he is badly mistaken. Time is not on his side.

Colleagues, I do believe we all know when future generations look back at this moment, they will see that we understood the task before us and rose to the occasion. And so, to you I say: The United States of America is proud to be your partner in this noble pursuit.

Part of the extension of the work you will do is, yes, focused on our young leaders and our young people -- understanding we also then have to be clear about the needs of their parents and their grandparents and their teachers and their communities, because none of us just live in a silo. Everything is in context.

My mother ... would give us a hard time sometimes, and she would say to us, "I don't know what's wrong with you young people. You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?" Hahahahahaa ... You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you.

Just as AI has the potential to do profound good, it also has the potential to cause profound harm. From AI-enabled cyberattacks at a scale beyond anything we have seen before to AI-formulated bio-weapons that could endanger the lives of millions, these threats are often referred to as the "existential threats of AI" because, of course, they could endanger the very existence of humanity.

There are additional threats that also demand our action -- threats that are currently causing harm and which, to many people, also feel existential.

• Consider, for example: When a senior is kicked off his healthcare plan because of a faulty AI algorithm, is that not existential for him?
  
  
• When a woman is threatened by an abusive partner with explicit, deep-fake photographs, is that not existential for her?
  
  
• When a young father is wrongfully imprisoned because of biased AI facial recognition, is that not existential for his family?

And when people around the world cannot discern fact from fiction because of a flood of AI-enabled mis- and disinformation, I ask, is that not existential for democracy?

Our administration will establish a national safety reporting program on the unsafe use of AI in hospitals and medical facilities. Tech companies will create new tools to help consumers discern if audio and visual content is AI-generated. And AI developers will be required to submit the results of AI safety testing to the United States government for review.

In addition, I am proud to announce that President Biden and I have established the "United States AI Safety Institute", which will create rigorous standards to test the safety of AI models for public use.

Earlier this year, the United States announced a set of principles for responsible development, deployment, and use of military AI and autonomous capabilities. It includes a rigorous legal review process for AI decision-making and a commitment that AI systems always operate with international -- and within international humanitarian law. Today, I am also announcing that 30 countries have joined our commitment to the responsible use of military AI. And I call on more nations to join.

As with many other important issues, AI policy requires the leadership and partnership of civil society. ... I am proud to announce that 10 top philanthropies have committed to join us to protect workers' rights, advanced transparency, prevent discrimination, drive innovation in the public interest, and help build international rules and norms for the responsible use of AI. These organizations have already made an initial commitment of $200 million in furtherance of these principles.

In addition to our work with civil society, President Biden and I will continue to engage with the private companies who are building this technology. [The administration has obtained] a set of voluntary company commitments, which range from commitments to report vulnerabilities discovered in AI models to keeping those models secure from bad actors.

And I will also note, even now, ahead of congressional action, there are many existing laws and regulations that reflect our nation's longstanding commitment to the principles of privacy, transparency, accountability, and consumer protection. These laws and regulations are enforceable and currently apply to AI companies.

Two years ago, President Joe Biden stood onstage at COP26 and made a declaration of ambition: The United States of America will once again be a global leader in the fight against the climate crisis. Since then, the United States has turned ambition into action. President Biden and I made the largest climate investment in the history of our country and, some have said, the world: roughly a trillion dollars over the next 10 years.

As a result, today, across the United States, we are building and expanding hundreds of solar panel, wind turbine, electric vehicle, and battery manufacturing plants; we are laying thousands of miles of high-voltage transmission lines to deliver clean energy to every corner of our nation; and we are lowering emissions not only in energy and transportation but in industry, agriculture, buildings, and construction.

We are also investing in resilience and adaptation to restore our coastlines, wetlands, and forests and to make communities more resilient to climate-driven extreme weather. We have also placed equity at the center of all of our work, investing in marginalized communities, which are often hardest hit by extreme weather and bear a disproportionate burden from fossil fuel pollution.

Globally, the United States is a leader in the effort to expand international climate finance. This year alone, we have increased our contributions to over $9.5 billion, which puts us on track to reach President Biden's ambitious $11 billion goal by 2024. Today, I am also proud to announce a new $3 billion pledge to the Green Climate Fund, which helps developing countries invest in resilience, clean energy, and nature-based solutions.

Giammattei didn't want to leave power, the administration of Kamala Harris came and told him: "Stop f###ing around." That's a big help to Guatemala. If an extremely corrupt president doesn't want to leave, it's terrible and [his exit] lets us be a better country."

In the last 19 months, in states across our nation, extremists have proposed and passed laws that criminalize doctors and punish women -- laws that in some states threaten doctors and nurses with prison time even for life simply for providing health care, laws that in some states make no exception even for rape and incest.

In the United States Congress, extremists are trying to pass a national abortion ban to outlaw abortion in every single state -- but what they need to know is that if Congress passes a national abortion ban, President Joe Biden will veto it. Because here's the deal about all of us: we trust women. We trust women to make decisions about their own bodies, we trust women to know what is in their own best interest, and women trust us to fight to protect their most fundamental freedoms.

These extremists want to roll back the clock to a time before women were treated as full citizens. After ROE was dismantled, extremists evoked a law from 1849 to stop abortion in this state. 1849 -- before women could vote, before women could hold elected office, before many women could even own property. These extremists are trying to take us backward. But we're not having that.

I believe it is in the fundamental interest of the American people for the United States to fulfill our longstanding role of global leadership. As President Biden and I have made clear over the past three years, we are committed to pursue global engagement, to uphold international rules and norms, to defend democratic values at home and abroad, and to work with our allies and partners in pursuit of shared goals.

I strongly believe America's role of global leadership is to the direct benefit of the American people. Our leadership keeps our homeland safe, supports American jobs, secures supply chains, and opens new markets for American goods. And I firmly believe our commitment to build and sustain alliances has helped America become the most powerful and prosperous country in the world -- alliances that have prevented wars, defended freedom, and maintained stability from Europe to the Indo-Pacific. To put all of that at risk would be foolish.

Over the past three years, backed by [a strong economic] track record at home, we have implemented our National Security Strategy. In the Indo-Pacific, we have invested heavily in our alliances and partnerships and created new ones to ensure peace and security and, of course, the free flow of commerce.

In addition, we have strengthened our partnerships on the continent of Africa, understanding that the innovation happening on the continent will shape the future of our world. We have also worked with partners in the Caribbean and throughout Latin America to increase private sector investment, address the climate crisis, and address the root causes of migration. And the Biden-Harris administration has led the world to respond to the climate crisis and ensure AI is developed in service of the public interest.

And here in Europe, we have joined forces with our friends and allies to stand up for freedom and democracy. ... two years ago, when I first stood on this stage on the eve of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Many of us will recall that time when many thought Kyiv would fall within days. Yet, the skill and the bravery of the people of Ukraine, along with the leadership of President Zelenskyy and the 50-nation coalition the United States has led, has allowed Ukraine to achieve what so many thought was impossible. Today, Kyiv stands free and strong.

Make no mistake, Putin's war has already been an utter failure for Russia. Ukraine has regained more than half the territory Russia occupied at the start of the conflict thanks, in part, to a massive supply of American and European weapons. The Russian military has suffered severe setbacks. It has lost two thirds of its tanks and more than a third of its fleet in the Black Sea.

Because of Putin's aggression and recklessness, Russia has also suffered over 300,000 casualties. Remember, that's more than five times what it lost in 10 years in Afghanistan. And now it forces conscripts onto the frontlines with as little as two weeks of training. We have also imposed economic costs on Russia for its aggression. And together with our G7 partners, we have frozen Russia's sovereign assets and made clear Russia must pay for the damages it has caused to Ukraine.

Now, thanks to the leadership of the United States, NATO is stronger, larger, more unified, and more effective than ever before. We have reinforced NATO's eastern flank with more weapons and forces, including air defense and fighter coverage, a sustained presence of army brigades, and a permanent U.S. Army headquarters in Poland.

So, I'll close with this. In these unsettled times, it is clear: America cannot retreat. America must stand strong for democracy. We must stand in defense of international rules and norms, and we must stand with our allies. That is what represents the ideals of America, and the American people know that is what make us strong. And make no mistake, the American people will meet this moment, and America will continue to lead.

We have also been clear that far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed, that Israel must do better to protect innocent civilians. We have seen what has been happening in terms of the images that we see on a daily basis of the human suffering and the need for humanitarian aid. And the President and our administration and I have been very adamant about getting that humanitarian aid in.

But ultimately ... to get to the day after, hostages need to be released. We must understand the importance of the principles that should be applied to the day after, including no reoccupation of Gaza, no change of its geographic territory, no return of terrorism by Hamas. And ultimately, apply certain principles to how the day after will look, including the importance of security for Gaza and the region, both interim and permanent; what must be done in terms of governance for Gaza; and then rebuilding Gaza.

... There cannot be, in my opinion, peace and security for that region -- for the people of Israel or the Palestinians and the people of Gaza -- without a two-state solution.

I first met President Zelenskyy in February of 2022, just five days before Russia invaded Ukraine, an outrageous attempt to subjugate a free people and an attempt to wipe a sovereign state off the map.

On that same day, I addressed the Munich Security Conference and made clear that the United States of America is a steadfast supporter of the principles that people have a right to choose their own form of government, nations have a right to choose their own alliances, there are inalienable rights governments must protect, the rule of law must be cherished, sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states must be respected, and national borders should not be changed by force.

And nearly two and a half years later, I am here to reaffirm the commitment of the United States to these principles and our unwavering commitment to support the people of Ukraine as they defend themselves against Russia's brutal aggression.

As I discussed with President Zelenskyy earlier today, President Biden and I have made clear over the past three years we are committed to uphold international rules and norms, to defend democratic values and stand up to dictators, and to stand with our allies and partners.

Russia's aggression is not only an attack on the lives and the freedom of the people of Ukraine, it is not only an attack on global food security and energy supplies. Russia's aggression is also an attack on international rules and norms and the principles embodied in the UN Charter.

President Joe Biden and I will continue to support Ukraine and continue to impose costs on Russia. And we will continue to work toward a just and lasting peace, based on the principles of the United Nations Charter and the will of the people of Ukraine.

America stands with Ukraine not out of charity but because it is in our strategic interest. ... For President Joe Biden and me, it is one of our defining missions to uphold the international rules-based order to defend it, strengthen it, and promote it. And no doubt, it must be a priority for us all.

It was a slow start -- that's obvious to everyone, I'm not going to debate that point. I'm talking about the choice in November. I'm talking about one of the most important elections in our collective lifetime. So I'm not going to spend all night with you talking about the last 90 minutes when I've been watching the last three and half years of performance.

I had never, in three and a half years at the White House, in the Oval Office or the Situation Room, witnessed anything remotely like the level of confusion, incoherence, and debility we saw on the debate stage.

They hide you away for four years; give you impossible, s### jobs; don't correct the record when those tasks are mischaracterized; never fight back when you're attacked; never praise your accomplishments -- and now, finally, they want you out there on that balcony, standing right beside them. Now, finally, they know you are an asset, and they need you to reassure the American people. And still, they have to ask if we're loyal?!