Remarks by Vice President Pence at CPAC 2019 | National Harbor, MD | Eastern North Carolina Now

    The Islamic Republic of Iran is the leading state sponsor of terrorism in the world. Iran supports terrorist proxies, fuels conflicts in the region, plots terrorist attacks on European soil, and openly advocates the destruction of the State of Israel.

    Two weeks ago, Karen and I stood and prayed at the Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi death camp in Poland. The history of that time must never be forgotten. We mourn with those who mourn, and grieve with those who grieve. But we say from our heart: Never again. (Applause.)

    As we stood in that place, I thought, when authoritarian regimes breathe out vile anti-Semitic hatred and threats of violence, history teaches we must take them at their word.


    Anti-Semitism is not just wrong; it's evil. (Applause.) Anti-Semitism must be confronted wherever and whenever it arises, and it must be universally condemned. (Applause.)

    The Iranian regime openly advocates another holocaust and seeks the means to achieve it. But I can assure you, under President Donald Trump's leadership, America will continue to stand strong. We will continue to oppose Iran, its malign influence. And I promise you: Under this President, America will never allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon. (Applause.)

    So as the world has witnessed over the last two years, under this President, the United States will continue to seek every opportunity to achieve peace, even as we stand strong on the world stage. We'll approach every challenge with our eyes wide open. President Trump deals with the world as it is, not as we wish it would be.

    And the truth is, that effort for peace is nowhere more evident than in the progress that we've made in the Indo-Pacific over the last two years. It's remarkable to think that when I stood at this podium two years ago, North Korea was engaged in regular nuclear tests, launching missiles over Japan, threatening the United States and our allies.

    Faced with this threat, President Trump rallied the world around an unprecedented pressure campaign. And the world has witnessed the results: No more nuclear tests. No more missiles being fired. Our hostages are home. And Karen and I had the privilege to be present in Hawaii as the remains of our fallen Korean War heroes began to be returned to American soil. Thanks to President Donald Trump, our boys are finally coming home. (Applause.)

    Now, last night, President Trump returned from a second historic summit with North Korea in Vietnam. And as the President said, it was a productive two days, and discussions among teams will continue. But as President Trump said as he departed, "Sometimes you have to walk." (Applause.)

    And I can assure you, after decades of failure with North Korea, under President Trump's leadership, America will not repeat the mistakes of the past. We will keep seeking peace. But for the sake of our security, the sake of the people of the Korean Peninsula, President Trump will stand firm until we achieve the complete denuclearization of North Korea. (Applause.)

    So in just two years under this President's leadership - from the world stage to here at home - just in case you haven't noticed, America is winning again. (Applause.) And I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm not getting tired of it. (Applause.)

    But to keep on winning, my fellow conservatives, we have a choice to make in the next 20 months. Will we reelect a President who's making America great again for four more years? (Applause.) Or will we let the Democrats take America on a hard left turn and lose all the gains that we've fought so hard to make?

    AUDIENCE: No!

    THE VICE PRESIDENT: There you go. You know, America was founded on a simple idea, and that idea is freedom. (Applause.)

    But over my lifetime, the support for liberty, a strong national defense, free enterprise, inalienable rights, has principally fallen to our party and to this movement.

    Today, Democrats openly advocate an economic system that has impoverished millions of people around the world. Under the guise of Medicare for All and a Green New Deal, Democrats are embracing the same tired economic theories that have impoverished nations and stifled the liberties of millions over the past century. That system is socialism.

    Remarkably, a leading candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination is an avowed socialist. But it's not just him. Bernie has been joined by a chorus of candidates and newly elected officials who have papered over the failed policies of socialism with bumper-sticker slogans and slick social-media campaigns.

    But what they're actually offering is just more of the same: more taxes, more spending, more government, and less freedom.

    It was freedom, not socialism, that gave us the most prosperous economy in the history of the world. (Applause.)


    It was freedom, not socialism, that ended slavery, won two world wars, and stands today as the beacon of hope for all the world. (Applause.)

    It was freedom, not socialism, that's moving us beyond the prejudices of the past to create a more perfect union and extend the blessings of liberty to every American regardless of race or creed or color. (Applause.) It was freedom.

    And it was freedom, not socialism, that gave us the highest quality of life, the cleanest environment on Earth, and improved the health and well-being of millions around the world. It was freedom.

    What Medicare for All really means is quality healthcare for none. The only thing green about the so-called Green New Deal is how much green it's going to cost taxpayers if these people ever pass it into law. (Applause.)

    You know, Margaret Thatcher probably said it best: "The trouble with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money." (Applause.)

    The truth is, we want people to make poor people richer; they want to make rich people poorer. We want to make poverty more rare; they want to make poverty more comfortable. And that's the choice we face today, men and women, between freedom and socialism, between personal responsibility and government dependence. Where freedom encourages investment, socialism stifles growth. Where freedom welcomes diversity, socialism demands conformity.

    And as President Trump said in his State of the Union Address, "America was founded on liberty and independence, and not government coercion, domination, and control." (Applause.)

    The moment America becomes a socialist country is the moment that America ceases to be America. (Applause.) And as the President said 24 days ago, so we must say with one voice, "America will never be a socialist country." (Applause.)

    AUDIENCE: USA! USA! USA!

    THE VICE PRESIDENT: We know where socialism leads. If you want socialism, just look at Venezuela.

    Venezuela was once one of the richest and most vibrant democracies in the Western Hemisphere, but under Maduro's socialist rule, it's become one of the poorest and most despotic. Today, more than 9 out of 10 people live in poverty in that once-rich country. More than 3 million Venezuelans have abandoned their homes and fled the brutality of the Maduro regime.

    But the struggle in Venezuela is between dictatorship and democracy. The struggle in Venezuela is between socialism and freedom.

    And as I told world leaders in Colombia just this week, Nicolas Maduro is a dictator with no legitimate claim to power, and Nicolas Maduro must go. (Applause.)

    The truth is Venezuela needs what America has. Venezuela needs freedom. (Applause.)

    Freedom is about enabling people to live their lives as they see fit, not government control.

    Freedom produces more and better goods than any system in any other place and time in American world history.

    Freedom is more generous, more helpful, and more humane than any other social or economic model ever attempted because it's the only philosophy that respects the dignity and worth of every single life and sees every man, woman, and child as made in the image of God. (Applause.) That's freedom. That's our heritage. (Applause.)

    And freedom works. This is what we believe. This is who we are. But this is the choice we face in the next 20 months.

    So, men and women of CPAC, we've got work to do. I came here to say thanks; to look back over the shoulder and make sure you knew just how much we've accomplished with this President and with your support in just two short years.

    AUDIENCE MEMBER: We love you, Mike! (Applause.)

    THE VICE PRESIDENT: But now we have more work to do. (Applause.) But now we have more work to do. And just as we did in 2016, 20 months from now the American people are going to face a choice once again.

    You know, two years ago, in Poland, President Trump declared, and I quote, "The fundamental question of our time is whether the West has the will to survive."

    As we gather here today, we must ask our movement the same question. As the President went on to say that day, in his words, "Do we have [the] confidence in our values to defend them...?"

    AUDIENCE: Yes!

    THE VICE PRESIDENT: "Do we have enough respect for our citizens to protect our borders?"

    AUDIENCE: Yes!

    THE VICE PRESIDENT: "Do we have the desire and the courage to preserve our civilization...?"

    AUDIENCE: Yes!

    THE VICE PRESIDENT: Looking out across this room, looking out across this great movement, I know we do. (Applause.)

    We have the strength, we have the determination, we have the courage to stand for freedom. Because I have faith - faith in the American people - that if we go out and speak freedom to the people of this nation every day in the next 20 months, that if we lay out a vision for a boundless American future based on timeless American principles, if we lay out a choice between freedom and socialism, the American people will choose freedom every single time. (Applause.)

    The President and I both know that if we hold the banner of freedom high, if we put into practice those words of Scripture inscribed on the Liberty Bell to "proclaim liberty throughout all the land [and] unto all the inhabitants thereof," the American people will rally to our cause once again. (Applause.)


    We will keep on winning. We will keep on growing. And we will preserve freedom for this generation and the next. (Applause.)

    So, as you go from this place, go with confidence. Confidence that you have a President that's fighting every day for the ideals and the values that are at the heart of American greatness. Confidence in the goodness of the American people and the rightness of our cause. And confidence that if we will ask for the blessings of Him who established this miracle of democracy on these wilderness shores so long ago, that we cannot fail. For where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. So freedom always wins. (Applause.)

    The men and women of CPAC, it was great to be with you today. But time's a wasting. (Applause.) We've got work to do. But I leave here with renewed confidence that, if all of us do all that we can between now and November of 2020 to hold up freedom, to protect our people, to defend our values, and with President Donald Trump in the White House, with more conservatives elected to our nation's capital and to state houses across this nation, and with God's help, we will make America safe again. (Applause.) We will make America more prosperous than ever before. And to borrow a phrase from a friend of mine, we will make America great again.

    Thank you very much. (Applause.) God bless you. And God bless the United States of America.

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