- Calendar | Transition « President-elect Biden Bids Farewell to Delaware
PIC 2021, Inc.
January 19, 2021
Remarks as Prepared for Delivery
by President-elect
Joe Biden at the Major
Joseph R. “Beau” Biden, III
National Guard Reserve Center in New
Castle, Delaware
Governor
Carney, Tracey, to all our friends
here, thank you for everything.
You’ve been with me my whole career through the good times and the bad. And I want to thank you for everything.
My fellow Delawareans, on behalf of the entire Biden family, we will never be able to fully express what you mean to us.
In our family, the values we share, the character we strive for, the way we view the world — it all comes from home, from Delaware.
The state that gave my mother and father a home and a livelihood when they needed it the most.
The state that made my brothers and sister and I understand that we could do whatever we dreamed.
That gave me a chance when I was just a kid, and elected me and believed in me ever since.
Where Jill and I found one another, and where she made me strong, as Ernest Hemingway wrote, “at the broken places.”
And, the state that loves our children and grandchildren.
That loved our Beau, who so loved you right back.
General Berry, when the Headquarters was named after Beau, I told General Vavala at the time it means everything to me, Jill, Hunter, Ashley, and our whole family.
But Beau would be the first to say the honor goes to the men and women of the Delaware National Guard and their families, who give so much, who are true patriots, and who are defined by courage and character.
And so, it’s deeply personal that our next journey to Washington starts here.
A place that defines the very best of who we are as Americans.
I know these are dark times, but there is always light. That’s what this state has taught me the most.
When I came home to Wilmington after law school, the city, and our country, had gone dark after Dr. King was assassinated.
Wilmington had been in flames.The National Guard patrolled the streets.
The turmoil inspired me to become a public defender, a step forward on an improbable journey.
Where twelve years ago, I was waiting at the train station in Wilmington for a Black man to pick me up on our way to Washington, where we were sworn in as President and Vice President of the United States.
And here we are today, my family and I, about to return again to Washington, to meet a Black woman of South Asian descent, to be sworn in as President and Vice President of the United States.
That’s America.
That’s Delaware.
The place of hope and light, of limitless possibilities.
I am honored to be your next President and Commander in Chief.
I will always be a proud son of the state of Delaware.
James Joyce was said to have told a friend that when the time comes for him to pass, Dublin would be written on his heart.
That’s how I feel about Delaware. Delaware is written on my heart—on all of our hearts as Bidens.
We love you all.
May God Bless you.
May God protect our troops.
You’ve been with me my whole career through the good times and the bad. And I want to thank you for everything.
My fellow Delawareans, on behalf of the entire Biden family, we will never be able to fully express what you mean to us.
In our family, the values we share, the character we strive for, the way we view the world — it all comes from home, from Delaware.
The state that gave my mother and father a home and a livelihood when they needed it the most.
The state that made my brothers and sister and I understand that we could do whatever we dreamed.
That gave me a chance when I was just a kid, and elected me and believed in me ever since.
Where Jill and I found one another, and where she made me strong, as Ernest Hemingway wrote, “at the broken places.”
And, the state that loves our children and grandchildren.
That loved our Beau, who so loved you right back.
General Berry, when the Headquarters was named after Beau, I told General Vavala at the time it means everything to me, Jill, Hunter, Ashley, and our whole family.
But Beau would be the first to say the honor goes to the men and women of the Delaware National Guard and their families, who give so much, who are true patriots, and who are defined by courage and character.
And so, it’s deeply personal that our next journey to Washington starts here.
A place that defines the very best of who we are as Americans.
I know these are dark times, but there is always light. That’s what this state has taught me the most.
When I came home to Wilmington after law school, the city, and our country, had gone dark after Dr. King was assassinated.
Wilmington had been in flames.The National Guard patrolled the streets.
The turmoil inspired me to become a public defender, a step forward on an improbable journey.
Where twelve years ago, I was waiting at the train station in Wilmington for a Black man to pick me up on our way to Washington, where we were sworn in as President and Vice President of the United States.
And here we are today, my family and I, about to return again to Washington, to meet a Black woman of South Asian descent, to be sworn in as President and Vice President of the United States.
That’s America.
That’s Delaware.
The place of hope and light, of limitless possibilities.
I am honored to be your next President and Commander in Chief.
I will always be a proud son of the state of Delaware.
James Joyce was said to have told a friend that when the time comes for him to pass, Dublin would be written on his heart.
That’s how I feel about Delaware. Delaware is written on my heart—on all of our hearts as Bidens.
We love you all.
May God Bless you.
May God protect our troops.
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