Not On My Watch: The Dark Brandon Election Eve Speech

A transcript of remarks by President Biden in a proposed address to the nation that we'd like to hear on November 4th

Oval Office
8:02 P.M. EST
Monday, November 4, 2024

THE PRESIDENT: My fellow Americans, tomorrow is Election Day. And while I cannot tell you how to cast your vote, what I can tell you that this is the most important election in the history of the United States. Our very democracy is at stake.

In his first inaugural address as governor of California, Ronald Reagan remarked that for him, participating in “the orderly transfer of administrative authority by direction of the people” was “a solemn and a momentous occasion.” He marveled at “the simple magic of the commonplace routine, which makes it a near miracle to many of the world’s inhabitants—this continuing fact that the people, by democratic process, can delegate power, and yet retain the custody of it.”

The new governor went on to say: “Perhaps you and I have lived too long with this miracle to properly be appreciative. Freedom is a fragile thing, and it’s never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by way of inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people. And those in world history who have known freedom and then lost it have never known it again.”

Ronald Reagan was right that sunshiny Sacramento morning in 1967, and he’s even more right today. This, my fellow Americans, is why I’m speaking to you this evening.

When the previous occupant of this office says that our real enemy is within, he is not wrong. There are indeed dark forces in our country that seek to undermine the will of the people, to subvert and sabotage the electoral process, to ward off Reagan’s “simple magic,” in the hopes of installing their preferred candidate in the White House. How are they planning to do this? Not through the popular vote, not even through the Electoral College, but through chicanery. And let me tell you, and let me tell them: I will not let that happen.

Folks, like it or not, I am your president. That will remain the case until the orderly transfer of power that will happen here in Washington on January 20th, 2025. The most important job the president has is to defend the country from enemies foreign and domestic. And by God, that’s what I aim to do.

To those who plot and scheme to thwart the will of the people, to those who intend to end our democracy, to those who seek to break this fragile thing called freedom, I am here to tell you: Not on my watch. Not on my watch. And to the rest of you, I say: I will fight for our freedom—yours, mine, everyone’s, no matter how you vote. I will defend the sacred franchise. Take that to the bank.

Our government cannot function without a willingness to compromise. Both parties must work together to reach consensus. We will not always agree—we should not always agree!—but compromise is the hallmark of democracy. Even in the years leading up to the Civil War, when members of Congress were fighting with each other physically in the House and Senate chambers, our competing factions were able to compromise.

Only when one faction refused to work together in good faith, when that faction would do nothing other than obstruct—only then did the center fail to hold. We are in a similar situation now. For a full generation, one of our two political parties has refused to compromise, and has vowed only to thwart the initiatives of the other. The effect on our government has been sclerotic. Congress is slow as molasses, and it shouldn’t be. Led by the obstructionist faction, and hampered by the archaic filibuster, the Senate has refused to vote to confirm presidential appointees: Cabinet members, ambassadors, generals, Supreme Court Justices. I don’t mean that they vote them down; I mean that they don’t vote on them at all. They simply refuse. Congress has also refused to bring important bills, bills most people want, to a vote. When this happens, and it’s been happening since at least the nineties, the result is that the country is less safe. The American people suffer.

Let me say one thing: For all the heated rhetoric, the country is not as divided as it might seem. Most Americans have the same dreams, the same desires, the same goals and aspirations. As I said back in July, “Let’s never lose sight of who we are. Let’s remember we are the United States of America. There is nothing, nothing, nothing beyond our capacity, when we do it together.” I still believe that. I always will.

Obstructing the machinery of government to achieve an unpopular result is not how democracy is supposed to work. I mention this because there are, as I said, forces within our country seeking to use this un-American tactic of obstruction to sabotage tomorrow’s election. They know that their preferred candidate cannot hope to win the popular vote, and will likely lose in the Electoral College as well, so they have hatched elaborate and illicit schemes to circumvent those free and fair election results, to get their way. They have openly discussed these schemes, broadcasting them on social media in some cases, and federal law enforcement has been tracking them.

In one scheme, county election officials who don’t like the results will simply refuse to certify the vote. This is what my opponent in 2020 sought to do at the Congressional level—and what his own Vice President, a true patriot, refused to go along with. The new version of that old scheme is a grassroots operation, bottom up rather than top down. County election officials will refuse to certify the vote, so state secretaries of state won’t be able to certify the vote, and there is deadlock.

In another scheme, the election will be taken away from the will of the people and instead decided by a vote in the House of Representatives—an outcome that hasn’t happened in over a century in the U.S. outside of TV shows.

But at least the House is somewhat representative of the American people. In yet another scheme, the result will be left for the Supreme Court to decide, and we would have a situation similar to the 2000 election, when Bush v. Gore determined the winner. Folks, there is no institution in the country less representative of the people of this country than the Supreme Court—nine individuals randomly chosen by whichever president happens to be in office when one of their number dies, who keep the job for life.

Think about that. Justice Thomas has accepted millions and millions of dollars in bribes from some of our country’s wealthiest oligarchs. One of the most corrupt higher officials in the history of this nation—one whose wife is a loud and proud insurrectionist—might determine who succeeds me in 2025.

And finally, and most ominously, we have calls for violence. We have calls for assassination—of both of the major party candidates. We have calls for a new American Revolution, for a new Civil War, for blood in the streets. We have militias armed to the teeth. We have former lieutenant generals leading the call.

As President Obama wondered recently, “When did this become okay?” The answer is: it hasn’t, and it never will. And I am here to tell you tonight: I will not sit back and let any of this happen. This I will promise you: Not on my watch. Not on my watch.

A moment ago, I mentioned the Supreme Court. Earlier this year, the majority decided to buck the letter and the spirit of the law, upend judicial precedent, and deliberately misread the Constitution, in order to rule that Presidents of the United States enjoy full immunity from any potential crimes committed during “official acts.” This was a ruling intended to shield the former president, a literal crook, from his many indictments. But here’s the catch: that ruling applies to all presidents—including me. As I also mentioned a moment ago, I am the president until January 20th, like it or not.

So, as I explain to you what measures I have taken to safeguard the 2024 election, please bear in mind that I am acting in my official capacity as President of the United States. I would not invoke presidential immunity for any reason other than to protect our democracy. But the enemies of democracy have forced my hand. They want chaos, and I will not allow it.

Let me start with this: Obstruction of the vote is nothing less than sedition. It is sedition. Period. Disrupting a polling place is sedition. Refusal to certify a fair vote is sedition. Six individuals in robes overruling the results of a free and fair election to install their preferred candidate is sedition. And as the Proud Boys found out at their January 6th criminal trials, political violence is sedition. Therefore let it be known tonight that any person who participates in an attempt to subvert the will of the people by contaminating our fair election processes is hereby designated a seditionist. Full stop.

I reiterate: Any attempt to hamper the vote or sabotage the election process is sedition. Anyone participating in such a scheme is a seditionist, and that participation will be considered a repudiation of your U.S. citizenship, and all the protections that conveys. Let me be clear: Those who misguidedly seek to ignite a new Civil War will be regarded no differently than the Union regarded Confederates in the actual Civil War.

This is not just talk. This is not just empty rhetoric. Folks, I tell you tonight that I have ordered federal marshals, as well as agents of the Secret Service, the FBI, and the Justice Department, to fan out across the country and keep watch over the polling places. I have done this as an official act.

Let this be a warning to the enemies of democracy: if you attempt to subvert, obstruct, tamper with, sabotage, or violate the free and fair results of the election, you will be arrested, you will be arraigned, and you will be held without bail until trial. I don’t care if you’re a county election official, a state secretary of state, a member of the Senate, or the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. You will be detained. Remember that tomorrow.

There are laws in this country that prohibit paying cash money for votes—I refer specifically to 8 U.S. Code § 597, which expressly states that it is illegal to make or offer to make an expenditure to any person, either to vote or withhold their vote, or to vote for or against any candidate. But for the last month, we have all watched the wealthiest man in the country brazenly flaunt this law, which is a bedrock of our democracy. I don’t know how they do it in South Africa, but here in America, we don’t allow greedy oligarchs to purchase elections, no matter how many emerald mines their daddy owns.

Perhaps, because he is an immigrant, and quite possibly an illegal one, the creator of the ugliest damn car I’ve ever seen is not well versed in our legal code. But that is not an excuse. It’s not like the guy can’t afford lawyers; he’s involved in more lawsuits than I can count. Ignorance is not an excuse, and ignorance is certainly not something to be amplified and celebrated on social media.

Tonight, federal law enforcement have placed Elon Musk under arrest, charged him with violating 8 U.S. Code § 597, and will detain him indefinitely, as the INS reviews his immigration status. Let it not be said that my administration is not tough on illegal immigrants!

Our intelligence services tell me that Vladimir Putin is once again attempting to influence the free and fair election. My administration will continue to fight back against Russian disinformation. Earlier this month, in indictments issued by the Department of Justice, we learned that certain popular podcasters and social media influencers were being financed by the Kremlin. Last week, we learned from no less an authority than the Prime Minister of Canada that a former anchor at Fox News, an entertainment channel and propaganda outfit where too many Americans get their news, is also on Putin’s payroll.

By the immunity powers vested in me by the Supreme Court, I hereby shut down the broadcast channels of every known Kremlin-financed social media personality until the day I leave office. That includes—and I don’t know who these people are, but I’m told that while their numbers are heavily inflated by inauthentic bot activity, they do have a significant U.S. audience—Jordan Peterson, Tim Pool, Benny Johnson, Dave Rubin, and Lauren Southern. As of 8pm tonight, those channels and feeds have all gone dark. Tucker Carlson, meanwhile, has been placed under arrest for violation of FARA, the Foreign Agents Registration Act, for failing to disclose his fiduciary relationship with Moscow. He, too, will be detained until trial. Kremlin propaganda is not free speech. I repeat: I will not tolerate the dissemination of Russian propaganda. To these Putin mouthpieces, and to Vladimir the Puny himself, I say: Not on my watch. Not on my watch.

Most ominously, there are agents of chaos working to foment violence. Some have openly called for the assassination of the candidates. One of the prime instigators, I’m sad to admit, is a former national security adviser and lieutenant general of the U.S. Army. So he should know damn well that there’s no place for that in America. Just before I came out to speak tonight, Mike Flynn was placed under arrest by federal law enforcement and charged with seditious conspiracy. Flynn, you might recall, is a convicted felon who was pardoned by my predecessor in office—the same former president he has openly and repeatedly talked about assassinating. As a precaution, I’ve also recalled his brother, General Charles Flynn, terminating his command of U.S. Army Pacific. He has been designated for reassignment.

Also arrested in the round-up were some of Mike Flynn’s more vocal acolytes, including a creepy political operative named Ivan Raiklin, another weirdo who speaks openly about assassination. Most Americans have never heard of this guy. I know I hadn’t—not until he made the news by promising he would serve as “secretary of retribution” if the former president is re-elected. Folks, trust me, we don’t want this guy as secretary of anything, much less MAGA revenge. But you can rest easy: Raiklin is now safely in federal custody. We can also announce tonight that the D.C. pipe bomber, the domestic terrorist who planted the bomb outside the DNC in 2020 in what we believe was an attempt to assassinate the VP-Elect, has been identified and charged.

On July 14th, after the first attempt on the life of the former president, I said: “We cannot and must not go down this road in America. We’ve traveled it before throughout our history. Violence has never been the answer, whether it’s with members of Congress in both parties being targeted in the shot, or a violent mob attacking the Capitol on January 6th, or a brutal attack on the spouse of former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, or information and intimidation on election officials, or the kidnapping plot against a sitting governor, or an attempted assassination of my predecessor. There is no place in America for this kind of violence or for any violence ever. Period. No exceptions. We can’t allow this violence to be normalized.” And tonight I say: Not on my watch.

And finally, Roger Stone, the longtime political operative, is in federal custody, held on suspicion of seditious conspiracy. Stone, who like Mike Flynn was pardoned by my predecessor, has been caught on tape by an intrepid journalist named Lauren Windsor, who deserves a Medal of Honor if you ask me, discussing his plans to ratf…sorry, to subvert…the election. He was engaged in similar activity in 2016. For too long, Stone and other little men like him have been plying their dark arts for dictators, for the enemies of democracy. No more, Roger. Not on my watch.

I have been warned that me authorizing these arrests would give the former president free rein to do the same to his political opponents if he is re-elected. So be it. I cannot and will not allow fear of a potential future outcome weaken my resolve to protect our democracy right now—especially if that fear only serves to make that future outcome a reality.

These arrests have been made as a precaution, but also as an example: do not doubt me. I swore an oath to defend the Constitution and the American people, and I will continue to do so for the remainder of my time in office. Defy me at your peril.

Election Day is an annual celebration of our right to self-determination. Whether you intend to cast your vote for the Vice President, for the former president, or to throw your vote away on some Kremlin-financed third-party spoiler candidate, I will defend your right to exercise the franchise.

Nothing—nothing—is more important than the right to vote. Enemies of democracy are trying to take that from you, my fellow Americans, and I will not allow that to happen. Whatever the outcome of the free and fair election, whoever prevails, we will accept it and move forward. But first, we must—I must—ensure that the election is fair and free.

Our Founders declared independence from a king because they rejected tyranny. They refused to live under the iron fist of a tyrant. Remember the words of Patrick Henry: “Give me liberty or give me death.” What would Patrick Henry, what would Thomas Jefferson, what would George Washington think of this antidemocratic movement to install a new George III in the White House? Because make no mistake: that is their goal. I call them “enemies of democracy” because that’s literally what they are.

Will January 20th be an inauguration of the next president, or a coronation of the first king of America? Will there be a “Red Caesar” in the White House, as the neo-reactionary fringe that calls itself the Dark Enlightenment wants? Come the new year, will there be a strongman in the Oval Office?

Not on my watch. Not on my watch. Not on my watch.

May God bless you, and God continue to bless the United States of America.

Now get out there tomorrow and vote!

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Thanks to Gal Suburban.