President Biden headlined a reception for Florida gubernatorial candidate Charlie Christ, hosted by Scott and Annie Schlesinger.
Nearly 70 guests stepped out onto the patio and lawn area with the blue tiled pool between the house and the Atlantic Ocean. The audience held snacks while canapés were served at the poolside bar.
Scott Schlesinger was the first to speak, acknowledging that the race was a difficult uphill for the Democrats, followed by a very brief remark by Charlie Christ.
“Florida deserves to be better. In my mind, the people of Florida know that too,” Christo said.
President Biden spoke alongside Charlie Christ and Schlesinger on a patio facing the ocean and behind a red velvet rope barrier.
He called the Florida gubernatorial election “one of the most important elections in the country.”
Biden recalled the impact of the Nazi rally in Charlottesville and said he ran for president to restore “the American soul,” bipartisanship and a sense of unity across the nation.
“I served a lot of very conservative people. We had lunch, we disagreed, but we didn’t slander each other,” Biden said.
Biden explained why he was hesitant to run. ’ I knew how ugly it would be. Because these guys are ugly,” he said.
Charlie “is fighting the incarnation of Donald Trump. This guy doesn’t fit into any of the categories I’ve talked about. The way he’s treated, the way he’s in denial,” Biden said.
“I always say that democracy depends on voting. I really mean it,” he added.
Biden said democracy had never been so widely rejected in America since the Civil War.
He pointed to the Republican Party’s reaction to Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s attack on her husband as an example of how the Republican Party has fallen.
“Look at the reaction of Republicans joking about it,” he said.
“This guy buys from hammers to kneecaps,” he said, second in line for succession, but no one in the Republican leadership condemned it.
“These guys are very extreme,” he said.
He recalled sitting between France’s Emmanuel Macron and Britain’s Boris Johnson and saying “America is back” and how they responded by asking how long.
“The world is watching us, Charlie. They’re watching us,” Biden said.
“It’s really important for a state the size of Florida… to be on the right side of history,” he said.
Biden said reproductive rights were also included in the vote.
“Yet there are candidates who say the decision should be made between the woman, her doctor and local elected officials,” he said.
“You are a mighty state,” he said of Florida. “You are important.”
Biden called back after about 24 minutes of remarks.
“Lots on the vote. This is a real inflection point for our country,” he said.
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