Joe Biden

Throughout our decades of friendship and partnership, I've known Reverend Jackson as history will remember him: a man of God and of the people. Determined and tenacious. Unafraid of the work to redeem the soul of our Nation. I've seen how Reverend Jackson has helped lead our Nation forward through tumult and triumph. He's done it with optimism, and a relentless insistence on what is right and just. Whether through impassioned words on the campaign trail, or moments of quiet courage, Reverend Jackson influenced generations of Americans, and countless elected leaders, including Presidents. Reverend Jackson believed in his bones the promise of America: that we are all created equal in the image of God and deserve to be treated equally throughout our lives. While we've never fully lived up to that promise, he dedicated his life to ensuring we never fully walked away from it either. Jill and I are grateful to Reverend Jackson for his lifetime of dedicated service and inspirational leadership. We extend our love to the entire Jackson family, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, and all those who counted Reverend Jackson as a mentor, friend, and hero.

What has unfolded in Minneapolis this past month betrays our most basic values as Americans. We are not a nation that guns down our citizens in the street. We are not a nation that allows our citizens to be brutalized for exercising their constitutional rights. We are not a nation that tramples the 4th Amendment and tolerates our neighbors being terrorized. The people of Minnesota have stood strong — helping community members in unimaginable circumstances, speaking out against injustice when they see it, and holding our government accountable to the people. Minnesotans have reminded us all what it is to be American, and they have suffered enough at the hands of this Administration. Violence and terror have no place in the United States of America, especially when it’s our own government targeting American citizens. No single person can destroy what America stands for and believes in, not even a President, if we — all of America — stand up and speak out. We know who we are. It's time to show the world. More importantly, it's time to show ourselves. Now, justice requires full, fair, and transparent investigations into the deaths of the two Americans who lost their lives in the city they called home. Jill and I are sending strength to the families and communities who love Alex Pretti and Renee Good as we all mourn their senseless deaths.

Let us honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy by choosing love and light over division and hate; carry his dream forward and keep marching toward a more perfect union.

It’s hard to put into words the mark Steny Hoyer’s decades of public service have left on our nation. As the longest-serving Democrat in the House of Representatives and a former Majority Leader, his steady leadership helped deliver some of the most consequential legislation in our nation’s history. Throughout his career, Steny has always known how to work across the aisle. He knows how to get things done and deliver. People always trusted Steny, and that trust mattered. He’s as decent as they come: a man of deep character, faith, and dignity. He was a champion of the Make it in America agenda, fighting to create good-paying jobs and strengthen manufacturing here at home. Steny’s leadership also extended beyond domestic policy. As Chair of the Helsinki Commission, he played a critical role in promoting democratic values around the world, and his commitment to ensuring Ukraine remains a free, sovereign, and independent country has been unwavering. As President, I was proud to work alongside Steny and Democrats in Congress to pull our economy back from the brink, create millions of jobs, make historic investments in our infrastructure, take on the climate crisis, and expand access to more affordable health care. Through it all, Steny never lost sight of who he was serving, always putting the people of Maryland and our country first. Beyond his remarkable record, it’s been a privilege to call Steny a dear friend. He is a great American, and truly the very best. With deep gratitude, Jill and I send our love and congratulations to Steny, his wife Dr. Elaine Kamarck, and his entire family — his daughters Susan, Stefany, and Anne, and his grandchildren and great-grandchildren — as he enters this new chapter. We hope he enjoys more time with family on what I like to call the Western Shore of Delaware.

With our hearts full of light and love, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. Getting to know our great-grandson Willie in his first year has been a blessing and a reminder of the hope we will always have for the future. Our wish for you and for our country is that we continue to seek in one another love, kindness, and compassion.

Wishing you a peaceful and joyful Christmas Eve filled with love.

Jill and I send our deepest condolences to everyone whose lives were touched by Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner’s extraordinary contributions. We take solace in knowing their work will live on for generations to come.

Jill and I stand with the Jewish community in Australia as they face unimaginable loss and suffering following a targeted attack at a Hanukkah celebration. It’s shocking and unconscionable. We must unite against violence and antisemitism, and give hate no safe harbor anywhere in the world. For Jewish people lighting a menorah tonight: I know that it is hard to find hope while carrying sorrow. But your resilience and capacity to find faith and joy despite centuries of persecution and pain has always been your light. We must never lose hope.

Students should have the freedom to learn in school without having to fear for their lives. Period. We must never accept senseless violence that leaves families and communities shattered. It pierces the very soul of our nation. We can and must do more to prevent gun violence and save lives. Jill and I are grieving the lives lost and those wounded at Brown University, and we are keeping the victims, their loved ones, and all of Providence in our prayers.

Three years ago, I was proud to sign the Respect for Marriage Act into law. Deciding whether to marry, and who to marry, is one of the most profound decisions a person can make. Marriage is a simple proposition: who do you love, and will you be loyal to the person you love? It’s not more complicated than that. Today, we celebrate the courage of all who made that day possible. It’s that kind of progress that gives us hope that, with every generation, we will continue our journey toward a more perfect union.

Jill and I are heartbroken that two members of the National Guard were shot outside the White House. Violence of any kind is unacceptable, and we must all stand united against it. We are praying for the service members and their families.

I’ve always said our nation has a sacred obligation: to prepare those we send into harm’s way, to support their loved ones when they are gone, and to provide for them and their families when they come home. To honor that call, when I was President one of my proudest accomplishments was signing the PACT Act — the most significant expansion of care and benefits for veterans exposed to toxic substances. This Veterans Day, we honor all the brave men and women who answered the call to serve and defend. Our nation is stronger and our democracy more secure because of their service and sacrifice.

I often said Nancy Pelosi was the best Speaker of the House in American history — it’s why I awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom. When I was President, we worked together to grow our economy, create millions of jobs, and make historic investments in our nation’s future. She has devoted much of her life to this country, and America will always be grateful. Jill and I wish Nancy and Paul all the best.

In Virginia, New Jersey, New York City, California, and communities across the country, voters chose hope, fairness, and a future where everyone has a fair shot. Our democracy works when we make it work, and last night, the American people proved once again that they're up to the task.

Guided by a strong set of conservative values, Dick Cheney devoted his life to public service — from representing Wyoming in Congress, to serving as Secretary of Defense, and later as Vice President of the United States. While we didn’t agree on much, he believed, as I do, that family is the beginning, middle, and end. Jill and I send our love to his wife Lynne, their daughters Liz and Mary, and all of their grandchildren.

Polls are starting to open. Go to IWillVote.com to find where you can vote.

I am deeply grateful and relieved that this day has come – for the last living 20 hostages who have been through unimaginable hell and are finally reunited with their families and loved ones, and for the civilians in Gaza who have experienced immeasurable loss and will finally get the chance to rebuild their lives. The road to this deal was not easy. My Administration worked relentlessly to bring hostages home, get relief to Palestinian civilians, and end the war. I commend President Trump and his team for their work to get a renewed ceasefire deal over the finish line. Now, with the backing of the United States and the world, the Middle East is on a path to peace that I hope endures and a future for Israelis and Palestinians alike with equal measures of peace, dignity, and safety.

Jill and I are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Jane Goodall whose activism, vision, and message of hope mobilized a global movement to protect the planet. Above all, Jane taught us that when we search for humanity in the natural world around us, we discover it within ourselves. We are sending our love and strength to the Goodall family and everyone who was touched by her remarkable life of service.

Jill and I are heartbroken by the violent attack on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc. We are grateful for the first responders who took quick action and are keeping the victims, their families, and the Grand Blanc community in our prayers.

Bob Barnett was a force. He was also a decent, smart, and kind man of principle. Over the years, Jill and I sought Bob’s counsel time and again. He was always quick to pick up the phone and give us very honest and wise advice. Our hearts are full for Rita, Meredith and Daniel, his grandchildren, and everyone who loved him. May God bless Bob Barnett. We will miss him dearly.