Folks, nobody literally in history has ridden the Amtrak as much as I have. I have made over 8,000 round trips between Washington and Wilmington. I’m not kidding.

I know that a lot of people know that I love taking the train. But I am emailing you today -- on Amtrak’s 53rd anniversary -- because I think it’s important you know why I did it.

Back when I first got elected to the U.S. Senate, I promised my boys that I would be home every night to kiss them goodnight and I would be there every morning to make them breakfast. So, I made the 250-mile commute between Washington, D.C. and Delaware.

And, while my boys were the reason I initially started taking the train to and from work, the people I met along the way kept me taking the train for 30 years.

Along the way, I got to buy rounds of coffee for the people riding the train and the crew. Let me tell you, the crew members were breaking their necks. They were keeping their balance -- rocking back and forth -- collecting tickets and helping people put their bags away that were heavy as hell.

I got to learn about the folks on the train. Their children. Their grandchildren. It meant a lot to me.

It wasn’t just the conversations I had and the people I met. Like many of you, I liked to look out that window as I passed through big cities like Baltimore and smaller towns, like Newark, Delaware.

When it was 9:30 p.m. on my way home, all you could see was light coming from the houses along the route. I often wondered what they were talking about at their kitchen tables.

My guess is they were -- and still are -- talking about the same things that Americans all across the country are. They’re asking, “Are we going to be okay?”

What they’re looking for is not a policy prescription. They just want to know their leaders are looking out for them -- making sure they get a fair shot to get ahead.

Since I first started taking the Amtrak all of those years ago, we’ve made some incredible progress together. And we’ve worked tirelessly to get it done.

Over the past few years alone, we’ve created millions of jobs, lowered health care costs, and invested in the infrastructure so many Americans use to commute to work every day. But there is still so much more work to be done.

Whether you started this with me all those years ago or are reading an email from me for the first time, each of us is bound by a common cause: Seeking a better future for our country.

Winning this campaign won’t be easy. So, I’m reaching out to you directly: Will you chip in?

Joe

Joe Biden
President of the United States