BIDEN FOR PRESIDENT NEWSLETTER

Below is Joe Biden's newsletter for the week of May 18th. Please submit questions and feedback here.
Hi folks, it's Joe. I really hope this letter finds you well.

This time has been challenging. It may have been challenging for you to watch the news, or challenging for you personally.

In the last few weeks, we received the worst job report in history. 20.5 million jobs lost last month and the highest unemployment rate since the Great Depression.

We have lost nearly 90,000 American lives.

As a nation, we've experienced enormous pain.

We've also witnessed incredible acts of heroism -- from health care workers, first responders, grocery store workers, truckers, teachers and millions more.

But folks, the pain I've seen and the heroism I've witnessed have only inspired me to work harder than I ever have before. If I've said it once, I've said it a million times, we are in the battle for the soul of this nation. And this crisis has shown us what is at stake if we lose.

So I'm here today to talk to you about our campaign. What we're going to do. What you can do, and what you have already done for me and for this country.

I hope it makes you feel like there's someone on your side, because you sure have shown me time and time again you're on mine.

So, I hope you enjoy reading this. I enjoyed putting it together.

Joe

What I'm Reading This Week:

The Postal Service Is the Most American Thing We've Got -- The New York Times ([link removed])
I'm sure you've seen by now that the President has called the U.S. Postal Service "a joke." Like with most things, this president has his history wrong. Since the founding of our country, the Postal Service has been as serious and as fundamental to our democracy as it gets. This article covers that beautifully. "The inscription over [the Smithsonian's National Postal Museum] asserts that a letter carrier is not only the 'consoler of the lonely,' but the 'enlarger of the common life.'"

House changes its rules during pandemic, allowing remote voting for the first time in its 231-year history -- The Washington Post ([link removed])
I've written about this before, but I'm proud of Democrats in Congress, many of my personal friends, for championing this historic rule change and allowing our government to move forward in these unprecedented times.

What Firefighters Could Teach the Trump Administration About Covid-19 -- Politico ([link removed])
Interesting read about the Incident Command System firefighters use to combat wildfires and how it's applicable to the pandemic. Our first responders are no strangers to skillfully working together as a team to keep people safe and diffuse dangerous situations. They have plans in place. Our government should function the same way, or at least listen to those who do. I also, as a rule, will take any opportunity to appreciate firefighters.

From a dazed owl to a dancing bear, the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards are the laugh we all need right now -- CNN Travel ([link removed])
Just because. I'm showing this one to Jill later:

Folks, a lot of our supporters won't be able to give financially this month. That's okay. That's more than okay.

There are so many ways to get involved, and I hope all our supporters volunteer some time to talk about our campaign, or watch our events online together.

But, if you can give, this is an important month. As you may know this is the first full month of our campaign being the presumptive nominee, and fundraising numbers are released publicly every month now.

So we know this number will be significant to Trump and Republicans, but also to our momentum and to our party. Can you chip in $5 so we can reach our ambitious goal for our first public filing deadline of the general election?

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Campaign Updates

We're still campaigning virtually. You may have seen me on your computer, phone or TV this week. You've probably seen my basement bookshelf.

I did a podcast with Andrew Yang last week and it was great fun. We covered a lot of ground, but the most surprising part might have been learning about his connection to the Roosevelts. Click here to listen to my podcast, Here's the Deal.

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Over the weekend, Jill and I celebrated Armed Forces Day. Supporting our troops and their families is deeply important to Jill and me. We are so grateful for your selfless service. You all make us so proud. You can watch our message to men and women in uniform and their families here.

Another thing my campaign has been hard at work on is making sure relief goes to the people who need it most. I laid out my plan to establish a truly independent, non-partisan Inspector General on my first day in office to review every single stimulus loan given to big companies and political insiders. You can watch that message here:

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These loans need to be invested in the hard-working American people. Their small businesses, their health, their families.

Finally, our team has been talking to supporters and the media about our path to victory so I wanted to drop a line in here about that as well.

We intend to win, folks. And we have a plan to do that -- a plan that runs through states that pundits may not traditionally call a "battleground" or something of that nature. These are states with a lot of enthusiasm and momentum for Democrats. States we won and saw huge turn out in the primary.

These are states like Arizona, Texas, and Georgia. I will work for every last vote there and speak to voters who feel like they have not been spoken to in a while. And we will maintain focus on incredibly important states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan where we have won before and will win again.

We're also going to expand our staff across the board, including community organizing staff and teams specializing in digital and virtual campaigning.

But I also want to make one thing clear: We will be following public health guidelines and guidance from the CDC every step of the way. I am adamant here. My campaign and our team will do nothing to endanger the health of our staff, our volunteers, and our supporters.

We are going to keep building a winning campaign to make you proud. And I hope it makes you proud in many ways.

Hey, Joe!

Question from Jordan in Missouri: Family meals have become a new ritual at our house since quarantine started. What foods are you eating and finding comfort in right now?
Well it's no secret I love ice cream, and that's pretty much taking up most of my freezer right now. Jill and my granddaughters like to tease me and say that I'll go into the corner of the kitchen just out of sight to quickly sneak an extra spoonful.

As for family meals, I love chicken parmesan, or just a good plate of spaghetti and tomato sauce. It's comfort food like that, and being able to eat with Jill every night, that keeps both my stomach and my heart full right now.

Question from Maddie in New Jersey: What advice have you gotten over the years that you would share with the American people right now?
Some of the best advice I've ever gotten was from my mother, Catherine Eugenia Finnegan Biden. She'd tell me: "You know Joey, bravery resides in everyone's heart, and someday it will be summoned. When it is honey, you've got to step up. Character matters. Integrity matters."

I think that rings even more true right now. The American people have been asked to summon that courage, and they have. And that's what has been carrying us through these challenging and terrifying times. My mother passed away in 2010 and I miss her every day. I know she would be proud of our frontline workers, and I know she would be proud of me. You can watch my Mother's Day tribute to her here ([link removed])

Question from Judy in Iowa: We lost our neighbor recently to COVID-19, it's been really hard on the whole community. Do you have any words for those of us grieving? We certainly aren't hearing any empathy from the current president.
To those who have lost someone to COVID-19, I know you feel like there's a black hole in your chest, and you're being sucked into it. I know you're frightened and you're scared, and you don't know what to do. All I can tell you is that it will take time. But in time, you will find, it will happen that you will think of that son, daughter, husband, wife, mother, father, grandparent, friend, neighbor, that you lost, and you're gonna get a smile on your lips before you get a tear in your eye. And that's when you know you're gonna make it. And I've found, in my experience, the way to get there is finding a purpose. Purpose will drive you. Purpose will help you feel like you can control your life again.

And the purpose will be, for many of us after this, what do we do to make life better? How do we make life better for other people? How could we have avoided what happened here? What are we going to do for the first responders who risked their lives and how are we going to make sure that after this they get a fair deal for their sacrifice? And the time will come to fight for this new purpose and for each other.

But in the meantime, your lost family member, neighbor, friend, is with you. They are in your soul, they are part of who you are. And you will get through this, and you will find purpose, and you will help so many people. I promise.

I took some time this week to answer some more questions from all of you. Questions about small businesses, what we can do to confront the health disparities among communities of color, and more important matters we need to face head-on. You can read more of my answers as part of our new question series here:

READ MORE HERE >> [link removed]

Spread The Faith

My friend, José Andrés, is no stranger to disaster relief. When people are hurting he runs to help, and he helps with his incredible gift of cooking and bringing joy through meals.

I am so very proud of the work he is doing, and this non-profit World Central Kitchen, delivering over 250,000 fresh meals across America a day, to children who relied on school to get lunches, and to seniors who can't venture outside. He's connecting the people who need meals to the chefs and restaurant workers who need jobs. It's innovative and compassionate work and it's what our country needs right now.

Check out Chefs for America and donate to provide meals for families in need:

DONATE TO PROVIDE MEALS >> [link removed]

World Central Kitchen teamed up with Off Their Plates, a project that connects restaurants with health care workers and pays restaurants to prepare boxed meals for hospitals.

Jill called into a restaurant in her hometown of Philadelphia, El Merkury, that's participating and providing these meals for healthcare workers, and got to thank the owner, Sofia, for all her hard work.

Check out Off Their Plates and donate if you're able to help:

CHECK IT OUT HERE >> [link removed]

Finally, I want to speak to the graduating class of 2020.

I'm proud of my friends, like President Barack Obama, who worked on a virtual commencement ceremony to celebrate the class of 2020. If you haven't watched it yet, or know a graduate who should watch it, make sure you check it out here:

WATCH THE CEREMONY >> [link removed]

And to the class of 2020, I want to pass along my own quick words of advice. First off, be personal, get to know people and build real relationships. Resist the temptation to rationalize what others think is the right thing for you to do. Stay engaged, we're going to need you. No one is better than you, but everyone is your equal. And finally, out of everything terrible, something good will happen. You just have to look for it.

My team put together a compilation of past commencement speeches. I hope you'll take the time to watch it and share it with a graduate who may want to see it:

WATCH THE VIDEO >> [link removed]

What's Coming

Every day the team is working on more virtual events in your community so that we can get to work organizing. Check out our page to see if the campaign is coming to you, virtually: JoeBiden.com/Events

Have you checked out the team's YouTube channel yet? We put all of our campaign's videos there for you to look back at and watch later, from round tables to livestreams, updates from our organizing team, and ads. It's a great place to watch how good I've been getting at this whole video conference thing! Catch up on our campaign's videos on our YouTube channel here.

I spend some time every week calling grassroots donors to thank them myself. I actually called a few with Senator Warren last week, you can watch the video of that here. We randomly select people to call from the donation page below, so chip in any amount and maybe you'll be getting a call from me this upcoming week:

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Thanks for sticking with this campaign, and with my long newsletter for another week.

I hope you'll share some feedback or submit some questions for our next newsletter. I'd love to hear from you. You can do that here >> [link removed]

I want to end this with one last expression of gratitude, and with pride. I am so darn proud to be an American, and I'm proud to share this country with you.

We are proving every day what makes us so special. And it's you. You make this country special, and you make this campaign special.

I'm proud to be in this battle for the soul of our nation with you. And together, we'll work hard every day through November 3, 2020 to win this fight.

Until next time,

Joe

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