Read the full transcript of Dr. Phil McGraw’s speech at Trump-Vance 2024 campaign event at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York on October 27, 2024.
Listen to the audio version here:
TRANSCRIPT:
Well, you guys look just like you do when I’m on TV. Except for you, you look a little different. Listen, I love you guys for caring enough about the United States of America to come out here tonight. Thank you so much for caring enough to come out here tonight.
I have to tell you, I love this country. I do, I love this country. I stand up when our flag goes by. I put my hand over my heart when they play our national anthem. And I’m so proud to see so many people take time out of their day to come out here and stand up for this country.
Standing Up for Trump
And strangely enough, I’m not here just to stand up for Donald J. Trump. Lord knows he doesn’t need me to stand up for him. He’s tough as an old army boot. He’s got lots of enemies, different groups that are scared, and between them, they have impeached him, indicted him, raided him, railroaded him, shot him, and sued him. And where is he? He is still standing. He just keeps on coming because he loves this country too.
I can be honest and say – I can be honest, because we have free speech in America – I can be honest and say I don’t like or agree everything that Donald J. Trump does or says. I mean, come on, nobody agrees with everything or likes everything somebody else says or does, right? No human is perfect. We don’t strive for perfection, we strive for excellence. But you don’t have to love everything about someone in order to love them. And the last thing he needs is some celebrity endorsement. What the hell do I know? I know I’m no celebrity to begin with, and celebrities don’t know anything about policies or politics. So – only difference between me and them is I’m willing to admit it.
Speaking Out Against Bullying
So why am I here? Well, I’ll tell you why I’m here. I’m here to talk to and stand up for the people who have declared their support for Donald J. Trump, or they got found out, or they want to do it but they’re too intimidated. Because you know what happens when somebody in this country says, hey, I’m going to vote Republican, I’m going to vote Donald J. Trump? They get canceled, intimidated, marginalized, excluded or even fired or boycotted. And you know what that means? In short, that adds up to being bullied.
And now we’re talking about something I know a hell of a lot about. Now you’re in my wheelhouse, buddy. I may not be an expert in politics, but I am an expert about bullying. And bullying is when you seek to harm somebody, you seek to intimidate, coerce, cause distress, fear, risk to their well-being, and it can be physical, verbal, relational, or cyberbullying. And it’s always wrong – you said it, my friend – it is always wrong when you bully somebody. And that’s what’s going on.
Now, let me tell you what the critics are going to say when they hear me talking about this. They’re going to say, well, now wait a minute, come on. Isn’t Trump a bully? And let me tell you why the answer to that question is no. Because to be a bully, there has to be an imbalance of power. And when there’s not, it’s just called a debate. And he’s just better at it than anybody else. It’s called debating. It’s called arguing. It’s just – even name-calling. But it’s not bullying unless there’s an imbalance of power. And whoever he talks to, they’ve got a microphone, they got on their big-boy pants, they got a stage, they got everything else. He’s just better at it.
And the same thing is true. When the Democrats or Harris call him fascist, Hitler, racist, misogynist, or a crook, is that bullying? Well, not really. It’s ugly. But with the First Amendment, which we all want to keep, there’s no imbalance of power, so it’s not bullying. It’s just like when he does. It may not be the best use of energy, but when you attack civilians, when you attack a citizen and you use the power of the internet, you use mob mentality, you incite people to gang up and cause boycotts, then it’s beyond ugly. And that’s what’s happening in this country right now, and that’s not OK. There is an imbalance of power there, and it’s time that every one of us close ranks. We have to stop this now.
Fighting Cancel Culture
It’s time that we push back against cancel culture. It’s time that we push back against intimidation tactics. And that is exactly the reason that I launched Merit Street Media, which, by the way, we didn’t choose the name for that by random. Merit Street Media. This country was built on hard work, added value, and talent, not on equal outcome, not on DEI. This country was built on hard work, and it needs to continue to be built on hard work.
And the legacy media has sold out. The legacy media has sold out. And I’ll tell you, one night I was sitting at dinner with my wife, Robin, and I was complaining as we were flipping around and listening to the spin, spin, spin on what’s supposedly news. And I said, “Damn, I’m tired of listening to all this media spin and everything.” And without even looking up, she said, “Well, you are the media. Why don’t you do something about it?” She said, “You got bigger ratings than the four of them combined. Why don’t you do something about it?” Well, as usual, she was right.
And that’s why I launched the new network, because we want people to think for themselves.
You guys aren’t dumb. You don’t need to be told what to think. You just need the facts. And you’re here because you have the facts, right? You’re here because you recognize when legacy media edits answers and gives you what they want you to hear instead of the truth. And when they start editing their candidates’ answers, they’ve lost their moral compass. They’ve lost their way.
And I would love to say it’s equal on both sides, but I’ll guarantee you, when Beyonce, George Clooney, De Niro, and Lizzo come out and say they’re for Kamala Harris, when they all come out and say they’re for Kamala Harris, did you read anything or hear anything in the media criticizing it? No. But you watch what happens tomorrow morning when people find out I came here to talk to you. You say this in Hollywood, and all of a sudden you ain’t got a job. The problem is I don’t need one. I don’t need a job because I got you.
And I’ve got a question for all of us. Have we lost our minds? We have the First Amendment in America where our government has said we will pass no laws to infringe on our freedoms for religion and speech. So that’s the law, but we’re muzzling each other. What the, what is going on? We have a law that protects free speech, so we start taking it away from each other? Are you kidding me? We can’t allow that to happen. We cannot encourage it.
And let me tell you something about bullying. Bullies are bad, right? Let me tell you what else is bad. Bystanders. If you are a bystander, if you are watching somebody get picked on, if you’re watching somebody get bullied and you don’t do anything about it, you’re just as guilty as the bully that’s doing the bullying. I have talked to so many children in schools that tell me the worst feeling they’ve ever had is being bullied and feeling alone and abandoned when they are picked on and intimidated. When they wish even one person, even one other kid would step up and say, “Hey, come sit with me at lunch. Don’t sit in a stall in the bathroom and cry your way through lunch and eat alone. They’re not going to let you be alone.”
And it’s the same thing with adults. Adults don’t want to be cut out of the herd and feel like they’re alone. The number one need in all people is acceptance. The number one fear is rejections and bullies. They prey on that. We must claim the right to our point of view. We must be critical thinkers.
Supporting Those Being Bullied
And when you see somebody being picked on, then you’ve got to be willing to step up and say, “Hey, I’m with you. Don’t let that happen.” And you’ve got to know why you’re strong on the issues you’re strong on. You’ve got to know why you’re strong on affordability and safety and security and the border and family care for men and women and law and order and your core values for your children’s education and our military. Know why you’re where you are.
And when you come to your friends and coworkers being bullied, don’t be a bystander. Don’t be a bystander. You can’t let it happen. When you say you love America, that’s a verb. That also means you love Americans. You’ve got to push back and call out the bullies. You’ve got to stand with those that have targets in their lives. Targets if they’re picking on them by calling their jobs to get them fired. Boycotts are kicking them out of their jobs at church or their groups at church.
Unifying the Country
I’ve spent 45 years listening to people. And I was just in North Carolina and after the after the hurricane hit down there. And you know what? I saw neighbors helping neighbors and not one of them asked, “Are you a Democrat or a Republican?” I saw neighbors helping neighbors. And we need to unify this country. You have the right to vote for who you want to vote for for president. And we need to step up and claim it. And we need to stand with each other. There are so many who want to, but they’re bullied so they’re afraid to.
Let me tell you something. One of the most important days in American history was 9-12-2001. Not 9-11. We all know what happened on 9-11. One of the most important days was 9-12. Because on 9-12, we all woke up and we were all Americans on 9-12. If you were an American on 9-12, stand up right now. If you were an American on 9-12, stand up right now. That’s who we were. That’s who we are.
Taking Action
And the difference between winners and losers is winners do things losers don’t want to do. And we have to stand proud to help our neighbors who want to vote their conscience and not be afraid. No one should be alone. No one should feel abandoned. No one should have their business boycotted. If you hear somebody’s getting their business boycotted, you should get your friends and make sure their business gets doubled. If somebody pulls their advertising from your friend’s business, you should let those advertisers know you’re going to spend the rest of your life making sure that advertiser is boycotted until they do the right thing.
You need to let people know this is over in America. We’re going to unify this country. We’re going to listen and not be intimidated. We’re going to go out and lead by example. Let’s quit complaining about what is and start doing something about it. If your neighbor wants to vote the other way, say fine. Go vote the other way. I’ll love you anyway. Let’s lead by example. If they want to do it, let them do it. Love them anyway.
But as for you, the collective you, I don’t want you to just listen and say, “Nice talk, Dr. Phil.” I want you to march in your life. I want you to march with your beliefs. I want you to not be intimidated. Don’t be stopped and don’t just vote. Take five people with you. Like I said, the difference between winners and losers is winners do things losers don’t want to do. And what they do is they take actions toward known outcomes. They deal with the truth. They set goals and they go after them with passion.
Conclusion
And it’s time for us to bring it home. It’s time for us to bring it home. It’s time for us to be winners. Winners, winners, winners. I started by telling you I love this country. I’ll finish by telling you I love this country and I love you for loving this country. God bless you and God bless the United States of America.
And before I leave, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the next Vice President of the United States, Senator J. D. Vance.
