Thank you, matt, and thank you cpac for that very warm welcome. What an honor to address you today and what a treat to introduce my husband. And i do want to introduce him today. I want to introduce you to a different side of mike pence that you may not know. For years, people in indiana heard his conservative commentary on his radio show, we called him Rush Limbaugh on decaf. [laughter] mrs. Pence and then for 12 years, on the floor of the United States congress, he fought for conservative principles. [applause] mrs. Pence yeah. [applause] mrs. Pence next, he governed as a conservative governor in our home state of indiana. [cheers] mrs. Pence and today, he will speak to you as Vice President , but that mike pence you already know. I would like to take this opportunity to pull back the curtain and show you the mike pence that i know. I would like you to see this man that i have been married to for 32 years. [applause] mrs. Pence thank you. A man who has supported me as a teacher. He actually would come to my backtoschool nights. He also supported me as a stayathome mom, when i wanted to be home. [applause] mrs. Pence yes. And i used to do these watercolor fairs and he would come to my booth and help sell the watercolors. And now, he firmly supports my initiative of art therapy. But i want you to see a little more about him, so here we go. Five facts you need to know about mike pence. [applause] mrs. Pence dont you love those . Mrs. Pence number one, if it is friday night, we better be having pizza for dinner, supreme thin crust with an odouls. [laughter] mrs. Pence every friday night. Number two, this is a good one for you to hear about. The feedback that he respects the most, comes from his three kids. All three of them. We raised them to be independent thinkers, to climb their own mountains, to not be afraid to speak up and disagree with us. So he knows their comments are honest, and sometimes hardhitting. And their praise is sincere. He values their opinions above all. Even above mine, because my job, as we all know, is to keep him humble. [laughter] mrs. Pence so i dont always give him all this positive feedback. [laughter] mrs. Pence number three, you may not know this about him, mike pence is a cartoon artist. Mrs. Pence i know. Got you, didnt i . In law school, he drew the weekly cartoon, it was called law school daze. Daze. And daze was the main character, a law student fashioned after yours truly, mike pence. For his Law School Graduation present, i took all of those cartoons and i put them in a book. So we have a book now of all of his cartoons. When i was teaching second grade, we used to have my students over for dinner in small groups and he would draw a caricature of each one of them before they left that evening. Number four, what would mike pence buy if he could buy anything . A horse. [laughter] mrs. Pence he has always wanted a horse. And i think riding horses is really the only place he truly relaxes. And number five, he loves a good book, especially the good book. He is a voracious reader, from historical novels, to biographies, to mysteries and christian books, to political commentaries, he loves a good book. So thank you for letting me introduce my husband, Vice President mike pence. [applause] [cheers] [applause] [cheers] [audience chanting u. S. A. ] Vice President pence hello, cpac. [applause] Vice President pence thank you to my wonderful wife, karen. Isnt she something . [applause] a teacher, an artist, a marine corps mom, and the second lady of the United States. Would you give karen another applause for all she does for the cause and the country . [applause] Vice President pence it is great to be back at cpac 2018, the largest gathering of conservatives in america every single year. Thank you all for being here. [applause] Vice President pence before i begin to talk about the progress we have made, allow me to take a moment to address what i know is on all of our hearts this morning. The terrible attack that claimed the lives of 17 americans and injured more last week in parkland, florida. In america, we mourn with those who mourn and grieve with those who grieve. And yesterday, President Trump and i met with the family of meadow pollack and other students and families reeling from the attack in parkland. We also met in the white house with families from other communities who have experienced the same violence firsthand. And as the president said, we will never forget it. We prayed with them, we listened to them as they poured out their hearts. As the president has said, no child, no teacher, should ever be in danger in an american school. [applause] Vice President pence earlier this week, President Trump called on congress to strengthen background checks and two days ago he directed the department of justice to expedite that order. Later this week when the president meets with the nations leaders in our nation capital with officials, we will make the safety of our nations schools and the students our top national priority. [applause] Vice President pence i can assure you all of this, President Trump and our entire administration will continue to take strong action to make our schools safe. And to give Law Enforcement and our families the tools that they need to deal with those struggling with dangerous mental illness. [applause] Vice President pence as we move forward, we will continue to work. And we will continue with all of you, to pray for gods grace and comfort for all those families impacted by this terrible attack. And we will pray for gods wisdom that all of us in positions of authority might find a way to come together with american solutions, to confront and end this evil in our time. [applause] Vice President pence thank you. It is great to be back at cpac. [applause] [cheers] Vice President pence i stand here today with profound gratitude to say that because of all of you, because of the conservative majorities in congress that you helped elect, and because of the strong leadership of the president that you put in the white house, 2017 was the most consequential year in the history of the conservative movement. [applause] Vice President pence true. [cheers] and tomorrow, you will hear firsthand from the man who galvanized that movement. [cheers] in a Vice President pence you know, i spoke to him this morning on the phone and i can tell you that he cannot wait to get here. [cheers] [applause] Vice President pence the man who won a historic election, the man who has been delivering on the promises he made every day since, the 45th president of the United States of america, President Donald Trump. [applause] [cheers] Vice President pence im here because i stand with President Trump. Im here because we stand with the conservative movement. Come to think of it, we always stand for our flag and our National Anthem as well. [applause] [cheers] [audience chanting u. S. A. ] Vice President pence what a year. When President Trump addressed you last february, he declared, in his words, that our victory was a victory and a win for conservative values, and so it was. Now he and i are both back here at cpac this week to thank you for everything you have done to advance our cause. Because of your support in this past year, it has been a year of action. It has been a year of remarkable results. In a word, it has been a year of promises made and promises kept. [applause] Vice President pence i mean, think about it. President trump promised to rebuild our military and restore the arsenal of democracy. And in just a few weeks, he will sign the largest investment in our National Defense since the days of ronald reagan. [applause] Vice President pence he promised to stand without apology for the men and women of Law Enforcement, and today we are once again giving those peace officers the respect and the resources they deserve all across america. [applause] Vice President pence President Trump promised to enforce our laws, secure our borders, and today, illegal crossings at our southern border have been cut nearly in half and, make no mistake about it, we are going to build that wall. [applause] [cheers] [audience chanting build that wall] Vice President pence he promised to appoint strong conservatives to the federal courts at every level and President Trump came through. He appointed Justice Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court and set a record for the most Circuit Court judges appointed in the first year of any administration in history. [applause] Vice President pence and President Donald Trump promised to stand for the inalienable and right to life. [applause] in Vice President pence and from the first day of this administration, he reinstated the mexico city policy and i was honored to cast the tiebreaking vote in the senate to send a bill to the president s desk to allow states to defund planned parenthood. [cheers and applause] Vice President pence on the economy, we have unleashed american energy. Approved the keystone and dakota pipelines. And President Trump put America First when he withdrew the United States from the paris climate accord. [applause] Vice President pence and we have been busy rolling back the heavy hand of government as well. This president has actually repealed 22 regulations for every new federal rule put on the books. [applause] Vice President pence and finally, President Trump promised to cut taxes across the board for working families and job creators. Two months ago today, President Trump signed the largest tax cuts and tax reform in american history. Promises made, promises kept. [applause] Vice President pence and on the world stage, we have also been restoring strong american leadership. And under President Donald Trump, america once again stands without apology as leader of the free world. [applause] Vice President pence our nato allies are contributing more to our common defense than ever before and for decades, after one president after another promised to move the u. S. Embassy of our most cherished ally, President Trump made history on december 6, when the United States of america recognized jerusalem as the capital of the state of israel. In [applause] Vice President pence so, we have stood with our allies. And we have stood up to our enemies. And nowhere is that more true than in the fight against radical islamic terror. Under this commanderinchief, we have taken the fight to the terrorists on our terms on their soil. [applause] Vice President pence thanks to the courage of our armed forces and the leadership of this commanderinchief, isis is on the run, their caliphate has crumbled, and we will not rest or relent until we destroy isis at its doors, so it can no longer threaten our nation, our allies, or our way of life. [applause] [audience chanting u. S. A. ] Vice President pence we put the leading state sponsor of terror on notice as well. The United States will no longer tolerate irans destabilizing activities across the region and this country will no longer certify the disastrous iran nuclear deal. [applause] Vice President pence in the wake of provocations and threats against the United States and our allies, we have made it clear to north korea that the era of strategic patience is over. [applause] Vice President pence two weeks ago, i was honored to lead the official delegation to the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics in pyeongchang, where we cheered on team usa. But as you all know, many in the Mainstream Media seemed quite taken with another dignitary. [booing] Vice President pence you know, for all the media fawning over the sister of the north korean dictator, i think it is important that every american knows who this person is and what she has done. The sister of kim jongun is a central pillar of the most tyrannical and oppressive regime on the planet. An evil family clique that brutalizes, subjugates, starves and imprisons its 25 million people. Even the United Nations reported that in their words, the gravity, scale, and nature of these violations reveals a nation that does not have a parallel in the contemporary world. That is why the United States government has sanction her for her role in abetting north koreas crimes against humanity. People are routinely jailed and executed for minor acts of defiance. And every american remembers the heartbreaking story of otto warmbier. For all those in the media who think i should have stood and cheered with the north koreans, i say, the United States of america does not stand with murderous dictatorships, we stand up to murderous dictatorships. [cheers and applause] Vice President pence and we will keep standing strong until north korea stops threatening our country, our allies, or until they abandon their nuclear and Ballistic Missile once and for all. [applause] [cheers] Vice President pence so, in this white house, it is about strength. It is about growth for our nation. And it is working. America is more secure and our economy is booming. Since election day 2016, businesses large and small have created more than 2. 5 million new jobs across this country. [applause] Vice President pence unemployment has not been this low in 17 years and more americans are working today than ever before in american history. [applause] [cheers] Vice President pence after eight years of a stagnant economy and wages that would not budge, American Workers are seeing their paychecks rise faster today than at any point in nearly a decade. More than 1. 5 million americans have left the rolls of food stamps and are able to support and sustain themselves with dignity and self worth. [applause] Vice President pence but i know in my heart that the best is yet to come. Because, as we speak, our economy is already starting to feel the effects of that historic tax cut. About 90 of working americans are going to get a tax cut. Millions are already seeing more money in their paychecks and feeling it in their wallets. We did not just cut taxes on your income, the obamacare individual mandate tax is gone. [applause] Vice President pence you know, since the president s tax cuts became the law of the land, businesses large and small have actually announced more than 480 billion in new investments in american jobs, American Workers, and in just the past two months, more than 4. 3 million americans have already gotten a raise or a bonus and were just getting started. [applause] Vice President pence folks, that is great news. That is great news. But not everybody thinks it is that big of a deal. [laughter] Vice President pence i dont know if you heard. [laughter] Vice President pence but the woman that wants to be speaker of the house again, nancy pelosi said [booing] Vice President pence she said, she actually said the tax cuts would be armageddon before they passed. Just a few days ago, she said it was unpatriotic to let the American People keep more of what they earned. [booing] Vice President pence most amazingly of all, she keeps saying that a 1000 bonus for working americans is nothing more than crumbs. [booing] Vice President pence let me remind all of you, i come from the joseph a. Bank wing of the west wing, of the white house. Seriously, folks, when our kids were little, we had a term for another 1000 in our paycheck at the end of the year. Christmas. [applause] Vice President pence are you with me . These bonuses have meant real money to help working families all across this country with pay raises that are generating opportunities even as we speak. I want to say, from my heart, any leader who says that 1000 in the pockets of working families is crumbs is out of touch with the American People. [applause] Vice President pence you know, it would be a disaster for our cause is nancy pelosi became speaker of the house again, but we are not going to let it happen. [applause] Vice President pence this movement should know it is a very real threat. Because the other side knows exactly how many days between the end of this year and today. The far left has watched with dismay as we have dismantled the liberal legacy of the last administration and turned this country around. [applause] Vice President pence they are doing everything they can to win back the Congress Next november. We dont have to wonder what would happen if the party of nancy pelosi and Chuck Schumer won the house and the senate this november. Do we . Remember the last time it happened . I do. I was actually there the last time democrats ran the congress. And they nearly ran america into the ground. They raised taxes, they cut the military, they tried to pass cap and trade, they gave us dodd frank and the obamacare nightmare. I mean, they thought they could borrow, spend, and bail their way back to a growing america. In the past few years, democrats have only fallen further to the left. Their platform, as we all know, can be summed up in one word. Resist. Resist our policies. Resist our president. Resist the results that you and i and our entire movement have fought so hard to achieve. So, it is up to us to stand up to them and stand up for the American People and the progress that we have made. [applause] Vice President pence but the other side is motivated. They are mobilized. So, today, to the men and women of this conservative movement, i want to admonish you. Let this be the day that we, as a movement, decided to deliver another victory for the American People in 2018. [applause] Vice President pence i mean, we threw out the playbook and 2016 and we are going to throw it out in 2018. If all of us do all we can from this day forward, i know we will continue to achieve historic victories for our movement and for america. You know, the choices we make in the days ahead and the promises that we make to one another and the actions we take will shape our nation for generations to come. So, today, on behalf of President Trump and our entire administration, im asking every member of this movement to go back home to your communities, to your workplaces, talk to your families, your friends, your neighbors. Tell them what they dont hear in the media about everything that we have accomplished. Tell them how the policies of the president have advanced and are making a difference in the lives of American Families and enterprises and in the life of our nation. Tell them we have cut their taxes and put more money in their pockets. Tell them we are restoring american strength at home and abroad, so their families can sleep safe at night. Tell them that thanks to our administration, confidence is back, jobs are coming back. Just tell them america is back. [applause] Vice President pence as we prepare for the challenges ahead, lets remember, progress is driven by the people who show up. Your president and i need you to show up. Defend all that we have accomplished and all that we have yet to do. We cant turn back now. We cant give anything less than everything. America is counting on us. But i know in my heart that we will come through and you will come through for this country once again. I have seen the courage and conviction that defines the men and women of the conservative movement all my life. And i see it in your faces this morning. My friends, the truth is we live in a time of widening challenges and unknowable threats. A time of too Much Division and too much anger in america. You know, it seems like we are becoming more and more disconnected from each other. Too often unable or unwilling to meet our fellow citizens where they are, to do what the president did yesterday, just to listen to one another in a spirit of humility and respect. And increasingly, it seems like we have lost sight, we have lost sight of who we are as a people, that the truth is, here in the United States of america, it is true today and it has always been true that there will always be more that unites us than will ever divide the good and great people of this country. [applause] Vice President pence so, lets try to reconnect in the days and debates that come ahead. Reconnect with one another, reconnect with their communities. Lastly, i believe we should seek in these challenging times to reconnect to something deeper, something that speaks to the very heart of who we are, someone who i believe has always been a source of our strength and more than that, our hope. Yesterday mourned the passing of one of the greatest americans of the past century, the reverend billy graham. [applause] Vice President pence we remembered his ministry, a ministry for the gospel that change the lives of millions, and we remember his matchless voice that inspired our nation during some of our darkest times. I remember one such time just yesterday. His words at the National Cathedral 17 years ago. Words spoken three days after the worst attack on american soil since pearl harbor. I was there. As a firstterm member of congress and i will never forget what he said. On that day, billy graham said to the American People, the spirit of this nation will not be defeated. But he admonished americans to come in his words, come together to confess our need for god. He said, we have always needed god from the beginning of this nation, but today we need him especially. He reminded us that the bible says, god is our refuge and strength, an everpresent help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear. So, with that admonition in my heart, i closed today with faith. Faith in the boundless capacity of the American People. Faith in the president and the leaders they have elected to represent them at every level. In and with that other kind of faith, what billy graham called hope for the present and hope for the future. That in the days ahead, as we work to advance our cause, restore our country, let us also remember to claim that hope, remembering those ancient words to, if his people, who are called by his name, will humble themselves and pray, he will hear from heaven and he will heal this land here go this one nation. Under god. Indivisible. With liberty and justice for all. [cheers and applause] [applause] Vice President pence so, to this conservative movement i say today, we have accomplished much in a little more than a year, but we have a lot more to do. With a renewed commitment of this rising generation, with the support of strong conservative majorities in the congress, with President Donald Trump in the white house [applause] and with gods help, i know we will make america safe again, we will make america prosperous again, and to borrow a phrase [laughter] Vice President pence we will make America Great again. Thank you very much. God bless you all and god bless the United States of america. [applause] the ceo of the National Rifle association spoke at the conservative Political Action conference. He made his remarks in week after the School Shooting in parkland, florida, and spoke for about 35 minutes. [cheers and applause] wayne thank you very much. I appreciate this opportunity. We have serious issues that impact each and every one of us. Just a week ago, we were all horrified by another terrible tragedy in an american school