Year has brought and think about what lies ahead. You know, our First National day of thanksgiving, authorized by the continental congress, took place december 18, 1777. It was celebrated by general George Washington and his troops on the way to valley forge. It took place under extremely harsh conditions and deprivation. Lacking food, clothing, shelter, theyre preparing to write out a long, hard winter. Today, you can find a plaque in gulf mills marking that moment. The plaque reads, this thanksgiving, in spite of the suffering, showed the referencing character that was forging the soul of a nation. Forging the soul of a nation. Faith, courage, sacrifice, service to country, service to each other, and gratitude even in the face of suffering have long been part of what thanksgiving means in america. Looking back over our history, you see it has been in the most difficult circumstances that the soul of our nation has been forged and now we find ourselves again facing a long, hard winter. We fought a nearly yearlong battle with the virus that is devastated this nation. It is brought us pain and loss and frustration and cost so many lives. 260,000 americans and counting. It has divided us, angered us, set us against one another. I know the country has grown weary of the fight. We need to remember we are at war with the virus, not one another. Not with each other. This is the moment where we need to steel our spines, redouble our efforts, and we commit ourselves to the fight. Lets remember, we are all in this together. Sounds trite, but we are all in this together. For so many of us, it is hard to hear the fight is not over. We still have months of this battle ahead of us. For those who have lost a loved one, i know this time of year can be especially difficult. Believe me, i know. I remember that first thanksgiving. The empty chair, the silence, it takes your breath away. It is really hard to care. It is hard to give thanks. It is hard to even think of looking forward. So hard to hope. I understand. I will be thinking and praying for every single one of you at this thanksgiving. We have been there. This year we are asking americans to forgo so many of the traditions we have long made this holiday. For our families, for 40 such years, we have had a tradition of traveling over thanksgiving. A tradition we have kept every year save one the year our son beau died. This year, we will be staying home. We always had big family gatherings at thanksgiving. Kids, grandkids, aunts, uncles, cousins, and it has always been a time to remember all we had to be grateful for. A time to think about christmas. But this year, because we care so much for each other, we are going to be having a separate thanksgiving. For jill and i, we will be at home in delaware with our daughter and soninlaw. The rest of the family will be doing the same thing in small groups. I know how hard it is to forgo family traditions. But it is so very important. Our country is in the middle of a dramatic spike in cases. We are now averaging 160,000 new cases a day. No one will be surprised if we hit 200,000 in a single day. Many local Health Systems are at risk of being overwhelmed. That is the plain and simple truth. Nothing made up, it is real. I believe you always deserve to hear the truth, hear the truth from your president. We have to try and slow the progress of this virus. We owe it to the doctors, nurses, care workers, who risked their lives, some lost their lives, and the heroic battle against it for so long. We owe that to our fellow citizens who need access to care. We owe it to one another. It is our patriotic duties as americans. It means wearing a mask, keeping social distancing, limiting the size of any group. Until we have a vaccine, these are the most effective tools to combat the virus. Starting on day one of my presidency, we will take steps that will change the course of this disease. More testing, we will find people with cases and get them away from one another, slowing the number of infections. More protective gear for businesses and our schools to do the same. Reducing the number of cases. Clear guidance to get more businesses and schools open. We all have a role to play in beating this crisis. The federal government has vast powers to combat the virus. I commit to you, i will use all of those powers to lead a National Coordinated response. But the federal government cannot do this alone. Each of us has a responsibility in our own lives to do what we can do to slow the virus. Every decision we make matters. Every decision we make can save lives. None of these steps are asking people to take political statements. Every one is based on science, real science. The good news is there has been significant recordbreaking progress made recently in developing a vaccine. And several of these vaccines look extraordinarily effective. We are on track for the first immunization to begin by late december, early january. Then we will need to put in place a Distribution Plan to get the entire country immunized as soon as possible. Which we will do. It is going to take time. Im hoping the news of the vaccine will serve as an incentive to every american to take these simple steps to get control of the virus. There is real hope. Tangible hope. So hang on. Dont let yourself surrender to the fatigue, which i understand is real fatigue. I know we can and we will beat this virus. America is not going to lose this war. We will get our lives back. Life is going to return to normal. I promise you. This will happen. This will not last forever. So yes, it has been a really hard year, particularly hard for over 250,000 people and their families. But i still believe we have much to be thankful for. There is so much to hope for. Much to build on. Much to dream on. This is the america i see, and i believe it is the america you see as well. America that faces facts. America that overcomes challenges. America where we see justice and equality for all people. America that holds fast to conviction that out of pain comes possibility. Out of frustration comes progress. And out of division, unity. You all know in our finest hour, that is what we have always been. And that is who we shall be again. For i believe that this a grim season of division, dehumanization will give way to a year of immunity. Why do i think so . Because america is a nation not of adversaries but of neighbors. Not of limitations, but of possibilities. Not of dreams deferred, but of dreams realized. Ive said many times, but this is a great country. We are a good people. This is the United States of america. And there has never been anything we have been unable to do when we have done it together. Think of what we come through, as a nation. How many things we have come through. Centuries of human enslavement. Cataclysmic civil war. Exclusion of women from the ballot box. World wars. Jim crow. The long Twilight Struggle against soviet terror. It couldve ended not at the fall of the berlin wall, but nuclear armageddon. Look, im not naive. I know the history is just that. History. But to know what came before, what has come before, what is happened before can help arm us against despair, knowing that previous generations have gone through the same universal human challenges we face, between selfishness and generosity, between fear and hope, between division and unity. What was it that brought the reality of america to closer alignment with the promise of reality, justice, and prosperity . Sounds corny, but it was love. Plain and simple. Love of country. Love of one another. We dont talk much about love and our politics. The political arena is too loud, too angry, too heated. To love our neighbor as ourselves is a radical act. And it is what we are called to do. We must try. For only in trying, only in listening, only in seeing ourselves as bound together, and what dr. King called the mutual garment of destiny, can we rise above divisions and truly heal. Look, we all know america has never been perfect. But we have always tried to fulfill the aspiration of the declaration of independence. That all people are created equal. Created in the image of god. And we have always sought to form a more perfect union. What should we give thanks for this season . Well, first, lets be thankful for democracy itself. Listen in this last election, the one that just took place, we have seen record numbers of americans exercise the most sacred right, that of the vote to register their well at the ballot box. Think about that. In the middle of a pandemic, more people voted this year than have ever voted in the history of the United States of america. Over 150 Million People cast the ballot. Simply extraordinary. Many waiting in line, five, 6, 7, 8 hours to vote. You want to know what beats deep in the hearts of america . It is this, democracy. The right to determine our lives, our government, and her leaders. The right to be heard. Our democracy has been tested this year. What we learned is this, the people of this nation are up to the task. And in america, we have full and fair and free elections. And then we honor the results. The people of this nation, the laws of the land will not stand for anything else. Through the vote, the noblest instrument of nonviolent protest ever conceived, we remained anew, and we are reminded under anew that progress is possible. That we the people, we the people, have the power to change what jefferson called the course of human events. And with our hearts and hands and our voices, today we can be better than yesterday. And tomorrow we can still be better than that day. You know, we should be thankful too that america is a covenant, an unfolding story. We have what we need to create prosperity, opportunity, and justice. Americans have grit and generosity, a capacity for greatness and reservoirs of goodness. We have what it takes, now we have to act. This is our moment. Hours together. To write a new were, boulder, more compassionate chapter in the life of the nation. The work ahead is not going to be easy. It will not be quick. You want solutions, not shouting. Reason, not hyper partisanship. Light, not heat. You want us to hear one another again. See one another again. Respect one another again. You want democrats and republicans and independents to come together and work together, and that, my friends, is what im determined to do. Americans dream big. As hard as it may seem this thanksgiving, we are going to dream big again. Our future is bright. The fact that i have never been more optimistic about the future of america than i am right now. I honest to god believe the 21st century is going to be an american century. We are going to build an economy that leads the world. We are going to lead the world by the power of our example, not just the example of our power. We are going to lead the world on climate and save this planet. We are going to find cures for cancer and alzheimers and diabetes. I promise you. We are going to finally route out systemic racism in this country. And this thanksgiving, in anticipation of all of the thanksgivings to come, lets dream again. Lets commit ourselves to thinking not only of ourselves, but of others as well. For if we care for one another, if we open our arms rather than brandishing our fists, we can with the help of god heal. And if we do, and im sure we can, we can proclaim with the palmist who wrote these following words, the lord is my strength and my shield, and with my song, i give thanks to him. I give thanks now for you, for the trust you have placed in me, together we will lift our voices in the coming months and years and our song shall be of lives saved, breaches repaired, a nation made whole again. Folks, from the biden family to yours, wherever and however you may be celebrating, we wish you a happy thanksgiving. May god bless you. May god protect our troops. Happy thanksgiving. [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2020] stay with cspan for live coverage of the election process and the transition of power. Your unfiltered view of politics. Governor eric holcomb joined Public Health officials for an update on the Coronavirus Response in indiana where there has been a recent rise in hospitalizations. The governor participated in the briefing from home where he and his wife have been in orenstein after several members in quarantine after several members of his security detail tested positive for coronavirus. Good afternoon and thank you for joining us on this wednesday before thanksgiving. We are going to go directly to the governor, governor holcomb, who is still in quarantine. Thank you. Good afternoon to all who are with us today. Again, we have a full menu of updates to go over this afternoon. First, we will hear from dr. Fox and then from our friends at the , whoanks school of health will present the results from their third round of