Biden Tells a Story About a Girl Asking Him to Protect Bears Ears National Monument

TRANSCRIPT:

BIDEN: "This may be the easiest thing I've ever done so far as President. I mean it. I mean it. I‘ve got to tell you a quick story. When I was running for office — I‘m embarrassed, I can‘t remember exactly which state I was in, but a gentleman and — I think it was his wife, and a little girl said 'could I talk to you?' And she had this, I couldn't understand what she had in her hand, looked like a teddy bear or something. And she said 'can I talk to you, Mr.' — she wasn‘t sure what to call me because I wasn't elected yet, Mr. President or Mr. Vice President. 'Sure, what's the matter, honey?' She said 'I want to give you something. I want to give you some bear's ears.'  I looked at her, and she gave me this little set of bear‘s ears, she said 'you‘ve got to promise me — you‘ve got to promise me to protect the bear‘s ears.' And I‘m thinking, what the heck is — I mean, at the time, I knew Bears Ears, but I just didn't quite get it. She said, her dad said, you know, a national park. I said 'oh, yeah.' She said — she went — she said, 'you promise? You promise?' And I promised. And it's the easiest promise that I've made in a long time."