Former football coach Lou Holtz’s remarks at the Republican National Convention

The full transcript of Lou Holtz’ speech Wednesday at the Republican National Convention.

I’m Lou Holtz. Many of you might know me as Coach Holtz, or maybe that football guy.

It is a pleasure, a blessing and an honor for me to explain why I believe that President Trump is a consistent winner, an outstanding leader, and deserves to be reelected as our president. First, I want you to know that I grew up in a one-bedroom house in West Virginia. I may have been poor, but the lessons my parents taught me were priceless. They taught me that life is about making choices. Wherever you are, good or bad, don’t blame anyone else. Go get an education. Get to work. You can overcome any obstacles. And always remember that in this great country of ours, anyone can amount to something special. I live by those principles of hard work and responsibility my whole life, living out the American story, and it works.

But there are people today like politicians, professors, protesters and, of course, President Trump’s naysayers in the media who like to blame others for problems. They don’t have pride in our country, and because they no longer ask what can I do for my country, only what the country should be doing for them, they don’t have pride in themselves. That’s wrong. When I was an officer in the Army, I served with so many great Americans who embraced a responsibility to our country. I’m so proud of their sacrifices and the opportunity that is provided for so many millions. America remains a land of opportunity no matter what the other side says or believes.

You know, there’s a statue up of me at Notre Dame. I guess they needed a place for the pigeons to land. But if you look closely, you will see these three words there: trust, commitment and love. All my life, I’ve made my choices based on these three words. I use the three rules to make choices about everything: my beloved wife of 59 years, athletes I coached, and of course, politicians, even President Trump. I ask myself three things. One, can I trust them? When a leader tells you something, you got to be able to count on it. That’s President Trump. He says what he means. He means what he says. And he’s done what he said he would do at every single turn.

One of the important reasons he has my trust is because nobody is but a stronger advocate for the unborn than President Trump. The Biden-Harris ticket is the most radically pro-abortion campaign in history. They and other politicians are Catholics in name only and abandon innocent lives. President Trump protects those lives. I trust President Trump.

The second question I ask is are they committed to doing their very best? President Trump always finds a way to get something done. If you’re wanting to do something bad enough, you will find a way. If not, you’ll find an excuse, and excuses are a lot easier to find than solutions. President Trump finds solutions. President Trump is committed.

And the third question I ask is do they love people? Do they care about others? To me, this is very clear. President Trump has demonstrated through his prison reform, advocating for school choice and welfare reform, that he wants Americans from all walks of life to have the opportunity to succeed and live the American dream. President Trump loves our country and our great people. Trust, commitment and love.

In President Trump, we have a president we can trust, who works hard at making America greater, and who genuinely cares about people. If I apply this test to Joe Biden, I can’t say yes to any of these three questions. I used to ask our athletes at Notre Dame, if you did not show up, who would miss you and why? Can you imagine what would happen to us if President Trump had not shown up in 2016 to run for president? I’m so glad he showed up. Thank you for showing up, Mr. President. I encourage everyone who loves this country, who loves America, to show up in November for President Trump. Thank you.