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 the leadership and staff of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum—especially Elaine Didier—for hosting this event. I also thank the Ford Presidential Foundation and its Executive Director Joe Calvaruso. Even under normal circumstances, it’s hard to put together an event like this, but in the current circumstances it’s especially challenging and I really appreciate it. And I really appreciate all of you who’ve come, I know many have come from around the state and I appreciate the effort that was made to be here for these remarks.

I was last in Grand Rapids, it would be 30 years ago John. John Smietanka, from here, was one of my Principal Deputy when I was Deputy Attorney General and stayed on while I was Attorney General. He was U.S. Attorney here in the Western District, so John it’s great to see you here. I feel a special bond to the Ford Administration so it’s appropriate to be here today for these remarks, because I started out in the CIA in 1973 and President Ford took office and because of what was going on at the agency, I had the privilege of working closely with many of the superb people that he brought into government. Many of whom I had the opportunity to work with over the years, several of whom were my mentors. One of the people I met was the Attorney General, at that time, Ed Levi, who President Ford made Attorney General. His portrait is up in my conference room and his grandson Will Levi is my Chief of Staff, so as I say, I feel a special closeness with the Ford Administration even though I wasn’t a political appointee in that administration. Many of the political appointees that I work with over the years really cut their teeth during the Ford Administration.

I’m privileged to speak here today about what may prove to be the most important issue for our nation and the world in the twenty-first century and that is, the United States’ response to the global ambitions of the Chinese Communist Party. The CCP rules with an iron fist over one of the great ancient civilizations of the world. It seeks to leverage the immense power, productivity, and ingenuity of the Chinese people to overthrow the rule-based international system and to make the world safe for dictatorship. How the United States responds to this challenge will have historic implications and will determine whether the United States and