On Wednesday night, former Vice President and Democratic nominee Joe Biden described the country in the past tense, noting that that it “was” only just an idea.

In a social media post, Biden wrote, “America was an idea.” He also added a link to his podcast interview, in which he repeated the same phrase.

The podcast was hosted by Brené Brown. In the interview, the nominee said that the country was only an idea because the nation had never lived up to it. However, he also added that the American people have not walked away from it. Biden continued by saying that it is now time for the people to be honest and confront reality by teaching the children what really happened. He noted that the country had to acknowledge its mistake, with a promise not to repeat it. This is not the first time that the nominee made the same statements. In fact, throughout his campaign trail, he had repeatedly cited the Declaration of Independence, in which he suggested that the country did not have an equal society but would continue to establish one.

As an example, Biden cited the same words in his campaign video. Biden began by saying that Americans uphold the value of equality and that no person should be deprived of his or her inalienable rights. Biden continued by saying that most people had heard the same words over and over again. “But it’s who we are. We haven’t always lived up to these ideals,” the nominee said. He even cited that former Presidents, such as Thomas Jefferson, did not even live up to such ideals. However, Biden declared that the American people refused to give up.

In one instance, Biden had even failed to recite the Declaration of Independence, referring to it as “that thing.” Watch:

On the other hand, President Donald Trump stated that he will continue to uphold and protect the ideals of the Declaration of Independence. “Upon this ground, we will stand firm and unwavered,” the President stated, adding that the country will continue to live up to the ideals that the founding fathers had made. Watch:

In another campaign in Greenville, North Carolina, Trump declared that the primary difference between the left-wing and the right-wing is that Democrats are ashamed of America, while Republicans are proud of it.