Former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack is reminiscing about his long time connection to President Joe Biden.
“I got started working in politics in 1986 working for then Senator Biden, who was running for president. He said: ‘The penalty for not getting involved is that people less qualified than you end up governing you.’ Oh my God, isn’t that the truth?” Vilsack said this morning during a short speech to Minnesota’s delegation at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Vilsack has served as Biden’s U.S. Secretary of Agriculture after serving eight years as ag secretary during the Obama-Biden Adminsitration. Biden is to speak at the convention tonight.
“He’s a great man and he made an extraordinary decision, a decision frankly that the folks on the other side just could not comprehend that anybody would make, which is why they are in such chaos and so disorganized now. They just never, ever thought he would give up the most powerful position in the world for his country and his party, but that’s the kind of guy he is,” Vilsack said, to applause.
Vilsack told the Minnesotans he called the White House chief of staff the day after Biden’s announcement to suggest Tim Walz would be a good running mate for Kamala Harris. “I said: ‘Here’s why. First of all the guy’s really good with a quip.’ Oh, was he ever,” Vilsack said, and the Minnesotans laughed. “‘But secondly, he has an incredibly progressive record and he’s not defensive about.'”
Vilsack said Democrats have a “short window of opportunity” to make the case for the Harris-Walz ticket in swing states. He suggested Democrats need to remind voters that President Trump fumbled as a leader during the pandemic.
“These other folks are basically saying, ‘Oh, what a great environment, what a great economy we had when Trump was president,'” Vilsack said. “Wait a minute. 2020 actually happened and in 2020 there were millions unemployed. Businesses were shuttered. People were unfortunately and tragically and unnecessarily dying.”
Vilsack discussed the stakes in races for Minnesota’s congressional seats and legislative races and closed with a reference to the political landscape in Iowa where Republicans control the legislative and executive branches of government and all six members of Iowa’s congressional delegation are Republicans.
“Move to Iowa and you’ve got to help, help, help us,” Vilsack said, to laugher. “Please.”
Vilsack served two terms as Iowa’s governor and left office in early 2007.
(Additional reporting in Chicago by Ashley Byrd, Learfield)