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U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan slams Republican Donald Trump in speech at DNC
PHILADELPHIA
On the final day of the Democratic National Convention, U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan urged Americans to vote for Hillary Clinton, the party’s presidential nominee, and not to be fooled by the claims of Republican Donald Trump.
“Donald Trump is not on our side,” Ryan, of Howland, D-13th, said during his seven-minute convention speech Thursday that started just before 8 p.m. “But you know who is? Hillary Clinton. She respects workers, and she’s got a plan to help them.”
Ryan first bashed Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, and later praised Clinton.
Trump has “been stabbing workers in the back for years,” Ryan said. “Trump got rich ripping people off, stiffing small businesses and contractors. Now he says he’s gonna bring back our jobs? Hey, Ohio, don’t buy it.”
He added: “This guy cut deals to make the Trump line of products in China, Mexico, Bangladesh. Not Youngstown, not Akron, not Niles.”
Of Clinton, Ryan said, “She’ll put people to work repairing roads, bridges and schools. Her ‘Make it in America’ plan will put $10 billion into rebuilding our manufacturing sector. These initiatives will be a huge shot in the arm for our autoworkers, our steelworkers and our friends in the building and construction trades. And Hillary Clinton has proposed a plan that lets workers share in the profits they create. Because Hillary knows that working people built this country together.”
After the speech, Ryan told The Vindicator: It was “a great honor to be on that stage at that level and say the words Niles and Warren and Youngstown. I feel really blessed that my community gave me this opportunity, and I will continue to work hard on their behalf.”
Before the speech, Ryan told the newspaper: “This is the biggest speech of my life. I’m a kid from Niles, Ohio. To be there on any night would be a huge honor, but I’ll be there on the last day.”
Ryan said he initially was told about two weeks ago that the Clinton presidential campaign was interested in having him speak at the convention, but he wasn’t given any specific time or day.
When the speakers’ list came out last week, Ryan wasn’t on it. But he said he was told to prepare a speech regardless.
He was contacted Wednesday and rehearsed the speech.
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Cleveland, was to address the convention Wednesday, but got bumped because of time issues.
Instead, he spoke late Thursday. Besides singer Katy Perry, Brown was the last person to speak at the convention before Chelsea Clinton, the nominee’s daughter, and the nominee herself.
Brown used his time, like Ryan, to state his case for Clinton to be elected president and to criticize Trump.
“Hillary Clinton knows that a job is not just a paycheck,” Brown said. “It’s about building a better life for your family. She’s a progressive who gets things done. And she has a real plan to give American workers the chance to share in the profits they create. Donald Trump believes ‘wages are too high.’ Those are his words. Too high? And he wants to be president? How do you help Americans build better lives for their families when you outsource jobs?”
When it comes to U.S. trade policy, Brown said all Trump does is “run his mouth and line his pockets.” He added: “Donald Trump thinks people in states like mine will choose his counterfeit campaign over the genuine solutions we’re fighting for tonight. He is wrong.”
Brown spoke of cities in Ohio, specifically mentioning Youngstown, saying it “is leading the way in advanced manufacturing.”
Clinton and Tim Kaine, the Democratic Party’s vice-presidential candidate, will attend a Saturday night rally at Youngstown’s East High School.