43
Ryan brings his campaign to Southwest Fla.
Congressman raises funds in Sunshine State
By MIKE BRAUN
FORT MYERS, FLA.
U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan brought his newly minted effort to get the Democratic Party’s nomination for president of the United States to the west coast of Florida over the weekend.
“I think [President] Trump spoke to fear, anger and insecurity,” Ryan, of Howland, D-13th, said about the 2016 election outcome during a fundraising visit to Southwest Florida. “But he has zero plans to fix it.”
Ryan, who has served in Congress for 16 years, is the first of a crowded field of contenders to swing through southwestern Florida. There are more than 20 who have announced or are possible Democratic competitors.
Ryan sees himself in a unique position to change the cascade of votes Trump received in the Mahoning Valley in 2016.
“With my experience, having represented Akron and Youngstown, we’ve been on the ground floor to rebuild their economies in the past 18 years,” he said.
Ryan officially announced his 2020 candidacy for president April 4 on ABC Television’s “The View” and has traveled to Iowa and New Hampshire and had an inaugural rally in Youngstown on April 6.
Ryan said he understands the legacy of job loss and sees the economy as one of several key issues to getting the nomination and then the White House.
He pointed to the General Motors Lordstown Assembly Complex’s closing as evidence that the country is missing something.
“It shows that we haven’t had an industrial policy in the U.S.,” he said. “We need a robust policy.”
He said how the economy acts in the next 18 months will be central to the election.
Ryan said industries such as electric vehicles, solar and wind are dominated by the Chinese. He said the electric-vehicle industry, which produces 2 million vehicles a year, will produce upward of 30 million cars per year by 2030.
“Who will make them? As president, I would put an agenda together to make the U.S. dominant,” Ryan said.
Ryan said he was not going to put the full weight for everything going wrong in the country on the president.
“I don’t blame Trump for everything,” he said. “But I do blame him with not caring enough to try and fix things. He’s more interested in race-baiting, Barbara Bush and Hillary Clinton. His only goal is to dominate the 24-hour news cycle. And he’s very good at that.”