Rep. Tim Ryan, who on Thursday joined the widening number of Democrats seeking the 2020 presidential nomination, said Friday he believes he can bring back people who voted for Donald Trump, and that he'll win in several Midwest states while representing the working class.
"The country is divided and I believe I can heal it," the Ohio Democrat told MSNBC's "Morning Joe." "I got a lot of voters who President Trump go,t and I think we can bring those folks back into the fold. I can win Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin."
Ryan, whose home district in the Youngstown area has been hit hard by layoffs in the auto industry, said the United States needs an industrial policy and is losing to China on electric vehicles, solar power and more.
Ryan said the problems with the economy are not new, but he wants to push forward to make sure the United States has its place as technology emerges.
"We're going to figure out how we go from two million electric vehicles to 30 million," said Ryan, noting he'll be speaking with the auto industry. "I want those made in the United States, I want the charging stations made in the United States."
The congressman also discussed his foreign policy experience, noting that he has been a member of the House Armed Services Committee and currently sits on the House Appropriations Committee’s Defense Subcommittee.
"The most patriotic thing we could do was start listening to each other and respecting each other, and then we can project force into the world," said Ryan. "We have to outcompete China."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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