Congressman Tim Ryan of Ohio, who is running as a Democratic candidate for president in 2020, calls the strict abortion laws being passed in a number of states 鈥渁bhorrent.鈥�
But he says he didn鈥檛 always feel that way.
鈥淚 changed my mind [on abortion] when I started meeting women who explained to me exactly what they were going through,鈥� he tells Here & Now鈥�s Peter O鈥橠owd. 鈥淎nd really I began to understand how complicated and complex pregnancies are and that the government has no business being between the doctor and a woman.鈥�
Ryan ( ) gives credit to Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America advocates for engaging with him throughout his political career, despite entering Congress in 2003 as 鈥渁 pro-life Democrat.鈥�
鈥淭hey didn鈥檛 cut me off. They didn鈥檛 ignore me,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t led to me opening my heart and mind to the other side of this issue.鈥�
Ryan, who has been involved in Ohio politics for nearly two decades, says he understands the crushing economic struggles families are experiencing in once-industrialized cities and towns.
鈥淲e鈥檝e lost thousands of jobs in my community around General Motors. Ford just laid off thousands of people. I鈥檓 telling you, this is not working,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he biggest myth going is the president saying we鈥檝e got a booming economy. We do not.鈥�
If elected, Ryan says he鈥檇 focus on the 鈥渇orgotten communities鈥� in the U.S. by crafting policies that resonate with the working class.
鈥淭he Democrats have failed to have a real robust message for working-class people in places like Ohio 鈥� these states that Donald Trump came in and won,鈥� Ryan says.
Interview Highlights
On what Democrats can do to protect Roe. v. Wade
鈥淢any women don鈥檛 even know they鈥檙e pregnant until after six weeks. So [Ohio鈥檚 abortion law] is a draconian law. From the federal level, we鈥檝e got to continue to try to fund programs around prevention [and] around Planned Parenthood 鈥� making sure that women in these states still have some access to contraception. So that鈥檚 going to be really important. But we have to start winning the elections, and we got to start winning races and I think we turn the tide on this particular issue with what鈥檚 happening now: a lot of women very courageously telling their stories about why they had an abortion, and what it was like, and humanizing this. And that starts to shift the public narrative on it.鈥�
On if his beliefs on abortion conflict with his faith
鈥淚 believe my faith supports my position because to me being Catholic, to me being Christian, to me following the teachings of Jesus is about being compassionate and an open-hearted toward people who you shouldn鈥檛 be judging. And to me I don鈥檛 understand all of the different scenarios that women are under. And nobody does. And so you show compassion.鈥�
On President Trump鈥檚 Chinese tariff strategy
鈥淲ell being tough on China is one thing. Being completely erratic with no strategy and dragging businesses and farmers through the mud, using them as pawns in the game, is not the way to beat China. Tariffs are meant to be very targeted for particular reasons, like when China dumps steel on our country and puts people out of work. You have a targeted approach through the World Trade Organization [and] through the International Trade Commission to remedy that situation.鈥�
鈥淗e鈥檚 killing the farmers. I mean, I was out in Iowa just this weekend and they are getting annihilated. The manufacturing around agriculture, the community, the schools, everything is being affected by this. And the bottom line is we鈥檙e not going to defeat China with tariffs. It鈥檚 the equivalent of the wall. It鈥檚 not the right way to do it. You beat China by outcompeting them, by dominating the new technologies, wind, solar, electric vehicles, artificial intelligence, additive manufacturing. We should be reinvesting back in the United States and beating them on the economic playing field. He does this because he knows he鈥檚 going to get in the news cycle and it鈥檚 a way for him to look tough. I don鈥檛 want you to look tough. I want you to be tough.鈥�
On the current economic outlook in the U.S.
鈥淭he economy is not strong. All you have to do is go to normal neighborhoods, normal communities and you will see that the majority of Americans are still struggling. We have blown past the metrics of unemployment rate actually mattering for most people. I mean, people have two or three jobs. Yeah, the unemployment rate鈥檚 low and they鈥檙e saying there鈥檚 been a bump in the income. It鈥檚 20 bucks a week. I mean, people have loans. Health care is still a major issue. People are still losing their retirement.鈥�
On whether it鈥檚 time to start the process of impeaching President Trump
鈥淲e need to continue to have the hearings and to 鈥� put Mueller in public in front of the Judiciary Committee. We need to bring everybody before Congress publicly on TV, and then see where we go from there. And if it leads to impeachment, then that鈥檚 where we have to go. But I think it鈥檚 important for us to educate the American people around this issue.鈥�
On whether he鈥檚 satisfied with the job Nancy Pelosi is doing as House speaker
鈥淚 am. I think she understands the strategy here. She is holding a caucus together and I think she鈥檚 doing a good job. And I think she鈥檚 right on this. I want to continue to go down this road. We need to build public support for anything that鈥檚 going to happen, and that鈥檚 only going to happen by very public hearings until we get all of the facts out and the American people totally understand that this guy did obstruct justice. It鈥檚 pretty clear.鈥�
On approving of Pelosi after challenging her in 2016 for the House speaker position
鈥淲ell my position is 鈥� and I don鈥檛 want to relitigate it, I鈥檝e always had an enormous amount of respect for her and I鈥檝e always said that even through challenging her.鈥�
鈥淭hat鈥檚 my concern, is that people that I represent 鈥� white, black, brown, gay, straight, people who work for a living, take a shower after work 鈥� aren鈥檛 really represented in today鈥檚 politics. You know, the issue of competing with China, on wages and everything else. We鈥檝e got to talk to people about those issues are not going to vote for us and there is a chance that Donald Trump could win again. And so that was my concern is that our party has become very, very coastal and very, very focused on issues that aren鈥檛 resonating with working-class people in the United States.鈥�
On standing out in the crowded field of 2020 candidates
鈥淚鈥檝e been to Iowa [and] New Hampshire. We鈥檙e resonating. I was there for three days, we picked up a good number of volunteers and caucusgoers who committed to us. We had good crowds everywhere that we went. So we were excited about it. I come from the epicenter of 鈥� industrialized America. I know what families are going through better than anybody, and I understand where we need to go in the new economy better than anybody, and I鈥檓 going to use the power of the of the CEO of America 鈥� the White House 鈥� to rebuild the economy in the United States and to take all these forgotten communities, forgotten people and join them together to take this country back and get this government working.鈥�
On one thing most people don鈥檛 know about him
鈥淚 have a chicken-wing addiction. 鈥� I sometimes can鈥檛 get out of a restaurant without at least trying their chicken wings. So that鈥檚 my great downfall.鈥�
produced this interview and edited it for broadcast with . adapted it for the web.
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