DES MOINES, Iowa â Tom Vilsack endorsed Joe Biden for president Saturday morning before introducing the former vice president at a campaign rally in Des Moines.
“Joe Biden has offered a progressive and a realistic vision of how to move our country forward. This â combined with the experience and the relationships that he has, that heâs developed over time â have enabled him to implement that vision,” said the former two-term Democratic Iowa governor and secretary of agriculture under President Barack Obama. “Just take the [Affordable Care Act] for example, as vice president, he watched the impact of that law on 20 million Americans expanding access for healthcare.”
Vilsack was joined on stage by his wife, Christie Vilsack, who served as senior adviser for international education at the U.S. Agency for International Development under Obama. She was also a failed candidate for Congress in 2012.
During his speech to a crowd of roughly 200, Vilsack took a veiled swipe at the former vice president’s rivals by noting their lack of experience and dismissing their proposals as impossible to pass through Congress.
“[Biden] has offered a realistic and progressive vision for a new American economy and what I really like about what heâs put forward,” he said. “Weâve tried a rookie in this position for the last three years, and Iâd simply ask, ‘Howâs it going?’ We need someone who understands the complexity of the world and has the relationship with world leaders.”
“Iâm convinced that Joe Biden has the capacity and the experience and the knowledge to restore Americaâs credibility in these key areas,” he added.
He also noted a number of polls showing Biden handily defeating President Trump in a number of swing states, including Pennsylvania and Michigan.
“You canât govern until you win. Who today has the best opportunity? Joe. And that’s the one thing and maybe the only thing I agree with President Trump about,” Tom Vilsack said. “He obviously thinks Joe is the hardest person to beat.”
The endorsements from both Vilsacks not only aid Biden in avoiding an embarrassing finish in the state during the caucuses next year, but also provide evidence that former members of Obama’s White House still think he is a strong enough candidate to secure the Democratic nomination.
Biden is ramping up his campaign efforts in Iowa, with a trip this weekend, as well as an eight-day bus tour at the end of the month through the first week of December. The planned events come as he has seen his position drop precipitously in the state, according to the latest polls.
An Iowa State University survey this month found Biden’s support at just 12% in the state, placing him in fourth place. A Siena College/New York Times poll released Nov. 1 found his Iowa support at 17%, with him in last among the group of four front-runners that includes South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
