SALEM, N.H. — Sen. Amy Klobuchar is opening up about her father’s battle with a failing memory.
The Minnesota Democrat described the Alzheimer’s conditions affecting her father, a long-time Minneapolis newspaper columnist who has publicly battled alcoholism.
“My dad is in assisted living right now, in memory care, so I’m dealing with this myself,” Klobuchar, 58, told voters at a house party in Salem, N.H. on Sunday. “Luckily for me, for him it wasn’t an early on-set thing. He was great until a few of years ago. So I have seen how much it costs and what it means. People don’t really realize it just adds so much cost to our healthcare because they get other illnesses, and they fall, and things go wrong because of their problem with Alzheimer’s.”
The third-term senator, who is now running for president, has publicly discussed her close relationship with her 91-year-old father, well-known Minnesota-based journalist and columnist Jim Klobuchar. She has been equally frank about his problems with alcoholism, and the effect it had on her parents’ marriage and her younger sister.
“It’s funny, I’ve gone around my state and done all these meetings with Alzheimer’s Association and all these things, and it’s like a little therapy group because I get to hear their stories of what they’re dealing with and think about what others are dealing with in their lives,” Klobuchar said before advocating for more federal investment in Alzheimer’s and caregivers.
During her event in Salem, the former prosecutor spoke about rail infrastructure issues affecting the Granite State and other issues, including the economic consequences of the Trump administration’s trade policies. She also addressed efforts to close the so-called “boyfriend loophole,” which would prevent partners convicted of domestic violence, who may not be a spouse or live-in partner, from buying firearms. The measure has been included as a provision in the Violence Against Women Act, which passed the House in April with help from 33 House Republicans.
“It is now coming to the Senate,” Klobuchar said Sunday. “There’s going to be a lot of things going on in the next month, June is Gun Violence Month. I think you’re going to see some House members, even next week, coming over to see what happens with it. I hope the women of the Senate stand together to support the Violence Against Women Act reauthorization. This is the moment to see whether or not those people in the Senate are going to stand with these women or are they going to stand with the NRA.”
[Also read: Amy Klobuchar: I’m ‘glad’ Democratic debates will happen over two nights]
