Eveleth, Minnesota’s Democratic Mayor Robert Vlaisavljevich spoke on the second night of the Republican National Convention on Aug. 25, 2020.
Transcript
Hi, I’m Bob Vlaisavljevich, mayor of Eveleth, a small town in the Iron Range of Minnesota. My father and grandfather earned their livings mining the raw materials that made the steel that built America. This election is a make or break for workers who are carrying on the legacy of men like them. Since the Iron Range economy is vulnerable to economic trends and to foreign trade, we have always needed a strong voice in Washington. We looked to Democrats to fill that void for many years because we actually thought they cared about our welfare. Not anymore. The radical environmental movement has dragged the Democratic party so far to the left, they can no longer claim to be advocates of the man. This is hard for me to say because I am a lifelong Democrat. But for far too long, members of both parties allowed our country to be ripped off by our trading partners, especially China, who dumped steel into our markets and slapped tariffs on our products. And what did so-called leaders like Joe Biden do? Nothing.
The human cost has been devastating. We lost thousands of jobs, we lost a generation of young people who had to leave the Iron Range to find a livelihood, and worst of all, we lost hope. Then something unexpected happened. The street- talking New Yorker burst onto the scene promising to stand up to China and the rest of the world on behalf of the American worker. Four years later, the Iron Range is roaring back to life, and we have one man to thank, president Donald Trump. He made good on his promises by cutting our taxes, rolling back senseless regulations, and delivering trade deals that put America’s interests first. But the fight is not over. Joe Biden has allowed radicals like AOC to craft his environmental policies. Their so-called Green New Deal is a job-killing disgrace dreamt up by people who don’t live in the real world. But Biden is too weak, too scared, and too sleepy to stand up to the radical left. He has been doing nothing in Washington for 47 years. Why would your 48 be any different?
President trump won’t back down to anybody. He delivered the best economy in our history and he will do it again for all of us. The Iron Range’s economic future and survival is at stake and so is America’s. We know we can count on president Trump to fight for us and win. Let’s make sure he wins on November 3rd. God bless America.
