Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY., speaks at the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox during the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, IA on Saturday, August 10, 2019.
New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand
Senator and presidential candidate Kirsten Gillibrand used the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox to tout her background on women’s rights, saying her grandmother and mother inspired her to get into politics.
“I believe reproductive rights in this country are human rights, civil rights, and a constitutional right,” Gillibrand said. “[President] Trump has demonized women’s reproductive freedoms.”
Reproductive rights are human rights, Gillibrand said. She will put Roe v. Wade into law, put justices in who support Roe v. Wade, repeal the Hyde amendment, and make sure reproductive health is covered by insurance.
— Daily Iowan Politics (@DIpolitics) August 10, 2019
Gillibrand said that Trump’s position on reproductive rights and the appointments of Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court have emboldened state legislatures to adopt laws that limit women’s access to reproductive health care and abortion services.
Gillibrand said her mother was one of three women in her law school class, and that she would not only cook the Thanksgiving turkey, but she would also shoot it.
“If you need to know anything about me anything at all, you tell me something is impossible, and I’ll get it done,” Gillibrand said.
The top three questions Democrats ask: 1. Can you beat Trump? 2. Can you beat Trump? 3. Can you beat Trump? Gillibrand’s answer: an unequivocal yes.
— Daily Iowan Politics (@DIpolitics) August 10, 2019
Gillibrand talked about her background as a Congresswoman in New York, where she won in a 2:1 Republican congressional district. She said her opponent would demean her, calling her “just another pretty face,” and ran negative TV advertisements. Gillibrand said she learned that you can’t run negative advertisements against a mother with a toddler and a baby.
“I ran on Medicare-for-all in a 2-to-1 Republican district and won,” she said.
Like Gillibrand’s stop in Iowa City two weeks ago, she talked about her achievements in repealing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and writing and advocating for the September 11th Victims Compensation Fund that was recently made permanent by the U.S. Senate and signed by President Trump.
RELATED: Kirsten Gillibrand in Iowa City: ‘I will be the nominee’
Gillibrand said that Trump has emboldened white supremacy, racism, and hate groups across the country, and that she ran for president to remind people that “we are so much stronger when we care for each other.”
“I always represent everyone,” she said. “I will represent your family as if it were my own.”
She said that the first thing she will do when she takes the Oval office is to rejoin the global climate accords. She called on Iowa farmers to be a part of an effort in reversing climate change, saying she would reward entrepreneurship and innovation.