DES MOINES, Iowa — Gov. Andy Beshear was given a warm welcome when he spoke with Iowa Democrats during the Liberty and Justice Dinner in Des Moines on Saturday.
Beshear wasted no time introducing himself in front of a packed room as the incumbent contender who beat Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump’s handpicked candidate after he was reelected governor in a state with a Republican supermajority.
“Together, we’re going to help Kamala Harris defeat Donald Trump this November,” he said to a standing ovation.
Beshear hit back at the Republican nominee and others within the party who are using divisive language instead of leading with love and kindness.
“DEI is not a four-letter word. It is a three-letter acronym for values that are found in the bible, that teach us how to treat each other and not to hate on other people,” he said. “I am a governor who believes you should be able to love and marry whoever you choose.”
Beshear highlighted his strategy for winning in a red state by bringing both Democrats, Republicans and Independents together across the commonwealth and targeting areas where Trump won by large margins in 2016.
One of those counties included Breathitt County, located in the mountainous regions of eastern Kentucky. Beshear won in this county by 22 points in the last election and it’s the county he said Vance “falsely claims he’s from.”
Beshear recently took Vance to task on his perception of Kentuckians and Appalachia saying “he ain’t from here” and didn’t seem to let up in front of the audience.
“I don’t have to tell you how phony he is. When he responded to my first comments standing up for my people, he said it was weird that I attacked and this is in his words, ‘his origin story.’ Batman has an origin story. Fictional characters have an origin story. Real people have childhoods. That’s how contrived his story is,” Beshear said to laughter. “Let me be clear. JD Vance ain’t from Kentucky. He ain’t from Appalachia and he ain’t gonna be your vice president.”
With Harris being propelled to the forefront as the potential Democratic nominee, Beshear said he has not seen this much excitement in politics in a long time and said it comes at the right time.
Beshear warned that women’s rights, the economic recovery, the Senate and the House and democracy’s future are on the line with this election.
Beshear also touted the record of the Biden-Harris administration and how they helped Kentucky through the worst tragedies seen in the state’s history including the Western Kentucky tornadoes and the Eastern Kentucky floods.
“They were there for us,” he said. “That tornado destroyed 70% of every structure in my dad’s hometown. I got to bring a president to my dad’s hometown but for the worst reason that you could imagine. [Biden] hugged on those families, he kept his word and recently, he delivered over $20 million dollars to one of those towns to rebuild the road system – he promised he would not forget us and folks, he did not.”
RELATED: Beshear gets a warm embrace in flood-stricken parts of Kentucky where he and Trump are both popular
The methods used to get him reelected in Kentucky, Beshear believes can help Democrats win in November.
"Folks, I am excited and I am as optimistic as of the future of this country as I have ever been," Beshear said. "Vice President Harris is tough. She knows how to take on Donald Trump and she knows how to hold bullies accountable. She also knows that this is just not about winning, this is about winning in order to do the hard work of bringing people together and getting things done."
Beshear closed out his speech discussing his faith and how loving thy neighbor as themselves regardless or politics or differences can help the country heal. If Harris wins, Beshear believes she could help move the needle in a new direction.
"While they will falsely say, 'oh she's too far to the left', what she will do as president is not move a country to the right or the left, she will move it forward for every single American family with no one left out."
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