DES MOINES, Iowa — Former Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said Friday that it too early to tell whether Sen. Elizabeth Warren or any of the candidates — except for former Vice President Joseph R. Biden — can “take a punch” in the 2020 Democratic presidential race.
“I don’t know whether they have glass jaws or whether they are going to be able to take a punch,” Mr. Vilsack said at a forum on rural Iowa.
Mr. Vilsack said Ms. Warren of Massachusetts and Sen. Bernard Sanders of Vermont, the liberal warriors in the race, also face the challenge of explaining to “practical” voters in small towns how they are going to shepherd their far-left vision — including on their push for “Medicare for All” — through the U.S. Senate if they are elected president.
“Apart from how you are going to pay for it — how are you going to get it passed?” said Mr. Vilsack, who served as governor of Iowa from 1999 to 2007 before joining the Obama administration. “I think we are now entering the stage in a race where people are going to start getting real about all of this.”
He said Ms. Warren is going to have to answer those questions and show that she can stay in the fight when things go south.
“She hasn’t had a worst day yet,” he said. “None of these candidates have except Vice President Biden.”
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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