Rob Sand Joins The Takeout with Major Garrett to Talk Impact of Tariffs on Iowa’s Farmers and the Economy

Rob Sand Joins The Takeout with Major Garrett to Talk Impact of Tariffs on Iowa’s Farmers and the Economy

DES MOINES, IA – Earlier this week, candidate for governor Rob Sand joined The Takeout with Major Garrett to discuss how tariffs are impacting Iowa’s agricultural economy — particularly soybean trade and the potentially $40 billion bailout to Argentina.

During the conversation, Rob emphasized how tariffs are squeezing Iowa farmers already facing tight margins heading into harvest season. He also noted that Iowa’s economy ranks 49th in the country, and recent reports show it’s slipping toward a recession — signaling, Rob said, that it’s time for new leadership focused on rebuilding our economy.

WATCH the episode HERE:

Key Quotes:

“We’ve had zero orders for soybeans in the United States from China. Zero. And the only person in the Iowa delegation that is willing to point out how terrible this is is Chuck Grassley.”
“Our economy is in 49th place in the country. It’s Iowa and North Dakota, the only two shrinking economies in the country right now, and it’s going to get worse.”
“I’m not interested in assigning blame. I’m interested in accountability… But the people who are represented to elect the people in the state of Iowa, they’re not doing anything about it. They’re not fighting back on behalf of the people they represent.”
“I want Iowa farmers to do well… Number one, though, I want them to have a market for their product.”
“I still do like [political] outsiders. I feel like I am one again. You know, this has been my truth my whole life. I picked being a Democrat in part because of my faith. I think the Democratic Party at its best, is the party for the little guy.”
“There’s a lot of people who, yes, they understand Democrats versus Republicans. But that isn’t the only thing that they see. They see insiders versus outsiders. They see the fed and the fed up. They see public servants versus politicians and they have different scales.”

“These counties voted mostly for Barack Obama and Donald Trump because they were both outsiders who wanted to change the system. And these are counties that have seen hard times. They remember better times, and they’re pretty fed up with politics. This is my home turf. This is where I grew up.”
“That is the core of what I want for people in the state of Iowa, because I know that’s the key to unlocking things like real accountability, like lowering costs, like improving our cancer rating… It’s once we have a political system where elected officials actually are incentivized to work together to be kind to each other, then we can start solving problems again.”