IA-03: David Young Clings Tight To Trump In Radio Interview

Iowa Republican David Young is running for Congress in a swing district with the kind of large suburban population that is quickly moving away from Donald Trump. But based on the way he answered questions in a recent radio interview, one might assume he was trying to win votes for a safe Republican seat.

At the top of a Nov. 13 interview on the Simon Conway Show, Young was asked why he wanted to return to Washington, D.C.

“In 10 to 20 years, I don’t want to look back and say I did nothing in the battle of 2020 when it was capitalism versus — and I’m not an edgy guy or fear-monger — but versus socialism,” said Young. “I want to say I was at the front-line kicking tail.”

While in Congress, Conway said Young had a nice-guy reputation.

“This is an entirely different David Young,” Conway said. “What happened?”

“Reflection, as to what happened last fall,” Young replied. “As well, getting bucked up by a president who is a handful, but he’s a fighter. And you can be principled, you can be nice and cordial, but you can be bold and strong. You got to fight because the other side is bringing out their knives all the time. And I’m tired of having my hand tied behind my back.”

In its latest analysis released last week, The Cook Political Report rated the 3rd District race as a “Toss-Up,” meaning it is one of the “most competitive” seats in the country. Congresswoman Abby Finkenauer’s race in the 1st District and the open 2nd District seat also were among the 18 seats rated as toss-ups.

In his interview with Conway, a conservative radio host, Young defended President Trump and diminished the impeachment inquiry, accused Congresswoman Axne of voting against Iowans’ interests and said installing a wall at the southern border would be a top priority if he was elected.

“Are we witnessing a coup, or at least an attempted coup?” Conway asked. “A lot of people keep throwing that around — I’m one of them, by the way — because that’s exactly what it looks like to me.”

“Um, you could describe it that in some ways because I think what’s happening is they’re trying to nullify the election of 2016,” Young replied. “They don’t like the results, so they’re trying to do whatever they can to not just impeach him, but they want to remove the president — they’re not going to be successful in doing that —but they want to weaken him to the point where he looks fragile in the 2020 election. But I think he’s going to be strong coming out of this.”

In a tweet Oct. 1, Trump described the impeachment inquiry as a coup, a claim PolitiFact has debunked by pointing out the constitutionality of impeachment.

“The key element of a coup is that it is carried out beyond the bounds of legality,” PolitiFact reported.

….People, their VOTE, their Freedoms, their Second Amendment, Religion, Military, Border Wall, and their God-given rights as a Citizen of The United States of America!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 1, 2019

In agreeing with Conway, Young put himself in lock-step with Trump and his allies in defending the president against any wrongdoing alleged in the impeachment inquiry.

“I don’t think that a crime is visible now,” Young said. “Like I said, the whole point of this is just to damage the president. They know they’re not going to remove him. But this is serious stuff. Impeachment is a serious, serious issue.”

When asked about the “main thing” Young wanted to accomplish if reelected, he cited immigration.

“I want to make sure that our borders are secure,” Young said. “I have voted for billions of dollars for the wall specifically, as well as other areas in taking care of the border … I think immigration’s very, very important.”

By Elizabeth Meyer
Posted 11/18/19