![Congressman Tim Ryan spoke at the Akron Press Club event at Quaker Station in Akron. [Andrew Meyer / WKSU]](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/cba9b8f/2147483647/strip/true/crop/799x555+0+0/resize/840x584!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fimages%2Fnews%2Fnpr%2F2019%2F03%2Fryan_at_press_clubHORIZ.jpg)
Youngstown area Democratic Congressman Tim Ryan visited Akron Monday to speak to the Press Club. He brought with him some stark warnings.
Congressman Tim Ryan shared strong words about the state of America.
Ryan said Americans need to start listening to one another to heal, and strengthen the country. If we don’t, Russia and China will grow stronger, while the U.S. loses ground. Ryan said politicians need to recognize that.
"We don’t come together, we don’t heal the wounds of the country, we're going nowhere. That’s the stark reality of this, and it concerns me deeply as it should concern you. Because it’s about our kids. Is this what we’re going to leave our kids, this mess?" he said.
Ryan says 51 percent of public school students live in poverty and income inequality is the highest since the great depression. In the meantime, China is making strides in a 100-year plan that includes a goal to be number one in the world in industries like telecommunications, aerospace and artificial intelligence.
Ryan has been mentioned as a potential presidential contender, and he told the crowd he's thinking about it. “I’m looking very, very closely at it. When Sherrod Brown decided not to run, I started to look a little closer at it. Because I felt like Sherrod was talking about the issues many of us were concerned about.”
The 17-year Democratic congressman represents the 13th District, which extends from Akron to Youngstown. Ryan would join an already crowded field of more than a dozen Democrats with White House ambitions. Copyright 2019 WKSU. To see more, visit WKSU.