Few Iowans know the meaning of service better than Terry Branstad, who grew up in Winnebago County and graduated from Forest City High School before being drafted into the U.S. Army and spending two years as a military policeman at Fort Bragg. From there, the Republican launched a career in politics that would span nearly five decades, first serving in the Iowa House from 1973 to 1979, as lieutenant governor from 1979 to 1983 and then as governor for a combined 22 plus years across two separate stints — making Branstad the longest-serving governor in U.S. history.

His time in the public eye had not yet concluded, however, as he was called upon by President Donald Trump to serve as the U.S. Ambassador to China in 2017 and held that position until 2020, when he worked on Trump’s re-election campaign before eventually retiring from public life. Branstad, now 78 and wheelchair bound, visited the Iowa Veterans Home in Marshalltown on Wednesday morning to share those experiences and field questions from residents during an event held at the Malloy Leisure Resource Center (LRC).

Commandant Todd Jacobus introduced Branstad, touting his military background and education at the University of Iowa and Drake University Law School before his political career began. Jacobus, who himself served in the Army National Guard, recalled Branstad’s frequent visits to Camp Dodge when he was the governor and his role in facilitating Iowa’s sister state relationship with Kosovo.

After taking the microphone, Branstad celebrated the long and proud history of IVH, which dates back to 1887, and noted that his lengthy tenure as governor broke a record previously set by George Clinton of New York, who served as vice president to both Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early 19th century. He also recognized local businessman and veteran Vic Hellberg, who was in attendance, for his efforts to raise money for a Vietnam memorial on the IVH grounds.

As for his nomination and eventual confirmation to serve as U.S. Ambassador to China, Branstad explained that he was the first American governor to host President Xi Jinping all the way back in 1985.

“Because we treated him and his delegation so well, showing them Iowa hospitality and friendship, he used to call me an old friend,” Branstad said. “He still does — not just me, but all the Iowans that he met in 1985. Now we have big differences with China, but we have a personal relationship with their leader. And I was honored to serve representing the United States of America as our ambassador to China, which is our biggest rival in the world.”

The former governor and ambassador then fielded a wide variety of questions from the audience ranging from the personal to the political, with some asking for specific details of his time in China and his thoughts on the current trade situation between the competing superpowers.

“It’s a delicate Chinese relationship that we have. We’re the two biggest economies in the world, and we’re very different. We’re a democratic republic, and they’re a communist system. So we have some big differences,” Branstad said. “But I have a personal relationship with President Xi Jinping. I’m proud to say that I’m one of the few people in the world that both Donald Trump and Xi Jinping call a friend.”

Branstad shared a story of a dinner with Xi and his family before hearing from a man who urged him to advocate for an increase in the personal needs stipend for IVH residents from $140 to $200 a month with an ongoing Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) provision, noting that some of them are working low-wage odd jobs just to supplement their incomes. Branstad responded by citing the challenges of crafting a state budget each year and said the outlook has taken a turn for the worse, but he reiterated his support for the proposal and said he does still meet with current Gov. Kim Reynolds regularly.

“I think that it’s important that we do what we can to show our assistance and appreciation for our veterans,” he said.

The next few attendees shared their reflections on living conditions at IVH in various residence halls, asked about the specific duties of an ambassador, how much Chinese he speaks (very little, he answered, but he spoke fondly of his interpreter) and his impressions of the Great Wall, which reminded him of a member of the family that owns the Coca-Cola bottling plant in Atlantic visiting and counting all of the vending machines along the way.

A questioner then asked Branstad to elaborate on President Trump’s objective in imposing tariffs on China.

“We have had a trade deficit with China for a long period of time, and his goal is to try to get a better deal for America. So by raising their tariffs (and) reducing ours, he hopes that not just with China but with other countries as well, that we have been taken advantage of for too long, and he wants America treated fairly in the trade relationship,” he said.

Melanie Watson-Powell asked Branstad what he felt his greatest accomplishments were as governor and ambassador, and he reflected on coming into office during the Farm Crisis and working to diversify the state’s economy.

“You always have ups and downs in the economy, and we’ve had some down times lately too. A lot of it has to do with farm prices, but I think what we did there — also, what we did to modernize and improve the educational opportunities in the state of Iowa was another thing I’m very proud of,” he said.

Reducing taxes, along with the work Gov. Reynolds has done on income taxes since she took office, was another highlight for Branstad. Watson-Powell also raised concerns about food and fuel prices increasing as a result of tariffs, and Branstad asked for patience while noting that gas prices had already begun to drop.

Jacobus shouted out the new American Legion chapter active at IVH and asked Branstad about his involvement with the Legion since he left the service in 1971 — in 1976, he served as the commander of the post in Lake Mills. In a somewhat surprising twist, Branstad was then asked by an attendee why he chose to attend Drake law school over the University of Iowa, and he said it boiled down to his desire to practice in a small town and the fact that Drake is located in Des Moines, the state capital. He was elected to the legislature during his second year in law school.

After hearing more personal stories of military service from the residents in attendance, the audience joined together to sing “Happy Birthday” to Watson-Powell, and the event wrapped up as veterans came forward to personally interact and take pictures with Branstad, who had copies of the biography “Iowa’s Record Setting Governor: The Terry Branstad Story” on hand.

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Contact Robert Maharry at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or

rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.