Trudy Busch Valentine grew up on Grant’s Farm, the daughter of August and Gertrude Busch. She graduated from St. Louis University’s nursing school in 1980, and since then raised six children, lost her husband to cancer, and recently lost a son to an opioid addiction.
Now, she wants to put those life experiences to work and is running as a Democrat to replace outgoing U.S. Senator Roy Blunt. Busch Valentine joined KMOX in studio to talk about her vision for Missouri.
Busch said she decided to become a nurse after working as a candy striper in a local hospital as a teenager. When she was 17, her younger sister was critically injured in a car accident.
“I sat by her bedside for 11 days. And I saw the profound impact nurses can have on people,” she said. “And I knew then for sure nursing is what I wanted to do. Nursing is a profession that cares deeply about people and their health care.”
The jump from nursing to running for U.S. Senate is a pretty big one. But Busch Valentine said the fact that she doesn’t come from a political background is a good thing.
“I think our politics are broken. And Washington needs somebody new. Washington is full of so many career politicians that are in this for ego, power and money, and I'm not in that for any of them in this for any of those things,” she said. “I care about people. I can't be bought. I won't be taking corporate PAC money. I will publish my schedule. So you know who I'm meeting with every day and who I'm not meeting with. And I will not trade stocks in office. I will be nobody’s senator but Missourians.”
Busch Valentine also responded to the shooting at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School last week in St. Louis. She said Missouri’s lack of red flag laws is a problem.
“The shootings at all these schools are horrendous. They're heartbreaking. We have to stop the shootings. We have to get these military assault rifles off the street,” she said. “We are so fortunate that our police officers were at the school within two minutes. And they stopped this gunman from shooting more people.”
She also criticized her opponent, Republican Attorney General Erich Schmitt, for his reaction to crime in the state.
“The buck stops with him — and crime has gone up during his watch. We have to talk a lot more about mental health. We have to keep our children safe in school,” she said. “We have to let our parents know when they drop their children off at school that they're safe, and I will do everything I can at the federal level to make that happen. And the first thing I would do is say no guns should be sold to anybody under 21.”
Busch Valentine also clarified her stance on police, and said that she has never called to defund them.
“Eric Schmitt is not telling the truth. I have always been for funding the police with more resources, more tools, and more education so they can protect everyone and protect themselves,” she said.
Busch Valentine also spoke to KMOX about her stance on abortion, campaign finance reform, and Eric Schmitt’s campaign tactics. Hear her full interview:
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