Once computer illiterate, Tom Vilsack’s tweeting

CEDAR RAPIDS - Tom Vilsack, who admitted he was computer illiterate while serving as Iowa's governor for two terms, has joined social media.

'40+ years as a public servant and I'm finally sending my first tweet! Honored to serve our nation once again alongside USDA's dedicated public services,” the recently confirmed Secretary of Agriculture posted on Twitter on Wednesday afternoon.

By Thursday morning he had tweeted two more times - in reply to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Vilsack, who served as USDA secretary for eight years during the Obama administration, was confirmed 92-7 by the U.S. Senate on Tuesday as a member of Biden's Cabinet. Vilsack endorsed Biden ahead of Iowa's first-in-the-nation 2020 caucuses.

Back in 2003, Vilsack, then Iowa's governor, admitted he didn't send or receive emails.

'I'm 52 years old, and I don't know much about technology,” he said when it was discovered Vilsack's lack of computer skills probably contributed to his office's incomplete response to a request for emails about a controversial pay plan for one of his department heads.

'I don't even know how to send a response to an email, that's how technologically deficient I am,” he said at the time.

He's come a long way since then. In a 2018 appearance at a food conference in Chicago, Vilsack said he had about 100 apps on his mobile phone, including weather apps and those for his favorite sports teams. A self-professed news junkie, 'I have virtually all of the political apps and publications that you would expect,” he added.

Comments: (319) 398-8375; james.lynch@thegazette.com