Democratic Presidential Debate 2020 FULL

[0:00] Good evening and welcome to Manchester, New Hampshire. [0:03] We are honored to be here at St. Anselm College with our partners Apple News and WMUR for [0:08] tonight's Democratic debate. [0:10] And what a week it has been in American politics. [0:13] We heard from the president at the State of the Union, the Senate with their vote to acquit [0:16] President Trump, and the Democratic voters of Iowa, who after days of confusion, seem [0:22] to have delivered a split decision to Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg. [0:26] Four days from now the voters here in New Hampshire will weigh in, and the chair of New Hampshire's [0:31] Democratic Party said today that this is probably the most consequential New Hampshire primary [0:35] debate ever. [0:36] We're going to do our best to make it a full and fair test, and I'll be joined in the [0:40] question tonight by my colleagues, World News Tonight anchor David Muir, ABC News Live anchor [0:45] Lindsey Davis. [0:46] George, as you know, seven candidates have qualified for tonight's presidential primary [0:49] debate meeting the criteria established by the Democratic National Committee. [0:54] All are seeking the Democratic Party's nomination for President of the United States. [0:58] Tonight for the first time you can experience the debate with live real-time updates on Apple [1:02] News watching on your iPhone 2. [1:04] And there you'll also find the candidates and where they stand on the issues. [1:07] And we want to hear from you tonight. [1:09] If you hear something during the debate, have a question or follow-up, send your suggestions [1:12] on the Apple News Live feed and our team will be pouring through it all. [1:16] We are excited to be here on the beautiful campus of St. Anselm College, home of the Hawks, [1:22] and home also of our four debates, the last four presidential elections. [1:27] And here in the Sullivan Arena, we are joined by a live audience of 1,400 people, most invited [1:33] by the Democratic National Committee and, of course, some of the brightest minds of the [1:37] student body here. [1:38] A little later, we'll be joined by news anchor Monica Hernandez and political director Adam [1:42] Sexton from our partner WMUR with questions that are especially important to the voters [1:47] here in New Hampshire. [1:49] The podium placement is based on an average of the candidates' current standings in recent [1:52] state and national polls, with the leading candidates in the center. [1:56] So let's welcome the candidates for the Democratic nomination for president, starting with businessman [2:01] Tom Steyer, Senator Amy Klobuchar, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, Vice President Joe [2:44] Biden, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, and businessman [3:16] Andrew Yang. [3:25] Ladies and gentlemen, tonight's Democratic candidates for president of the United States. [3:29] And as the candidates now make their way to the podium, the rules of this debate are very [3:50] basic. [3:51] They've been established in advance. [3:53] Candidates will, in fact, have one minute, 15 seconds to answer a direct question and [3:57] 45 seconds for a rebuttal or a response as directed by one of the moderators. [4:02] Candidates will each see green and yellow lights indicating how much time they have remaining. [4:06] And when time is up, the light will turn red. [4:08] So here now, the New Hampshire Democratic debate. [4:11] Candidates, welcome. [4:12] Vice President Biden, the first question is for you. [4:16] In the last few days, you've been saying that Democrats would be taking too big a risk if [4:19] they nominate Senator Sanders or Mayor Buttigieg. [4:23] But they came out on top in Iowa. [4:26] What risk did the Iowa Democrats miss? [4:28] Well, they didn't miss anything. [4:31] This is a long race. [4:33] I took a hit in Iowa, and I'll probably take a hit here. [4:36] Traditionally, Bernie won by 20 points last time. [4:39] And usually it's the neighboring senators that do well. [4:42] But no matter what, I'm still in this for the same reason. [4:47] We have to restore the soul of this country, bring back the middle class, and make sure [4:52] we bring people together. [4:53] And so it's a simple proposition. [4:55] It doesn't matter whether it's this one or the next. [4:57] I've always viewed the first four encounters, two primaries and two caucuses, as the starting [5:03] point. [5:04] And so that's how I do it. [5:05] But why are Senator Sanders and Mayor Buttigieg too big a risk for Democrats? [5:09] Well, you know, you know that with regard to Senator Sanders, the president wants very [5:16] much to stick a label on every candidate. [5:18] We're going to not only have to win this time, we have to bring along the United States Senate. [5:23] And Bernie's labeled himself, not me, a Democratic Socialist. [5:26] I think that's the label that the president's going to lay on everyone running with Bernie if [5:31] he's a nominee. [5:32] And Mayor Buttigieg is a great guy and a real patriot. [5:37] He's a mayor of a small city who has done some good things, but has not demonstrated he [5:43] has the ability to—and we'll soon find out—to get a broad scope of support across the spectrum, [5:48] including African Americans and Latinos. [5:50] Senator Sanders, let me give you the chance to respond first. [5:53] President Trump certainly thinks this label socialism will work. [5:56] At the State of the Union, he said socialism destroys nations. [5:59] He's never going to let socialism destroy American health care. [6:02] And before the Super Bowl, he joked with Sean Hannity about your honeymoon in Moscow. [6:07] Those hits are going to keep coming, if you're the nominee. [6:10] Why shouldn't Democrats be worried? [6:12] понять Somehow? [6:13] Because Donald Trump lies all the time. [6:21] Trump says—it's a sad state of affairs, it really is. [6:25] People say terrible things about Joe Heats. [6:28] Ugly, disgusting things about Elizabeth, about Amy, about anybody else who was up here. [6:34] But I think, George, that at the end of the day, the way we defeat Donald Trump—and everybody [6:41] Everybody up here, by the way, is united. [6:43] No matter who wins this damn thing, we're all going to stand together to defeat them. [6:46] I believe that the way we beat Trump is by having the largest voter turnout in the history [6:59] of this country. [7:00] And that is appealing to working-class people who have given up on the political process [7:06] because they don't believe that anybody is hearing their pain, perceiving their pain, [7:10] feeling their pain. [7:11] And we've got to bring young people into the political process. [7:14] I'm very proud that, in Iowa, we won the popular vote by 6,000 votes. [7:19] What was most significant—most significant is we increased voter turnout for young people [7:25] under 29 by over 30 percent. [7:28] We do that nationally. [7:29] We're going to defeat Donald Trump. [7:30] But, Senator, let me—let me follow up there, and then we'll move on. [7:33] But, you know, back in Iowa, the turnout this year was about the same as it was in 2016, [7:39] far below what it was in 2008 when President Obama won. [7:43] That's true. [7:44] And that's a disappointment, and I think all of us probably could have done a better [7:48] job in bringing out our supporters. [7:50] But if there is a good spot, a good aspect about that campaign is that young people came [7:58] out in higher numbers than they did during Obama's historic 2008 campaign. [8:03] And if that happens nationally, we're going to win and defeat Trump. [8:07] Before I move on to Mayor Buttigieg, let me just ask, is anyone else on the stage concerned [8:12] about having a Democratic Socialist at the top of the Democratic ticket? [8:17] I'm not. [8:18] Senator Klobuchar? [8:19] Bernie and I work together all the time. [8:24] But I think we are not going to be able to out-divide the divider-in-chief. [8:30] And I think we need someone to head up this ticket that actually brings people with her [8:35] instead of shutting them out. [8:37] And when I look at a state like New Hampshire that had a very, very close election last time [8:42] in 2016, I see a state that, yes, has a high voter turnout of fired-up Democrats just like [8:48] my state—which, by the way, Bernie, when I led the ticket, had the highest voter turnout [8:53] of any state in the country. [8:55] But I add to that being able to bring in independents like you have in this state, as well as moderate [9:02] Republicans, because there are so many of them out there that are looking for a candidate. [9:07] And truthfully, Donald Trump's worst nightmare is a candidate that will bring people in from [9:14] the middle, the people that are tired of the noise and the nonsense, and they are tired [9:20] of the tweets and the mean stuff, and they are looking for someone else. [9:24] And I would submit that that is me. [9:27] Mr. Steyer, is socialism your problem? [9:32] I don't think there's any question, George, that after this week there's a real threat [9:37] that Donald Trump can get reelected. [9:40] And I don't think there's any question but that the only way that we're going to beat [9:43] him actually is the way that Bernie Sanders said, which is to get turnout across the spectrum [9:50] of Democratic voters. [9:52] And that means we're going to have to appeal across the spectrum, moderates, progressives, [9:56] and every group. [9:58] So unless you can appeal to the diverse parts of the Democratic Party, including specifically [10:03] the black community, including specifically Latinos. [10:07] If you can't do that, then we can't beat Donald Trump in November, and we can't choose [10:12] a candidate who can't do that. [10:14] And I am doing that right now with 24 percent of blacks down in South Carolina, with high [10:20] numbers in Nevada. [10:22] That's what it's going to take, is turnout, but turnout across the spectrum of Democratic [10:28] voters. [10:29] We can't do that. [10:30] We can't do that. [10:31] We can't do that. [10:32] We can't do that. [10:33] We can't do that. [10:34] We can't do that. [10:35] We can't do that. [10:36] People can pull, as Amy said, everything together in every single way we're divided. [10:37] Andrew Yang, then Senator Warren, then Mayor Buttigieg. [10:38] First, let me say, America, it's great to be back on the debate stage. [10:39] I'm so excited. [10:40] I want to give every American $1,000 a month. [10:48] George, the entire capitalism-socialism dichotomy is completely out of date. [10:55] And the fact is, when people were talking about these economic models, they did not foresee [10:59] technology getting stronger, more powerful, capable of doing the work of thousands [11:03] of humans in the blink of an eye. [11:06] We have record high corporate profits in this country right now, but people in New Hampshire [11:10] know. [11:11] What else are at record highs? [11:12] Mental illness, stress, debt, substance abuse, overdoses, suicides. [11:19] What we have to do is actually get the markets working to improve our family's way of life. [11:24] Instead of following GDP and corporate profits off a cliff, we should be measuring our own health [11:29] and wellness, life expectancy, mental health and freedom from substance abuse, clean air [11:34] and clean water, how our kids are doing. [11:37] The way forward is a new human-centered version of capitalism that actually uses the markets [11:42] to improve our family's lives. [11:43] Senator Warren, you reportedly said back in 2018, I'm a capitalist to my bones. [11:51] Senator Sanders says I'm not. [11:53] Is that your biggest difference with Senator Sanders? [11:55] Oh, Bernie and I have been friends for a long time. [11:57] We have a lot of things in common. [11:58] We have a lot of things that we differ on. [12:00] But you know this fundamental question about how we bring our party together? [12:05] We have to think about it in new ways. [12:07] People across this country, whether they're Democrats, independents or Republicans, understand [12:12] that we've got a government right now that works great for those at the top, works great [12:17] for giant drug companies, just not for people trying to get a prescription filled. [12:22] It works great for oil companies that want to drill everywhere, just not for the rest [12:26] of us who see climate change bearing down upon us. [12:29] When you see a government that works great for those who can hire armies of lobbyists and [12:34] lawyers and make big campaign donations, and it's not working so great for everyone [12:40] else, that is corruption, pure and simple, and we need to call it out for what it is. [12:46] Corruption. [12:47] And that's what we can run on. [12:49] We bring our party together. [12:52] It's an issue we can all agree on and fight to end the corruption. [12:57] We're the Democrats. [12:58] We should be the party on the side of hardworking people. [13:03] And we can bring in independents and Republicans on that. [13:07] They hate the corruption as well. [13:09] My anti-corruption plan, good for Republicans and Democrats. [13:14] That's not only how we bring our party together, that's how we're going to win in November. [13:18] Mayor Buttigieg, early in the campaign, you said that the word socialism has lost its power. [13:24] It's mostly lost its meaning. [13:26] Do you believe that or worry it could be a potent weapon in a general election? [13:30] I'm not interested in the labels. [13:32] I'm not interested in what Republicans are going to say. [13:36] I'm interested in the style of politics that we need to put forward to actually finally [13:42] turn the page in order to win, yes, but also in order to govern. [13:47] This is a moment where the next president is going to face challenges the likes of which [13:52] we hadn't even thought of a few years or decades ago. [13:55] And politically, we're facing a fundamentally new problem with President Donald Trump. [14:02] So the biggest risk we could take at a time like this would be to go up against that fundamentally [14:07] new challenge by trying to fall back on the familiar or trying to unite this country at [14:15] a moment when we need that kind of unification. [14:18] And our nominee is dividing people with a politics that says, if you don't go all the way to [14:23] the edge, it doesn't count, a politics that says it's my way or the highway. [14:29] Are you talking about Senator Sanders? [14:30] Yes, because we've got to bring as many people as we can into this process. [14:36] Look, all of us have been saying that we can build the majority that it's going to take [14:43] in order to win. [14:44] But the process of actually proving it is now underway. [14:48] And now it comes to New Hampshire, a state that thinks for itself, is not going to be [14:52] told what to do by anyone, and that has a very independent streak, that is going to [14:57] respond to those who are reaching out in a politics of addition and inclusion and belonging, [15:03] not one that beats people over the head and says they shouldn't even be on our side [15:07] if we don't agree 100 percent of the time. [15:09] Senator Sanders, your response? [15:10] It is to say I've never said that, but let me tell you what I do say. [15:15] The way you bring people together is by presenting an agenda that works for the working people [15:22] of this country, not for the billionaire class. [15:25] The way you bring people together, Republicans, independents, Democrats, progressives, conservatives, [15:33] you raise the minimum wage to 15 bucks an hour. [15:37] The way you bring people together is to make it clear that we're not going to give tax breaks [15:43] just to billionaires and large corporations, they're going to start paying their fair share [15:48] of taxes. [15:49] That's what the American people want. [15:50] And I'll tell you something else. [15:54] The way you bring people together is by ending the international disgrace of this country being [16:01] the only major nation on Earth not to guarantee health care to all people as a human right. [16:07] And you bring people together by telling the pharmaceutical industry they're not going [16:13] to charge us 10 times more for the same prescription drugs as the people in Canada that borders on [16:21] New Hampshire. [16:22] That's how you bring people together and you defeat Donald Trump. [16:25] Mayor Buttigieg, you just heard Senator Sanders make health care the center of his peace. [16:29] Do you think his health care plan can bring people together? [16:31] I think there's a better way. [16:33] You know, it's true. [16:34] The American people are ready. [16:36] There's a historic majority right now. [16:39] Even broader than what was available to President Obama a decade ago, there is now a majority ready [16:44] to act to make sure there is no such thing as an uninsured American and no such thing as [16:50] an unaffordable prescription. [16:52] Just so long as we don't command people to accept a public plan if they don't want to. [16:57] That's the idea of Medicare for all who want it. [16:59] My point is what I am offering is campaigning for all of these things that America wants. [17:04] Yes, higher wages, doubling the rate of unionization in this country, making corporations and the [17:10] wealthy pay their fair share, delivering health care and college affordability, but also offering [17:15] a way to do these game-changing transformations that will actually galvanize and energize, not [17:21] polarize, the American people. [17:24] That is not only what we need in order to win, it's what we need in order to govern and actually [17:28] get these things done. [17:29] Vice President Biden, how do you unify the country? [17:32] Look, Bernie says that you have to bring people together and we have to have Medicare for all. [17:40] But Bernie says, and he says he wrote the damn thing, but he's unwilling to solve what the [17:44] damn thing is going to cost. [17:45] The fact that we're in New Hampshire, very level-headed group of people, look at the numbers. [17:50] How much is it going to cost? [17:52] Who's going to pay for it? [17:53] It will cost more than the entire federal budget we spend now, more than the entire budget. [18:01] The idea middle-class taxes aren't going to go up is just crazy. [18:06] When they did it in Vermont, what happened? [18:08] They doubled the state income tax and then had a 14 percent tax on withholding, and they [18:14] finally did away with it. [18:16] So how much is it going to cost? [18:18] When you ask Bernie that, I'll ask him again tonight sometime, but if you ask Bernie that, [18:22] he says, go figure. [18:24] I don't know. [18:25] We'll find out. [18:26] I think that was on CBS. [18:27] He said, we'll find out or something to that effect. [18:30] Imagine you're going to unite the country, walking into the Congress and say, I got this bill. [18:34] It's going to provide Medicare for everybody. [18:36] I can't tell you how much it's going to cost. [18:38] We'll find out later. [18:40] It's likely to be double whatever, everything we spend in the federal government, who you think [18:44] is going to get that passed. [18:45] I busted my neck getting Obamacare passed, getting every Democratic vote. [18:49] I know how hard it is. [18:51] Senator Sanders. [18:54] Well, for a start, well, for a start, what the studies show, if we do what Joe wants, [19:00] we'll be spending some $50 trillion on health care over the next 10 years. [19:06] That's the status quo, Joe. [19:08] That's what Health and Human Services says. [19:11] We have got to do, Joe, what we have got to do is understand, simple question, Joe. [19:17] We are spending twice as much per capita on health care as do the people of any other [19:22] country. [19:23] Maybe it has something to do with the fact that the health care industry last year made [19:28] $100 billion in profit. [19:31] Maybe it has something to do with the fact that we are wasting $500 billion a year trying [19:37] to administer thousands and thousands of different plants. [19:42] What Medicare for all will do is save the average American substantial sums of money, substantial, [19:50] be much less expensive than your plan. [19:53] And we will expand Medicare to include dental care, eyeglasses, hearing aids, and home health [20:00] care as well. [20:01] Vice President Biden, 30-second response, then Senator Klobuchar after that. [20:05] 30-second response. [20:09] My proposal gives you a choice. [20:11] You're going to be covered. [20:12] You have Medicare if you want it. [20:13] You turn up. [20:14] We're going to restore all the cuts that they made in Obamacare. [20:17] We're going to reduce drug prices, reduce prescription prices, reduce co-pays, et cetera. [20:23] And it costs a lot of money. [20:24] It costs $750 billion over 10 years. [20:27] I tell you how I'm going to pay for it. [20:28] I'm going to raise the capital gains rates so you pay capital gains in what your tax rate [20:32] is. [20:33] That will pay for it. [20:34] But here's the deal. [20:35] The fact is that it's going to cost Bernie's plan costs double, double what the taxpayers [20:41] are paying for every single program we spend on in the United States of America. [20:47] Senator Klobuchar. [20:48] I keep listening to this same debate, and it is not real. [20:51] It is not real, Bernie, because two-thirds of the Democrats in the Senate are not on [20:55] your bill and because it would kick 149 million Americans off their current health insurance [21:01] in four years. [21:02] And let me say, what else? [21:03] Elizabeth wants to do it in two years. [21:08] And Pete, while you have a different plan now, you sent out a tweet just a few years [21:11] ago that said, henceforth, for, with, indubitably, affirmatively, you are for Medicare for all, [21:19] for the ages. [21:20] And so I would like to point out that what leadership is about is taking a position, looking at things, [21:26] and sticking with them. [21:27] I have long believed that the way that we expand healthcare to more people and bring down [21:32] premiums is by building on the Affordable Care Act with a non-profit public option. [21:38] That is the best way to do it. [21:39] And practically, look at this. [21:41] The Affordable Care Act is now nearly 10 points more popular than the President of the United [21:47] States. [21:48] So why would we talk about blowing it up? [21:50] What we need to do is build on it. [21:53] Mental healthcare, addiction, long-term care, those are the things that would make it better. [21:57] Senator Warren and Mayor Buttigieg, you were both invoked. [21:59] I want you each to respond and then go back to Senator Sanders. [22:02] So I think we need to think about healthcare a little differently. [22:07] And that is, 36 million Americans last year couldn't afford to have a prescription filled, [22:12] and that includes people with health insurance. [22:14] I want everyone in here to think about what that means. [22:17] They were worried enough or sick enough that they went to a doctor. [22:20] A doctor looked at it and said, that's serious enough to write a prescription. [22:24] They walked out and then said, it's either that or groceries. [22:27] It's that or pay them rent on time. [22:29] We have got to change our healthcare system. [22:32] The way up to the most people as quickly as we can. [22:40] How about we start with what a President can do, I love saying this, all by herself. [22:45] On day one, I will defend the Affordable Care Act. [22:48] I will use march-in orders to reduce the cost of commonly used prescription drugs, like insulin [22:56] and HIV, AIDS drugs and EpiPens. [22:59] We can start making healthcare better for Americans from the beginning, but we have to agree to [23:06] do that. [23:07] We are the Democrats. [23:08] We are on the side of expanding healthcare. [23:11] When we come up against Donald Trump, the team that has been trying to take away healthcare [23:16] for millions of people, what's going to matter most is we are the people on the side of those [23:23] who need healthcare across this country. [23:25] That's who Democrats are. [23:26] Mayor Buttigieg, I want you to respond to that, but also take on the argument at the [23:29] beginning from the Vice President that you don't have the right experience to be President. [23:32] Sure. [23:33] Well, first of all, just to be clear, the truth is that I have been consistent throughout [23:37] in my position on delivering healthcare for every American. [23:41] And as to experience, I just bring a different perspective. [23:44] Look, I freely admit that if you're looking for the person with the most years of Washington [23:50] establishment experience under their belt, you've got your candidate, and of course it's [23:54] not me. [23:56] The perspective I'm bringing is that of somebody whose life has been shaped by the decisions [24:00] that are made in those big white buildings in Washington, D.C. [24:04] Somebody who has guided a community written off as dying just a decade ago through a historic [24:09] transformation. [24:10] Somebody who knows what it means to be sent to war on orders that come out of the situation [24:14] room. [24:15] We need a perspective right now that will finally allow us to leave the politics of the past [24:20] in the past, turn the page, and bring change to Washington before it's too late. [24:25] Vice President Biden, here's his answer. [24:27] The politics of the past, I think, were not all that bad. [24:30] I wrote the Violence Against Women Act. [24:32] I managed the $900 billion Recovery Act, which in fact put millions and millions of dollars [24:38] into his city before he came and helped save his city. [24:41] I was able to do it. [24:42] I was able to pass the chemical weapons ban, arms control, and I was the first major leader [24:48] holding public office to call for same-sex marriage. [24:52] So I don't know what about the past of Barack Obama and Joe Biden was so bad. [24:57] What happened? [24:58] What is it that he wants to do away with? [25:00] We were just beginning, it was just the beginning of what will be the future, of moving this [25:04] country beyond where it is now in significant ways. [25:08] And there's ways to do that. [25:09] And one of the ways to do that is to make sure you have someone who knows how to get things [25:13] done and can lead the free world at the same time. [25:16] Mayor Buttigieg respond, then Senator Sanders. [25:21] Those achievements were phenomenally important because they met the moment. [25:25] But now we have to meet this moment. [25:28] And this moment is different. [25:30] The next president is going to face challenges from global health security, like what we're [25:35] seeing coming out of China, to cybersecurity and election security challenges that were [25:40] barely thought of a few years ago. [25:42] And here at home, we're seeing things like gig work transform what it means to be a worker [25:47] in America in ways that were barely conceived of not that long ago. [25:51] We cannot solve the problems before us by looking back. [25:55] We have to be ready to turn the page and change our politics before it's too late. [26:00] And I'm seeing everywhere I go, not just fellow Democrats, but a striking number of independents [26:05] and what I like to call future former Republicans ready to join in that historic American majority [26:12] to turn the page. [26:13] Senator Klobuchar. [26:14] I am listening to this about meeting the moment. [26:19] And my first thought is I'm a fresh face up here for a presidential debate. [26:25] And I figure, Pete, that 59, my age, is the new 38 up here. [26:31] The second thing I think about is this, and that is— [26:34] Senator Klobuchar. [26:35] Senator Klobuchar. [26:36] Okay. [26:37] There you go. [26:38] Meeting the moment. [26:39] Meeting the moment. [26:40] We had a moment the last few weeks, Mayor. [26:41] And that moment was these impeachment hearings. [26:44] And there was a lot of courage that you saw from only a few people. [26:48] There was courage from Doug Jones, our friend of Alabama, who took that tough vote. [26:52] There was courage—there was courage from Mitt Romney, who took a very, very difficult vote. [27:00] There was courage, as I read today, about Lieutenant Colonel Vindemann being escorted out of the [27:06] White House. [27:07] What he took took courage. [27:08] But what you said, Pete, as you were campaigning through Iowa, as three of us were jurors in [27:13] that impeachment hearing, you said it was exhausting to watch and that you wanted to turn the channel [27:19] and watch cartoons. [27:21] It is easy to go after Washington, because that's a popular thing to do. [27:26] It is much harder—as I see Senator Shaheen in the front row, such a leader—it is much harder to lead [27:32] and much harder to take those difficult positions. [27:36] Because I think this going after every single thing that people do, because it's popular to say [27:42] and makes you look like a cool newcomer, I just—I don't think that's what people want right now. [27:47] We have a newcomer in the White House, and look where it got us. [27:50] I think having some experience is a good thing. [27:58] Senator Sanders, then Mayor Buttigieg. [28:00] At the end of the day, we've got to ask ourselves a very simple question. [28:02] Whether it's healthcare, in fact, or anything else. [28:05] Why are we the only major country on Earth that doesn't guarantee healthcare to all people, [28:10] pay the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs, have 87 million people uninsured or underinsured, [28:17] 30,000 die because they don't get to a doctor on time, and 500,000 people going bankrupt? [28:23] For what reason? [28:24] Because they have cancer or heart disease or Alzheimer's. [28:28] We've got to ask that question, why is it? [28:30] Why have we been talking about healthcare in this country for 100 years? [28:35] And here is the answer. [28:37] If you want real change in healthcare, at the end of the day, you're going to have to take on [28:44] the insurance companies and tell them the function of healthcare is healthcare for all, [28:50] not huge profits for the insurance companies. [28:53] You're going to have to take on the drug companies and their corruption and their price-fixing, [29:00] and tell them, sorry, we're not going to pay 10 times more for prescription drugs [29:04] than do the people of other countries. [29:06] But at the end of the day, there's no way around it. [29:09] You may want to nibble around the edges, but ultimately we need to rally the American people [29:14] to tell the drug companies, to tell Wall Street, to tell the insurance companies, [29:19] to tell the fossil fuel industry, this country belongs to all of us, not a handful of special [29:26] Americans. [29:26] Judge, I've heard this conversation on this debate stage from these people, [29:33] now every single debate, and they're all right. [29:35] Everybody on this stage is better on economic justice and healthcare than anybody in the [29:40] Republican Party, and a million times better than Donald Trump. [29:43] That is not the question in front of us today. [29:45] The question in front of us today is, how are we going to beat Donald Trump? [29:49] You were in the Clinton campaign in 1992, and the mantra was, it's the economy, stupid. [29:55] Well, if you look at what Mr. Trump is saying, he's saying those words. [29:59] It's the economy, stupid. [30:00] I trust every one of these people a million times more, but we're going to have to take [30:05] Mr. Trump down on the economy, because if you listen to him, he's crowing about it every single [30:10] day, and he's going to beat us unless we can take him down on the economy, stupid. [30:14] And that's the issue here. [30:16] It is not about who has the best healthcare plan. [30:19] All the healthcare plans are better, a million times better. [30:22] The question is, who can go toe-to-toe with Mr. Trump? [30:24] Who can take down Mr. Trump? [30:26] Because he's the real threat to the country. [30:29] And let me say, you have to have experience to take him down. [30:32] This is not a question of, he's a nice guy who's going to listen. [30:36] We need people with experience. [30:37] That's why I'm worried about Mayor Pete. [30:39] You need to be able to go toe-to-toe with this guy and take him down on the debate stage, [30:43] or we're going to lose. [30:44] And that's actually the issue in front of Democratic voters. [30:47] I have heard this debate so many darn times, and I love all these people, and they're all right. [30:52] If we win, we can get the right thing, Bernie. [30:55] I am with you. [30:56] If we win, we can get the right thing, Pete and Amy. [30:58] But we got to win, or we are in deep trouble, and we keep not talking about the facts. [31:03] Mayor Pete. [31:04] Here's how we're going to win. [31:16] We're going to force this president to stand on that debate stage [31:21] next to somebody who actually lives in a middle-class neighborhood in the industrial Midwest, [31:27] in the exact kind of community that he pretends to speak for but turns his back on. [31:32] We're going to put up somebody who's not afraid to call out things like his disgraceful behavior [31:39] at the national prayer breakfast and remind Americans that God does not belong to a political party. [31:45] We're going to win by having somebody up there who can call him to account for his refusal to serve [31:51] when it was his turn and remind him what serving this country is really about. [31:56] If we want to beat this president, we've got to be ready to move on from the playbook [32:01] that we have relied on in the past and unify this country around a new and better vision. [32:07] That's how we're going to win. [32:08] And when I talk about exhaustion, this is important. [32:10] Because I've got to tell you, the American people from outside of Washington, [32:13] we feel a sense of exhaustion watching the division and the dysfunction there. [32:18] And that is not to take anything away from the very good work that you and our other [32:23] Democratic members of Congress and the Senate are doing. It's not. [32:26] But the reason I raise that sense of exhaustion is I see it. [32:31] I see that temptation to walk away from it all among so many people that I've spoken to [32:35] in communities from Claremont to Manchester and in the other states that we're in. [32:40] And the important thing for the American people to remember is this is 2020. It's an election year. [32:44] And if the Senate was the jury before, you are the jury now. The American people are the jury [32:50] that will have the final verdict on this president and on the senators in the GOP who protected him. [32:56] Pete, Pete, fundamentally, you are missing the lesson of Donald Trump's victory. [33:00] Donald Trump is not the cause of all of our problems. And we're making a mistake when we act like he is. [33:06] That's right. [33:06] He is a symptom of a disease that has been building up in our communities for years and decades. [33:14] And it is our job to get to the harder work of actually curing the disease. [33:18] Most Americans feel like the political parties have been playing you lose, I lose, [33:22] you lose, I lose for years. And you know who's been losing this entire time? [33:26] We have. Our communities have. Our community's way of life is disintegrating beneath our feet. [33:32] That's why Iowa, a traditional swing state, went to Trump by almost 10 points. [33:36] That's why Ohio, a traditional swing state, is now so red that I'm told we're not even going to campaign there. [33:42] So these communities are seeing their way of life get blasted into smithereens. [33:47] We've automated away four million manufacturing jobs and counting. [33:51] We're closing 30 percent of New Hampshire stores and malls. [33:54] And Amazon, the force behind that, is literally paying zero in taxes. [33:58] These are the changes that Americans are seeing and feeling around us every day. [34:02] And if we get to all the hard work of curing those problems, we will not just defeat Donald Trump [34:07] in the fall, but we'll actually be able to move our communities forward. [34:09] I know we're going to hear a lot more on this. We want to move on to Lindsay Davis. [34:12] Thank you, George. Good evening, candidates. [34:14] We come to you, of course, just 48 hours after the acquittal of President Trump, [34:20] a process that certainly crystallized the divide in our country. [34:24] Senator Warren, I want to start with you. You have said that on day one of your presidency, [34:28] one of your first orders of business will be to order your Justice Department to launch [34:32] new investigations into the Trump administration. After a grueling impeachment and what is likely [34:37] to be a polarizing election, is investigating President Trump the best way to try to unify the country? [34:43] Look, I think no one is above the law, and that includes the president of the United States. [34:49] We watched on Wednesday as Republicans, all but one, locked arms to protect him from impeachment. [34:57] But we need to reestablish the rule of law in this country. I believe in an independent commission [35:05] in our Justice Department that investigates crimes committed by our own government. [35:11] It is an important part of accountability. It is an important part for every administration [35:17] that we hold ourselves accountable to the American people. Look, people around this country [35:24] are losing faith in our government. They are losing faith that government works for them. [35:31] They see a government that just works great if you're rich. It works great if you're a lobbyist. [35:38] It works great if you're a corporate executive. But they see themselves and their children with less [35:45] and less and less. And we could do something about it. It's not enough simply to talk about the future. [35:51] We have to be willing to stand up to those who now control our government and make that government [35:58] instead work for us. We can do child care in this country for every baby. We can invest in our public [36:05] schools. We can cancel student loan debt for 43 million Americans. But only if we are willing to take [36:14] control of our government away from the giant corporations and billionaires, return it to the [36:19] people. This is about our government. This is about our democracy. This is about our future. [36:24] Mr. Yang, you said that the notion of a leader, quote, throwing the president before them in jail [36:32] is not the way things are done here in the United States and would make it, quote, [36:36] very hard for any party to govern sustainably moving forward. Does that mean that any alleged [36:42] misconduct by the president or his administration should not be investigated? [36:47] There are, of course, limits. And you have to see what the facts are on the ground after you assume [36:50] office. But the fact is, if you look around the world, the countries that have thrown past presidents [36:56] into jail have generally been developing countries. And unfortunately, that's a pattern that once you [37:00] establish is very, very hard to break. What's a more American tradition? We move the country forward. [37:06] We don't focus on the mistakes of the leaders that are leaving office. Most Americans do not care [37:12] about what a particular individual did so much as they care about their family's well-being, [37:18] their community, their town. That's where Americans' focus wants. They want the American president. [37:24] They want the president. Of course, the American president. Sorry about that. [37:27] They want the president to be focused on that. And that's where our attention should be. We should not [37:31] fall into a pattern that has been disastrous in other countries. [37:34] Senator Sanders. [37:37] Along with Elizabeth and Amy, we sat for two weeks listening to the impeachment process. [37:44] And here's what I think the horror and the danger of what happened was not only the acquittal of Trump, [37:51] who, in fact, committed impeachable offenses and obstructed Congress. It is the precedent [37:57] that it set. The precedent that it set. And what that precedent is about now is in the future, [38:04] you're going to have presidents who say, hey, governor, you want highway money? You better support [38:11] me or you're not going to get it because I am the president. I can do anything I want. Hey, Congress, [38:18] you want to investigate me? Don't be ridiculous. Who cares about the Congress? Who cares about the [38:23] separation of powers? Who cares about the Constitution of the president? I'm the president of the United [38:30] States. I have all of the power. And I'm able to intimidate members of my own party. The saddest [38:35] aspect of this whole thing is you have Republicans in the Senate who knew better. They knew that Donald [38:42] Trump is a crook. They knew that Donald Trump is a cheat. But they didn't have the guts, with the [38:49] exception of Romney to vote against him. That is a sad day. Mr. Steyer, so I did start the need to [38:59] impeach movement in October of 2017. And my father, my father was one of the people who prosecuted the [39:07] Nazi war criminals after World War II. And that's part of the reason I started because when you see [39:11] something really wrong in the United States, you're supposed to stand up against it and fight against [39:15] it. And that's what I was doing. But he's been, the Republicans have rolled over. They've had a sham [39:22] trial. They've refused to have witnesses. They've covered up the truth for the American people. [39:26] And it doesn't matter anymore that he's a crook. And he's always been a crook. And he always will [39:30] be a crook. Right now, what we have to do is we have to beat him in November. And we have to beat him [39:36] because he's incompetent and bad for the American people. And that's the case we have to make now. [39:42] Is he a crook? I knew that two years ago. Is he going to be more of a crook now that he believes [39:47] he can get away with anything? Of course he is. But the job of the people on this stage [39:52] is to beat him in November. And that's going to be based on what we can deliver for the American [39:57] people. The fact that he's incompetent as a president, his economy isn't delivering for [40:02] working people. The jobs don't pay enough for people to live on. We've got to take him down [40:07] on the economy and get him out of the White House as soon as possible. Thank you, Mr. Steyer. [40:12] Impeachment is, of course, over. But Republicans in Congress have already started investigating [40:17] Vice President Biden's son, Hunter. Mayor Buttigieg, do you think that there's a danger [40:22] for the Democratic Party to nominate a candidate who is still under the threat of investigation? [40:28] No. And we're not going to let them change the subject. This is not about [40:33] Hunter Biden or Vice President Biden or any Biden. This is about an abuse of power by the president. [40:40] The vice president and I and all of us are competing, but we've got to draw a line here. [40:47] And to be the kind of president, to be the kind of human being who would seek to turn [40:54] someone against his own son, who would seek to weaponize a son against his own father, [41:01] is an unbelievably dishonorable thing that is just one more example of why we as a party have to be [41:09] completely united in doing whatever it takes at the end of the day to make sure that this president [41:15] does not get a second term. Vice President Biden. [41:17] Well, I thank my colleague for saying that. It is a diversion. But here's the deal. [41:25] Whomever the nominee is, the president is going to make up lies about. He thinks he has free reign [41:30] right now. One of the things that I think is really important is we have to be authentic [41:34] with the American people about what we're going to do and how we're going to do it. [41:37] And by the way, Colonel Vindman got thrown out of the White House today, walked out. [41:41] I think we should at the same time, he should be pinning a medal on Vindman and not on Rush Limbaugh. [41:48] And I think what we should be doing now, we should all stand and give Colonel Vindman a [41:54] a show of how much we supported him. Stand up and clap for Vindman. Get up there. [42:01] Thank you, Vice President Biden. The Democratic Party's last presidential nominee, [42:16] Hillary Clinton, has criticized Senator Bernie Sanders' track record in the Senate. [42:20] You know what? I'm sure we were able to hear that question. [42:22] OK, sure. The Democratic Party's last presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton, [42:26] has criticized Senator Bernie Sanders' record in the Senate, saying nobody likes him, [42:30] nobody wants to work with him. He got nothing done. Senator Klobuchar, [42:33] you serve with Senator Sanders in the Senate. Is he going to be able to get the support? [42:40] Not if you like him, but is he going to be able to get the support that he needs from Republicans? [42:44] I like Bernie just fine. We actually have worked together on a number of things, [42:52] including pharmaceuticals. We actually had a vote late at night one time, [42:56] Klobuchar-Sanders amendment, to bring in less— [42:59] What was Sanders-Klobuchar? [43:00] No, no, no, it was not. It was not. To bring in less expensive drugs from other countries, [43:07] since in this great state of New Hampshire, like in Minnesota and Vermont, we can see Canada from our [43:12] porch. And we ended up getting, I think, 14 Republican votes. And they might not have noticed [43:19] what was happening late at night, but we got those. And I think that it is just an example [43:24] of what we need to do here. Because I've been listening to this discussion. I agree with my [43:28] colleagues. We must unite. But the way that we unite is by having an optimistic economic agenda for [43:35] America. That is what we must do. And that means taking on a president, if you want to talk about being [43:41] tough enough to take him on, taking on a president that literally went down to Mar-a-Lago after he [43:49] signed that Republican tax bill and looked at all his friends and said, you just got a lot richer. [43:56] That is exhibit A for those carpenters in Pennsylvania and those dairy farmers in Wisconsin [44:02] and those dock workers that I met with in Michigan. That is an exhibit A. And we have to be able to make [44:08] the case to the working people of this country, some of whom voted for Donald Trump, that we have [44:13] something better to offer. That we are going to take those incredibly regressive parts of that tax bill [44:19] and put that money into their child care. Senator, just a quick yes or no. Do you think that [44:25] Senator Sanders will be able to get Republican support in order to pass his bills? [44:29] That I don't know. I know we did on that bill. But the point is, I think we're better off with [44:33] someone that has the receipts. Someone that has actually won big time with Republicans and [44:39] independents. And I'm the only one up on this stage, you can check it out, that has consistently [44:44] won in red congressional districts. Not once, not twice, but three times. And when I did it, [44:50] I didn't just do it for me. I led a ticket. I flipped the state house every single time. [44:56] Because I have a way of working with people that I think should be valued here as we look at these [45:00] candidates. And it's one of the reasons that I got the New York Times endorsement, along with Elizabeth, [45:06] and that I got the endorsements of the three major papers here in New Hampshire, which is the Union [45:12] Leader, the Seacoast Papers, and the Keene Sentinel. I think that matters. Read those editorials, [45:18] and you will get a sense of what I'm about. Thank you, Senator. Senator Sanders? [45:22] I must confess, I don't get too many newspaper editorial support. [45:29] I must confess that. What do you mean you got the Conway endorsement? [45:32] I did. We're very proud of that. Okay. There we go. [45:34] But let me just say this. I think the question started off with Secretary Clinton's critique. I [45:39] think, quite honestly, as we face one of the great political crises facing America, our job is to look [45:48] forward and not back to 2016. And I hope that Secretary Clinton and all of us can come together [45:57] and move in that direction. Now, second of all, in terms of Republicans, let me say [46:02] that in my own great state of Vermont, my memory is correct, Amy, I got 25 percent of the Republican [46:09] vote. And in fact, there were periods when I was in the House of Representatives, a number of years, [46:18] where I passed more amendments on the floor of the House in a bipartisan way than any other member [46:26] of the House. And that is when you bring people together on an issue. There are many conservative [46:34] Republicans, for example, who are concerned about civil liberties, at least they used to be concerned [46:39] about civil liberties. There are Republicans, as you know, who are concerned about the high cost of [46:45] prescription drugs. There are ways that we can work with Republicans on issues where we have a common [46:54] basis. Let's do that. Thank you, Senator. David. Lindsay, thank you. Good evening, all. [46:58] I want to turn to America's role in the world and readiness to be commander-in-chief on day one. Just [47:02] this week, you saw it, during the State of the Union, President Trump offered an indication [47:07] of what he'll tout on the campaign trail. He celebrated the U.S. airstrike that killed top [47:12] Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, saying Soleimani was the Iranian regime's most ruthless butcher, [47:17] a monster who murdered or wounded thousands of American service members in Iraq. Mayor Buttigieg, [47:22] you're the only veteran standing on this stage. And while there's still debate about whether or not [47:26] there was an imminent threat, there is no debate about whether or not Soleimani was a bad actor who [47:31] was responsible for the deaths of many Americans. Given what you know about Soleimani, if your national [47:36] security team came to you with an opportunity to strike, would Soleimani have been dead or would he [47:40] still be alive under your presidency? In the situation that we saw with President Trump's decision, [47:47] there is no evidence that that made our country safer. Look, I feel very strongly about the campaign [47:54] of murder and mayhem that General Soleimani and his units have perpetrated. It's also the case that if [48:01] we learned nothing else from the war in Iraq, it's that taking out a bad guy is not a good idea if you [48:09] do not know what you were doing. This president has moved us this much closer to the brink of war, [48:15] but it didn't start with the Soleimani strike. It started with withdrawing us from the Iran nuclear [48:20] deal that his own administration, certified, was working. And it's time for us to recognize [48:27] that every time a step is taken that moves us to the brink of war, that has incredibly serious [48:33] consequences for those who serve. By chance, just because I was traveling for the campaign, [48:38] not long ago I ran into somebody that I hadn't seen since we were both serving, [48:42] hadn't seen since she was injured in an insider attack. And I saw her coming down the concourse in [48:48] the airport wearing a wounded warrior project t-shirt that said, some assembly required. And [48:54] when I asked her how she was doing, she lifted up her knee and tapped on the part of her leg that they [48:59] couldn't save, tapped on the prosthetic, and said the Navy had fixed her up just fine. And then let me [49:05] know that she was looking forward to an upcoming deployment. People in our uniform will do whatever the [49:11] United States requires of them. What they deserve in return is a president who will actually read the [49:17] intelligence, pay attention to the international security situation, consult with our allies, [49:23] keep U.S. politics out of it, and never commit our troops to a situation where they would have to go [49:30] into harm's way if there is an alternative. Mayor Buttigieg, let me just press, let me just press further on [49:37] this, though, because President Trump has signaled in a general election campaign he will celebrate his [49:42] willingness to order that strike. I'm asking if your national security team came to you and presented [49:47] you with the opportunity, would you take the strike? It depends on the circumstances. It depends [49:52] if there is an alternative, and it depends what the different effects would be. That's my point. [49:56] This is not an episode of 24. This is a situation that requires that you actually evaluate the entire [50:03] intelligence picture. This president has insulted the intelligence community, but they put their [50:08] lives on the line to gather the information that will help a decision-maker evaluate whether or not [50:13] something like that is justified, and I don't think he even reads it. And here we have a situation where [50:19] the world, one of the most volatile places in the world, has just become more dangerous at the hands of a [50:24] president who has no regard for the military, not only punishing a war hero today with what he did to [50:30] Colonel Vindman, but pardoning war criminals in a way that undermines the entire sense of good order [50:38] and discipline and military honor. We deserve a better commander-in-chief. Mayor Buttigieg, thank you. [50:43] I do want to take this to Vice President Biden next, because we know that the Obama administration [50:48] was aware of the threat that Soleimani posed, so was the Bush administration before it. [50:52] I'm asking tonight, as commander-in-chief, though, would you have ordered the strike? [50:56] No, and the reason I wouldn't have ordered the strike, there's no evidence yet of imminent threat [51:01] that was going to come from him. Look what happened. His America First policy has made America alone. [51:09] You cannot think of a time, David, as long as you've been alive, when NATO has said to the United States [51:15] of America and to Iran, made a moral equivalent, said, both of you stand down. We are alone now, [51:22] alone in that region of the world, without friends, without support, without allies. And secondly, [51:29] you saw what happened when that air raid — when those missiles were fired from Iran into Iraq at [51:35] Al-Assad Air Base. Sixty-four of our heroes were wounded. I don't know what I would have done if my son [51:41] were still there. I would have been so damn angry, I don't know what I would have done. But here's what [51:45] happened. They had — they received traumatic brain injury. What did the president say? He said, [51:51] headaches. Not bad. Headaches. That's all they are. This guy doesn't deserve to be commander-in-chief [51:58] for one more day. Mr. Vice President, thank you. Senator Sanders, you have — you have called this [52:04] assassinating a government official. You would not have ordered the strike. Right. Look, here is the [52:09] danger, David. There are very bad leaders all over the world. Kim Jong-un in North Korea is probably [52:20] responsible for the death of hundreds of thousands of his people, threatening all of Asia with nuclear [52:25] weapons. You got Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia, who is a terrible murderer, who murdered Khashoggi [52:33] in cold blood and dismembered his body. You have Putin in Russia, who has been involved in political [52:40] assassinations of his enemies. You got Xi in China, who has put a million Muslims into concentration camps. [52:47] You cannot go around saying, you're a bad guy. We're going to assassinate you. And then you're [52:53] going to have — if that happens, you're opening the door to international anarchy, that every [53:00] government in the world will then be subjected to attacks and assassination. What we have got to do, [53:07] which Trump does not understand, is strengthen the State Department and our diplomatic capabilities, [53:15] not just the military. What we have got to do is bring countries around the world together with our [53:22] power and our wealth, and say, you know what? Let us sit down and work out our differences through [53:29] debate and discussion at the UN, not through more and more war and the expenditures of trillions of [53:36] dollars and the loss of God knows how many lives. Senator Sanders, thank you. This does take me [53:41] to Afghanistan and to America's longest war. And Senator Warren, you recently said, quote, [53:46] we have one general after another in Afghanistan who comes in and says, [53:50] we've just turned the corner. And then what happens? It's all the same. Someone new comes in [53:54] and says, we've just turned the corner. You said so many say it. We're going in circles. [53:59] We were on the ground in Afghanistan and in Iraq in recent months. And the generals told us that the [54:03] U.S. needs some U.S. presence on the ground, U.S. special forces, some presence to go after ISIS [54:09] and the terrorists. If you're commander in chief, would you listen to the generals or do they fall [54:14] into the category of the generals you mentioned before? No, look, I sit on Senate Armed Services [54:18] Committee. So I get to the briefings from the generals on a regular basis. I've been to Afghanistan, [54:25] to Iraq. I've been to Jordan. I've been throughout the region. I've been there with John McCain. I've been [54:29] there with Lindsey Graham to ask the hard questions about what's happening, to ask our generals, to ask [54:35] their generals, to ask people who are on the ground. And the bottom line is nobody sees a solution to [54:43] this war. Nobody can describe what winning looks like. All they can describe is endless war. And I [54:51] realize there are people on this debate stage who are willing to say, yeah, we'll leave our troops there [54:55] for five more years, for 10 more years. Lindsey Graham has said he's willing to leave troops [55:00] for 100 more years. And yet, what has all these years of war brought us? Right now, the Afghan government [55:09] controls less than 60 percent of the land. People don't have faith in it. It's a corrupt government. [55:14] The opium trade is higher than ever. Look, we sent our troops in and they did their best. They were there [55:23] for us. But we need to be there for them. And that means not send our troops to do work that cannot be [55:30] solved militarily. It is time to bring our combat troops home. It is time to stop this endless war [55:37] in Afghanistan. Senator Warren, I want to press you on this. You just said combat troops. Yes. [55:43] So if the generals came to you and said we need U.S. Special Forces, some footprint in Iraq and Afghanistan, [55:48] would you listen? Would you leave them? So I want to hear the plan. Not just say we need it now. We [55:54] need it for the next day. We need it for the six months. And I want to know where our allies are. [56:00] We all have an interest in dealing with terrorism and controlling terrorism. But that means it can't [56:06] just be the United States waging endless war. That does not make us safer. It does not make the region [56:13] safer. It does not make the world safer. We should work with our allies in managing terrorism. But we [56:21] need to end this war in Afghanistan. We cannot wait five more years or ten more years or until we turn [56:27] the corner ten more times. We need to bring our combat troops home. Senator Warren, thank you. I want [56:33] to take this to the vice president, because you have said of Senator Warren's comments before that the [56:38] United States should get out of the Middle East. You have said, I quite frankly was surprised that I have [56:43] never heard anyone say with any serious background in foreign policy that we should pull all troops out [56:48] of the Middle East. Is Senator Warren wrong on this? I don't I'm not sure what she wants to pull all [56:54] troops out of the Middle East. But if she does want to put all troops out of the Middle East, [56:57] we saw what happens when that happened. I helped put together a 61 nation group to take out ISIS by [57:04] putting fewer than 5,000 forces along the Turkish border to see to it that they and they lost 10,000, [57:11] the Kurds lost 10,000 lives. They defeated ISIS. They ended the caliphate. And then the president [57:17] on a whim dealing with a man I know very well, the now the guy running Turkey who's more of an autocrat [57:23] now than a Democrat. And what happened? We pulled out and you saw what happened. You saw the end of [57:29] the effort to be able to continue to contain, contain ISIS, number one. Number two, close your eyes, [57:36] everybody. Remember what you saw on television. You saw a woman standing up there holding up her baby, [57:41] Kurds saying, please don't leave us. And our military women and men standing going out in their [57:46] up-arm or Humvees with their heads down ashamed of what they did. It didn't take a lot of men or [57:52] men and women to do what needed to be done. And with regard to Afghanistan, as now I can say it because [57:57] it made public, I was totally against the whole nation of notion of no nation building in Afghanistan. [58:04] The only thing we should be doing is dealing with terrorism in that region. And the fact that we, [58:08] I've been in every part of Afghanistan, not in combat like my friend has, but in a helicopter and [58:13] or on a vehicle, in every part of it, as senator and vice president. Here's what I saw. There's no [58:19] possibility of uniting that country, no possibility at all making it a whole country. But it is possible [58:26] to see to it that you're not able to launch more attacks from the region on the United States of [58:31] America. That's a small footprint that we needed to argue for that in the beginning. [58:35] You mentioned Mayor Buttigieg, and I do want to take this to you next, Mayor. [58:38] Given your finish in Iowa, you've come under increasing scrutiny, attacks from opponents [58:42] on experience. We've heard that theme even right here tonight. You have said on the Iraq war, [58:47] for example, I just don't believe there is any justification for that vote. You said it's [58:51] the difference between tenure and judgment, that it's the judgment that matters, not the time in [58:56] Washington. Vice President Biden, as you know, voted yes. As commander in chief, do you believe [59:01] your judgment would be better than the vice president's? I believe that I have the judgment [59:06] to help us get through these situations where obviously the vice president made the wrong decision [59:12] when it came to such an important moment in our foreign policy. And looking forward, we got to [59:18] recognize just how much is going to be on the plate of the next president that is different in kind [59:24] from what we have faced before. It's not just about dealing with the aftermath of the war in Iraq, [59:30] it's about preventing a war with Iran. And not only do we have to undertake the military and [59:36] counterterrorism activities that we've been doing throughout, the next president is going to have [59:40] to restore the credibility of this country among our allies and among the international community. [59:46] At a moment when we are facing fundamentally different challenges from asymmetric warfare to [59:51] cyber security threats. President Trump's imagination of a national security strategy is a big wall in [59:57] a moat full of alligators. It's a 17th century approach to keeping a place safe. What we have [1:00:02] to do is be ready for the future. And that means insisting not only on shoring up our relationships, [1:00:08] but defining a strategy to keep the American people safe from fundamentally new challenges. [1:00:13] Mr. Vice President, I'll let you respond to his argument on judgment. [1:00:16] I made a mistake. I said it 14 years ago. I trusted George Bush to keep his word. He said [1:00:23] he was not going to go into Iraq. He said he was only using this to unite the United Nations [1:00:28] to insist we get inspectors in to see what Saddam was doing. When we got elected, [1:00:33] the president turned to me with the entire security apparatus and said, Joe, I want you to organize [1:00:38] getting 156,000 troops out of Iraq. I did that. I did that. The other thing I want to point out to you is [1:00:45] that NATO is, in fact, going to crumble if we don't beat Trump. NATO is in real trouble. [1:00:50] We need NATO for more reasons than just physical security. We need NATO to make sure that we do [1:00:56] not allow Russia to continue to have its influence in Eastern Europe in ways that it had before. [1:01:01] It wasn't just to stop the Soviet Union from coming into the United — coming into Europe. [1:01:06] It was to make sure that we did not have a kleptocracy taking over that part of the world, [1:01:11] to unite Europe on our behalf. I know how to deal with them. I know every one of these world leaders [1:01:16] by their first names. They call me, I talk to them, and I believe I can get it done. [1:01:20] Mr. Vice President, thank you. Mr. Steyer, I do want to bring you in on this, [1:01:23] because I know this is the last 24 hours. You have an attack ad running here in New Hampshire [1:01:27] with images of Mayor Buttigieg. And you say over those images, an untested newcomer. But I wanted to [1:01:32] ask you tonight on this readiness to be commander in chief. You share the stage with a veteran from [1:01:37] Afghanistan, a vice president who was in the Situation Room. What makes you most qualified [1:01:41] of all candidates on this stage to be commander in chief? [1:01:45] Well, let me say this. I agree with Pete Buttigieg that it's about judgment, not tenure. [1:01:50] What we're hearing here is a very long dissertation about exactly how America should be the world's [1:01:57] policeman. And what we've actually seen in the Middle East is that Barack Obama used diplomacy [1:02:04] to get Iran to give up its nuclear ambitions in return for our releasing economic sanctions along [1:02:11] with our partners around the world. So when we're talking about our role in the world and commander in [1:02:16] chief, we have abandoned a diplomacy, we don't have a strategy, and we don't have allies. And actually, [1:02:25] this view of the world that our response should be military is driven by our gigantic military complex [1:02:32] and ignores the biggest problem that we face internationally in the world, which is climate [1:02:36] change. And it cannot be solved with guns and tanks and planes. It can only be solved with diplomacy and [1:02:46] allies and interaction with other countries. So in fact, what we are listening to right here is a [1:02:52] discussion of 20 years of failed military action and how we should continue it and how we should [1:02:59] continue spending $700 billion a year on defense when we spend $70 billion a year at the federal level [1:03:08] on education. [1:03:09] Mr. Soren, let's talk about judgment here. [1:03:13] I did not say we're going to keep military forces there. [1:03:17] Mr. Vice President, I'll give you 30 seconds to respond. [1:03:19] That's not what I said. I was part of the reason putting that deal together with Iran. [1:03:24] I was there. I was involved in that. I was also part of the deal putting together the Paris [1:03:29] climate accord. I brought in the Chinese. I was part of that. I was part of every major [1:03:34] initiative we've had relative to diplomacy. I have not argued for the placement of major [1:03:42] numbers of U.S. combat troops. I have said, along with the President of the United States, Barack Obama, [1:03:47] as his partner, I have said we have to strengthen NATO to make it clear that we keep our commitments [1:03:53] when we make them, like we don't keep our commitments to the Kurds. We must keep our commitments [1:03:57] when we make them. Otherwise, we have no power whatsoever. And it's not about [1:04:03] making sure we're policemen of the world. The only way not to become the policemen of the world [1:04:06] is to have allies who will join us in dealing with failed states and terrorism. And that has to be [1:04:12] done jointly by a whole lot of people, and it doesn't require a large number of U.S. troops, [1:04:17] and I've never said that. [1:04:18] Okay, can I respond to that, David? [1:04:19] Senator Sanders, Senator Sanders, please. [1:04:20] Senator Sanders, if I might. Like Joe and others, I also heard the arguments in terms [1:04:28] of the war in Iraq from Bush, from Cheney, from John Bolton, from the whole administration. [1:04:34] I listened very carefully, and I concluded that they were lying through their teeth. [1:04:41] And I not only voted against that war, but I helped lead the opposition. And it saddens me so much if [1:04:49] I don't know what happened. But let me just pick up on a point that Tom made, which is absolutely right. [1:05:07] Trump wants to build a wall around America. Problem is, if we are going to deal with issues [1:05:13] like climate change, not only do we in America have to take on the greed of the fossil fuel industry, [1:05:21] we have to lead the entire world. This is not an American issue. It's a global issue. We've got to [1:05:28] bring China and Russia and Brazil and Pakistan and India and every major country on Earth into the [1:05:35] fight against climate change. And here is my dream. Maybe it's a radical dream. But maybe, just maybe, [1:05:41] given the crisis of climate change, the world can understand that instead of spending $1.8 trillion [1:05:49] a year collectively on weapons of destruction designed to kill each other, maybe we pool our [1:05:55] resources and fight our common enemy, which is climate change. Senator Sanders, thank you. [1:06:01] George, back to you. We have much more debate coming up, but we have got to take a break. We'll be right back. [1:06:06] Lancaster, New Hampshire and the ABC News Democratic debate. Thanks for joining us [1:08:37] here on ABC News Live. I'm Devin Dwyer with our political correspondent, Rachel Scott. Rachel, [1:08:41] we have some of the best seats in the House here tonight. I would say so, right, Devin? Not too bad. [1:08:45] What a debate it has been so far. If you're just joining us or joined in the middle, we saw [1:08:50] Bernie Sanders defend his attacks on Pete Buttigieg. We saw the former Vice President Joe Biden talk [1:08:56] about his week showing in Iowa. And both of them, Rachel, went on the attack on Pete Buttigieg. [1:09:01] I think one thing is clear here tonight, Devin. This is just not a fight to beat President Trump. [1:09:05] This is a fight and a battle over the future of the Democratic Party. And we are seeing some very [1:09:10] clear lanes being carved out here tonight. You see the moderates versus the progressives. And you also [1:09:15] see the newcomers to Washington, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, versus those that have lots of political [1:09:19] experience on that stage. And one of the things that comes with having the momentum in this race [1:09:24] is having a target on your back. And we saw that tonight for Mayor Pete Buttigieg getting attack [1:09:29] after attack. He tried to fend them off as best as he could, saying he is the one that can bring a [1:09:33] fresh space to Washington, that Washington needs it right now. But the candidates on that stage [1:09:38] questioning his experience and whether or not a small town mayor can beat President Trump and lead [1:09:42] the nation, Devin. And hitting right back against Bernie Sanders in his, quote, [1:09:46] my way or the highway approach to politics, in the words of Pete Buttigieg, also calling Joe Biden [1:09:51] part of the politics of the past. It was also an interesting moment in this first part of the [1:09:55] debate where impeachment made a roaring comeback. It has finished and wrapped up in Washington, [1:10:01] but it was a lot of the discussion here on stage, including a standing ovation for those White House [1:10:06] officials who were escorted off the job today in an act of retribution. Yeah, you saw that standing [1:10:11] ovation for Lieutenant Colonel Vindman, but also a moment of unity on the stage there. And this is [1:10:15] something that all of the candidates agree on, right? Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who has just ramped up his [1:10:20] attacks against the former Vice President in this last stretch, came to his defense tonight on that [1:10:26] stage saying that we will not allow the Republicans to change the subject. He says that we need to draw [1:10:31] a line against these attacks against Hunter Biden. And four days to go before those big votes here in [1:10:36] New Hampshire. Coming into this debate, we saw the storyline solidified today in some new polling that [1:10:42] just came out. If you haven't seen those numbers, take a look here. We see Bernie Sanders on top of the [1:10:47] pack, but Pete Buttigieg surging in the last two weeks here in New Hampshire, coming on Sanders' heels. [1:10:53] This is just one poll from Marist and NBC News. Joe Biden slipping a bit there. Rachel, you have been [1:10:59] out on the campaign trail talking to voters in this state, and they are still making up their minds. [1:11:04] They are still making up their minds. They just have a few days left to decide, and they're eager to [1:11:08] hear what the candidates have to say tonight. But listen, this is a state that Senator Sanders won back [1:11:12] in 2016. He's going to be looking for a repeat. All right. And those candidates now coming back on [1:11:16] stage for the second half here of the ABC News Democratic debate in New Hampshire. Stay with us [1:11:21] here on ABC News Live for much more coverage ahead. And now we'll hand it back to George and the team. [1:11:26] Like I said, Anselm College here in New Hampshire, and we are here every four years thanks to our [1:12:13] amazing Manchester partner WMUR. And now anchor Monica Hernandez and political director Adam Section [1:12:19] are joining us with questions on the minds of New Hampshire voters. [1:12:23] Thank you, George. It's an honor to be here in our community. We know granite staters are engaged, [1:12:28] and we know there are issues that strike especially close to home here. New Hampshire has one of the [1:12:33] highest rates of deadly overdoses in the country. In some cases, police and paramedics tell us that [1:12:38] they are saving the same lives again and again, sometimes more than once in a single day. It's a health [1:12:44] care issue, but it's also so much more. Mayor Buttigieg, you have described yourself as a moderate, [1:12:50] but one of your policies at least goes further than some on the stage with you are willing to go. [1:12:54] You have called for the decriminalization of all drugs. Does that include heroin, [1:12:59] meth and cocaine, some of the drugs that have contributed to this crisis? [1:13:03] No, what I've called for is that incarceration should no longer be the response to drug possession. [1:13:09] With all due risks, Mayor Buttigieg, on your website it says that you call for decriminalization of all drugs. [1:13:19] Again, what I'm calling for is that we end the use of incarceration as a response. This does not [1:13:24] mean that it will be lawful to produce or distribute those kinds of harmful drugs. But also, as we know [1:13:31] from the opioid crisis, some of this has been driven by companies that were acting irresponsibly with [1:13:37] substances that were lawful. It's why in South Bend we sued those companies to hold them accountable. [1:13:44] We've got to make sure that there is accountability for those who suppressed evidence about the [1:13:48] addictiveness of those substances, even while we're also coming to recognize that these kinds of [1:13:54] addiction are a medical issue, not a moral failure on the part of somebody battling that addiction. [1:14:00] That's why medication assisted treatment is so important. And those people who are being revived, [1:14:06] and our own EMTs in my city have been so frustrated by the experience of reviving somebody, but then [1:14:12] they have nowhere to go. Sometimes you get brought back with a dose of Narcan, but then your life depends [1:14:18] on whether in the days that follow you make it until somebody can actually see you, because we have such [1:14:23] a shortage of mental health and addiction providers in this country. We must act to change that and save lives [1:14:30] when we do. I want to bring this question now to Mr. Yang. You've said you would decriminalize opioids, [1:14:37] but you've also said that you would require all overdose patients to go to mandatory treatment [1:14:42] centers for three days. Right now in New Hampshire, there aren't enough beds in treatment centers and [1:14:49] across the country. How would you make sure treatment is available for all overdose patients, [1:14:54] and what would you do to fill the gap in the meantime? That's what we have to change, Monica. I've heard [1:14:59] heartbreaking stories from families here in New Hampshire that have been destroyed, torn apart [1:15:03] by the opiate epidemic. And you have to look at the companies that profited to the tune of tens of [1:15:08] billions of dollars in profits of essentially blood money. As president, we will take back those profits [1:15:14] and put them to work right here in New Hampshire so that if you are seeking treatment, you have resources to [1:15:20] be able to pursue it. This is not a money problem fundamentally. This is a human problem, but money [1:15:25] cannot be the obstacle. This is something that happened on the government's watch. The government [1:15:30] allowed this opiate epidemic to spread throughout our communities, and we have to do everything in our [1:15:36] power to actually make sure that if you are seeking treatment, you know you're not going to be sent to [1:15:41] jail. We have safe injection and safe consumption sites for you. If you have a family member who's [1:15:46] struggling, you can refer them and know that they're not going to have criminal penalties [1:15:50] as a result. There is so much about this that's endemic to what's happened throughout the country [1:15:59] in terms of companies running amok, this hyper-corporate capitalism where if money's on one [1:16:04] side in this country and people are on the other side, the money is winning. You can see it with the [1:16:09] opiate epidemic. You can see it with the military industrial complex, the fossil fuel companies. [1:16:13] This is what we must change, and that's where I'll lead as president. Senator Klobuchar, [1:16:19] I want to take the question to you now. As a prosecutor, you embrace tough-on-crime policies, [1:16:24] even with drug offenders. You've also spoken many times about your father's own addiction issues, [1:16:29] his own alcoholism, and his DUI arrests. If addiction is a disease, should people be arrested [1:16:34] for it? And as a prosecutor, do you regret sending people with substance abuse issues to jail? [1:16:39] Senator Klobuchar, I led one of the most successful drug courts in the country, [1:16:43] in Hennepin County. And I always would say and believed, and I think my record shows this, [1:16:50] that we weren't a business. We didn't want to see repeat customers. And if you don't want to see repeat [1:16:56] customers, the only answer is treatment. And maybe you're referring to some of the people who were [1:17:01] dealing big time in drugs. Yes, I felt that we should prosecute those people. But when it comes [1:17:08] to, and you asked Mr. Yang a question, and I think we owe it to the people of New Hampshire, [1:17:13] that had one of the biggest addiction rates in the country, and death rates when it comes to opioids, [1:17:18] to explain how we will pay for the treatment and the beds. I've been very clear about this. [1:17:24] There is going to be a major settlement coming through, a federal settlement, against all these [1:17:28] opioid manufacturers. The evidence is overwhelming, including an email where one guy, a business guy, [1:17:36] says to the other, they're eating them like Doritos. Just keep pumping them out. We will get a [1:17:41] conservative estimate $40 billion in from that settlement. We can put a two cents per milligram [1:17:47] tax on opioids that brings in another $40 billion. Then you can close a hedge fund loophole that brings in [1:17:53] $18 billion. And just like every other policy I've proposed, and I think New Hampshire voters [1:17:59] should care about this. I have showed how I'm going to pay for it. Because I think we have [1:18:04] someone in the White House that has told over 15,000 lies. He makes all kinds of promises. [1:18:09] The people of New Hampshire and the people of our country deserve better. I will get this done, [1:18:13] and it is personal for me. Good evening, candidates. New Hampshire is a battleground not just for [1:18:19] presidential contenders, but also for top issues, and that includes gun policy. Senator Sanders, [1:18:25] for many voters in this Democratic primary, your allure is about consistency. When it comes to [1:18:30] progressive issues, you've been on the right side of them for a long time. One exception is gun rights. [1:18:35] In the 90s, when you were in Congress, you voted against background checks, and you also voted [1:18:39] against a waiting period for purchase of a firearm. Can you explain why you oppose these things that you [1:18:44] now support? I can, Adam. And let me also say that in 1988, I probably lost a race for Congress, [1:18:51] and we only have one congressperson in the whole state. Because in 1988, I said that we should ban [1:18:57] the sale and distribution of assault weapons in this country. That was 30 years ago. Furthermore, [1:19:05] furthermore, I am very proud that today I have a D-minus voting record from the NRA. And under my [1:19:15] administration, it will be the American people doing gun policy, not dictated by the NRA. But to answer [1:19:22] your question, I come like New Hampshire, from a very, very rural state. In Vermont, until last [1:19:30] two years ago, we had virtually no gun control legislation at all. And I represented that perspective. [1:19:37] The world has changed. In Vermont and in New Hampshire and all over this country, [1:19:42] people are sickened by the mass shootings that we have seen and the gun violence that we have seen. [1:19:48] The world has changed, and my views have changed. And my view is, right now, we need universal [1:19:54] background checks. We end the gun show loophole. We end the so-called straw man provision. We make [1:20:00] certain that we end the sale and distribution of assault weapons in this country. And we go further. [1:20:10] We go further. But the bottom line is, I will not be intimidated by the NRA. We're going to run the gun [1:20:16] policy that the American people want. Vice President Biden, you've taken a lot of [1:20:20] heat in this primary on these debate stages and from voters here in New Hampshire for your past [1:20:24] positions. You've essentially asked them to look at the totality of your record and give you the [1:20:28] benefit of the doubt. Does Senator Sanders deserve that same benefit of the doubt on guns? [1:20:32] Well, look, here's the deal. The biggest mistake that Bernie made that Senator Sanders made, [1:20:37] he voted to give the gun manufacturers, the only major industry in America, a loophole that does [1:20:46] not allow them to be sued for the carnage they are creating. First thing I'll do as president is [1:20:51] work to get rid of that. It's going to be hard. Think of all the thousands and thousands of people [1:20:56] who died. And I might add, Bernie, while you were representing your constituency, an awful lot of [1:21:01] people that are in a gun state and they've come around. In fact, all those folks in California, [1:21:06] New York, Pennsylvania, they were getting killed by the thousands during this same period. [1:21:11] I come from a state that's a major gun-honey state. I introduced the first assault weapons ban. [1:21:16] I, in fact, got it passed. I'm the only guy that beat the NRA twice. I was—while I was pushing [1:21:22] the Brady background bill—check—background checks, Bernie voted five times against it when he [1:21:28] was in the House. So, look, the other thing is that when we—we have to be held accountable [1:21:33] for the things we did. I'm the guy that set up drug courts. I set them up. I wrote it into law, [1:21:39] and it never got funded. And also on opioids, I'm the guy who's already begun to make a down payment. [1:21:44] In the Cures Act, I put in $1 billion to fight opioid addiction. And lastly, my time is going to be up [1:21:51] shortly. Here's the deal. Those chief executive officers of drug companies, they should not only be [1:21:56] fined. They should go to jail. Senator Warren, we'd like to go to you now. [1:22:01] Plans count for a lot. I want to ask you this question here, though. Laws can do so much. [1:22:06] If you could change one thing about America's gun culture, what would it be? [1:22:09] Look, we have a gun violence problem in America. It is about the mass shootings that we hear about [1:22:16] in our schools and that frighten us, about in theaters and in churches. It's also, though, [1:22:22] about shootings that occur on sidewalks and in playgrounds, often in communities of color that [1:22:28] are hit hardest. But there are no headlines over those. It's also about suicide and the increased [1:22:35] lethality of suicide because of the availability of guns. It is also about the increased chances [1:22:42] that it's usually a woman will die of domestic violence if she is with a violent man and a gun is [1:22:49] in the home. We need to think of this problem not as one and done or three things and done. We need to [1:22:57] think of it just like we did on auto safety. We just keep coming back. We treat it like the public [1:23:04] health emergency that it is. But the question we should be asking ourselves is when America across [1:23:10] this country, including gun owners, agree in certain basic things, universal background checks, [1:23:17] get assault weapons off the streets, why can we not even get a vote in the United States Senate? [1:23:24] And the answer is 90 percent, think about this, more than 90 percent of Americans agree on this. We [1:23:31] can't get a vote in the United States Senate because it is the gun industry that continues to call the [1:23:37] shots. Until we attack the corruption in Washington, the influence of money on campaigns and lobbying, [1:23:45] we're not going to be able to meet our promises. And one more, until we agree that we are willing to [1:23:51] roll back the filibuster, the gun industry is going to continue to have a veto and we will never make the [1:23:57] changes we make. We have to be willing to build a future that works not for a gun industry but that [1:24:04] works for the rest of America and protects our children. [1:24:07] Thank you candidates. We're going to go back to David up there. [1:24:10] Adam, Monica, thank you and thanks to WMUR tonight. I want to turn to the Supreme Court, [1:24:15] the balance on the court and the issues before the court right now. President Trump in just the [1:24:19] last 24 hours saying we've appointed 191 federal judges, two Supreme Court justices keeping his [1:24:25] campaign promise to shift the court to the right with Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. The Affordable [1:24:31] Care Act is at the court, climate change is working its way to the court and a major abortion case is [1:24:35] on the docket this year. Vice President Biden, on the issue of abortion in 2012, you said President [1:24:40] Obama's two Supreme Court picks of them, there was no litmus test. We picked people who had an open [1:24:46] mind, did not come with an agenda. And you've said before, we both believe that we should not apply [1:24:50] narrow litmus tests to appointees to the Supreme Court. Let me just let me just ask, would you do it [1:24:56] differently as president, Mr. Vice President? Would there be a litmus test on abortion? [1:25:00] If you say the rest of what I said, I said that we're going to not appoint anyone who did not have [1:25:06] a view that unenumerated rights existed in the Constitution. That's not a specific test. It's [1:25:11] a generic test. And the only reason women have the right to choose is because it's determined that [1:25:17] there's unenumerated rights coming from the Ninth Amendment in the Constitution. That's what I said. [1:25:23] And I was part of the reason why Elena Kagan who worked for me got on the Supreme Court. [1:25:27] I was part of the reason why Ruth Bader Ginsburg is on the court. I was part of the reason why Sotomayor [1:25:32] is on the court and she swore me in. I presided and I'm the reason why this right wasn't taken [1:25:37] away a long time ago because I almost single-handedly made sure that Robert Bork did not get on the [1:25:44] court because he did not think there should be enumerated rights unenumerated. So let me just [1:25:48] drill down. Let's get that straight. Mr. Vice President, I am aware of what you said, [1:25:51] this, which is why I'm asking, would you do it differently now? Would there be a litmus test [1:25:55] on abortion? Yes, look, here's the deal. Litmus test on abortion relates to a fundamental value [1:26:02] in the Constitution. A woman does have a right to choose. I would, in fact, if they rule it to [1:26:07] be unconstitutional, I will send to the United States Congress, and it will pass, I believe, [1:26:12] a bill that legislates Roe v. Wade adjusted by Casey. It's a woman's right to do that, period. [1:26:22] And if you call that a litmus test, it's a litmus test. But what I was talking about in the past, [1:26:26] so no one gets confused here, is if there is no—if you read the Constitution very, very narrowly and say [1:26:33] there are no unenumerated rights, if it doesn't say it in the Constitution it doesn't exist, [1:26:38] you cannot have any of the things I care about, any of the things I care about as a progressive [1:26:43] member of the United States Congress at the time and as a member of society. [1:26:48] Mr. Vice President, thank you. Senator Warren? [1:26:50] Look, I've lived in an America in which abortion was illegal, and rich women still got abortions. [1:26:59] And that's what we have to remember about this. States are heading toward trying to ban [1:27:04] abortion outright, and the Supreme Court seems headed in exactly that direction as well. [1:27:09] If we are going to protect the people of the United States of America, and we are going to protect [1:27:16] our rights to have dominion over our own bodies, then it's going to mean we can't simply rely on [1:27:23] the courts. Three out of every four people in America believe right now that the rule of Roe [1:27:30] versus Wade should be the law. That means we should be pushing for a congressional solution as well. [1:27:36] It is time to have a national law to protect the right of a woman's choice. [1:27:41] Senator Warren, thank you. Senator Klobuchar, I do want to come to you. Should there be a litmus test? [1:27:50] It's an active call here tonight. I did want to come to you on this question as well. [1:27:54] Thank you. Should there be a litmus test on abortion? [1:27:55] I would only appoint judges that would respect precedent, and one of those key precedents is Roe [1:28:02] v. Wade. In addition, in addition, you have got to put it into law. Donald Trump, and I think it's [1:28:10] really important to take it to him here, when he was running for election, and this is a case I will [1:28:15] make on the debate stage against him, he actually said that he wanted to put women in jail. He then [1:28:23] dialed it back and said, no, I want to put doctors in jail. Is it a big surprise then we're seeing [1:28:27] states like Alabama start enacting laws that would criminalize doctors who perform abortions? It's not. [1:28:34] And that is why it's going to be really important when you look at the overwhelming public support [1:28:39] for funding Planned Parenthood, for making sure women have access to contraceptions, [1:28:45] to making sure that they have a right to choose, that we make this case strongly and loudly. [1:28:50] Senator Klobuchar, thank you. Mayor Buttigieg, you have signaled that you'd be open to the idea [1:28:55] of expanding the court. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg suggested leaving the court as it is, saying, [1:28:59] quote, nine seems to be a good number. And in fact, she said if the number of justices is increased, [1:29:04] quote, it would make the court appear partisan. It would be one side saying when we're in power, [1:29:09] we're going to enlarge the number of judges to have more people who will vote the way we want [1:29:13] them to. Is Justice Ginsburg wrong? [1:29:15] Well, if all we did was change the number of justices, then I agree with her that that could [1:29:21] be the consequence. What I've called for is not only reforming the number of justices on the bench, [1:29:27] but structural reform so that some of the justices are not appointed through a partisan process. We [1:29:34] cannot allow the Supreme Court to continue to become one more political battlefield as we are seeing [1:29:40] today. And the time has come for us to think bigger, not just reforming the makeup of the court, [1:29:45] as America, by the way, has done several times in our history, but also remember that the founders [1:29:52] gave us the power to amend the Constitution for a reason, and we shouldn't be afraid to use it. [1:29:57] It's not something you do lightly or quickly, but when it comes to something like Citizens United, [1:30:02] which holds that corporations have the same political soul as people, and that spending money [1:30:07] to influence an election is the same thing as writing an op-ed to your local paper, [1:30:12] we need a constitutional amendment to clear that up and protect our democracy. [1:30:17] Mayor Buttigieg, thank you. Vice President Biden, I do want to come to you on this. [1:30:21] President Trump has said that the only reason Democrats want to expand the court [1:30:26] is they want to try and catch up. You have called any expansion of the court a bad idea, [1:30:30] adding we will live to rue that day. Do you agree with President Trump on that? [1:30:34] I agree with Ruth Bader Ginsburg. That's who I agree with. And I agree the way to deal with [1:30:38] Citizens United is pass a constitutional amendment I introduced 25 years ago, [1:30:43] saying that only public money can be spent in elections, period. Not private money, [1:30:49] not billionaires, not money from special interests, period. That's the way to amend the Constitution to [1:30:54] deal with that. In addition to that, if in fact, look, the Democrats stood up against the man I [1:30:59] revere. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, he wanted to expand the court. But they were wise enough to [1:31:04] understand that whoever then is the majority will have the ability to abuse it and it will lose its [1:31:09] legitimacy. And there are three equal branches of government. It says the president shall nominate, [1:31:15] the Senate shall dispose, the Senate shall make that decision, not the president. He can nominate, [1:31:21] that's why it's so important. We must win back the United States Senate this time out. And that's why, [1:31:28] as you all look at it up here in New Hampshire and around the world, excuse me, around the country, [1:31:35] you have to ask yourself, who is most likely to help get a senator elected in North Carolina, [1:31:41] Georgia? Who can win Florida, Pennsylvania, Minnesota? Who can do that? Because you've got [1:31:46] to be able to win those. Well, you can. I agree. But here's the point. You've got to be able to, [1:31:53] you've got to be able to not just win, you've got to bring along a United States Senate or this becomes [1:31:59] moot. Okay. Senator Sanders. Thank you. Look, you asked a simple question. Is there a litmus test [1:32:07] for those of us up here? For me, there is. I will never nominate any person to the Supreme Court or the [1:32:15] federal courts in general, who is not 100 percent pro Roe v. Wade. Number two, we have got to codify [1:32:25] Roe v. Wade into legislation. Number three, we have to significantly expand funding for planned [1:32:33] parenthood. Mr. Steyer, I want to bring you in on this because you have claimed that when it comes to [1:32:39] the Supreme Court, you have said Republicans have been cheating. Sure they've been cheating. Look, [1:32:45] what we saw Mitch McConnell do, not just in the Supreme Court with Merrick Garland, [1:32:49] but across the board with federal judges, was refuse to allow President Obama's picks to be considered. [1:32:55] That's why Mr. Trump has appointed so many federal judges, because in fact, [1:33:00] the Republicans refuse to allow President Obama to get his due. And honestly, we're sitting here [1:33:06] talking about, do you have a litmus test? We all have the litmus test. Everybody on this row [1:33:13] feels exactly the same way about a woman's right to choose. Everybody on this row feels exactly the [1:33:18] same way on gun control. Every single one in this row feels the same way. There's something else going [1:33:23] on. These Republicans are in control. They're stacking the court for a generation with young [1:33:30] right-wing radicals. And we've watched it happen. And the question is, what are we going to do about it? [1:33:35] That's where we are in the United States. And the question is, actually, Joe Biden's right. [1:33:39] We have to go win a huge victory this year. And we're in trouble. And so the question is going to [1:33:45] be, look at these people. Who can pull together the Democratic Party? And let me say this. We have [1:33:50] not said one word tonight about race. Not one word. Are you kidding me? We have the most diverse party. [1:33:58] We have a very diverse country. We have a very diverse party. The heart and soul of this party is [1:34:04] diversity. Black people, Latinos, AAPI people, Native Americans and white people. But for goodness [1:34:10] sakes, pull it together. We're talking about something different. The question we have is, [1:34:16] how are we getting that diverse group of people to the polls? What are we saying? Everybody on this [1:34:21] stage feels the same way about a woman's right to choose and economic justice. The question is, [1:34:27] how do we beat Trump? How do we take down these Republicans? And the answer is, [1:34:31] we've got to show we can take them down on growth, job creation, the economy. We send them packing, [1:34:37] and then we get all of this, including beating the corporation. [1:34:40] Mr. Steyer, thank you. The night is still young. Many questions to come. And Lindsey Davis is next. [1:34:45] I want to turn now to criminal justice. Mayor Buttigieg, under your leadership as mayor, [1:34:50] a black resident in South Bend, Indiana, was four times more likely to be arrested for marijuana [1:34:55] possession than a white resident. Now, that racial disparity is higher than the rest of the state. [1:35:01] In fact, it's higher than the rest of the nation. And that disparity increased in South Bend after [1:35:06] you took office. When talking about the problem on national terms, you've called it, quote, [1:35:10] evidence of systemic racism. But you were mayor for eight years. So weren't you, in effect, [1:35:16] the head of the system? And how do you explain that increase in black arrests under your leadership? [1:35:21] Well, the reality is, on my watch, drug arrests in South Bend were lower than the national average, [1:35:27] and specifically to marijuana, lower than in Indiana. But there is no question that systemic racism has [1:35:33] penetrated to every level of our system. And my city was not immune. I took a lot of heat for discussing [1:35:40] systemic racism with my own police department. But we've got to confront the fact that there is no [1:35:46] escaping how this is part of all of our policies. Earlier, we were talking about opioids. And thankfully, [1:35:53] America has come to a better understanding about the fact that opioid addiction is best understood [1:35:59] as a medical problem. But there were a lot of people, including a lot of African-American activists [1:36:04] in my community, who have made the very good point, it's great that everybody's so enlightened about drug [1:36:10] policy now when it comes to opioids. But where were you when it came to marijuana? Where were you when it [1:36:15] came to the crack epidemic in the 1990s? That is one of the reasons why I am calling for us as a country [1:36:21] to take up those reforms that end incarceration as a response to possession and make sure that we [1:36:27] legalize marijuana. And when we do it, do it retroactively with expungements to correct the harm [1:36:33] done in so many cases of incarceration, disproportionately of black and brown Americans [1:36:39] where the incarceration did far more harm. Right. I want to go back to the original question, [1:36:43] though. How do you explain the increase in black arrests in South Bend under your leadership for [1:36:48] marijuana possession? And again, the overall rate was lower. No, there was an increase. The year [1:36:54] before you were in office, it was lower. Once you became in office in 2012, that number went up. [1:37:01] In 2018, the last number a year that we have a record for, that number was still up. Yeah. And one of [1:37:07] the strategies that our community adopted was to target when there were cases where there was gun [1:37:12] violence and gang violence, which was slaughtering so many in our community, burying teenagers, [1:37:20] disproportionately black teenagers. We adopted a strategy that said that drug enforcement would be [1:37:26] targeted in cases where there was a connection to the most violent group or gang connected to a murder. [1:37:33] These things are all connected, but that's the point. So are all of the things that need to change [1:37:38] in order for us to prevent violence and remove the effects of systemic racism, not just from [1:37:44] criminal justice, but from our economy, from health, from housing and from our democracy itself. [1:37:49] Senator Warren, is that a substantial answer from Mayor Buttigieg? No. To own up to the facts. [1:38:02] And it's important to own up to the facts about how race has totally permeated our criminal justice [1:38:09] system. You know, for the exact same crime, study after study now shows that African Americans are [1:38:15] more likely than whites to be detained, to be arrested, to be taken to trial, to be wrongfully [1:38:20] convicted and to receive harsher sentences. We need to rework our criminal justice system from the very [1:38:27] front end on what we make illegal all the way through the system and how we help people come back [1:38:33] into the community. But we cannot just say that criminal justice is the only time we want to talk about [1:38:38] race specifically. We need to start having race conscious laws. Housing, for example. I have a great [1:38:46] housing plan to build more housing in America. But understand, it was the policy of the United States [1:38:53] of America to discriminate against African Americans and people, any other people of color, for buying homes [1:39:01] until 1965. You can't just repeal that and say, okay, now everything is even. It's not. [1:39:08] We need race conscious laws in education, in employment, in entrepreneurship to make this [1:39:16] country a country of opportunity for everyone, no matter the color of their skin. [1:39:21] Elizabeth, with respect, you can't regulate away racism with a whole patchwork of laws that are [1:39:28] race specific. What we have to do is heed the writings of Martin Luther King, whose birthday we just [1:39:34] celebrated. He said that capitalism forgets that life is social. And what he was championing was a [1:39:40] guaranteed minimum income for all Americans of $1,000 a month or more that would end up reshaping our [1:39:47] economy in communities of color, make it so that black net worth is not 10% of white net worth in this [1:39:54] country, which is the most important number of them all. We can't regulate that away through any other [1:40:00] means except by putting money directly into the hands of African Americans and Latinos and people [1:40:06] of color to allow businesses to actually flourish and grow in those communities. The only way that [1:40:12] will happen is if black and Latino consumers have buying power. And that is where we have to move as [1:40:17] a country. Senator Sanders, then Mr. Steyer. No, let me say this. I disagree with you, Andrew. I am the [1:40:23] person on this stage who will say openly, I'm for reparations. Something wrong happened. I am for [1:40:29] reparations to African Americans in this country. And anyone who thinks that racism is a thing of the past and [1:40:35] not an ongoing problem is not dealing with reality. In fact, three days ago, one of the leaders of Joe Biden's [1:40:43] South Carolina's campaign made racist remarks about someone associated with our campaign and the [1:40:50] Legislative Black Caucus went out en masse to stand up for that man and for our campaign. Joe, [1:40:58] I'm asking you to come with me and the Legislative Black Caucus and disavow Dick Harpootlian and what [1:41:04] he had to say it was wrong. And I'm asking you to join us be on the right side. I'm asking you to join me [1:41:10] and join in the support I have from the overwhelming number of the members of that Black Caucus. [1:41:15] I have more support in South Carolina than the Black Caucus and the Black community than anybody [1:41:19] else, double what you have or anybody else has. But wait a second, wait a second. Bernie. [1:41:23] Well, that is quite right. Let's not argue about polls. [1:41:25] That is quite right. Bernie, this isn't about polls. This is not about polls. [1:41:28] I'm not talking about polls. I'm not talking about polls. [1:41:31] We have nine members of the Black Caucus in South Carolina supporting us. But more importantly, [1:41:37] much of what Elizabeth said is absolutely correct. We have a racist society from top to bottom, [1:41:44] impacting health care, housing, criminal justice, education, you name it. And clearly, [1:41:51] this is an issue that must be dealt with. But in terms of criminal justice, what we have got to do [1:41:57] is understand the system is broken, is racist. We invest in our young people in jobs and education, [1:42:05] not more jails and incarceration. We end the war on drugs, which has disproportionately impacted African [1:42:15] Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans. We end private prisons and detention centers in America. [1:42:23] Bernie, I appreciate what you're saying. And—excuse me. We also—most people don't know this. [1:42:29] Because tonight in America, 200,000 people are in jail without having been convicted of anything. [1:42:36] That's right. [1:42:36] 200,000 people, because they can't afford the 500 bucks for bail they need to get out of jail. [1:42:44] That is outrageous. We're going to end cash bail. [1:42:47] Okay, let me say this. I've worked—Bernie, I've worked to end cash bail in California, and it's gone. [1:42:55] I've worked to end private prisons in California, and they're gone. [1:42:57] I'm somebody who's—our family, my wife and I started a bank specifically to support businesses [1:43:04] owned by women, black people, and Latinos, because they couldn't get financing anywhere else. [1:43:09] But I—Joe, I want to answer. Really, I think you should come over and disavow the statements that [1:43:15] this man made that were openly racist, that were wrong, and the Legislative Black Caucus is against. [1:43:22] I'm asking you to join us and do the right thing. [1:43:25] I've already spoken to Dick Karpoulian, and he, in fact, is—was—is, I believe, sorry for what he said. [1:43:35] But here's the deal, folks. Look, we've got to stop taking the black community for granted. [1:43:39] That's the starting place. Every one of the things we talked about here—for example, [1:43:44] in South Carolina, Jim Clyburn. He has a program. It's 10, 15, 30. We should be investing our money in those [1:43:51] communities that haven't gotten help for a long time and give most of that help to those communities. [1:43:57] Make it a priority. We should make sure that we have in the—no one going to jail for a—a drug offense. [1:44:04] They go directly mandatory prison—I mean, excuse me, mandatory treatment, not prison. And we fund it, [1:44:11] and we fund it, and three days doesn't get it. It takes at least 60 to 90 days to make any progress. [1:44:17] We have to pay for that. Just like instead of building new prisons, we build new rehabilitation [1:44:22] centers. We have to make sure that we have a window at the Treasury Department that allows [1:44:27] entrepreneurs who are black and brown and minorities to be able to get loans to be able to [1:44:32] start businesses. You know, if you own a house—I know you do know—if you own a house in an all-black [1:44:37] neighborhood, same exact house in an all-white neighborhood, exact same shape, the house valued [1:44:42] in the black neighborhood would be valued as worth less, making it difficult for you to accumulate [1:44:47] wealth, as my friend at the end of the line here says. So here's the deal. We have to do much, [1:44:52] much more. That's what got me involved in politics in the first place—redlining to stop it. I got involved [1:44:57] through the Civil Rights Movement. I became a public defender. That's why I got involved. [1:45:02] There's so many things we have to do across the board and in education. At-risk schools. We should [1:45:07] triple the funding we have for at-risk schools to provide for four, five, and six years old to be [1:45:12] able to go—three, four, and five years old to go to school, not daycare. Increase the salaries of [1:45:16] teachers. Encourage more blacks to get into teaching, especially black men, because the studies show when [1:45:21] there's a black man in a community in a school, it increases prospects significantly, and so on. [1:45:26] There's a lot we can do. I've laid it all out as how to do it. Go to JoeBiden.com, [1:45:31] you'll see the whole deal, including criminal justice reform. [1:45:33] Thank you, Mr. Vice President. As you mentioned, South Carolina three weeks from tomorrow, [1:45:37] they'll go to the polls to vote. Black voters make up about 60 percent of the electorate there. [1:45:42] Senator Sanders, several weeks ago, Nina Turner, one of your national co-chairs, [1:45:46] published an op-ed piece that said Vice President Biden has, quote, [1:45:49] repeatedly betrayed black voters to side with Republican lawmakers and undermine our progress. [1:45:56] Senator Sanders, do you agree with her, one of your most visible surrogates, [1:46:00] that Vice President Biden has repeatedly betrayed black voters? [1:46:03] Well, I think what Senator Turner was talking about are some of the [1:46:06] early actions of Vice President Biden, but no. Joe Biden is a friend of mine, [1:46:13] and I'm not here to attack him. But what I would say is that what we need in terms of the African [1:46:21] American community is to understand that we have got to start investing big time in education, [1:46:28] in health care. There is no excuse why white families in America have 10 times more wealth [1:46:33] than black families. No excuse that disproportionately African Americans are in jail compared to whites. [1:46:42] No excuse for black women dying in childbirth three times the rate that white women are doing as well. [1:46:48] Senator Kobachar, you had raised your hand before. [1:46:54] Yes, I did, because I think in addition to the economic argument we're making here, [1:46:58] with the sad, sad stories of a woman walking into a maternity room in New Orleans and saying her [1:47:05] hands are swollen and walking out without her baby, and 30 percent of African American kids being living [1:47:12] in poverty. We know that there are economic solutions here to invest in those communities, housing, [1:47:17] child care. But there's something else insidious going on that we haven't addressed, and that is [1:47:23] the systematic racism when it comes to voting. That is moves across the country to limit people's right [1:47:31] to vote. And that is why I have been leading on these bills, to automatically register every kid to vote [1:47:38] in this country when they turn 18. There is no reason that we can't do that across this country, [1:47:43] to stop the gerrymandering by setting up independent commissions in every single state, and yes, [1:47:50] to stop the voting purges. Because what is going on right now, in the words of one North Carolina court, [1:47:57] is that they are discriminating with surgical precision against African American voters. [1:48:03] And we are not going to be able to get any of these things done if we don't give people the right to vote. [1:48:09] Vice President Biden and then Senator Warren. I beg your pardon? [1:48:15] I just wanted to give you a chance to respond. Yes. I agree completely. There should be [1:48:20] registration, automatic registration, turning 18. You get a driver's license. Whatever you do, [1:48:24] you automatically are registered, number one. Number two, with regard to what we're going to [1:48:29] see in South Carolina, we're all going to be there pretty soon. We'll see whether or not it works. [1:48:33] The response to the letter that the person — I'm not saying Bernie wrote the letter, [1:48:38] but the senator who wrote the letter — was very brisk and significant with other African Americans [1:48:44] in South Carolina taking issue with her. But look, Amy is right. The senator is correct. [1:48:50] That is that we, in fact, there is systematic racism. And that's why our Justice Department [1:48:55] worked so hard to go after those. You know, realize there are 35 states in the United States of [1:49:01] America that have come up with a total of 78 laws to restrict voting just in the last five years [1:49:08] to try to keep African Americans from voting — and brown as well, black and brown people from voting. [1:49:15] And that will be an enormous priority in my administration, as it was in ours. [1:49:20] It's just wrong, simply wrong. Senator Warren. [1:49:24] You know, I'm glad to stand on this stage with my fellow Democrats, [1:49:28] who talk about how important the black community is, at least at election time. [1:49:33] Year after year after year, election after election after election. Democrats go to people [1:49:39] in the black community and say, boy, we really care about these issues. Racism is terrible. [1:49:44] We all want to do something. And then somehow the problem just seems to keep getting worse. [1:49:50] Well, I think it's time we have real concrete plans that are going to make a difference in people's [1:49:55] lives. I proposed a two-cent wealth tax. And let me tell you just one of the things we can do with [1:50:00] the two-cent wealth tax. We can cancel student loan debt for 43 million Americans. And because [1:50:06] African Americans have to borrow more money to go to college, borrow more money while they're in [1:50:11] college and have a harder time paying it back when they get out, that one law is going to help close [1:50:18] the black-white wealth gap for people with student loans by about 20 points. We aren't making a [1:50:25] difference in America. We're saying to the rich folks, you keep your money and the rest of us [1:50:30] will talk about racism, but not really do anything. I think the time for that is over. I'm ready to get [1:50:37] in this fight and really make a change. George. [1:50:40] Okay, thank you. Actually, let's keep this debate going. Go ahead, Mr. Steyer. Look, [1:50:45] out of narrative comes policy. And we're talking about a lot of policies that affect Americans [1:50:54] broadly and disproportionately affect black Americans or brown Americans. But what I believe is we should [1:51:01] set up a commission on race and deal with race explicitly. Because everyone's saying we can't have [1:51:06] rules that are different for different people. But in fact, we're here because we had rules that are [1:51:11] different for different people. I would set up a formal commission on race on day one to retell the [1:51:17] story of the last 400 years in America of systematic racism against African Americans, not just legal [1:51:28] discrimination, injustice and cruelty, but also the contribution that the African American community [1:51:33] has made to America in building it and in leading the entire country from a moral standpoint for [1:51:40] generations and centuries. Because I believe out of narrative comes policy. We need to repair damage [1:51:48] that's been done officially. And pretending we're all the same is not accurate. We got here a certain way. [1:51:55] Let's talk about Jim Crow. Let's talk about Martin Luther King. Let's talk about Barbara Lee, [1:52:01] the Congresswoman from Oakland, who's one of our great leaders, and then let's figure out how to [1:52:06] repair the damage so we can move forward together. Mr. Yang, take on that argument and also what he [1:52:10] said about reparations. The median African American household net worth is projected to be zero by 2053. [1:52:21] Things are not getting better for people of color. If anything, they're getting worse because we're in [1:52:26] the process of eliminating the most common jobs in our economy. It's something of an economic [1:52:31] unnatural disaster. And who suffers most in a natural disaster? People of color, people with lower levels [1:52:38] of capital and access to opportunity and education. And while I know we love to champion education here [1:52:47] as Democrats, only 33% of Americans are going to attend college, lower percentage of African Americans. [1:52:53] There is no way we can prevent this tsunami from wiping out African American net worth unless we put [1:53:00] straight cash into their hands sometime between now and 2053. And it's not just them. It is truck [1:53:07] drivers. It is retail clerks. It is call center workers. It is accountants. It is bookkeepers. [1:53:13] We are in the midst of the greatest economic transformation in the history of our country. [1:53:18] And it's going to hit black people the hardest. We have to stop nibbling at the edges [1:53:21] and actually start solving the real problem. We've been getting a lot of questions. [1:53:25] We've been getting a lot of questions from Apple news and tonight, including many about a candidate who's [1:53:30] not on the stage tonight, but it is in this race. And that is former mayor Michael Bloomberg [1:53:35] of New York. And this question came in from Nashville, Tennessee. It says billionaire Michael [1:53:39] Bloomberg has entered the race and just got the endorsement of a former Trump Navy secretary. [1:53:43] Why do you think you are a better position than Bloomberg to beat Trump, Senator Warren? [1:53:47] Look, I don't think anyone ought to be able to buy their way [1:53:51] into a nomination or to be president of the United States. Any billionaire ought to be able to do it. [1:54:00] And I don't think people who suck up to billionaires in order to fund their campaigns ought to do it. [1:54:06] I'm here talking about as Democrats, we all want to overturn Citizens United [1:54:13] because we want to end this unlimited spending. Yeah, except everyone on this stage, [1:54:20] except Amy and me, is either a billionaire or is receiving help from PACs that can do unlimited [1:54:29] spending. So if you really want to live where you say, then put your money where your mouth is [1:54:36] and say no to the PACs. Look, I think the way we build a democracy going forward is not billionaires [1:54:43] reaching in their own pockets or people sucking up to billionaires. The way we build it going forward [1:54:48] is we have a grassroots movement funded from the grassroots up. That's the way I'm running this [1:54:55] campaign. If you think it's the right way to run a campaign, go to ElizabethWarren.com and pitch in [1:55:01] five bucks. Because understand this, our democracy hangs in the balance. If we have to fund through [1:55:11] billionaires, then we're just going to be in America. It's going to work better and better for [1:55:15] billionaires and not for anyone else. So I can't stand the big money in politics. [1:55:23] And one of my major focuses is going to be on passing that constitutional amendment to overturn [1:55:28] Citizens United. I didn't come from money. And I just simply think people don't look at the guy in [1:55:35] the White House and say, can we get someone richer? I don't think they think that. They want to have [1:55:40] someone that they can understand. And you know my background. My grandpa was an iron ore miner. He [1:55:47] worked 1500 feet underground in the mines his whole life. He couldn't even graduate from high school [1:55:52] because he had to raise his nine brothers and sisters. My grandpa saved money in a coffee can [1:55:57] to send my dad to a two-year community college. That was my family's trust. And you can't send, [1:56:03] like Donald Trump got from his family, you can't fit $413 million in a coffee can. [1:56:09] My mom grew up and wanted to be a teacher in Wisconsin. She moved to Minnesota. She taught [1:56:16] second grade until she was 70 years old. And no, I am not a billionaire. But I stand before you today [1:56:21] as the granddaughter of an iron ore miner, the daughter of a teacher and a newspaper man, [1:56:25] the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate from the state of Minnesota, someone who has passed over [1:56:30] 100 bills as a lead Democrat in that gridlock in Washington, D.C. And that is because we live [1:56:36] in a country of shared dreams. And that means no matter where you come, make it. Please help me [1:56:46] in my efforts at amyklobuchar.com. Everybody's getting the fundraising pitches out here right now. [1:56:52] Senator Sanders, I am coming to you. Let me just put the question to you because [1:56:57] Mayor Bloomberg has taken on a good argument. I got an answer before the question. It's warm. [1:56:59] He says we need evolution, not revolution. Can you hear that? [1:57:03] Mayor Bloomberg has said we need evolution, not revolution. Taking you on directly. [1:57:07] Well, you know, it's a funny thing. There are millions of people who can desire to run for office. [1:57:15] But I guess if you're worth $60 billion and you could spend several hundred million dollars on [1:57:20] commercials, you have a slight advantage. That is nonsense. What we have got to do is have a nation [1:57:27] in which we not only overturned Citizens United, we move to public funding of elections. In terms of [1:57:34] public, in terms of money and politics, all right, our campaign, and I am enormously proud of this, [1:57:41] unlike some of the folks up here, I don't have 40 billionaires, Pete, contributing to my campaign. [1:57:48] Coming from the pharmaceutical industry, coming from Wall Street and all the big money interests. [1:57:56] What we do have is we have now over six million contributions from one and a half million people, [1:58:05] averaging $18.50 a contribution. That is unprecedented in the history of American politics. [1:58:13] If we want to change America, you're not going to do it by electing candidates who are going out to [1:58:25] rich people's homes begging for money. The way we're going to do it is build a mass movement of working [1:58:33] people who are prepared to stand up, not take money from these billionaires, not take money from Wall [1:58:39] Street, but stand up to the drug companies on Wall Street. And if you want to be part of that political [1:58:44] revolution, BernieSandis.com. Mayor Buttigieg, close this round out. [1:58:52] We are going into the fight of our lives. Donald Trump, according to news reports, [1:58:57] and his allies raised $25 million today. We need to go into that fight with everything that we've got. [1:59:05] Now, I've been very clear on both my record where I have sued pharmaceutical companies and what I'm [1:59:12] campaigning for that includes raising wages and raising taxes on corporations and the wealthy. [1:59:19] And as the only person on this stage who is not a millionaire or a billionaire, I know a thing or [1:59:25] two about building a movement because mayor of South Bend, Indiana, is not exactly an establishment [1:59:30] fundraising powerhouse. We are here, we are here without the involvement of any corporate PACs [1:59:38] because hundreds of thousands of people went to, yes, peteforamerica.com, contributed to this [1:59:45] campaign. And let me say something else. If we want to bring about any of the changes that everyone [1:59:49] is talking about so elegantly up here, we need to put together the majority that can decisively [1:59:56] defeat Donald Trump. And in order to do that, we need a politics that is defined not by who we reject, [2:00:04] but how we bring everybody into the fold. And if you are low income or if you're able to contribute [2:00:09] a lot, if you've always voted Democrat or if you're an independent or even a Republican who's just [2:00:14] sick of looking your kids in the eye and trying to explain this White House, we need you to join us [2:00:19] right now. I will not pursue politics by telling people they can't be at our side if they're not with [2:00:26] us. But I say this 100 percent of the time, this is a time for addition, not rejection, for belonging, [2:00:32] not exclusion. Mayor Buttigieg, thank you. I want to turn to climate change and jobs here in America. [2:00:41] President Trump just signed the United States Mexico Canada Agreement, many call it an updated NAFTA. [2:00:46] But it does include incentives to make cars here in North America and it does open Canadian markets [2:00:50] for American dairy farmers. Senator Sanders, as we sit here in New Hampshire tonight, both New Hampshire [2:00:55] Senators Maggie Hassan and Senator Gene Shaheen supported this. They voted yes, calling it a [2:01:00] real win for workers and for farmers. You voted no because you said you believe it takes us back [2:01:06] years on climate. Were the senators from New Hampshire wrong? [2:01:10] Yes. I mean, it's a disagreement. But if you look at every environmental group in this country, [2:01:23] including the Sunrise Organization, we're so proud to have their support, [2:01:27] because we have introduced the most comprehensive climate change proposal I think ever offered by a [2:01:33] presidential candidate. What they are saying, what the environmental groups are saying, we're simply [2:01:38] exporting fossil fuel emissions to Mexico. There is not one word in that trade agreement that deals [2:01:48] with climate change. And I don't know how in 2020 you can do that. Second of all, there is, [2:01:54] in terms of outsourcing of jobs, a major crisis in this country, nobody believes that under this Trump [2:02:03] trade agreement that they will not be continued and significant outsourcing of jobs into low-wage [2:02:11] Mexico, where workers are paid, in some cases, less than $2 an hour. So I think the right vote was to [2:02:17] vote against that agreement. I don't apologize for that. Senator Sanders, thank you. I do want to go to [2:02:21] Senator Klobuchar. You heard what Senator Sanders just said there. He said not one word on climate [2:02:26] in the trade deal. So why did you vote yes? Well, first of all, I want to defend the honor of the [2:02:31] incredible two senators from New Hampshire, Jean Shaheen and Maggie Hassan, who works so hard for this [2:02:38] state every day. And I voted with them. Why did I vote with them? Because there were some major [2:02:43] improvements in this trade agreement when it comes to labor inspections, when it comes to getting rid of a [2:02:49] sweetheart pharma deal that was in place. And when it comes to climate change, I think we have to have [2:02:54] a North American trading block. We have to have Mexico and Canada and America working together. [2:03:01] And the best way to take on climate change, as president, yes, I'll work to make this a part of [2:03:07] every future trade agreement. But the best way to take on climate change is by getting back into the [2:03:12] international climate change agreement, which I will do on day one. It is bringing back the clean power [2:03:17] rules. It is bringing back the gas mileage standards, and it is introducing sweeping legislation to put [2:03:23] a price on carbon. And you cannot divorce trade from that. And in future trade agreements, that should [2:03:29] be part of our negotiations. But I'm telling you right now, having no trade agreement with Canada and [2:03:35] Mexico puts us at such a disadvantage when it comes to dealing with China and pushing China to do better [2:03:42] when it comes to climate change. Senator Klobuchar, thank you. Senator Warren, [2:03:46] you voted yes as well. Yes, I did. And I'll tell you why. Because there are a lot of farmers around [2:03:51] this country that are really hurting because of Donald Trump's trade policies. There are a lot of [2:03:56] workers who are hurting because they can't get enforcement of any workers' rights. So this NAFTA [2:04:02] provision, after a lot of negotiation with Democrats, Senator Sherrod Brown helped make it a whole lot better. [2:04:09] This makes things somewhat better for workers and for farmers. And when I see a law that makes things [2:04:16] somewhat better for hardworking people in this country, I'd say I'll sign up for that. And then [2:04:22] I'll get up tomorrow morning and I'll start working hard for a better trade deal on climate, [2:04:28] a better trade deal that has a basic coherence to it. Everyone wants to get to the American market. [2:04:35] We should be raising standards on climate around the world to get access to our market. [2:04:40] Mr. Steyer. Yeah, I mean, I got to agree with Bernie Sanders. And I got to — Senator — I do. [2:04:51] Senator Warren is right. Everybody wants to get into our market. And that's how we convince them [2:04:57] that they've got to be right on climate too. That we are — we can have to stop making foreign policy [2:05:03] decisions in the old way. Yeah, of course we want to make things better for American workers. And it's [2:05:08] absolutely critical that when we think about trade policy, we're thinking about it from the point of [2:05:13] view of the American people, not of the American corporations. That's a huge positive change, [2:05:18] and I agree with the senators on that. But there's something else going on here when we think about [2:05:23] our foreign policy, and that's this. We talked about whether it was right to kill General Suleiman, [2:05:30] and there was no discussion in that about where that makes — where that leaves the United States [2:05:35] in the community of nations around the world. So if we actually want to be the leaders of the world, [2:05:42] the leaders of the free world, who can actually negotiate a climate treaty around the world that [2:05:47] sticks, that makes a difference, we're going to have to put climate first. And when we think about [2:05:53] doing the wrong thing the way Mr. Trump did with General Suleiman, we have to ask, does that help us [2:06:00] build a coalition of countries around the world to do the right thing? It absolutely does not. [2:06:05] Being all by ourselves, being the empire in the Star Wars movie does not put us in a position to get [2:06:12] done what we need to get done as the leader of the free world. And so in fact, the USMCA is something [2:06:18] that's the first step, but the second step is exactly what Bernie Sanders is saying. Use access to our [2:06:24] market as a negotiating thing to make sure not only that we represent American workers, but that we [2:06:29] represent the American people in the long run, and we make sure that we get a safe climate deal. [2:06:34] One of the things about being in the arena is you have to make decisions all the time. [2:06:37] Yes. [2:06:38] And these things aren't always exactly how you would do them. But in this case, if you want to criticize [2:06:44] Trump for not ever having any friends, and I would agree, he always sides with tyrants over [2:06:49] innocence. He always sides with dictators over allies. But I think you've got to have some friends. [2:06:54] And those two countries, our neighbors, may not be perfect, but they are our friends. And we have a [2:07:00] president that literally blames everyone in the world. And we have not talked about this enough. [2:07:05] He blames Barack Obama for everything that goes wrong. He blames his Federal Reserve chair that he [2:07:11] appointed himself. He blames the King of Denmark. Who does that? He blames the prime minister of Canada [2:07:20] for, he claims, cutting him out of the Canadian version of Home Alone 2. Who does that? That's what [2:07:27] Donald Trump does. So my point here is that when we have opportunities to work with our allies — and [2:07:33] New Hampshire is such a great example of this — New Hampshire, Brenton Woods, New Hampshire, [2:07:38] with senators like Jean Shaheen and Maggie Hassan, who believe we need to work with NATO and the rest of [2:07:43] the world, who sees it as a smaller state, but a state that is a piece of the world. We cannot be alone. [2:07:49] And that trade agreement was not perfect. But the point of it is, if we start isolating ourselves from [2:07:54] the rest of the world, we are going to hurt ourselves economically and we are going to hurt [2:07:58] our nation's security. All right, Senator Klobuchar, thanks very much. [2:08:01] Well, yeah, hit the two-hour mark and we take a quick break and come back with a final question. [2:08:05] ABC News Democratic Debate. Thanks for joining us here on ABC News Live tonight. I'm Devin Dwyer, [2:10:32] joined with our political correspondent Rachel Scott. Rachel, we heard so much this last block about gun [2:10:37] policy, abortion, climate change, and then the issue of race, pushed on by Tom Steyer, [2:10:44] and really a lot of the candidates confronting Joe Biden, a sign of where this campaign is headed. [2:10:49] Exactly, Devin. Steyer tonight calling out the lack of discussion when it comes to race on that [2:10:53] stage. The conversation turning 90 minutes into this debate and Biden touting what the national [2:10:59] polls reflect — his loyalty among African-American voters. I have sat down with the vice president. [2:11:04] He has told me it's one of the things that he is most proud of, his loyalty among black supporters. [2:11:09] And if you want to just see how important black voters are to the Democratic base, all you have [2:11:14] to look at are the numbers from 2016. The exit polls from that primary, six out of 10 voters in Mississippi [2:11:19] were black. 61 percent of voters in the South Carolina primary were black. And that's where the [2:11:24] candidates are going to be heading very soon ahead of that. And to Nevada as well, with a lot of voters [2:11:28] of color there. And Joe Biden holding a lion's share of those voters. We'll see if these candidates [2:11:33] can chip away. You know, we were talking so many of the policies we heard about tonight, [2:11:37] like so many of the previous debates are familiar positions from these candidates, [2:11:41] which is why the style of their performance tonight is going to get a lot of attention from voters. [2:11:46] It will. But you know, when I talk to voters as I travel the country, they tell me their number one [2:11:50] concern is electability. They want someone that could beat President Trump. They want someone that [2:11:55] could carry this over the finish line. And that's why you hear so much of the discussion pivoting back to [2:11:59] who can do that on that stage today. And I was up in Derry, New Hampshire just yesterday hearing [2:12:05] not only a lot of attention on those qualities of style, but also a lot of anxiety over this issue [2:12:10] of electability, particularly now with Donald Trump's polling numbers on the rise, his performance [2:12:16] at the State of the Union and his acquittal in that Senate trial. It's going to be a four-day sprint. [2:12:20] I know you're going to be out there all weekend, as I will as well. And we were just talking about [2:12:24] what this moment in this campaign will mean. We could see a dramatically smaller field after [2:12:31] Tuesday night here in New Hampshire. Yeah. Tom Perez came out here and he said, [2:12:34] listen, we are beginning a 90-day sprint. Most of the delegates are going to be grabbed up by the [2:12:39] end of this 90 days. And the candidates really have to hone in on their pitch here. The voting has [2:12:44] started already. We're moving into the New Hampshire primary. And a lot of these candidates have a lot on [2:12:50] the line here. They only have a few days left to gain momentum before that next vote is cast. And [2:12:55] again, this race is getting tighter and tighter. And we know Donald Trump will be here in New [2:12:59] Hampshire and Manchester as well on Monday. So things are going to get even more exciting here [2:13:06] as four days ahead of the New Hampshire primaries. We head back now for the final question in this [2:13:10] ABC News Democratic debate. Take a look at the speaking times of the candidates. We'll leave you with that. [2:13:15] Joe Biden, top of the list. All the candidates back at their podiums. Stay with us right here on ABC News [2:13:22] Live. The Democratic debate. Here now, George Stephanopoulos. Welcome back to our debate. Time [2:13:35] now for a final question. Each of you will answer it in turn. We'll start with Mr. Yang. And the question [2:13:40] is this. According to the Children's Defense Fund, it's been more than 20 years since child poverty was [2:13:46] directly addressed in the presidential debate. The year was 1999. The questioner was our friend [2:13:54] who may be watching right now, the late Cokie Roberts. Cokie loved the New Hampshire primary [2:14:05] and she asked the candidates in this Republican debate, how will we overcome the scandal of one [2:14:09] quarter of American preschoolers living in poverty in the richest nation on earth? Today, [2:14:14] nearly one in five American preschoolers are still living below the poverty line, [2:14:19] even though we've had 10 straight years of economic growth. What does that say to you about where [2:14:25] America is today and what we need to do about it? George, we're in the midst of the most extreme [2:14:32] winner-take-all economy in the history of our country. And unfortunately, that extremity is just going to [2:14:39] reach unprecedented heights as technology is getting stronger, smarter, more capable all the time. [2:14:45] And most of us are not. Most adults feel happy if we stayed about the same on any given day. [2:14:52] So if we want to alleviate child poverty, we need to put money directly into the hands of families, [2:14:56] particularly single parents. Forty percent of American children today are born to single moms. [2:15:03] Ninety percent of single parents are single moms. And right now, we have fallen into this trap [2:15:09] where we have allowed the market to tell us what we are all worth. And what does the market value my [2:15:14] wife Evelyn at or stay-at-home parents around the country? Zero. Caregivers taking care of ailing [2:15:20] loved ones like Carl Christensen in Iowa? Zero. Volunteers and activists in our communities trying [2:15:25] to do something positive? Zero. Coaches and mentors helping our kids? Zero. Most artists, sorry artists, [2:15:33] but it's true. Zero. Increasingly local journalists, which is wiping out our ability to have a functioning [2:15:40] democracy because you can't vote on something if you actually don't have any news coverage. [2:15:44] The mission in this campaign has to be for us to disentangle economic value and human value, [2:15:54] say they are not the same things, and make this case to our fellow Americans that we each have [2:15:59] intrinsic value as citizens, as human beings, and as owners and shareholders of the richest country in [2:16:05] the history of the world. Mayor Buttigieg. The problem is America's been counting the wrong things. [2:16:14] Now we have a president who says the economy is fantastic because the Dow Jones is looking good. [2:16:20] And I'm sure if you've got a building with your name on it close to Wall Street, then that really [2:16:25] is the same thing as the economy to you. But the problem is we've had an economy grow and not be able [2:16:33] to lift up those most in need or even so many in the middle. When I'm president, we're going to measure the [2:16:39] performance of our economy, not by the Dow Jones, but by the income growth of the 90%. Because a good [2:16:46] economy is one where children are being lifted out of poverty, just as we focused in South Bend on [2:16:51] cutting the poverty rate, in particular the black poverty rate, and making sure families with children [2:16:57] were participating in the growth that we did have. But this is one more example of something where the [2:17:03] American people want to see change. The American people, not just diehard Democrats, but so many [2:17:09] independents and some Republicans think we need to prioritize economic equity. And yet it still [2:17:16] doesn't happen. That is why we need to recognize that the time has arrived for a different kind of [2:17:22] politics to turn the page, leave the politics of the past in the past, and deliver a better future [2:17:29] before it is too late. Senator Warren. So I started my grown-up life as a special education teacher. [2:17:42] I learned early on about the worth of every single human being. And I believe that the best investment [2:17:52] we can make as a nation, the best investment we can make as human beings is to invest in our children. [2:17:58] And we've had enough of making rhetoric around this. Everyone says they love the kids. But here's [2:18:05] the deal. It's time to come up with real plans to make that happen. I've talked before about a two-cent [2:18:12] wealth tax. But the whole idea behind it is we can do early childhood education and good quality child [2:18:19] care, universal pre-k for every three-year-old and four-year-old in America. And we can stop exploiting the [2:18:27] people, largely black and brown women who do this work and raise the wages of every child care worker [2:18:33] and preschool teacher in America. Have a real future in this country? Then invest in our children. Don't leave [2:18:44] public education just to our localities and our states. Be a good federal partner. Put real money into our [2:18:52] schools. Put real money into housing. Put real money into health care. Put real money into the future of our [2:19:00] children. That's how we build the America of our best values. Mr. Vice President. I come from a family where a dad [2:19:11] walked in one day and said, we got to move. Don't have a job. We got to move to a different city. I watched my dad and I met many [2:19:20] people here in this state and others who have gone through the same thing, where the fathers made that [2:19:24] longest walk and the mothers made that longest walk. I was listed for the entire time I was in the United [2:19:30] States Congress as the poorest man in the United States Congress. My net worth was net zero a couple [2:19:35] times. The fact of the matter is that I've never focused on money for me. And I was a single dad for [2:19:43] five years. It's not as hard as being a single mom. And I had help from my sisters in the audience and others. [2:19:49] But the fact is that I think we have to focus on what is at stake here. These aren't someone else's [2:19:54] children. They're all our children. They're the kite strings that lift our national ambitions. They [2:19:59] really are. They lift our national ambitions aloft. We have an overwhelming interest. Overwhelming [2:20:06] interest in seeing to it they do well. You know, 24 out of every 100 students in school today [2:20:12] in high school from grade school to high school are Latino. What are we going to do? Walk away from that? [2:20:17] Many of them come from homes that are poor, very poor. That's why I invest so much time and energy in [2:20:23] preschool. That's why if I only have one dollar to spend, I spend it equipping the child before they get into [2:20:29] school in the early days than after. And we talk about all those kids out there that are going to be [2:20:34] graduating. A great number of them aren't going to, as Mr. Yang said, aren't going on to college, although I [2:20:39] think we should help with college. They're not going on to college. What they're going to do, they're going to be [2:20:43] equipped to compete in the 21st century by training them for the new trades, the new opportunities, [2:20:47] the new capabilities that are out there. We must focus on our children. Like I said, they're all [2:20:53] our children. They're not somebody else's kids. Everyone, everyone, everyone, everyone, as my father [2:20:59] would say, is entitled to be treated with dignity and respect, and we're not doing it. Senator Sanders. [2:21:04] The answer to your question is why we have the highest rate of childhood poverty of almost any [2:21:13] major country on earth, disproportionately high for the African American community, by the way, [2:21:18] is the same reason that we give massive trillion dollar tax breaks to the rich and large corporations, [2:21:25] same reason that we give tens of billions of dollars in subsidies and tax breaks to the fossil fuel [2:21:31] industry, while half of our people are living paycheck to paycheck, the same reason that we have [2:21:39] three people in America owning more wealth than the bottom half of America, the same reason that we are [2:21:44] the only major country on earth not to guarantee health care to all people as a human right, same [2:21:51] reason as to why we are paying, in some cases, ten times more than other countries for prescription drugs, [2:21:57] and that reason is that our priorities are determined by the one percent and by wealthy campaign [2:22:04] contributors. Our priorities are determined by those who want to see the rich get richer and are turning [2:22:11] their backs on the working families of this country. And what is unique about our campaign is we say [2:22:20] unashamedly we are raising our campaign contributions not from billionaires but from working class people, [2:22:28] that our campaign is about the working families of this country, for the working class of this country, [2:22:35] and that is the administration that we will run. It is time to take on the big money interest, [2:22:42] it is time to change our national priorities. Thank you. Senator Klobuchar. [2:22:47] In Cokie's memory, let me answer this question. We may have lost an election in 2016, Democrats, [2:22:57] but we did not lose hope. And there is a way, it's actually based on a National Academy of Science [2:23:03] report, and I've used that to put together a plan to reduce child poverty in half in 10 years and [2:23:09] eradicate it in a generation. We can do it with investment in child care, we can do it with investment [2:23:16] in preschool and school, and we can do it with tax credits and we can get it done. [2:23:20] But to get it done, we have to be able to reach those voters that we lost in this state and across [2:23:27] the country. There's an old story of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and when he died, his body was put [2:23:32] on a train and went up across America. And there was a guy standing by those tracks along with so many [2:23:38] Americans, and he had his hat on his chest and he was sobbing. And a reporter said, sir, did you know [2:23:44] the president? And the guy says, no, I didn't know the president, but he knew me. He knew me. And I will [2:23:54] tell you this, there is a complete lack of empathy in this guy in the White House right now. [2:24:01] And I will bring that to you. If you have trouble stretching your paycheck to pay for that rent, [2:24:09] I know you and I will fight for you. If you have trouble deciding if you're going to pay for your [2:24:13] child care or your long-term care, I know you and I will fight for you. If you have trouble figuring [2:24:20] out if you're going to fill your refrigerator or fill your prescription drug, I know you and I will [2:24:25] fight for you. I do not have the biggest name up on this stage. I don't have the biggest bank account. [2:24:30] I'm not a political newcomer with no record, but I have a record of fighting for people. [2:24:36] I'm asking you to join us at amyklobuchar.com. I'm asking you to believe that someone who [2:24:43] totally believes in America can win this, because if you are tired of the extremes in our politics [2:24:49] and the noise and the nonsense, you have a home with me. Please, New Hampshire, [2:24:54] I would love your vote, and I would love the vote of America. Thank you. [2:24:57] Mr. Steyer, so the Republicans have a cruel plan, and their plan is pretty simple. [2:25:13] It's to cut taxes on the richest Americans and the biggest corporations, [2:25:17] and then they pay for it by cutting education for kids, by cutting health care across the board, [2:25:24] by allowing corporations to pollute as much as they want, and then they try and break unions and the [2:25:31] organized labor movement. It's very simple. That's what Mr. Trump's plan is, and it's true in every [2:25:37] single red state. But we are not going to win by just criticizing Mr. Trump. I know that there is a [2:25:45] better America out there, and that America lives in our hearts and minds. And that America understands [2:25:53] that when a kid succeeds in Columbia, South Carolina, that is a triumph for every American. [2:25:59] And the same is true of a kid in Las Vegas, Nevada. Mr. Trump has no idea what prosperity looks like [2:26:07] across this country. It's not just that he does bad things. He doesn't understand that investing in [2:26:13] education and health care and good union jobs is actually an investment in our common humanity [2:26:20] and in growth in the future, mobility and justice. That is the America that lives in our hearts and [2:26:27] minds that will beat Mr. Trump, because he will never be able to imagine it. So in fact, what we need to do [2:26:35] is have a new conception, a new dream of America, dream it and make it happen. Imagine the mountain, [2:26:42] and then we climb it together. We are in perilous times. I am asking for your vote. Let's rise [2:26:52] together. Candidates, thank you. Thanks for a great debate tonight. Thanks to our audience here [2:26:58] at St. Anselm College. Thanks for our partners, WMUR and Apple News. And now I'd like to send it [2:27:03] to my colleagues, Martha Radich. After the sometimes fiery exchanges between the top seven [2:27:17] Democratic candidates, it was a profoundly important debate, the last big chance for the candidates to [2:27:23] make their case before the first in the nation primary this Tuesday. We have a lot to discuss [2:27:29] and we will be heading over to the spin room with my colleague Tom Yamas and our panel of ABC political [2:27:34] contributors shortly. But first here with me as we watch the candidates leave the stage, Elizabeth [2:27:41] Warren leaving rather quickly there, Pete Buttigieg staying on stage, Joe Biden as well, and Bernie Sanders. [2:27:47] A big hug there between Pete Buttigieg and his husband, Chasten. Bernie Sanders, his wife Jane, [2:27:54] there are Chasten and Pete Buttigieg again. Bernie Sanders, a long day that started this morning. [2:28:01] Buttigieg going towards the audience there, shaking some hands. [2:28:06] Thank you so much. Joining me here on the stage up here, John Carl, our chief White House correspondent, [2:28:16] Mary Bruce, our senior congressional correspondent, Joe Biden coming back over there to the audience [2:28:22] as well to meet his wife there, Dr. Jill Biden, a big hug. A very big night for Joe Biden. He had a [2:28:31] lot to get through tonight. Also joining me is our senior White House correspondent, Cecilia Vega, [2:28:38] and our Nightline co-anchor Byron Pitts. And John Carl, as we watch the candidates on the stage after this [2:28:47] very lively and very important and very deep debate, truly, it was an excellent debate, [2:28:53] lots of great questions. What's your impression? It really is. I have to say, I think this was a [2:28:58] breakthrough night for Amy Klobuchar. This was by far her best debate. She took on her opponents, [2:29:05] especially Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg, but she also made a coherent and forceful case for [2:29:12] her candidacy as a Democrat who has won among Democrats, but is also one among the voters that [2:29:19] Democrats failed to win in 2016. So I thought a very big night for Amy Klobuchar. Also, Pete Buttigieg— [2:29:27] As we're looking at Joe Biden there. Yeah, and Pete Buttigieg, I thought, [2:29:32] had a good night. He went after Biden pretty hard. Biden went after him. But what was interesting [2:29:38] about what Mayor Pete did here is he also had probably the most forceful defense that I have [2:29:46] heard against Donald Trump's attacks on Joe Biden and Hunter Biden, and by far a more forceful defense [2:29:52] against those attacks than Joe Biden himself has offered. And Cecilia, as we're watching Joe Biden [2:29:58] there, your impressions of Joe Biden this evening and how do you think he did? Well, one of my first [2:30:04] impressions came with one of his very first comments, Martha, when he essentially conceded [2:30:09] defeat here in New Hampshire. He's very clearly focused on heading off to the next round in South [2:30:16] Carolina, to Nevada, where the voters there more reflect his supporters. We're talking about a much [2:30:21] more diverse group of voters. We're talking about a much more blue-collar class of voters. He had to [2:30:28] perform tonight. I don't know that he performed as well as he needed to to outshine him here in [2:30:35] New Hampshire. Really, on that stage today was Pete Buttigieg. He is a frontrunner now. He is performing [2:30:41] like he is someone in this frontrunner pack after Iowa, despite the caucuses and what happened there. [2:30:49] But he came, he had a target on his back on that stage and really went down swinging tonight. [2:30:54] And Mary, your impression, I know we were talking as we were watching the debate, [2:30:59] same thing that John said about Amy Klobuchar, that was an especially strong close as well. [2:31:04] Yeah, and so much of tonight's debate was really about that central question about age and experience. [2:31:10] And she was really hammering her experience, arguing that it's not a bad thing necessarily to have [2:31:15] a little bit of a Washington record. She took some very pointed attacks, I thought, [2:31:19] against Pete Buttigieg, making some digs at his age, calling him a newcomer. At one point, [2:31:24] she made a joke about how he wasn't – he was eager to turn the channel from impeachment [2:31:28] because he wanted to go back and watch cartoons. That's not actually exactly how he phrased it, [2:31:32] but that's where she took it. And I think she did make a forceful case. And she did break through, [2:31:36] I think, in a way that she really hasn't before. Now, Joe Biden, to Cecilia's point, [2:31:40] he had to bring it tonight. After that dismal fourth-place finish, he really had to step it up. [2:31:45] And we did see him launching some fierce attacks at the beginning, going after [2:31:48] Bernie Sanders on Medicare for All, going after Pete Buttigieg for what he argues is his inexperience. [2:31:54] But then he seemed to fall back into that comfortable debate zone that he has, [2:31:58] where he really relies on his resume a lot. And, of course, that's the bulk of his campaign, [2:32:03] is his experience. And he hammered that away over and over again. But, look, his campaign needs a bit [2:32:07] of a reset. And I'm just not sure if he could deliver on that tonight. [2:32:10] And Byron Pitts, as we're watching the candidates who clearly didn't look exhausted after this week. [2:32:17] I think we were all expecting them to be a bit exhausted after this incredible week. Here comes Joe Biden. [2:32:22] He's going right back out there again. He's clearly enjoying this. I would say one thing, [2:32:29] and Mary was talking about this earlier with me as well. Klobuchar has had many moments in debates. [2:32:35] She's had some strong debates, but she still doesn't seem to move up and, in fact, has faded a bit. [2:32:41] Do you think this will take her back up in the polls? [2:32:44] You would have to think, if it doesn't, what will? I mean, I think most reasonable people would say [2:32:49] she may have won tonight, but will it translate into money tomorrow? Will it push her campaign forward? [2:32:54] See, one of the things that sort of surprised me about tonight, as we look at Vice President Biden, [2:33:00] was that— They are clearly enjoying this. Andrew Yang there was jumping up and down for a while. [2:33:05] So Biden isn't expected to do well in New Hampshire. He has to do well in South Carolina, [2:33:09] which has a larger black vote. Race didn't come up in this debate until about 90 minutes in, [2:33:15] and it came up from Tom Steyer, who brought it up, and then they engaged. One thing I want to say about [2:33:20] how I thought all the candidates, when it came to the conversation about race, 90 minutes in, [2:33:24] I found in some ways all of them were tone-deaf, because so often when they discuss race, it is [2:33:30] about the pathology of the black experience. It is about the black nightmare, not about the dreams of [2:33:36] African Americans, because they came up in their conversation about criminal justice reform. [2:33:40] I think that is a blind spot for them that will hurt them down the road. [2:33:44] I do want to go back to Pete Buttigieg. He really was, and I know we've mentioned all this, [2:33:52] he really was the one with the target on his back tonight. And let's listen to a few of those clips. [2:33:59] He's a mayor of a small city who has done some good things, but has not demonstrated he has the [2:34:05] ability to — and we'll soon find out — to get a broad scope of support across the spectrum, [2:34:10] including African Americans and Latinos. It is much harder to lead and much harder to take [2:34:16] those difficult positions, because I think this going after every single thing that people do, [2:34:22] because it's popular to say and makes you look like a cool newcomer. [2:34:27] We need people with experience. That's why I'm worried about Mayor Pete. [2:34:30] You need to be able to go toe-to-toe with this guy and take him down on the debate stage or we're [2:34:34] going to lose. So where does Pete Buttigieg end up after tonight? Pretty steady throughout. [2:34:43] Well, I mean, I got to say, he did go toe-to-toe with them. I mean, [2:34:45] he got beat up by everybody on that stage, and he hit back. I thought his — you know, [2:34:51] he wasn't a perfect — And he didn't take the bait, really. [2:34:53] No. He just hit back. [2:34:54] It was not a perfect night for him. I thought his answer on the question of decriminalization [2:34:59] of drugs, he seemed to waffle a little bit on that. The question from Lindsey on race, [2:35:05] I thought he seemed a little bit uneasy on that. But in terms of the hits that he took from the [2:35:09] other candidates, I thought he took them and hit back. [2:35:12] And the question of inexperience. [2:35:14] Yeah, and I mean, this is something that I think the Democrats are really grappling with right now. [2:35:17] We keep talking about this identity crisis, that they're having an ideological one over [2:35:21] whether the Democrats want to be a moderate group party or they want to be a liberal party. [2:35:26] Clearly, tonight, they're also grappling with this issue of a generational question. [2:35:30] Amy Klobuchar said 59 is the new 38. She went right after age when it came to Pete Buttigieg. [2:35:36] But Pete Buttigieg's answer to this, he clearly knew that this shot was going to be coming to him [2:35:41] tonight. He said readiness really is about judgment. It's not about tenure. You don't have to have [2:35:46] all these years in Washington. We've got a president there now, he's saying, who has no [2:35:50] experience in Washington. And their point is, look where we are as a country. But they've really [2:35:55] got to decide who they want to be as a party in order to take on Donald Trump because he's got a [2:36:00] great economy right now. He is coming in swinging after a big victory lap this week. And he's ready [2:36:05] to fight in the trenches. And they don't know who they are as a party right now. [2:36:09] And they really did go after Donald Trump a lot tonight. Was that the wise thing to do, Byron? [2:36:14] I think they have to, right? Because that is still a threshold question for Democratic voters. [2:36:19] Who will do the best job of taking on Donald Trump? And I think they all made an effort of that. I [2:36:24] think one can make the argument they should have gone further. And about Buttigieg, Mike Tyson, [2:36:29] the great boxer, said everybody has a plan until they get hit in the mouth. I think he was hit in [2:36:33] the mouth early. I don't think he started that strong. But I think as the night went along, [2:36:36] he did begin to fight back in an appropriate way. And probably knew he was going to get hit in the [2:36:41] mouth tonight for sure. We're going to have much more in just a moment with Tom Yamas, [2:36:46] Chris Christie, Rahm Emanuel in the spin room. But right now, let's pause for a break. [2:36:50] Democratic debate. Back to the ABC News Democratic debate, [2:40:00] the post-debate show underway right now. Hundreds of journalists from all over the world [2:40:05] gathering in the spin room as the candidates come by to answer even tougher questions. [2:40:09] Right here in the spin room, our studio with the powerhouse politics panel, the smartest minds [2:40:13] in politics. And we start with Rahm Emanuel. Rahm, the winners and losers tonight for you. [2:40:18] Well, I think a number of candidates advanced their campaign. Mayor Pete, Amy Klobuchar did very [2:40:24] well. But her best moment of all the debates was that close. Because too often, she talks like a [2:40:29] senator. Today, she talked like in that close, like a presidential candidate. And that was a big [2:40:34] transformation for her. I do think there's some other candidates that didn't do as well as—didn't [2:40:38] sense the urgency for their candidacy at this moment, like Senator Warren, who I thought, [2:40:43] not until the latter half did she come alive. And I think also I would say this. I think there was [2:40:47] a very honest discussion about disagreements, agreements, and strategy, which is about the [2:40:53] importance of taking on this president and where he is most vulnerable. And the clock is ticking. [2:40:58] The New Hampshire primary is on Tuesday. Governor Christie— Elections have meaning. [2:41:02] Right. Governor Christie, a moment for you that really stood out? Well, I think the moment that [2:41:06] could be a foreshadowing for the future is when Mayor Pete was up there outright lying about his record [2:41:12] on African-American arrests on marijuana. And Lindsey Davis of ABC challenged him more than any [2:41:19] candidate on that stage challenged him tonight. And you saw the look on his face. He looked like a [2:41:23] deer in the headlights. And let me tell you, he thinks Lindsey Davis is hard. If he ever gets on the [2:41:28] same stage with Donald Trump, it's going to be a whole different story who will call him on those [2:41:32] things. And I think these other candidates better get serious about calling Mayor Pete on the record in [2:41:37] South Bend. And so I think it was a missed opportunity for the other candidates. Elizabeth Warren gave him [2:41:41] a little bit of a shot on that, but not nearly enough time spent on it. But what I saw more than [2:41:46] anything else is someone who's been a candidate on that stage. That look in his eyes when she came back [2:41:52] at him and didn't take his first line of baloney was very telling about what kind of candidate he may [2:41:58] be able to be. Chief Political Analyst Matt Dowd, you know, Mayor Pete had the big showing in Iowa. [2:42:03] He has some momentum and he had a big target tonight on his back. Yeah, to me, when you look [2:42:07] at debates in the midst of a process, you have to look at what the trajectory of the race was coming [2:42:11] into the night and what changed the trajectory at the debate. And so what I think happened tonight was [2:42:16] the trajectory of the race from Iowa was that this was beginning to become a two-person race [2:42:22] between Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg. Not a lot that for what happened tonight changed that [2:42:27] trajectory. It still looks like that's emerging. There was there were some marks left on Pete, but not [2:42:32] enough to slow that trajectory. The only person to me that fundamentally changed where they were [2:42:37] from where they were coming out of Iowa was Amy Klobuchar. The problem with Amy Klobuchar is, [2:42:43] does she change this race from being at 4 percent to being at 8 percent? Because she's only has 72 [2:42:48] hours to adjust this race to where she finishes on next Tuesday night in the primary. But really, [2:42:54] you have to look at this as who changed the path. And the path right now has not been fundamentally [2:42:59] altered. Joe Biden, I think, had the worst night. Not that he did badly, but Joe Biden had to do, [2:43:05] have his A game and had to do better in any way else because his trajectory was on the downward slope [2:43:09] and nothing changed. And his path is still on the downward slope. Terry Moran, it took a while [2:43:14] to even mention that name, Joe Biden. In the beginning of the debate, he did have some moments, [2:43:18] but then he seemed to fade as the night went on. He did. And I think he mistook [2:43:24] decibel levels for eloquence at some times. He was kind of haranguing, [2:43:27] which is very different from the Biden of old. And I think, in general, one of the things you're [2:43:31] seeing is Joe Biden is a very different candidate today, an older candidate who slipped in significant [2:43:38] ways. But I think in the conversation, the family argument the Democrats are having, [2:43:44] how progressive should we be, how centrist we should be, Bernie Sanders is the progressive candidate. [2:43:50] Elizabeth Warren is fading. He basically finished her off. She never wanted to take him on in the [2:43:55] hope that she would pick up his voters when he declined. The center lane is open. And that's [2:44:00] where Amy Klobuchar is rising. So there's going to be essentially two races for a little bit, [2:44:05] and then a one-on-one. And I think Klobuchar did herself a lot of good to take that lane. [2:44:10] Yvette Simpson, you have the pulse of the progressive wing of this party. [2:44:14] Senator Sanders defended his record. He stood strong on it. But Mayor Pete came at him pretty hard early on in [2:44:19] the night. Yeah, but, you know, Bernie is consistent. And I don't think he was rocked at all. I do think [2:44:24] Buttigieg had a hard night. And I don't think it will affect New Hampshire. But really, [2:44:28] New Hampshire was never a real issue for Pete Buttigieg. It's South Carolina. And I think him [2:44:33] not responding to this race question was really critical. And I think Warren really stuck it to [2:44:37] him. And she elevated on the—I mean, she took that race question to a whole other level. [2:44:42] I also wonder about Amy Klobuchar and where her votes come from. And maybe it comes from Biden, [2:44:46] because he got rocked by Steyer on this South Carolina issue. His unwillingness to acknowledge [2:44:52] that someone in his camp did something wrong in the fallback. Well, black people love me. [2:44:55] South Carolinans love me. It was not a good night for him. [2:44:58] You know, Rom, South Carolina is supposed to be the firewall for Joe Biden. Tom Steyer leaned [2:45:03] heavily into race today, challenging Joe Biden on that. Could he really hurt the former vice [2:45:08] president in South Carolina? Well, I think what happens—I mean, look, there's two states. You've got [2:45:13] New Hampshire and Nevada before you get to South Carolina. So I don't think this moment hurts him [2:45:18] down there. I think what happens between and the advertising. Let me go back to an earlier question. [2:45:22] I thought Mayor Pete did a great moment when he defended Joe Biden and his son, because he went [2:45:28] beyond what he had to do. In fact, he was more eloquent sometimes than Joe himself is about what's [2:45:32] happening with Hunter. In the same way that I thought for Joe, his best moment was when he defended, [2:45:37] obviously, Lieutenant Colonel Vindeman. Amy had a great close. I think Steyer did bring a discussion [2:45:44] of the race issue. And that's what gets me back to Senator Warren. Not until the latter half on [2:45:50] certain areas or subjects did she emerge. And I think when you finish where she did in Iowa, [2:45:57] here as a senator of Massachusetts bordering, she cannot afford another state to be not in the top [2:46:03] too. And it's a real challenge. So everyone had strong moves. I will agree that Mayor Pete [2:46:08] looked like a deer in the headlights when he got hit. On the other hand, when he actually answered [2:46:13] what it means to bring people together, what it takes to lead. And he's not wrong, having been in [2:46:17] the Oval Office. What you want out of somebody is judgment. What nobody ever told him was experience [2:46:23] actually lends to a judgment and influence and informs it. And nobody really has touched him except [2:46:28] for Lindsey. Lindsey's actually laid the biggest hand on him. As we wrap up this segment, [2:46:32] there was one moment that the Trump campaign has already tweeted out, and that was at the beginning [2:46:35] of the debate, when George asked all the candidates, would you have a problem with a [2:46:39] Democratic Socialist at the top of the ticket? It seemed like only Amy Klobuchar raised her hand. [2:46:44] Yeah. Listen, I think this is part of the problem for the Democratic Party right now. [2:46:49] Rahm said this a few weeks ago. They've got a choice between nominating someone that most people [2:46:53] think cannot win or dividing their party violently between mainstream and the progressives. But [2:47:00] one other thing on Buttigieg, which I think is important. He also, on decriminalization, [2:47:05] he is in favor of decriminalization of all drugs, including heroin and cocaine. He wouldn't answer [2:47:11] the question. He's going to be asked that question again. And he better have a better answer than, [2:47:16] I'm against incarceration. Do you really want to send the message to America's children in the midst [2:47:21] of an opioid crisis that it's not a criminal problem to take heroin, to possess heroin, to possess [2:47:27] cocaine, to possess angel dust? That's what he's saying. And that's inexperience, Tom. That's what [2:47:33] inexperience leads to. He put that on his website when nobody knew who the heck he was. Now everybody [2:47:38] knows who he is. He better figure the answer to that one out. And the issue of drugs, opioids, [2:47:42] so important in this state of New Hampshire. Every community in this country. And all across [2:47:46] the country. All across the country. That is so right. That's a losing position. And that's not [2:47:50] leadership, in my view. And Buttigieg got away. And the candidates let him get away with it tonight, [2:47:54] to not pound him on that. From everybody from Sanders to Steyer. All right. Everybody knows [2:47:59] whoopiants was a gateway drug to heroin. It's a big challenge, not just here in New Hampshire, [2:48:04] all over the country. And the issue of there's a difference between marijuana and a whole sort [2:48:09] of other drugs that lead to violence and other types of activities. We're going to have much more [2:48:12] on that. The spotlight, the pressure is definitely on in Mayor Pete. We're going to take a quick break. [2:48:16] We're going to have much more from the smartest political minds in the game and also more from [2:48:20] Martha Raddatz. We are just getting started here in Manchester. Stay with us. [2:48:24] With our ace political team tonight. And Mary Bruce, I want to start with you, [2:51:25] our senior congressional correspondent. Your thoughts on Elizabeth Warren. She, [2:51:31] for a good deal of that debate, disappeared. Yeah, I was surprised by how she wasn't really [2:51:36] dominating as much as she had in previous debates. You know, she did sort of seem to fade [2:51:41] at points. She wasn't drawing as sharp a contrast with some of her rivals as she had in the past. [2:51:45] She did have a couple moments. And she did continue, of course, to hammer that theme that [2:51:49] she has been over and over again, that the best way to beat Donald Trump is by taking on corruption, [2:51:53] that if you go that route, that, well, she too can win the electability argument and unite [2:51:57] the Democratic Party. But she just didn't seem to have that big standout moment. [2:52:01] And she needs that because, as we've been discussing, she needs a win in one of these early states. [2:52:06] I think she was hoping that her near-home state advantage here may help give her that boost. But [2:52:11] I didn't really see that tonight. And John Carl, Bernie Sanders, [2:52:15] he went on the attack about socialism very early on in the debate. Pete Buttigieg [2:52:20] going right after him. Well, first of all, that was an interesting moment when asked, [2:52:24] is anybody on the stage concerned about having a Democratic Socialist at the top of the ticket? [2:52:28] And you really only had Amy Klobuchar go there. Steyer ended up raising his hand, too. [2:52:33] But I got to say, Bernie Sanders is getting better and better at this as well, I think. [2:52:38] What Bernie Sanders does is he takes the hit and he took the hits. I mean, for a while, [2:52:42] he was the one taking all the shots. He takes the hits and he pivots and he puts it right at [2:52:48] Donald Trump. He acted like a front-runner. And he doesn't change his message ever. [2:52:53] At all. And that line at the beginning, [2:52:56] we're going to support whoever wins this damn thing. I mean, he made that pitch for unity, [2:53:01] took all the shots, didn't hit back, pivoted right to Donald Trump. [2:53:05] And Cecilia, I want to talk to you about, Donald Trump was talked a lot about tonight. We had the [2:53:10] moment where Joe Biden called for the standing ovation for Alexander Vindman. Was that the right [2:53:16] tactic? And did, in your mind, anyone prove they could beat Donald Trump tonight? [2:53:22] He certainly was the eighth person on this stage tonight who wasn't here. I think the Democrats are [2:53:28] still struggling. Here we are all these years later after Donald Trump candidacy and now a Donald [2:53:33] Trump presidency with how to go head to head with him. They don't know if the right move is to [2:53:40] you go low, we go high, or to get in the mud and get down and dirty and go take the Donald Trump [2:53:46] tactic that is insults and shots. They still don't know. I'll tell you what, [2:53:51] the president's team is watching tonight. They've sent a campaign out. And I will tell you what it says. [2:53:55] It says, President Trump will crush whichever Democrat is unlucky enough to face him in [2:54:00] November. So carrying along with the same bravado that the president has shown. But look, [2:54:04] Martha, he has upped his attacks in recent days against Bloomberg, against Sanders. We know he's [2:54:09] still eyeing Joe Biden. Joe Biden could do some harm if he had to in some of the rust belt states. So [2:54:14] he's got his eyes certainly on those three right now. And he does like to dip in on the Warren attack [2:54:18] pool fairly regularly. Whatever he needs to. Yeah, you've heard those nicknames. And Byron, [2:54:24] do you think anybody or who did it best in that way to prove to voters that they could beat Donald [2:54:32] Trump? Frankly, I don't think anyone did a great job of it. I mean, I think they all make usual [2:54:36] arguments. But to the point that Governor Christie was making, that you saw, for instance, [2:54:41] with Mayor Pete, that his response to Lindsey Davis wasn't strong enough. I was struck by, [2:54:46] next to going after Donald Trump, they all went after Michael Bloomberg. So I thought he may have [2:54:51] fared worse of anyone, because they all made an argument as to why this billionaire. Right. [2:54:55] And John Carl, just very quickly, you're at about 30 seconds here. Do you, [2:55:00] who do you think stood out in terms of going after Donald Trump? You, you deal with Donald Trump [2:55:04] every single day. First of all, obviously the candidate that he feared most early on was Joe [2:55:10] Biden. That is not the case anymore. And I don't think there was anybody based on tonight's [2:55:14] performance that has the Trump campaign quaking in their boots. [2:55:18] OK, thanks very much, John. And we'll be right back. [2:55:21] More than ever, we will all be keeping our eyes on the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday. [2:57:57] Thank you for joining us tonight. Our debate coverage continues right now on ABC News Live, [2:58:03] our 24-7 streaming channel with more analysis and candidate interviews with our team. [2:58:09] Nightline later with Byron Pitts here at the debate. George will be back tomorrow morning on GMA. [2:58:15] For George, David, Lindsey, and all my colleagues here tonight, I'm Martha Raddatz. Good night from New Hampshire. [2:58:47] Live from the spin room at St. Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire. Here now, Tom Giannis. [2:58:54] And welcome to the Post Debate Show live from Manchester right now. We have a full hour of [2:59:13] politics to talk about. Joining me right now, Yvette Simpson, Rahm Emanuel, Governor Chris Crissy, [2:59:19] Matt Dowd, and Terry Moran. And coming up in just moments, we will have a live interview with Mayor [2:59:23] Pete Buttigieg, where the spotlight was on him tonight at the debate, including from Senator Amy Klobuchar, [2:59:29] and this moment where she went after the mayor and his record. [2:59:32] But what you said, Pete, as you were campaigning through Iowa, as three of us were jurors in that [2:59:38] impeachment hearing, you said it was exhausting to watch and that you wanted to turn the channel [2:59:44] and watch cartoons. It is easy to go after Washington, because that's a popular thing to do. [2:59:51] It is much harder, as I see Senator Shaheen in the front row, such a leader. It is much harder to lead [2:59:58] and much harder to take those difficult positions, because I think this going after every single [3:00:04] thing that people do, because it's popular to say and makes you look like a cool newcomer. I just, [3:00:10] I don't think that's what people want right now. We have a newcomer in the White House, [3:00:14] and look where it got us. And joining us now, that quote unquote cool newcomer from Senator Amy [3:00:21] Klobuchar. Mayor Pete, thank you so much for joining us. You had a strong showing in Iowa, [3:00:26] a victory with Senator Sanders, and tonight you had a very big target on your back. [3:00:30] What was the pressure on tonight? Well, it's to be expected. We're competing [3:00:33] for the highest office in the land. But what I was able to do this evening is share a vision [3:00:37] that I see so many Americans hungry for, especially here in New Hampshire, where I'm seeing not just [3:00:42] fellow Democrats, but a lot of independents who are just sick of the status quo, hungry for change, [3:00:48] and insisting on a way to do that, to bring that change, to govern and to win. It's about inclusion, [3:00:53] belonging, and bringing more people in. That served us very well up to this point, [3:00:56] and that's going to be our focus, connecting with voters here on the ground in New Hampshire, too. [3:01:00] You know, there was a moment at the beginning of the debate when George Stephanopoulos asked [3:01:03] everyone if they'd be okay with a Democratic Socialist at the top of the ticket, [3:01:07] if anyone had a problem with it. I think only Senator Klobuchar raised her hand. Would you be okay [3:01:12] with that? Well, look, I think it's certainly problematic in terms of the approach that Senator [3:01:16] Sanders is taking, because it effectively says, if you're not with us 100 percent of the time, [3:01:20] you don't even belong in this movement. Now, I'm going to support whoever the nominee is. Of course, [3:01:25] I am working to make sure that I am that nominee. But we also got to remember that we've got to come [3:01:30] out of this unified. You know, you used a phrase that struck me, and it was command people, when [3:01:36] you were talking about Senator Sanders and some of his programs. And to me, as somebody whose parents [3:01:41] fled Cuba, I knew what you were talking about. Is it a danger? Are you saying, essentially, [3:01:46] Senator Sanders could be a danger to this country as a socialist? [3:01:49] This is just why I don't think that that health care proposal he's put forward is a good idea. [3:01:54] It tells everybody, you've got to get on this plan, whether you want to or not. And as somebody [3:01:59] who actually believes, I believe that we can do better with a public plan. I also believe that [3:02:04] the right way to do it is to give people a choice. Let's have a little bit of humility about our policy. [3:02:08] After all, if we are right, as Democrats, that that public plan will be the best one, well, [3:02:13] then everybody's going to want it. But if we're wrong, at least in the case of some families or some [3:02:16] people — I'm thinking of union workers who negotiate excellent private plans, [3:02:20] sometimes at the expense of their wages — why would you order them onto a public plan if they'd [3:02:25] rather be on something else? Let them decide. We still solve the problem. There's no such thing [3:02:29] as an uninsured American. And it also doesn't divide the country the way that this plan would. [3:02:34] I'm not just worried about winning. I'm worried about governing. [3:02:36] One of the knocks on you is that you have a problem with minority voters. [3:02:40] And after we leave New Hampshire here, where your poll numbers are up, we go to Nevada and then [3:02:44] South Carolina. You've had issues at home with black constituents. What do you say to people who say [3:02:50] you can't unify this party and they're not rallying around you, people of color are not rallying around [3:02:55] you? Well, it's just not true. Minority voters, especially those who know me best in South Bend, [3:02:59] are among my strongest supporters. It's why we've got so much support from black elected officials [3:03:04] in my community. We also saw that moment earlier, though, before the voting started, [3:03:08] when residents confronted you and asked you if you even cared about black people. [3:03:12] We had a really tough situation when we had a police shooting in our city. Look, [3:03:16] I don't get the luxury of just calling for good things to happen or debating these issues in [3:03:21] committee rooms or just taking votes on them. When you're a mayor on the ground, [3:03:25] you have to deal with these things. And they are tough. And of course, we did not fix systemic racism [3:03:30] in eight years in South Bend. But they're only telling part of the story if somebody's pointing to [3:03:34] the challenges we face. We were nationally recognized for our race-informed work [3:03:38] on creating economic opportunity, cut black unemployment, cut black poverty, and took [3:03:43] real steps on reforming policing, too. And that's the story that I want to make sure that people [3:03:48] hear from South Bend. And that's why I'm making sure they hear it not only from me, [3:03:52] but from black elected officials in my hometown who are supporting us on the road, too. [3:03:56] Following the debate, we talked with our powerhouse panel here. And for a lot of the people on this [3:04:00] panel and some of the smartest political minds in the game, they said there was the moment when our [3:04:04] colleague Lindsey Davis asked you about your record when it came to drugs and prosecuting criminals, [3:04:09] prosecuting people who use drugs. Looking back on your record, do you wish you would have done [3:04:14] things differently? And are you reexamining your record on drug abuse? [3:04:17] Well, of course, it hasn't been perfect. This is exactly why I'm calling for systemic change. [3:04:22] Look, the clear solution here is for us to legalize marijuana, period. But on the ground, in [3:04:28] cities across America, South Bend, but every other city, too, we don't just get to debate these things [3:04:34] or say what we think ought to happen. We actually have to roll up our sleeves and work to get things [3:04:39] done. And as a mayor of a diverse, low-income city, I will arrive in the White House with an [3:04:44] understanding not just of the theory, not just of the plans, not just of the right things to say, [3:04:50] but of the good, the bad and the ugly of what it takes to deliver real progress on these issues. [3:04:55] One of the people of our panel is, of course, Governor Chris Christie, [3:04:57] who went toe-to-toe with President Trump when he ran four years ago. And it's his opinion that [3:05:03] someone like you, who hasn't been tested yet in his opinion, wouldn't be able to stand up to Trump [3:05:07] toe-to-toe. What do you say to that? You know, I've taken worse forms of [3:05:11] incoming than a tweet full of typos. I'm going to be just fine going up against this president, [3:05:15] but I'm also not going to allow this president to change the subject. You know, the key here is to [3:05:20] make sure that we have an election focused on voters' lives. That's what's on the minds of the voters [3:05:24] that I'm talking to, whether I'm in New Hampshire or in other places. The fundamental question of [3:05:28] every election is, how's my life going to be different as a voter, if you're a president [3:05:32] instead of you? I'm the one trying to get everybody a raise. I'm the one prepared to [3:05:36] deliver health care in a way most Americans can get on board with. I'm serious about making sure [3:05:41] we actually act, not just talk on issues ranging from climate change to gun violence. That is how we're [3:05:46] going to win. I'm not afraid to confront this president, but I'm not going to let him make it all about him. [3:05:52] I finally may repeat, there are some in the party that are raising concerns that the party is moving [3:05:56] way too far to the left. It sounds like you're raising that same concern. What do you want to [3:06:00] tell people in the party who maybe are with Senator Sanders or with other candidates who aren't on your [3:06:05] side? What's your argument going to be to bring them into your coalition? Well, here's my message [3:06:09] to progressives in the party. I would be the most progressive presidential nominee we've put forward [3:06:14] in a generation. It's just that I've also found a way to put forward these issues that we can bring [3:06:20] more and more people on board with. We shouldn't measure the boldness of an idea by how many people [3:06:25] it turns off and how much controversy it can generate. We should measure it by how many people [3:06:29] we can bring in to do something big that'll make a difference in our actual lives. I would be a [3:06:34] president who can deliver that change, not just say the right things, but make it happen. [3:06:38] Any predictions for Tuesday? Well, I predict we're going to have a great night. [3:06:41] All right. Well, smart answer. All right, Mayor Pete, thanks so much for your time. We appreciate it. [3:06:45] Martha, I know you want to take apart that interview a little bit with your panel upstairs and then bring [3:06:50] it back down to us. But Martha, take it away. Yeah, it was a smart answer. He said he'll have [3:06:55] a great night Tuesday. Let's see how you guys feel about that. Will he have a great night Tuesday, [3:06:59] John? Well, I mean, he's the one with the momentum. And I think that he was the person that was being [3:07:05] targeted on that stage for a while, along with Bernie Sanders. And as we discussed earlier, [3:07:10] I — his most difficult moments actually came from the moderators, not from his fellow candidates. [3:07:16] I don't think he handled Lindsey Davis's question on race particularly well. [3:07:20] And he's going to have some explaining to do in terms of his policy on decriminalizing drugs. [3:07:24] But he did have a couple moments where he did fire back. I mean, [3:07:27] he did early on try and go after Bernie Sanders, arguing that on health care especially, [3:07:32] like you can't just draw a distinction. He was saying you can't just have some all or nothing, [3:07:36] right? You have to have a plan that will work for everyone and give people options. That's his [3:07:40] argument. So he was pushing back, but he definitely took more incoming than he did. [3:07:45] He's got to now be ready for this next phase of what's to come. Whatever happens here in New [3:07:50] Hampshire, you know, he's now in the front-runner pack. And he's going to get scrutinized not just [3:07:57] by his — And a couple of people aren't. And a couple of people aren't. And I think that's what [3:08:01] New Hampshire ends up really being about is it really starts to clear the pack out. And I think in a [3:08:05] few days, if not weeks, we will start to see this pack dwindle down a little bit more. [3:08:09] But he's now — Pete Buttigieg is now going to start being heavily scrutinized much more [3:08:14] by the media. He is going to come under fire from tonight on forward by his fellow candidates. [3:08:20] And he's got to not be able to stumble back physically on some of those answers, [3:08:25] particularly when it comes to race in the city that he has been at the moment. [3:08:29] Which are the kind of questions he probably should have been a little bit more prepared for. [3:08:33] But right now, we're going to take it back to Tom Yamas, who is standing by with Elizabeth Warren. [3:08:37] Martha, thank you so much for that. That is right. We are with Senator Elizabeth Warren. [3:08:40] Senator Warren, you are on home turf tonight [3:08:43] here at St. Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, not too far from your home state. [3:08:47] I have to ask you, some people on our powerhouse panel here felt that this was your home turf, [3:08:52] you should have taken over. And there were moments in the debate where you seemed to disappear. [3:08:56] Well, you know, I had my hand up, wanted to talk. But the way I see it is there was a lot of crosstalk in [3:09:01] this debate. And our number one job here is going to be to beat Donald Trump. And the way that happens, [3:09:07] we got to pull our party together. And we've got to run on some core Democratic issues that unite us [3:09:14] and that actually pull in independents and Republicans. For me, that starts with talking [3:09:20] about corruption. We are running, should be running against the most corrupt president in history. [3:09:27] This impeachment that we've just gotten through, he's doing a victory lap. Are you kidding me? [3:09:32] What lies right at the heart of it is an ambassador who paid a million bucks to get his spot. And it's [3:09:39] more evidence of Donald Trump showing every day. He thinks government's there for him personally, [3:09:45] to help his politics, to help make his family richer, to help his cronies. We need to draw the [3:09:52] contrast against that. And be serious about telling the American people and showing the American [3:09:57] people. We've had enough of government by corruption. I have the biggest anti-corruption [3:10:02] plan since Watergate. I think it's time we get out there as Democrats and not just say, but show [3:10:09] that we are willing to make this government work, not for those at the top, but for everyone else. [3:10:14] Looking back at Iowa, third place finish. You campaigned hard there. Why do you think you finished third? [3:10:19] So, look, we made it in the top three, and I'm glad of that. We're now in New Hampshire, [3:10:25] and I'm ready to focus on New Hampshire. And after this, we've got 54 more states and territories. [3:10:33] I've built out in 30 states. I'll tell you something. One of the consequences of deciding [3:10:39] not to fund my race by spending 70 percent of my time fundraising with rich people and corporate [3:10:45] lobbyists meant I had a lot of money, a lot of time to go all around the country. [3:10:50] So I've already visited 31 states and Puerto Rico. I've done town halls and selfies and all of them. [3:10:56] It gives you a chance to listen. It gives you a chance to meet people. It gives you a chance [3:11:01] to talk about the issues that touch people's lives. [3:11:04] Our entrance polls on the night of the Iowa caucuses said healthcare was the number one [3:11:08] issue that voters cared about in that state. And reporters who covered your campaign noted that [3:11:13] you stopped talking about healthcare, Medicare for All at the beginning of the year. Those were [3:11:17] reports. I mean, that's fair. That reporting was out there. Is there a reason why you stopped [3:11:20] focusing on healthcare? So I took unfiltered questions. That's been my way of doing this. [3:11:27] And what happened right about the first of the year is I way shortened up what I say at the topper [3:11:33] and then tried to get to 10 questions randomly drawn from the audience. So I answered whatever people [3:11:41] were asking about. But I will say this about it because I do think it's important when we talk [3:11:45] about healthcare. I talked about it on the stage tonight. 36 million Americans couldn't afford to [3:11:52] get a prescription filled. And that includes people with health insurance. The way we need to be thinking [3:11:57] about health insurance is twofold. First, get as much help to as many people as quickly as we can. [3:12:02] Defend the Affordable Care Act and use the power of the president to bring down drug prices. [3:12:07] I'm going to use the march in orders that are already in law to be able to reduce the price of [3:12:12] insulin and EpiPens and HIV, AIDS drugs. That's really important for us to do. And second is to [3:12:20] remember, in a general election, we're running against a guy who wants to cut healthcare for [3:12:26] millions of people and who is actively working right now to discriminate against people with [3:12:31] preexisting conditions to end the Affordable Care Act. This is going to be a fight we're going to win. [3:12:35] Senator Warren, we want to look at a moment now from the debate when you and Mayor Pete went [3:12:39] at it over criminal justice reform. These things are all connected, but that's the point. [3:12:45] So are all of the things that need to change in order for us to prevent violence and remove the [3:12:50] effects of systemic racism, not just from criminal justice, but from our economy, from health, [3:12:55] from housing and from our democracy itself. Senator Warren, is that a substantial answer [3:13:00] from Mayor Buttigieg? No. To the facts. And it's important to own up to the facts about how race [3:13:14] has totally permeated our criminal justice system. So we just talked to Mayor Pete here. He said he [3:13:20] could always sort of look back and do things differently. I'm paraphrasing what he said, [3:13:25] but you don't think he's done enough and you don't think what he did as mayor was right? Look, [3:13:30] she asked the question about whether he had answered about the numbers. [3:13:33] What I think is important is that we recognize the systemic racism, not just in the criminal [3:13:39] justice system. We can't just say, oh, we'll talk about race now, so it'll always be about criminal [3:13:44] justice. It's really about the systemic racism in education, in healthcare, in housing. And that's [3:13:51] what leads me to say, we can't just be an America that says, if we don't mention race in the laws, [3:13:57] then somehow everything is race neutral. It's not. The time has come that we have to talk about race [3:14:03] conscious laws. Look, Jim Crow was still alive and well into the 1960s. The consequence of redlining [3:14:11] in America, which was federal law, meant that white families got a real boost in buying homes, [3:14:19] while black and brown families were actively discriminated against. It created a black-white [3:14:23] wealth gap that persists even today. So we want to make change. Then we've really got to talk [3:14:30] about race and how it affects all parts of our economy, of our society and our criminal justice [3:14:37] system. Finally, Senator, you started this race as a fighter and you had a lot of fire in the campaign [3:14:43] trail. And lately, sometimes it sounds like your message is you're going to be a unifier. You can sort [3:14:47] of bring both factions of the Democratic Party together. Is your message changing and do you think it's going [3:14:52] to work now that the race is on and things are getting aggressive? So look, our number one job, [3:14:57] beat Donald Trump. But I think that bringing our party together is about fighting. It's about [3:15:02] fighting for working people. It's about fighting for America's middle class. It's about fighting for [3:15:07] our children who are left behind. It's about fighting for people with disabilities who just get [3:15:13] pushed aside. It's about fighting for all of the people in this country who just keep losing out [3:15:21] to billionaires, to giant corporations. Look, we've got an America where the GDP keeps going up, [3:15:27] where the stock market keeps going up. But what's happening to hardworking families across this [3:15:33] country? Wages are basically flat, while the cost of housing and health care, child care, [3:15:39] sending a kid to school are through the roof. Families can't take this squeeze anymore. [3:15:45] Trickle-down economics, the idea of you cut taxes for those at the top and somehow it's all going to [3:15:51] work for everybody else, has been a monumental failure. It is destroying America's middle class, [3:15:58] it's destroying America's working class, and it is crushing America's poor. We can change that. [3:16:05] I said my last question, but I actually have one more. If you don't win in New Hampshire, Nevada, [3:16:10] South Carolina, do you have a path forward with no victories after four races? [3:16:14] So, look, I have built an organization from the ground up, a grassroots movement. [3:16:22] We are now in 30 states. We have staff on the ground. We have volunteers coming in, [3:16:29] because I believe in this fight. This is the fight that I've been fighting all my life, [3:16:36] for America's middle class. And now we're close. 2020 is our opportunity, not to go backwards, [3:16:44] our opportunity to build an America that works for everyone. [3:16:48] Senator Warren, thank you so much for your time and good luck on Tuesday, okay? [3:16:51] Thank you so much. I'm going to actually turn it back now to our powerhouse panel because they are [3:16:55] dying to talk. Rahm Emanuel, Chris Christie, I don't know if they've ever been silent that long, [3:16:59] but they've behaved. And so now, Rahm, I actually want to start with you, because I think I know [3:17:07] what you're going to say. Were you going to say maybe we should have seen that candidate out on [3:17:14] the stage during the debate? No. Here's what I think. As I said before, everybody had a strong [3:17:19] moment. Everybody had a moment where their knees got a little wobbly. Some people advanced themselves. [3:17:24] Some people kind of stayed in neutral. What I will—my bigger concern as a Democrat, nobody there today, [3:17:32] until the very end when we're about to talk to Senator Amy Globuchar, after about two hours, [3:17:37] nobody before that moment actually looked like they could stand on a stage with Donald Trump. [3:17:42] You can talk about beating them. You can talk about—we didn't have yet that. And that—we [3:17:47] got to be honest. Now, that develops over time. I'm not expecting that right now. But there were [3:17:52] flashes of strength, flashes where people had some wobbly moments in answering questions. [3:17:59] But no—well, you have to basically close your eyes, see them on a stage with Trump, and say, [3:18:04] who really looked like they were going to go mano-to-mano, toe-to-toe? Because he's a vicious [3:18:08] debater. We saw what he did with Hillary. And so that's my concern as a Democrat, is we're not there [3:18:13] yet, and we got—we have the ways to go. Okay. We have actually Joe Biden, Governor Chris Christie. [3:18:17] Hold on one second. We have Governor—we have former Vice President Joe Biden with Martha Raddatz. [3:18:21] Yes, Martha. [3:18:23] President Joe Biden with all of us. He sat down with all of our political panel. [3:18:28] Team booking effort. It's a team booking effort. [3:18:30] We went and grabbed him. [3:18:31] We grabbed him. We grabbed him. [3:18:32] We grabbed him. We grabbed him. We hollered. We did whatever we can. [3:18:36] So we're all going to jump in on this. But, Vice President Biden, I just want to ask you, [3:18:41] how you felt it went tonight? Did you give the effort you wanted to do? Was this a do-or-die night? [3:18:46] I don't think it was a do-or-die night. I really don't. I think, you know, it's the first of four, [3:18:50] and we're going to go into Super Tuesday as well. So I don't think it's a do-or-die night. But, [3:18:55] I, you know, I thought, look, I'm an underdog here. And the fact is that I wanted to make [3:19:03] sure that I got to talk about the things that I care about, about, you know, the families like [3:19:09] mine that made that longest walk. The people I run into up here, I mean, literally all the time. [3:19:13] People are in trouble. This idea of the economy is good. Try it when you, in fact, are losing your [3:19:18] job or you have a job you can't keep your house. You can't make things work for you. And so, uh, [3:19:23] that's why I'm in this thing to begin with. And so it gave me an opportunity to talk about things [3:19:27] I care about from health care to, uh, to, uh, middle-class issues. [3:19:31] There's something we've been talking about, um, up here tonight is how do the Democrats take on [3:19:37] President Trump? You've got your nickname. A lot of the folks on the stage have the nickname. You see [3:19:41] the tweets. And, and the fight can be nasty. Do you, do you get in the mud? Do you get in the dirt [3:19:47] with him? Do you go low? They go high? What is the winning strategy in that? [3:19:52] The winning strategy has to go, go after him on the issues. Um, look, uh, one of the reasons I [3:19:59] decided I might not run this time was I knew it was going to be ugly for my family and particularly [3:20:03] my grandkids. And this is the God's truth. We have a deal in our family. I've spoken about it [3:20:09] before that, um, any child can ask for a family meeting. I mean, for real. It's genuine. And I got [3:20:15] a call from my granddaughter who's now a senior at Columbia Law School and my two other granddaughters [3:20:20] are now at Penn and first, uh, freshmen and juniors. And my, Bo's, my deceased son's two kids, [3:20:26] they called on Wednesday and they said, can we meet on Sunday? And they came down from New York, [3:20:31] Philly, and my boy, my son's children live, uh, near me. And they walked in and said, uh, [3:20:38] pop, you gotta run. And, uh, I said, guys, you know, this is gonna be not very nice, this whole thing. [3:20:44] And they said, we know, we know it won't pop. And they've, their whole life, [3:20:48] their father or their grandfather has been an attorney general, a senator or, or a vice president. [3:20:54] And my little guy who came up tonight, Hunter, he's now in, in seventh grade, excuse me, in eighth grade. [3:21:00] We all need it. Um, uh, said, pop, look, and he took out his cell phone. My word to this. [3:21:06] And it was a picture of me walking out of my son's funeral, Bo's funeral, military funeral, [3:21:11] my hand on a hand, on a flag draped casket with the military escorting him out. And I'm reaching [3:21:16] down and holding my little guy. And I used to hold my son under the chin like this, [3:21:20] joke with him, look how tall you're getting. And I'm leaning down and he shows me the picture [3:21:24] and the caption of me said, Biden molests another child. They said, we, not, I didn't say Trump did [3:21:30] that. What I'm saying is it's just going to be really mean. But when they decided that, uh, they thought [3:21:36] that, and, uh, I know it's going to be ugly. But look, the thing about Trump is that, uh, he has no sense [3:21:44] of empathy. I think very little sense of decency and decorum of what constitutes being a decent [3:21:50] person. And, uh, I acknowledge that. But what I got to talk about is what he's done to people [3:21:56] in terms of the policies. His foreign policy is an absolute disaster. We are in terrible shape [3:22:03] worldwide. Number one. Number two, if he's elected again, we're going to, I promise you, [3:22:09] NATO will not exist as it does now. Our alliances in the Far East are going to change. And so there's [3:22:14] so many things that there, I think I can just debate him on the merits, the place he doesn't [3:22:20] know much about. Mr. Vice President, you definitely turned it up a notch for this debate. I mean, [3:22:25] you showed, you showed some punch, you showed some passion that I did not see in the earlier debates, [3:22:30] but I was struck by something that you said at the very top of this debate. You said that you took a [3:22:35] hit in Iowa and you'll probably take a hit here in New Hampshire as well. I've never seen a candidate [3:22:41] come into a debate essentially predicting his own defeat in the next electoral college. [3:22:45] Well, because I think, look, I've been the front runner all along here. I've had that target on my [3:22:50] back from the beginning. And the fact is, in New Hampshire, I'm an underdog because of the fact that, [3:22:57] you know, Bernie won this place by 20 points last time. The neighboring senators have gigantic [3:23:02] influence. And so I think I'm an underdog. And, but I wanted to make the point. It didn't matter [3:23:08] because I'm not going to walk away. Like I said, you know, I've lost a lot of things before and in [3:23:14] the past, but I'll be damned if I'm going to lose to this guy, this guy, Trump to lose the country to. [3:23:23] And so I, and so when you say I came out, you know, I decided that the attacks that are going on [3:23:28] with me, I've basically not responded to the last, uh, whatever months. But this idea that, [3:23:35] you know, Bernie talking about, he's a good guy, Bernie talking about Biden has a lot of baggage, [3:23:40] baggage, you know, everybody, we have to win the Senate back. You think everybody, I mean, [3:23:47] he labels himself a democratic socialist. This is going to be a field day for the president. [3:23:53] Why didn't you raise your hand when, when George asked if anybody was concerned about [3:23:56] the idea of a democratic socialist? Oh, I already made my, I made it clear [3:24:00] I was concerned because I already spoken. I said, I think it's going to be difficult for, [3:24:04] look, I don't know that Bernie's been, he has great support, but I don't know he's been invited [3:24:08] into campaign for any of those frontline competitors that won last time. I went into, [3:24:13] I went into 24 states with over 65 candidates. They all wanted me in. They're asking me to come in [3:24:18] again. Most of the frontline candidates have, have come forward and supported me. So I didn't have to [3:24:23] pile it on. But when, you know, there's a lot of stuff going on like those, those fake videos were [3:24:29] put out about Biden on social security, which, you know, has been declared and just rated simply [3:24:35] not true at all. And all the emails that go out. And so I, I didn't, you know, I mean, we talk about, [3:24:43] he talks about a vote that I made 30 years ago and whatever it is. And, you know, look, [3:24:48] this is a guy while I was beating my neck, trying to make sure we passed the assault weapons ban. [3:24:53] And, uh, or before that, even the Brady bill, he voted against it five times. [3:24:58] He also voted. Look at his approval rating right now. [3:25:01] No, it's higher than it's been. His approval rating is going up. [3:25:05] No, I agree. And I think it's because the fact that, uh, you know, if, uh, I'm not looking to run [3:25:11] a negative campaign, I'm running against Trump. But the fact is that when you say things that are going [3:25:17] out there that are not true about others and, you know, about who has the record, [3:25:22] who's carrying baggage, I mean, come on. I mean, you know, this guy voted and he's a good guy, [3:25:27] but he voted to give gun manufacturers an exemption. How many people died in the streets [3:25:34] and nothing was done about it because we're not able to go after the drug, the gun manufacturers, [3:25:39] like drug, tobacco and the rest. I mean, it's carnage out there. [3:25:42] But, Mr. Vice President, you have also been sharpening your attacks against Mayor P. Buttigieg. [3:25:46] He has a lot of momentum right now, the other moderate in this race. How do you explain his rise? [3:25:52] Well, I think he's a very quality guy. I think he has a great organization. [3:25:57] He, quite frankly, out-organized us in Iowa. Um, but again, Pete keeps talking about everything [3:26:03] was bad before, you know, all the past was bad. Since when did the Democrats think Barack Obama [3:26:10] didn't do a good job? You guys covered me. I had, I had major, major responsibility [3:26:17] in the Obama administration. The president would turn over responsibility and give me [3:26:20] presidential authority to deal with it. But this idea, all these bad things, [3:26:25] I mean, I don't know where he was living. I don't know where he, you know, and it's not like it was, [3:26:30] we're returning to the past. We were just getting started. Everything landed on President Obama's [3:26:36] desk but locusts. We got us out of the most serious recession, short of a depression in [3:26:42] American history. We're finally getting things moving. We got hundreds of thousands of troops, [3:26:47] combat troops out of harm's way. We brought them home. We were moving. The economy was rising. I mean, [3:26:53] like, look, you know, Trump inherited everything. He inherited a good economy with straight, great, [3:26:59] I mean, more consecutive months of growth and progress than anyone else has ever had [3:27:06] in terms of just straight months. He inherited it. Now he's, I mean, he's messing it up. [3:27:09] But could, could Buttigieg be another Obama? Because you went after, you went after Obama in that 2008 [3:27:15] primary as not having the experience. That's what you're saying. [3:27:18] Well, he was smart enough to make a vice president. [3:27:19] Well, yes. [3:27:20] No, I'm joking. I'm joking. [3:27:21] But, but, but, but that's, but that's the argument you made against Obama. Now you're [3:27:24] making the argument against Buttigieg. [3:27:25] Well, no. Well, you know, because I, I don't know, uh, at least Barack had a clear view [3:27:31] of what his strategic notion was on foreign policy. He had a clear view of it. [3:27:36] You don't think Buttigieg does? [3:27:37] Well, I haven't heard it if he does. I don't know what it is yet, uh, number one. Number two, [3:27:43] um, I think, uh, you know, being a mayor of a town smaller than Manchester is not quite like, [3:27:49] uh, being, uh, being a United States Senator from the state of Illinois, even though it was only a [3:27:53] short amount of time. Um, and, uh, Barack's experience was much wider as well. So, but look, [3:27:59] you know, that old, that old joke, you know, I knew, I, I, I know Barack Obama. He's no Barack Obama. [3:28:07] He's a rare breed, Barack Obama. He was an unusual person. And I still, um, best thing I ever had [3:28:14] happen was working with him. One of the things that Tom Steyer said tonight, uh, was that we're [3:28:19] 90 minutes into this debate and no one has talked about race yet. Does, do the people who were on that [3:28:26] stage tonight, yourself included, accurately and fairly represent the people who will be voting [3:28:33] for you in this election? I represent them better than any person on this stage and all of them [3:28:37] combined. I've been engaged in the civil rights movement. I've been engaged in the civil rights [3:28:42] community. I've been engaged with the black community my entire career. That's what I got [3:28:47] me involved in politics to begin with. And even a lot of the younger reporters covering me initially [3:28:52] were saying, well, my, then they went to Delaware and found out where it is. Look, the black community [3:28:59] knows me and I know them. And I think we take it for granted much too much. The context of that was [3:29:07] no one had asked the questions. We tend to answer the questions that were asked. It hadn't been asked [3:29:12] yet. No one had mentioned it. And my biggest concern about the African-American community with the [3:29:17] Democrats is most of us take them for granted. They just take it as good. They're going to show up. [3:29:22] They don't show up, but they know when you care about them. They know you. They know if you really mean it. [3:29:29] And they know I mean it. We'll soon find out. And Mr. Vice President, we're going to let you go [3:29:34] now here in a minute. But where would you place this debate in the other debates you've been in? [3:29:39] Best? Second best? Do anything over? I'm not a pundit. I don't know. All I know is [3:29:47] I was able to say what I wanted to say and I'm going to continue to speak out on the things I care [3:29:52] about. For example, on health care. I think the one thing the American people are entitled to is [3:29:57] authenticity. You've got to tell the truth. The idea you're going to pass a multi-trillion dollar [3:30:03] bill and say you don't know how much it's going to cost eventually and who's going to pay for it. [3:30:07] I mean, it's bizarre. And by the way, you don't have the votes for it now even if you knew exactly [3:30:12] how much it would cost in the Senate. Or the fact you're going to go out and say, [3:30:15] I got a wealth tax that's going to take care of everything, about 60 trillion dollars worth of [3:30:22] cost for the next 10 years, paying off all student loans. And the American people are, [3:30:27] and I think will get killed by Trump if you come off with something that's not even remotely [3:30:33] authentic and able to be done. Okay. Thanks very much for joining us, [3:30:39] Mr. Vice President. We appreciate John's running and our yelling. Appreciate it. [3:30:44] It's late. It's late. We appreciate sticking around. [3:30:46] Thank you. Thanks so much. [3:30:47] And we're going to go over to Tom Yamas and Amy Klobuchar. [3:30:50] All right, Martha, thank you. And let me know if there's any video of John Carl [3:30:53] running after the vice president. I would pay to see that. [3:30:55] Senator Amy Klobuchar, thank you so much for joining us. [3:30:58] It's great to be on. Thank you. [3:30:59] And if you're still watching ABC News Live, this is a special feature. [3:31:02] The senator has agreed to enter the Thunderdome. [3:31:05] The Thunderdome? [3:31:06] She's going to answer questions from everybody on this panel. [3:31:09] Oh, wow. [3:31:10] Including some, you know, some quiet and shy panelists like Governor Chris Christie over there. [3:31:14] Like Governor Christie. [3:31:15] It just shows bravery that we need in a president. [3:31:17] I'm going to let the panel start first. [3:31:19] So Yvette, you can start off. [3:31:21] Hello, Senator Klobuchar. [3:31:22] There was a really interesting moment early in the debate, [3:31:25] when the question about whether you think a democratic socialist can actually win. [3:31:31] Everybody kind of hesitated. You raised your hand. [3:31:35] You answered the question. [3:31:36] Bernie Sanders is the front runner now and could potentially be the nominee. [3:31:39] If he is, are you going to support him against Donald Trump? [3:31:42] Well, I've made very clear I'll support whoever our nominee is. [3:31:45] But the question was, do you think a socialist should be running our ticket, [3:31:50] should be at the head of our ticket for our party? [3:31:52] And I said no, because I— [3:31:55] You need to get support of the majority of the delegates. [3:31:57] Well, I said very clearly, I will support the head of our ticket. [3:32:01] So that's a good point. [3:32:02] But I think it was more, do you want that person to be heading up the ticket? [3:32:07] I do not, because I think we need a candidate that can bring people with her. [3:32:12] And that means moderate Republicans, independents, people up here know what I'm talking about, [3:32:17] people that maybe stayed home in 2016, or people that voted for Donald Trump. [3:32:24] Just having left Iowa, there were 31 counties that have voted for Barack Obama and then turned [3:32:29] around and voted for Donald Trump. [3:32:30] And so, I think bringing those voters in, I am the unique person up on that debate stage [3:32:36] that has consistently won in red congressional districts, Michelle Bachmann's district, [3:32:41] every single time. [3:32:42] And I have done it by telling people the truth, as you can see that I do on the debate stage, [3:32:48] by making a case for an economic agenda, and by getting things done. [3:32:52] People want a president that can win and can get things done. [3:32:55] I think it's that simple. [3:32:56] Rob? [3:32:57] Uh, Senator, a lot of discussions are about income inequality, [3:33:02] which I actually think is a manifestation of the diploma divide. [3:33:06] And I didn't see a lot of discussion today about education. [3:33:10] And so the question is, a topic that wasn't really discussed, education, what would, [3:33:14] what would be the goal? How do you get there? And what were the things that you've done as a [3:33:18] senator that would actually advance education? [3:33:20] That was the one question I wish they had asked. And there's people up here that have worked on this, [3:33:25] and I know you have. So I look at it differently than some of my colleagues, [3:33:29] including Senator Sanders. And I know they have these bumper sticker solutions like free college [3:33:34] for all. I always tease them they're not thinking big enough. They need to step back and look at our [3:33:39] economy. What are the jobs that we have now and we're going to have in the future? We're going to have [3:33:44] over a million openings for home health care workers. We are going to have over a hundred thousand [3:33:49] openings for nursing assistants. We're going to have over 70,000 openings for electricians. [3:33:54] We are not going to have a shortage of sports marketing degrees. We are going to have a shortage [3:33:59] of plumbers. And so then you say, how do we make this work? Investment in K through 12 and preschool. [3:34:04] That's a big part of my plan. Free one and two year degrees, something that President Obama wanted [3:34:10] to get done. And then when it comes to four year degrees, I would double the Pell Grant. So the need [3:34:15] meets the help. And that means from six to 12,000 a year and then double the income level. I know it [3:34:22] doesn't fit on a bumper sticker, but it will work for our economy. And I don't think we should be [3:34:26] using hard earned taxpayer money to send wealthy kids to college, which is exactly what their plans [3:34:33] do. Okay. Governor. Amy, I don't want to, I don't want to sink your candidacy, but I thought that [3:34:39] your close tonight was by far the best moment anybody had in the race. And I think a preview for [3:34:45] how somebody could effectively run against the president. So you have the ability to do that. [3:34:51] What's your strategy between now, not just Tuesday, but as you go beyond to get yourself from where you [3:34:57] are now, four or 5% to being in that top two or three, so that people can start making that contrast [3:35:04] between you and Sanders and Buttigieg and maybe Biden, if he's still around. Exactly. I, as I said, [3:35:11] don't have the name idea of these other candidates and I don't have the bank account, but slowly but [3:35:16] surely I have met every single metric. I think a lot of people didn't even predict I would make it [3:35:21] through my speech in the blizzard. They literally thought we couldn't announce in the blizzard. [3:35:25] I did it. Then they thought I'd be out by the summer. Then they thought, oh, what's going to happen [3:35:29] to her in these debates? And for me, having debates like this is critical. Getting those newspaper [3:35:35] endorsements like the New York Times and the three big newspapers in New Hampshire, that means something. [3:35:40] People read them. They get to know about me and how I can lead. That's my goal. And then I just keep [3:35:46] going. I'll be on the debate stage in Nevada. I'll make my case there. I have an excellent [3:35:51] record of working on immigration reform. A lot of people talk about it. I've actually worked on it [3:35:57] and look at it from an economic imperative. And I think that'll be helpful for me out in Nevada. [3:36:02] Great. Matt? [3:36:04] So I got a question. A majority of the country thinks the economy is good. [3:36:08] And a majority of the country thinks that they're doing well economically. Do you think at some [3:36:14] point whoever the Democratic nominee is has to at least acknowledge that the economy is going well, [3:36:20] but that the race is not fundamentally about whether or not it's doing well, [3:36:24] but what's the character of the person in the White House, that we could have both a good economy [3:36:28] and a decent person in the White House? Because sometimes I feel Democrats are trying to tell voters [3:36:34] what they actually believe isn't right. Well, I think a lot of people understand [3:36:40] that there's jobs out there right now in a lot of parts of the country, including here in New Hampshire. [3:36:45] And that's how the president might evaluate it. He might also say, oh, the stock market's going up. [3:36:51] Okay. But I look at it in two ways, two major things we have to tackle that he's not doing. [3:36:57] One is the shared prosperity, the income inequality, making sure that we have people that are going to [3:37:02] fill those jobs of home health care worker that we know we're going to see have because we see an [3:37:07] aging of our population. That means things he hasn't even talked about, increasing the minimum wage, [3:37:12] doing something about child care, universal health care. Then we have those long-term challenges that [3:37:17] are much harder to talk about because maybe they're not the number one thing on voters' minds. [3:37:21] But I think there are people out there that are worried about the debt. They're worried about the deficit. [3:37:26] I think there's people out there that listen to me when I say we want a president [3:37:32] that understands that if you're going to do trade negotiations, that you have to keep your [3:37:36] promises and keep your threats with countries like China that see the long term, the underpinnings [3:37:42] of our economy when it comes to the farm economy, where we've seen major increases in bankruptcies. [3:37:48] So I think it's really—there's two critiques here. And I think they're both real to people, [3:37:53] maybe different people. But I can tell you a lot of people don't feel that prosperity. [3:37:57] He promised he'd bring down prescription drugs. He said on Fox News he'll bring them down so much [3:38:02] it would make your head spin. Well, people's heads are spinning, but it's because they've gone up so much. [3:38:06] Terry? Senator, one of the things that people have said about the 2016 election is that it showed that [3:38:13] sexism is almost as strong as racism still in this country. And you do—we have seen a couple of [3:38:19] women candidates, strong women candidates already drop out, and you hear from voters doubt that [3:38:26] America can do that, that America's ready for that. Do you feel that that is still the case [3:38:33] for you in the Democratic Party or beyond? Whatever they tell pollsters, whatever they tell their kids, [3:38:38] when they go to the voting booth, they may not be ready. [3:38:40] I think they are ready, because I look at the woman governor of Michigan that just gave the response [3:38:47] to the president's State of the Union, Gretchen Whitmer, or Laura Kelly in Kansas. That is a very [3:38:52] red state. And she won that race, which means Democrats voted her, but so did independents and [3:38:58] moderate Republicans. You look at all these new members of Congress that got elected, many of them [3:39:04] very strong women. So I start with those facts. The second thing is, I am someone that doesn't [3:39:10] talk about this a lot, because I've won my elections doing very well with male voters. [3:39:15] And I was the first woman in my state in both my jobs as the county attorney and then the senator. [3:39:21] And I felt for the first time, getting at what you're talking about, that I needed to address it. [3:39:26] I was the first one to bring it up on the debate stage. And that is that 5'4 is not a bad height [3:39:31] for a president. That is the height of James Madison. That you don't have to be the skinniest person [3:39:38] in the room. I think there's a lot of focus on how women look when they think about who can be the [3:39:43] president. And that you don't have to be the loudest voice in the room. So a lot of my argument [3:39:47] has been based on merit. And that I'm certainly tough enough, as you can see on the debate stage, [3:39:52] to take on this guy. And that, in fact, maybe we need someone that's not like him and not as rich as [3:39:58] him. Maybe we need someone that's very different than him to bring voters in. [3:40:03] Finally, I'll take the last question here. You know, the president's approval rating ticked a [3:40:09] little higher with the Gallup poll that came out. And in Iowa, there weren't record numbers of [3:40:14] Democrats that came out and caucused. Are you worried that Democratic voters are not fired up [3:40:19] enough like they need to be? And is that the fault of the party, the candidates, or Donald Trump? [3:40:24] No, I'm not worried about it. And we know there was all kinds of issues with the caucuses, [3:40:29] so I'm not going to take that. I'll look at one other example that is much more profound when you [3:40:34] look at the numbers. 2018 election — talk about fired up. We won in seats all over the country. [3:40:40] We flipped the House of Representatives and turned it back into the People's House again. [3:40:45] So we had record turnouts. And what I have seen at our events and rallies — New Year's Eve, [3:40:50] Keene, New Hampshire — I had 550 people at 5 o'clock on New Year's Eve. People are excited. [3:40:56] They are — maybe some of them are quieter. I remember a voter in Conway, New Hampshire, [3:41:03] who was in a line, and everyone had these happy stickers on. You know, [3:41:06] I'm a Supreme Court voter. I'm a climate change voter. And he just had a brown jacket on. I said, [3:41:11] sir, you don't have a sticker on. And he leans over and he says, [3:41:14] ah, that's because I was a Trump voter, and we don't have stickers. And I don't want any of these [3:41:21] guys to know, because they're my neighbors, and they don't know. But I'm not doing it again. [3:41:27] You hear that. And for so many of these modern Republicans' independents that we need to build [3:41:32] this big coalition, it's not just an economic check, which is what we talk about on the debate [3:41:36] stage all the time. It is also a decency check. It is a patriotism check. It is the thought of a [3:41:43] president that sits next to Vladimir Putin at an international conference, asked about Russians' [3:41:48] interference on election, and makes a joke about it. Those voters that maybe don't agree with [3:41:52] everything that we say on the debate stage — I don't agree with everything on the debate stage — they [3:41:56] think to themselves hundreds of thousands of Americans lost their lives on the battlefield [3:42:01] fighting for democracy, standing up. Four little girls at a church in Birmingham, Alabama, [3:42:06] they lost their lives, innocence at the height of the Civil Rights Movement, [3:42:09] because they were trying to be part of that democracy, and people were trying to push it away from them. [3:42:14] So we have to remember that it's not one-size-fits-all. And I'm very good at doing that and bringing [3:42:19] people in. Tuesday will be a good test. Undeclared voters can also vote in this primary. We'll see [3:42:24] where that motivation, if they're all fired up there. Senator, thank you so much for your time. [3:42:28] Thank you for entering the Thunderdome. You're invited any time you want. [3:42:31] The Thunderdome, is that what it's called? [3:42:32] I just called that today. Because look at this gang, you know? [3:42:35] I know. That's true. [3:42:36] He saw the first Road Warrior, and that's all he's been making. [3:42:39] Oh, I see, I see. [3:42:40] It was either politics or professional wrestling for this crew, so everyone here, except for [3:42:44] vet. She's nice. [3:42:44] We haven't been fed for hours. [3:42:45] The debate was in an ice arena, so, you know, I don't think people understood that. [3:42:49] All right, Senator. [3:42:50] I felt like I had a home team advantage being in an ice arena. [3:42:53] Definitely have the blood for it. All right, Senator, thank you so much. [3:42:55] Okay, thank you. [3:42:55] Martha Raddus, I know you have much more up there. [3:42:57] I think we're in the ice arena right now, right? [3:42:59] Yeah, we're in the ice arena, thank you. [3:43:01] It was a hockey, it was a hockey arena right here. It's pretty amazing. [3:43:06] We just want to wrap up here, up from our position here, and talk about not just this debate, [3:43:14] but this week for Democrats. This was an extraordinary week for Democrats, [3:43:19] and an extraordinarily bad week for Democrats. We had the acquittal, we had the Iowa caucuses, [3:43:25] is it, isn't it, what happened there, mess, debacle, whatever you want to call it. [3:43:30] So when you look at that, Mary, just talk about that week and what it's meant. [3:43:33] It's been a bruising week. I mean, it feels like it's been 10 weeks in one. [3:43:37] And how will the party, how will Democrats unite and move forward from this? I mean, [3:43:42] I think it obviously, as we've been discussing all night, it puts a lot more pressure on what [3:43:45] happens here this week. The candidate who wins here in New Hampshire will get that bounce, [3:43:50] assuming all goes well, that the candidate was probably hoping for out of Iowa. [3:43:54] But it does create this pretty remarkable split screen that we've been talking about, [3:43:57] where Democrats seem a bit all over the place. It's not clear who won Iowa. They had this, [3:44:03] you know, defeat in Washington with the impeachment. And you have the president [3:44:07] with Republicans united behind him. We all saw that rather extraordinary [3:44:10] press conference at the White House with all of the Republican leaders there with the president. [3:44:14] And he's ready to go. He's ready to fight and move forward. Who he's going to be fighting against [3:44:18] is obviously still a big X factor. But Democrats, it makes it hard for them, I think, even harder, [3:44:23] as they face this challenge of how are they going to beat Donald Trump when it seems like they are [3:44:28] still so disjointed. And John, we can't say how important tonight was in terms of [3:44:33] debates. I know there have been lots of debates. This is the eighth debate, right? But this is [3:44:38] really crunch time as you go into New Hampshire and after the Iowa caucus debacle. [3:44:44] It is. And it was probably the most spirited debate we've had so far with the Democrats, [3:44:47] probably the most substantive debate we've had so far. But I've got to say, to Mary's point, [3:44:54] they still have that incredibly— Democrats have that incredibly unifying factor of Donald Trump. [3:44:58] And what a week for Donald Trump. I mean, this was divisive, Donald Trump on the attack, [3:45:05] Donald Trump not declaring victory because of what you cited, but Donald Trump talking about payback [3:45:10] and retribution in that incredible scene at the State of the Union address and in the East Room [3:45:15] two days later of the White House, basically going after his opponents in the most personal [3:45:21] and divisive ways. And the Democrats tonight, [3:45:23] two in particular, we heard Joe Biden again right here just a few minutes ago saying he [3:45:28] thinks he can defeat him on the issues. Elizabeth Warren a little earlier saying we have to pull our [3:45:33] party together and unite. Is that going to beat Donald Trump? [3:45:37] Well, I mean, I think we'll see. Um, one of the takeaways for me is that this is one of the [3:45:42] debates where I think we've seen the most contrasts between them. And you see that in that strategy and [3:45:47] how to go after Donald Trump. Look, this is a very fractured party right now. And I think [3:45:50] it's a very real possibility that we could be headed all the way into the summer, [3:45:55] into the convention without a nominee still. Um, we could, this is going to be a nasty fight [3:46:00] that is nowhere near done, despite the fact that they're already taking the stage down behind us. [3:46:04] Back to the hockey rink. [3:46:05] Yeah, back to the hockey rink. [3:46:07] If we don't get out of here soon, no. [3:46:08] Yeah, yeah. But, you know, like you heard, you heard Vice President Biden today, [3:46:13] he already has his sights set on South Carolina. Elizabeth Warren is already looking ahead to, uh, [3:46:18] uh, to Nevada. So, uh, yes, you've got the Sanders, you've got the Buttigieg's who really need and [3:46:24] want their wins here. Um, those who've essentially already conceded, which we saw tonight from Joe [3:46:29] Biden about, about New Hampshire, are moving on already. The underdog. [3:46:33] The underdog. [3:46:33] All right. It was great talking with all of you guys tonight and we'll, we'll do it again next time. [3:46:37] Thank you, Martha. [3:46:38] Back to you, Tom. [3:46:38] All right, Martha, thank you so much for that. Joining us now is businessman and philanthropist [3:46:42] Tom Starr, who was on that debate stage earlier tonight. Tom, thank you so much for joining us. [3:46:46] It's a pleasure to be here. We're calling this tonight the Thunderdome. [3:46:48] So you, you, you have agreed to, to take questions from everybody over here. [3:46:52] Nobody comes out the same one. [3:46:54] Is that good rum? [3:46:55] No, it could be. [3:46:56] Um, Tom, I, I'd like to start because I, I noticed you leaned into race a lot tonight. [3:47:01] You spoke a lot about South Carolina and, and a lot of people know South Carolina as a firewall, [3:47:06] if you will, for former Vice President Joe Biden. And, and you were aggressive after him. [3:47:11] Uh, do you think you can make a play in South Carolina? [3:47:13] Look, uh, right now I'm doing pretty well with black people in South Carolina. [3:47:19] It's, uh, I think I'm getting something like a quarter of the black vote. I've spent a lot of [3:47:24] time there. My family spent a lot of time there. We have a lot of people on the ground. And I speak [3:47:28] straightforwardly about race. My attitude is there is no policy area in the United States of America [3:47:34] that does not have a substantial, important, and often neglected subtext of race. And, you know, [3:47:41] the example I always use is I'm a big climate bug, but I go at climate from the standpoint of [3:47:45] environmental justice, the communities overwhelmingly black and brown, where it's unsafe to breathe [3:47:52] because you'll get asthma and you can't drink the water that comes out of the tap because you'll get [3:47:55] sick. And if we, if we start in those communities and solve the problems of clean air and clean water [3:48:01] for them with leadership from those communities, we'll get climate just fine. [3:48:04] Yvette, we were talking about this earlier tonight, right after the debate. What would you want to ask Tom? [3:48:08] A couple of things. I mean, you had, you had some great moments. You were a unifier at times, [3:48:12] stepping back saying, Hey, I agree with you guys, but we've got to figure this out because we got [3:48:16] to beat Donald Trump. The moment with, with Biden was a big moment. You literally called him on the [3:48:22] carpet about a very clear issue. Can you talk more about that and what that felt like in that moment? [3:48:26] One of his big supporters in South Carolina, Dick Harpoulian, made a racist comment about someone [3:48:31] associated with our campaign. And the legislative black caucus came out and supported Jerry Govan [3:48:37] and our campaign and asked him to withdraw, to disavow, uh, the remarks in the person. [3:48:42] And all I was saying was, look, Mr. Vice President, please do the right thing and stand with us in [3:48:47] the legislative black caucus. This is a straightforward question. Please do the right thing. [3:48:51] And to be fair that the vice president did say that person he believes is going to apologize [3:48:55] for whatever happened. He did. He did say that on the stage at that point. I just, [3:48:59] I just want to be clear because vice president Biden's not here to sort of look, I didn't understand [3:49:03] exactly what happened in all fairness. I still believe that Joe Biden will do the right thing. [3:49:08] I'm hoping that he will do the right thing. But I think it's important when you see racism [3:49:12] to stand up against it on the biggest stage you can find. And this is not the first time I've seen it. [3:49:17] And so there was no way I was going to let racism pass and just think, okay, you know, [3:49:23] it's impolite to bring it up. If we let the races win, if we don't stand up to them, they win. [3:49:28] So we got to say it every time. Amen. I agree. You made the case about reparations. And since [3:49:36] Marianne Williamson has left the debate stage, we really haven't had many people making such [3:49:40] a clear statement about reparations. Can you talk about that? And then I'll relinquish the microphone. [3:49:44] Look, I think one of the things that people feel is that we can't deal explicitly with race, [3:49:49] that race is something that is somehow too awkward and painful to discuss and that everything's fair, [3:49:56] everything's fair now. So let the competition ensue. That's the Republican point of view. [3:50:01] Look, we've had explicitly racist policies in this country for 400 years. [3:50:06] I mean, my wife and I started a bank to try and undo the discrepancies and racism in the financial [3:50:13] system to support businesses owned by women, black people and Latinos because they were so [3:50:19] discriminated against in the financial world. And it continues. So the idea that we can talk about [3:50:25] equality in America without talking about race is nonsense. And I think that every time people try [3:50:31] and sweep it under the rug, they're doing a disservice to the country. We need to talk about [3:50:34] it openly. We need to, I keep saying, we need to tell the narrative truthfully. And then we need to [3:50:40] repair the damage. And that's the only way we move forward as the country we want to be [3:50:44] and the country we claim to be, which is the center of freedom, justice and equality. Okay, let's do it. [3:50:49] Tom, I mean, you have talked passionately about climate change and very passionately about race. [3:50:57] Did your investments when you were in private sector, did your investments in the companies [3:51:03] you invest in reflect those same values, both on the issue of race and on climate change? [3:51:08] I would say this. We started, and I'm answering you. We started investing in everything, [3:51:13] rum. Because I believe basically that in America, if something was wrong, the government fixed it. [3:51:20] And we, and a couple of times I made mistakes, including in fossil fuels. People keep bringing [3:51:25] up that I invested in fossil fuels, which we did not exclusively, not as high as the percentage in [3:51:29] the economy, but we did. And then I realized, oh my God, no one got on a school bus and went to school [3:51:33] to try and create global warming. But it turns out there's an unintended consequence. So we divested for, [3:51:39] I divested from fossil fuels. I walked away from my business because I said, look, I want to make [3:51:45] sure that in fact, all the things that I believe in are true. And I made those decisions long before [3:51:50] I was running for office on a moral basis. Look, I divested from fossil fuels. I figured this out [3:51:57] 12, 14 years ago. People are, I'm asking Americans to do exactly what I did then, which is this. No one, [3:52:05] you know, bought a car so they could heat up the planet and make it unlivable. [3:52:09] But we have to understand, we have to change. We have to move to clean energy. And that's exactly [3:52:13] what I did. Is that also true on race? [3:52:15] You're talking about climate change all here. I asked about both topics. [3:52:18] I think I made, I made one decision that I thought was a mistake on, which had to do with, [3:52:23] at the very beginning of the private prisons, someone tried to convince me that they would be [3:52:27] more effective and deliver better service for lower cost. I owned it for a tiny period of time. [3:52:31] I thought, no, this is morally wrong. So I just got rid of it. I got rid of it because I figured out that [3:52:35] that was wrong. And I've worked subsequently in California to make sure we got rid of private [3:52:40] prisons, not only in terms of incarceration, but in terms of detention. So when I make a mistake, [3:52:46] then I deal with it. And I made those decisions. I didn't do it a week before I started running for [3:52:50] president. I was at the very front 15 years ago, figuring out, okay, I know this isn't right. [3:52:55] And I acted. Tom, Tom, to clarify that point though, because it sounded a little odd, [3:52:59] the for-profit prisons, you got out of it because originally you thought they were going to be more [3:53:03] effective to help rehabilitate people or to turn a profit quicker? [3:53:07] To rehabilitate people. Look, I always, I mean, Rahm has asked me a question of, [3:53:12] did you try and do the right thing when you're an investor? And I did. And a couple of times I [3:53:17] realized something was wrong. So I divested it and moved on. And I've worked in both those cases [3:53:22] very effectively to make sure that the values that I came to were right. And I came to them fast. [3:53:27] And I came to ahead of everybody else. Governor. [3:53:30] Tom, first off, thank you for taking questions from us. You and Senator Klobuchar did. [3:53:36] Senator Warren and Mayor Buttigieg did not. But I don't know if we, I don't know if we [3:53:40] offered that to them. I don't know if we offered the Thunderdome to be honest. [3:53:43] When would I ever turn down the chance to talk to someone from Jersey? That's exactly right. [3:53:47] I'd have to be nuts. You would absolutely have to be. And I'm glad you're not. [3:53:50] You know that. [3:53:50] You're talking tonight, I think, based on both the questions you got on issues of race and [3:54:00] opportunity. And I thought you spoke rather eloquently a couple of times tonight about [3:54:04] creating opportunity. So on that score, where do you sit on school choice and on giving kids [3:54:12] in urban areas who are in some failing government schools and their families an opportunity to have [3:54:18] broader choice that maybe my family and your family have had if they wanted to avail ourselves of it? [3:54:22] So, Chris, I don't know if you know this, but my mom taught in the New York public schools. [3:54:27] Didn't know. [3:54:28] Yeah. And then after she retired, she went and taught prisoners at the Brooklyn House of Detention. [3:54:34] My brother, actually, who Ram knows, graduated from high school early to go and be to help my mom in [3:54:40] the public schools before he went to college. He's been a child advocate for at-risk children as a [3:54:46] career, and he's older than I am. So let me say this. I am completely committed to the idea of [3:54:52] education, of kids, not just being the future prosperity of America, which it is, but also the [3:54:59] engine for mobility and justice in this country. Number one statistic for success in the United [3:55:04] States of America. Third grade reading comprehension. I take this seriously at a level that I didn't get [3:55:10] a chance to say tonight. And let me say, there's a huge racial component to this, and I am willing [3:55:16] to change completely the amount of money we spend on this. That's why I brought up $700 billion for [3:55:22] defense, $70 billion for education. Are you kidding me? And I'm going to answer your question. But I [3:55:29] believe the way that we repair this is through the public school system. I've looked—I have seen [3:55:34] these charter schools. I don't believe they address the basic problems. I'm not someone who hates [3:55:39] unions. I love teachers. I believe teachers run the schools. I want to back them. I want to support [3:55:45] them, not just with higher pay. I want to support them with support services like crazy things like [3:55:51] nurses and librarians. I would—you cannot—I don't think we can overemphasize as a country our commitment to [3:55:59] three-year-old kids across the spectrum to subsidize child care for moms. To me, [3:56:04] the fact that we spend $700 billion on defense, trillions of dollars on wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, [3:56:10] and $70 billion on the kids of America, that just has to be wrong. And, you know, to me, [3:56:18] the real question is, how do we get the bulk of these schools to work? How do we work with the [3:56:25] teachers to make it happen? How do we make sure that those schools serve the kids? Because if you—if [3:56:30] third-grade reading comprehension is the number, you can't start in third grade. My brother's been [3:56:35] telling me—Rom knows him. He's got a big mouth. I mean, the truth is, kids drop out of college in [3:56:39] third grade. Yes, before. And my point is, my brother's been yelling at me, and he's got a big [3:56:45] mouth. That I can confirm. Isn't it true? That if you don't get the kids by three, [3:56:49] you're probably too late. And if you don't get them by five, you are too late. [3:56:52] All right. And I'm committed—I know you're committed to this so much. [3:56:55] Tom Steyer, thank you so much. I'm sorry. We're coming off the air right now. [3:56:58] If you're watching ABC News Live, a rebroadcast of the debate. Thanks so much for watching. [3:57:02] The best time in politics. Thanks, Tom. [3:57:08] This is what being lied.