Highlights From Last Night’s Presidential Debate
On Thursday night, 10 Democratic presidential candidates discussed climate change, health care and criminal justice reform on stage in Houston. Candidates like the former Texas representative. Beto O’Rourke stood out among the heated discussions about gun control; others, like former Housing and Urban Development Minister Julian Castro and entrepreneur Andrew Young, have failed to garner the right kind of attention. Below are a few of the highlights of yesterday’s debate, including one tense conversation between former Vice President Joe Biden and Castro over an alleged bad memory.
Andrew Yang offers $ 1,000 a month to 10 families for a year
During his opening remarks, Yang thought that the debate stage would be an ideal opportunity to announce the competition; he is offering $ 1,000 a month – his proposed freedom dividend – to ten families for a year if they go to his website and explain why they deserve the prize. “This way we will get out of the country again and work for us again, for the American people,” says Yang.
Pete Buttigieg then stutters before starting his opening remarks and gesturing to Ian. “This is the original, I’ll give it to you.”
Joe Biden discusses his health plan with Julian Castro
Discussing Joe Biden’s health plan — the Medicare plan of choice — Castro criticizes his strategy of getting people to “agree” to enrollment, arguing that the Obama administration left 10 million people uninsured. When Biden later clarifies, stating that Americans will not need to participate in enrollment, Castro goes to blood. “You just said that. You just said that two minutes ago. Just two minutes ago, you said they would have to agree. “
So who’s here? Technically, Castro is right in one sense; yes, Biden used the words “buy-in”, but he also referred to it as an “automatic” process. Either way, Castro’s blatant punch to Biden’s memory has become a major topic of discussion after the debate.
Beto O’Rourke talks about gun control
During the debate, O’Rourke discusses a topic that has been the focus of many Democratic voters: gun control. Instead of the voluntary ransom offered by several other candidates, O’Rourke is proposing the complete confiscation of certain assault weapons.
“We will no longer allow it to be used against our fellow Americans,” he says. Several candidates, including Castro, Sanders and Klobuchar, take the opportunity to praise O’Rourke’s efforts after the El Paso shooting.
Kamala Harris responded to criticism of her criminal record
Earlier this week, months after several other candidates’ plans had been made public, Harris released a plan to reform America’s criminal justice system, including “significant” federal investment in politics that would end mass incarceration. Harris has been criticized in the past for her conflicting positions; She previously opposed the legalization of marijuana and third-party investigations into the police shootings, but recently changed her mind. When asked why she didn’t make real change when she gained power, she gives a shaky answer, claiming that her views were “distorted”.
“Let me be very clear. I made the decision to become a prosecutor for two reasons, ”she says. “Firstly, I have always wanted to protect people and keep them safe. And second, I was born with an understanding of how this criminal justice system in America works with racial bias in mind. ” Harris does not try to explain why her views have been distorted, and pays no attention to her conflicting positions.
Buttigieg discusses his emerging experience
Towards the end of the debate, candidates are asked about their worst professional failures. Very few candidates have answered this question, but Buttidzic is at least candid in his answer.
“You know, as a don’t ask / don’t tell military officer and as an elected official in Indiana when Mike Pence was governor, at some point when it came to professional failure, I had to wonder, won’t just recognition of who I am become the ultimate professional failure that ends my career, ”he says. “… It so happened that when I trusted the voters to judge me based on the work I was doing for them, they decided to trust me and re-elected me with 80 percent of the vote.”
Honorable mentions
Warren (on teacher unions): “You know, I think I’m the only person on this stage who was a teacher in a public school. I wanted to be a public school teacher from the second grade. And let’s be clear about everything we’re talking about this, money for public schools should stay in public schools and not go anywhere else. I’ve already made a commitment. I will… we will have a secretary for education who worked as a teacher in a public school. ”
Harris (on trade with China): “Donald Trump in trade policy, you know, he reminds me of that Wizard of Oz guy, you know, when you pull the curtain back, it’s a really little dude. ? “