***Live Updates*** Democrats Debate in Ohio

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Tony Lee

Twelve presidential candidates will debate at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio, on Tuesday evening.

Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden, Andrew Yang, Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg, Kamala Harris, Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke, Cory Booker, Julian Castro, Tulsi overnabbard, Tom Steyer, and Amy Klobuchar will be on stage for the CNN/New York Times presidential debate.

CNN anchors Anderson Cooper and Erin Burnett will moderate the debate with New York Times Editor Marc Lacey.

Stay tuned to Breitbart News for live updates. All times eastern.


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10:45 PM: Cooper, after discussing Ellen and Dubya hanging out at a Cowboys game, asks candidates about a friendship that they have had that would surprise people or had an impact on them. Serious question: Did Cooper or CNN producers watch Phil Mickelson’s “Tribute Tuesday” Instagram posts before asking this typical MSM question? Nothing MSM loves more than “unity” and “bipartisanship.”

Castro: Rambles about people who thought differently and grew up differently. Doesn’t name anyone. Castro says we should be kind to people but should also hold people to account like George W. Bush.

Gabbard: Names Republicans like Trey Gowdy. Says Gowdy has been there for her during some personally challenging times.

Klobuchar: Names McCain.

Steyer: A woman from Denmark, South Carolina, who is fighting for clean water and environmental justice. Different race, gender, and from a different part of the country.

Beto: Says he has always tried to bring people together. Names retiring Rep. Will Hurd (R-TX).

Booker: He says he has so many he can’t count… goes to Bible study in Sen. Inhofe’s (R-OK) office and went to dinner with Sen. Cruz (R-TX).

Yang: After saying he will spend ten hours answering questions on his website on Friday, names “Fred the Felon,” a white working-class truck driver who previously supported Trump and now supports Yang.

Harris: Rand Paul. Talks about how they joined together on a bill to end cash bail.

Mayor Pete: Talks about friendships formed in the military–different race, politics.

Warren: Harvard Law Prof. Charles Fried.

Sanders: McCain for working with him on veterans issues.

Biden: McCain. Whacks Trump for being a “liar” and a “cheat.”

10:30 PM: Biden says he’s the only one on the stage who has gotten anything really big done.

Sanders rips Biden — says he got the Iraq War, NAFTA, PNTR (permanent normal trade relations) with China done.

Warren takes credit for the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Board (CFPB).

10:23 PM: Biden says he won’t pack the Supreme Court to protect abortion rights. Biden talks about defeating Robert Bork and says we should codify Roe v Wade. Biden says if a Supreme Court Justice steps down before the next election, Mitch McConnell and the Republicans should not be allowed to hold hearings.

Buttigieg wants a 15-person Supreme Court to depoliticize the process. He says 5 members will be appointed only with the unanimous consent of 10 others.

Castro calls for term limits (or cycling off to the appellate courts) rather than packing the courts.

Warren takes the question back to abortion and says she lived in an America where abortion was illegal and rich women still got abortions. She says poor women were the ones who got hurt.

10: 09 PM: Booker, interjecting, says as the vegan, he can say that Trump is the unhealthiest person to ever run for president.

10:06 PM: Yang says Warren is 100% accurate in diagnosing the problem when asked about breaking up tech companies. Yang says breaking up tech companies, though, will not revive Main Street. He talks about the impact of screen use on children and he says breaking up tech companies does nothing to make kids healthier. Yang says using 20th century anti-trust solutions will not work.

Warren says companies can be the umpire or have a team, but you don’t get to do both. She accuses Amazon of collecting data on what sells well on their site and then going into business against them.

Beto wants tech companies to be treated as publishers, but he does not think presidents should target individual companies.

Harris asks Warren to join her in calling for Twitter to shut down Trump’s Twitter account. Warren dodges and says she wants to push Trump out of the White House.

Steyer now says Democrats need to talk about “prosperity” and the “private sector” to beat Trump before calling Trump a “fraud.” If traction gets any traction, will be interesting to see Democrats hit back at his private equity past.

Yang says data is more valuable than oil and Americans need to get their “tech check” via the freedom dividend, and that’s the best way to deal with the Big Tech problem.

9:52 PM: Burnett tries to pivot to health and Sanders says he’s feeling great. Booker says Sanders supports medical marijuana and Sanders replies: “I’m not on it tonight.”

Burnett asks Sanders how he will assure voters that he is up for the presidency. Sanders talks about an upcoming rally in Queens and says he will mount a “vigorous campaign” to prove to people that he is fit for the presidency.

He thanks everyone who sent good wishes from the bottom of his heart and says he is so glad to be back up on the debate stage.

Biden says he is running because of his “age and experience” because with it comes “wisdom.” He says now, more than ever, someone with that capacity is needed in the White House.

Warren, when asked about age, says she will outwork, out-organize, and outlast everyone–and “that includes Donald Trump, Mike Pence or whoever the Republicans get stuck with.”

9:50 PM: On opioids, Steyer goes back to one of the central themes of his campaign–that corporations have bought the government.

Yang calls for decriminalizing opioids. He says there were more opioid prescriptions than people in Ohio and the crisis is one of “capitalism run amok.” He says the government must invest in treatment plans and people cannot be worried about going to jail cells if they come in for treatment. He says first responders in New Hampshire have told him they see the same people over and over again.

Beto also says he is for decriminalization of opioids while Harris calls pharmaceutical companies and executives “high-level dope dealers” and says some executives need to go to jail. “This is a matter of justice,” she says, adding that we should end mass incarceration and the War on Drugs and go after pharmaceutical executives.

Castro says drug company executives should go to jail and also need to be held accountable financially. He says Wall Street executives also must be held to account.

9:40 PM: Warren in favor of voluntary buyback programs and not mandatory buyback programs. She says the former got machine guns off the streets.

Castro asked about preventing deaths via handguns. Castro says he has problems with mandatory buyback programs because people don’t want cops coming to their homes… talks about police officers killing innocent people in their homes. He says “police violence is also gun violence, and we need to address that.”

9:30 PM: Beto asked about mandatory buybacks. He has disagreed with Mayor Pete on this.

Beto asked how he would endorse that when he doesn’t even know who has AR-15s. Beto calls them “weapons of war” that are “too dangerous to sell.” Beto says they are also “too dangerous to own” because every single one of them is a “potential instrument of terror.” He says just ask “any Hispanic in Texas” and accused Trump of inciting racists to target Hispanics in his community. Beto says if someone does not turn in their “weapons of war” and “brandishes” it in public, that weapon “will be taken from them.”

Buttigieg asked whether mandatory buybacks equal “confiscation.” He says Beto just made it clear that he does not know how to get weapons off the street. Mayor Pete says we can’t wait for Red Flag laws and universal background checks. He says we can’t wait for purity test and must “get something done.”

Mayor Pete says he doesn’t need lessons from Beto on courage–political or personal. He goes on to rip the NRA and their “enablers” in Congress. Beto hits Mayor Pete for calling his buyback plan a “shiny object.” He says “that was a slap in the face” to every survivor of gun violence.

9:22 PM: Castro rips Trump for caging kids at the border while letting ISIS prisoners go free. He says there is no reason for Kim Jong Un to trust anything Trump has to say re: nuclear agreement when he ripped up the Iran Deal and betrayed the Kurds.

Booker accuses Trump of partnering more with Putin than Merkel and Macron.

Biden says he has spent time alone with Putin and Erdogan. He says Trump is an “erratic” and “crazy” president who doesn’t “know a damn” about foreign policy. Biden says Erdogan knows how terrible it would if Turkey got booted from NATO. Biden says if Trump is elected, there will be no NATO.

Biden counters Gabbard’s “regime-change” war claim, saying it was to prevent Assad from “wiping out” thousands of people.

Beto says Russia is “invading” American democracy and then says “in addition” in Spanish out of the blue.

9:12 PM: Gabbard, appropriately asked about Syria.

She says Trump “has the blood of the Kurds on his hand.” She rips both parties and the mainstream media for “championing” the regime-change war that has led to the death of the Kurds. She rips CNN and the New York Times for smearing veterans like her for wanting to end the “regime-change war” in Syria. Says it is “despicable” that CNN had a pundit who implied she was a “Russia asset.”

Gabbard asks Warren to join her in calling for an end to the regime-change wars.

Warren says she doesn’t want troops in the Middle East but America must do it in the right way. She then accuses Trump of sucking up to dictators and enriching himself at the expense of America. She accuses Trump of giving ISIS a “new lease on life.”

Gabbard rips Buttigieg for wanting more regime-change wars in Syria. The two veterans differing. Buttigieg says when he was deployed, what protected him was that the American flag meant keeping our word and says Trump is undermining the “honor” of our soldiers. He says if you take away their honor, you might as well take away their armor.

Sanders says Turkey is no longer a U.S. ally when they invade another country and engage in mass slaughter. Sanders says 11,000 Kurds died and 20,000 were wounded fighting ISIS and now no country will trust the word of the United States. Sanders says Trump, the “pathological liar,” has wrecked the country’s ability to engage with other nations re: foreign policy issues.

9:10 PM: Debate turns to foreign policy. Biden says he would not have withdrawn troops from Syria or Iraq. He says when Trump said the ISIS prisoners who are freed would go to Europe, it is the most shameful thing ever said by a modern president. Biden says he will make it clear to Syria’s Assad that “Turkey is the real problem here.” When asked if he wants American troops back in Syria, Biden says he wants the 1,000 troops protected by air cover and will make it clear that they are not going anywhere and will protect the Kurds.

9:05: Interesting observation:

9:00 PM: Castro wants an inheritance tax and to raise the top marginal rate. He talks about having visited homeless people living in storm drains in Vegas.

Booker wants Democrats to talk more about child poverty. He says the country must deal with the “moral obscenity” of its high child poverty rate.

8:55 PM: Harris now being asked about her tax credit. She tells a story about her mom at the kitchen table “trying to figure out how to make it all work.” Harris again repeats lines from her stump speech about how “justice is on the ballot.”

Burnett asks Yang about the wealth tax. He says it makes a lot of sense in principle but countries have repealed it because it had massive implementation problems. Yang calls for a value-added tax (VAT). Again, credit to Burnett for bringing in Yang into the discussion.

Beto says Democrats need to be more focused on lifting people on… he says Warren is more focused on “being punitive” and pitting some part of the country against the other.

Warren says she doesn’t “have a beef” with billionaires. She says billionaires made it because “all of us” helped them get there. She again calls for them to “pitch in” two cents so every other kids gets a chance.

(Bernie’s national press secretary, though, does have a “beef” with billionaires):

8:50 PM: Buttigieg, on Warren’s wealth tax, says it sounds good but could be an example of yet another Washington policy that sounds great but will accomplish nothing. Warren keeps defending her wealth tax, says it is needed for investments in the next generation. Yang has been making the case that it will be so easy for people to game the wealth tax, perhaps even renouncing citizenship, to avoid paying it but he has yet to jump in to make that point.

8:45 PM: Beto says if Mexicans should join unions if their companies do business with America.

Biden wants to double the capital gains tax and says the problem with these debates is that everyone wants to cram everything in in a short amount of time. Biden says the greedy corporations and the Fourth Industrial revolution creating job losses.

8:35 PM: Warren says the top reason Americans have lost jobs is bad trade policies and corporations with no loyalty to America workers, consumers, and communities.

8:30 PM: Debate now turns to jobs and automation. And Erin Burnett goes to Sanders first and asks him about his jobs guarantee program. Sanders says “damn right” everyone will get a job. Yang and Sanders have disagreed on this issue. Yang says his freedom dividend is more practical than Sanders’s jobs program.

Yang points out that not everyone wants to work for the federal government and many people who lose their jobs to automation cannot be “retrained” for various federal jobs. He says $1,000/month is better for the “trickle up economy.”

Booker jumps in to rip CNN for asking Biden about Hunter and says Trump was happy with that exchange. Says CNN elevated a lie and attacked a statesman.

Yang talks about the impact that automation will have on various communities that rely on truck drivers (diners). Gabbard is against a federal jobs guarantee and agrees with her friend Yang about UBI.

An important segment about automation and the new economy in a state that will be impacted by it would not have been possible had it not been for Yang’s candidacy. Credit to Erin Burnett for outstanding questioning and going to Yang right after Sanders and getting them to talk about their difference. Great segment for Burnett.

8:20 PM: Warren asked a “yes or no” answer about whether she will raise taxes for Medicare for all. Another dodge. She says costs will go up for the wealthy and down for those who are not. She rips insurance companies for “pulling the rug” from under people.

Buttigieg points out Warren is being evasive and says she is why why people are frustrated with Washington. Buttigieg says Warren supposedly has a plan for everything except for health care. He touts his “Medicare for all who want it” idea.

Warren says when someone hears “Medicare for all who want it,” it means “Medicare for all who can afford it.”

Sanders says his Medicare for All plan that Warren endorsed will be better than Canada’s but taxes will go up and will go up “significantly for the wealthy.” Warren keeps dodging the question and Klobuchar calls her out for not being honest and promoting a “pipe dream.”

Warren pivots to saying she spent most of her time not in Washington but studying how people went bankrupt–most due to healthcare bills even though they had insurance. Warren keeps dodging.

Biden talks again about building on Obamacare. Biden says Democrats must be straight with Americans on the single most important issue.

Sanders says the debate should be about whether Democrats have the “guts” to stand up to the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries. Sanders says we must stop defending the “cruel” and “unjust” system.

Harris says Democrats should be talking more about abortion and says women, especially women of color, will die because of Republican legislatures in the states.

8:16 PM: Cooper asks Biden about his son Hunter. He asks if it is not okay for a president’s son to be involved in foreign businesses, why is it okay for a vice president’s son. Biden says neither he nor his son did “nothing wrong.” “My son’s statement speaks for itself,” Biden says, basically cuing up a potential attack ad. Biden says Trump is afraid of him because if he wins the nomination he will “beat him like a drum.” Biden says he and his son kept everything separate. Says Hunter made a judgment and he is “prod” of the judgment he made. Biden then pivots back to Trump’s “corruption.”

Sanders says Democrats must also focus on the “pain of the working class of this country.”

8:06 PM: Biden, who finally came around on impeachment, says Democrats have been fair and he agrees with Sanders that Trump is the most corrupt president in history.

Harris says Trump has committed crimes in “plain sight.” Cites Maya Angelou. She also accuses Trump of “selling out” working people, national security, and democracy. Harris, reciting her greatest Twitter hits, says as a prosecutor she knows a confession when she sees it and says the impeachment process won’t take long. She says Trump is the most corrupt and unpatriotic president.

Booker says impeachment has to be about “patriotism” and not “partisanship.” He says Democrats have to conduct this process in a way that is “honorable” and “doesn’t rip us apart.” Says Trump has violated his duty.

Now, for some reason, Cooper goes to Klobuchar, who is barely registering in the polls. She accuses Trump of “illegal conduct” for “digging up dirt” on an opponent. She says Trump has left the Kurds “for slaughter.” She says Trump has made “Russia great again.”

Castro says Democrats can “walk and chew gum at the same time” when asked if impeachment is a distraction. He says Trump is violating his oath of office and abusing his power.

Buttigieg says Trump has left Congress “no choice” but to launch an impeachment inquiry. He says the impeachment inquiry is about whether, when people look back 100 years from now, a president was above the law and could get away with anything. He presents himself as the bipartisan candidate.

Gabbard says impeachment will divide the country if driven by “hyper-partisan interests.”

Steyer says every candidate on stage is more decent and patriotic than “the criminal in the White House.” He talks about starting his Need to Impeach movement two years ago.

Yang supports impeachment (implies Senate will not convict) but says impeachment will not solve the issues that got Donald Trump elected. Pivots to the central theme of his campaign about Fourth Industrial Revolution. Yang says Democrats “are losing” when they are talking about Trump.

Beto says he thinks about everyone who has ever served in uniform and says we have a responsibility to be “fearless in the face of this president’s criminality and lawlessness.”

8:05 PM: Sanders says Democrats have “no choice” but to impeach Trump because Trump is the most corrupt president in the history of the country. He thinks the House will find him worthy of impeachment because of the Emoluments Clause. He says Trump is using the Oval Office to enrich himself. Sanders says Mitch McConnell must do the right thing and allow free and fair trial in the Senate.

8:00 PM: Debate begins. First question (for Warren) is about impeachment. Warren says the impeachment inquiry is necessary during an election year because some things are bigger than politics. She cites the Mueller report (obstruction of justice) and says “look what happened as a result” of not opening an impeachment inquiry after the Mueller report was released. Warren says this is also about the next president and the next president…

7:55 PM: Cooper introducing the candidates as the debate is about to get started.

7:36 PM: DNC Chair Tom Perez thinks Democrats can take back Ohio in 2020. Democrats want Ohio to be the state that ends Trump’s presidency. Perez rips Trump and says the election is not about “left versus right” but about “right versus wrong.”

7:35 PM: Watch what Ohio residents think of Democrats–Video from Breitbart’s Matt perdie and Zenny phuong in Ohio:

Matt Perdie / Breitbart News

 

7:30 PM: CNN hyping the number of candidates (12) on stage as if it is a good thing.

Trump campaign putting its massive war chest to use:

Some more strong grassroots fundraising numbers for Yang. Will he get more than five minutes to speak tonight?

 

 

(Matt Perdie/Breitbart News)

Will be interesting to see if top impeachment activist Steyer starts attacking other candidates…

Warren v. Mayor Pete:

 

Trump trying to lock up Ohio, the B1G swing state he is most likely to win:

Matt Perdie / Breitbart News

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