debate and i am confident we will take back the democracy. thank you very much. [cheers and applause. e] [indiscernible] >> they are backstage now. it is debate night for the democrats. >> happening now in downtown detroit, the candidates facing off for a second night in michigan. donald trump won the battle ground state by fewer than 11,000 votes and the democrats want it back. i know predators and we have a predator living in the white house. critical rematch.

former vice president, joe biden, aiming to regain his momentum. >> i don't believe there is anyone in this race more prepared for me. >> senator kamala harris, not backing down after clashing with biden on race. , right by harris and senator cory booker, who says president trump is ripping apart the fabric of the nation. >> donald trump wants us to hisgherms. that is not how we win. juliast will make sure it is available to everyone. >> and andrew yang. >> the opposite of donald trump is an asian man who likes math. senator michael, breaking gridlock. >> they have immobilized our federal government. theor governor jay inslee, climate crisis. four congresswomen tulsi gabbard, ending war.

>> the most important the response building the present has is serving as commander-in-chief. >> and kiersten gillibrand. set for stage is candidates to take on hot button issues. >> we need to stop playing games with people who are seeking asylum. >> i will ban assault weapons. and americanforms history. >> now, it is our term. >> we are the united states of america. ♪ [applause]

>> and enthusiastic audience in downtown detroit, michigan. welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world, watching us on cnn, cnn cnn.com andl, listening on serious xm at the westwood one radio network. this is the cnn democratic president of debate. a special welcome to the u.s. military members and their families serving overseas and watching on the american forces network. i am jake tapper. with danna basch and don lemon tonight. candidatesidential were divided into two groups by random drawer earlier this month. the first 10 appeared last

night. now, it is time for the second 10. >> please welcome, from delaware, former vice president, joe biden. [cheers and applause] from california, senator kamala harris. [applause] >> go easy on me, kid. from new jersey, senator cory booker. [applause] >> from new york, businessman andrew yang.

[applause] from texas, julian castro. [applause] >> from hawaii, congresswoman tulsa gabbard. ulsi gabbard. [applause] from new york, senator kiersten gillibrand. [applause] from washington state, governor jay inslee. [applause]

from colorado, senator michael bennet. [applause] from new york city, mayor bill de blasio. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, the democratic candidates for president of the united states. [applause] >> please rise for the presentation of colors. and please remain standing for that national anthem, performed , who wase bridgewater

raised in flint, michigan. singing of the national anthem ♪

♪

[applause] >> the debate will begin right after this short break. [applause]

mr. tapper: welcome back to the cnn democratic presidential debate. candidates, we're about to begin opening statements. but first, a quick review of the ground rules that your campaigns agreed to earlier this month to try to ensure a fair debate. as moderators, we will attempt to guide the discussion. you will each receive one minute to answer questions, 30 seconds for responses and rebuttals, and 15 additional seconds if a moderator asks for a clarification. the timing lights will remind you of these limits. please respect them, and please refrain from interrupting other candidates during their allotted time. a candidate infringing on another candidate's time will have his or her time reduced. we, again, remind our audience inside the fox theatre to try to remain silent when candidates are actively debating. the candidates need to be able to properly hear the questions and each other. ms. bash: let's start with opening statements. you will each receive one

minute. mayor bill de blasio, please begin. mayor de blasio: to the working people of america, tonight i bring you a message of hope. we can make change in this country. i know from personal experience it can be done. when i became the mayor of the nation's largest city, i set us on a path of bold change. they said it couldn't be done, but we gave pre-k to every child for free. we got rid of stop-and-frisk and we lowered crime. we raised the minimum wage to $15 an hour. yes, it can be done. now, tonight we have to get to the heart and soul of who we are as democrats. there are good people on this stage, but there are real differences. joe biden told wealthy donors that nothing fundamentally would change if he were president. kamala harris said she's not trying to restructure society. trying to restructure society. well, i am. for 40 years, working people

have taken it on the chin in this country. for 40 years, the rich have gotten richer and they've paid less and less in taxes. it cannot go on this way. when i'm president, we will even up the score and we will tax the hell out of the wealthy to make this a fairer country and to make sure it's a country that puts working people first. protestor: [indiscernible] ms. bash: thank you, mayor de blasio. senator michael bennet? sen. bennet: thank you. last week, i saw one of those trump signs that says, "america, love it or leave it." and it was on the outside of a church. i love america, and i know we can make it better. before coming to the senate i ran a large urban school district where most of the kids live in poverty. those kids have exactly the same hopes that i had. their parents have exactly the same hopes for them that my parents had for me, and that

susan and i have for our three children. but for the last three years, we've been consumed by a president who frankly doesn't give a damn about your kids or mine. mr. president, kids belong in classrooms, not cages. [applause] sen. bennet: and they deserve something better than a bully in the white house. let's end this three ring circus in washington and make -- and let's make this election about reclaiming our future for our kids and our democracy. empty promises won't beat donald trump. i can. ms. bash: governor jay inslee. gov. inslee: good evening. i'm jay inslee. i am running for president

because the people in this room and the democrats watching tonight are the last best hope for humanity on this planet. if -- if we make defeating the climate crisis the top priority of the united states, we will have a fighting chance to save ourselves and our children's future. it has to be our top priority. my plan is one of national mobilization, quickly bringing 100% clean energy to americans, creating 8 million good, union jobs. this is a big, bold, ambitious plan for clean energy for a big, bold, ambitious nation. middle ground approaches are not enough. we must confront the fossil fuel industry. i've been working on this for 25 years. and now we know this -- we are at tipping point and whether we shrink from this challenge or rise to it is the vital question

of our time. we democrats believe we can still do big things in this nation. we can defeat the climate crisis. let's get to work. [applause] ms. bash: senator kirsten gillibrand. sen. gillibrand: my grandmother taught me that nothing's impossible. she spent two generations organizing women in upstate new york. my mother taught me nothing's impossible. she was one of only three women in her law school class and worked with gay couples for basic rights. if you want to get something done, just tell me it's impossible. as a freshman senator i was told you couldn't repeal don't ask, don't tell. even members of my own party told me it wasn't convenient. when are civil rights ever convenient? we stood up to the pentagon and we got it done. not impossible. 10 years ago, i was told you couldn't pass health care for our 9/11 first responders, those

heroes who raced up the towers when others were coming down. even when congress turned its back on them, we kept fighting. just last week we made the 9/11 health bill permanent. [applause] sen. gillibrand: beating donald trump -- definitely not impossible. we need a nominee who will take on the big fights and win. we need a nominee who doesn't know the meaning of impossible. ms. bash: congresswoman tulsi gabbard. [applause] rep. gabbard: i love our country. it's why i enlisted after 9/11, why i've served as a soldier for over 16 years, deployed twice to the middle east, and serve in congress now for almost seven years. i know what patriotism is and i've known many great patriots throughout my life. and let me tell you this -- donald trump is not behaving like a patriot. as president, i will bring this spirit of real patriotism to the white house, serving the

interest of all americans, not just the rich and powerful. i'll fight for our rights and freedoms of all americans, upholding these principles in our constitution upon which our country was founded, fighting for justice and equality for all. fighting for every single american regardless of race or religion as we strive towards that more perfect union. and, as president, i'll bring this unifying spirit of love for country and the soldier's values of service above self to the white house, truly leading a government of, by, and for the people. ms. bash: secretary julian castro. sec. castro: thank you, dana, and good evening. you know, just a few days ago, we were reminded and inspired by our fellow americans in puerto rico that public service is not fundamentally about any of us.

it's about you and your family. i want you to know that, if i'm elected president, that i will work hard every single day so that you and your family can have good health care when you need it, so that your children and grandchildren can get a good education so that they can reach their dreams, and that you can have good job opportunities, whether you live here in a big city like detroit or in a small town in our country. i know we have a wonderful, special nation but that too many people are struggling. and i know what that's like, too. you know, i grew up with a single mom in a poor neighborhood. but like many of you, i don't want to make america anything again. i don't want us to go backward. we're not going back to the past. we're not going back where we came from. we're going to move forward. we're going to make america better than it's ever been in the years to come. let's do that together. [applause] ms. bash: andrew yang? mr. yang: if you've heard anything about me and my campaign, you've heard that someone is running for president who wants to give every american $1000 a month.

i know this may sound like a gimmick, but this is a deeply american idea, from thomas paine to martin luther king to today. let me tell you why we need to do it and how we pay for it. why do we need to do it? we already automated away millions of manufacturing jobs, and chances are your job can be next. if you don't believe me, just ask an auto worker here in detroit. how do we pay for it? raise your hand in the crowd if you've seen stores closing where you live. it is not just you. amazon is closing 30% of america's stores and malls and paying zero in taxes while doing it. we need to do the opposite of much of what we're doing right now, and the opposite of donald trump is an asian man who likes math. [applause] mr. yang: so let me share the math. $1000 a month for every adult would be $461 million every month right here in detroit alone. the automation of our jobs is the central challenge facing us today. it is why donald trump is our president, and any politician

not addressing it is failing the american people. [applause] ms. bash: senator cory booker? sen. booker: thank you, dana. last week, the president of the united states attacked an american city, calling it "a disgusting, rat-infested rodent mess." we need a nation that understands that these tired old language, the -- [audience chanting "fire pantaleo"] mr. lemon: stand by, senator. sen. booker: i will stand by. mr. lemon: please stand by. [chanting continues] [applause] mr. lemon: please, continue, senator. sen. booker: thank you very much. donald trump, from charleston to

baltimore to even the border, is using the tired, old language of demagogues, of fear-mongers, of racists, to try to divide our country against itself. we know who donald trump is, but in this election, the question is who are we as a people? we have serious problems in america. we have deep wounds and seriously deeply rooted challenges. we desperately need to heal as a nation and move forward. because we know in this country that our fates are united, that we have a common destiny. the call of this election is the call to unite in common cause and common purpose. that's how we will beat donald trump. that's how i will beat donald

trump. and, as your president, that's how i will govern and move us forward together. [applause] ms. bash: senator kamala harris? sen. harris: this is an inflection moment in the history of our country. i think we all know that. this is a moment in time that is requiring us each as individuals and collectively to look in a mirror and ask a question, that question being "who are we?" and i think most of us know that part of the answer to that question is we are better than this. so this then becomes a moment that we must fight for the best of who we are. and fight, of course, we will. and this is not a new fight for us as americans. we have always been prepared to fight for our ideals. we have always been a nation that fights for the best of who we are. and i'll tell you, i come from fighters. my parents met when they were active in the civil rights movement.

my sister, maya, and i joke we grew up surrounded by a bunch of adults who spent full time marching and shouting about this thing called justice. and i am prepared to march with you, to fight with you for the best of who we are and to successfully prosecute the case of four more years of donald trump, and against him. [applause] ms. bash: vice president joe biden. vice pres. biden: tonight, i think democrats are expecting some engagement here, and i expect we'll get it. i'm running for president to restore the soul of this country. you know, we have a president, as everybody has acknowledged here, every day is ripping at the social fabric of this country, but no one man has the capacity to rip that apart. it's too strong. we're too good. just look at this stage, made up of very diverse people from diverse backgrounds, went on to be mayors, senators, governors, congresswomen, members of the cabinet, and, yes, even a vice president. mr. president, this is america.

and we are strong and great because of this diversity, mr. president, not -- not in spite of it, mr. president. [applause] vice pres. biden: so, mr. president, let's get something straight -- we love it, we are not leaving it, we are here to stay, and we're certainly not going to leave it to you. [applause] ms. bash: thank you, vice president biden. i want to start the debate with one of the top priorities for democratic voters, and that is health care. senator harris, this week you released a new health care plan which would preserve private insurance and take 10 years to phase in. vice president biden's campaign calls your plan, quote, "a have-it-every-which-way approach" and says it's just part of a confusing pattern of equivocating about your health care stance. what do you say to that? sen. harris: well, they're

probably confused because they've not read it. but the reality is that i have been spending time in this campaign listening to american families, listening to experts, listening to health care providers, and what i came away with is a very clear understanding that i needed to create a plan that was responsive to the needs of the american people, responsive to their needs understanding that insurance companies have been jacking up the prices for far too long, that american families have to be held down by deductibles and co-pays and premiums that can cause them bankruptcy. i listened to the american families who said four years is just not enough to transition into this new plan, so i devised a plan where it's going to be 10 years of a transition. i listened to american families who said, "i want an option that will be under your medicare system that allows a private plan." so i designed a plan where, yes, responsive to the needs of american families, there will be a public plan, under my plan for medicare, and a private plan,

under my plan for medicare. because the bottom line is this -- we must agree that access to health care must be a right and not just a privilege of those who can afford it. and in america today, far too many people -- in fact, 30 million people -- are going without access to health care. ms. bash: thank you, senator. thank you, senator harris. vice president biden, your response. vice pres. biden: well, my response is that the senator's had several plans so far. and any time someone tells you you're going to get something good in 10 years, you should wonder why it takes 10 years. if you noticed, there's no talk about the fact that the plan in 10 years will cost $3 trillion. you will lose your employer-based insurance. and in fact, you know, this is the single most important issue facing the public. and to be very blunt and to be very straightforward, you can't beat president trump with double-talk on this plan. ms. bash: your response, senator harris? sen. harris: absolutely. unfortunately, vice president biden, you're just simply inaccurate in what you're describing. the reality is that our plan will bring health care to all americans under a medicare for all system.

our plan will allow people to start signing up on the first day. babies will be born into our plan, and right now, 4 million babies almost are born every day in america -- or every year in america. under our plan, we will ensure that everyone has access to health care. your plan, by contrast, leaves out almost 10 million americans. so i think that you should really think about what you're saying, but be reflective and understand that the people of america want access to health care and do not want cost to be their barrier to getting it. ms. bash: senator harris, thank you. vice president biden, your response? vice pres. biden: the plan, no matter how you cut it, costs $3 trillion when it is, in fact, employed, number one. ten years from now, after two terms of the senator being president, after her time. secondly, it will require middle-class taxes to go up, not down. thirdly, it will eliminate employer-based insurance. and fourthly, what happens in the meantime?

sen. harris: i'd like to respond. first of all, the cost of doing nothing is far too expensive. second, we are now paying $3 trillion a year for health care in america. over the next 10 years, it's probably going to be $6 trillion. we must act. my plan is about immediately allowing people to sign up and get into coverage. right now in america, we have seniors, who every day -- millions of seniors are going into the medicare system and they are getting full coverage and the kind of coverage they need. all people should have access to health care and costs should not be their barrier. ms. bash: thank you, senator harris. mayor de blasio, let's bring you in here. what's your response? mayor de blasio: thank you. i don't know what the vice president and the senator are talking about. the folks i talk to about health insurance say that their health insurance isn't working for them. there's tens of millions of americans who don't even have health insurance, tens of millions more who have health insurance they can barely make work because of the co-pays, the deductibles, the premiums, the out-of-pocket expenses.

there's this mythology that somehow all of these folks are in love with their insurance in america. what i hear from union members and from hard-working, middle-class people is they wish they had better insurance and they're angry at private insurance companies that skim all the profits off the top and make it impossible for everyday people to get coverage like mental health care, dental care -- ms. bash: thank you, mr. mayor. mayor de blasio: -- dental care, the things that would be full coverage for all americans. ms. bash: thank you, mr. mayor. vice president biden, you just heard mayor de blasio. he said in the past that democrats who wanted to keep the private insurance industry are defending a health care system that is not working. what's your response? vice pres. biden: my response is, obamacare is working. the way to build this and get to it immediately is to build on obamacare. go back and do -- take back all the things that trump took away, provide a public option, meaning every single person in america would be able to buy into that option if they didn't like their employer plan, or if they're on medicaid, they'd automatically be in the plan.

it would be -- take place immediately. it would move quickly. and it would insure the vast, vast, vast majority of americans. in the meantime, what happens? did anybody tell you how much their plans cost? my plan costs $750 billion. that's what it costs. not $30 trillion. ms. bash: thank you, mr. vice president. senator gillibrand, you support medicare for all. how do you feel about senator harris continuing to call her health proposal medicare for all, when it includes a far more significant role for private insurance than the bill you cosponsored? sen. gillibrand: i think for the viewers in the audience right now, they're at risk of losing the forest through the trees, because the truth is, health care in america should be a right. when i was a young mother and had theo as an infant, he had an allergic reaction to eggs and his whole body turned red and puffy. i had to rush him to the emergency room. my heart is palpitating because i'm worried that his throat will close. i am not worried about not having an insurance card or a credit card in my wallet.

i know whatever they're going to prescribe, whether it's an epipen or an inhaler, i can afford it. the truth about health care in america today is people can't afford it. they cannot afford -- and the insurance companies for these plans that rely on insurance companies, i'm sorry, they're for-profit companies. they have an obligation to their shareholders. they pay their ceo millions of dollars. they have to have quarterly profits. they have fat in the system that's real and it should be going to health care. so let's not lose the forest for the trees. and last, let's not forget what the republicans are doing, because the truth is, the republicans and trump, their whole goal is to take away your health care. ms. bash: thank you. sen. gillibrand: to make it harder for you to afford it, even if you have pre-existing conditions. ms. bash: thank you, senator gillibrand. senator harris, your response? [applause] sen. harris: in response to senator biden about the affordable care act, it is important that you understand that our medicare for all plan has actually, by the architect of the obama affordable care act, been described as one of the most effective ways to bring health care to all.

kathleen sebelius has endorsed our plan as being something that will get us to where we need to go. in terms of the point that -- that senator gillibrand is raising, i couldn't agree more. senator biden, your plan will keep and allow insurance companies to remain with status quo, doing business as usual, and that's going to be about jacking up co-pays, jacking up deductibles -- ms. bash: thank you, senator. sen. harris: it will still be the situation that people going to an emergency room -- ms. bash: thank you, senator harris. vice president biden, your response? sen. harris: -- have to come out $5,000. vice pres. biden: my plan makes a limit of co-pay to be $1000, because we further support the -- the ability to buy into the obamacare plan. secondly, the idea that this is somehow a bad idea -- no one has to keep their private insurance, but they -- if they like their insurance, they should be able to keep it. nothing is demanded in my plan that there be private insurance. it says, if the 160 million people who have it say they like their employer insurance, they should have a right to have it. if they don't, they can buy into

the biden plan, which is obamacare with -- ms. bash: thank you, mr. vice president. thank you. senator booker, let me bring you in here. you say you support medicare for all. you also say you are not going to pull private health insurance from more than 150 million americans in exchange for a government plan, but that's what medicare for all would do. so how do you square that? sen. booker: well, first of all, let me just say, that the person that's enjoying this debate most right now is donald trump, as we pit democrats against each other, while he is working right now to take away americans' healthcare. there is a court case working through the system that's going to gut the affordable care act and actually gut protections on preexisting conditions. and so, i was raised by two civil rights parents who told me, "always keep your eyes on the prize." and that is that, in the united states of america, every democrat should stand with the belief that everyone should have access to healthcare, that it's a human right.

and how we get there, it has to be to end this broken system, because we are on our way, just a handful of years, of literally spending 20% of our economy, $1 out of every $5 spent on healthcare. and we spend more than every other nation, on everything from mris to insulin drugs, multiple mores than other countries -- multiple more than other countries. and so, do you want to know what i'm going to do? i'm going to work to get us to a point where medicare for all -- where everyone is covered. but this pitting against progressives against moderates, saying one is unrealistic and the other doesn't care enough, that to me is dividing our party and demoralizing us in face of the real enemy here. and i'm -- ms. bash: thank you, senator. [applause] sen. booker: -- going to keep fighting for that. ms. bash: thank you, senator booker. congressman gabbard, what's your response? rep. gabbard: the reality is right now, we don't have a healthcare system. we have a sick care system, and there are far too many people in this country who are sick and unable to get the care that they need because they cannot afford it. so the core of this problem is the fact that big insurance

companies and big pharmaceutical companies who've been profiting off the backs of sick people have had a seat at the table, writing this legislation. now, kamala harris just talked about kathleen sebelius who helped write her bill. this just pointed to the fatal flaw in her proposal. sebelius works for medicare advantage, a private insurance company who will stand to profit under her plan. if we're seeking to really reform our healthcare system, we've got to shut out big insurance and big pharma out of the drafting process so they cannot continue to profit off the backs of the sick people in this country who are searching and in desperate need of care. ms. bash: senior harris, your response? [applause] sen. harris: well, unfortunately, representative gabbard got it wrong. kathleen sebelius did not write my plan. she endorsed it as being one of the plans that is the best to get us to a place where everyone is going to have access to healthcare in america. and when we talk about this again, i'm going to go back to vice president biden, because your plan does not cover everyone in america.

by your staff's and your own definition, 10 million people -- as many as 10 million people will not have access to healthcare. and in 2019 in america, for a democrat to be running for president with a plan that does not cover everyone, i think is without excuse. our plan covers everyone -- ms. bash: thank you, senator. sen. harris: -- and gives people choice ms. bash: thank you, senator. vice president biden, your response? vice pres. biden: my plan does -- will cover everyone, number one. number two, the fact is that my plan also calls for controlling drug prices. the biopharma is now where things are going to go. it's no longer chemicals. it's about all these breakthroughs that we have, with the whole -- excuse me, immune system. and what we have to do now is we have to have a form that sits in the hhs and says, "as you develop a drug, you got to come to us and decide what you can sell it for. we will set the price."

and secondly, it says that you cannot raise that price beyond the cost of inflation from this point on. to end the -- mr. tapper: thank you, mr. vice president. i want to bring in senator bennet. last night, on this stage, one of your democratic rivals suggested that running on medicare for all would get donald trump reelected. do you agree with that, senator? sen. bennet: i agree that it makes it much more likely. unlike others on this stage, i've been crystal clear of where i've been for a decade, through two tough races in colorado. i believe we should finish the job we started with the affordable care act with a public option that gives everybody in this audience the chance to pick for their family whether they want private insurance or public insurance. it requires the drug companies to be negotiated with by medicare and it provides competition. that is totally different from the plan that senator warren and senator sanders and senator harris have proposed, which would make illegal employer based health insurance in this country and massively raise taxes on the middle class to the tune of $30 trillion.

as joe biden said, we don't need to do that. it doesn't make sense for us to take away insurance from half the people in this room and -- and put huge taxes on almost everybody in this room when we can pass a public option, trust the american people to make the right decision, and have universal healthcare in this country in two years, not 10 years. mr. tapper: thank you, senator. secretary castro, i want to bring you in -- sen. harris: i -- i need to respond. mr. tapper: your response. i'll come to you right after secretary castro. secretary castro. sec. castro: well, i know that this is something very personal for all americans. you know, i grew up with a grandmother that had diabetes and i watched as her condition got worse and worse. that whole time she had medicare. i want to strengthen medicare for the people who are on it and then expand it to anybody who wants it. i also believe though that if somebody has a private health insurance plan that is strong that they want to hold on to, that they should be able to do that. what i don't believe is that the profit motive of big pharma or big insurance companies should

ever determine, in our great nation, whether somebody gets healthcare or not. mr. tapper: thank you, secretary castro. senator harris, senator bennet had suggested that you support banning employer based health insurance. is that true? sen. harris: well, first of all, with all due respect to my friend, michael bennet, my plan does not offer anything that is illegal. what it does is it separates the employer from healthcare, meaning that where you work will not be a -- where -- the kind of healthcare you get will not be a function of where you work. i have met so many americans who stick to a job that they do not like, where they are not prospering, simply because they need the healthcare that that employer provides. it's time that we separate employers from the kind of healthcare people get, and, under my plan, we do that. as it relates to the insurance and the pharmaceutical companies -- mr. tapper: thank you, senator. sen. harris: -- who will not be called in and who will not be taken to task by senator biden or senator bennet's plan -- mr. tapper: thank you, senator. sen. harris: -- we will do that. mr. tapper: senator bennet, i want to bring you back. sen. bennet: senator harris is my friend as well, but i have to say if we can't admit -- if we can't admit tonight what's in

the plan, which is banning employer based insurance, we're not going to be able to admit that when donald trump is accusing democrats of doing that as well. we need to be honest about what's in this plan. it bans employer based insurance and taxes the middle class to the tune of $30 trillion. do you know how much that is? that is 70% of what the government will collect in taxes over the next 10 years. mr. tapper: thank you, senator. sen. bennet: we don't need to do that. mr. tapper: governor -- senator, i'm going to come to you in a second but i do want to bring -- sen. bennet: we can have a public option to have universal healthcare in this country. mr. tapper: i do want to bring in senator harris because he just suggested you were not being honest. sen. harris: he -- we cannot keep with the republican talking points on this. you got to stop. the reality is that -- what -- under my medicare for all plan, yes, employers are not going to be able to dictate the kind of healthcare that their employees get. they will be able to make that decision. private insurance companies and private carriers, if they comply by our rules and play by our rules, will be able to offer

those employees healthcare coverage under a private medicare plan or they can have the option of a public medicare plan. but it is misleading to suggest that employees want what their employer is offering only. they want choice and my plan gives that to them. mr. tapper: thank you. thank you, senator. governor inslee, i want to bring you in. you recently signed a public option into law, which allows washington state residents to purchase a state backed plan if they want to. but this may only save families in washington state as little as five percent off premiums. is five percent really the kind of relief that the american people need? gov. inslee: no, we need universal coverage, and i'm proud of our state that has done less squabbling and actually getting things done. and i am proud that we are the first state to offer a publically sanctioned offer of healthcare to our citizens. i'm also proud that we didn't stop there. we're also the first state that has taken care of our elders, our seniors. we have a looming retirement

wave coming up. i'm proud that our state -- our state has made them eligible to retire in dignity. i'm also proud of this -- and i think we need to talk more about this as democrats -- it is time to give people adequate mental healthcare in this country. and we are -- we are -- [applause] gov. inslee: we are having -- we've had some success in integrating mental health with physical health. there's no reason we should distinguish between your physiological and your mental health. and the last thing we're doing, i think it's very instructive for the nation. we know we're being eaten alive by pharmaceutical costs. we have had one of, if not the most, innovative way to drive down pharmaceuticals for life saving medications in the united states. that's a record of washington state i'd like to take to washington, d.c. mr. tapper: thank you. thank you, governor inslee. mr. yang, i want to bring you in. you support a medicare for all system. how do you respond to governor inslee? mr. yang: well, i just want to share a story. when i told my wife i was running for president, you know the first question she asked me? what are we going to do about our health care? that's a true story, and it's

not just us. democrats are talking about health care in the wrong way. as someone who's run a business, i can tell you flat out our current health care system makes it harder to hire, it makes it harder to treat people well and give them benefits and treat them as full-time employees, it makes it harder to switch jobs, as senator harris just said, and it's certainly a lot harder to start a business. if we say, "look, we're going to get health care off the backs of businesses and families," then watch american entrepreneurship recover and bloom. that's the argument we should be making to the american people. [applause] mr. tapper: thank you, mr. yang. mayor de blasio? mayor de blasio: yeah, i don't understand why democrats on this stage are fearmongering about universal health care. it makes no sense. ask the american people -- they are sick of what the pharmaceutical companies are doing to them. ask them what they feel about the health insurance companies. they feel it's holding back their families because they can't get the coverage they need. they get a lot of no's. they don't get a lot of help from health insurance companies. why are we not going to be the party that does something bold, that says we don't need to be dependent on private insurance? we can have a system that actually covers everyone. you know what?

donald trump won this state of michigan by saying he was going to disrupt the status quo. how about we be the party that's going to disrupt the status quo for working people? mr. tapper: thank you. mr. mayor, just a 15 second point of clarification. who are you talking about? who's fearmongering? mayor de blasio: certainly, with all due respect to senator bennet, what he's saying is absolutely inaccurate about taxes. americans right now are paying so much money for their health care. ask people about the reality of premiums, deductibles, co-pays, out-of-pocket expenses. mr. tapper: thank you. mayor de blasio: that's worse than any tax, and people are paying that right now. mr. tapper: thank you, mr. mayor. senator bennet? sen. bennet: this -- this is -- this has nothing to do with republican -- republican talking points or the pharmaceutical industry. this has to do with having faith in the american people that they can make the right decisions for their families and they can choose a public option. bernie sanders, who said last night he wrote the damn bill, and he did, just like i wrote the damn public option bill, is

the guy who says it will cost $32 trillion and that -- and that we're going to have to raise those taxes to pay for it. he says that. republicans don't say it. don't try to distract from the truth. mr. tapper: thank you, senator bennet. sen. bennet: you can't hide from the truth. mr. tapper: i want to let mayor de blasio -- and then i'm going to come to you, vice president biden. sen. bennet: we need to be for universal health care. mayor de blasio: senator, if we as democrats say, "we're done with private insurance, it has only hurt the american people in so many ways. we're going to give them something that works for their families, full coverage that they can depend on." if we say that, then there's an election. the american people get to decide. the ultimate choice, senator, is an election, and this should be the party that stands for universal health care and says we're not going to accept anything less. right now, in america, so many people don't have the healthcare they need. that is a fact. tens of millions of people, including middle class people. mr. tapper: thank you, mr. mayor. mayor de blasio: give them a chance to make that decision through an election. mr. tapper: thank you, mr. mayor. vice president biden, your response, sir? vice pres. biden: this is not a republican talking point. the republicans are trying to kill obamacare. obamacare took care of 20 million people right off the bat, 100 million people with pre-existing conditions.

and in fact, what we got is a public option that, in fact, would allow anybody to buy in. no one has to keep their private insurance. they can buy into this plan. and they can buy into it with $1000 deductible and never have to pay more than 8.5% of their income when they do it. and if they don't have any money, they'll get in free. so this idea is a bunch of malarkey, what we're talking about here. [applause] vice pres. biden: the fact of the matter is -- the fact of the matter is that there will be a deductible. it will be a deductible on their paycheck. bernie acknowledges it. bernie acknowledges it. $30 trillion dollars has to ultimately be paid. and i don't know what math you do in new york, i don't know what math you do in california, but i tell you, that's a lot of money, and there will be a deductible. the deductible will be out of your paycheck, because that's what will be required. mr. tapper: senator harris, i want to bring you in here. your response? [applause] sen. harris: yeah, let's talk about math. let's talk about math. let's talk about the fact that the pharmaceutical companies and the insurance companies last year alone profited $72 billion,

and that is on the backs of american families. and under your plan, status quo, you do nothing to hold the insurance companies to task for what they have been doing to american families. in america today, diabetes patients, one in four cannot afford their insulin. in america today -- mr. tapper: thank you, senator. sen. harris: -- for those people who have overdosed from an opioid, there is a syringe that costs $4000 that will save their life. mr. tapper: thank you, senator. sen. harris: it is immoral. it is untenable. mr. tapper: thank you, senator. sen: harris: and it must change with medicare for all. mr. tapper: your time is up, senator. vice president biden, your response? [applause] vice pres. biden: real quick. i have the only plan that limits the ability of insurance companies to charge unreasonable prices, flat out, number one. number two, we should put some of these insurance executives who totally oppose my plan in jail for of the $9 billion opioids they sell out there. [applause] vice pres. biden: they are

misrepresenting to the american people what needs to be done. and, lastly, here's the deal. the deal is, let's figure out how this works. we immediately are able to cover everybody who wants to get off of their insurance plan they don't like, no matter what one it is, and buy into a medicare option. and they can buy the gold plan, and they're not going to have to pay -- anyway -- mr. lemon: thank you, mr. vice president. thank you. let's move now to immigration, please. secretary castro, you think it should no longer be a crime to cross the u.s. border illegally. president obama's homeland security secretary, jeh johnson, whom you served with, says that is a public declaration that the border is "effectively open to all." how is he wrong? sec. castro: thank you for that question. you know, if you elect me president, you're not electing me to follow. you're electing me to lead. and open borders is a right-wing talking point, and frankly i'm disappointed that some folks, including some folks on this stage, have taken the bait.

the only way that we're going to guarantee that we don't have family separations in this country again is to repeal section 1325 of the immigration nationality act. that is the law that this president, this administration is using to incarcerate migrant parents and then physically separate them from their children. my immigration plan would also make sure that we put undocumented immigrants who haven't committed a serious crime on a pathway to citizenship, that we do a 21st century marshall plan with honduras, el salvador, and guatemala, so that we can get to the root of this challenge so people can find safety and opportunity at home instead of having to come to the united states. that's how we can be smarter, more effective, and more humane when it comes to immigration policy. mr. lemon: thank you, secretary castro. [applause] mr. lemon: senator bennet, what's your response? sen. bennet: i disagree that we should decriminalize our border.

this is personal for me. my mom is an immigrant, and she was separated from her parents during the holocaust in poland. and for those reasons, i was part of the gang of eight that wrote -- i wrote the immigration bill in 2013 with john mccain that passed the senate with 68 votes, that gave a pathway to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented people that are here, that would pass the most progressive dream act that had ever been conceived, much less passed on the floor of the senate, and had $46 billion of border security. every single democrat voted for that bill -- mr. lemon: senator -- sen. bennet: -- and a lot of republicans. that should be our position. mr. lemon: thank you. thank you, senator. sen. bennet: that is our position as democrats. mr. lemon: senator harris, you have indicated that you don't think it should be a criminal offense punishable by jail to cross the u.s. border illegally. how do you respond to senator bennet? sen. harris: well, again, with all due respect, you know, i -- after the last debate, for example, i went to a place in florida called homestead, and there is a private detention facility being paid for by your

taxpayer dollars, a private detention facility that currently houses 2700 children. and by the way, there were members of us -- julian was there -- members of congress, they would not let us enter the place, members of the united states congress. so i walked down the road, i climbed a ladder, and i looked over the fence. and i'm going to tell you what i saw. i saw children lined up single file based on gender being walked into barracks. the policies of this administration have been facilitated by laws on the books -- mr. lemon: thank you, senator. sen. harris: -- that allow them to be incarcerated as though they've committed crimes. mr. lemon: thank you, senator. sen. harris: these children have not committed crimes -- mr. lemon: thank you, senator harris. sen. harris: -- and should be not treated like criminals. [applause] mr. lemon: senator bennet, what's your response? [applause] sen. bennet: i think this is one in the end that we agree with. there's not a single person on this stage if we were president would ever separate a child from their parents at the border.

and that is what this -- [applause] sen. bennet: that is what this administration has done in the american people's name. they have turned our border into a symbol of nativist hostility. the symbol of this country before donald trump was president was the statue of liberty. that should be the symbol of the united states of america, not donald trump's words. mr. lemon: thank you, senator bennet. senator gillibrand, i want to bring you in. what's your response? sen. gillibrand: so i think when you talk about whether this should be a crime, you have to remember who we're talking about. when i was at the texas border, i visited with women who had fled violence. a woman from el salvador owned a small business, gangs came to her and said if you don't give us all your money, we're going to kill your family. that's why she fled. another woman was raped. that's why she fled. so this is who we're talking about -- and they're not criminals. so i believe that we should have a civil violation. no president before president trump enforced the law in the way he has enforced it.

because he's using it as the crutch to lock up women and children, to separate mothers and babies, to put them behind bars. so i don't think we should have a law on the books that can be so misused. it should be a civil violation and we should make sure that we treat people humanely. mr. lemon: thank you, senator. [applause] mr. lemon: vice president biden, in the first two years of the obama administration, nearly 800,000 immigrants were deported, far more than during president trump's first two years. would the higher deportation rates resume if you were president? vice pres. biden: absolutely not, number one. number two, everything landed on the president's desk but locusts. i found that julian -- excuse me -- the secretary, we sat together in many meetings. i never heard him talk about any of this when he was the secretary. >> three million [inaudible] mr. lemon: please be respectful. please be respectful in the crowd. >> three million [inaudible] mr. lemon: please continue, mr. vice president. >> three million [inaudible]

vice pres. biden: the fact is -- the fact is -- >> three million [inaudible] vice pres. biden: i don't know if you can hear. i can hear. but anyway -- mr. lemon: we can hear fine, mr. vice president. vice pres. biden: ok. [laughter] mr. lemon: please continue, if you will. vice pres. biden: the fact is what the senator from new york talked about is seeking asylum. that woman, the women she spoke to are entitled to asylum. that is not crossing the border illegally. what we should do is flood the zone to make sure we have people to make those decisions quickly. with regard to -- with regard to the secretary's point, i already proposed and passed -- [applause] vice pres. biden: --- $750 million for guatemala, el salvador and honduras, to be able to change the circumstance why people fled in the first place. in addition to that, we're in a circumstance where if in fact you say you can just cross the border, what do you say to all those people around the world who in fact want the same thing to come to the united states and make their case, that they don't -- that they have to wait in line. the fact of the matter is, you should be able to -- if you

cross the border illegally, you should be able to be sent back. it's a crime. it's a crime, and it's not one that in fact -- mr. lemon: thank -- thank you, mr. vice president. secretary castro, please, your response? [applause] sec. castro: yeah, first of all, mr. vice president, it looks like one of us has learned the lessons of the past and one of us hasn't. [applause] sec. castro: let me begin by telling you -- let me just start out by answering that question. my immigration plan would also fix the broken legal immigration system, because we do have a problem with that. vice pres. biden: i agree. sec. castro: secondly, the only way that we're going to guarantee that these kinds of family separations don't happen in the future is that we need to repeal this law. there's still going to be consequences if somebody crosses the border. it's a civil action. also, we have 654 miles of fencing. we have thousands of personnel at the border. we have planes, we have boats, we have helicopters, we have security cameras. mr. lemon: secretary castro, thank you. sec. castro: what we need are politicians that actually -- mr. lemon: your time is up. sec. castro: -- have some guts on this issue. mr. lemon: thank you, secretary. [applause] mr. lemon: mr. vice president,

please, your response? vice pres. biden: i have guts enough to say his plan doesn't make sense. here's the deal. the fact of the matter is that, in fact, when people cross the border illegally, it is illegal to do it unless they're seeking asylum. people should have to get in line. that's the problem. and the only reason this particular part of the law is being abused is because of donald trump. we should defeat donald trump and end this practice. [applause] mr. lemon: thank you. congresswoman gabbard, what's your response? rep. gabbard: our hearts break when we see those children at these detention facilities who've been separated from their parents, when we see human beings crowded into cages in abhorrent, inhumane conditions. this is about leadership and understanding that we can and should have both secure borders as well as humane immigration policies. we will have to stop separating children from their parents, make it so that it's easier for people to seek asylum in this country, make sure that we are

securing our borders and making it so that people are able to use our legal immigration system by reforming those laws. mr. lemon: mr. yang, your response? [applause] mr. yang: i'm the son of immigrants myself. my father immigrated here as a graduate student and generated over 65 u.s. patents for ge and ibm. i think that's a pretty good deal for the united states. that's the immigration story we need to be telling. we can't always be focusing on some of the -- the -- the distressed stories. and if you go to a factory here in michigan, you will not find wall-to-wall immigrants. you will find wall-to-wall robots and machines. immigrants are being scapegoated for issues they have nothing to do with in our economy. [applause] mr. lemon: thank you, mr. yang. senator booker, you have a plan that would "virtually eliminate immigration detention." does that mean that the roughly 55,000 migrants currently in detention would be released into the united states? sen. booker: well, first of all, i just want to say, again, tonight, we are playing into republican hands who have a very different view, and they're

trying to divide us against each other. i'm listening to the language of my colleagues. no, mr. vice president, we are not going to just let people cross the border. an unlawful crossing is an unlawful crossing, if you do it in the civil courts, or if you do in the criminal courts. but the criminal courts is what is giving donald trump the ability to truly violate the human rights of people coming to our country, who no one surrenders their human rights. and so, doing it through the civil courts means that you won't need these awful detention facilities that i have been to, seeing children sleeping on pavement, people being put in cages, nursing mothers, small children. this is not necessary. we have seen, using the civil system, piloted programs that have 100% compliance with the civil courts, where people are evaluated. if they have no justifiable reason to be here, they are returned. if they are, like the people i met in juarez, who were

survivors of sexual assault, who we wouldn't even let come and present for asylum. we are butchering our values -- mr. lemon: senator -- sen. booker: -- and making ourselves less safe. mr. lemon: senator booker, thank you very much. mr. vice president, your response? vice pres. biden: i agree with the senator. the asylum process is a real process, and this president is ruining it. it has nothing to do with that section of law. that's what he's doing, number one. number two, we should in fact -- and we had proposed and we tried to get passed in our administration, i proposed, significantly increasing the number of legal immigrants who are able to come. this country can tolerate a heck of a lot more people. and the reason we're the country we are is we've been able to cherry pick from the best of every culture. immigrants built this country. that's why we're so special. it took courage. it took resilience. it took absolutely confidence for them to come, and we should be encouraging these people. mr. lemon: thank you. vice pres. biden: and by the way, anybody that crosses the stage with a -- with a -- with a phd, you should get a green card for seven years. we should keep them here. mr. lemon: thank you. thank you very much, mr. vice president. governor inslee, what's your response? gov. inslee: i think we're missing two central statements

we need to make. number one, we can no longer allow a white nationalist to be in the white house, number one. [applause] gov. inslee: and number two - - number two, we have to make america what it's always been, a place of refuge. we got to boost the number of people we accept. i'm proud of being the first governor saying, "send us your syrian refugees." i'm proud to have been the first governor to stand up against donald trump's muslim ban. i'm proud to have sued him 21 times and beat him 21 times in a row. i'm ready for november 2020. [applause] mr. lemon: go ahead. mayor de blasio, please your response? mayor de blasio: two points. one, it's all kind of charade because there's 11 million people here, and everyone, in theory, has broken the law, but they're part of our communities now. they're part of our economy. they're our neighbors. why are we even discussing on one level whether it's a civil penalty or a criminal penalty, when it's an american reality? and what we need is comprehensive immigration, once and for all, to fix it. second, vice president biden, i

didn't hear your response when the issue came up of all those deportations. you were vice president of the united states. i didn't hear whether you tried to stop them or not, using your power, your influence in the white house. do you think it was a good idea, or do you think it was something that needed to be stopped? mr. lemon: mr. vice president -- vice pres. biden: the president came along, and he's the guy that came up with the idea the first time ever, dealing with the dreamers. he put that in the law. he had talked about a comprehensive plan which he put on the -- laid before the congress, saying that we should find a pathway to citizenship for people. he said we should up the number of people that we're able to bring in to this country. lastly, he also pointed out that we should go to the source of the problem and fix it where people were leaving in the first place. so he did -- to compare him to donald trump, i think, is absolutely bizarre. mr. lemon: thank you very much, mr. vice president. congresswoman gabbard, you are a co-sponsor of the college for all act which would make public colleges and universities free for all americans.

one of the authors of that plan, senator sanders, believes college should be tuition-free for undocumented immigrants as well. do you? rep. gabbard: i don't. i think it's important for us to fix our legal immigration system and look at the millions of undocumented immigrants in this country who have been suffering as they've been living in the shadows. and instead of putting a band-aid on this problem, fix our legal immigration system to provide them with that pathway to legal residency or citizenships, that they are no longer treated as second-class citizens in this country. we've got to look at the challenge that people all across the country are facing, under crushing student debt. this is something that is impacting my generation in a huge way and i believe that it is our generation that has the bold, creative solutions to be able to solve it. this is about promise for our future and we've got to make those kinds of investments. mr. lemon: thank you, congresswoman. mayor de blasio, what's your response? mayor de blasio: yes, i -- i agree with the congress member

but i don't hear an answer from the vice president. i'm confused. i asked the vice president point blank -- did he use his power to stop those deportations? he went right around the question. mr. vice president, you want to be president of the united states, you need to be able to answer the tough questions. i guarantee you if you're debating donald trump he's not going to let you off the hook. so did you say those deportations were a good idea or did you go to the president and say this is a mistake, we shouldn't do it? which one? vice pres. biden: i was vice president. i am not the president. i keep my recommendation to him in private. unlike you -- i can expect you would go ahead and say whatever was said privately with him. that is not what i do. what i do say to you is he moved to fundamentally change the system. that's what he did. that's who did. but much more has to be done. much more has to be done. mayor de blasio: i still don't hear an answer. mr. lemon: senator booker, please respond. sen. booker: well, a couple of things. first of all, mr. vice president, you can't have it both ways. you invoke president obama more than anybody in this campaign. you can't do it when it's convenient and then dodge it when it's not. and the second thing that this really irks me because i heard

the vice president say that if you got a phd, you can come right into this country. well, that's playing into what the republicans want, to pit some immigrants against other immigrants. some are from shithole countries and some are from worthy countries. we need to reform this whole immigration system and begin to be the country that says everyone has worth and dignity and this should be a country that honors for everyone. [applause] sen. booker: don't let the republicans divide this party against itself. mr. lemon: senator, thank you. mr. vice president, your response. vice pres. biden: the fact is that's what i said about this country. we are a country of immigrants. all of us. all of us. some here came against their will. others came because they in fact thought they could fundamentally change their lives. and they did. that's what we're talking about. that's what made us great. and the fact of the matter is, i think the president of the united states, barack obama, went out of his way to try to change the system and he got pushed back significantly. mr. lemon: senator gillibrand, what's your response?

sen. gillibrand: again, president trump, under his administration, seven children died in his custody. in -- under his administration, families have been torn apart. this party is talking about real ideas for the future. we're talking about what we will do to change america. but we must not forget about our values. we used to believe in this country you should treat others the way you want to be treated. we used to believe in this country we should care about the least among us. let's remind the american people who we are, why we are democrats, and why we're running for president. mr. lemon: senator gillibrand, thank you very much. the debate will be right back right after this short break. [applause] mr. tapper: welcome back to the cnn democratic presidential debate. we are live from detroit. i want to turn now to criminal justice. mr. vice president, senator

booker called your new criminal justice reform plan "an inadequate solution to what is a raging crisis in our country." why is senator booker wrong? vice pres. biden: well, i don't -- i think he is wrong. i think we should work together. he has a similar plan. i think that we should change the way we look at prisons. right now, we're in a situation where, when someone is convicted of a drug crime, they end up going to jail and to prison. they should be going to rehabilitation. they shouldn't be going to prison. when in prison, they should be learning to read and write and not just sit in there and learn how to be better criminals. and when they get out of prison, they should be in a situation where they have access to everything they would have had before, including pell grants for education, including making sure that they're able to have housing, public housing, including they have all the opportunities that were available to them because we want them to become better citizens. that's the essence of what my plan, in detail, lays out.

i am happy to discuss it more in detail of the senator would want to. i know my plan does and i think it is not a similar to what the senator said we should be working to get things done. booker: we have treated of race and poverty, mental health and addiction with locking people up and not lifting them up. and -- [applause] sen. booker: mr. vice president has said that, since the 1970s, every major crime bill -- every crime bill, major and minor, has had his name on it. and, sir, those are your words, not -- not mine. and this is one of those instances where the house was set on fire and you claimed responsibility for those laws. and you can't just now come out with a plan to put out that fire. we have got to have far more bold action on criminal justice reform, like having true -- mr. tapper: thank you, senator. sen. booker: -- marijuana justice, which means that we legalize it on a federal level --

mr. tapper: thank you, senator booker. sen. booker: -- and reinvest the profits in communities that have been -- mr. tapper: thank you, senator booker. sen. booker: -- disproportionately targeted by marijuana enforcement. mr. tapper: vice president biden, i want to give you a chance to respond. vice pres. biden: the fact is that the bills that the president -- that, excuse me, the future president here -- that -- [laughter] vice pres. biden: that the senator is talking about are bills that were passed years ago and they were passed overwhelmingly. since 2007, i, for example, tried to get the crack-powder-cocaine totally -- disparity totally eliminated. in 2007, you became mayor and you had a police department that was -- you went out and you hired rudy giuliani's guy. you -- and engaged in stop-and-frisk. you had 75% of those stops reviewed as illegal. you found yourself in a situation where three times as many african-american kids were caught in that chain and caught up. the justice department came after you for saying you were -- you were engaging in behavior that was inappropriate, and then in fact nothing happened, the entire time you were mayor. mr. tapper: thank you. senator booker, you want to respond? sen. booker: well, first of all, i'm grateful that he endorsed my

presidency already. but i'll tell you this, it's no secret that i inherited a criminal -- a police department with massive problems and decades-long challenges. but the head of the aclu has already said -- the head of the new jersey aclu -- that i put forth national standard-setting accountability. vice pres. biden: that's -- sen. booker: mr. vice president -- mr. vice president, i didn't interrupt you. please show me that respect, sir. vice pres. biden: i'm sorry. sen. booker: we have a system right now that's broken. and if you want to compare records -- and, frankly, i'm shocked that you do -- [laughter] sen. booker: -- i am happy to do that. because all the problems that he is talking about, that he created, i actually led the bill that got passed into law that reverses the damage that your bills that you were, frankly -- to correct you, mr. vice president -- you were bragging, calling it the biden crime bill, up until 2015. mr. tapper: thank you, senator. vice president biden? vice pres. biden: number one, the bill he talks about is a bill that in my -- our administration, we passed. we passed that bill that you added onto. that's the bill, in fact, you passed. and the fact of the matter is,

secondly, there was nothing done for the entire eight years he was mayor, there was nothing done to deal with the police department that was corrupt. why did you announce on the first day a zero tolerance policy of stop and frisk and hire rudy giuliani's guy in 2007, when i was trying to get rid of the crack cocaine disparity? sen. booker: mr. vice president, there's a saying in my community, you're dipping into the kool-aid and you don't even know the flavor. you need to come to the city of newark and see the reforms that we put in place. the new jersey head of the aclu has said that i embraced reforms not just in action, but in deeds. sir, you are trying to shift the view from what you created. there are people right now in prison for life for drug offenses because you stood up and used that "tough on crime" phony rhetoric that got a lot of people elected but destroyed communities like mine. this isn't about the past, sir. this is about the present right

now. i believe in redemption. mr. tapper: thank you, senator. sen. booker: i'm happy you evolved. mr. tapper: i want to bring in secretary -- sen. booker: but you've offered no redemption to the people in prison right now for life. mr. tapper: i want to bring in secretary castro. your response, sir? [applause] sec. castro: yeah, i agree with senator booker -- i agree with senator booker that a lot of what vice president helped author in 1994 was a mistake. and he has flip-flopped on these things. and that's clear. but let me say, when we talk about criminal justice reform, there are a lot of things that we can talk about -- sentencing reform, cash bail reform, investing in public defenders, diversion programs. i'm proud that i'm the only candidate that has put forward a police reform plan, because we have a police system that is broken and we need to fix it. f. whether it is in the case of someone like to be or rice, michael brown, or eric artan are, where the trump justice department has decided not to pursue charges, that we have a national use of force standard and and qualified immunity for police officers so we can hold

them accountable. mr. lemon: i want to bring the governor in, please. your response? gov. inslee: you suggest to people come out to the state of washington and see what criminal justice looks like, our efforts to reduce criminal disparity. i am proud that i was the first governor to offer pardons of with drugto people crimes. when people come out of a legal system and have done their responsibility to the citizens, caneed to make sure they get a job. we have banned the box to make sure people can get a job when they come out. i have to argue with secretary castro, we have not just put forward a plan, we have adopted probably one of the best police accountability measures and trainer police officers in de-escalation techniques, so we have less violence. mr. lemon: your response to

governor inslee? sec. castro: it is more than that. this is what we see every day, with the department of justice not going after the officer in -- he used the chokehold that nypd. 11 different times, eric garner said he could not breathe, and yet he has not been brought to justice. that police should be off the streets. [applause] mr. lemon: mayor de blasio, why is that police officer still on the force, the one who killed eric garner? please respond. mayor de blasio: let me tell you, i know the garner family. they have gone through extraordinary pain, they are waiting for justice, and there is finally going to be justice. i have confidence in that. in the next 30 days in new york. do you know why? for the first time, we are not waiting on the federal justice department, who told the city of new york that we could not

proceed because the justice department was pursuing their prosecution. and a lot of pain accrued, and in the meantime, what i am working on -- and i have been for five years -- there will never be another eric garner, because we are fundamentally changing how we police. and on the justice department, the vice president, for 2.5 of those years, mr. vice president, tell us, what did you do to try to spur on the bus this department -- justice department to act? mr. lemon: vice president biden, you can response to that. vice pres. biden: number one, we made sure we reduce the federal prison population. number one, we insisted that we change the rules that police engage in. we provided them with body cameras and made sure there were a lot of things that were changed in the process. 38,000 people in the federal system were released under this system. the fact is, there is a lot we

have done. here is the deal. the fact is, we are talking about things that occurred along, long time ago, and now all of a sudden -- i find it fascinating, everyone is talking on these terrible i am issues. barack obama knew exactly who i was. he had 10 lawyers do a background check on everything my rights and civil liberties, and he thought it was the best decision he could make. gov. inslee: i would trust anyone on the stage more than i would trust our current president on the matters of criminal justice. we cannot tear each other down. we have to focus on beating donald trump in 2020. i want to share a story that a provision's corrections officer -- prison corrections officer said to me. we should pay people to stay out of jail, but we think we are saving the money, but we end up spending the money in more dark and punitive ways. we should put the money into people's hands certainly when

they come out of prison, but before they go into prison. senator gillibrand, you heard secretary castro ask mayor bill de blasio, who responded. was that response adequate? he shouldbrand: no, be fired, he should be fired now. [applause] i sat down with eric garner's mother, and i can tell you, when you lost your son, when he begs for breath, when you know, because you have a video, and he said i can't breathe, so many times, over and over again, when you know he used an illegal chokehold, that person should be fired. as mayor, i would fire him, but as president, i would make sure we would have a full investigation, the report would be made public, and if i was not satisfied, we would have a consent agree. mr. lemon: senator harris, you have been quite critical of vice

president biden's policies on race, specifically on the issue of busing in the 1970's, having benefited from busing when you were a young child. by spread -- vice president biden says your current position same as his the position, is he right? simplyrris: that is false, and let's basically clear about this. when president biden was in the -- vice president biden was in the united states senate working to oppose bussing, which was the vehicle by which we would integrate america's public schools, had i been in the states senate at that time, i would have been on the other side of the aisle. and let's be clear -- if those segregationists had their way, i on the united states senate, cory booker would not be on the united states

senate, and president barack obama would not be able to hold the office that he was able to hold. the vice president has still failed to a knowledge that it was wrong to take the position that he took at that time. i would like to also talk about this conversation about eric garner, because i met with his mother as well, and one thing we have to be clear about, this president of the united aids, donald -- united states, while he has been in office, has been allowing the department of justice to shut down consents degrees on that case. we also note -- this is important -- the united states apartment of justice said charges should have been filed, but this united states department of justice usurps -- and i believe it is because not wantident did that charges to go forward, overrode -- the civil rights division will -- [inaudible] , vicemon: i want you

president, to response to what senator harris have to say. vice pres. biden: with senator harris was attorney general in the state of california, that was two of the most segregated school district's in the country, los angeles and san francisco. i did not see a single solitary time she brought a case against them to desegregate them. secondly, she is in a position where she had a police department when she was there that was abusing people's rights , and the fact was that she in ,act was told by her own people her own staff, that she should do something about and disclose to defense attorneys like me that you, in fact, the police officer did something that did not give you information that will -- your client. she never did it. what happened? along came a federal judge to set enough, and freed thousands of these people. 1000 prisoners freed, kamala harris. mr. lemon: senator harris, your response? sen. harris: this is simply not

and attorney general of california, where i ran the second largest department of justice in the united states, second only to the united states department of justice, i am proud of the work we did, work that has received national recognition for the importance of reforming the criminal justice system and cleaning up the consequences of the bill that he passed when you were in the united states senate for decades. it was the first, creating one of the first in the nation initiatives about getting former offenders jobs and counseling. i did the work of putting body cameras on special agent in california -- mr. lemon: i want to bring in congresswoman gabbard. you called this "a false accusation that joe biden is a racist." what is your response? abbard: i want to

bring attention back to the criminal justice system that is negatively impacting black and brown people today. senator harris is that she will be a prosecutor president, but i am deeply concerned about this record. there are too many examples decide, but she put over 150 people in jail in marijuana -- for marijuana violations, then laughed about it when she was asked if she ever smoked marijuana. the courts forced her to do so. she kept people in prison to be on their sentences to use less cheap labor for the state of california, and kept a system in place that impacts poor people in the worst kind of ways. mr. lemon: thank you, congresswoman gabbard. harris: as the elected attorney general of california, i did the work of significantly forming the criminal justice system of a state of 40 million people, which became a national

model for the work that needs to the done. and i am proud to not just give fancy speeches and being a legislative body and give speeches on the floor, but be in the position to use the power that i has to reform a system that is badly in need of reform. that is why we created initiatives that were about reentering the former offenders and getting them counseling, because i know the criminal justice system is broken. we need to not only decriminalize, but legalize marijuana in the united states. mr. lemon: i want to bring congresswoman gabbard back in. when you had a chance to make an impact in these people's lives, you did not, and worse, indicate the people who are on death row, it is innocent people, you blocked evidence from eating revealed that would have -- from being revealed that would have freed them until you were forced to do so, and people who have suffered

under your reign as prosecutor, you owe them an apology. [applause] mr. lemon: senator harris? sen. harris: my entire career, i have been personally opposed to the death penalty, and that will never change. i dare anyone to make that decision, the faith the people i have faced, to say, i will not seek the death penalty. i think you can judge people when they are under fire, and it is not about the opinion on the stage or when they are in the position to make a decision, what do they do? when i had to decide whether or not to seek a death penalty on cases i prosecuted, i made a difficult decision that was not popular to not seek the death penalty. history shows that and i am proud of those decisions. you the besty are candidate to heal the racial divide who exists in the country today, which has been stoked by the president's racist rhetoric? the president's

racist rhetoric should be grounds for everybody in this country to vote him out of office. that one thing alone should be enough. second, don, i want to answer your question by tagging onto the conversation we were just having. this is the fourth debate that we have had and the second time we have been debating what people did 50 years ago with busing when our schools are segregated today as they were 50 years ago. [cheers and applause] sen. bennet: we need a conversation about what is happening now, and win there are kids in this country that do not get priest will through no fault of their own and another group does, evil is not equal. we have a group of k-12 schools that are good because families can spend $1 million, and the detroit public will, which are as segregated as they were. equal is not equal. [cheers and applause] sen. bennet: let me tell you something else, don. i believe you can draw a straight line from slavery to

jim crow to the banking and the redlining to the mass incarceration that we are talking about on this stage, but you know what other line i can draw? 88% of the people in our prisons dropped out of high school. let's fix our school system and maybe we can start working on the prison cycle we have. [cheers and applause] governor inslee, please respond. gov. inslee: you know, i approached this question with humility because i have not experienced what many americans have. i have never been a black teenager pulled over in a white neighborhood. i have never been a woman talked over in a meeting. i have never been an lgbtq member subject to a slur. i believe i have been added responsibility, a double responsibility to deal with racial disparity.

we have talked about the way we do it, including ending the school to prison pipeline in my state. i want to say this, and this is a common error, that every single senator on this stage, as much as i respect them all -- they all have an enormous ever which is going to prevent our party from making any progress of progress in the united -- progressive progress in the united states, and it is this. we are all going to work like the dickens to get more democrats elected to the senate, right? i hope we are going to succeed. if we get a majority in the u.s. senate, because of the position of these senators, not a dam thing isnot a damn going to get done. i know they are sincere and passionate, and i respect them enormously, but because they embrace this super majority thing called the filibuster, mitch mcconnell is going to run take.s. senate, even if we

a majority. we have to get rid of the filibuster. [cheers and applause] youlemon: mr. yang, why are the best candidate to heal the racial divide in america? mr. yang: i spent several years running a nonprofit, creating hundreds of jobs in and at and new orleans, study just came out that projected the average american byian net worth will be zero 2033. how is that possible? we are in the midst of the greatest economic transformation in our history. artificial history is coming and is going to displace hundreds of thousands of workers. truck driver is the most common job and 29 states, including this one, and do you know who suffers during natural disaster? people who have less money and resources. what are we going to do about it? go back to the writings of might -- martin luther

king, who said we need a guaranteed minimum income in the united dates of america. that is the best way to address racial inequality in a genuine way and give everyone a chance in the united states of america. mr. lemon: secretary castro, after the president's racist week attacking baltimore and elijah cummings, the mayor of baltimore said to the president, help us. send the resources we need to rebuild america. what would you do for baltimore and other cities that need first of all,tro: the president is a racist, and that is one more example of it. whether it is baltimore or cities like detroit, we have -- they are tremendously rich in history, culture, and possibility. here is what i would do if i was president. number one, i would invest in tremendous educational opportunity, universal pre-k for three and four-year-olds, invest in improving k-12 education and making higher education available to everyone through

tuition free public state universities, community colleges, and job training certification programs. follow up with what i did at hud, a further rule to desegregate communities in the united dates. the trunk administration sets that back. i would also invest in housing is affordable -- that is affordable, because the rent is going through the roof and we need to make sure that you do not have to get out of west baltimore or inner-city detroit or the west side of san antonio to readere if you want your american dream. i want you to be able to accomplish it where you are. >> i do not believe it is the responsibility of corey and kamala to be the only voices to take some of these institutions of institutional and segregation in our country. as a white woman running for

president in the united states, it is my responsibility to lift up voices that are not being listened to. i can talk to the white women in the suburbs who voted for trump what white privilege actually is. when their son is walking down the street with a bag of m&ms in the pocket of his hoodie, his whiteness is what protects him from being shot. car thatson has a breaks down and he knocks on someone's door for help and the door opens and the help is given, it is his whiteness that protects him from being shot. toresponsibility is not only lift up those stories, but explained to communities across america, like i did in youngstown, ohio to a young mother, that this is all about responsibility, and together we can make our community stronger. let's now turn to the issue of the climate crisis. the united nations says the world needs to cut all carbon emissions by 2050 or risk facing

disastrous consequences. governor inslee, many of your fellow democratic candidates say climate change is the biggest existential threat facing the country. you, though, are calling it the number one priority in your campaign. what do you know that the others don't? i know the: first-hand, horrific impact of climate change on americans across the country already. the family who i saw with their aluminum home a pile of molten aluminum, they lost everything in the paradise fire. the nonprofit in davenport, iowa, that was washed away in the flood. we have to act now. climate change is not a singular issue, it is all the issues that we democrats care about. it is health, it is national security, it is our economy, and we know this -- middle ground solutions like the vice president has proposed or

middling, average sized things are not going to save us. too little, too late is too dangerous, and we have to have a bold plan, and mine has been called the gold standard. we also need to embed environmental justice. ip code-4 8217 in detroit, next to an oil refinery where kids have asthma and cancer clusters. after talking to these folks, i believe it does not matter where your zip code or what your caller is, you have to have clean water in america. mr. lemon: by -- >> vice president biden, i would like to get your response. vice pres. biden: there is no middle ground about my plan. in fact, i call for immediate action to be taken. first of all, we are responsible for 50% of all the pollution in the country. -- 15% of all the pollution in

the country. he is right in how it affects neighborhoods and poor people. is something else i helped negotiate, the paris climate accord. i would rejoin the paris accord and make sure we up the ante which it calls for, i would be able to bring the leaders it can mean them in the white house, and raise the standard. i would also invest $400 billion in research for new alternatives to deal with climate change. response?g, your mr yang: the important number right now, the united states is 15% of global emissions. we like to act like we are 100%, but even if we were to curb our emissions dramatically, the last four years have been the warmest years in recorded history. we are too late. we are 10 years too late. we need to do everything we can to start moving the climate in the right direction, but we also

need to start moving our people to higher ground, and the best way to do that is put economic resources in your hands to protect yourselves and your families. look, these deadlines are set by science. mr. vice president, your argument is not with me, it is with science. but your plan is unfortunately just too late. have gotten off fossil fuels in our electrical grid. your plan does not do that. we need a realistic plan. here is what i believe. i believe that survival is realistic, and that is the kind of plan we need. my plan callsen: for 500,000 charging stations around the country, so by 2030 we are on all electric vehicle. my plan calls for making sure we billion invested in , creating 10 million

new jobs. we will double offshore wind and and any subsidies for call or any other -- for coal or any other fossil fuels, but we also have to engage the world while we are doing it. we have to walk and chew gum at the same time. [applause] >> mr. vice president, would there be any place for fossil fuels, including coal and fracking, in the biden administration? vice pres. biden: no. we would work it out. we would make sure it is eliminated and no more subsidies for any fossil fuel. we cannot -- >> we cannot work this out. our time is up. our houses are on fire. we have to stop using coal in 10 years, and we need our president to do it, or it won't get done. yournator harris, response? sen. harris: i have to agree with governor inslee. i will paraphrase from you, governor, we have a president in

the white house that obviously does not understand the science. he has been pushing science fiction instead of science fact. wind turbines cause cancer way instead they cause jobs, and the reality is i would take any democrat on this stage over the current president of the united states. we must have and adopt a green new deal on day one of the presidency, and i would enter us and the parents accord, and we should be carbon neutral by 2030. >> i want to talk about that with senator gillibrand, which includes paid vacations, and retirement security for everyone in america. explain how that is realistic? sen. gillibrand: the first thing i'm going to do when i am president, i'm going to clorox the oval office. [laughter] gillibrand: the second thing i'm going to do, i am going to reengage on global

climate change. i will not only sign the paris climate accord, i will lead the world like conversation about the urgency of this crisis. is greatest red to humanity global climate change. whoseted a family in iowa water -- [inaudible] that is the impact of severe weather right now on family's lives. the truth is we need robust solutions. when john f. kennedy said, i want to put a man on the moon in the next 10 years not because it is easy, but because it is hard. he knew it would be a measure of our success and ability to galvanize world competition. race withto have a russia. why not have a clean energy race in china? why not have clean air and water for all americans? why not rebuild our infrastructure and invest in american jobs?

price on carbon to make market forces help. representative gabbard, you are not a sponsor of the green new deal. please respond. rep. gabbard: i grew up on hawaii, the most remote island chain in the world. growing up there, protecting our environment was not a political issue, it is a way of life and part of our culture. it is who we are. as a member of congress, long before there was ever a green new deal, i introduced the most ambitious climate change legislation ever in congress, the off fossil fuels act. that laid out an actual plan to take us from where we are today to transition off of fossil invest in green energy, workforce training, and the kind of infrastructure we need to deal with the challenges that climate is posing to us today. you, congresswoman. senator booker, your response? is the job guarantee in the

green new deal realistic? sen. booker: i want to take a step back and say i agree wholeheartedly with governor inslee, which is why greenpeace ranks me and him at the top of this entire field. [laughter] sen. booker:. thank you.ker: first of all, this problem did not start yesterday. science did not become a reality yesterday. this has been going on for years. it was another president that would not join an international court, then it was the kyoto court. i stood up in national leadership, saying climate change is not a separate issue. it must be the issue and the lands that we view every issue. no one should get applause for rejoining the paris climate accord. that is kindergarten. we have to go to far advanced and make sure everything from our trade deals and billions of dollars we spent in foreign aid, everything must be sublimated to

the challenge and the crisis that is existential, which is dealing with the climate threat. yes, the majority of this problem is outside of the united states, but the only way we will deal with this is if the united states leaves. -- leads. >> mayor de blasio, your administration has come under fire after hundreds of children living in new york city public -- testedst positive for high levels of lead. of can you assure the people flint and across the nation that you are the right person to handle such a problem? mayor de blasio: we have a huge problem, and it is decades old in new york. here is what we have done about it. we declared the eradication of literally ending the notion of lead poisoning once and for all as a goal of our administration. lead poisoning has gone down

90% since 2005, and we are going to bring it down to zero because we are going into every place -- schools, buildings, public housing, and remediate that led once and for all. the government used to not take any responsibility for our public housing. they have been dis-investing for decades in the public housing that was supposed to be a federal responsibility. that is part of the reason we have this lead crisis to begin with. but i am in charge of the largest city in this nation. you do not accept the status quo, you fix it. so we are going into every one of those apartments to make sure those children and those families are safe, and then we are going to eradicate that lead once and for all, and there should be a federal mandate to do that for fleets, detroit, every place in this country. >> secretary castro, why are you the right candidate to solve this problem? sec. castro: people don't have to wonder what i would do, i actually did it.

i was the secretary of housing and urban development when wind had it water crisis. we did what we could to help folks get water filters, and we did not stop there. we improved the standard of how we dealt with elevated blood .ead levels in children many americans do not know this is a major problem out there. i was in flint six weeks ago and released a plan to invest $50 billion so we remove lead as a major public health threat. it.eed to do it, we can do >> donald trump won michigan by 16 percentage points, which was critical to him winning the state's electoral votes. there is a big debate in the democratic party here and around the country about the best way democrats can win back michigan. vice president biden, last night on this stage, senator elizabeth warren said "we are not going to solve the urgent problems that we face with small ideas and spinelessness. we are going to solve them by being the democratic party of

big structural change. what do you say to progressives who worry that your proposals are not ambitious enough to energize the progressive wing of your party, which you will need to beat donald trump? vice pres. biden: because we did it. i was asked to manage an $87 billion plan to be spent in a total of 18 months that revived this stage and many others. it kept us out of a depression. .2% waste or fraud. secondly, i was part of organization within our administration that pushed failing general motors out, saving tens of thousands of jobs here in this state. [applause] vice pres. biden: number three, i was asked and the mayor of detroit can tell you, by the president of the united states to help detroit get out of bankruptcy and get back on its feet. i spent the better part of two years out here making sure that it did exactly that.

we invested significantly in transportation, and the point is we made significant investments in this state. and this city. i expect that is why the mayor endorsed me. mr. lemon: senator gillibrand, what is your response? sen. gillibrand: to the people in michigan, i know how you view president trump. i took a bus tour to talk about trump's broken, says that broken promises in michigan. not only did he have bad trade deals, he started a trade war with china and signed onto agreement with nafta to point out. i took a bus to michigan, ohio, and pennsylvania, telling people he has broken his promises to them. voices, up their listened to concerns, and offer real solutions. my first house district i ran in with a 2-1 republican district. i won it twice and have not lost

an election sense, so i can bring people together in red, purple, and blue areas. >> mr. yang, democratic voters are saying that having a nominee who can beat president trump is more important than having a nominee that agrees with them on major issues. right now, according to polls, they say the candidate who has the best chance of beating president trump is vice president biden. why are they wrong? mr yang: well, i am building a coalition of disaffected trump voters, independence, and i believe i am the best candidate to beat donald trump. as for how to win in michigan, ohio, and pennsylvania, so many people feel like the economy has left them behind. we have to say look, there is record stock market and gdp prices, but also at record highs suicide, drug overdoses, depression, anxiety, and american life expectancy has declined in the past three years.

i also like to talk about my wife, home with my sons, one of whom is artistic. we know that her work is among the most challenging and vital. redefine economic progress to define all the things that matter to the people in michigan and all of us, like our health, well-being, mental health, clean air and clean water, how our kids are doing, if we change the measurements for the 21st century economy to revolve around our own well-being, we will win the election. mr. lemon: congresswoman gabbard, can you respond? [applause] rep. gabbard: donald trump won this election because far too many people felt like they have been left behind at both political parties, by self-serving politicians on both sides who are more interested in partisan politics than they are in fighting for the people. i'm are speaking -- speaking the truth to people across this country, people in flint, michigan are still being left behind and poisoned by the

water in their system. every single month, we are spending $4 billion on a continuing war in afghanistan. $4 billion every single month. rather than ending the war, bringing our troops home, and using those precious resources for serving the needs of the people here in this country. that is the kind of leadership we need. mr. lemon: senator booker, your response? sen. booker: i am grateful. this is one of the times where we are not staring at the truth and calling it out. if this is the case, the truth will set us free. we lost the state of michigan, because everything from republicans to russians were targeting the suppression of african-american voters. we need to say that. like for years earlier, we would have won the state of michigan. we need to have a campaign that is ready for what's coming. an all-out assault, especially

on the most valuable voter group , the highest performing voter group in our coalition, black women. i will try to fight against voter suppression and activate and engage kind of voters to win coalition -- with states like pennsylvania, michigan, and wisconsin. mr. lemon: senator harris? sen. harris:. -- sen. harris: donald trump came in and made a lot of promises he did not keep. farmers are looking at bankruptcy, rushing soybeans, and auto workers, hundreds of thousands, will be out of jobs by the end of the year. jerome powell dropped interest rates and admitted why, because of the trade policy that resident has that has been nothing more than the trump trade tax that has resulted in american families spending as much as $1.4 billion a month on everything from shampoo to washing machines. peopleayed the american and american families, and he

will lose this election because folks are clear that he has done nothing but try to beat people down instead of lift people up, and that is what we want in our next president in the united dates. -- united states. harris, thankala you. the debate is right back after this short break. [applause] we are back with the cnn democratic presidential debate. we want to turn to the economy. secretary castro? is up, stocks are rising, unemployment is near historic lows, including for latinos and african-americans. all outlined plans, but you have particulars that could end up raising taxes. how do you guarantee that will not hurt the economy? first of all, there are a lot of americans right now that are hurting. go ask the folks who received notice that they are going to

get laid off by general motors, or ask the folks who are sleeping on the street in big cities and small towns across the united states, or ask fast food workers that i joined a couple weeks ago who are working for minimum wage and cannot provide for their families or pay the rent. the idea that america is doing just fine is wrong. not only that, this president always like to take credit, like he did this. we have 105 straight months of positive job growth, the longest streak in american history. most of that was due to president barack obama -- thank you, barack obama. [applause] sec. castro: i believe we need to invest in what will insure americans can prosper in the years to come, making sure they have the knowledge to still compete in the 21st century economy and make sure they can afford the rent where they live, and make sure they have health care so they do not have to worry about going homeless because they cannot afford a medical procedure.

>> thank you, secretary castro. i wants to turn to a question about trade for congresswoman gabbard. people saw the tonspacific partnership be a critical tool to deal with the rise of china. you were against it. how do you make sure the united states is able to remain competitive against china on a world stage? by pushing for fair trade, not trade deal that give away the sovereignty of the american people and our country, that give away american jobs and threaten our environment. these are the three main issues with the massive trade deal, the transpacific partnership. the central one was the fact that it gave away our sovereignty to a panel of international corporations whose rulings would supersede any domestic law that we would pass, either a federal law, or a state and local law. this is extremely dangerous and goes against the very values that we have of the country.

not to speak of the impact it would have on domestic jobs and that it lacked clear protections for our environment. these are the things we have to keep at the forefront as we look to enact fair trade deals with other countries to make sure we continue to be a fighting part of our global economy. >> to be clear, when you keep the tariffs on china in place? rep. gabbard: i would not, because the approach president trump has taken has been extremely volatile with out any clear strategic plan, and has a negative effect on domestic manufacturers and farmers, who are already struggling, and are now failing because of the plan from has taken. >> vice president biden, would you rejoin the transpacific partnership? vice pres. biden: i would agree to negotiate it. we make up 25% of the world economy. either china is going to write the world's rules on trade for the 21st century, or we are.

we need to join with the rest of the world that we had with us, and make sure there is no one theing at that table doing deal unless environmentalists are there and labor is there. and make sure we equip our bykers first to compete investing in them now and make them more competitive. that is what we have to do. otherwise we will write -- they will write the rules of the world. >> thank you. it is notdent biden, clear, would you rejoin the tpp? vice pres. biden: i would not rejoin the tpp as it was initially put forward. i would insist we renegotiate pieces of that with e nations and south america and north america, so we can hold china accountable. otherwise they will do exactly what they are doing, fill the vacuum and run the table. >> thank you, sir.

mayor deblasio, you also opposed the deal. please respond. mayor de blasio: i would like to ask this question of all of the candidates, but president trump is trying to sell nafta to point out. he has a new name for it, it is just as dangerous as the old nafta, it will take away old jobs like it did to michigan, and we cannot have democratic be party to a new nafta. vice presidents, i believe you are the only person on the stage who voted for original nafta. do you say that you oppose a new nafta, and what you believe in is trade treaties that empower organized labor across the boundaries of the world and give working people power again? not just corporations. >> your response, sir? [laughter] what i insisten: that labor be engaged? the answer is yes. i love your affection for me.

you spend a lot of time on me. [laughter] we believe ino: redemption in this party. vice pres. biden: i hope you are part of it. >> i want to ask a question of senator bennet now. we reached out to democratic primary voters for their most pressing questions. has in detroit, our economy seen firsthand how technology and automation can did lace workers and create uncertainty around human job security. how would you balance these disruptions created by technology with the beneficial impact of technology on our economy? sen. bennet: how will we also remain competitive? this is not just about trade, as we were talking about earlier, it is if we will invest in this country anymore. since 2001, we have cut thrive trillion dollars -- $5 trillion worth of taxes. almost all of that has gone to

the wealthiest people in america. we have made the income inequality worse, not better, through the policies of the federal government. trillion int $5.6 the middle east. that is $12 trillion or $13 trillion that, from the view of driving the economy in michigan or anywhere else in america, we have just let that money on fire. we have to stop doing that and have to invest in america again. for the money that we have spent that i just described, we could have fixed every road and bridge in this country. we could have fixed every airport that needs to be fixed. we could have fixed not just went, but every water system in this country. sociald have made security solvent for my children, but we did none of this because of self-serving politicians in washington, d.c. who voted for deals who were good for them. >> senator bennet, thank you very much. mr. yang?

mr. yang, women, on average, earn $.80, about $.80 for every dollar earned by men. senator harris wants to find companies that do not close their gender pay gap's. as an entrepreneur, do you think a stiff fine will change how companies pay their female employees the act oh -- female employees? we have to do more at every step. if you are a woman entrepreneur, the obstacles start not just at home, but when you seek a mentor or investor, and often they do not look like you and they do not think your idea is the right one. we have to think about women in every situations, including women who are in abusive and exploited situations around the country. a woman who is stuck where she is, but what we have to do is give women the freedom to

improve their own situations and improve businesses, and the best way to do that is by putting a dividend of $1000 a month into their hands. it would be a game changer for women around the country. women do more of the unrecognized and uncompensated work in our society. it will not change unless we change it. i propose that is what we do. since 1963, when we passed the equal pay act, we have been talking about the fact that women are not paid equally for equal work. womenorward to 2019, and are paid $.80 on the dollar, black women, $.61, native american women, $.58, hispanic women, $.63. one, i will require corporations to post on their website whether they are paying women for equal work. they will be fine for every 1% differential between what they

are paying men and women. they will be fined 1% of their previous year's profits. senator gillibrand, what is your response? will this help solve the problem? sen. gillibrand: i think we have to have a broader conversation about whether or not we value women and whether we want to make sure every woman has an opportunity in the workplace. i want to address vice president biden directly. when the senate was debating ,hildcare, he wrote an op-ed where he said he believed that women working outside the home would "create the deterioration of family." he also said that women who were working outside the home or "avoiding responsibility." i needs to understand, as a woman who has worked my entire career and is the primary wage earner and caregiver -- in fact, my second son, henry, is here,

and i had him when i was a member of congress. under vice president biden's analysis, and i serving in congress resulting -- is my serving in congress resulting in the deterioration of family? i want to know what he meant when he said that. vice pres. biden: that was a long time ago, and here is what it was about. it would have given people making today $100,000 a year taxpayer credit for child care. i did not want that. i wanted the taxpayer credit to go to people making less than that, and that is what it was about. as a single father who raised three children for five years by myself, i have some idea what it costs. i support making sure that -- 700single solitary thousand women back to work, increased the gdp by almost 8/10 of 1%. it is the right thing to do. if we can give tax breaks to

corporations, why can't we do it this way? -- sen. gillibrand: but you did not answer my question. what did you mean when you said when a woman works outside the home, it is contributing to the deterioration from family? this is a direct quote. four in 10 moms have to work. they are the primary or sole wage earners. to work tohave provide for their kids. any of them want to be working to provide for their community. what did you mean when you said it then? vice pres. biden: my deceased wife worked with we had children, my present wife has worked all the way through raising our children. the situation is one where i have not known what has happened. lilly ledbetter, i was deeply involved in making sure there were equal pay amendments. on us"up with the "it's

proposal to make sure women were treated more decently on college campuses. you came to syracuse university with me and said it was wonderful. i'm passionate about the concern making sure women are treated equally. i don't know what's happened except that you're now running for president. [applause] sen. gillibrand: so i understand -- mr. vice president -- mr. vice president, i respect you deeply. i respect you deeply but those words are very specific. you said women working outside the home would lead to the deterioration of family. my grandmother worked outside the home. my -- my mother worked outside the home. and - and -- ms. bash: thank you, senator gillibrand. i want to bring senator harris into this conversation. sen. gillibrand: either he no longer believes it -- i mean i just think he needs to ... frm. vice pres. biden: i never believed it. ms. bash: thank you. senator harris, please respond. sen. harris: well, i just -- listen, i mean talk about now running for president, you change your position on the hyde amendment, vice president, where you made a decision for years to withhold resources to poor women to have access to reproductive

healthcare and including women who were the victims of rape and incest. do you now say that you have evolved and you regret that? because you have only, since you've been running for president this time, said that you had -- you in some way would take that back or you didn't agree with the decision that you made over many, many years. and this directly impacted so many women in our country and i personally prosecuted rape cases and child molestation cases; and the experience that those women have, those children have and that they would then be denied the resources. ms. bash: thank you, senator. let the vice president -- sen. harris: i think is -- is unacceptable. frm. vice pres. biden: the fact is that the senator knows that that's not position. everybody on this stage has been in the congress and the senate or house has voted for the hyde amendment at some point. the hyde amendment in the past was available because there was other access for those kinds of services provided privately. but once i wrote the legislation, making sure that every single woman would in fact

be have an opportunity to have healthcare paid for by the federal government, everyone that -- that could no longer stand. i support a woman's right to choose. i support it's a constitutional right. i've supported it and i will continue to support it and i will, in fact, move as president to see to it that the congress legislates that that is the laws as well. ms. bash: thank you -- thank you, mr. vice president. governor inslee, your response. (crosstalk) sen. harris: well why did it take you so long to change your position on the hyde amendment? why did it take so long until you were running for president position onour the hyde amendment? frm. vice pres. biden: because there was not full federal funding for all reproductive services prior to this point. ms. bash: ok. thank you. governor inslee, your response? gov. inslee: i -- i would suggest we need to broaden our discussion. i would suggest we need to think about a bigger scandal in america, which is that in professions and careers where women have been more than the majority, they have been almost always underpaid. that is why this year i'm proud to be the governor who won the

largest pay increase for our educators in the united states. and i believe that that is long, long overdue. [applause] gov. inslee: i think it is true for nursing staff as well. and i'm glad that we've now passed new measures. and i'm glad that we've increased our union membership 10%. mr. tapper: thank you, governor. gov. inslee: so unions can stand up for women as well. mr. tapper: thank you, governor inslee. i want to turn to foreign policy, if we can. senator booker, there are about 14,000 u.s. services members in afghanistan right now. if elected, will they still be in afghanistan by the end of your first year in office? sen. booker: well, first of all, i want to say very clearly that i will not do foreign policy by tweet as donald trump seems to do all the time. a guy that literally tweets out that we're pulling our troops out before his generals even know about it is creating a dangerous situation for our troops in places like afghanistan. and so i will bring our troops home and i will bring them home as quickly as possible, but i will not set during a campaign an artificial deadline. i will make sure we do it, we do it expeditiously, we do it

safely, to not create a vacuum that's ultimately going to destabilize the middle east and perhaps create the environment for terrorism and for extremism to threaten our nation. mr. tapper: congresswoman gabbard, you're the only veteran on this stage. please respond. rep. gabbard: this is real in a way that's very difficult to convey in words. i was deployed to iraq in 2005 during the height of the war, where i served in a field medical unit where every single day i saw the high cost of war. just this past week, two more of our soldiers were killed in afghanistan. my cousin is deployed to afghanistan right now. nearly 300 of our hawaii national guard soldiers are deployed to afghanistan, 14,000 servicemembers are deployed there. this is not about arbitrary deadlines. this is about leadership, the leadership i will bring to do the right thing to bring our troops home, within the first year in office, because they shouldn't have been there this long. for too long, we've had leaders who have been arbitrating

foreign policy from ivory towers in washington without any idea about the cost and the consequence, the toll that it takes on our servicemembers, on their families. we have to do the right thing, end these wasteful regime change wars, and bring our troops home. [applause] mr. tapper: thank you. thank you, congresswoman. mr. yang, iran has now breached the terms of the 2015 nuclear deal after president trump withdrew the u.s. from the deal, and that puts iran closer to building a nuclear weapon, the ability to do so, at the very least. you've said if iran violates the agreement, the u.s. would need to respond, quote, "very strongly." so how would a president yang respond right now? mr. yang: i would move to de-escalate tensions in iran, because they're responding to the fact that we pulled out of this agreement. and it wasn't just us and iran. there were many other world powers that were part of that multinational agreement. we'd have to try and reenter that agreement, renegotiate the timelines, because the timelines now don't make as much sense.

but i've signed a pledge to end the forever wars. right now, our strength abroad reflects our strength at home. what's happened, really? we've fallen apart at home, so we elected donald trump, and now we have this erratic and unpredictable relationship with even our longstanding partners and allies. what we have to do is we have to start investing those resources to solve the problems right here at home. we've spent trillions of dollars and lost thousands of american lives in conflicts that have had unclear benefits. we've been in a constant state of war for 18 years. this is not what the american people want. i would bring the troops home, i would de-escalate tensions with iran, and i would start investing our resources in our own communities. [applause] mr. tapper: governor inslee, your response? gov. inslee: well, i think that these are matters of great and often difficult judgment. and there is no sort of primer for presidents to read. we have to determine whether a potential president has adequate judgment in these decisions.

i was only one of two members on this panel today who were called to make a judgment about the iraq war. i was a relatively new member of congress, and i made the right judgment, because it was obvious to me that george bush was fanning the flames of war. now we face similar situations where we recognize we have a president who would be willing to beat the drums of war. we need a president who can stand up against the drums of war and make rational decisions. that was the right vote, and i believe it. mr. tapper: thank you. thank you, governor. vice president biden, he was obviously suggesting that you made the wrong decision and had bad judgment when you voted to go to war in iraq as a u.s. senator. frm. vice pres. biden: i did make a bad judgment, trusting trusting the president, saying he was only doing this to get inspectors in and get the u.n. to agree to put inspectors in. from the moment "shock and awe" started, from that moment, i was opposed to the effort, and i was outspoken as much as anyone at all in the congress and the administration. secondly, i was asked by the president in the first meeting

we had on iraq, he turned and said, joe, get our combat troops out, in front of the entire national security team. one of the proudest moment of my life was to stand there in al-faw palace and tell everyone that we're coming -- all our combat troops are coming home. mr. tapper: thank you. frm. vice pres. biden: i opposed the surge in afghanistan, this long overdue -- we should have not, in fact, gone into afghanistan the way -- mr. tapper: thank you, mr. vice president. gov. inslee: mr. vice president -- i'd like to comment. mr. tapper: i would like to bring in the person on the stage who served in iraq, governor -- i'm sorry, congresswoman gabbard. your response to what vice president biden just said. rep. gabbard: we were all lied to. this is the betrayal. this is the betrayal to the american people, to me, to my fellow servicemembers. we were all lied to, told that saddam hussein had weapons of mass destruction, was working with al qaida, and that this posed a threat to the american people. so i enlisted after 9/11 to protect our country, to go after those who attacked us on that fateful day, who took the lives of thousands of americans.

the problem is that this current president is continuing to betray us. we were supposed to be going after al qaida. but over years now, not only have we not gone after al qaida, who is stronger today than they were in 9/11, our president is supporting al qaida. mr. lemon: thank you, congresswoman. mayor de blasio: we didn't talk about iran. mr. lemon: let's talk about -- thank you, please. mayor de blasio: we didn't talk about iran. mr. lemon: please. mayor de blasio: we're on the march to war in iran right now, and we blew by it. mr. lemon: please, mayor. the rules -- please follow the rules. mayor de blasio: i respect the rules, but we have to stop this march to war in iran. mr. lemon: mayor, thank you very much. mayor de blasio: and the democratic party has to stand up for it. mr. lemon: and we're going to talk about another subject. mayor, thank you very much. i appreciate that. let's talk about now the former special counsel robert mueller's appearance in front of congress last week. when asked whether or not the president could be charged with a crime after leaving office, his answer was yes. senator harris, you have criticized president trump for interfering with the justice department, and just last month you said if you were elected president, your justice department would, quote, "have no choice and should go forward with obstruction of justice charges against former president

trump." why is it ok for you to advocate for the justice department to prosecute somebody, but president trump, not him? sen. harris: well, i would never direct the department of justice to do whatever it believes it should do. but, listen, look, we all watched his testimony. we all watched his testimony and i read the rate court. there are 10 clear incidents of obstruction of justice by this president, and he needs to be held accountable. i have seen people go to prison for far less. (applause) and the reality of it is that we have a person in the white house right now who has been shielded by a memo in the united states department of justice that says a sitting president cannot be indicted. i believe the american people are right to say there should be consequence and accountability for everyone and no one is above the law, including the president of the united states. (applause) mr. lemon: senator booker, your response? sen. booker: my response is exactly that. i've read the report. i've read the redacted versions of the report. we have something that is astonishing going on in the united states of the america. we have a president that is not acting like the leader of the

free world. he's acting like an authoritarian against the actual constitution that he swore an oath to uphold. and so this is a difference with a lot of us on this debate stage. i believe that we in the united states congress should start impeachment proceedings immediately. and i'll tell you this -- (applause) debbie stabenow now has joined my call for starting impeachment proceedings, because he is now stonewalling congress, not allowing -- subjecting himself to the checks and balances. we swore an oath to uphold the constitution. the politics of this be dammed. when we look back in history at what happened when a president of the united states started acting more like an authoritarian leader than the leader of the free world, the question is, is what will we have done? and i believe the congress should do its job. mr. lemon: senator booker, thank you very much. secretary castro, what's your response? sec. castro: well, i agree. i was the first of the candidates to call on congress to begin impeachment proceedings. there are 10 different incidents that robert mueller has pointed

out where this president either obstructed justice or attempted to obstruct justice. and i believe that they should go forward with impeachment proceedings. as to the question of what my department of justice would do, i agree with those who say that a president should not direct an attorney general specifically to prosecute or not prosecute. however, i believe that the evidence is plain and clear and that if it gets that far, that you're likely to see a prosecution of donald trump. mr. lemon: thank you, secretary. mayor de blasio, i'm going to bring you in. what's your response? mayor de blasio: i think it's obvious at this point in our history that the president has committed the crimes worthy of impeachment. but i want to caution my fellow democrats. while we move in every way we can for impeachment, we have to remember at the same time the american people are out there looking for us to do something for them in their lives. and what they see when they turn on the tv or go online is just talk about impeachment.

we need more talk about working people and their lives. for example, are we really ready -- and i ask people on this stage this question -- are we ready to make sure that the wealthy pay their fair share in taxes? that's something every american wants to know about. that's something they want answers to right now. so, yeah, move for impeachment, but don't forget to do the people's business and to stand up for working people, because that's how we're actually going to beat donald trump. the best impeachment is beating him in the election of 2020. (applause) mr. lemon: mayor, thank you very much. senator bennet, how do you respond to this conversation? sen. bennet: i think, look, as we go forward here, we need to recognize a very practical reality, which is that we are four months -- we've got the august recess. then we are four months away from the iowa caucuses. and i just want to make sure whatever we do doesn't end up with an acquittal by mitch mcconnell in the senate, which it surely would. and then president trump would be running saying that he had been acquitted by the united states congress. i believe we have a moral obligation to beat donald trump. (applause) he has to be a single-term president. and we can't do anything that

plays into our -- his hands. we were talking earlier about -- about climate up here. it's so important. donald trump should be the last climate denier that's ever in the white house. mr. lemon: senator bennet, thank you very much. secretary castro, please respond. sen. bennet: but we need to be smart about how we're running or we're going to give him a second term. we can't do it. mr. lemon: secretary, please, your turn. sec. castro: well, let me first say that i really do believe that we can walk and chew gum at the same time. all of us have a vision for the future of the country that we're articulating to the american people. we're going to continue to do that. we have an election coming up. at the same time, senator, you know, i think that too many folks in the senate and in the congress have been spooked by 1998. i believe that the times are different. and in fact, i think that folks are making a mistake by not pursuing impeachment. the mueller report clearly details that he deserves it. and what's going to happen in the fall of next year, of 2020, if they don't impeach him, is he's going to say, "you see? you see? the democrats didn't go after me on impeachment, and you know why? because i didn't do anything wrong."

(applause) these folks that always investigate me, they're always trying to go after me. when it came down to it, they didn't go after me there because i didn't do anything wrong." conversely, if mitch mcconnell is the one that lets him off the hook, we're going to be able to say. mr. lemon: secretary -- sec. castro: "well, sure, they impeached him in the house, but his friend, mitch mcconnell, moscow mitch, let him off the hook." (applause) mr. lemon: senator bennet, please respond. (applause) sen. bennet: i -- i don't disagree with that. you just said it better than i did. we have to walk and chew gum at the same time. it is incredibly unusual for members of congress to be able to do that. and i'm glad that secretary castro has the ambition. sec. castro: well, my brother can. he's here tonight. sen. bennet: ah, that's what i was going to say. it's your brother that's given you that good feeling about the congress. (laughter) that's what we should do. mr. lemon: thank you, senator. thank you, gentlemen. the debate continues, right after this. (applause) mr. tapper: welcome back to the cnn democratic presidential debate.

it is time now for closing statements. you will each receive one minute. mayor de blasio, let's begin with you. mayor de blasio: thank you. for the last three years, we've watched donald trump pit working people against each other, black versus white, citizen versus immigrant. and why? so that the wealthy and the powerful he represents can hold the american dream hostage from everyone else. we can't let them get away with it. if we're going to beat donald trump, this has to be a party that stands for something. this has to be the party of labor unions. this has to be the party of universal healthcare. this has to be the party that's not afraid to say out loud we're going to tax the hell out of the wealthy. and when we do that, donald trump right on cue will call us socialists. well, here's what i'll say to him. donald, you're the real socialist. the problem is, it's socialism for the rich.

we, here in this country, we don't have to take that anymore. we can fight back. if you agree that we can stand up to donald trump and we can stand up to the wealthy, then go to taxthehell.com and join us, so we can build a country that puts working people first. mr. tapper: senator bennet? sen. bennet: thank you. thank you very much. what i want to say to all of you tonight is, we have been here before as a country. we have faced challenges that we've -- we actually even forget some of us tonight how hard the people fought, how hard they worked, how hard they organized, the votes they had to take, the people they had to get to the polls to make this country more democratic, more fair, and more free. and now we have a person in the white house who has no appreciation of that history, who doesn't believe in the rule of law, who doesn't believe in the independence of the judiciary, who doesn't believe that climate change is real.

i think that we have an incredible opportunity in front of us, all of us, to come together just as our parents and grandparents did before them, and face challenges even harder than the ones that we face, but the only way we're going to be able to do it is to put the divisive politics of donald trump behind us and the divisive politics of the last 10 years behind us. we need to come together united against a broken washington, make donald trump a one-term president, and begin to govern this country again for our kids and our grandkids who cannot do it for themselves. we have to do it for them. please join me at michaelbennet.com. thanks for being here tonight. applause) [applause] mr. tapper: governor inslee?

gov. inslee: for decades, we have kicked the can down the road on climate change. and now under donald trump, we face a looming catastrophe. but it is not too late. we have one last chance. and when you have one chance in life, you take it. think about this -- literally the survival of humanity on this planet and civilization as we know it is in the hands of the next president. and we have to have a leader who will do what is necessary to save us. and that includes making this the top priority of the next presidency. and i alone on this panel am making a commitment that this will be the organizing principle of my administration not the first day, but every day. and if you share my view of the urgency of this matter, i hope you'll join me, because we are up against powerful special fossil fuel interests. and it is time to stand up on our legs and confront the fossil fuel special interests. because that is our salvation, what it depends upon. so i hope you will consider

going to jayinslee.com and joining this effort. and i will close with this -- i am confident and optimistic tonight, even in the face of this difficulty, because i know we can build a clean energy economy, i know we can save our children and our grandchildren. i know that we can defeat climate change and we will defeat donald trump. this is our moral responsibility. and we will fulfill it. thank you very much. [applause] mr. tapper: senator gillibrand? sen. gillibrand: donald trump has really torn apart the moral fabric of this country, dividing us on every racial line, every religious line, every socioeconomic line he can find. i'm running for president because i want to help people, and i actually have the experience and the ability to do that. i've brought congress together

and actually made a difference in people's lives. i also know how to beat donald trump. he has broken his promises to the american people. i've taken this fight directly to his backyard in michigan and ohio and in pennsylvania, and i'll go to all the places in this country. i will fight for your family. it doesn't matter who you are, it doesn't matter where you live, it doesn't matter who you love. because that's my responsibility. and i've done this before. i started out in a 2-to-1 republican district. i won it twice. i've never lost an election since. and i not only bring people together electorally, but also legislatively. i get things done. so we need a president who's not afraid of the big challenges, of the big fights. there is no false choice. we don't need a liberal or progressive with big ideas or we don't need a moderate who can

win back trump-obama voters. you need someone who can do both. and that's who i am. please go to kirstengillibrand.com so i can make the next debate stage. [applause] mr. tapper: congresswoman gabbard? rep. gabbard: thank you. now, donald trump and warmongering politicians in washington have failed us. they continue to escalate tensions with other nuclear-armed countries like russia and china and north korea, starting a new cold war, pushing us closer and closer to the brink of nuclear catastrophe. now, as we stand here tonight, there are thousands of nuclear missiles pointed at us. and if we were to get an attack right here tonight, we would have 30 minutes, 30 minutes before we were hit. and you would receive an alert like the one we received in hawaii last year that would say, "incoming missile. seek immediate shelter. this is not a drill. seek immediate shelter. this is not a drill." and you would see as we did, as

my loved ones in hawaii did, there is no shelter. this is the warmonger's hoax. there is no shelter. it's all a lie. as president, i will end this insanity, because it doesn't have to be this way. i will end these wasteful regime change wars, work to end this new cold war through the use of diplomacy to de-escalate these tensions and take the trillions of dollars that we've been wasting on these wars and on these weapons and redirect those resources into serving the needs of our people right here at home, things like health care for all, making sure everyone in this country has clean water to drink and clean air to breathe, investing in education, investing in our infrastructure. the needs are great. as your president, i will put your interests above all else. [applause] mr. tapper: secretary castro? sec. castro: well, first of all, let me say thank you to you, jake, dana, and to don, and to everybody here and to those watching. you know, this election is all

about what kind of nation we're going to become. you and i, we stand on the shoulders of folks who have made beds and made sacrifices, people that fought in wars and fought discrimination, folks that picked crops and stood in picket lines, and they helped build the wonderful nation that we live in today. donald trump has not been bashful in his cruelty. and i'm not going to be bashful in my common sense and compassion. i believe that we need leadership that understands that we need to move forward as one nation, with one destiny. our destiny in the years to come is to be the smartest, the healthiest, the fairest and the most prosperous nation on earth. sec. castro: if you want to help me build that america for the future, i hope you'll go to juliancastro.com. and on january 20th, 2021, we'll say together, "adios to donald

trump." [applause] mr. tapper: mr. yang? mr. yang: you know what the talking heads couldn't stop talking about after the last debate? it's not the fact that i'm somehow number four on the stage in national polling. it was the fact that i wasn't wearing a tie. instead of talking about automation and our future, including the fact that we automated away 4 million manufacturing jobs, hundreds of thousands right here in michigan, we're up here with makeup on our faces and our rehearsed attack lines, playing roles in this reality tv show. it's one reason why we elected a reality tv star as our president. [laughter] [applause] mr. yang: we need to be laser-focused on solving the real challenges of today, like the fact that the most common jobs in america may not exist in a decade, or that most americans cannot pay their bills. my flagship proposal, the freedom dividend, would put $1,000 a month into the hands of every american adult.

it would be a game-changer for millions of american families. if you care more about your family and your kids than my neckwear, enter your zip code at yang2020.com and see what $1,000 a month would mean to your community. i have done the math. it's not left, it's not right. it's forward. and that is how we're going to beat donald trump in 2020. [applause] mr. tapper: senator booker? sen. booker: thank you. first, i just want to give a lot of thanks to the city of detroit. they're hosting us today, and one of the reasons i respect this city is because it has the kind of defiant love that i find in many american cities, including the city of newark. and detroit is turning around and newark is turning around because we let no one divide us, no one demean or degrade us or underestimate our worth. we pulled together and fought for common purpose and common cause. that's the history of this city. my mom is sitting there who was born in the city of detroit, born to a guy.

[applause] sen. booker: that was a uaw worker, my grandfather, who pulled his family out of poverty in the depression. my grandmother joined him. she was really entrepreneurial, opened a pool hall and a laundromat right here in this city. that is the american dream. and so many of us have stories like that. but the dream of this country is under threat right now. while, my mom's generation, 80 -- 95% of baby boomers did better than their parents. it's now just a coin toss for millennials. we have a real crisis in our country, and the crisis is donald trump, but not only donald trump. i have a frustration that sometimes people are saying the only thing they want is to beat donald trump. well, that is the floor and not the ceiling. the way we beat donald trump is not just focusing on him. he wants to take all the oxygen out of the room. it's when we start focusing on each other and understanding that our common bonds and our common purpose to address our common pain is what has saved us before.

it's what's going to save us now. that is the kind of leader that i am going to be as president of the united states, not just uniting the democratic party but making sure that we put more "indivisible" back into this one nation under god. and if you believe like i do, please go to corybooker.com and join the mission. [applause] mr. tapper: senator harris? sen. harris: so in my background as attorney general of california, i took on the big banks who preyed on the homeowners, many of whom lost their homes and will never be able to buy another. i've taken on the for-profit colleges who preyed on students, put them out of business. i've preyed on transnational criminal organizations that have preyed on women and children. and i will tell you, we have a predator living in the white house. and i'm going to tell you something. donald trump has predatory

nature and predatory instincts. and the thing about predators is this -- by their very nature, they prey on people they perceive to be weak. they prey on people they perceive to be vulnerable. they prey on people who are in need of help, often desperate for help. and predators are cowards. what we need is someone who is going to be on that debate stage with donald trump and defeat him by being able to prosecute the case against four more years. and let me tell you, we've got a long rap sheet. we're looking at someone who passed a tax bill benefiting the top 1 percent and the biggest corporations in this country when he said he would help working families. we've got a person who has put babies in cages and separated children from their parents. we have someone who passed a so-called trade policy that was trade policy by tweet and has resulted in a tax on american families. so we must defeat him and then,

in turning the page, write the next chapter for our country. and that has to be written in a way that recognizes what wakes people up at 3:00 in the morning. and that is my agenda, the 3:00 a.m. agenda that is focused on giving folks the jobs they need, getting their children the education they need, making sure they have the health care they need and the future they deserve. so please join me at kamalaharris.org. and i thank you for your time. [applause] mr. tapper: vice president biden? frm. vice pres. biden: thank you. thank you very much. and thank you, mr. mayor, for detroit hosting this. look, i've said it many times, and i think everyone agrees with this. we're in a battle for the soul of america. this is the most consequential election anyone of you, no matter how old or young you are, has ever, ever participated in. four more years of donald trump will go down as an aberration -- hard to overcome the damage he's done, but we can overcome it. eight more years of donald trump

will change america in a fundamental way. the america we know will no longer exist. everybody knows who donald trump is. we have to let him know who we are. we choose science over fiction. we choose hope over fear. we choose unity over division. and we choose -- we choose the idea that we can as americans, when we act together, do anything. this is the united states of america. when we've acted together, we have never, never, never been unable to overcome whatever the problem was. if you agree with me, go to joe30330 and help me in this fight. thank you very much. [applause] ms. bash: candidates, thank you so much. we appreciate it. and stay with cnn for special coverage of tonight's debate. anderson cooper and chris cuomo are coming up. that begins right now. [applause] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute,

which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] ♪

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>> c-span has live coverage of the 2020 presidential candidates at the i will fare starting at thursday 1:45 p.m. eastern with governor steve bullock followed by former vice president joe biden at friday, we are live secretaryormer hud a work.o o'rourke.

watch the candidates live at the ohio state fair. c-span.org or on listen live from wherever you are on the go using the free c-span radio app. >> more congressional reaction to the mass shootings in texas and ohio. posts ohiodemocrat for the senseless shooting within 13 hours of the el paso mass shooting. action.morning, we need house dems passed two bills for the congress for universal underground -- gun background checks. now is the time for mitch and senate gop to pass the laws. another tweet, the first is to protect the citizens and congress approved money for the defense apartment but has taken no action to prevent gun

violence. ravel can peter king said -- republican peter king said incidents is why we need gun violence. sensible gun regulation is essential as is physiological study on who resorts to gun violence and why and what early indicators there might be. this from a former arizona representative gabrielle giffords who was shot. she had this reaction. i have no more words. i only of anger. senator donald trump and mitch mcconnell must call the senator back from august recess immediately. we cannot afford to wait another day for lawmakers to address this horrific national public safety threat. here is more reaction from guests on the sunday news programs. talked to the president yesterday at some length after the shooting in el paso and early this morning again on the

tragedy in dayton. he is a human being and his reaction is the same as milks -- most folks watching program he is sad and angry. he talked to the governor of texas yesterday and the governor of ohio this morning here the first call was to the attorney general to find out what we can do to prevent this type of thing from happening and what we could do to send a message to sick people who would do this kind of stuff that this is not appropriate. this is way beyond. these are sick people and we need to figure out what we can do to make sure this doesn't happen again. we see 20 killed in a paso and we are from the mayor of dayton that the death toll has gone up to 10. these are the latest in a string of mass shootings since the president was inaugurated. beach, thousand oaks, the tree of life, parkland , and the massacre in las vegas. doing? he

and stand he called the attorney general but what is he doing to stop these killings and mass shootings? >> you make an excellent point. this difficulty we face as a nature -- nation predates him by many years. you have to try to fix the society and figure out why people now take it upon themselves to take guns into large groups of people. it has happened for many decades now. we have to find a way to heal the nation. i've talked to several folks this morning about what they thought we should be focusing on this week in the white house and we talk to the fbi and the department of justice and then you talk about social media. in your introduction you mentioned that there was a manifesto on social media appeared with given a wide audience to these people and made them celebrities and allowed them to spew hate without any instructions. not saying we are going to regulate social media but we have to have a broad-based discussion about causes.

are we going to talk about the role of guns? certainly we are but to think this is just a gun issue that many people make it out to be. we have guns in this country for hundreds of years but we haven't had this and we need to figure out why. -- >> this is terrorism and we have to name it. it is symptomatic of the effect of white nationalists terrorism. we cannot keep america safe from this threat to the american people if we are not prepared to name and confront it. we need an and ministration that is ready to do that and we can't keep attending this is just random or something we can't confront. you have two things coming together. one is the week on safety policies of this country and the rise of domestic terrorism inspired by white nationalists. we need to acknowledge this is a

problem that american lives are at risk and we have to do something about it. >> let me move on because during one of the debates, your 2020 opponent, governor jay inslee of washington said that president trump is an "white nationalists." statement.stark you think he is a nationalist? >> yes, i do. from some of the record i recited to you, the think cs said both as a candidate and of the the president united states, this cannot be open for debate. you as well as i have a responsibility to call that out and make sure the american people understand what is being done in their name i the person who holds the highest position of public trust in this land. he doesn't pretend to respect our differences or to understand that we are all created equal.

he is saying that some people are inherently defective or dangerous, reminiscent of something you might hear in the what youch but not would expect in the united states of america based on religion and sexual orientation and immigration status and the countries they come from calling those in africa that he would --e to have more let's be very clear about what is causing this and who the president is. he is an open racist and is encouraging more racism in this country and this is incredibly dangerous for the united states of america right now. all of us have a responsibility to stand up and be counted. >> to former house lawmakers take part in a form on the future of regional political reporting andli