Trump undeterred from Dems’ first showing
After months of campaign rollout announcements and initial touring around the country, the top Democratic nominees got together in Florida for the first Democratic matchup in the 2020 primary season.
Due to the volume of people running for the Democratic ticket, the first debate, hosted by MSNBC, was split into two nights — Wednesday, June 26 and Thursday, June 27 — each night comprising of a random assortment of the top 2020 hopefuls.
While the debate produced exactly what it was expected to do (a clearer look at agendas with some light back-and-forths), the first debate set the tone for and informs voters on what the rest of the Democratic primary stage will look like: a lot of granular arguments on each other’s pasts, reaffirming Democratic ideals and, of course, critiques on the current president.
The second night, in particular, was historic for having two Asian Americans, attorney and entrepreneur Andrew Yang and Sen. Kamala Harris of California, on the same stage, and while Yang’s airtime was limited to less than three minutes, Harris came out on top, placing her in prime position for future debates.
One of the more sprightly arguments on the second night involved Harris calling out Biden on his efforts as a senator when it came to bussing, i.e. the practice of putting black and white children on buses and sending them to different schools in an effort for racial desegregation.
After taking the reins on the race discussion, Harris said that she “couldn’t agree more that [race] is an issue that is still not being talked about truthfully and honestly.”
She then directed her points to Biden, who in 1975 as senator of Delaware, supported a constitutional amendment to end mandated bussing. Harris noted that as a child, she was bussed and noted that she was disappointed by the way Biden has tried to justify working with segregationist senators in the 1970s.
“That’s where the federal government must step in,” Harris said. “That’s why we have the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act. That’s why we need to pass the Equality Act.”
(The Equality Act is an amendment to the Civil Rights Act to prohibit discrimination on the bases of sexual orientation and gender identity.)
The clear winner of the second night, Harris’ solid performance extended beyond the now-viral spar with Biden, showcasing her fortitude on the issues.
After a boisterous bout of crosstalk, Harris interrupted, saying, “Hey, guys, you know what? America does not want to witness a food fight. They want to know how we are going to put food on their table.”
The first night, though not as confrontational as the second night, made clear that Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts is the one to watch. In a spar with the more moderate Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Warren sharply made the case for Medicare for All, a plan to expand Medicare beyond senior citizens.
“There are a lot of politicians who say, ‘Oh, it’s just not possible, we just can’t do it, there’s a lot of political problems,” Warren said. “What they’re really telling you is [that] they just won’t fight for it. Well, health care is a basic human right and I will fight for basic human rights.”
Despite Harris overwhelmingly taking the win of the second night, a Morning Consult poll released on Friday, June 28 puts Biden comfortably ahead at 32% with Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Harris tied for second at 17% and Warren in third place at 14%.
While debates and polls this early in the game aren’t the best determinants for voter behavior as far as a year out from the primaries, they are a substantial showcase of an individual’s presidential posture and their mental stamina when discussing the most pressing issues.
“The cast of characters may have changed, but the second night’s script was eerily like the first: a two hour-long infomercial for President Donald J. Trump’s re-election campaign,” Kayleigh McEnany, national press secretary for Trump’s reelection campaign, said in a statement. “All of the Democrats tripped over each other in a race to see who could stand out as the most leftist candidate, threatening government control of every aspect of people’s lives. We are many months away from seeing who the Democrat nominee will be, but one thing is clear — President Trump will be the hands-down victor after each and every Democrat debate.”
Trump, himself, seemed unmoved by the whole thing, simply tweeting during the first debate, “BORING!”
The second Democratic debate, hosted by CNN, will be held in Detroit, Michigan on Tuesday, July 30 and Wednesday, July 31.
