Democratic candidates debate in Ohio

By Veronica Rocha, Meg Wagner and Amanda Wills, CNN

Updated 7:49 p.m. ET, November 11, 2019
28 Posts
Sort byDropdown arrow
9:07 p.m. ET, October 15, 2019

Warren: "I don't have a beef with billionaires"

 John Nowak/CNN
 John Nowak/CNN

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren said while she is hard on billionaires, she doesn't dislike them.

But she said she does want them to pay their fair share.

"Look, I don't have a beef with billionaires," she said.

Warren argued that because billionaires have "made a fortune in America," they should be able pitch in two cents "so every other kid in America has a chance to make it."

8:48 p.m. ET, October 15, 2019

Yang talks about his autistic son on stage

From CNN's Dan Merica

Edward M. PioRoda/CNN
Edward M. PioRoda/CNN

Businessman Andrew Yang, in an effort to tout his trademark $1,000-a-month universal basic income policy proposal, invoked his two sons, including one who is autistic.

Yang argued that Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ “vision of the economy of the 21st century is not a vision that most Americans would embrace” and didn’t take into account a family like his, including families raising children with disabilities.

“We have a freedom dividend of $1,000 a month. It recognizes the work in our families and communities,” Yang said. “It helps all Americans.”

He added: “When we put the money into our hands, we can build a trickle-up economy from our people, our families and our communities up. It will enable us to do the work that we want to do. This is the sort of vision in response to the fourth industrial revolution that we have to embrace.”

9:13 p.m. ET, October 15, 2019

Harris gets applause after pointing out the need to talk about women's access to reproductive health care

Gabriella Demczuk for CNN
Gabriella Demczuk for CNN

Sen. Kamala Harris said the candidates at the debate have barely brought up the issue of women's access to reproductive health care.

"This is the sixth debate we have had in this presidential cycle. Not one word with all of these discussions about health care, on women's access to reproductive health care. It's outrageous," Harris said.

"People need to keep their hands off of women's bodies and let women make the decisions about their own lives," she added

Some background: Several states have taken steps recently to pass anti-abortion bills, while other states controlled by Democrats have moved to add abortion protections. (Read more about this here.)

Watch here:

9:06 p.m. ET, October 15, 2019

Warren won't say if taxes will go up for the middle class under Medicare for All

Edward M. PioRoda/CNN
Edward M. PioRoda/CNN

Sen. Elizabeth Warren refused to say if taxes would go up for the middle class in order to pay for Medicare for All.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, meanwhile, said it was "appropriate" to acknowledge tax increases.

"I do think it is appropriate to acknowledge that taxes will go up: They're gonna up significantly for the wealthy and for virtually everybody. The tax increase will be substantially less — substantially less — than what they were paying for premiums and out-of-pocket expenses," Sanders said.

Warren, who also supports a Medicare for All heath care plan, was asked to acknowledge Sanders' comments about taxes.

"My view on this and what I have committed to is costs will go down for hard-working middle-class families," Warren said.

That's when Sen. Amy Klobuchar chimed in.

"At least Bernie's being honest here and saying how he's going to pay this," she said. "I think we owe it to the American people to tell them where we will send the invoice."

Some context: At the first Democratic debate in Miami earlier this year, Sanders said that the middle class will pay more taxes but will save more through universal health care and free college under his administration.

Watch here:

8:42 p.m. ET, October 15, 2019

Klobuchar: "The difference between a plan and a pipe dream is something that you can actually get done"

From CNN's Dan Merica

Maddie McGarvey for CNN
Maddie McGarvey for CNN

Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar didn’t waste any time to go after Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Tuesday, using her answer on health care to raise questions about the Warren-backed "Medicare for All" single-payer health care plan.

“I appreciate Elizabeth’s work,” Klobuchar said before delivering her most direct line of any Democratic debate so far: “The difference between a plan and a pipe dream is something that you can actually get done.”

Klobuchar’s key issue with Medicare for All, a sweeping health care plan that would remake the entire health care system with an entirely government backed system, is that she doesn’t believe it can get done.

But Klobuchar also raised questions about Warren's unwillingness to answer a yes-or-no questions about whether Medicare for All will raise taxes on the middle class, something Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has said would happen.

“At least Bernie is being honest here,” Klobuchar said. “We owe it to the American people to tell them where we will send the invoice.”

Warren responded to her Minnesota colleague by saying, “The problem we have got right now is the overall cost of health care. You can try to spin this any way you want. I have spent my life on working on how America’s middle class has been hollowed out and how we fight back.”

8:37 p.m. ET, October 15, 2019

Here's what you need to know about automation and the workforce

From CNN's Zachary B. Wolf

There will be less work in manufacturing, less work in call centers, less work driving trucks, and more work in health care and home care and construction.

MIT Technology Review tried to track all the different reports on the effect that automation will have on the workforce. There are a lot of them. And they suggest anywhere from moderate displacement to a total workforce overhaul with varying degrees of alarm. 

One of the reports, by the McKinsey Global Institute, includes a review of how susceptible to automation different jobs might be and finds that hundreds of millions of people worldwide will have to find new jobs or learn new skills. Learning new skills can be more difficult than it sounds, as CNN has found at car plants, such as the one that closed in Lordstown, Ohio.

8:34 p.m. ET, October 15, 2019

Here's who's talked the most so far

Sen. Elizabeth Warren has talked for more than 5 minutes. Meanwhile, Tom Steyer has spoken for less than a minute.

8:31 p.m. ET, October 15, 2019

Democrats are nearly unanimous on impeachment

From CNN's Dan Merica

There are countless disagreements between the 12 Democrats on stage. Impeaching President Donald Trump is not one of them.

The first question tonight was on impeaching Trump, and nearly every Democrat on stage spoke at length about why they support moving toward impeachment proceedings against the President.

  • Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren highlighted how reading the Mueller report informed her call for impeachment.
  • Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said the House would “find him worthy of impeachment because of the emoluments clause.”
  • Former Vice President Joe Biden said Trump “is the most corrupt in modern history and all of our history.”
  • When asked about already indicating she would oust Trump, California Sen. Kamala Harris said, “It is just being observant. He has committed crimes in plain sight.”
  • Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar repeatedly said that she would like to ask Trump how his actions “makes America great again.”
  • And asked about Democrats' ability to push other issues while focusing on impeachment, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro said, “We can walk and chew gum at the same time.”
  • Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard said she supported the impeachment inquiry, but noted, "Calls for impeachment really began shortly after Trump won his election, and as unhappy as that may make us as Democrats, he won that election in 2016."

The near unanimity on impeachment highlights how many Democratic voters feel about Trump and how it behooves each presidential candidate to back ousting him from office.

8:47 p.m. ET, October 15, 2019

Joe Biden: "My son did nothing wrong. I did nothing wrong."

Former Vice President Joe Biden was just asked about his son's business ties to foreign countries.

The Bidens have been at the center of the House impeachment inquiry, which is focusing on President Trump's attempts to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate the former vice president during a July 25 phone call. 

Hunter Biden has pledged to not work for any foreign-owned companies or serve on their boards should his father be elected President.

"If it's not OK for a president's family to be involved in foreign businesses, why was it okay for your son when you were vice president?" CNN's Anderson Cooper asked Biden moments ago.

"My son did nothing wrong. I did nothing wrong," Biden said.

He then shifted to the impeachment inquiry into Trump.

"What I think is important is we focus on why it's so important to remove this man from office," he said.

Remember: There has been no evidence of wrongdoing by either Joe or Hunter Biden.

Watch here: