The first Democratic debate, night 1

The next group of Democratic presidential candidates aren’t due to take the stage until tomorrow, but that didn’t stop some of them from sharing their thoughts on tonight’s debates.

Here’s what some of the candidates said:

During the debate, Sanders took to Twitter and talked about his platform.

Meanwhile, Yang live-tweeted his reactions to tonight’s debate.

Williamson made a quip about learning Spanish.

Gillibrand shared her excitement for tomorrow’s debate.

Hickenlooper congratulated tonight’s candidates.

The first round of debates are over, and the 2020 Democratic candidates laid out their final pitches to Americans on why they should be elected president.

Here are some key quotes from their final remarks:

In arguing that the government needs to do more to support people who are LGBTQ, Cory Booker said: “We don’t talk enough about how many children, about 30% of LGBTQ kids, who do not go to school because of fear.” 

Facts First: Booker is correct, according to a leading LGBTQ education nonprofit, although a government study suggests the percentage is lower.  

A 2017 national school climate survey conducted by GLSEN found 35% of LGBTQ students missed at least one day of school in the past month because they felt unsafe or uncomfortable.

That number is even higher than the organization’s 2005 school climate survey, which found 29% of LGBT students surveyed reported missing classes at least once in the last month because of feeling unsafe  

A government study suggests the percentage could be lower. A federal study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2017 found that 10% of gay, lesbian and bisexual students missed school due to concerns over safety.

In a discussion on guns and crime, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said there needs to be a “different conversation about policing that brings police and community together. We’ve done that in New York City. And we’ve driven down crime while we’ve done it.” 

Facts First: While New York City’s crime statistics have fallen in recent years during de Blasio’s time as mayor, crime in New York has been falling for years, and it’s unclear to what extent de Blasio’s policies have contributed to that decline.

Last year saw the lowest number of serious and violent crime in the modern era, according to the NYPD. The homicide rate remained relatively flat while the number of robberies, burglaries, and shooting incidents all decreased from 2018 compared with 2017, the police department said. 

De Blasio claimed that he has brought police and community together during his time as mayor, but a report from the New York City Police Department’s internal Inspector General released Wednesday shows there’s still work to be done, making 23 recommendations to the department about how it can improve handling biased policing complaints from its community.

Elizabeth Warren said the insurance industry last year “sucked $23 billion in profits out of the health care system.” 

Facts first: It’s true. Insurance companies’ profits have been booming.

A study by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners shows the private insurance industry has seen “tremendous growth” raking in profits of $23.4 billion in 2018 compared to $16.1 billion the year before. That’s the highest profit amount in at least 10 years.

It also shows that those companies’ profit margin improved to 3.3% from 2.4% in 2017. 

Elizabeth Warren said that “there’s a $23 trillion market coming for green products.” 

Facts first: According to a World Bank estimate, that’s correct.

Warren was referring to a report by the International Finance Corporation, a division of the World Bank Group, which found that commitments made by emerging economies under the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement potentially will open up to $23 trillion in opportunities for investment in low-carbon technology and infrastructure. 

Cory Booker often notes on the campaign trail that he lives in a low-income, inner-city area. During Wednesday night’s debate, the former Newark, NJ, mayor said that seven people were shot in his Newark neighborhood last week.  

“I hear gunshots in my neighborhood,” Booker said. “I think I’m the only one, I hope I am the only one that had seven people shot in their neighborhood just last week.” 

Fact Check: It’s sad, and it’s true. 

Six people were injured and one man died in two separate shootings in Newark’s Central Ward, where Booker lives, the Tuesday before last, according to Newark Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose. 

Two women were injured and one man was killed in the first shooting, just before 4 p.m., Ambrose said in a press release. Five minutes and about a mile away four men were injured in another shooting, Ambrose said.  

Booker lives just a block away from that first shooting. 

Tim Ryan claimed that “the top 1% control 90% of the wealth.”

Facts first: This is incorrect. Recent studies show the wealthiest 1% own around 39% of the country’s total wealth.

According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonpartisan research institute, “the share of wealth held by the top 1 percent rose from just under 30 percent in 1989 to nearly 39 percent in 2016.”

This concurs with a Federal Reserve study which found that in 2016, the richest 1% controlled 38.6% of wealth in the US.  

According to a 2017 study by NYU economist Edward Wolff, the top 1% own 40% of the wealth in the US.

Sen. Cory Booker said at tonight’s debate, “If you need a license to drive a car, you should need a license to buy and own a firearm. And not everybody in this field agrees with that, but in states like Connecticut that did that, they saw 40% drops in gun violence and 15% drops in suicides.” 

Facts First: There is peer-reviewed academic support for this claim.

Booker was referring to the effects of a 1995 law that required a permit or a license to obtain a firearm, raised the age of people allowed to own guns from 18 to 21, and required 8 hours of gun safety training.

A 2015 study published in the American Journal of Public Health found that the law was associated with a 40% drop in the firearm-related homicide rate.

A 2015 study in the journal Preventive Medicine found that the law decreased the firearm suicide rate by an estimated 15.4%.

Rep. Tim Ryan claimed that “the bottom 60% haven’t seen a raise since 1980.” 

Facts first: This is incorrect. The bottom 60% have seen their income rise since 1980. 

It’s unclear where Ryan is pulling this statistic from, but a 2018 report from the Congressional Budget Office says that the bottom 60% saw an increase in household income of 32% – adjusted for inflation – from 1979 to 2015. 

Meanwhile the top 1% saw their income rise by 233%. 

Reps. Tim Ryan and Tulsi Gabbard sparred on Wednesday night over the best strategy in Afghanistan.

“These flare ups distract us from the real problems in the country,” Ryan said. “If we’re getting drones shot down for $130 million because the president is distracted, that’s 130 million that we could be spending in places like Youngstown, Ohio or Flint, Michigan –”

“Congressman Ryan,” Gabbard said.

“Or rebuilding–” Ryan continued.

“Is that what you will tell the parents of those two soldiers who were just killed in Afghanistan –’we just have to engage’?” Gabbard, a veteran of the Iraq War, said. 

“As a soldier, I will tell you that answer is unacceptable,” she added. “We have to bring our troops home from Afghanistan. We are in a place in Afghanistan where we have lost so many lives. We’ve spent so much money – money that’s coming out of every one of our pockets money that should be going into communities here at home, meeting the needs of the people here at home. 

Gabbard continued, “We are no better off in Afghanistan today than we were when the war began. This is why it’s so important to have a president and commander in chief who knows the cost of war and who’s ready to do the job on Day 1, I am ready to do that job when I walk into the Oval Office.”

Ryan replied, “I don’t want to be engaged. I wish we were spending all this money in places that I’ve represented that have been completely forgotten and we’re rebuilding. But the reality of it is, if the United States doesn’t engage, the Taliban will grow and they will have bigger bolder terrorist acts. We have got to have some presence there –” 

“The Taliban has been there long before we became in, they’ll be there long after we leave,” Gabbard said. “We can not keep US troops deployed to Afghanistan thinking that we’re going to somehow squash this Taliban that has been there–”

Ryan said, “I didn’t say squash them. When we weren’t in there, they started flying planes into our buildings. So I’m just saying right now–”

Gabbard replied, “The Taliban didn’t attack us on 9/11, Al-Qaeda did. Al-Qaeda attacked us on 911, that’s why I and so many people joined the military to fight Al-Qaeda, not the Taliban.”

Ryan said, “I understand that, the Taliban was protecting those people who were plotting against us. All I’m saying is, if we want to go in to elections and we want to say that we got a withdrawal from the world, that’s what President Trump is saying. We can’t, I would love for us to.”

Cory Booker sparked the most interest for Googlers tonight, according to a Twitter account that shares official Google data on behalf of the search giant’s Google News Initiative.

Tulsi Gabbard was second in search, and Beto O’Rourke was third.

Here’s the breakdown:

Former Congressman Beto O’Rourke brought a stark figure into the debate on Wednesday night when he said, “Tonight in this country you have 2.3 million of our fellow Americans behind bars. It’s the largest prison population on the face of the planet.” 

Facts First: Comparing prison populations between nations is difficult because not all countries keep statistics in the same way. O’Rourke is broadly correct about the number of people behind bars in the United States but because of mass detentions in China, for instance, his claim that the US has the largest prison population on the planet is questionable.

According to an analysis of Justice Department numbers done by the Pew Research Center, there were about 2.2 million people behind bars in the US in 2016 between federal and state prisons and locally run jails.

China comes in at number two with 1,649,804 people imprisoned according to the World Prison Brief, a database compiled by Birkbeck, University of London. 

But measuring prison populations in China isn’t easy, the World Prison Brief notes, citing China’s use of “administrative detention facilities” for some drug offenders and prostitutes.

There may also be as many as 3 million Chinese Uyghurs, a Muslim-majority ethnic group, in government detention camps, US Assistant Secretary of Defense Randall Schriver said last month.  

Cory Booker: 10 minutes, 55 seconds Beto O’Rourke: 10 minutes, 39 seconds Elizabeth Warren: 9 minutes, 17 seconds Julián Castro: 8 minutes, 52 seconds Amy Klobuchar: 8 minutes, 25 seconds Tulsi Gabbard: 7 minutes, 22 seconds Tim Ryan: 7 minutes, 21 seconds John Delaney: 6 minutes, 49 seconds Bill de Blasio: 5 minutes, 40 seconds Jay Inslee: 4 minutes, 52 seconds

Sen. Amy Klobuchar spoke about “Medicare for All” and said, “I’m concerned about kicking half of Americans off of health insurance in four years.”

Facts first: True. “Medicare for All” would cut private insurance for 150 million people. 

The Senate’s Medicare for All bill, sponsored by Sen. Bernie Sanders, would essentially eliminate the private insurance industry after a four-year transition.

Instead, all Americans would be enrolled in a government-run plan, which would cover virtually all medically necessary services. Private insurers could only offer other benefits, such as cosmetic surgery. 

Currently, more than 150 million Americans get their health insurance through private plans offered by their employers, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Also covered by private insurance are the millions who buy policies on the individual exchange or through Medicare Advantage plans. 

All of these consumers would be shifted from the policies to the national plan under “Medicare for All.”

Sen. Amy Klobuchar said 25% of people who have won the Nobel Prize on behalf of the United States were born in other countries and are immigrants. 

Facts first: The percentage for some categories is actually larger than Klobuchar stated. 

Since 2000, 39% of Nobel Prizes won for the United States in Chemistry, Medicine and Physics were immigrants, according to a report from the National Foundation for American Policy.

Both in the past two decades and over the past century, a substantial percentage of Nobel Prizes won by Americans were immigrants, according to these reports. 

Sen. Cory Booker singled out companies like Amazon and Halliburton for “paying nothing in taxes.”   

FACTS FIRST: Amazon and Halliburton’s tax rates are low, but not zero.  

We can’t really know for sure because Amazon’s tax returns are private. But The Wall Street Journal reported recently that the company’s tax rate from 2012 through 2018 was 8%. 

“From 2012 through 2018, Amazon reported $25.4 billion in pretax US income and current federal tax provisions totaling $1.9 billion,” the Journal reported.

“That is an 8% tax rate — low, but not zero or negative. Looking back further, since 2002, Amazon has earned $27.7 billion in global pretax profits and paid $3.6 billion in global cash income taxes, a 13% tax rate.” 

Amazon has been a Democratic target as a big winner of the 2017 Republican tax overhaul law.  

Former Vice President Joe Biden blasted the company’s tax payments on the campaign trail during a stop in Iowa, and has tweeted that: “(N)o company pulling in billions of dollars of profits should pay a lower tax rate than firefighters and teachers,” pointing to Amazon. 

The company tweeted back:

“We pay every penny we owe. Congress designed tax laws to encourage companies to reinvest in the American economy. We have… Assume VP Biden’s complaint is w/the tax code, not Amazon.”

Halliburton was expected to get a $19 million tax rebate on $1.1 billion in profit in 2018, giving it an effective tax rate of negative 2%, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a non-partisan think thank which issued a report showing how some of the country’s biggest companies had nearly zeroed out their income taxes.

Correction: This article has been updated to reflect that Halliburton received a $19 million tax rebate in 2018, according to a report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a non-partisan think tank that works on state and federal tax policy issues.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said he’s had serious conversations with his black son, Dante, about how to protect himself.

He went on to describe some of the discussions he’s had with his son, including “how to deal with the fact that he has to take special caution because there have been too many tragedies between our young men and our police, too, as we saw recently in Indiana.”

Why de Blasio is talking about Indiana: Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has faced criticism recently after an officer involved shooting left a 54-year-old black man dead.

The mayor’s tone tonight is much different from several days ago.

“Look, obviously they are going through a tragedy there in South Bend and a lot of cities, including our city, have been tough, tough moments like that. I certainly, my heart goes out to everyone in South Bend. It is a tough, tough thing to go through,” de Blasio said.

When responding to a question about income inequality, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said, “It is not right that the CEO of McDonald’s makes 2,100 times more than the people slingin’ hash at McDonald’s.”

Facts First: While technically true, it’s worth noting that this includes the wages of part-time employees working abroad – not just US-based employees.

McDonald’s reported that CEO Stephen Easterbrook’s total 2018 compensation was $15.9 million, while its median employee earned a total compensation of $7,473. That median employee however is a part-time employee located in Hungary. 

Still, that dynamic resulted in a pay ratio of 2,124 to 1, according to a financial filing the company posted in April.

New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker subtly knocked his opponents at Wednesday’s debate, faulting the majority of them for not supporting his plan to require a license to buy and own a gun.

Booker unveiled his gun plan in May. The plan would create a gun license, making it a federal standard, similar to a driver’s license or a passport. The license would require fingerprints, an interview, and completion of a gun safety course.

“My plan to address gun violence is simple,” the New Jersey Democrat said in a statement at the time. “We will make it harder for people who should not have a gun to get one.”

Cory Booker said: “The overhead for insurers that they charge is 15%, while Medicare’s overhead is only at 2%.”

Facts First: This is roughly true, although an apples to apples comparison is difficult to make.

According to the 2019 annual report from the Boards of Trustees for Medicare, administrative expenses come to $9.9 billion, or about 1.3% of Medicare’s total expenditures in 2018. 

According to a report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office in 2016, as a share of premiums per enrollee, the administrative costs of private insurance companies ranged between 11% and 20% depending on whether they serve large employers, small companies or the individual market. 

Some of Medicare’s overhead costs are paid by the Social Security system, so the actual administrative expenses are likely higher, but it is true that Medicare’s administrative costs are lower as a share of overall expenditures than they are in the private market. 

Former Housing and Urban Development secretary and San Antonio mayor Julián Castro suggested that the Trump administration’s policy of limiting asylum at ports of entry led to the deaths of the Salvadorian father and child found face down in the Rio Grande that is the subject of a now infamous photo.  

Facts First: ‘Metering’ has led to longer waits, but it’s unclear if those wait times resulted in the family deciding to cross illegally 

“They have been playing games with people who are coming and trying to seek asylum at our ports of entry. Oscar and Valeria went to a port of entry and then they were denied the ability to make an asylum claim so they got frustrated and they tried to cross the river and they died because of that,” Castro said. 

The Trump administration’s policy, called “metering,” has led to longer wait times, though it’s difficult to ascribe motive behind a migrant’s decision to cross the border illegally. 

In the case of the father and child who died trying to cross the Rio Grande river, the man’s mother told CNNE that they left the country in April in hopes of making it to Dallas to work. She said the family wanted to buy their own house and better their financial situation.  

Customs and Border Protection has said it doesn’t know how many migrants have been turned away as a result of metering. 

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard’s sister apparently used the candidate’s Twitter account to share her thoughts on who she thought was the favored most in tonight’s debate.

Gubbard’s sister, Vrindavan, accused MSNBC of favoring Elizabeth Warren, saying “They’re giving her more time than all the other candidates combined. They aren’t giving any time to Tulsi at all.”

Read her tweet:

John Delaney has been running for president longer than any of his Democratic rivals, declaring his candidacy back in 2017. (Yes, you read that right).

Tonight, it showed.

The former Maryland congressman has rarely hesitated to jump into the discussion. He may be on the far side of the debate stage, but has appeared in the center of several conversations.

His sharpest answer, perhaps, was explaining why he believes Medicare for All just isn’t feasible.

So what’s causing Delaney’s spark tonight?

He watched old presidential debates, Republican and Democratic ones alike, dating back to 2004. He practiced various scenarios – against his rivals – as soon as the lineups were announced.

It’s difficult to stand out in such a remarkably crowded field of candidates. But tonight Delaney shows that batting practice – along with countless hours on the road, taking questions from voters while no one is watching – can also pay dividends.

Cory Booker is spending a lot of time tonight to talk about how his inner-city neighborhood in Newark helps inform his views on issues, from the economy to guns.

As he often notes on the campaign trail and alluded to tonight, he’s the only candidate who lives in such a low-income, majority-minority community.

Julián Castro and Beto O’Rourke clashed over immigration, with the two Texas Democrats going after each other on whether or not coming across the border illegally should be a crime.

The back and forth between Castro and O’Rourke was – by far – the most direct and personal clashes of the first hour of the Democratic debate.

Castro’s immigration plan, which he rolled out earlier this year, would decriminalize crossing the border by repealing Section 1325 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which was used by the George W. Bush administration to apply a criminal violation – as opposed to a civil infraction – to anyone entering the United States illegally. The decades-old law was used by the Bush administration to attempt to curb the number of illegal entrances into the United States, something that Castro wrote needs to end.

O’Rourke has said he does not support doing that but does want a “comprehensive re-write” of immigration laws and backs plans to “ensure you don’t criminalize those who are seeking asylum.”

Castro jumped on these comments, telling O’Rourke that “if you did your homework on this issue” he would understand that what he is talking about is different than what Castro is proposing.

Castro brought up comments O’Rourke made on CNN earlier this month, when he told CNN’s Jake Tapper that he did not think the law should be repealed.

“Let’s be very clear, the reason that they are separating these little children from their families is that they are using section 1325 of that act, which criminalized crossing over the border, to incarcerate the parents and then separate them,” Castro said. “Some of us on this stage have called to end that section, to terminate it, some, like Congressman O’Rourke, have not.”

Castro added: “And I want to challenge all of the candidates to do that. I just think it is a mistake and I think if you truly want to change the system then we have to repeal that section.”

The second half of the debate didn’t seem to go quite as planned.

As NBC’s Chuck Todd asked the Democratic candidates about their plans on guns, talking could be heard in the background.

That prompted some of the candidates to say that their mics were on.

Todd quickly replied, “Yeah, everybody’s mics are on.”

He went on to say, “I think we had a little mic issue,” and carried on with his question.

But the mic issues continued, so Todd was forced to cut to a commercial break.

Todd pointed out that his colleagues had not turned off their mics backstage.

President Trump, ever the TV producer, slammed NBC News and MSNBC for the “technical breakdown” immediately after.

Elizabeth Warren was proven to be the pace setter in the first 25% of the debate tonight. It started on her economic message, Amy Klobuchar was then asked about her free college plan, Cory Booker asked about breaking up tech companies. Warren policies were setting the debate framework for the first half of the first half. Bill De Blasio is showing what it means to go all New York in a debate! He is all in on trying to get a slice of that Sanders/Warren battle for the progressive/left wing of the party. He went after Beto O’Rourke, Booker, Klobuchar all in his first answer. He talked directly to Trump voters on immigration – blaming the corporations for their anxiety, not the immigrants. Klobuchar reminded the audience of female power. She brushed back Jay Inslee on choice with her line that “there are three women on this stage” who have fought for abortion rights. A simple but effective reminder that there are more women on this debate stage and the one tomorrow night than you’ve ever seen on a presidential debate stage. The Julián Castro vs. Beto O’Rourke tension comes alive over immigration. That was Texas-size tension. Castro’s goal was to poke holes in O’Rourke on immigration – an issue that he has used at the center of his political identity. Klobuchar made sure to invoke Trump in nearly every single answer. This seems to be her electability play – showing she can take the fight to the President on every answer.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar has often stood as something of a reality check to some of the rosiest proposals offered by her Democratic rivals, telling audiences in recent months that it’s just not possible to offer free college, Medicare-for-All and more.

But tonight, Klobuchar seemed to have a harder time saying no.

At a CNN Town Hall meeting in February, Klobuchar delivered a memorable line on free college, saying: “If I was a magic genie and could afford to give that to everyone, I would.”

She was not as punchy tonight. She did not draw sharp distinctions on free college with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who stood only a few feet away. 

On health care, Klobuchar did stand up to several of her rivals and say it was neither feasible nor wise to eliminate private insurance. It was one of the biggest distinctions of the night, even though she decided against calling out any of her competitors by name.

“I am just simply concerned about kicking half of America off of their health insurance in four years,” Klobuchar said, noting that so many people are happy with their employer-provided health insurance.

A few moments later, when Warren pushed back and said politicians simply have to fight harder to realize real “structural change,” Klobuchar stood silent. She raised her hand to try and object, but couldn’t jump back into the conversation.

Klobuchar made the calculation that at this moment, with Warren rising, tough medicine may not be what the party’s progressive activists are thirsting for.

So she settled for this down-home line instead, calling some of the proposals: “All foam and no beer.”

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, who trails in the polls, got off a zinger early in the debate that hit President Trump, the man everyone on the stage hopes to face in 2020 and elevated Inslee’s signature issue: climate change.

Trump “says wind turbines cause cancer. We know they cause jobs,” Inslee said to applause.

Trump, whose disdain for wind power dates to his battles with Scottish officials over a plan to build turbines in view of one his golf resorts, suggested earlier this year that the noise from wind turbines “causes cancer.”

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, during a discussion about abortion rights, made note of the women on stage who have fought for those rights.

Her comment came after Washington Gov. Jay Inslee took credit for being the “only candidate here who had passed a law protecting a woman’s right of reproductive health and health insurance.”

Inslee jumped into the conversation by saying, “It should not be an option in the United States of America for any insurance company to deny women coverage for the exercise of their right of choice.”

Inslee went on to describe himself as a candidate “who has actually advanced the ball.”

Klobuchar, in a quick one liner clearly directed at Inslee, said, “I just want to say there are three women up here who have fought pretty hard for a woman’s right to choose.”

Beto O’Rourke said that Congress passed “A $2 trillion tax cut” that favored corporations which were sitting on record piles of cash and the very wealthiest in the country at a time of historic wealth inequality.” 

Facts First: Though there are a variety of estimates projecting the cost of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, according to the Congressional Budget Office, O’Rourke’s statement appears to be roughly accurate.

Last year, the Congressional Budget Office projected that when incorporating the additional debt service costs, the tax cut would add $1.9 trillion to the deficit over the ten-year window. 

But other cost estimates varied. According to an estimate by Congress’ Joint Committee on Taxation before the law passed, it would cost $1.4 trillion over ten years, or just over $1 trillion when incorporating a broader look at its economic impacts. 

A year after the law passed, the conservative-leaning Tax Foundation found that the cost was even less, at $1.47 trillion on a conventional basis and $448 billion over the ten-year window when taking into account its effect on the economy. 

It’s the first “raise your hands” moment of the 2020 debate season.

The question: Who would get rid of private health insurance in favor of a national, single-payer plan?

The hands that went up: Sen. Elizabeth Warren and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio

“I’m with Bernie on Medicare for all,” Warren said after Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who does not support the plan, argued that a “public option” represented a “bold approach” in its own right.

But Warren, who has said she would be open to more moderate plans, made one of her most aggressive arguments in defense the plan on Wednesday night – a move that could further narrow the political distance between her and Sen. Bernie Sanders, who will debate tomorrow.

“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, before sharpening her language: “What they’re really telling you is they just won’t fight for it. Well, health care is a basic human right and I will fight for basic human rights.”

The line drew heavy applause. After pushback from other candidates onstage, including former Rep. John Delaney, a vocal critic of Medicare for all, and others arguing in favor of universal coverage – but without moving to single-payer – Warren and de Blasio took aim at the insurance industry.

“Private insurance is not working for tens of millions of Americans,” de Blasio said, addressing Beto O’Rourke, after the former Texas congressman said he wouldn’t eliminate it.

Twitter is already full of the memes.

When asked whether he supported a marginal tax rate of 70% on top earners making more than $10 million a year, O’Rourke began his response in English. 

“This economy has got to work for everyone and right now we know that it isn’t, and it’s going to take all of us coming together to make sure that it does,” he said.

He then switched to Spanish, saying, “We need to include each person in the success of this economy. But if we want to do that, we need to include each person in our democracy. Each voter, we need the representation, and each voice, we must listen to.”

He then reverted back to English for the rest of his remarks.

O’Rourke made some notable errors, however. For example, he used masculine adjectives to describe “economy” and “democracy,” which are feminine nouns in Spanish and he used the verb “to vote” before correcting himself and using the Spanish word for “voter.” 

President Trump has deemed the first Democratic debate a snoozer: “BORING!”

He tweeted as his plane is being refueled in Alaska as he heads to Japan for the G20:

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio criticized Beto O’Rourke over the former Texas congressman’s approach to health care.

O’Rourke had just explained that he backed a plan that would allow Americans to opt into Medicare, but preserve a role for private insurance.

De Blasio jumped in, saying, “but private insurance is not working for tens of millions of Americans.”

The exchange between de Blasio and O’Rourke marked the first clash of the night – and demonstrated how candidates tried to use the issue of health care to differentiate themselves.

Former Maryland Rep. John Delaney jumped in on O’Rourke’s side. “I think we should be the party that keeps what’s working and fixes what’s broken,” he said.

NBC’s Brian Williams referenced the lecterns lined up on stage, but he called them “podia” – a plural term for podium – and confused a heck of a lot of people.

Enter Dictionary.com:

A podium, per that website, is “a small platform for the conductor of an orchestra, a public speaker, the recipient of a sports medal, etc.”

Those aren’t that. They’re lecterns:

“a stand with a slanted top, used to hold a book, speech, manuscript, etc., at the proper height for a reader or speaker.”

She doesn’t take the debate stage until tomorrow night, but Sen. Kamala Harris is definitely watching.

The presidential candidate is rapid-fire tweeting about her opponents now. She sent this after Julián Castro’s response about closing the pay gap.

Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro got a strong response from the audience when he pledged to pass the Equal Rights Amendment.

This came in response to a question about what he would do to close the pay gap between men and women.

The Equal Rights Amendment is a proposed amendment to the Constitution that would ensure equal rights – regardless of sex – to all Americas.

The first question at the first Democratic presidential debate was about the economy, and it was asked of Elizabeth Warren.

Here was the question:

“You have many plans: Free college, free child care, government health care, cancellation of student debt, new taxes, new regulations, the break up of major corporations. But this comes at a time when 71% of Americans say the economy is doing well, including 60% of Democrats. What do you say to those who worry this kind of significant change could be risky to the economy?

As CNN’s Athena Jones notes:

No surprise Warren gets the first question — about how she has so many proposals. What does she say to those who feel the significant change she seeks is not risky?
Her well-rehearsed-sounding answer hits all her key points: The economy is working for the wealthy and powerful, and not working for anyone else.

None of the candidates are polling above 35% nationally, which can be thought of as a line between dominant and not dominant front-runners. Four years ago, Hillary Clinton was polling at around 60%.

None of the candidates have collected more than 10% of possible endorsements from members of Congress and governors. Four years ago, Clinton already had about 50% of possible endorsements.

Finally, no candidate is blowing out the field in terms of fundraising.

These statistics don’t mean all the candidates have an equal chance of winning. It just means that we shouldn’t surprised if someone not at the top of the polls now wins the nomination.

Democratic presidential hopeful John Hickenlooper, who will take the debate stage tomorrow night, found himself in a puzzling situation today.

Earlier today, an NPR reporter tweeted Hickenlooper wasn’t recognized today as he entered the opera house where the press was gathered for the debate.

Here’s what Hickenlooper had to say about it:

Tonight’s debate features only one candidate, Elizabeth Warren, polling above 5%.

Meanwhile tomorrow night’s debate has four (Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Kamala Harris and Bernie Sanders). The chance of this lopsided breakdown occurring was just 14%.

The DNC tried to ensure that both nights had high polling candidates by requiring that the eight candidates polling at 2% or greater were split randomly between the two nights equally.

This random draw gave them an 86% chance of having three candidates at or above 5% appearing on one night and two candidates at or above 5% appearing on another. It didn’t happen, and they ended with the less likely option of the 4-to-1 split.

Tom Perez, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said he’s not worried about President Trump stealing the shine from the first democratic debate today in Miami, Florida.

“There will be nobody talking about hand size and tonight’s debate. There will be nobody trying to figure out silly nicknames for their opponents. We’ll leave that to the Republicans,” he told reporters in the spin room ahead of tonight’s debate.

Perez confirmed that the second debate will again be randomly assigned.

Asked what he’s looking forward to tonight, the chairman said “for the American people to see the deep bench that is the Democratic Party.”

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, speaking to cameras earlier today, said his prep for the debate involved a lot of listening.

“Listen, I’ve had a great and unusual way to prepare for debates I was actually listening to people the last two days. I was at the Evergreens listening … listening to the Floridians who are now being inundated by sea level rise the Everglades are being damaged by saltwater intrusion. I listened to people today, who’ve lost their property and seeing the heat in Miami. And It’s interesting to me because the story I’m hearing in Florida is the same story I’m hearing in Washington state with the forest fires and the stories in California of towns burning down. So I’ve prepared by listening to people and I’m ready tonight to carry banner which says we have to defeat the climate crisis. And I’ve got a plan to do that.

You might remember Sen. Amy Klobuchar after she announced her presidential bid in the middle of a Minnesota snow storm.

Klobuchar was covered in light snow by the end of her speech and snowflakes blanketed everything in front of her, from her eyelashes to the microphone she used to the pages of her speech that were enclosed in plastic covers.

So far, she has cast herself as the product of working-class roots who can win bipartisan support.

Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson sent out a press release ahead of tonight’s debate drawing on her credentials as a spiritual adviser who guides viewers on how to turn “debate distress into debate de-stress.”

“We turned a drinking game on its head to give you a more healthy alternative,” the press release says. “We say substitute a yoga move for a shot of booze. Instead of downing a shot, do a downward dog. Instead of throwing back a Harvey Wallbanger, just try legs up the wall pose.”

Williamson’s debate guide also recommends:

“It’ll relax your shoulders and remind you that the green new deal is not only to create jobs and save energy but to save our environment and stop climate change.”

WIlliamson recommends viewers end the debate by holding hands with “a quick Namaste and be happy that you have so many more Democratic Debates to look forward to covering.”

While Julián Castro’s polling numbers have been very low, he was the first candidate in the 2020 race to lay out a detailed immigration plan.

The plan is the polar opposite to what Trump has offered the United States and politically positions him as a Democratic leader on immigration.

Here’s what the plan proposes:

Enrique Barriga and Dawson McNamara-Bloom are backing former Vice President Joe Biden because they said they think democracy is under threat.

McNamara-Bloom said President Trump has “tarnished our image around the world.”

The 20-year-old Miami resident says he’d like every candidate on stage to detail how they plan to restore the US’ standing and credibility around the world.

McNamara-Bloom says while he’s supporting Biden, he’s “very grateful that we have a lot of very competent candidates running for president.”

“I am here today because I just wanted to show that it’s important to show up in a democracy and that a democracy is worth fighting for,” he says. “I don’t know if its’ ever been under attack that way it is today and I am doing whatever small part I can to restore the message.”

New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker is making affordable housing personal.

He laid out a new housing plan to address an “affordability crisis” in the US and said it’s an issue he has always been passionate about.

Some background: After graduating from Yale Law School in 1997, Booker moved into a public housing complex in Newark called Brick Towers, where he began working as a tenant advocate taking on slumlords. He continued living there as he ran for City Council and later mayor, until shortly before the rundown building was demolished in 2007. He still lives in the same neighborhood today.

His plan suggests changes to restrictive zoning laws, and federal incentives to build more affordable housing.

Tim Sylvester wasn’t always a supporter of Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

“She wasn’t my first choice, but the more I listened to her and the more I’ve read about her and looked at her policy, it convinced me that she’s the No. 1 candidate,” he said.

The 56-year-old Miami Beach resident went on to say that Warren has come up with detailed solutions to tackle key issues.

“Elizabeth Warren knows how she is going to implement these plans,” Sylvester said. “She’s put it out there for us to see and she knows how she’s going to pay for it.”

Larry Bell and his family drove from their home in Savannah, Texas, to show his support for Beto O’Rourke.

Bell doesn’t have tickets to the debates, but he said that’s OK because he’ll likely watch them from his hotel room.

“I am here to support who I think is the best candidate this election: Beto O’Rourke,” he said. “He’s a man of integrity. He’s highly intelligent, but most of all, he has a heart of gold.”

Bell, 71, and his wife also created shirts saying “Beto ‘You had me at Kaepernick.’” (Bell, who plans to sell the shirts, said a portion of the sales will go to O’Rourke’s campaign.)

Andrew Mendieta and Robb Maddox didn’t know each other before today.

The two men met near the site of tonight’s debate in Florida while rallying and showing their support for 2020 presidential candidate Andrew Yang.

“He’s just a very solutions-oriented candidate,” Maddox said.

Donning Yang campaign gear, Maddox, 24, of Athens, Georgia, and Mendieta, 39, of West Palm Beach stood in 90-degree Miami sun alongside other candidates’ supporters.

Mendieta was never politically active, but he said Yang’s data-driven policies changed things for him. Mendieta donated to Yang’s campaign for the first time ever.

Jay Inslee is basing his entire campaign on his pledge to combat the climate crisis.

“I am the only candidate who will make defeating climate change our nation’s number one priority,” he said in his campaign kick-off video.

Here’s what he is proposing:

End fossil fuel subsidies Change the way the US builds buildings, manufactures cars and supplies the power grid Adopt a “new, aggressive international climate agenda” which would include rejoining the Paris Climate Accord and other foreign policy

Watch more about Inslee’s climate crisis campaign:

Tulsi Gabbard launched her longshot campaign as an anti-interventionist Democrat who supports a populist economic agenda.

During her time as a US Representative from Hawaii, she has defended her views on foreign policy.

For example, she told Jake Tapper that she met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during a secret, four-day trip to discuss achieving peace.

“Let the Syrian people themselves determine their future, not the United States, not some foreign country,” Gabbard said.

Beto O’Rourke enters the race as a wildcard candidate and will try to tap into the energy that made him a star during his Senate race last year.

He rose up within the Democratic Party in 2018, raising $80 million and building a national following during his close loss to Republican Sen. Ted Cruz.

He has been building his presidential campaign on heavy emotional appeal and the force of his own personality, as well as unconventional campaign tactics like live-streaming his life on Facebook.

Watch O’Rouke campaign on top of tables — and a minivan:

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren is rising up the polls, and fast.

Recent polls show her tied for second with Bernie Sanders, with both still behind Joe Biden.

Here’s what she’s proposing:

Watch more about Warren’s poll numbers in the clip below:

Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan was asked at a CNN town hall earlier this year if he’d be comfortable with an all-white, all-male Democratic 2020 ticket.

Ryan said “no, absolutely not.”

Ryan pointed to Youngstown, Ohio, being 50% African-American, and said his focus on economic policies would direct investment toward struggling areas.

“White, black, brown, gay, straight, I will be a working-class president for the American people,” he said.

New York City mayor Bill de Blasio entered the 2020 race in May and immediately faced skepticism and doubt — if not hostility and contempt.

A poll of New Yorkers taken shortly before he entered the race found 76% of them did not think he should run.

You can read more about why New Yorkers are quick to mock the mayor here.

A group of 2020 Democratic presidential candidates will take the stage in a few hours in Miami, Florida, for the first primary debate of the season.

Here’s everything we know about tonight’s debate:

Protesters with varying platforms are chanting and holding signs outside of the Adrienne Arsht Center of the Performing Arts ahead of tonight’s debate in Miami.

Groups of protesters are filling street corners near tonight’s debate, while other demonstrators march around the site.

Here’s what it looks like:

President Trump is headed to Japan, but the debates are still on his mind.

Trump tweeted that his team will do its own fact-checking of the Democratic debate.

He promised that his team would offer “RAPID RESPONSE, FACT CHECKING, and the TRUTH!”