Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bennet took questions from voters tonight at a CNN town hall in Atlanta, Georgia.
We’re wrapping up our live coverage, but you can scroll through the posts below to see how it unfolded.
In case you missed it, here are the key things we learned:
Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet said his plan to defeat President Donald Trump requires a broad coalition intent on changing Washington.
“I think if we do that, we can not only beat Donald Trump – we can fix our broken politics in Washington, and we can leave our kids in this country an honorable future that we can be proud of,” he said.
Audience member Deb Dahlmann, who runs a packaging consulting business, said she is concerned about the country’s standing in the world.
So she asked Sen. Michael Bennet which three leaders he’d call first if he is elected president.
He said he would first call Europe’s leaders, then Israel’s prime minister, then the leaders of South American countries.
Here’s his full response:
Sen. Michael Bennet wants to invest a trillion dollars in public money in a bid to solve climate change.
“This isn’t going to be driven from Washington, D.C.,” he said, explaining his stance. “Everybody in America needs to take a role solving it because everyone of our kids and grandkids are going to be affected by it if we don’t.”
He promptly corrected himself: “Not going to be affected by it. They are being affected by it today.”
Bennet rolled out his presidential campaign’s climate change plan last week, announcing a proposal to significantly increase the protection of public lands.
Here’s what’s in the plan:
Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet connected his recent diagnosis and surgery for prostate cancer to his calls for “universal health care” during a CNN town hall Thursday night.
“I think about not only that, but what it would mean if you were an American citizen and you didn’t have a primary care doctor who could give you a screening that let you know I had cancer,” he said, adding that he had no symptoms.
Bennet said he supports a “public option” that would allow people to buy into Medicare. But he sharply criticized Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ “Medicare for All” proposal that would eliminate the role of private insurers.
Bennet said his plan is “Medicare for All — if you want it. But if you want to keep the insurance you have, then you could do that as well.”
“Now, Bernie is proposing, if you like your insurance, we’re going to take it away from you,” he said. Bennet said Sanders is “wrong to propose it. I think what we should do is give American people a choice.”
Democratic presidential hopeful Michael Bennet outlined his position on gun reform legislation at tonight’s town hall.
He said students shouldn’t be “scared to go to school because of what happens every several months it seems in the United States of America.”
Bennet then laid out what he wants to do to stop gun violence.
His plan includes:
Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet said if he’s elected president in 2020, he would defend abortion rights by only appointing federal judges who would “uphold the precedent of Roe v. Wade, to begin with.”
He praised a proposal by a Democratic rival, California Sen. Kamala Harris, to require states that have attempted to restrict abortion rights and lost court battles to obtain the Department of Justice’s pre-approval before implementing new restrictions.
Bennet also said he supports Disney, Netflix and WarnerMedia boycotting the production of movies in Georgia if the state’s new abortion law takes effect.
“I think it’s important, it’s helpful and it’s necessary. Look, this is a moment when our democracy is under siege in so many different ways. … This isn’t about just politicians. This is about all of America rising up and saying, we’re going in a different direction.”
Sen. Michael Bennet, the Democratic presidential candidate speaking at tonight’s town hall, said that although he believes President Trump committed impeachable offenses, he thinks Congress should do its job and investigate him.
The response came after CNN’s Dana Bash asked Bennet where he stood on impeachment following special counsel Robert Mueller’s rare and remarkable public statement Wednesday. Mueller said his investigation could not clear Trump and that charging the President was not an option his office could consider.
“I think Bob Mueller made it very clear Congress needs to do its job and I believe Congress needs to do its job. I read the Mueller report. I heard what Mueller said I believe President Trump has probably committed impeachable offenses, and I think Bob Mueller should come to Congress and testify,” Bennet said.
Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet on Thursday criticized President Donald Trump for announcing on Thursday his plans for a 5% tariffs on imports from Mexico.
He said Trump has imposed tariffs that hurt American farmers at “the last moment they need them.”
“Commodity prices are already low in this country. People in the Midwest are getting hammered by terrible rains and in my state, terrible droughts. President Trump is making it worse for them,” the 2020 Democratic presidential contender said in a CNN town hall.
Bennet said he would work with other countries in the Western hemisphere to “stop this refugee crisis,” rather than allowing the United States to look “weak.”
Sen. Michael Bennet has taken the stage for tonight’s CNN town hall. It will be moderated by Dana Bash.
You can watch it live on CNN, CNNGo or in the video player above.
Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet entered a crowded field of 2020 Democrats that is still likely to grow.
Bennet is a measured, wonky Democrat who is known for delving deeply into policy.
Here’s what else you need to know about him:
His town hall starts in 10 minutes.
CNN caught up with Democratic presidential hopeful Michael Bennet to ask him a few questions before tonight’s town hall.
He answered eight simple questions so voters can get to know him better.
Here’s what he said:
CNN: What’s one thing about you that surprises people?
Bennet: “Sometimes people are surprised because I was born in India. My parents were working there for our embassy.”
CNN: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
Bennet: “The best piece of advice I have ever received is find something you’re passionate about and do it as well as you can possibly do it. And by the time it’s time for you to think about doing something else, other opportunities will present themselves.”
CNN: What’s your favorite movie and why?
Bennet: “My favorite movie is ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.’ I’ve never been able to get my kids to watch the whole thing.”
CNN: What was the last book you read?
Bennet: “The last book I read was ‘These Truths’ by Jill Lepore.”
CNN: What is your greatest accomplishment?
Bennet: “My greatest accomplishment was Susan Daggett, my wife, raising our three daughters.”
CNN: What three issues do we have to deal with right now?
Bennet: “I think the three issues we have to deal with right now are lack of economic mobility in this country, the need for universal health care in the United States and the urgency of dealing with climate change right now.”
CNN: Name one thing that makes you different than all the other 2020 Democratic candidates.
Bennet: “I was a superintendent of schools.”
CNN: Is there anything you wish you could tell voters that you never get asked?
Bennet: “What I would like to tell voters that I am sometimes not asked is that no one person can solve the problems that we face. This really is up to all of us doing our job as citizens.”
Sen. Michael Bennet, a Democratic presidential candidate, will address a host of issues at CNN’s town hall in Atlanta, Georgia.
The town hall, moderated by CNN’s Dana Bash, will start at 10 p.m. ET.
Bennet, the former superintendent of Denver Public Schools, was forced to hold off on entering the race following a diagnosis and subsequent treatment of prostate cancer in April.
Having served in the Senate since 2009, Bennet has pitched himself in pre-campaign appearances and speeches as a pragmatic lawmaker who has a progressive voting record.
