Key moments for Texans Beto O’Rourke, Julian Castro in Democratic presidential debate
The first Democratic debates are here, and the 2020 contenders sparred Wednesday night in Miami.
Here’s a look back at key moments for Texans Beto O’Rourke and Julian Castro, as well as others in Wednesday’s debate.
All times reflected on the timeline are Eastern Time.
11 p.m.: The closing statements from all 10 candidates
The candidates’ have made closing appeals as the debate ends. Each candidate was given 45 seconds for closing remarks, here are some of the highlights:
Former Maryland Congressman John Delaney: “Together, we are on a mission. We’re on a mission to find the America that’s been lost. Lost through infighting, lost through inaction. We’re so much better than this.”
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio: “It matters in this fight for the heart and soul of our party that we nominate a candidate who has seen the face of poverty and didn’t just talk about it, but gave people $15 minimum wage…With your help, we can put working people first again in America.”
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee: “When I was thinking about whether to run for president, I made a decision. I decided that on my last day on Earth, I wanted to look them in the eye and tell them I did everything humanly possible to protect them from the ravages of the climate crisis.”
Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan: “There’s nothing worse than not being heard. Nothing worse than not being seen, and I know that because I’ve represented for 17 years in congress, a forgotten community. They’ve tried to divide us, who’s white, who’s black, who’s gay, who’s straight, who’s a man, who’s a woman, and they ran away with all the gold, because they divided the working class. It’s time for us to come together.”
Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard: “Coming here to this country, instead putting in place a government that is of, by, and for the people. But that’s not what we have. Instead, we have a government that is of, by, and for, the rich and powerful. This must end. As president, our white house, our white house, will be a beacon of light providing hope and opportunity.”
Former HUD Secretary Julian Castro: “If I’m elected president, I will work hard every single day so that you and your family can get good health care. Your child can get a good education. And you can have good job opportunities. Whether you live in a big city or a small town. And on January 20th, 2021, we’ll say adios to Donald Trump.”
Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar: “I listen to people and that’s how I get things done. That is my focus. I have a track record of passing over 100 bills where I’m the lead Democrat and that is because I listened and I acted. And I think that’s important in a president.”
New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker: “I’ve taken on tough fights and we won. And we win those fights not by showing the worst of who we are, but rising to who’s best.”
Former Texas Congressman Beto O’Rourke: “I’m on this stage for her, for children across this country. Including some her same age who have been separated from their parents and are sleeping on concrete floors under aluminum blankets tonight. If we’re going to be there for them, if we’re going to confront the challenges that we face, we can’t return to the same old approach. We’re going to need a new kind of politics.”
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren: “I am in this fight because I believe that we can make our government, we can make our economy, we can make our country work. Not just for those at the top. We can make it work for everyone and I promise you this, I will fight for you as hard as I fight for my own family.”
10:35 p.m.: 2020 Democrats take on issues within the LGBTQ community, and appealing to a broader Democratic base
Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard reiterates her change of heart on LGBTQ issues, after NBC host Chuck Todd noted that one of the first things she did did after launching your campaign, was issue an apology to the LGBTQ community, to which she asked, “Let me say there is no one in our government at any level who has the right to tell any American who they should be allowed to love or who they should be allowed to marry. My record in Congress for over six years shows my commitment to fighting for LGBTQ equality.I serve on the equality caucus and recently voted for passage of the equality act. Maybe many people in this country can relate to the fact I grew up in a socially conservative home — held views when I was very young that I no longer hold today … There are still people who are facing discrimination in the workplace, still people who are unable to find a home for their families. It is this kind of discrimination that we need to address.”
Sen. Cory Booker chimed in on civil rights in the trans-community, specifically the high murder rates for African-American trans-people.
“We do not talk enough about trans-Americans. Especially African-American trans-Americans and the incredibly high rate of murder right now.”
Sen. Amy Klobuchar highlighted her work with fellow 2020 presidential candidate Sen. Cory Book on criminal justice reform and the First Step Act.
“We will work to make sure everyone can vote at this table. Everyone can vote in this country,” she said. “Senator Booker and I worked on that First Step Act. We should go to the Second Step Act.”
10:28 p.m.: Jay Inslee and climate change get their moment in the spotlight
When asked about his climate change plan, the single issue at the forefront of his campaign, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said, “We are in the first generation to feel the sting of climate change. And we are the last that can do something about it. Our towns are burning. Our fields are flooding. Miami is inundated. And we have to understand this is a climate crisis, an emergency. And it is our last chance in the administration, next one, to do something about it. And we need to do what I’ve done in my state. We passed a 100% clean electrical grid bill. We now have a vision statement. My plan has been called the gold standard of putting people to work. But the most important thing on this, in the biggest decision for the American public, is, who’s going to make this the first priority?”
Former Texas Congressman Beto O’Rourke who also put out a climate change plan also took on the question, responding, “I think you’ve got to bring everybody into the decisions and the solutions to the challenges that we face. That’s why we’re traveling everywhere … We in our administration are going to fund resiliency in those communities, in Miami, in Houston, Texas. Those places that are on the front lines of climate change today. We’re going to mobilize $5 trillion in this economy over the next ten years. We’re going to free ourselves from a dependence on fossil fuels and we’re gonna put farmers and ranchers in the driver’s seat.”
The other Texas on the stage, former Obama administration secretary Julian Castro, also spoke about climate change, replying, “If I’m elected president, the first thing I would do, like Senator Klobuchar also just said, sign an executive order recommitting us to the Paris climate accord.”
Former Maryland Congressman John Delaney also interjected to say, “You just have to do it right. You can’t put a price on carbon, raise energy prices and not give the money back to the American people. My proposal which is put a price on carbon, give a dividend back to the American people, it goes out one pocket, back in the other.”
10:08 p.m.: Not far from Parkland, the candidates field questions on gun control
“The single hardest questions I have gotten, from a little boy and from a little girl and that is to say when you are president, how are you going to keep us safe,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren said. “We can do the things that are sensible. We can do the universal background checks. We can ban the weapons of war, but we can also double down on the research and find out what really works. Where it is that we can make the differences at the margins that will keep our children safe… We need to treat this – like the virus that’s killing our children.”
“We can’t treat this as an across-the-board problem. We have to treat it like a public health emergency,” she added.
Sen. Cory Booker, who has introduced a gun reform plan, said, “For millions of Americans, this is not a policy issue, this is an urgency … It is time we have bold actions and a bold agenda. I will get that done as president of the United States because this is not about policy. This is personal.”
When asked about active shooter drills, former HUD Secretary Julian Castro responded, “The answer is no, we don’t have to accept that. On January 20th, 2021 at 12:01 P.M. We will have a Democratic president and a Democratic House and Democratic Senate.”
Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan, who said he supports “all the gun reforms here,” before adding, “We need to start dealing with the trauma that our kids have. We need trauma-based care in every school. We need social and emotional learning in every school.”
Former Texas Congressman Beto O’Rourke discussed how he would talk about gun control on the trail in his home state, as one of the reddest states, “Those weapons of war were designed to kill people as effectively and efficiently as possible. They should belong on the battlefield and not in our communities. If someone poses a danger to themselves or to someone else, they’re stopped before it’s too late. What I found in each one of those 254 counties is that Democrats and independents and Republicans, gun owners and non-gun owners alike agreed.”
Following the lead of the students marching for their lives, we need to implement universal background checks, pass red flag laws, and keep weapons of war on the battlefield–so they’re not trained against our communities in synagogues and churches, concerts and movie theaters. pic.twitter.com/eHlGmH1796
— Beto O’Rourke (@BetoORourke) June 27, 2019 9:55 p.m. The debate turns to foreign policy amid tensions with Iran
Sen. Cory Booker was the first candidate to address the threats issued between both the U.S. and Iran under the current administration, responding, “First and foremost it was a mistake to pull out of that deal. One of the reasons we’re seeing this hostility now, Donald Trump is marching us to a far more dangerous situation.”
Sen. Amy Klobuchar said of the Obama-era Iran nuclear deal, “It was imperfect but it was a good deal for that moment. Donald Trump told us when he got out of it that he was going to give us a better deal. Those were his words. And now we are a month away from the Iranians who claim now that they’re going to blow the cap on enriching uranium. He’s made us less safe than we were when he became president. So what I would do is negotiate us back into that agreement.”
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard also weighed in, when asked if she would insist that the Iran deal addressed Iran’s support for Hezbollah, to which she replied, “Let’s deal with the situation where we are. This president and his chickenhawk cabinet led us to the brink of war with Iran. I served in the war in Iraq at the height of the war in 2005. I served in the war in Iraq at the height of the war in 2005. A war that took over 4,000 of my brothers and sisters in uniforms lives.”
9:48 p.m.: The 2020 Democrats address the crisis at the border
Castro commented on the harrowing photo circulated that showed a man and his 23-month-old child lying lifeless and in the mud, with the girl’s arm draped over her father’s body.
“Watching that image of Oscar and his daughter, Valeria, is heartbreaking. It should also piss us all off. If I were president today, and it should spur us to action, if I were president today, I would sign an executive order that would get rid of trump’s zero-tolerance policy, the remain in Mexico policy, and the metering policy,” he said.
“On day one, I will make sure that number one, we end the ICE policies and the Customs and Border policies are violating the human rights. When people come to this country, they do not leave their human rights at the border,” Booker said.
“Those tragic photos of that parent and that child and I say this as a father, every American should feel that in their heart and say that is not America. Those are not our values. Have to get under the skin of why we have this crisis … Those are not our values. We have to get under the skin of why we have this crisis,” de Blasio responded.
The two Texans, Castro and O’Rourke, squared off over issues of border security and family separation at the border.
WATCH: Beto O’Rourke and Julián Castro spar over immigration. #DemDebate pic.twitter.com/uHibdQNLOe
— NBC Politics (@NBCPolitics) June 27, 2019 Castro is pushing a plan that would decriminalize all border crossings and make them a civil offense, O’Rourke does not support that because of concerns over violent offenders coming across the borders.
Castro began: “I just think it’s a mistake, Beto. I think it’s a mistake. I think if you truly want to change the system, that we got to repeal that section.”
“Let me respond to this very briefly. As a member of Congress, I helped to introduce legislation that would ensure we don’t criminalize those seeking asylum. If you are fleeing desperation, I want to make sure you are treated with respect,” O’Rourke said.
“I’m still talking about everybody else,” Castro said.
“You are looking at one small part. I’m talking about a comprehensive rewrite,” O’Rourke said.
Castro replied: “That’s not true. If you do that — that’s actually not true.”
O’Rourke interjected: “People I’m talking about — we’re talking about millions of folks. A lot of folks that are coming are not seeking asylum.”
Another candidate, Ryan later added on the crisis at the border, “We have kids laying in their own snot with three-week-old diapers that haven’t been changed. We need to tell the president that is not a sign of strength. That is a sign of weakness.”
9:42 p.m.: Warren pledges to make right to abortion federal law
Warren said she “would make certain that every woman has access to the full range of reproductive health care services,” including birth control and abortion.
She said that since Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973, states have been chipping away at protections.
“It’s not enough for us to expect the courts to protect us,” she said, adding the majority of Americans support the Supreme Court decision. “We need to make that federal law.”
9:30 p.m.: Klobuchar responds to Inslee’s claim on reproductive rights
After Inslee claimed that he was “the only candidate here who has passed a law protecting a woman’s right of reproductive health and health insurance,” Klobuchar responded to the Washington governor, saying, “I just want to say there’s three women up here that have fought pretty hard for a woman’s right to choose.”
“I’ll start with that,” she added to applause.
9:25 p.m.: Warren explains her support for Bernie Sanders’ Medicare-for-All plan, as first contentious moment comes between de Blasio and O’Rourke
Turning to healthcare, Warren explains her support for Medicare-for-All: “I’m with Bernie on Medicare-for-All for all. I will tell you why. I studied why families go broke. One of the number one reasons is the cost of health care and medical bills. Not just for people who don’t have experience. It’s for people who have experience. Look at the business model of an insurance company. It’s to bring in as many dollars as they can with premiums and pay out as few as possible for your health care. That leaves families with rising premiums, rising copays and fighting with insurance companies to try get the health care that their doctors say they and their children need. Medicare for all solve problem. I understand, there are a lot of politicians who say it’s not just possible, we can’t do it, we are have a lot of political reasons for this. They are really telling you they won’t fight for it. Health care is a basic human right and I will fight for basic human rights.”
The first contentious moment during the debate came as O’Rourke and de Blasio sparred over healthcare as the former was explaining his stance on abolishing private health insurance.
De Blasio interrupted O’Rourke’s answer to ask the former congressman why he was defending a system that is “not working for tens of millions of Americans.”
“Private insurance is not working for tens of millions of Americans,” de Blasio said.
“That’s right, so for those who are not working, they can choose Medicare,” O’Rourke responded.
9:20 p.m.: De Blasio and Warren are the only two candidates on stage who support abolishing private health insurance
When asked who on the stage would abolish health insurance in favor of a government-run plan, only de Blasio and Warren were the only two candidates who raised their hands.
9:18 p.m.: Inslee, the climate change candidate, addresses income inequality
When asked how we would address income inequality, the Washington governor said, “I think plans are great. But I’m a governor… I’m proud of standing up for unions. I have a plan to reinvigorate collective bargaining to increase wages finally. I marched with the folks … The next thing I do is put people to work in the jobs of the present and the future. Donald Trump is simply wrong. He said wind turbines cause cancer. We know they cause jobs.”
9:14 p.m. Booker talks the economy, as Castro and Gabbard each take a question on equal pay
In his first response, Booker said, “I live in a low income black and brown community. I see every single day that this economy is not working for average Americans…It is about time that we have an economy that works for everybody, not just the wealthiest”
Castro, the former Obama Housing Urban Development secretary, said on equal pay, “I would do several things, starting with something we should have done a long time ago, which is to pass the equal rights amendment finally in this country, and also, pursue legislation so that women are paid equal pay for equal work in this country.”
In her first 60 seconds, Gabbard, in answering a question on equal pay, turns to her experience in the military, as the sole veteran on stage: The American people deserve a president who will put your interests ahead of the rich and powerful. That’s not what we have right now. I enlisted in the army national Guard after the attacks on 9/11 and I still serve as a major. I know the importance of national security as well as the high cost of war.”
9:09 p.m. O’Rourke answers his first question with a mix of English and Spanish
WATCH: Beto O’Rourke delivers his first #DemDebate response in English and Spanish. pic.twitter.com/xxZSvvYTyq
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) June 27, 2019 When asked about the economy, O’Rourke spoke in a mix of the two languages, saying, “This economy has got to work or everyone. Right now we know that it isn’t. It’s going to take all of us coming together to make sure that it does…That’s how you explain an economy that is rigged to corporations and the wealthiest. A $2 trillion tax cut that favored corporations while sitting on record piles of cash and the wealthiest in this country at a time of historic wealth inequality. A new democracy returns power to the people. No PACS and gerrymandering and bring in more voters and a voting rights act.”
9:03 p.m. The first question goes to Warren about the economy
Warren was asked the first question about how she would address concerns about the effect of the bold, structural change she is pitching through her many plans on the economy.
“So I think of it this way. Who is this economy really working for. It’s doing great for thinner and thinner slices at the top,” she began. “When you’ve got a government, when you have autonomy that does great for those with money and is not doing great for everyone else that is corruption, pure and simple. We need to call it out. We ahead at to attack it head-on. We need to make structural change in our government and our economy and in our country.”
The candidates only have 60 seconds to answer each question and 30 seconds for follow-ups.
Klobuchar was also asked about the economy, to which she answered, “We know that not everyone is sharing in this prosperity and Donald Trump just sits in the White House and gloats about what’s going when you have so many people that are having trouble affording college and having trouble affording premiums.”
“My plan would be to first of all make community college free,” she added.
