WATCH AGAIN: Biden Vs Sanders In Round 2 Of Democratic Debate
MIAMI, FL — Former Vice President Joe Biden’s name didn’t come up at all on the first night of the Democratic presidential debate in Miami, but the early frontrunner was hard to ignore when he took the stage Thursday for round 2 with nine fresh candidates, including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Biden, the affable moderate, went head to head with Sanders over health care almost from the start of the debate as the self-described Democratic socialist argued for his Medicare for all approach to health care over Biden’s more measured approach.
“Health care in my view is a human right and we’ve got to pass a Medicare for all single payer system,” declared Sanders. “No premiums. No deductibles. No copayments. No out-of-pocket expenses. Yes, they will pay more in taxes but less in healthcare for what they get.”
Biden disagreed with Sanders’ approach. “The quickest, fastest way to do it is to build on Obamacare, build on what we did,” he said. “I’m against any Democrat who wants to take down Obamacare.”
Sanders has already knocked Biden for his vote backing the Iraq War and derided his big-money fundraisers. The former vice president has tried to stay above the fray — but that task got harder under the glare of the debate stage spotlight. See also: WATCH AGAIN: Democratic Presidential Contenders Trade Sound Bites
“Joe voted for that war. I helped lead the opposition to that war, which is a total disaster,” Sanders said of Iraq.
Biden blamed President George Bush for abusing the power to take America to war. “We got elected after that. The president (Obama) turned to me and said ‘Joe, get our combat troops out of Iraq.’ I was responsible for getting 150,000 combat troops out of Iraq and my son was one of them. I also think we should not have combat troops in Afghanistan. It’s long overdue. It should end.”
The two-night political spectacle kicked off Wednesday at Miami’s Adriene Arsht Center but looked more like a football game than a Democratic presidential debate at times with so many people cramming the stage.
All 10 of the candidates on Thursday’s stage raised their hands when NBC’s Savannah Guthrie asked if they would support providing health care for the nation’s estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants.
“This is not about a handout. This is an insurance program,” insisted South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg. “We do ourselves no favor by having 11 million undocumented people in our country be unable to access health care. But of course, the real problem is we shouldn’t have 11 million undocumented people with no pathway to citizenship. It makes no sense.”
President Donald Trump took to Twitter almost immediately with a rebuttal.
“All Democrats just raised their hands for giving millions of illegal aliens unlimited healthcare,” the president tweeted. “How about taking care of American citizens first!? That’s the end of that race!”
Biden and Sanders weren’t the only well-known candidates participating on Thursday night. The panel also included New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Buttigieg and Sen. Kamala Harris of California.
Harris delivered a memorable line as her fellow candidates were talking over one another.
“America does not want to witness a food fight,” she admonished. “They want to know how we are going to put food on their table.”
Later, Harris, who is black, challenged Biden to explain his decades-old position with respect to school desegregation, one which she characterized as being against busing.
“I did not oppose busing in America. What I opposed was busing ordered by the Department of Education,” Biden countered.
A total of 20 presidential candidates took the stage over the course of the two nights — 10 candidates on Wednesday and another 10 on Thursday.
Other candidates appearing Thursday included Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet, former Gov. John Hickenlooper of Colorado, U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell of California, social activist and author Marianne Williamson and Venture for America Founder Andrew Yang of New York.
They seemed more eager to attack Trump by name on Thursday.
“Donald Trump thinks Wall Street built America. Ordinary middle-class Americans built America,” Biden insisted. “Donald Trump has put us in a horrible situation. We do have enormous income inequality.”
While touting the diversity of their party, some of the younger candidates suggested it may be time for the older generation of leaders to pass the torch, a clear dig aimed at the 76-year-old Biden, who found an unlikely ally in Sanders.
Swalwell said he was 6-years-0ld when he heard then presidential candidate Sen. Biden say it was time to pass the torch to a new generation.
“Joe Biden was right when he said it was time to pass the torch to a new generation of Americans 32 years ago,” said Swalwell. “He’s still right today, and if we’re going to solve the issues of automation, pass the torch. If we’re going to solve the issues of climate chaos, pass the torch. If we’re going to solve the issue of student loan debt, pass the torch. If we’re going to end gun violence for families who are fearful of sending their kids to school, pass the torch.”
Biden quipped: “I’m still holding on to that torch.”
Thursday’s debate began airing at 9 p.m. ET on NBC, MSNBC and Telemundo. It was streamed online for free on a variety of digital and social platforms.
Lester Holt, Guthrie and Jose Diaz-Balart were back again to ask the questions. As with the first night, the topics on Thursday ranged from healthcare, climate change, gun control, immigration and abortion. The second hour featured Rachel Maddow and Chuck Todd on both nights.
The candidates had 60 seconds to answer questions and 30 seconds for follow-ups. on both nights The candidates were also allowed closing statements but no openers.
“We’ve had a lot of good ideas on this stage tonight and a lot of plans. But the truth is until you go to the route of the corruption, the money in politics, the fact that Washington is run by the special interests, you are never going to solve any of these problems,” said Gillibrand. “I have the most comprehensive approach that experts agree is the most transformative plan to actually take on political corruption, to get money out of politics through publicly funded elections, to have clean elections.”
Bennett was asked by Holt whether he believed political gridlock would “magically disappear” if a Democrat beats President Trump in 2020.
“Gridlock will not magically disappear as long as Mitch McConnell is there,” he said. “That’s why it is so important for us to win not just the presidency, to have somebody who can win in all 50 states but to win the Senate as well. That’s why we have to propose policies that can be supported like Medicare X so that we can build a broad coalition of Americans to overcome broken Washington, D.C.”
Hickenlooper was asked to explain his position that oil and natural gas companies should be part of the solution to climate change.
“We can’t demonize every business. We’ve got to bring them together to be part of this thing because ultimately if we are not able to do that .we will be doomed to failure,” he said.
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Yang said Democrats and Americans around the country should have one question for the nominee.
“That is ‘who can beat Donald Trump in 2020? That is the right question,” he explained. “The right candidate to beat Donald Trump will be solving the problems that got Donald Trump elected and will have a vision of a trickle-up economy that is already drawing thousands of disaffected Trump voters, conservatives, independents and Libertarians as well as Democrats and Progressives. I am that candidate. I can build a much broader coalition to Beat Donald Trump. It is not left. It is not right. It is forward.”
Williamson said she plans to defeat President Trump at his own game.
“Donald Trump is not going to be beaten just by insider politics. He is not going to be beaten just by somebody who has plans,” she said. “He is going to be beaten by somebody who has an idea of what this man has done. This man has reached into the psyche of the American people and he has harnessed fear for political purposes. So Mr. president, if you are listening, I want you to hear me please. You have harnessed fear for political purposes and only love can cast that out. I sir, I have a feeling you know what you are doing. I’m going to harvest love for political purposes.”
Poking fun at the debate during a live broadcast of the “The Tonight Show,” host Jimmy Fallon noted the age differences of the candidates.
“Tonight we got to see Bernie and Biden on stage together,” Fallon said. “It looks like they’re debating Viagra vs. Cialis. I’m not saying those two are old but their podiums were the only ones with tennis balls on the bottom.
“There was a 40-year age difference between tonight’s candidates ranging from 37 to 77. With Pete Buttigieg next to Biden it looked like take your kid to work day,” he said to laughs.
Watch the second day of the 2020 Democratic presidential debate again on NBC News below.
The following candidates participated in the Miami debate on Thursday:
The following candidates participated in the Miami debate on Wednesday:
The Associated Press contributed to this report.