- Click to share on Facebook (Opens in a new window)
- Click to share on Twitter (Opens in a new window)
- Click here to share on LinkedIn (Opens in a new window)
- Click to email a friend (Opens in a new window)
Will Trump and Bloomberg face the presidency? 3:25
Las Vegas, Nevada (CNN) - On the eve of his next presidential debate, three Democratic contenders met, for the first time with the presence of former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders anticipated an attack on Bloomberg for supporting policies such as detention and search. Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar criticized him for evading the heavy work of the forums and the implementation of policies that the presidential campaign demands of most of the contestants. And the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Pete Buttigieg said Bloomberg is trying to buy the election.
The three candidates also focused on President Donald Trump on Tuesday night, and Buttigieg criticized the president for paying "secret money to a porn star."
Here are five conclusions from the forums:
What to do with Bloomberg money?
The hundreds of millions of dollars from the former mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, on television advertising have prompted him to reach the next Democratic debate on Wednesday night. This also raised questions about how other Democrats would handle Bloomberg's willingness to spend a lot to defeat Trump if they are nominated.
On Tuesday night, the three candidates criticized Bloomberg for omitting the first four contests in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, where he has not been or will not be on the ballot.
Buttigieg said he would take Bloomberg's money. But he also said that Bloomberg is trying to buy the elections.
“I mean, what would you call it? What would you call to immerse yourself in your endless reserves of millions and billions and not go through the campaign process, ”he said.
Sanders called Bloomberg's strategy of omitting the first four states as "obscene" and said the former mayor of New York was trying to "buy the presidency."
But he didn't answer a question about whether he would accept hundreds of millions of dollars in Bloomberg's help if the Vermont senator becomes the Democratic candidate. Sanders presumed to have collected seven million individual contributions, with an average of US $ 18.15 from a broad base of Americans.
"There is a point where money ceases to be significant," he said. “We will have enough money to carry out a strong campaign. We will have enough money to defeat Donald Trump. ”
Klobuchar said she is glad Bloomberg is on stage at the next Democratic debate on Wednesday night in Nevada.
"I really think it should be on the stage of the debate because I don't think you should be able to buy your way to the presidency," he said.
Sanders: "I don't believe in online bullying"
Sanders tried to distance himself completely from his supporters who have harassed others online and questioned whether someone who believes in his agenda would attack a union leader.
Senior officials of the Culinary Union in Nevada accused Sanders supporters of launching themselves en masse against them online after they made viral leaflets distributed by the union that said Sanders would "put an end" to their health care program.
Sanders also asked if some of the comments on social media cited by critics had been written by his supporters.
"The idea that anyone who works with me would launch a cruel attack against a union leader just because we disagree with an issue is incomprehensible to me," Sanders said, "and you know what, I'm just not sure if that's true." .
On the broader issue, Sanders was clear.
"I don't believe in online bullying," he said. "End of discussion."
'Money for a porn star'
Buttigieg on Tuesday censured Donald Trump and one of his most prominent supporters for questioning his marriage to her husband, Chasten, when he told the Las Vegas audience that his marriage "never involved having to send money to a porn star."
Buttigieg was referring to the $ 130,000 in payments made by Trump's outgoing staff, Michael Cohen, to Stephanie Clifford, a porn star known as Stormy Daniels, who says she and Trump had an affair in 2006 after Trump got married with his wife Melania. Trump has denied having an affair with Daniels, but admitted in 2018 that he later learned about the payments.
The comments also come days after radio broadcaster Rush Limbaugh told his listeners that American voters "are not yet ready to choose a gay boy who kisses her husband on the stage of the debate." Limbaugh said Tuesday that Trump, who initially responded to the announcer's comments by saying he would not feel uncomfortable with a gay president, told him he would "never apologize" for his comments on Buttigieg.
"The idea of people like Rush Limbaugh or Donald Trump giving someone lessons about family values," Buttigieg said, before stopping amid cheers and applause.
"I'm sorry, but one thing about my marriage is that it never involved having to send money to a porn star after cheating on my spouse, with him or her," Buttigieg said. "So, if you want to discuss family values, let's discuss family values, I'm ready."
Sanders will not publish more medical records
At the end of last December, three months after suffering a heart attack in Las Vegas, Sanders published three letters from doctors attesting to his good health.
On Tuesday night, Sanders said that if anyone wants more information about his health, they should join him in the campaign, where he has a busy agenda.
Sanders argued that the letters, including one from the attending physician at the Capitol, amounted to a "detailed report" and, when asked if he would disclose new details, said: "I don't think we will."
On October 1, Sanders was transferred to an urgent care center after a fundraising event in Las Vegas after experiencing chest pains. Sanders was taken to the hospital in an ambulance and stayed there for days before returning home to recover.
He returned to the campaign about two weeks later.
Klobuchar talks about 'institutional racism'
Klobuchar, who before running for the Senate worked as a prosecutor for the largest county in Minnesota, defended his criminal justice record on Tuesday and told voters in Nevada that “anyone who has worked in the criminal justice system knows there is racism institutional".
The problem is growing for Klobuchar: his rise in the Democratic nomination process has coincided with greater scrutiny in his registration as a Hennepin County prosecutor, including the case of Myon Burrell, a teenager who was sentenced to life imprisonment by the The murder of Tyesha Edwards, 11, but now, backed by new evidence, he insists he is innocent.
"Over the years, I think we've seen how devastating that is," Klobuchar said about racism in the judicial system. “And when I was there, I worked hard, for example, doing more in regards to white collar crimes, doing more with drug courts. And although there were still disparities in our system, as there were, we still managed, in the eight years, to reduce the African-American incarceration rate by 12%. ”
2020 Democratic candidates