Democratic presidential debate: October 15, 2019

With his announcement that he’s dropping out of the Democratic primary, former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg becomes the latest example of a trend: self-funded billionaires running for president and getting nowhere.

When Mike Bloomberg entered the presidential race in late November, his strategy was simple: ignore the early states, where his competitors had been campaigning for months; flood the airwaves and the internet with sharp, polished campaign ads; drop an unprecedented fortune from his own pocket on the race; and convince voters that he could defeat Donald Trump when no one else could.

Presidential candidates are going all out to win over working-class Americans as they prepare for the fifth Democratic debate.

Most of the Democratic frontrunners are also releasing detailed policy platforms that promise workers everything they’ve ever wanted. Paid parental leave — yes. A $15 minimum wage — check. Paid sick days — done.

Twelve Democratic presidential candidates took the stage at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio, for a debate hosted by CNN and the New York Times on Tuesday, October 15. The first to take place during the ongoing impeachment inquiry of President Trump, it was only natural that the whistleblower scandal involving the president’s call with Ukraine would come up. This included the fact that the call involved Trump asking Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and any irregularities regarding his son Hunter Biden’s involvement while sitting on the board of a Ukrainian gas company.

CNN’s moderators did ask Biden about his son’s business ties in Ukraine early in the debate. But the current Democratic frontrunner kept his response straightforward:

To say President Donald Trump has a penchant for firing off some weird, disturbing, and even dangerous tweets is an understatement. But should he be kicked off Twitter entirely? Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) thinks so, and many others agree — but not everyone.

Harris and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) clashed at Tuesday’s Democratic debate when the California senator tried to push her Massachusetts counterpart to call for the president’s Twitter account to be suspended.

Health care has been a major feature of every Democratic debate this election cycle. A major plank of that — women’s access to health care — has not. And Sen. Kamala Harris has had enough of it.

That the issue has come up so little in past debates is “outrageous,” the California senator said, in one of the most moving moments of Tuesday’s three-hour debate.

Productivity — economic output per hour of work — has grown at an unusually slow rate in recent years. That makes it hard to have robust economic growth. That slow overall growth isn’t the only reason average wage and income growth has been poor also doesn’t help.

But Democratic candidates given the opportunity to address this topic at Tuesday’s debate mostly claimed to believe the country is experiencing a surge of automation-driven productivity increases. And the main dissent from that view came from Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who instead pointed the finger at trade. This trade versus automation debate is interesting and at least somewhat important, but its significance pales in comparison to the significance of the larger slowdown in the pace of change.

Democrats tackled several issues on the debate stage Tuesday night that had previously gone untouched. One of those was automation — the idea that robots and technology will replace workers and destroy jobs.

It prompted a confusing discussion about whether automation is actually killing jobs or whether free trade policies are. And it didn’t offer up much of a clear answer.

Tuesday night’s Democratic debate, the fourth the Democratic National Committee has held so far, was big. It was long — three hours that sometimes felt much longer — and absurdly crowded, with 12 candidates onstage, a record for a televised presidential debate.

But it was also arguably the most useful debate so far. It was unusually policy heavy, with spirited and detailed debates over automation and employment, the consequences of US withdrawal from Syria, wealth taxation, and more. It saw direct confrontation between candidates who had not previously squared off, like Pete Buttigieg and Tulsi Gabbard, or Andrew Yang and Amy Klobuchar, or Beto O’Rourke and Elizabeth Warren. And in the process it sharpened distinctions between the campaigns on issues where their platforms were blurry going in.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has officially arrived as a 2020 frontrunner, and at Tuesday night’s Democratic debate, her opponents attacked her like one.

In the past few weeks, Warren has climbed her way to the top of the 2020 pack where she’s now considered a frontrunner along with Vice President Joe Biden, according to a Real Clear Politics average. Up until now, Warren has largely stayed out of the fray in the Democratic debates — rarely going on the offensive and mostly escaping fire herself. That changed significantly in Ohio on Tuesday.

At Tuesday’s Democratic debate, several presidential candidates agreed on one point: The pharmaceutical executives who helped create the opioid epidemic should go to prison.

Asked directly whether opioid executives should be locked up, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) said:

Journalists from CNN and the New York Times are slated to tag team the moderating on this week’s Democratic debate, which will air Tuesday at 8 pm ET.

CNN anchors Anderson Cooper and Erin Burnett will ask questions alongside New York Times national editor Marc Lacey as 12 candidates take the stage at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio. The debate will be broadcast on CNN and is set to be the most crowded one yet.

The fourth Democratic presidential debate — which will actually have more candidates onstage than September’s — will be on Tuesday, October 15, at 8 pm to 11 pm ET at Otterbein University, outside of Columbus, Ohio, and broadcast by CNN.

The New York Times will also be hosting the debate and streaming the event on its website. Here’s where you can watch the livestream.

The lineup for the fourth Democratic presidential debate in Westerville, Ohio, on October 15 has been finalized. One night. One stage. Twelve candidates.

Former Vice President Joe Biden will take center stage, flanked by Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT). The debate will be hosted by CNN and the New York Times and be held at Otterbein University, outside of Columbus, Ohio.