And hello from Detroit where the first of two CNN Democratic debates is fast approaching. I'm Anderson Cooper. Thanks for joining us. And I'm Erin Burnett, thrilled to be with you, Anderson.
And tonight, 10 candidates with a lot to prove, especially the two in the middle that you see on your screen and on the debate stage tonight. Progressive senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, both here tonight. And the top tier of the polls, they are close. Colleagues, they are old friends.
But tonight, they are facing off for the first time. And there's only one of many big storylines tonight. It's getting down to do or die. Who will have a breakout moment?
In what may be the last chance for some who will try and stumble and how big of a role will President Trump play? All that and more as we are getting closer to what really is a make or break debate for so many, Anderson. Yeah. Erin, I want to tackle the Sanders Warren face off first and some of the other key themes to watch more tonight.
Joining us right here is CNN senior political analyst, Alex Files, former top advisor President Obama, David Axelrod, CNN chief political analyst, Larry Borger, CNN chief political reporter, named Malika Henderson, and CNN political director, David Chelyan. Do you expect, Gloria, Sanders, and Warren to actually come to, I mean, have I? Most? I mean, they are pretty close in terms of policy issues.
And they're surrounded on either side by more moderate. That's why I don't expect them to go at each other, quite frankly. I think what you're going to see, and it's a hesitate to predict because we're so close to the debate, but I think you're going to see the moderates saying to Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, how are you guys going to pay for everything you want to do? And they're going to try and differentiate themselves that way, the moderates who are maybe at 1% in the polls from the liberals saying, you know, I also don't think you are the people who can beat Donald Trump.
And that's the friction I really expect tonight. David, challenge you. Do you think that too? Because I mean, Warren and Sanders are, supposedly, actually friends.
They are friendly. And they do agree. Almost there. I mean, the differences between them are really tiny and narrow, then between them and the rest of the stage.
As Gloria is saying, yes, the outside folks, and more matter of folks may make policy differences. But I actually think it's that electability piece that is going to be so much more. I think what they're stepping on this debate stage as the Democratic Party is sort of having a conversation after the last round of debates with itself, which is, are we talking about stuff and presenting an image of the party to the American people that is not going to be the where we need to be to defeat Donald Trump? You're keeping away, everybody's private.
That may be one example. Yes. And so I would imagine that you are going to see some people, like an Amy Klobuchar, like John Hickenlooper, really try and make the case that where Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren want to lead the party is not the place that they think they are best positioned to defeat Donald Trump. And by the way, Warren and Sanders will push back on that.
We've got to change this entire system. And they have powerful grassroots who believe that. You know, I do think that part of the storyline is going to be the moderates pushing back on the last debates. The last debates were like a big liberal party.
And then everybody woke up the next day, and there were broken bottles and cans all around. They said, maybe we had a little too much fun. I think it was empty. So I think it was some of that.
One of the interesting things about Warren and Sanders, and I tend to agree, they're not going to look for confrontations with each other. But she has tried to differentiate herself from Bernie Sanders. She said, he's a socialist, I believe in markets. And so in her own way, she has made a little bit of a tilt to the left to the center, even as her policies, are quite progressive.
So that'll be an interesting thing to watch as well. You also have Governor Bullock the first time. He's actually in a debate. That's right.
And look for him to make that electability argument, right? He's somebody who's been able to win in Trump country. He's Governor of Montana. He's Governor of Montana.
So I think him being the Governor, and Governor Hickenlooper up there as well, people like Amy Klobucharia, as you said, are both interesting because this is his first chance to make a first impression. It might be his last chance to make a first impression given that the debate rules are going forward, get a little bit more strict. But I agree with the idea about this moderate versus progressive debate. The interesting thing, though, is you've got those two people who are going to be in the center.
Warren, as well as Sanders. Warren is kind of pulling away from Bernie Sanders. She's number two in the poll. She's about 15%.
Last one I saw, I think Sanders was something like 11%. So she's got the momentum in many ways in terms of being the voice of the progressive movement, which is probably a shock to Bernie Sanders, right? I mean, he was the big face of it in 2016. So in some ways, he's sort of created this movement that maybe he's not in the position anymore to actually leave.
But David, Elizabeth Warren, in the first debate, she was on the first night as well, didn't really have anybody in her tier. She kind of had the stage to herself in some regards, in terms of not being challenged by other people on the stage. It may be a different strategy of some of these other folks tonight. Well, I think there's no question about it, as Nia Malika said.
There is 100 games quality to this. The next two days, probably 10 or 11 of the candidates you're going to see will not be back in September. And they're all looking at each other saying, not me. How about you?
And the best way we know that the best way to make a point is to go after the people in front of you. Mario Cuomo, the late Mario Cuomo, used to say only in cowboy movies do people shoot backwards. So they're going to go after the people who are in front. And in this case, for moderates, what better thing than to have the two people who are on the left in the center of the stage?
You know, that can backfire, though. I mean, I think we saw that with Eric Swalwell in the last debate. He had one line that he thought was going to be played over and over again. And it was about passing the torch to Joe Biden.
But it became a negative instead of a positive. He's not here tonight. He's not here tonight. And they have to be careful with that.
Because they're all looking for a moment. These debates are about moments. And they're about friction. And these candidates who are at 1% or less are looking for that.
And they have to be very delicate about it. Because it could be a bad moment, too. If you're picking on some of the people that folks in the party really like, which would be Bernie and Elizabeth Warren. About Elizabeth Warren, back to your point about her being slowly in that first debate for her, therefore she didn't actually face much pressure.
And so having, as Neil was pointing out, she's taking a slice of that standard. She's not just rising in the polls on her own. She's actually digging into some of his core support. And to have them standing next to each other, even though I doubt they're going to go after each other, I do think she's ascending at the moment.
And so there's a bit more pressure on her being with one of her top-tier competitors to continue to carve out the differences. Because she's got to move that moment to vote. And one of the things that's interesting to me is she is taking vote from him among progressive voters. She is competing for votes among the young.
She hasn't really broken through with working-class white voters, with African-American voters. So one of the tests, in addition to this back and forth, is going to be to burnish a message that reaches those constituencies that she hasn't reached before. One thing I would say about I think we can over-blow this thing about how friendly they are. The fact of the matter is that four years ago, Bernie Sanders was quite aggravated that Elizabeth Warren didn't endorse him.
And she went to him at the beginning of this race, and they tried to negotiate who was going to run and who wasn't going to run. And they both came out running. So I'm sure there's history that's friendly and so on. But this is a rivalry right now, and I don't think anybody should make a mistake.
She has grabbed those college-educated liberal voters that he would like to get back. And his big question is, can he do it again? Can I deflate his rice rice? He's also competing for Biden voters, too, right?
That's an over-lapped, obitwin-fanders-in-burry world, which is surprising. But he's just asking him. Continuing the Sanders-worn thread, let's go to Erin Bernadar. All right, Anderson.
And you know what? I'm sitting here listening to that conversation with the National Security Care Bernie Sanders campaign manager. So you hear that conversation. You hear a game of the actual right there.
Just say, look, Bernie Sanders was aggravated when she didn't endorse him last time around. They tried to decide which one was going to run. They both got in. So sure, there's friendship.
But there's a lot of rivalry. They're running for president right now. That is what's most important to each of them. They're spending a lot of time thinking about the best case.
They can make before voters. And I'll be honest with you, Erin, whether they like each other. Even if they didn't like each other, it doesn't matter a width. So American people are struggling with health care.
And if you don't have a plan to address what they're struggling with, it doesn't matter. I think people get caught up in the media a little bit about, oh, does he like so and so? Does he not like so and so? It just doesn't matter to people who are really struggling.
You don't have a solution for them. None of that theater matters. So this point though about voters and how they see the progressive side, right? That they, a lot of people do see it as a choice, right?
You've got Bernie Sanders. You've got it was a bit more. And certainly since before the last debate, you know, Quinnipiac, you've seen the latest poll, right? It was 19% before that last debate.
And now here we are at 11% for Bernie Sanders. So does he see this as a crucial moment where he's got to turn that around? The momentum. So I read before I came on set, I was just reading a number and told that has him up at 20% adding five points to the highest gain of any candidate.
So I think we are showing momentum. Part of the reason is because Medicare for All has become a critical issue in this race. We've elevated it. We've got a lot of different views on it.
And I think he's been very clear that he's the only one who's willing to take on the powerful interests who currently control our health care system and depriving 34 million people of health care, 34 other million who cannot afford it. And he's not the only plan who's going to help solve that. So look, I know he's going to make a point about his plan. Obviously right now, but I guess we have a lot of more and support.
What would you say to them? What does she does? Does she, in your view, have a full health care plan or not? And the last.
In the last debate, I believe she said she agreed with Bernie Sanders on Medicare for All. So we'll look forward to hearing what she says tonight. But what we know so far is she agrees with Senator Sanders. So that's great to have an ally in this fight.
And they can help both explain why you've got to take on powerful, powerful, powerful health insurance interests if you're going to have any success in truly solving the problem for working hard. And I know you're focusing a lot in on pharmaceutical pricing. OK, but when it comes to Warren and Sanders, look, because last time, as they were just talking about, Elizabeth Warren was sort of in a tier of her own in terms of the polls on the stage. And now she's not there side by side.
People are looking voters are looking for what does distinguish them. Why would I choose one over the other? Here's what we've seen of how they interact and interact with her, talked about each other in the past. That's not right.
Bernie and I have been friends forever. And long before I ever got involved in politics, I went up to Vermont and did hound halls with Bernie. I think Elizabeth Warren is a wonderful good friend of mine. Bernie and I have been friends forever.
Well, Senator Warren is a friend of mine. So I am delighted Bernie and I have been friends for a long, long time. We've worked on a lot of issues together. OK, but that doesn't give people anything to understand what is different about them.
And at some point, people have to choose. Tonight's a night they can make that choice. They can like each other and they can each make the case for why they should be president of the United States without denigrating the other. I believe Bernie Sanders, you can make the argument of a lifetime of consistency, a fighting on these things.
Who he fights against, the billionaire class, the corporate executive class, have identified him as the one that they are seriously concerned about. Must be stopped at all costs. Why is that? It's how he fights.
He has built movements across this country. Why do we have $15 minimum wage in seven states right now? Why have Amazon workers gotten an increase in their minimum wage? Bernie Sanders has led movements that have been successful in changing the dialogue in this country.
Any impacts on real people's lives. Is he going to call out the president tonight? Well, of course the president has called him out of you in the most ridiculous manner, suggesting that the poverty in Baltimore, that Donald Trump is trying to suggest in the most racist ways, putting down people for living in terrible conditions. Bernie Sanders has addressed this is literally what animates demand.
He is trying to fight for them. Basic affordable housing, basic decent paying jobs, health care. Bernie Sanders is saying, let's lift them out of poverty. Donald Trump is looking at them and saying, ha ha, you silly little terrible people.
I got no plan for you and you're the reason that America sucks. All right. Well, Faz, I appreciate your time and I know obviously it's a big night for your campaign tonight. Thank you.
And next I'm going to continue the conversation. We've got a whole lot more people who have been in the arena before, including the former governor of Michigan, Jennifer Granholm and trying to call the former DNC chairman and of course the former governor of Virginia. They're taking on what you just heard and what they think needs to be done tonight for a breakout moment for a wheel winner in the debate. Senator Elizabeth Warren has just arrived here in Detroit at the debate hall.
Ten candidates on stage here tonight in Detroit, two including her will be at the center. And years ago, I mean, this theater, by the way, it is an absolutely stunning thing. It's like you would imagine such a thing would be in, I don't know, some beautiful palace in Europe. It's unbelievable.
Clark Gable, Vivian Lee, their names might have been up on the Marquis of this historic and truly magnificent theater tonight. Warren and Sanders vying for top billing and of course others trying not to end up. Oh, gone with the wind. You can see.
Okay, okay. The stakes are that high. It's really they are. Okay.
Joining me now, just back in touch, former director of communications outreach for the Clinton campaign. Also former special advisor to President Obama and host of CNN's Van Jones show, the Van Jones and then and just also political commentators here. Also with us political analyst, USA, A to A, columnist, Kirsten Powers and two former Democratic governors who have been on debate stages like the one tonight. Jennifer Granholm of Michigan and Terry McAuliffe of Virginia.
Let me hang out. All right. Thanks so much. Thanks so much to all of you.
Okay. So, Van, Bernie Sanders campaign manager is just on here and of course doing what he should be doing, which is saying, I don't like the Quinnipiac poll. I have another one that shows that the momentum is now behind Bernie Sanders. But there is a lot of pressure on him tonight.
There is, you know, it's so crazy because Bernie Sanders without ever joining the Democratic Party has transformed this party and ideas that were off the table before he ran on the table, Medicare for all the whole deal. And yet the air is coming out of his tires and pulling alongside and pulling ahead. Now is Lill Warren. And so he's got to figure out tonight that he have that common cause with her and defend the progressive agenda.
But at some point, he's got to say, this is myself, man. It's going to get you tonight. I think that the Democratic Party is and has been more progressive than the media has given us credit for. And that meant when Bernie Sanders showed up with a lot of these ideas, a lot of people sat there saying that sounds really great to me.
I've actually been waiting to hear something like that. But he's not necessarily the perfect messenger for those ideas. So now that you've got somebody like Lill Warren who seems a little warmer, a little easier to engage with, especially when it comes to issues of race and gender, which are front and center right now. She's really taking that momentum.
And I'm not seeing him reach out to anybody who wasn't already a die-hard Bernie supporter from 2016. And that is what has to happen here because she is taking some of those photos. Well, I think the biggest thing that she has going for her compared to him is the fact that she's not a socialist. And that's one of the biggest...
She's a pragmatic capitalist. She doesn't have a socialist label. And I think that, you know, as Jessica saying, a lot of Bernie's policies are things that Democrats really relate to and are seeing as being Democratic policies. But there is this fear, and we can have a conversation later about whether this fear is founded because I'm not sure that it is.
But there is a fear that makes the socialist label will sink him. And Democrats are afraid to have somebody running with that label because it's particularly scary to older voters. Right, but that certainly pulls her up. But maybe not to younger voters who are pointing.
Okay, so on YouTube, you two have been on stages like this. How do you navigate this, Governor Biden? How does Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, she was sort of without competition last time? But tonight, she's got to distinguish herself from that.
Yeah, I mean, she does have a natural distinction. And it is really, her platform is about... it's not just progressive capitalism. It's patriotic capitalism, meaning that she is crafting a shaping a system through her plans that ensures that there's jobs in America or Americans.
Yesterday she came out with a trade plan which will resonate here. I love all of these great Michadanders behind us. But they care deeply about this issue of trade and jobs. She was very smart and bringing that out.
Nobody else has done that. Of course Bernie Sanders voted against NAFTA and has been against trade agreements. But because he labels himself as a socialist and she says she's a capitalist to her bones, that is an interesting distinction. Alright, so what needs to happen here in terms of breakout moments for some of the others, Governor?
Because, you know, you've got to see Bullock on stage, right? It wasn't there last time. But this is sort of the moment, right? If you can't catapult yourself from that one-two percent to the next year, you're essentially gone after these debates.
Yeah, it's either due or die for a lot of candidates tonight. Having done some debates against candidates, running for Governor, I can tell you, at this stage you just want to get it over with. Really? You've done the prep.
You've spent weeks getting ready for it. You're going into this debate, you just want to get it on. But you know, for most of them they've got to have a breakout moment, they've got to do something. I think for some of them on the stage tonight, they didn't probably have the best debate last time.
They've got to show A, that they can beat Trump. They've got to show toughness. I think for a presidential debate and a gubernatorial debate, you know, it's different than a Senate debate. You just talk policy and get to talk these nice ideas.
At the end of the day, they expect your Governor or your President is going to face a crisis while you're in office. Let it be like I hit Charlottesville. Let it be a hurricane or whatever it may be. Executives face different challenges.
And I think they have to show. I think that a Rourke has to show that he has the toughness. They want to see that these candidates have a toughness to be present and be a chief executive officer. There's a logistical issue around debating as well.
And I know you'll agree with this, which is they've got 60 seconds to answer and 30 seconds to respond. So the response is to an attack. So you've got 30 seconds to respond to an attack in some way, to pivot to your forward-looking thing, and perhaps then to offer a punch back at someone. That's 10 seconds to respond, 10 seconds to offer the future, and 10 seconds to knock somebody back.
And no seconds to think. That is a lot of no seconds to think. No seconds to think. No seconds to think.
Exactly. You know exactly what kind of attack you're going to go after. And if they say this, what I know, you've practiced. You've rehearsed all of them.
Right. And then your moment may come into moments that you just didn't expect. I guess I suppose. All of you please stay with me.
When we come back, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee joins Anderson on stage there to talk about what he is hoping for tonight's debate. We'll be right back as we get ready for the big Democratic debates here in Detroit. And welcome back. Very exciting night here in Detroit.
Tonight's Democratic debate isn't just about who becomes the Democratic candidate for president, or which vision for the party wins the day. It's also about whether they can maintain unity, no matter what kind of punches we've seen for tonight. Join me now is Democratic National Committee. Chairman Tom Perez, thanks very much for being with me.
I want to read something that Rahm Emanuel said in after this last debate. He said, before a party promises healthcare coverage to undocumented immigrants, let's help the more than 30 million Americans who are single illness away from financial ruin before we start worrying about whether the Boston Marathon bomber can vote. Let's stop states that are actively trying to curtail voting rights of citizens. There are a lot of Democrats who were concerned by some of the things that were talked about at the last debate and that they might be too far to the left.
Does that worry you? Well, you know, I look back at the history of Democratic primaries and I think Mayor Emanuel's familiar with the primary in 2007 that he was involved in. And the question presented was, was Barack Obama too far to the left for the American people? And we know the answer to that question.
And I can come back to our values alignment. We're having a discussion about how to get from 90% coverage on healthcare to 100. Are there differences of opinion on how to get there among the candidates? Absolutely.
But there's no difference of opinion on the imperative of getting there. And from my perspective, then voters have to make a choice. What do they think is the best pathway? And the other side, by contrast, as you know, wants to take us backward on healthcare.
But it's not, but this is to the left of what, you know, candidate Obama was talking about in 2007. Bernie Sanders is talking about, you know, eliminating private health insurance for many people. That's a big thing to consider. Well, and that's going to be up to the voters.
I mean, we have a number of different approaches to get to universal healthcare. Senator Sanders and others have advocated for the elimination of private health insurance. There's Vice President Biden and others who advocate building off of the Affordable Care Act, introducing what we often call a public option. That was actually something that Barack Obama tried to get, but the politics, you know, didn't quite get there.
So, someone who's watching tonight who may not like President Trump, but is worried about the Democratic Party, you know, being socialist or going so far to the left, what do you say to that viewer? Well, I would say to that viewer is today is the 54th anniversary of Medicare and Medicaid, passed, signed by LBJ. And what did Ronald Reagan say about Medicare? He said that, and I quote, Medicare will lead to socialized medicine, Medicare will lead to socialism in America.
Ronald Reagan, during that debate on Medicare and Medicaid. So I would say to that listener, that voter, study the proposals of the candidates, figure out what you think is best for you, your family, and for your community, and for America, and then don't be distracted by the efforts of the other side. The 2018 distraction was, caravans, they'll try to call everything they don't like socialism. That didn't work.
How much do you want to hear about Donald Trump tonight, and how much do you want to hear other issues? So, it's quite early, this candidate, you know, it's very easy to focus on Donald Trump. Well, I think you're going to see a lot of focus on the vision of each candidate, because this is the opportunity for differentiation. We want to know, we've got a bumper crop of candidates.
We've got 20 people on the stage tonight, tomorrow, a few other people still running. And voters want to know, okay, the issues I care about most, whether it's health care, whether it's immigration, whether it's the right to form a union. And, you know, I think voters ask the following questions, you know, who has my back on the issues that matter most to me? Who's looking out for me and people like me?
These are the types of questions I think that voters ask. And that's why I think candidates are going to focus less on Donald Trump and more on articulating their vision for building an America that works for everyone. Tom Perez, appreciate it. Always a pleasure.
I'd like to watch for tonight the ultimate goal of course for Democrats to defeat President Trump coming up. The question, who will take him on court is tonight, and how should they? Right back as Countdown to midnight continues right here on CNN. And we are back live from Detroit.
When the candidates are not sparring with one another or pushing their platforms tonight, we will likely be hearing them take on President Trump. He certainly of course has provided a lot for them to talk about in the past few days. Here were some of the lines of attack at the last debate. Donald Trump thinks Wall Street will be American.
The American people understand that Trump is a phony. One of the worst things about President Trump that he's done to this country is he's torn apart the moral fabric of who we are. Donald Trump has put us in a horrible situation. What is the greatest national security threat to the United States?
It's Donald Trump. Women's reproductive rights are under assault by President Trump. Donald Trump. Donald Trump.
Donald Trump. Donald Trump. Donald Trump. And I'm back with my political team.
Alright, as Donald Trump would say, the more the better. Just keep saying it. What? Is that going to be here tonight?
Yeah, I mean obviously Donald Trump is the person that they ultimately have to beat. And if you want a good applause line and say something negative about Donald Trump, so they have to do that. But I think what's more important for them is they've got to start breaking out and become the person who can go up against Donald Trump. In order to do that, they're going to have to make their case for themselves about their lane for lack of a better word.
You know, is it make their case for why we need somebody who's more moderate or why we need somebody who's more disruptive? And then why am I the person to do that? Right. They're looking at voters to say, okay, who could beat Donald Trump first and foremost?
But how do you show you're that person? There's a special opportunity because what's been going on this week on race for Beto. For Beto. Beto who's sort of been knocked off his throne.
He's sort of been wandering around. What's wrong with the guy nobody's heard from him? Pete took his glory. Mayor Pete has slipped on a banana field when it comes to race.
In Mayor Pete's hometown, there's racial issues, black support from him is very low. There's an opening for Beto on this question now that Trump is stirring the racial pot. Beto came on the scene as the white guy who was good on race. He came on the scene as the white guy won the stick up for Colin Kaepernick.
If he decides to take his stand tonight in the face of all this Trump nonsense and be that white guy again, he might start to become relevant again and cut it on Pete. So I'm just watching how these different people are going to, you've got to play off the Trump. But you can't let everybody think. That's not interesting.
How do you play off the Trump in a way that gives you some oxygen? Beto might pull that card tonight. Right, because you have to show. You have to show.
You have to show. People are looking to say, is Donald Trump going to eat this person alive at a bait stage? So you can't just say he's a bad guy. You have to show somebody else that you can wrap him up.
Yeah, I mean, you have to do two things. One, you have to put forward a positive, inclusive vision of a post-Trump America, which is what Democrats and lots of other Americans are desperately waiting to see. And you have to prove that you can stand up to him on the stage, you can stand up to the presidency, you can stand up to the White House, and you can stand up to taking him on in order to get there. And those are two kind of separate things that both the candidates have to do both.
But especially being here in Michigan, I saw it poll today from the immigration hub that 54% of Michigan independence disapprove of the job that Donald Trump is doing. So taking shots at him here, especially on the issues that they care about the most and the economy on trade, et cetera, that's just a really smart campaign strategy regardless of primary general messaging. I think they should all take advantage of that. Do independents, though, and a lot of them will be watching, I'm sure?
Do they say they get scared about too much progressiveness, too much socialism? Yeah, you know, it's funny, the current governor of Michigan had an interesting quote today. She said, when I was running, number one, I just stuck to issues that people cared about. She said, I never talked about the president's Twitter feed.
I talked about what people needed to feed their families. And that basic stuff, no nonsense. She said, I never even spoke about Washington, D.C. So all of that is to say that I do think that there is a fear among not just independents, but moderate Democrats, that abolishing ICE, no criminalization of crossing the border, the healthcare for undocumented, all of those things that have been raised.
I think people, pragmatists, are nervous about that. Certainly that Donald Trump thing is in the air for free healthcare for undocumented immigrants. It's going to be a winning line. It's a moment, though, that's a breakout moment if one happens, Governor, are going to come from something that's planned or not.
Most everything tonight is planned. As I say, you've rehearsed every question you know how to respond. And listen, I agree with Governor Granville. I mean, Gretchen, we're one here because our slogan was fixed the damn role.
To me, it's about the ability. And I hate it when we talk about, well, we've got the moderates and we've got the left. We need a candidate who can appeal to the middle and can excite the base. This should not be mutually exclusive.
To me, that's about a like. You don't think that's a mission? I can tell you it's Governor. I was a very progressive Governor.
I was a very pro-jobs Governor. They are not mutually exclusive. We've got to quit putting these people in these boxes. Talk about getting low on the pre-chips.
How do you know we're pre-chips? I mean, it's the damn roads. What are you doing about education? All right.
We'll see what's fine for you. We have discussion. I don't want to hear it. All right.
I'm going to talk a lot more ahead. All the candidates on tonight's stage before us hoping for that breakout moment. It's going to get the attention of voters and just as importantly, donors. Just ahead.
Why that is far more important for some on that stage than others. Back as we've said. As we've said in debates this past tonight's and tomorrow's will be just getting noticed. I mean, the climber is certainly a key.
One way to do that, of course, is to interrupt hoping that how you do it and what you have to say will actually break through and make an impact. Here's how that played out in last month's Democratic debate. We're going to get to everybody. I promise.
We're going to get to everybody. We will let you all speak. We will let you all speak. Senator Harris.
We will let you all speak. Senator Harris. We won't let you all speak. Senator Harris.
Okay, guys, you know what? America does not want to witness a food fight. They want to know how we're going to put food on their table. The rules are different this time around.
A candidate who consistently interrupts will have his or her time reduced. But still, it's especially important for those lower tier candidates to try to get noticed. Anyway, they can back now with our team. It is online for many of these candidates.
Many of them will no longer be on a debate stage after tonight or after tomorrow night. And this is Do or Die for it. What we said is that we have to do it in the wrong way to do it. And the right way to do it is to use the time you have to create a moment.
So Julian Castro, for example, attacking a federal or a war gun and immigration issue became a moment and that debate actually helped him. Kamala Harris obviously had a moment in her exchange with Joe Biden. I don't think the candidates who interrupted and who were, I don't think you get rewarded for gessable levels here. And when it kind of descends in kind of a trading pit environment, nobody looks good.
So if I were prepping a candidate, I would not, I would say be aggressive if you're attacked, the manager time to respond, but do not try and shout over everybody because it's dead looked good. You know, you want viewers to like you. And if you're not one of the top tier, most of the people watching don't even know who you are, maybe seeing you for the first or second time. And if you continually interrupt, they're going to think you're rude.
And I think that was a problem for some candidates last time. On the other hand, Eric Swell told me he got in four minutes and 45 seconds last time, but who's counting? He was. And so you have to find some way because if you're lower tier, nobody's really going to attack you.
You have to insert yourself into the conversation. So it's very delicate, particularly for people who haven't done this before. But moderators try to give questions, kind of equal number of questions, frankly, to everyone, if possible. But by debate rules, if one person goes after another person by name, that person has the right to respond, with frontrunners, it can often end up hanging back and forth.
Which is why when you see the time spent talking for each of the candidates, you always see that the frontrunners get the most time, because they're the ones that are most attacked. And so then they get all that rebuttal time. So it's not exact equal time, but all of the debates try to give fair time. And like you said, the goal is you want everyone to participate, especially on the big major issues.
That's what this whole thing is about, is to give the voters that sense of where each of them stand on the big issues that impact their lives. Yeah, one of the things that would be interesting is who is the target of the moderates, right? Is it going to be Sanders or is it going to be Warren? Or will it be equal?
We saw it in Alaska Bay. Warren sort of faded down the stretch, even though it was her debate to win. She probably didn't win that debate. But she kind of got to apply it down the stretch.
So you wonder if that's something she thought was good. Maybe it didn't matter, because she did so well anyway. But it would be interesting to see if she becomes a target or if they feel like Sanders is the big target for the even difference. But the moderates also have to distinguish themselves from each other.
Right. Now will you have Pete Buttigieg and Beto O'Rourke going after each other, because O'Rourke's, a lot of O'Rourke's supporters, he probably are here with Gontum Air Pete. So they have to figure out where their targets of opportunity are, which voters they think you can do. And tonight we've got the governor of Montana on the stage for the first time.
The police are going to want to make an impact for potential voters. I want to thank everybody for coming right back with more here, especially the addition of Aaron Burnett out front. As we count down to tonight's debate, we'll be right back. We know Joe Biden will be watching round one from his home in Delaware.
We'll look at what you can expect is two of the best known progressives take on eight of their rivals in just over an hour. That's ahead. This is CNN meteorologist Derek Van Damme, thrilled to introduce the new CNN Weather app. Be prepared for anything with comprehensive coverage from real experts like me.
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