Key Moments from the Third Democratic Debate

By Matthew McMullan
Sep 13 2019
Getty Images

A lot of bluster, a little nuttiness, a good answer on trade politics, and loose teeth.

There was another Democratic presidential primary debate last night and it was three hours long. Three hours!

Here are some things you can do in three hours:

The point is: You can get a lot done in three hours. Three hours is a long time! And there are far wiser uses of your time. So instead, please come here, to the AAM blog, to get your debate highlights. We watched the whole thing. and we have them ready to go! 

The Best Moments of the Latest Democratic Presidential Primary Debate.

The best “Someone Tell Mayor Pete to Stop Acting Like a School Marm” moment …

was won by former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro:

The best “Someone Ask Cory Booker if, Because Booker is a Vegan, a Booker Administration Will Force a Vegan Diet on America” moment …

… was won by moderator Jorge Ramos, because he actually asked that.

***Bonus moment:*** Vegans on Twitter got mad at Booker for answering “no.” 

The best Teeth Malfunction moment … 

… goes to Joe Biden, who wrapped up this moment early by fooling around with his teeth seconds before a moderator asked him a question about gun control.

The best “I’ll Respond to a Question on Trade Policy with More of an Answer than ‘Trump is Bad’” moment …

… was won by Elizabeth Warren, who said:

"Our trade policy in America has been broken for decades, and it has been broken because it works for giant multinational corporations and not for much of anyone else. These are giant corporations that, shoot, if they can save a nickel by moving a job to a foreign country, they'll do it in a heartbeat.

"And yet for decades now, who's been whispering in the ears of our trade negotiators? Who has shaped our trade policy? It's been the giant corporations. It's been their lobbyists and their executives.

"The way we change our trade policy in America is, first, the procedures. Who sits at the table? I want to negotiate trade with unions at the table. I want to negotiate it with small farmers at the table. I want to negotiate it with environmentalists at the table. I want to negotiate with human rights activists at the table.

"And you asked the question about leverage. If I can just respond to that one, the leverage, are you kidding? Everybody wants access to the American market. That means that we have the capacity to say right here in America, you want to come sell goods to American consumers? Then you got to raise your standards. You've got to raise your labor standards. You've got to raise your environmental standards so our companies can compete on a level playing field. We can use trade not to undermine American workers and not to undermine American farms and not to undermine small businesses in this country. We can use trade to help build a stronger economy."

Good answer, Sen. Warren!

And last but not least:

The best “Andrew Yang Will Give $1,000 a Month to One Lucky Winner” moment …

… goes to Andrew Yang, who is trying to a) keep people interested in his quixotic campaign b) add names to his email list. He's calling it a "freedom dividend" and you can sign up to win it here.