Meet the Press interviews during 2019: on Principles & Values


Deval Patrick: Will accept Super PAC money; should be full disclosure

Q: What about your campaign finances?

A: I think we need to do some catchup. So I think we've got to follow and find all sorts of above-board strategies to do that.

Q: If there is a Super PAC that supports you, you're not going to tell them to stop?

A: No, I'm not. I will say that I would like to see any contributions to such a PAC fully disclosed. If there is going to be Super PAC money that supports me, the sources of that should be fully disclosed.

Source: NBC Meet the Press on 2019 Democratic primary Nov 3, 2019

Tom Steyer: To reach non-voters, be trustworthy, not calculating

What we believe in is going to the vast tens of millions of Americans who don't vote, because they don't believe in the system, and say to them, "This system can work again for you." That's what I've been trying to do, as an outsider, to say, "This system can work again." The only way to do that, in my opinion, is to tell the hard truths, is to be straightforward, and not to be so calculating and careful and tactical, but rather, to be trustworthy.
Source: Meet the Press interviews in 2019 Jul 28, 2019

Pete Buttigieg: Rejecting foreign election interference isn't complicated

Q: Let me ask you about accepting foreign interference. If somebody offered your campaign dirt on, on either President Trump or a Democratic candidate, what would you do with that dirt?

BUTTIGIEG: You wouldn't do anything with that dirt. You would call the FBI. This isn't even complicated.

Q: Would you ever look at it?

BUTTIGIEG: The moment that you look at it, you have implicated yourself, and I don't think you would want to do that. Some things are complicated in politics and ethics. This is not. And this is not theoretical either. A foreign, a hostile foreign power successfully attacked our democracy in the last election, and there's no indication that they're going to back off from trying to do it in the next election.

Source: Meet the Press 2019 interview on impeaching Trump Jun 16, 2019

Pete Buttigieg: Won't demand prosecution of Trump; that's AG's call

It's not the president's job to prosecute a [former] president. Prosecution decisions shouldn't be made by politicians. Any attorney general I appoint will faithfully apply the concept that no one is above the law, whether they're a former president or somebody who's never been anywhere near the halls of power. That's the whole point. It's that justice is blind.
Source: NBC News Meet the Press 2019 interview on impeaching Trump Jun 16, 2019

Beto O`Rourke: Listen to voters, not special interests

I'm accountable to the people that I serve. I listen to them. I show up. I think that's part of healing our democracy. Don't take big money, corporate money, special-interest money, lobbyist money, or PAC money. This is all about people in this country making this democracy work. It's the only way. There's no one person. There's no one political party. It's going to take a movement. It's going to take all of us to bring this country together around these historic challenges that we face.
Source: Meet the Press 2019 interview of 2020 presidential hopefuls Jun 2, 2019

Michael Bennet: Continue investigations; see if public supports impeachment

The majority of people say that the House should continue to investigate, and then we should make a decision down the road, about whether to impeach, I think that's exactly right. Mueller should testify. We should have the full, unredacted report. It seems fairly clear, from the evidence, that he has committed impeachable offenses. But we need to go through a process here and see if the American people can be convinced that that's actually the right outcome.
Source: Meet the Press 2019 interview of 2020 presidential hopefuls May 5, 2019

Amy Klobuchar: Hold president accountable with investigations & election

The most-important thing is to hold this president accountable. There are many ways to do that. One is with the process through Congress, which includes these investigations, which the president is already stonewalling. The second is other investigations that are going on right now, including in the state of New York. And the third is pretty straightforward. That is defeating him in 2020. And that's what I intend to do and will do.
Source: Meet the Press 2019 interview of 2020 presidential hopefuls Apr 28, 2019

  • The above quotations are from Meet the Press interviews during 2019
    (Chuck Todd interviewing candidates for 2019-2020 races).
  • Click here for definitions & background information on Principles & Values.
  • Click here for other issues (main summary page).
  • Click here for more quotes by Cory Booker on Principles & Values.
  • Click here for more quotes by Chris Christie on Principles & Values.
2020 Presidential contenders on Principles & Values:
  Democrats running for President:
Sen.Michael Bennet (D-CO)
V.P.Joe Biden (D-DE)
Mayor Mike Bloomberg (I-NYC)
Gov.Steve Bullock (D-MT)
Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D-IN)
Sen.Cory Booker (D-NJ)
Secy.Julian Castro (D-TX)
Rep.John Delaney (D-MD)
Rep.Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI)
Sen.Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
Gov.Deval Patrick (D-MA)
Sen.Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
CEO Tom Steyer (D-CA)
Sen.Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)
Marianne Williamson (D-CA)
CEO Andrew Yang (D-NY)

2020 Third Party Candidates:
Rep.Justin Amash (L-MI)
CEO Don Blankenship (C-WV)
Howie Hawkins (G-NY)
Gov.Gary Johnson(L-NM)
Howard Schultz(I-WA)
Gov.Jesse Ventura (I-MN) 		Republicans running for President:
Sen.Ted Cruz(R-TX)
Gov.Larry Hogan (R-MD)
Gov.John Kasich(R-OH)
V.P.Mike Pence(R-IN)
Gov.Mark Sanford (R-SC)
Pres.Donald Trump(R-NY)
Rep.Joe Walsh (R-IL)
Gov.Bill Weld(R-MA & L-NY)

2020 Withdrawn Democratic Candidates:
Sen.Stacey Abrams (D-GA)
Mayor Bill de Blasio (D-NYC)
Sen.Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
Sen.Mike Gravel (D-AK)
Sen.Kamala Harris (D-CA)
Gov.John Hickenlooper (D-CO)
Gov.Jay Inslee (D-WA)
Mayor Wayne Messam (D-FL)
Rep.Seth Moulton (D-MA)
Rep.Beto O`Rourke (D-TX)
Rep.Tim Ryan (D-CA)
Adm.Joe Sestak (D-PA)
Rep.Eric Swalwell (D-CA)
Please consider a donation to OnTheIssues.org!
Click for details -- or send donations to:
1770 Mass Ave. #630, Cambridge MA 02140
E-mail: submit@OnTheIssues.org
(We rely on your support!)

Page last updated: Jan 12, 2020