Tom Steyer in 8th Democratic Primary Debate
On War & Peace:
Obama got Iran to give up its nuclear ambitions
Steyer claimed that Obama got "Iran to give up its nuclear ambitions." This is a matter of dispute. Iran's intent is unknown, but the Iran nuclear agreement could also be viewed as curbing or delaying the country's ambition--not ending it.The Joint
Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, was implemented in 2016. Its aim was to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. It attempts to do this by requiring Iran to reduce the number of operating centrifuges and its stockpile of uranium, while
allowing International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to monitor Iran's declared nuclear facilities. In exchange, Iran won relief from international sanctions and the ability to continue to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes.
Under Trump, the
U.S. has withdrawn from the nuclear agreement and re-imposed sanctions on Iran. The president and other Republicans have criticized the deal for allowing Iran to continue to enrich uranium and giving it access to billions of dollars in frozen assets.
Source: FactCheck.org on 8th Democrat 2020 primary debate
Feb 8, 2020
On Welfare & Poverty:
Think much more ambitiously about poverty and how to end it
Steyer, the sole billionaire on stage, said Americans need to think much more ambitiously about poverty and how to end it. "What we need to do is have a new conception,
a new dream of America," Steyer said. "Dream it, and make it happen. Imagine the mountain and then we climb it together."
Source: Washington Post excerpts of 8th Democrat 2020 primary debate
Feb 8, 2020
On Budget & Economy:
Take Trump down on the economy
Everybody on this stage is better on economic justice and healthcare than anybody in the Republican party, and a million times better than Donald Trump. That is not the question in front of us today. The question is, how are we going to beat
Donald Trump? We're going to have to take Mr. Trump down on the economy, because if you listen to him, he's crowing about it every single day, and he's going to beat us unless we can take him down on the economy.
Source: 8th Democrat 2020 primary debate, St. Anselm College in NH
Feb 7, 2020
On Civil Rights:
Tell the story of slavery and injustice, leading to policy
Out of narrative comes policy. Everyone's saying we can't have rules that are different for different people, but in fact we're here because we had rules that are different for different people. I would set up a commission on race to retell the
story of the last 400 years in America of systematic racism against African Americans, not just legal discrimination, injustice, and cruelty, but also the contribution that the African American community has made to America.
Source: 8th Democrat 2020 primary debate, St. Anselm College in NH
Feb 7, 2020
On Foreign Policy:
We abandoned diplomacy & allies in favor of military complex
What we're hearing here is a very long dissertation about exactly how America should be the world's policemen.
When we're talking about our role in the world and commander-in-chief, we have abandoned diplomacy. We don't have a strategy and we don't have allies.
Source: 8th Democrat 2020 primary debate, St. Anselm College in NH
Feb 7, 2020
On Free Trade:
Unilateral action does not lead to a climate treaty
If we want to be the leaders of the world, who can actually negotiate a climate treaty around the world that sticks, that makes a difference, we're going to have to put climate first, and when we think about doing the wrong thing, the way
Mr. Trump did with General Soleimani, we have to ask, does that help us build a coalition of countries around the world to do the right thing? It absolutely does not.
Source: 8th Democrat 2020 primary debate, St. Anselm College in NH
Feb 7, 2020
On Government Reform:
GOP is stacking courts, need Dem win to stop it
That's why Mr. Trump has appointed so many federal judges, because in fact the Republicans refused to allow President Obama to get his due. Republicans are in control. They're stacking the Court for a generation with young right-wing radicals, and the
question is what are we going to do about it? The heart and soul of this party is diversity. The question we have is how are we getting that diverse group of people to the polls? The question is how do we beat Trump?
Source: 8th Democrat 2020 primary debate, St. Anselm College in NH
Feb 7, 2020
On Homeland Security:
Need to change world view from war to climate change
This view of the world, that our response should be military is driven by our gigantic military complex and ignores the biggest problem that we face, which is climate change. It can only be solved with diplomacy and allies. So in fact, what we are
listening to is a discussion of 20 years of failed military action and how we should continue spending $700 billion dollars a year on defense when we spend $70 billion dollars a year at the federal level on education.
Source: 8th Democrat 2020 primary debate, St. Anselm College in NH
Feb 7, 2020
On Principles & Values:
Developed countries don't jail former presidents
The countries that have thrown past presidents into jail, have generally been developing countries, and that's a pattern that is hard to break. What's a more American tradition? We move the country forward. We don't focus on the mistakes of
the leaders that are leaving office. Most Americans do not care about what a particular individual did, so much as they care about their family's wellbeing, their community, their town.
Source: 8th Democrat 2020 primary debate, St. Anselm College in NH
Feb 7, 2020
On Welfare & Poverty:
Racism is not in the past so we need reparations to fix it
I'm for reparations. Something wrong happened. I am for reparations to African Americans in this country, and anyone who thinks that racism is a thing of the past and not an ongoing problem is not dealing with reality. In fact, three days ago, one of
the leaders of Joe Biden's South Carolina campaign made racist remarks about someone associated with our campaign, and the Legislative Black Caucus went out en masse to stand up for that man and for our campaign.
Source: 8th Democrat 2020 primary debate, St. Anselm College in NH
Feb 7, 2020
Page last updated: Mar 23, 2020