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| Democratic debate recap: Clinton and Sanders battle over key progressive issues – as it happened | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 3.46am GMT | 3.46am GMT |
| 03:46 | 03:46 |
| What we learned | What we learned |
| What we learned from the sixth Democratic debate, held in Flint, Michigan, just days before the state votes in a key primary for Bernie Sanders’s hopes to compete with Hillary Clinton for their party’s presidential nomination: | What we learned from the sixth Democratic debate, held in Flint, Michigan, just days before the state votes in a key primary for Bernie Sanders’s hopes to compete with Hillary Clinton for their party’s presidential nomination: |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 3.52am GMT | at 3.52am GMT |
| 3.22am GMT | 3.22am GMT |
| 03:22 | 03:22 |
| Elizabeth Wurtzel | Elizabeth Wurtzel |
| Campaign financing came up a lot tonight. That’s no surprise, as Sanders pivots back to it at every opportunity. Elizabeth Wurtzel thinks that Clinton’s position on Citizens United is undermined by the large donations she receives from Super Pacs. | Campaign financing came up a lot tonight. That’s no surprise, as Sanders pivots back to it at every opportunity. Elizabeth Wurtzel thinks that Clinton’s position on Citizens United is undermined by the large donations she receives from Super Pacs. |
| The US supreme court decided that money is expression. Sanders is correct. Because Hillary Clinton has taken money from this one and that one, she is affected. | The US supreme court decided that money is expression. Sanders is correct. Because Hillary Clinton has taken money from this one and that one, she is affected. |
| Clinton says she will of course be tough on Wall Street anyway, or whoever it is. | Clinton says she will of course be tough on Wall Street anyway, or whoever it is. |
| But no, she is not disinterested. That is why in most situations, when people are being serious, it is not enough to reveal a conflict of interest – you must not have one at all. | But no, she is not disinterested. That is why in most situations, when people are being serious, it is not enough to reveal a conflict of interest – you must not have one at all. |
| The only way to make good decisions about what is best is to not take money from anyone who cares about the outcome. | The only way to make good decisions about what is best is to not take money from anyone who cares about the outcome. |
| 3.07am GMT | 3.07am GMT |
| 03:07 | 03:07 |
| Closing statements | Closing statements |
| Sanders: We’re here in Flint because of systemic failures in government and the private sector. What’s happening here is happening all around the US. With all due respect to Secretary Clinton, it’s too late for establishment politics and establishment economics. We’ve got to take back the government that’s supposed to represent us. | Sanders: We’re here in Flint because of systemic failures in government and the private sector. What’s happening here is happening all around the US. With all due respect to Secretary Clinton, it’s too late for establishment politics and establishment economics. We’ve got to take back the government that’s supposed to represent us. |
| Clinton: I see the results of systemic racism every single day. I want to take on the barriers of systemic racism. I’ll do whatever I can as Democratic nominee to run a campaign you can be proud of. I don’t intend to get into the gutter with whomever they nominate, but instead to lift our sights, to set big goals, to make clear that America’s best days are ahead of us. | Clinton: I see the results of systemic racism every single day. I want to take on the barriers of systemic racism. I’ll do whatever I can as Democratic nominee to run a campaign you can be proud of. I don’t intend to get into the gutter with whomever they nominate, but instead to lift our sights, to set big goals, to make clear that America’s best days are ahead of us. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 3.07am GMT | at 3.07am GMT |
| 3.00am GMT | 3.00am GMT |
| 03:00 | 03:00 |
| What about God? | What about God? |
| A woman in the audience asks both Sanders and Clinton about faith. To whom do they pray, and for whom, and why? | A woman in the audience asks both Sanders and Clinton about faith. To whom do they pray, and for whom, and why? |
| Sanders says his Judaism is extremely important to him. “I think when we talk about God,” whether it is Christianity or Judaism or Buddhism or Islam, “what we are talking about is what all religions hold dear, and that is to do unto others what you’d like them to do unto you.” | Sanders says his Judaism is extremely important to him. “I think when we talk about God,” whether it is Christianity or Judaism or Buddhism or Islam, “what we are talking about is what all religions hold dear, and that is to do unto others what you’d like them to do unto you.” |
| I’m running for president … because I believe that. Because I believe morally and ethically we do not have the right to turn our backs on children in Flint, Michigan, or parents who are being poisoned, or veterans who are out on the street. | I’m running for president … because I believe that. Because I believe morally and ethically we do not have the right to turn our backs on children in Flint, Michigan, or parents who are being poisoned, or veterans who are out on the street. |
| I want you to worry about my grandchildren, and I promise you I will worry about your family. We are in this together. | I want you to worry about my grandchildren, and I promise you I will worry about your family. We are in this together. |
| He adds, more specifically, that “I am very proud to be Jewish, and being Jewish is so much of who I am. Look, my father’s family was wiped out by Hitler in the Holocaust.” | He adds, more specifically, that “I am very proud to be Jewish, and being Jewish is so much of who I am. Look, my father’s family was wiped out by Hitler in the Holocaust.” |
| I know about what crazy and radical, and extremist politics mean. I learned that lesson as a tiny, tiny child when my mother would take me shopping, and we would see people working in stores who had numbers on their arms because they were in Hitler’s concentration camp. | I know about what crazy and radical, and extremist politics mean. I learned that lesson as a tiny, tiny child when my mother would take me shopping, and we would see people working in stores who had numbers on their arms because they were in Hitler’s concentration camp. |
| Clinton is less specific. “I pray very specifically for people whom I know, by name, people who have either have gone through [difficulties], disappointment, all of the life experiences that confront most of us.” | Clinton is less specific. “I pray very specifically for people whom I know, by name, people who have either have gone through [difficulties], disappointment, all of the life experiences that confront most of us.” |
| I pray for the will of God to be known, so that we can know it and to the best of our limited ability try to follow it and fulfill it. I have said many times that I am a praying person and if I hadn’t been, during the time i was in the White House, I would’ve become one. … Because it’s very hard to imagine living under that kind of pressure without being able to fall back on my faith. | I pray for the will of God to be known, so that we can know it and to the best of our limited ability try to follow it and fulfill it. I have said many times that I am a praying person and if I hadn’t been, during the time i was in the White House, I would’ve become one. … Because it’s very hard to imagine living under that kind of pressure without being able to fall back on my faith. |
| She concludes: “I pray on a pretty regular basis during the day, because I need that strength and I need that support.” | She concludes: “I pray on a pretty regular basis during the day, because I need that strength and I need that support.” |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 3.33am GMT | at 3.33am GMT |
| 2.57am GMT | 2.57am GMT |
| 02:57 | 02:57 |
| Donald Trump appears in spirit | Donald Trump appears in spirit |
| The elephantine candidate in the room makes an appearance. How would you run against Donald Trump. | The elephantine candidate in the room makes an appearance. How would you run against Donald Trump. |
| Clinton: “Let me start by saying, last time I chekced, as of last night, Donald Trump had received 3.6 million votes, which is a good number. Only one candidate in either party who has more than that number of votes and that’s me. I’m building a broad, diverse coalition across the country. | Clinton: “Let me start by saying, last time I chekced, as of last night, Donald Trump had received 3.6 million votes, which is a good number. Only one candidate in either party who has more than that number of votes and that’s me. I’m building a broad, diverse coalition across the country. |
| I think that Donald Trump’s bigotry, his bullying, his bluster, are not going to wear well on the American people. So I will look forward to engaging him, you know, because I don’t think we have to start to make America great again, we have to make to whole again … We have to end the divisiveness.” | I think that Donald Trump’s bigotry, his bullying, his bluster, are not going to wear well on the American people. So I will look forward to engaging him, you know, because I don’t think we have to start to make America great again, we have to make to whole again … We have to end the divisiveness.” |
| Senator Sanders, Trump has called you a communist. What do you say? | Senator Sanders, Trump has called you a communist. What do you say? |
| Sanders: “That was one of the nice things he’s said about me.” | Sanders: “That was one of the nice things he’s said about me.” |
| I would love to run against Donald Trump, and I’ll tell you why. For a start but almost, not all, but almost every poll has shown that Sanders v Trump does a lot better than Clinton vs Trump. | I would love to run against Donald Trump, and I’ll tell you why. For a start but almost, not all, but almost every poll has shown that Sanders v Trump does a lot better than Clinton vs Trump. |
| He adds that he’s excited because his “campaign is generating excitement,” another reason he thinks he’d beat the billionaire. | He adds that he’s excited because his “campaign is generating excitement,” another reason he thinks he’d beat the billionaire. |
| “I think we are exciting working class people, young people, who are prepared to stand up and have a government that represents all of us and not just the few.” | “I think we are exciting working class people, young people, who are prepared to stand up and have a government that represents all of us and not just the few.” |
| Meanwhile, “payed”. | Meanwhile, “payed”. |
| All of the phony T.V. commercials against me are bought and payed for by SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS, the bandits that tell your pols what to do | All of the phony T.V. commercials against me are bought and payed for by SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS, the bandits that tell your pols what to do |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 3.04am GMT | at 3.04am GMT |
| 2.45am GMT | 2.45am GMT |
| 02:45 | 02:45 |
| A spat over campaign finance – Clinton’s wealthy donors and Super Pac support vs Sanders’ army of small contributions – briefly turns toward the Republicans. | A spat over campaign finance – Clinton’s wealthy donors and Super Pac support vs Sanders’ army of small contributions – briefly turns toward the Republicans. |
| “You know we have our differences, and we get into vigorous debate on issues,” Clinton says. “But compare the substance of this debate with what you saw on the Republican stage last week.” | “You know we have our differences, and we get into vigorous debate on issues,” Clinton says. “But compare the substance of this debate with what you saw on the Republican stage last week.” |
| Sanders does a joke: “We are, if elected president, going to invest a lot into mental health, and if you watch these Republican debates, you’re going to know why…” | Sanders does a joke: “We are, if elected president, going to invest a lot into mental health, and if you watch these Republican debates, you’re going to know why…” |
| He says one of his top priorities would be to overturn the Citizens United decision that opened the floodgates of big money in campaigns. | He says one of his top priorities would be to overturn the Citizens United decision that opened the floodgates of big money in campaigns. |
| 2.40am GMT | 2.40am GMT |
| 02:40 | 02:40 |
| Fracking: regulate it v ban it | Fracking: regulate it v ban it |
| Fracking. Do you support it? | Fracking. Do you support it? |
| Clinton: “I don’t support it where any locality or any state is against it, number one. I don’t support it where release of methane or contamination of water is present … Unless we can require where anybody who fracks can tell us exactly what chemicals they use.” | Clinton: “I don’t support it where any locality or any state is against it, number one. I don’t support it where release of methane or contamination of water is present … Unless we can require where anybody who fracks can tell us exactly what chemicals they use.” |
| In short: “I do not think there will be many places in America where fracking will continue to take place.” | In short: “I do not think there will be many places in America where fracking will continue to take place.” |
| Sandesr: “My answer is a lot shorter. No, I do not support fracking.” | Sandesr: “My answer is a lot shorter. No, I do not support fracking.” |
| He adds that he’s glad somebody mentioned climate change, because it’s not being talked about enough. “If we don’t get our act together, the climate that we’re going to live our children may not be healthy or habitable.” | He adds that he’s glad somebody mentioned climate change, because it’s not being talked about enough. “If we don’t get our act together, the climate that we’re going to live our children may not be healthy or habitable.” |
| Cooper points out that plenty of Democratic leaders say fracking can be safe. Sanders says they’re wrong. | Cooper points out that plenty of Democratic leaders say fracking can be safe. Sanders says they’re wrong. |
| “I talk to scientists who tell me that fracking is doing terrible things to water across the country.” He says the US has to develop new energy sources and systems, “and we’ve got to do it yesterday.” | “I talk to scientists who tell me that fracking is doing terrible things to water across the country.” He says the US has to develop new energy sources and systems, “and we’ve got to do it yesterday.” |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 2.49am GMT | at 2.49am GMT |
| 2.36am GMT | 2.36am GMT |
| 02:36 | 02:36 |
| Don Lemon asks about infrastructure. Clinton says she likes it. | Don Lemon asks about infrastructure. Clinton says she likes it. |
| “I want to start a national infrastructure bank,” Clinton says. “There’s no doubt, we have to do more on our bridges, our tunnels, our roads, our airports … We have pipelines that are leaking, that are dangerous. We have so much work to be done and I think we can put millions of people to work.” | “I want to start a national infrastructure bank,” Clinton says. “There’s no doubt, we have to do more on our bridges, our tunnels, our roads, our airports … We have pipelines that are leaking, that are dangerous. We have so much work to be done and I think we can put millions of people to work.” |
| Lemon asks Sanders about whether his $1tn-plan is at all feasible – if Obama’s plan has failed to get going, how will yours? | Lemon asks Sanders about whether his $1tn-plan is at all feasible – if Obama’s plan has failed to get going, how will yours? |
| “I’ll tell you how we’re gonna pay for that. Profitable corporations are stashing their profits in the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, and other tax havens,” he says. “I will eliminate that outrageous loophole, and we will raise a trillion dollars. … A trillion dollars over five years creates 13 million good paying jobs.” | “I’ll tell you how we’re gonna pay for that. Profitable corporations are stashing their profits in the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, and other tax havens,” he says. “I will eliminate that outrageous loophole, and we will raise a trillion dollars. … A trillion dollars over five years creates 13 million good paying jobs.” |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 2.40am GMT | at 2.40am GMT |
| 2.34am GMT | 2.34am GMT |
| 02:34 | 02:34 |
| Sanders goes past Clinton, saying that when public schools work they work so well that higher education should be free too. | Sanders goes past Clinton, saying that when public schools work they work so well that higher education should be free too. |
| I believe that every public college and university in this country should be tuition free, so that your child, regardless of the income of your family knows that if she studies hard, she is going to be able to go to college. | I believe that every public college and university in this country should be tuition free, so that your child, regardless of the income of your family knows that if she studies hard, she is going to be able to go to college. |
| He says he wants well-paid childcare workers, too (which was one of Barack Obama’s priorities that has fallen by the wayside in recent years). | He says he wants well-paid childcare workers, too (which was one of Barack Obama’s priorities that has fallen by the wayside in recent years). |
| 2.32am GMT | 2.32am GMT |
| 02:32 | 02:32 |
| Clinton takes the question, saying she would reinstate federal funding for repairing and modernizing public schools. | Clinton takes the question, saying she would reinstate federal funding for repairing and modernizing public schools. |
| I would use every legal means at my disposal to try to force the governor and the state to return the schools to the people of Detroit. To end the emergency management, which, if you look at the data, has made things worse! | I would use every legal means at my disposal to try to force the governor and the state to return the schools to the people of Detroit. To end the emergency management, which, if you look at the data, has made things worse! |
| She then suggests “a kind of education Swat team” of teachers and administrators. “When Detroit gets back to schools they should have all the help they can get.” | She then suggests “a kind of education Swat team” of teachers and administrators. “When Detroit gets back to schools they should have all the help they can get.” |
| CNN: do you think unions protect bad teachers? | CNN: do you think unions protect bad teachers? |
| Clinton says she’s proud to have been endorsed by two huge teachers unions. “We’ve had really candid conversations,” she says, about helping kids who have “more problems than just academic problems.” | Clinton says she’s proud to have been endorsed by two huge teachers unions. “We’ve had really candid conversations,” she says, about helping kids who have “more problems than just academic problems.” |
| “A lot of people have been blaming and scapegoating teachers because they don’t want to put the money in the school system.” | “A lot of people have been blaming and scapegoating teachers because they don’t want to put the money in the school system.” |
| CNN: so… about the question? | CNN: so… about the question? |
| Clinton: “You know what I have told my friends at the top of both unions that we have to take a look at this, because it is one of the most common criticisms, and we need to eliminate that criticism. | Clinton: “You know what I have told my friends at the top of both unions that we have to take a look at this, because it is one of the most common criticisms, and we need to eliminate that criticism. |
| “Teachers do so much good, they are often working under the most difficult circumstances, so anything that could be changed, I want them to look at.” | “Teachers do so much good, they are often working under the most difficult circumstances, so anything that could be changed, I want them to look at.” |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 2.41am GMT | at 2.41am GMT |
| 2.29am GMT | 2.29am GMT |
| 02:29 | 02:29 |
| Richard Wolffe | Richard Wolffe |
| There’s been a lot of discussion about the 1990s in this debate. Guardian US columnist Richard Wolffe wonders what else is going to come up on this trip down memory lane. | There’s been a lot of discussion about the 1990s in this debate. Guardian US columnist Richard Wolffe wonders what else is going to come up on this trip down memory lane. |
| First it was the reunion of the cast of Friends, then it was the Democratic debate. It’s safe to say the 1990s are well and truly back in fashion, at least judging from the amount of time spent assessing the relative merits of the 1990s economy, welfare reform, Nafta and the 1994 crime bill. | First it was the reunion of the cast of Friends, then it was the Democratic debate. It’s safe to say the 1990s are well and truly back in fashion, at least judging from the amount of time spent assessing the relative merits of the 1990s economy, welfare reform, Nafta and the 1994 crime bill. |
| All that’s left is a discussion about that other 90s political story about a White House intern. So far Bernie Sanders, who has been leading the re-examination of the 1990s, hasn’t gone there. | All that’s left is a discussion about that other 90s political story about a White House intern. So far Bernie Sanders, who has been leading the re-examination of the 1990s, hasn’t gone there. |
| 2.28am GMT | 2.28am GMT |
| 02:28 | 02:28 |
| Sanders fields the question first:“A nation is judged not by how it treats the millionaires but by how it treats its most vulnerable, the children and the elderly, and we should be ashamed!” | Sanders fields the question first:“A nation is judged not by how it treats the millionaires but by how it treats its most vulnerable, the children and the elderly, and we should be ashamed!” |
| Kemp nods, “thank you.” | Kemp nods, “thank you.” |
| Sanders then turns it into a tirade against Republicans, who says “we have got to change our national priorities: no more tax breaks for billionaires and corporations. We are going to invest in our children and have the best public school system in the world.” | Sanders then turns it into a tirade against Republicans, who says “we have got to change our national priorities: no more tax breaks for billionaires and corporations. We are going to invest in our children and have the best public school system in the world.” |
| Cooper asks where exactly fixing Detroit schools ranks in Sanders’ priorities? | Cooper asks where exactly fixing Detroit schools ranks in Sanders’ priorities? |
| “Everybody in this room should be embarrassed by this: we have the highest rate of childhood poverty of any industrialized country – that is a disgrace!” | “Everybody in this room should be embarrassed by this: we have the highest rate of childhood poverty of any industrialized country – that is a disgrace!” |
| He doesn’t really say where it ranks in his priorities. Taxes on the wealthiest will pay for it, he suggests. | He doesn’t really say where it ranks in his priorities. Taxes on the wealthiest will pay for it, he suggests. |
| 2.26am GMT | 2.26am GMT |
| 02:26 | 02:26 |
| Shoniqua Kemp, another Michigan local, asks Sanders about schools: “Our students can no longer suffer with a lack of [materials] or logistical issues … who’s going to step up?” | Shoniqua Kemp, another Michigan local, asks Sanders about schools: “Our students can no longer suffer with a lack of [materials] or logistical issues … who’s going to step up?” |
| “My daughter cannot wait eight more years for success to take place.” | “My daughter cannot wait eight more years for success to take place.” |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 2.27am GMT | at 2.27am GMT |
| 2.24am GMT | 2.24am GMT |
| 02:24 | 02:24 |
| Mid-debate, Sanders’ campaign has released a statement about his victory in Maine. | Mid-debate, Sanders’ campaign has released a statement about his victory in Maine. |
| “I thank the people of Maine for their strong support. With another double-digit victory, we have now won by wide margins in states from New England to the Rocky Mountains and from the Midwest to the Great Plains. | “I thank the people of Maine for their strong support. With another double-digit victory, we have now won by wide margins in states from New England to the Rocky Mountains and from the Midwest to the Great Plains. |
| “This weekend alone we won in Maine, Kansas and Nebraska. The pundits might not like it but the people are making history. We now have the momentum to go all the way to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.” | “This weekend alone we won in Maine, Kansas and Nebraska. The pundits might not like it but the people are making history. We now have the momentum to go all the way to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.” |