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| Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders take part in Democratic town hall – live coverage | Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders take part in Democratic town hall – live coverage |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 12.24am GMT | |
| 00:24 | |
| Charles Noble, who works with the organisation My Brother’s Keeper, which works to help young black men, asks about how he will encourage job growth in areas where minorities and the poor live. Sanders says we have to target economic help on the most depressed areas. | |
| He says of Flint, Michigan: “Talk about a third world country. You would almost think it was a fourth world country.” | |
| He says he has spent his life taking on the billionaire class and special interests, and will invest in low-income communities across America. It’s “a national disgrace ... Together we’re going to change it.” | |
| 12.21am GMT | |
| 00:21 | |
| Wayne Carlson, the dean of undergraduates at Ohio State University, asks Sanders how he will pay for his policy of “free college for all”. | |
| Sanders denies that is what he is proposing. He says he is proposing free tuition at public colleges and universities and to lower the amount of student debt. | |
| He says a degree today is as necessary as a high school diploma was 50 years ago. | |
| He says he will pay for it - “70 billion bucks a year” - with a tax on Wall Street speculation. “It’s Wall Street’s time to help the middle class of this country”, after the country bailed out Wall Street, he says. | |
| How will Sanders’s plan not damage historically black universities, he is asked. He says he will do everything he can to fully support them. “They are high on my agenda and they should not feel threatened by this legislation,” he says, not giving further details. | |
| 12.16am GMT | |
| 00:16 | |
| The next question is about low wages in the car industry and keeping jobs in the US. | |
| Sanders says he opposed every “disastrous” trade agreement. Clinton “has supported” almost all of them, he says (her position has changed on trade deals recently). | |
| He rails against the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal with Asia, and says he will create “an entirely different” process in terms of trade. | |
| If US companies want us to buy their products, they should manufacture them here, not in China, he says. | |
| He calls the minimum wage “a starvation wage” and vows to raise it from $7.25 to $15. | |
| 12.13am GMT | |
| 00:13 | |
| Sanders is asked by Terina Allen, the sister of Sam DuBose, who was killed by a police officer in Cincinnati, is asked what he would do to create a zero tolerance policy for unjust police killings. | |
| Sanders sends her his condolences and says such killings by police have got to end and soon. | |
| Any police officer who breaks the law ... must be held accountable. Period. | |
| If elected president, he would investigate every killing of an American held in police custody or while being apprehended - “an automatic Department of Justice investigation”. | |
| And he wants to improve training so police understand that lethal force should be the last response, not the first response. | |
| Police departments should be “demilitarised” and should reflect the diversity of their communities. | |
| The American people are tired of seeing unarmed people get shot, he says. | |
| Police reform and ending institutional racism will be at the top of his to-do list as president, he says. | |
| 12.09am GMT | |
| 00:09 | |
| Moving on to race and the economy, Sanders says he wants to combat unemployment among the black and Latino community. | |
| 12.07am GMT | |
| 00:07 | |
| Sanders is asked about his own supporter who rushed the stage at a Trump rally. He says millions of people support him and he can’t take responsibility for all of them. | |
| 12.06am GMT | |
| 00:06 | |
| Sanders is asked about whether someone might lose their life at a rally, and he points out that the accused in the North Carolina case has said he might kill the protester next time. | |
| 12.05am GMT | |
| 00:05 | |
| He points out that Trump has said he might pay the legal fees of the man who punched a protester in North Carolina. | |
| That means Trump is inciting violence, Sanders says. That is an outrage. | |
| He says he hopes Trump “tones it down big time” and tells his supporters “violence is not acceptable in the American political process”. | |
| 12.04am GMT | |
| 00:04 | |
| Sanders is asked about Trump’s claims that Sanders supporters are the ones fomenting the violence at the Republican frontrunner’s rallies. | |
| Sanders replies calmly: | |
| I hesitate to say this because I don’t like to disparage public officials, but Donald Trump is a pathological liar. | |
| Updated | |
| at 12.08am GMT | |
| 12.03am GMT | |
| 00:03 | |
| Democratic forum begins | |
| Bernie Sanders is up first ... | |
| 11.59pm GMT | |
| 23:59 | |
| Lauren Gambino | |
| In between an evening rally and a CNN town hall, Bernie Sanders briefly addressed Ohio Democrats at a party dinner in Columbus on Sunday evening. | |
| Offering a truncated but no less thunderous version of his stump speech, the Vermont senator excoriated Wall Street and the corrupt campaign finance system. To loud cheers, Sanders reiterated his call for a political revolution. | |
| “What this campaign is about is creating a political revolution. It is the understanding that no president, not Bernie Sanders or anyone else, can do it alone,” he said.With that, he ended his speech quickly departed – off to the CNN forum due to begin any minute. | |
| The crowd of Democrats rose to their feet and clapped. A group of supporters chanted “Bernie”. As the chants died down, another corner of the room started anew: “I’m with Her.” | |
| Hillary Clinton is expected to take the stage at any minute. | |
| 11.49pm GMT | 11.49pm GMT |
| 23:49 | 23:49 |
| Sanders has galloped through his speech at the Democratic dinner preceding the forum: | Sanders has galloped through his speech at the Democratic dinner preceding the forum: |
| .@BernieSanders just took the stage at the Democratic dinner and said he's going to be "very very brief" bc CNN forum starts at 8! | .@BernieSanders just took the stage at the Democratic dinner and said he's going to be "very very brief" bc CNN forum starts at 8! |
| Sanders gets big cheers for promising to overturn Citizens United & end voter suppression laws | Sanders gets big cheers for promising to overturn Citizens United & end voter suppression laws |
| What this campaign is about is creating a political revolution. It is the understanding that no president ...can do it alone. @BernieSanders | What this campaign is about is creating a political revolution. It is the understanding that no president ...can do it alone. @BernieSanders |
| Bernie managed to keep it brief! Loud cheers and chants of "Bernie" as @BernieSanders makes a quick exit pic.twitter.com/Izy5TXfhnS | Bernie managed to keep it brief! Loud cheers and chants of "Bernie" as @BernieSanders makes a quick exit pic.twitter.com/Izy5TXfhnS |
| Clinton should be up next there – presumably while Sanders rushes to the CNN event | Clinton should be up next there – presumably while Sanders rushes to the CNN event |
| 11.33pm GMT | 11.33pm GMT |
| 23:33 | 23:33 |
| Before the forum, Clinton and Sanders are due to speak at a Democratic dinner in Columbus, Ohio. Lauren Gambino is there and earlier ran into Jerry Springer. | Before the forum, Clinton and Sanders are due to speak at a Democratic dinner in Columbus, Ohio. Lauren Gambino is there and earlier ran into Jerry Springer. |
| Jerry Springer at the Dem dinner in Ohio. Q: What do you think of Trump? A: I try not to. pic.twitter.com/ns0yE4iMwr | Jerry Springer at the Dem dinner in Ohio. Q: What do you think of Trump? A: I try not to. pic.twitter.com/ns0yE4iMwr |
| 11.29pm GMT | 11.29pm GMT |
| 23:29 | 23:29 |
| In the comments, dave_damage asks: | In the comments, dave_damage asks: |
| Is it possible, or plausable Mrs Clinton would have Mr Sanders as her running mate for the presidency. | Is it possible, or plausable Mrs Clinton would have Mr Sanders as her running mate for the presidency. |
| There’s only one answer to that: | There’s only one answer to that: |
| Bernie Sanders is a G. Can't stop watching this. 😂 pic.twitter.com/FT7Q0hip2x | Bernie Sanders is a G. Can't stop watching this. 😂 pic.twitter.com/FT7Q0hip2x |
| 11.25pm GMT | 11.25pm GMT |
| 23:25 | 23:25 |
| David Smith | David Smith |
| David Smith reports from Donald Trump’s rally Boca Raton, Florida: | David Smith reports from Donald Trump’s rally Boca Raton, Florida: |
| A few protesters waved placards at Trump supporters driving to the waterside amphitheatre in Boca Raton where Trump is due to speak imminently. At least one demonstrator has been removed from the crowd amid chants of “Kick them out!” and “USA! USA!” | A few protesters waved placards at Trump supporters driving to the waterside amphitheatre in Boca Raton where Trump is due to speak imminently. At least one demonstrator has been removed from the crowd amid chants of “Kick them out!” and “USA! USA!” |
| Wearing T-shirts and shorts in the evening sunshine, supporters have been instructed – as is standard at Trump rallies – not to touch any protesters but rather to alert security and shout: “Trump! Trump! Trump!” | Wearing T-shirts and shorts in the evening sunshine, supporters have been instructed – as is standard at Trump rallies – not to touch any protesters but rather to alert security and shout: “Trump! Trump! Trump!” |
| Speakers so far have included Laura Wilkerson, a Texan who said her son Josh had been murdered by an illegal immigrant and provided a graphic police report of his injuries, describing it as her family’s own 9/11. “If we don’t have a wall, he’ll be right back to do it again,” she told the crowd, saying she wants to give Trump a chance. | Speakers so far have included Laura Wilkerson, a Texan who said her son Josh had been murdered by an illegal immigrant and provided a graphic police report of his injuries, describing it as her family’s own 9/11. “If we don’t have a wall, he’ll be right back to do it again,” she told the crowd, saying she wants to give Trump a chance. |
| Michael Barnett, chairman of the Republican party in Palm Beach County, insisted that he is “absolutely not” worried about violence at the event, where some people are sitting on grass and a long queue formed for hot dogs. “From what I’ve heard from the Trump campaign, they’re on guard and have taken all necessary precautions,” he said. | Michael Barnett, chairman of the Republican party in Palm Beach County, insisted that he is “absolutely not” worried about violence at the event, where some people are sitting on grass and a long queue formed for hot dogs. “From what I’ve heard from the Trump campaign, they’re on guard and have taken all necessary precautions,” he said. |
| Asked if Trump’s rhetoric has fuelled the violence, Barnett made an alarming comparison: “I don’t think Donald Trump is responsible for the violence any more than a lady is responsible for being attacked because of how she looks or what she wears.” | Asked if Trump’s rhetoric has fuelled the violence, Barnett made an alarming comparison: “I don’t think Donald Trump is responsible for the violence any more than a lady is responsible for being attacked because of how she looks or what she wears.” |
| The 39-year-old, who as a black conservative described himself as being in a small minority, went on: “I know Trump is known for speaking his mind and that upsets people but it’s no cause for violence. It’s going to be a very exciting election. People have short memories and forget the riots in 1968 at the Democratic convention. We’ll get through this too and we’ll have a peaceful election.” | The 39-year-old, who as a black conservative described himself as being in a small minority, went on: “I know Trump is known for speaking his mind and that upsets people but it’s no cause for violence. It’s going to be a very exciting election. People have short memories and forget the riots in 1968 at the Democratic convention. We’ll get through this too and we’ll have a peaceful election.” |
| Others were unconcerned. Debbie Finley, a recruiter and Trump volunteer who knows him personally, said: “I think he will make the country better and help the people back to work. How can you have such beautiful children and not be a great guy?” | Others were unconcerned. Debbie Finley, a recruiter and Trump volunteer who knows him personally, said: “I think he will make the country better and help the people back to work. How can you have such beautiful children and not be a great guy?” |
| Protester disrupts rally. Crowd chants: "Kick them out! Kick them out!" and "USA! USA!" pic.twitter.com/s1yomQKcjk | Protester disrupts rally. Crowd chants: "Kick them out! Kick them out!" and "USA! USA!" pic.twitter.com/s1yomQKcjk |
| Dawn Marcus-Greenstein, 56, an accountant, said: “The country has been run into the ground. Everybody’s thinking what he’s saying, the country’s so desperate. The media are doing to him what they did to Howard Hughes because he wasn’t a politician and couldn’t be bought.” | Dawn Marcus-Greenstein, 56, an accountant, said: “The country has been run into the ground. Everybody’s thinking what he’s saying, the country’s so desperate. The media are doing to him what they did to Howard Hughes because he wasn’t a politician and couldn’t be bought.” |
| She added: “We need a revolution in this country and he’s the closest thing. He’s not even going to take a salary if he’s president – that’s what I heard, anyway. He’s a businessman and we need a good businessperson. It would be a sad day if he doesn’t get in. If Hillary does, I’ll leave the country. She thinks people are stupid.” | She added: “We need a revolution in this country and he’s the closest thing. He’s not even going to take a salary if he’s president – that’s what I heard, anyway. He’s a businessman and we need a good businessperson. It would be a sad day if he doesn’t get in. If Hillary does, I’ll leave the country. She thinks people are stupid.” |
| Her friend, Teresa Kinan, 56, a caretaker who moved to the US from Portugal 20 years ago, chimed in: “She really is evil. If people don’t like Donald Trump, they should go home.” | Her friend, Teresa Kinan, 56, a caretaker who moved to the US from Portugal 20 years ago, chimed in: “She really is evil. If people don’t like Donald Trump, they should go home.” |
| Jeff Janci, 57, a high school teacher wearing a baseball cap with the legend, “Trump. Make America great again”, said: “I think the violence is all ordered by the Republican high order or the Democrats. Trump has said some things he shouldn’t have but we all do that. I think he was just trying to get noticed at the beginning; down the road he’ll tone it down a lot.” | Jeff Janci, 57, a high school teacher wearing a baseball cap with the legend, “Trump. Make America great again”, said: “I think the violence is all ordered by the Republican high order or the Democrats. Trump has said some things he shouldn’t have but we all do that. I think he was just trying to get noticed at the beginning; down the road he’ll tone it down a lot.” |
| Peter Sage, 66, a retired financial adviser, Clinton supporter and “political tourist”, had come to witness and try to understand. Sage predicted the violent clashes at Trump events would only play into his hands, allowing him to scapegoat the culprits. | Peter Sage, 66, a retired financial adviser, Clinton supporter and “political tourist”, had come to witness and try to understand. Sage predicted the violent clashes at Trump events would only play into his hands, allowing him to scapegoat the culprits. |
| “Half a dozen people did something stupid and he gets to have an opponent: not Romney or Cruz or the Pope but a protester. He gets to dump on somebody unappealing. Trump now gets to be the hero of the first amendment. Instead of being a loudmouth buffoon bragging about his penis size, he’s become a spokesperson for free speech and victim.” | “Half a dozen people did something stupid and he gets to have an opponent: not Romney or Cruz or the Pope but a protester. He gets to dump on somebody unappealing. Trump now gets to be the hero of the first amendment. Instead of being a loudmouth buffoon bragging about his penis size, he’s become a spokesperson for free speech and victim.” |
| 10.53pm GMT | 10.53pm GMT |
| 22:53 | 22:53 |
| Good evening and welcome to tonight’s live blog of Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders town hall forum in Columbus, Ohio. Lauren Gambino is on the ground in a rainy Columbus and I’ll be your host live from New York. | Good evening and welcome to tonight’s live blog of Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders town hall forum in Columbus, Ohio. Lauren Gambino is on the ground in a rainy Columbus and I’ll be your host live from New York. |
| Some readers who may not previously have felt they had much in common with Donald Trump may have found themselves inadvertently nodding along with the Republican frontrunner when he said earlier this week that there had been too many debates this primary season and there was no need for more. | Some readers who may not previously have felt they had much in common with Donald Trump may have found themselves inadvertently nodding along with the Republican frontrunner when he said earlier this week that there had been too many debates this primary season and there was no need for more. |
| But stick with us. Sanders and Clinton seem to respond fairly well to the town hall setting - in which each is interviewed separately, in this case by CNN’s Jake Tapper and TV One’s Roland Martin - and as Tuesday’s key primaries in Florida, Illinois, Ohio, North Carolina and Missouri approach, both Democratic candidates will be conscious of the extremely high stakes at play. | But stick with us. Sanders and Clinton seem to respond fairly well to the town hall setting - in which each is interviewed separately, in this case by CNN’s Jake Tapper and TV One’s Roland Martin - and as Tuesday’s key primaries in Florida, Illinois, Ohio, North Carolina and Missouri approach, both Democratic candidates will be conscious of the extremely high stakes at play. |
| The leftwing Vermont senator defied the polls to stun the former secretary of state with a win in Michigan on Tuesday that seemed to indicate he had more strength with rust belt voters and northern African Americans than many had assumed. He’ll be hoping to repeat the trick in Ohio and Illinois, states with similar profiles, and tonight sent out an email to supporters trumpeting an NBC/WSJ/Marist poll that showed him just six points behind Clinton in Illinois. In fact, a second poll for CBS News/YouGov puts him two points ahead, a significant reverse given Clinton had double-digit leads there in the four previous polls in the state. | The leftwing Vermont senator defied the polls to stun the former secretary of state with a win in Michigan on Tuesday that seemed to indicate he had more strength with rust belt voters and northern African Americans than many had assumed. He’ll be hoping to repeat the trick in Ohio and Illinois, states with similar profiles, and tonight sent out an email to supporters trumpeting an NBC/WSJ/Marist poll that showed him just six points behind Clinton in Illinois. In fact, a second poll for CBS News/YouGov puts him two points ahead, a significant reverse given Clinton had double-digit leads there in the four previous polls in the state. |
| In Ohio, where tonight’s Democratic town hall will take place, Real Clear Politics gives Clinton an average 17.8 point lead, while in Florida, the biggest and most significant of Tuesday’s primary states, RCP gives the former first lady a 30.9 point lead, and she is up in Missouri and North Carolina too. | In Ohio, where tonight’s Democratic town hall will take place, Real Clear Politics gives Clinton an average 17.8 point lead, while in Florida, the biggest and most significant of Tuesday’s primary states, RCP gives the former first lady a 30.9 point lead, and she is up in Missouri and North Carolina too. |
| (On the Republican side, Ohio governor John Kasich might win his own state, but Trump looks set to sweep the board elsewhere.) | (On the Republican side, Ohio governor John Kasich might win his own state, but Trump looks set to sweep the board elsewhere.) |
| As well as the familiar Democratic debate topics of trade, immigration reform, healthcare and student debt, the candidates are sure to be asked about the ugly turn Trump’s campaign events have taken this week, with violence in St Louis, Chicago, and Fayetteville, North Carolina, and an accusation that Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski manhandled a reporter in Jupiter, Florida. | As well as the familiar Democratic debate topics of trade, immigration reform, healthcare and student debt, the candidates are sure to be asked about the ugly turn Trump’s campaign events have taken this week, with violence in St Louis, Chicago, and Fayetteville, North Carolina, and an accusation that Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski manhandled a reporter in Jupiter, Florida. |
| Sanders issued a statement today after Trump said he would look into paying the legal expenses for the man accused of punching a protester in the Fayetteville incident: “Donald Trump should not be condoning violence by paying the legal fees of a supporter who viciously attacked a protester at one of his rallies. He should tone down his rhetoric and condemn the violence of some of his supporters.” | Sanders issued a statement today after Trump said he would look into paying the legal expenses for the man accused of punching a protester in the Fayetteville incident: “Donald Trump should not be condoning violence by paying the legal fees of a supporter who viciously attacked a protester at one of his rallies. He should tone down his rhetoric and condemn the violence of some of his supporters.” |
| David Smith will be watching the Republican frontrunner tonight at an event in Boca Raton, Florida. | David Smith will be watching the Republican frontrunner tonight at an event in Boca Raton, Florida. |
| At Donald Trump rally in Boca Raton, Florida, a far cry from icy Iowa and New Hampshire. pic.twitter.com/hVEGXKARIP | At Donald Trump rally in Boca Raton, Florida, a far cry from icy Iowa and New Hampshire. pic.twitter.com/hVEGXKARIP |
| The Democratic candidates may also be asked about Barack Obama’s lengthy interview in the Atlantic, during which he set out his foreign policy doctrine in great detail. His caution, particularly in the Middle East, is at times contrasted in the piece with an instinct from Clinton towards taking action. | The Democratic candidates may also be asked about Barack Obama’s lengthy interview in the Atlantic, during which he set out his foreign policy doctrine in great detail. His caution, particularly in the Middle East, is at times contrasted in the piece with an instinct from Clinton towards taking action. |
| Clinton may also be quizzed about her praise for the late Nancy Reagan’s record on Aids, for which the former secretary of state has apologised. “I just don’t know what she was talking about,” Sanders said earlier today. Many gay rights activists view the Reagans as a couple who deliberately turned a blind eye to the Aids crisis, with devastating consequences. | Clinton may also be quizzed about her praise for the late Nancy Reagan’s record on Aids, for which the former secretary of state has apologised. “I just don’t know what she was talking about,” Sanders said earlier today. Many gay rights activists view the Reagans as a couple who deliberately turned a blind eye to the Aids crisis, with devastating consequences. |
| Here’s today’s earlier live blog, if you want to catch up on all the day’s events so far, including a heckler in Florida accusing Marco Rubio of stealing his girlfriend. | Here’s today’s earlier live blog, if you want to catch up on all the day’s events so far, including a heckler in Florida accusing Marco Rubio of stealing his girlfriend. |
| The Democratic town hall begins at 8pm ET on CNN and TV One. Hope you can join us. | The Democratic town hall begins at 8pm ET on CNN and TV One. Hope you can join us. |