Overview

2020 Democratic Party Presidential Debates in Detroit are the second two 2020 Democratic presidential primary debates held in late July 2019 at the Fox Theater in Detroit, Michigan.

Background

On July 16th, 2019, the Democratic candidates who qualified for the second set of debates were announced. The 20 candidates would be spread across two nights of debates with a set of 10 candidates appearing on each night.^[1]

Montana Governor Steve Bullock
South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg
U.S. Representative from Maryland John Delaney
Former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper
U.S. Senator from Minnesota Amy Klobuchar
U.S. Representative from Texas Beto O'Rourke
U.S. Representative from Ohio Tim Ryan
U.S. Senator from Vermont Bernie Sanders
U.S. Senator from Massachusetts Elizabeth Warren
Writer and spiritual guru Marianne Williamson
Colorado Senator Michael Bennet
Former Vice President Joe Biden
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio
New Jersey Senator Cory Booker
Former HUD Secretary Julián Castro
Hawaii Representative Tulsi Gabbard
New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
California Senator Kamala Harris
Washington Governor Jay Inslee
Entrepreneur Andrew Yang

Developments

July 30th Debate

On July 30th, 2019, CNN aired the Second Democratic Debate. The first night featured the first 10 of 20 candidates running from the Democratic nomination for president of the United States. These candidates included Steve Bullock, Pete Buttigieg, John Delaney, John Hickenlooper, Amy Klobuchar, Beto O'Rourke, Tim Ryan, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Marianne Williamson.

"I Wrote the Damn Bill"

During the debate, Senator Sanders defended his signature campaign promise of the Medicare for All universal healthcare plan, stating that it covers all healthcare needs for "senior citizens, [and] will finally include dental care, hearing aids and eyeglasses." Opponent Tim Ryan criticized Sanders saying, "You don't know that, Bernie." Sander responded, "I do know that. I wrote the damn bill" (shown below).

The moment inspired a number of memes (examples below, left and center).

The following day, Sanders tweeted^[2] a call for donations and offered stickers that read, "I wrote the damn bill." The tweet received more than 4,200 likes and 990 retweets in 24 hours (shown below, right).

Throw Your Hands Up

During the debate, former Governor John Hickenlooper mocked Sanders' arm gesticulations and criticized his policies, calling them too extreme. Bernie mocked Hickenlooper by raising his arms up in response to the comment (shown below). Hickenlooper then uttered the phrase "throw your hands up".

Some online joked about the arm gestures, comparing them to the wave. CNN's Andrew Kaczynski tweeted a GIF of the moment with the caption "they definitely did the wave." The post received more than 3,200 likes and 740 retweets in 24 hours (shown below).

Twitter^[3] published a Moments page on the reaction to the response.

Elizabeth Warren vs. John Delaney

Defending herself from criticisms from former congressman John Delaney, who had repeatedly claimed that Warren and Sanders' promises were too extreme, Elizabeth Warren responded, "You know, I don’t understand why anybody goes to all the trouble of running for president of the United States just to talk about what we really can’t do and shouldn’t fight for" (shown below).

Marianne Williamson's Flint, Michigan Comments

When asked about the Flint Water Crisis, she responded:

Her comments found support and confusion among people on Twitter. In particular, people latched onto the phrase "dark psychic force of the collectivized hatred" (examples below).

Later in the night, when asked for a comment on her debate performance, Williamson responded, "I don't know yet. I mean, I'll tell you when, you know, later when I see the memes" (shown below).

July 31st Debate

On July 31st, 2019, CNN aired part two of the second Democratic debate. The second night of debates included Vice President Joe Biden, Senator Kamala Harris, Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, Senator Cory Booker, Governor Jay Inslee, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, former HUD secretary Julián Castro, Andrew Yang, Senator Michael Bennet and Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Joe Biden Greeting Kamala Harris

At the onset of the debate, Joe Biden welcomed Kamala Harris on stage by saying, "Go easy one me, kid" (video below).

The comment, a reference to their altercation in the first debate, sparked some criticism of Biden. For example, Twitter^[4] user @JessicaValenti tweeted, "Yes, Joe Biden said, “go easy on me kid” to Kamala Harris when they shook hands. Yes, that is totally obnoxious." The tweet received more than 10,000 likes and 950 retweets in 24 hours (shown below, left). Meanwhile, Harris' National Press Secretary Ian Sams responded^[5] to the comment, "Kid?" The tweet received more than 1,500 likes and 250 retweets in 24 hours (shown below, right).

Later that night, Harris told CNN^[6] that she "didn't thank that much about" the comment.

Cory Booker Hecklers

During Senator Booker's opening statement, a group of protestors began chanting "Fire Pantaleo," referring Daniel Pantaleo, the New York City Police officer who had avoided federal charges for the murder of Eric Garner in July 2019 (video below). However, the heckling was supposedly directed at New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who came under fire for not firing Pantaleo.

Joe30330

During his closing statements, unlike the other candidates who mentioned their website, Biden plugged his text line, saying, "If you agree with me, go to Joe 30330 and help me in this fight" (shown below).

Many responded to the remark with confusion because Biden never mentioned that this was a phone number. Some online joked about the number, Twitter^[7] user @drmistercody tweeted, (shown below, left). Comedy writer Mike Drucker tweeted,^[8] "Going to that famous website, Joe 30330" (shown below, left). "If you agree with me, go to joe biden dot angelfire dot net slash my folder slash about dot html." The tweet received more than 4,800 likes and 570 retweets in 24 hours (shown below, right).

#KamalaHarrisDestroyed

During the debate, congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard criticized Harris' record as a prosecutor in California (shown below). She said, "She put over 1,500 people in jail for marijuana violations and then laughed about it when she was asked if she ever smoked marijuana […] She blocked evidence that would have freed an innocent man from death row until the courts forced her to do so. She kept people in prison beyond their sentences to use them as cheap labor for the state of California."

Following the debate, the hashtag #KamalaHarrisDestroyed trended on Twitter. Harris' National Press Secretary Ian Sams responded^[9] by sharing an NBC News article that alleged Russian involvement in promoting and spreading Gabbard-related content to influence the election (shown below).

Search Interest

External References