I am a past president of the National Press club. Last tuesday, 10 of the people seeking the democratic partys nomination for president took the stage on the first night of the second round of candidate forums. As the dust settled following both forums, one of the storylines is the candidates who see themselves as moderate working hard to assert their views as those who dont see themselves as moderate. Montana governor Stephen Bullock is one of those who sees himself as a moderate, also pulling in the single digits. Governor, it is good to see you here. I almost didnt recognize you without nine people standing to your left. The format today will include remarks from the governor followed by questions from myself and the audience. Governor bullock is the only candidate who won the election in 2016 in a state by donald trump and the only candidate who has a National Campaign finance reform at the core of his. Latform governor bullock expanded aticaid, expanded programs schools. He made montana the first state to protect Net Neutrality through legislation. He has promised that if elected president of the u. S. , his First Official act, we define an executive order requiring corporations to disclose every dollar they scan on electoral. Olitics he told those of his fellow candidates who support the Illegal Immigrants are walking into a trap donald trump has set for them. After this weekends tragedies, governor bullock shared his personal story of his 11yearold nephew who was shot and killed at a School Playground by fellow classmates. The governor called for expanded background checks, red flag laws, and a boost to Mental Health care as well as a ban on assault weapons. Governor bullock is a native of montana. He previously served as innesota eat attorney general and a lawyer in private practice in both helena and washington he is an adjunct professor law. Please welcome Steve Bullock to club. Tional press thanks so much, thomas, and hank you all for taking a little bit of time this morning. An honor to get to be here. El t, the Mass Shootings in paso and in dayton, theyre just for the not families, not just for the indeed for our entire country. F. B. I. , since he the attacks of 9 11, more have been killed by fueledc terrorism, often by a hatred and white than foreign terrorism. This must stop. Of pious are sick politicians offering hopes and and burying common sense we gun safety laws before have even comforted the victims of the last mass shooting. Job, but has done its the senate wont act. And each if they would, donald likely veto it. We need to acknowledge the nra and other extremist groups have a stranglehold on our politics. And that stranglehold is caused by fists full of dark money. When a was growing up, the nra was hunting, gun safety and shooting organization. Now it is nothing more than a Political Organization designed to tear us apart. If we were to pass meaningful anticorruption laws, then rather than being one of the most feared men in washington, Wayne Lapierre would be nothing more than another dweeb in a 1000 italian suit. Aking on the corrupting influence of money in our elections has to happen. But d. C. s inability to do so cannot be the excuse for continuing inaction. I come from the west. Our tradition of hunting and fishing, hiking and exploring, it runs deep. I am a hunter and a gun owner. And let me say that as a hunter, no real hunter needs a 30 round clip. No real hunter needs a weapon of war. No real hunter needs a bump stock. And no real hunter wants a terrorist or domestic abuser or a violent felon or someone wrestling with Mental Illness or alienation to get his hands on a weapon, period. Yes, the Second Amendment confers rights. But like all rights, they come with responsibility. And like all rights, they can be forfeited. People on the terrorist watch list lose the right to board an airplane. They should damn sure lose the right to a gun. I am calling on my fellow gun owners to take leadership in the fight against gun violence that is tearing our country apart. Be bigger than what this city washington, d. C. , is. I believe i can speak to folks who live in gun country. I know their hearts. And their hearts are not with the White Supremacists and domestic terrorists. They want to keep their kids in their communities safe from gun violence just like each of us. Yet they are also worried and it times feel threatened. It is no surprise given that the nra has spent hundreds of millions of dollars doing everything it can to scare them and to divide us. The only way we can move forward is to do so together. As dr. King taught us, we are woven into one fabric of common destiny. But donald trump has done all he can to rip us asunder. Mr. Trumps hatred is damn be the ties that bind. Hs hateful rhetoric about immigrants, communities of muslims and other permission ive the structure for hate. Heres a sentence i never thought i would utter, the president of United States gives aid and comfort to the enemies and incites abroad the enemies of decency at home. That is why i am here today. Im here because more than almost anything in the world, i want to see Donald Trumps presidency end. But as i stood on that debate stage last week and then listened to that next night, i saw his reelection becoming more likely with each passing minute. As someone who comes from a state where a lot of people voted for donald trump, someone he is going hard to be to beat, please permit me o take everyone out of the twitter verse for at least a minute and bring us back to earth. Let me put it plainly. We could not defeat Donald Trumps politics of personal the ibution if we practice politics of selfdestruction. The fact is, we are well on her way to losing this election long before it ever really even has started. Let me start with health care. Barack obamas Affordable Care act was the greatest expansion of Health Care Coverage since medicaid and medicare. And despite this administrations constant efforts to sabotage, it is working. 90 of americans now have health care. Health insurance. We need to get to 100 . And we need to guarantee that those who have Health Insurance are not bankrupted by costs, denied coverage, priced out of lifesaving medications, or ripped off. It has taken us 70 years to get this close. It makes no sense to go back to square one. I stood on that debate stage and i could not believe that after 70 attempts by republicans, it is now the democrats who are calling to repeal and replace obamacare. If you propose abolishing private Health Insurance, you will lose. You will reelect trump. You simply cannot upend the Health Coverage of 180 million americans on the promise of something better. Especially when you dont need to in order to give every american Affordable Health care. It is like the guy who inherited his familys 100 year Old Homestead in montana. The roof leaked, so to the pipes, but the bones were good. The structure was sound. The foundation was solid. The family was comfortable. So kept what was working, replaced what wasnt, and everybody was happy. My opponents look at our Health Care System and see a tear down. I see an addon. We do not need a wrecking ball for obamacare, just a repair job. I recently signed into law the reauthorization of Medicaid Expansion in montana. Yes, montana. I was able to get work with a trump Republican Majority Legislature to reauthorize medicaid something the purple florida, and nsin, North Carolina have yet to be able to do. And we got it done even after Tobacco Companies spent 26 million killing that renewal by Ballot Initiative only two months before the legislative session began. Heres how i got passed in 2015 and how we renewed it in 2019. I made the case unless we expanded medicaid, folks would lose their rural hospitals, our economy would suffer, companies that are unwilling or unable to provide health care will lose that medicaid coverage for their employees. You see, the winning argument on health care has often been youre going to lose what you like. That is how the right defeated hillarycare in 1994. How democrats blocked newt from cutting medicare in 1997. And it is why despite 70 attempts, the republicans have been unable to repeal and replace obamacare. Even though the Trump Administration continues its quest to repeal each and every day. But that is also why the repeal and replace democrats are wrong. We saved rural hospitals, my appraoch, that approach has been dismissed as incrementalism. By delivering results. Lets not forget that we bill medicare incrementally. When it was created, medicare does not cover folks who had longterm disability. Prescription drug coverage was not added until 2003. Getting rid of the donut hole Prescription Drug coverage did not happen until the affordable. Are act so for 54 years, we have added to it, covering all americans, expanding benefits. We can do the same with obamacare, and it will not take 54 years. As president , ill sign Health Reform that covers everyone, opens medicare to all, brings down drug prices and costs, and retain a private option. And i will do it in my first term. There is one part of obamacare that i dont want to change. When president obama proposed it, it did not extend coverage to folks who are here without documentation. I suspect he did so for both political and practical reasons. The political being it would never have passed with that provision. And the practical being it could, at least, create a magnet for even more without documentation. Now, imagine for just a moment how these two issues come together today in the minds of a lot of voters. My opponents are effectively saying to 180 million americans, im outlawing that private insurance that you went on strike for, struggled for, but dont worry, im going to replace it with the same policy that will give to undocumented immigrants. It might work in burlington, it wont sell in billings. We need comprehensive immigration reform. Protecting the dreamers, the path to citizenship for those living in our country without documentation. Two thirds of whom have been here for over a decade. We need border security. But we need sanity, not divinity is securing our borders. Yet our every action cannot be that reaction to donald trump. To that end, a third issue which i believe is a dealbreaker for the voters that we need to win the white house is to criminalizing unlawful entry. Wrong solution for the wrong problem. The law criminalizing border crossings without papers was enacted in 1929. And for 90 years, we enforced our borders without putting kids into cages. We can do so we can. We all want to reunite families. We want to protect children. And we could do so without repealing a 90 year old law. What we need to do is repeal the trump presidency. And that really is the goal here, is defeating donald trump. To do that, we need 270 electoral votes. To get that, we have to win in places that went for trump the last time. I guarantee you, if i am the nominee, i will place a bet right here with all of you that im going to carry vermont, massachusetts, and california. But i wonder if the senators from vermont, massachusetts, and california to make that same guarantee about carrying montana or michigan or wisconsin or pennsylvania . I pledge to work my heart out for whoever the nominee is. If i come up short in the primary, i will work ceaselessly to defeat mr. Trump. Yet some of my fellow Democratic Candidates are not making it easy. I have two tests for any policy position. One, will it solve the problem . Two, can we get it done . Im a prochoice, prounion, populist democrat. Ive won not by compromising our values, but my fighting like hell to deliver results for the people in my state. I take a little issue at times and thomas is, well, he is the moderate on the state. Only inasmuch as if the core word to progressive is making progress in peoples lives, making them know that they can have a better life. In many respects when i look at the film largely out of d. C. , i get more progressive by my results than anyone in the field. The way i have one and what we need to do now is to make sure voters know the democrats hear them, understand that problems and challenges they are facing, and have solutions that we can deliver that will make a difference for them. If it is not going to help people, what is the point . People have been let down by this president enough. We have to deliver for folks. Principle and pragmatism must be intertwined. And this multicultural, multilingual, multifaceted democracy. Those two questions, will we solve it and can we deliver on it, they come together. And when we focus on those questions, unite the country and move solutions forward, you would be surprised at what we can do. And i know that in my bones. I proved it in office and even before. I led the fight to raise the minimum wage in montana before even got into office at a time when there was only 5. 15 an hour. As attorney general, i fought to make elections about people, not corporations. I fought to change our criminal Justice System so a child that is a victim is not further victimized by the system and can start on a path of healing. I took on the big banks. I used the money that we recovered to help people stay in their homes. I took on the drug companies. Used that money to fill gaps in Mental Health. As governor, even with a deeply divided legislature about 60 now republican, the best it is ever been we have been able to address many of those seemingly intractable problems. From keeping College Costs affordable to criminal Justice Reform to kicking dark money and foreign money out of our elections. After 20 years of trying in montana, passing unearned income tax credit, after 20 years of trying, finally providing firefighters protections against cancer and other illnesses for exposure to workplace dangers, after a decade passing the largest Infrastructure Program in over a decade, we have done that and more. I know politicians always tell you this election is the most important election in your lifetime. This one really is. And it is not because i am on the ballot. Not even because donald trump and his hate fueled presidency is on the ballot. The American Dream itself is on the ballot. More than anything else in this 243 year experiment called representative democracy, i am seeking the presidency to revive the American Dream. I have lived that dream. When you go from delivering newspapers to the governors house as a kid to now raising our three kids and it, you have lived that American Dream. For far too many of people of color, that dream has been denied. For far too many women in this country, that dream has been deferred. For far too many immigrants, that dream has been derailed. And for far too many farmers and factory workers and shopkeepers, that dream has been destroyed. The American Dream is not a myth. It is, as dr. King famously taught us, a promissory note. And for far too many americans, that promissory note has been nothing more than a bounced check. When i was a boy, 90 of americans knew that they would do better than their parents had done. Today, it is less than half of 30 year olds are doing better than their parents were at age 30. 60 of americans have not had a pay increase in real terms in 40 years. Friends, the American Dream is not dead, but it is on life support. And if we give donald trump four more years, he will pull the plug on the American Dream. We can bring that dream to life. We can guarantee secure, Affordable Health care to every plug on the American Dream. American. We can send every child to quality schools where she can reach the fullest of her godgiven potential. We can save our precious planet and create good green jobs while doing it. Without leaving communities american. Behind. We can pay folks a living wage, offer them a secure retirement after a lifetime of work. We can make the burden of Student Loans more bearable without taking our eye off the ball that almost two thirds of folks in this country have no college degree. And we must be getting stuff done for them as well. We can clean up that cesspool of dark money and influence here in washington. I do believe im the best candidate to carry that case to every part of the country. I refuse to cede the votes of rural americans to donald trump. As if men and women who work the land, see the world, pass a plate on sunday are forever wedded to a new york man with orange hair and a golden toilet. I refuse to see places off the coast and those who voted for obama then trump or they did not vote at all because they no longer believed the economy in washington, d. C. Was working for them. We need to make them both believe and understand that both will work for them. The American Dream is ably described by barack obama not as a revolution, but as a relay race requiring each of us to do our part to bring the country closer to its highest aspiration. The American Dream that was handed to me by women and men who carried the torch through really tumultuous times, but under donald trump, that flame is flickering. My solemn vow when i take that oath of office will certainly be to reserve, protect, and defend, yes, the constitution, but also the American Dream, to ensure that every person in this country has a fair shot at a better life. To reignite and build that flame of opportunity and optimism for all americans. Thank you for spending a little time with me this morning. I would be willing to answer almost any question. [laughter] almost any question. Let me start off to the audience in a minute but letting me ask governor, another day in america and other mass shooting, we keep talking about thoughts and prayers and then we go to oh, we need to do something about gun control. At the end of the day, nothing happens. What is it going to take . Gov. Bullock it struck me after the vegas shooting, im sitting in my office and like when a president asks to lower the flags, the governor can say, do i want to go through the request to lower the flags . And a was sitting there in the office that day and i said, i dont even know what to write in this proclamation. The younger staffer said, oh, we now have a template for Mass Shootings. Over one fourth of the time under both this president and president obama that i have been asked to lower the flags and that is for veterans day, the death of Supreme Court justices, everything has been for Mass Shootings. The flags are at half staff right now. It is the ninth time since the vegas shooting. The seventh time since parkland. I think thomas, youre right, what we hear his thoughts and prayers. And they will be focused on it for days, weeks, not much more. I think was after parkland, where President Trump said that first day, universal background checks. Within four or five days time, no it is all about the shooter, not about the weapon. And that is where in part i think there is more commonality than we want to believe. Ive never met a gun owner that doesnt want to keep their family and Community Safe. The vast majority of nra members think universal background checks, closing the gun show loophole, red flag laws wouldnt this be great . Indiana passed it. If we could ever look at this as a Public Health issue, we know what we have to do. But instead, it is a political issue. It is fueled to divide us. I hope after i continue to have hopes this might be the time that we wake up. And even more than just the Mass Shootings and going on, it struck me when my youngest started a new school this year. I went to the middle school. Im like, what did you learn this week . I learned where to go in case of an active shooter. For us, who are little bit older, we remember fallout shelters and things like that. But the thought that every child goes to school now and has to think about where an active shooter would be . And the fact we talk about hardening our schools, not how do we better keep our kids safe . The values are the same. 40 of households in america have a firearm in them. The values of wanting to keep our Community Safe are the same. I think it is more candidates, dark money, the nra, in this town that prevents us. So the answer is, we have got to educate people, we have got im trying to get to where gov. Bullock sure. One thing, we have to pass some laws. This has not been quite easy. I think, a, we have to get rid of dark money in our system. We dont even know who is funding the nra. That really has no longer is a gun safety or hunting organization, it is a Political Organization. A Public Health approach would say, here are the steps you know you can take to make a difference. You know if you had universal background checks, you know if we talk about red flag laws. It would make a difference. The 25 states that sign things where there is an Order Protection in a household, a gun will be taken. Typically, a female, much more incidents of deaths where a firearm is present in domestic disputes. We know even like walmart and dicks have quit selling assault weapons and they are not for hunting, not for selfdefense. It is time our country does it as well. We know those steps that can be taken, but we also then have to this is also a call not just for folks in d. C. , it is a call for every one of those gun owners to say, quit listening to the nra and start listening to your children. Talk about ways that we can actually bridge things because i am not yet convinced that d. C. Will ever do anything. Last night Virginia Governor former Virginia GovernorTerry Mcauliffe was here and said donald is racist. Is the president racist . Gov. Bullock yes. And he has used race to divide our country. When you dont even equivocate five people on both sides in charlottesville, his statements about four members of congress and it is a stain on the presidency that he just sat there for like 12 seconds as people were screaming send them back. But at some point i hope, and maybe this is for your journalists than anything else, so he is using race to divide us. Lets recognize it. Lets condemn it. But lets not just that should not be the next 16 months. I dont think he is going to change. Think about where we had to ask of coverage about his tweets. His department of justice was in court trying to strip away protections for those with preexisting conditions. I did not see a lot of coverage about that. Secretary of education was trying to further privatize public education. Did not see much coverage about that. He appointed as the head of the bureau of Land Management this guy who spent his whole life trying to take our public lands out of public hands. So we cant i mean, i dont think the prescription we have to be strong and forceful about what he says and what he does doesnt reflect who we are as a country and no one should condone it. But we also should be spending some of our time over the next year and a half not just talking about him, but talking about what folks actually want out of government and how it can be a better option. It struck me when someone said this was after the first debate, this woman goes, watching that debate, the one voice i did not hear was mine. I am just trying to get by and i want the government in a partner in making my life better. Thank you, governor. Please wait for the microphone. Second, please identify yourself and your affiliation. Third, please ask a twitteresque question. Gov. Bullock thank goodness your whole life is contained a twitter. My name is shannon. Thank you for being here. What are your Top Health Care priorities and how will you get dark money out of politics in the Health Care System through a and the Health Care System through a more incremental moderate approach . Gov. Bullock i dont think building on what took us 70 years ago is moderate. I mean, i think making sure everyone has coverage isnt moderate, it is actually how you get things done. Think about the question was, how do you both Reform Health care and get dark money out, right . How can you have that opportunity . Think about when we finally got so the v. A. Could negotiate or have its own drug formulary. The first year we said 650 million. I mean, the challenge of Prescription Drug prices in many respects, is the larger purchaser of the federal government because of the corrupting influence of money in our system cant even negotiate drug prices. Until we can and i was attorney general when Citizens United came up. I brought the first case after Citizens United all caps u. S. Supreme court because montana just has this great history of being captured by the money. William clark, the copper king who literally said, bought every local, state, and federal election. We passed a law in montana that said 90 days out from election, i dont care what you call yourselves, you have to disclose every single dollar that you spend. We kicked it out to the last 90 days. Not even the Koch Brothers were spending on elections. Thomas mentioned, im the only state in the country i did an executive order that says under Citizens United, i cant keep you from companies, drug companies, others from spending and contributing in our elections, but if you want a contract with the state of montana, you have to disclose where all of that money is being spent and contributed. Think about if the government did that on day one. Contracts with dang near every corporation in this country, until we can overturn Citizens United or get a 28th amendment, there are things that we can do. Sunshine and transparency just as it is with the press, sunshine and transparency in our political spending can make a big difference. Elected officials will be sponsored like nascar, but we ought to at least know who is doing the buying. We can have a public option buy in. About 25 Million People are not covered right now. About 15 million of them are in states that have not expanded medicaid. The other 10 million by auto enrolling or other things into the exchange you can do. I think the public option would drive down costs. That is all attainable to get accessible and Affordable Care for all. The biggest problem when i look at this debt system when it comes to dark money really is Prescription Drugs. At least by adding that sunshine and transparency, it will be a big first step. Ginger gibson with reuters. Right now our political system seems largely dominated by cycles of outrage from both sides, one side people get outraged and then the other side gets outraged and they get mad and yell at each other. This is not a partisan tactic. We have seen a on both sides. You, on the other hand, are talking about principled pragmatism and cooperation. Can you win an election in the era of outrage with a message that is not outrage . And is your party driving in part or doing their part to drive the division in our country by participating in the cycles of outrage . Gov. Bullock well, i think that look, what we have had normalized in the last 2. 5 years anybodysi think recognition and really dividing us by race, by gender, by geography, and the lies and misstatements. I think our party does not need to elevate and just do everything they can to react to donald trump. I think most folks lives, with all due respect, too busy to read every political column or tweet from reuters, right . They are worried am i going to get sick . Is my car going to break down . Life is too busy for all of the din and the outrage in the political system. Those are the folks that actually want government to work. Because more than the division, they want government to work. I think i can win. First of all, it is about winning back places we lost, bringing out our base. Anybody that says if you do one or the other, that is a false distinction. You have to do both. But it is also being able to demonstrate it can work even in divided government. My respect on thomas was that my pushback on thomas was that look at the things we have been able to do in a state like montana with republicans. I know you think, montana. It is a small state. Somewhere, bigger population than in states like vermont or delaware. Im just saying. I think that for the sake of what were going to hand off, we have to be beyond outraged. A quick story, longer than you wanted, when i took office by legislature was deeply divided. That same outrage was there. We move in the governors house. My kids are six and 8, 10, the youngest in 40 years. My son, we moved into the residence and my son kick the soccer ball and a bounces up this painting. My wife says, that painting is worth 200,000. Im like, lets get rid of all the paintings because we have to live here. My first day of the state, talked about the sounds of the governors residence and the Governors Office are going to be a little bit different with young kids. We as elected leaders have to recognize that our children learn from our words and our deeds. What we say and do matters and our kids are watching. I believe that is more true today than ever before. What are we providing to get best to give that next generation to be inspired to, and inspired by . Certainly, outrage and there is reason for outrage in the last two and a half years. Outrage may drive some of the discussion dialogue, but we have also got to figure out a way to elevate the system in a manner where our kids and grandkids can be proud of it. And i think that can be done. And that will be part of healing the country, not further tearing it apart. You talk about winning in red states, but youre talking but the general election, not the primary. You have to win a nomination first. Can you explain you can when all of the red states in a primary, that is not when you get you nominated. How do you do it . Gov. Bullock i think you can do both. The model has been, we are 180 days away from the first voter actually expressing their preference, right . And on survivor, only 19 contestants, that only took about 16 weeks. We have 52 weeks to go. The model has always been, you take a large field and the early early window that down bit. S winnow that down a i think that model will be the same. Ive only been in for nine or 10 weeks because my legislature was still meeting and eight of those had been to iowa eight of those weeks. I think how i do is im not from this town or work in this , town. I think that makes a difference, even on a democratic primary. Im not from the coast. I think that can help. As a governor, it makes a difference. So i think at the end of the about, canons are you get not only a win but make , a difference in peoples lives . I think i can do that for the democratic primary. Meredith lee from pbs newshour. Thank you for being here. The president told reporters this morning at the white house theres no political appetite for an assault weapons ban. How would you implement gun reform as president , especially with the Republican Senate likely . And what are you plenty to do your remaining time as governor on gun control . Gov. Bullock for my good fortune for the latter, i would say my good fortune is my legislature meets 90 days every two years. So i want have another legislative session. And i think that it was interesting postparkland when the president initially said, we should have universal background checks. And polling was done and even more identified republicans said yes, we should have universal background checks. So i think part of this really is the moral leadership of the president at a time where our country desperately needs that leadership. But part of it goes beyond that. I mean, i think at times folks say, well, if you have a split government, divided government, things cant work. I worked to build my relationships with republican legislators in my state house, but i dont rely on those relationships alone. When we got Medicaid Expansion through, it was probably Community Meetings and 15 very , very conservative areas. So instead of just me talking to the elected officials, it would be their constituents talking to them. I think the next president has to make his or her case to america, and spend as much time in kentucky as they do washington, d. C. With hispanic outlook magazine. I Cover Congress and am well aware of how so many of the procedures there can block any action. There is a lot of accusations almost a dereliction of duty in , congress, and more and more president s are using the executive actions to get what they want. Would you plan to use executive actions if you cant get what you want through congress . Gov. Bullock yeah, i think first of all, we have to recognize the limitations of executive action. That you cant do everything that you would want to. So what times i think both his think both hisi , presidency has been, oh, we will do it all the executive actions, which is beyond the scope of the authority of the executive. Certainly, it would take steps immediately, as he has dried to undo everything of the last to administration by executive andon, repealing that, there are parts of, as an example, it is on my website day one plan, is an executive order on Campaign Transparency that i know will be held up. I think that is part of the overall discussion. There are systemic issues. I would get rid of the filibuster immediately. The filibuster on the senate side. Because it does make it that much harder at the end of the day, individual pressures on an individual senator. And somebody said, boy, think about that. Inthe filibuster was gone the first two years the Trump Administration, everybody in this country would have lost coverage for preexisting conditions. That would have been horrible. But this is everything theyre trying to do anyway. So at least then, the choice would be a lot clearer here is , what they do to you, not here is the latest tweet. So youre for doing away with the filibuster . Gov. Bullock i am. I am. I think it is nothing more than what drives the status quo in the city. And status quo improves no ones life. I think in some areas, i would have executive orders, but i dont want to rely on eight years of presidency just saying im going to do this by , executive order. Because the country needs more than that. Do you have a filibuster law in montana . Gov. Bullock no. Susan milligan from u. S. News world report. I want to come back to the guns for a second. On the issue of the people versus the weapons themselves and how much you think President Trump himself is incited on that , and clarify how far you would , go in terms of controlling the weapons. The other thing is, this has become not so much a regulation issue, but a cultural issue. As somebody who comes from what we would call here on the coast a gun state, how do you communicate that on the trail where youre sort of talking about what you want to do. And again, i want you to clarify what you want on gun safety without saying im attacking your way of life, basically. Gov. Bullock that was part of my point, the nra has used this to try to make it a cultural issue, where the overwhelming majority of gun owners that i know have both respect for the weapon, want to make sure the weapon does not get in the wrong hands, and dont want to have concerns about their families and their communities. So your initial question was also, i should step back. The simplicity of this, we want to make a binary, right . We want to say, well, if we just got rid of put some gun regulations and, all of our communities would be wonderful. Now there are issues far beyond that, and there are issues of alienation of what is happening in our country. There are issues we talk about these Mass Shootings, but we dont talk about the unintended gun deaths and the suicides. Think, ar as what i Public Health approach, looking at it like, first of all, we should allow the National Institute of health to do some research on this. But it would be universal background checks, red flag laws, removal of guns where there is an order of protection, fixing the instant check system, limits on magazine clips, limits on the sale of assault weapons. Governor, when you ran for governor in 2016, you opposed universal background checks. And now that youre running for president in 2019, you support them. Was there something about the Mass Shootings during this presidency that moved you in the way that Mass Shootings in the last presidency did not . Governor block governor bullock yeah, i think there are things i also did not ever come out and say we should stop selling assault weapons. There are things when you continually lower the flags, when you turn around, and i noted in the last question, a Public Health response. When you begin to think about it that way, i think universal background checks become something where when the majority of the folks support it, we ought to. Sometimes that is used as a threat, oh, he is going to take away his or her guns. The march for our lives, and we had one in montana, and asked me and they asked me to speak. Im like, no, im not going to speak, because it wasnt necessarily my event. But still, i went, i went with my kids and i listened. And when the kids are saying, these assault weapons terrify me , and we can do things. That is where the transformation, if you will, occurred. I also recognize because everybody look, i have vetoed well over a dozen bills that i did not think were protective of our families, communities, and of lawenforcement. Take a realistic approach on this throughout. Suzanne, from the irish times. Back to the democratic contest of the moment, and your call for a more moderate position from democrats that is needed, and you are echoing the language fromthe former price the more from the former Vice President , joe biden, what is your view on joe bidens candidacy at the moment . Do you think his record on Race Relations and his previous our problem for the candidacy . Are a problem for the candidacy . Gov. Bullock thank you for the question. First of all, i dont think Getting Health Care for everyone is a moderate position. I dont think it in dark money out of our elections is a moderate position. I dont think addressing Climate Change in a city where republicans cant even a knowledge Climate Change is real is a moderate position. I think what has happened is in washington, d. C. , you put a big plans and say, boy, wasnt that a great plan, wasnt that a great press release . But none of it gets done. Perspective of a governor is not a moderate, it is actually i have to get stuff done and make , sure people understand and care about them. Your question about joe biden, i hope it some point we stop talking about what happened 40 years ago and Start Talking about how we can improve peoples lives today. Because i think when you watch these debates, theres a whole lot of folks are saying, i dont even know what in the hell theyre talking about. But you know what . 20 of the hospitals in this country in rural areas are at risk of closing. Why arent you talking about that . Why arent you talking about, we replaced a generation of workers at the same time that Union Memberships had in 1980s . Why arent you talking bout the fact Lindsey Graham literally said we have to get these tax cuts, and call them tax loans because our kids and grandkids , will pay for them, we had to get these through for our donors at the same time 44 of americans would not have 400 in their pocket if their car broke down or they had a medical emergency. So we have to be listening about the challenges of everyday americans. And what joe biden said 40 years ago is not going to be addressing those challenges of everyday americans. Thank you for being here, governor. I wanted to ask about Race Relations. You mentioned that quite a bit in your remarks. If you were elected president , how would you solve the problem of Race Relations in this country . Also you come from a very , majority white state. How would you appeal to, even to voters in, say, South Carolina where the , majority of democratic leaning voters that would vote in the primary are africanamerican . Gov. Bullock raised in a singleparent household, paychecktopaycheck. Do i know or understand the challenges of being raised in a community where i faced literally generations of discrimination . No. Or do i know what is like to have to say to your son, if you get pulled over, make sure to put your head down and your hands above the dashboard immediately . No, i dont. But i do know that we cant let this president or anybody divide us by the color of our skin, who we love, where we are from. And i do think in many respects this is an exciting time in our country, because all of the systemic inequities of 2019, there is finally deeper, richer discussion about the fact that did not start in 2019. They have been generations back. So, four times more likely to be incarcerated than i am because of your color of skin for marijuana. Or four times more likely to die in childbirth if you are an africanamerican woman in this country. I do think we have an opportunity now to seize on where are the systemic inequities and address them , piece by piece by piece, actually recognizing if were talking about a fair shot for everyone, this isnt about lifting up everyones boat, because there are Different Levels and Different Things that we need to be doing. I hope how i can make that appeal is by showing up, by listening more than i talk, and by making commitments to take action. Thank you, governor. I haveout of time, but one last question. Before that, i will present you with the National Press club mug. Gov. Bullock swag. I love it. Let me ask you one more you have moree time here than at the debate, if you were to come up with your own debate standard career own format, what would you like it to be . Governor bullock yeah, i think that first of all, i would not make it about the number of donors, right . What is currently being done incentivizes candidates to spend 90 to get a one dollar donor as opposed to actually hiring people to talk to folks. I think certainly on the one hand, it is challenging with the field is large to make sure everybody gets the attention they need, but if you are going it, i would do it on polling numbers. I dont think there is a perfect i probably would not have as many of them, meaning here we are six months out, and because of the pressures of both the polling and everybody to get their moment, the only way it is the hunger games. You have to wipe out somebody as opposed to talking about with this president is doing to all of us. I think there are ways you can structure it, probably not quite as far out, recognizing it odd berecognizing it ought to the voters who make these decisions, not the nationalization of elections and the press, that would allow a more frank discussion overall. Thank you, for being here. Thanks for the staff who organized it. For more information on the press club, go to press. Org. About more information Steve Bullock, go to stevebullock. Com. [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2019] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] between opioids and suicides, we have a lowering Life Expectancy across the country. How are you going to address that differently . Governor bullock let governor bullock lets talk about how we did it in montana. Expansion of medicaid allowed for 40,000 people, 30,000 people in Mental Health treatment. We have taken targeted money and evidencebased programs. It specifically targets American Indian reservations, which are that much more challenge. That much more challenging. You have to build up resiliency at an early age and not think you can solve it along the way. Most folks who commit suicide have gone to a primary care doctor within fourday within 40 days. The doctor is there to treat your physical health, not if you have a broken soul. We have implemented a program an algorithm to checklist to see, could this person have suicidal ideations . If so, we immediately connect to a psychiatrist. The availability and accessibility of firearms is often the case. So it is getting responsible gun ownership. None of these is going to be an easy thing to address, but we can take an evidencebased approach. The focus on the shooter rather than the weapon is a problem after every shooting that occurs . Five of these shooters dont have a diagnosis of Mental Illness. We shouldullock focus on the weapon. We should also focus on other external factors. This guy wasus on, a white nationalist. And we cant condone this language. And we cant come out on a monday and say, we have to speak with one voice against racism, bigotry and white nationalism, and for the past 2 years he has been promoting those divisions. But they treat it as a Mental Illness . Governor bullock absolutely. We should never turn around and say, all the problems are caused by an individual with Mental Illness. Because the vast majority of shooters dont have a diagnosis of Mental Illness. There has to be a Public Health approach. Thingsd say, it is other , it is wellness, but also when the alienation occurs, that is not a Mental Health issue. But it is something that we have to recognize as a community and a country, what is happening to people. Gun policy has been a big part of the debate so far. The eyes of the world are turning on the u. S. If you were elected, what is your plan to repair the damage done . Governor bullock there has been significant damage. Been, America First becomes america alone it end america alone, and this kneejerk treating our allies as adversaries and treating adversaries as allies is turning over the first world order the world order. We need to deter our adversaries through dialogue and remote the values of our country. We have significant rebuilding to do, we had that after barack obama, but nothing like what we had today. The next president has to share this postworld war ii order people relied on and thought we could count on in the United States. It is still there. I think there will be damage, but it is the approach that you take. The damages deep. Is deep. Mage governor bullock i just got done with service as the National Association of governors chair, for democrats and republicans. And probably for the first time in history, at both the national and subnational level, more adversaries are trying to build relationships with governors, wanting to believe that the strength of what this country was and our alliances were there. Otherhink there is a no term, another four years, what would happen to this country . What would happen to this world . Our alliances wouldnt be there. But i think rebuilding will have to occur, but it is not an insurmountable task. He waspresident said potentially looking into background checks. What was your reaction . Governor bullock i sure hope so. This is the time. This is the opportunity for this president to stand up and say to the vast majority of his voters the background checks make sense. This is the time for him to say that. That is what he said immediately after parkland and then three days later, he walked it back. There is a significant appetite in this country for thoughtful reform. This is a piece of thoughtful reform. Should candidates be supportive of him moving on this . Governor bullock i am very supportive. This isnt just about an election, right . This is about peoples lives. If he is willing to do that, i would be happy to stand next to him and say, good job on this, finally taking action, mr. President. I just hope that in todays he didnt say, i changed my mind he doesnt say, i changed my mind. And he said, lets tie universal background checks to immigration reform, or building a wall. Look, right after you have a shooter that parroted the language this president used about invasions, that is not the way to be a responsible leader. Should he apologize . Governor bullock that is up to him. That is not my job. You said onstage, do you think the dnc is deliberating thats deliberately trying to winnow the field . Governor bullock i think by the debate rules, it could winnow the field. Bill clinton did not even get in until october 2. Or lets recognize the fact that wonn into santorum, who iowa when he was running. He was at 1 until two weeks before. Get large numbers get winnowed down. Consider taking part in debates not sanctioned by the dmc by the dnc . Governor bullock i was at a forum on saturday in las vegas, where the vast majority of the candidates went. There are other opportunities, other than the dnc, to get our voices out. You have talked a lot about Citizens United being overturned. I think fromock my perspective, the false every one of our Constitutional Rights are without limitation. The Second Amendment certainly has limits. How will your recent evolution on gun control affect your ability to connect with voters who might be suspicious of your credibility on the issue . Governor bullock this is a time where we can make real and significant changes. He changedalk about, his position on universal background checks, not even saying, the number of bills that i vetoed, guns dont belong on school grounds, guns dont belong in bars and public buildings, so i have taken a consistent approach along the way in this area. I think i am one of the only folks in the field that actually own a gun. I also have a little credibility about how we can get stuff done, that many wouldnt. Thank you, governor. Governor bullock are you going to cover the governors race in montana . Come on, youve got two. To. Ot thursday, a discussion on u. S. China relations as trade differences and negotiations continue. The center for strategic and International Studies hosts this event. Live coverage begins at 9 15 eastern on cspan two. Also thursday, i number of the British Parliament talks about the united kingdoms relations with the u. S. , live from the Heritage Foundation at 11 30 a. M. Eastern on cspan. And later, democratic president ial candidates joe biden and Steve Bullock visit the iowa state fair. Ave coverage begins at 1 45 1 45 p. M. Eastern on cspan. Cspans washington journal, live every day with news and policy issues that impact you. Coming up thursday morning, an American University education be sociology professor will on to discuss the history of White Supremacy the u. S. And as part of our podcast week, we talk with the cohost of i will tell you what. Watch cspans washington wednesdayve at 7 30 morning, and watch washington journal starting at 9 00 a. M. Eastern friday, our guest is the t of congressional congressional dish. Cspan has lives cspan has live coverage of 2020 democratic president ial candidates at the iowa state fair with Steve Bullock, joe biden, friday at 10 00 a. M. Eastern, former hud secretary julian castro, saturday live at 10 00 a. M. Eastern with governor jay inslee, senator harris, senator amy klobuchar, senator kiersten gillibrand, former colorado governor john hickenlooper, senator Elizabeth Warren and senator cory booker. Watch anytime on cspan. Org or on the go using the free cspan radio app. Stop in i willn joe biden talked about the recent Mass Shootings in texas and ohio and question the president s trump the president s ability to respond to such tragedies