Face. Lets not do that. Feel free to cheer, but dont jeer, because that is not iowa nice. And now, Representative Tulsi Gabbard. [applause] rep. Gabbard thank you so much. Aloha. That is what i call iowa nice. It is so good to be here with all of you. Thank you very much to the Des Moines Register for hosting us and giving us the opportunity to give background about who im and why i, running and why i am am and why i am running for president. Im reminded at every stop that we have about how great our country is. Why . Because i know who makes our country great. It is we, the people. Diversity, the heart, to see the care we as americans have for each other is what gives me hope for our future. Now, we are facing incredibly challenging times. We are facing great divisiveness, and unfortunately we face selfserving politicians and people in positions of power who are seeking to tear us apart and to divide us for their own selfish gain, whether it be for political gain or profits or clicks on line or media ratings or whatever it is, they are putting their own selfish interests ahead of the interest of the people, separating us, dividing us, driving wedges between us based on the color of our skin, where we come from, how we worship or if we worship or who we love, all these Different Things that make up the diverse fabric that is the United States of america. Heartbreaking. This is so heartbreaking because we love our country. I love our country. I love our people. It is why, after the terrorist attack on 9 11, i enlisted in the Army National guard. I still serve as a soldier today, now for over 16 years. [applause] thank you for your service. That is why i deployed twice to the middle east. I volunteered to deploy with my unit. And if we could for a moment ask all of our veterans who are here , and those with military families, if you can raise your hand or stand and let us thank you for your service. Thank you. [applause] thank you for your sacrifice. All of you. I had the privilege of serving with people from all across this. Ountry hello . Can you hear me in the back . From allwith people across this country, from the day i showed up at fort basing training atson, my Fort Leonard Wood in missouri, and all the places we had an opportunity to go, the people i served with in those two deployments and the amazing thing that i felt was that those who i stood in that formation with, those who i served with, we wore the same uniform, serving the same flag, focused on that mission we have of serving our country, of keeping the American People safe. In there was no difference that even though we came as democrats, republicans, independent, conservatives, liberals, black, white, brown, different religions, we represented the diversity of this country but we stood as one unit, with one voice, one focus, on putting service above self and putting country before self. Who we are as americans. This speaks to what unites us as a country. And i think it is especially important for us to remember that now, as those who are in power seek to terrace apart for their own selfish gain. It is only when we, the people, stand up around this unifying principle of freedom, of justice, of opportunity, remembering those freedoms and inalienable rights that are enshrined in our constitution for every single one of us, those rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Come together around these unifying principles of love for country and love for each other, there is no obstacle we cant overcome. And it is only when we do that that we can begin to solve the great challenges of our day. And there are many. But we are starting on that common foundation, coming together, overcoming partisan differences, those ideological differences, and having conversations with us based on respect, understanding that when we care for each other we will find that we have far more in common then maybe we realized before. When we come together, we realize we are equally concerned about our loved ones falling sick and not being able to get the health care that they need, because they cant afford it. When we come together, we will areize that we all concerned about having clean air to breathe and clean water to drink. Together, we realize that we are concerned about making sure our kids are not afraid for their life when they go to school. When we come together, we realize we want to make sure that we have bridges that serve us, that our infrastructure doesnt threaten us or our families or our wellbeing as farmers. When we come together, we can recognize how much we have in common. We have different ideas on how to solve these challenges, that is not a bad thing. United inme together, that mission, focus on service and care for each other, then we bring about that change, we bring about the big kind of change we need to see. Because what is really at stake here, me as a president offering to serve as your commanderinchief is yes, defeating donald trump in 2020. But it is bigger than that. It is bigger than that because folks in this country were struggling and suffering before november of 2016, and we have to recognize that in order to solve the deep problems we face, in order to bring about the systemic problems we face. If we dont recognize those problems, we will never be able to solve them. And as we look down each of the issues that concern us in our everyday lives, we come down to a couple of common threads. Our country is fulfilling the vision our founders had for us . That we really have a government of, by and for the people . We dont. Instead, what we have is a government of, by and for the rich and powerful, of, by and for the very few that can by influence over politicians who of,for sale, a government by and for special interests and corporations that are looking out for their bottom line and how they can make more profits, without thinking about the consequence it has on our everyday lives. Thehen we are talking about deepseated change we need to bring about, this is what we are talking about. And the only way this happens is when we come at the people, rise up and commanded, demand we have leaders who are truly of, by and for the people. The big influence that money has in our politics, to stop the revolving door we see with elected leaders who serve one day and then get hired and get paid lots of money the next day to work as a lobbyist. There are clear reforms we need , toake in washington overturn citizens united, to get rid of dark money in politics, to make it so politicians are not influenced by the contributions they get from lobbyists, to make it so that members of congress are not allowed to become lobbyists after they leave office. People. So much power as we have got to remember that. We are the ones that hire and fire the people elected to serve us, not special interests, not big corporations, they are hired to serve the people. So we have got to exercise our voices to make sure that is actually happening. And that is how, when we do that, we can begin to bring about the big change that we need to see. So i am really proud of our campaign. We have a completely peoplepowered campaign, with volunteers and folks who are giving one dollar, five dollars, 10 dollars, whatever they can, to make sure that we are able to get our message out there, pacsg no contribution from or lobbyists and making sure the voices of the people are at the forefront of everything that we do. [applause] there is a lot of work we have ahead of us, and we talked about a couple of them. The thing i hear most from people is about health care, about how most families in this country are one Health Care Emergency away from bankruptcy and disaster. How is it possible that in this country, we spend far more as a country on health care, yet have far worse outcomes . It is unacceptable. This is why i support passing medicare for all legislation, that will make sure every american is able to get the care we need in this country. You wantnsurance, if to choose that route, that is up to you. But we have got to make sure no one is turned away when they are sick and in need of care. [applause] this is something that is impacting all americans. Another thing impacting allamericans is the problem posed by climate change. You get intos when these conversations in washington, they get very political and partisan when you talk about climate change, because it has become this buzzword, this hottopic word where you are either on one side or the other. But when you stop for a moment and talk as people, not as partisans, but as people, we need cleane all water to survive. Water is life. None of us can survive without it. We need to know our kids and families and homes and communities are going to have clean air to breathe. We want to make sure we have a safe planet. We want to protect the homes, the land that we love, the land that we farm. This is what we are talking about when we are addressing climate change, moving away from fossil fuels, investing in clean, Renewable Energy that is better for us, better for the planet and better for our pocketbooks. On all fronts, we are talking about things that are important to all of us as people. Criminalalk about justice reform, this is an area where we have bipartisan support , where people across this their livesseeing damaged, families being torn apart by this broken justice system, by a failed war on drugs where people are still being thrown in prison for basic marijuana violations. [applause] in congress, i have introduced the only bipartisan bill in congress that would finally end the federal marijuana prohibition. [applause] are things that are important to all of us. We look at the opioid crisis, and the epidemic and the toll it is taking on families across the country. We see how big pharma is responsible for proliferating these highlyaddictive drugs, cheating and lying to people about how addicted they are how addictive they are, were folks go to the doctor and are given to these drugs and are not told about the dangers and risks that go along with them, and we end up with devastation, people losing their lives, families torn apart, people sing their lives and careers completely devastated, and then seeing people who are victims of this crisis being treated as criminals. This is wrong. This is a symptom of what happens when we have a government for the few and the rich and powerful, rather than a government for the people. Ins is why we need to invest treatments, to make sure we are providing those opportunities to build that path forward toward recovery, and do all weekend to hold big pharma accountable for all the damage they have done. [applause] need are so many issues we to address, criminal justice reform, comprehensive immigration reform, something we are seeing that is happening at the border but something that us that is affecting communities across our country. I have spoken to a lot of folks here today concerned about our Legal Immigration system. Why is it congress has done nothing . Because of hyperpartisanship. People are more interested in a political win, rather than actually solving the problem. Imagine how much we could do, imagine how much we could do with leaders in washington took off their political hats and said, lets sit around the table and work it out, just like we do in our everyday lives, right . At work, school, in our own families, you have got to work it out. There is so much potential and opportunity for us to make sure that every time there is an election, you dont see the same, old, tired conversations happening, that we can actually begin to solve these problems. There is an issue that is central to all of these that i want to bring up, and i think that many of you will recognize how important it is, and that is the cost of war. The cost of war is something that we as veterans, we as Service Members, we as those who have loved ones who served or are serving in the military, understand the high human cost of war. During my first deployment to iraq in 2005, i served in a field medical unit and our camp was about 40 miles north of baghdad. And every single day, i saw that heart wrenching high human cost and sisters ins my unit, brothers and sisters in uniform who paid the ultimate price, who never made that trip home. But with many, coming home with both visible and invisible wounds. The terrible, high cost of war. Andyou also see the writ you also see the reality, that even if you have never served in uniform, all of us as americans have paid the price of war. Every time politicians tell you, sorry, there is just not enough money to make sure the levees in your Community Work to prevent flooding, there is not enough money to build up our infrastructure, not enough money to make sure the water is clean, not enough money to make sure our teachers are paid what they deserve and our kids are getting a great education. Every time they tell you, sorry, there is just not enough money, the reality is, these same politicians are signing off and approving spending billions of our taxpayer dollars on paying for these wasteful, counterproductive wars that make our country less safe. We have seen these wars in iraq and libya and syria, how they have strengthened terrorist groups like isis and al qaeda, how they have taken a toll on our Service Members military families, doubt they have taken a toll in devastating the lives of people in these countries ande we wage these wars, they have sucked precious resources out of our schools, communities, the Health Care System that we so desperately need. This is why it is important to recognize, you cannot separate Foreign Policy from domestic policy. It is not one little issue that sits on the side as we talk about other challenges that we face. This is why, as your president , as her commander in chief, i am committed to ending these wasteful wars. [applause] working to end this new cold war we are in with escalating tensions between the United States and other nucleararmed countries like russia and china, escalated by things like what President Trump just did recently in tearing up the inf treaty negotiated by reagan and gorbachev 30 years ago, a historic treaty that made our people more safe, that made the world more safe, instead of working to improve it, exercising diplomacy and negotiation, he tore it up, walked away, and now it is sparking a Nuclear Arms Race that will make our world less safe, that pushes us closer to the brink of Nuclear Catastrophe end total annihilation, and by the way, also spending more taxpayer dollars to build those weapons. This is what we are talking about. This is what is at stake. This is why there is such a cannotf urgency, why we afford to wait to bring about this seachange in our leadership and our Foreign Policy, so we can focus our limited resources directly in serving the people. So committed to push forward in this campaign, bringing the experience i have, yes as a soldier, but the experience i have as a member of congress, serving almost seven years, focused on National Security, serving on the Foreign Affairs committee, the Armed Services committee, the homeland committee, recognizing this issue is central to our ability to address all the other challenges we face. The obstacles are great. We are not naive to the power of big money, the power of the establishment, but we have got to remember that there is no force more powerful than we the people, rise up, united for the love we have for this country and each other for our future, transcending the things used to divide us and staying focused on our mission of service, serving each other, taking care of each other, and serving the best interests of our country. That is why i am running for president. That is why i am asking for your support. If you would like more information, please visit tulsi 2020. Com. Enjoy the rest of your day here. It is great to see you all. Aloha. Aloha. Rep. Gabbard thank you very much. Have a great day. [applause] [indiscernible voices] save your voice. Do you play baseball . Save your voice. You did a wonderful job. [laughter] you were fabulous. Rep. Gabbard thank you. [indiscernible voices] having a deep understanding of National Security, Foreign Policy, and the decisions a president has to make is essential, i think, for someone to serve in that role. And i speak from a place of havenal concerns because i dealt with the consequences of a president to lax that experience followingication, under the spell of the foreign icy establishment then establishment and the military Industrial Complex in making decisions counter to the interests of our country and our people. We cant allow this to continue. Rep. Gabbard and interview came up and they asked me questions about senator harris and i believe she lacks that experience that is essential for someone to serve in that role. We out that responsibility to our Service Members and veterans as commanderinchief. How do you believe that impact iowans . The gabbard tpp is part of broader conversation about trade that has an impact on iowans and people across the country. We have seen how trade deals of the past have been negotiated with large, multinational corporations having seats around the table, but the voices of real people and farmers and manufacturers in Small Business people arent really represented or heard. Trade dealsthese disproportionately benefit multinational corporations that make a lot of money from them without focus on the impacts of jobs here at home, of job creators, Small Business owners, manufacturing and farming. This is a problem with a lot of trade agreements in the past and it needs to be corrected. We have got to be part of the global community. Trade is important. It has got to be fair trade and trade deals that represent serving the interests of our people and serving and protecting our environment. I didnt hear what you said . [indiscernible] rep. Gabbard i dont want to comment on something that he didnt hear. It is early on and we are saying a lot of things constantly changing in this race. Today im focused on getting into communities in iowa and New Hampshire and the rest of the country and engaging voters. There is no better way to connect than hear about their concerns and be able to make my case as president. What do you offer . It is the unique experience that i have, first as a soldier having deployed twice to the middle east and understanding deeply what the costs and consequences are of the decisions they commanderinchief will make. Its almost seven years of National Security experience i have in congress, Foreign Affairs, Armed Services, Homeland Security committee, meeting with leaders of other countries, challenging addressing the challenges of our day that gives me the background, experience and conviction to understand that my job as president is to serve the interests of the people and our country and to have the foresight and good judgment to make decisions that will best serve our interests and not continue to waste more taxpayer dollars. Trumpyou think president will follow through with bipartisan gun background check legislation . Rep. Gabbard i sure hope so for the countrys sake. We in the house passed sensible gun safety legislation a couple of months ago, and it has just been sitting in the Senate Waiting for a vote. Refuses toonnell allow these bills to come to the floor for a vote, a bill that has bipartisan support in the house of representatives. Trump says hes going to get Mitch Mcconnell to bring those bills to the floor for a vote, and he should do so for the sake of the American People. Would you go so far as to calling him that . Rep. Gabbard more important for us to be concerned about is what donald trump is doing. He is fomenting racism and divisiveness and bigotry in this country for his own political gain, with very dangerous consequences. That is something we as americans, it is something that goes beyond partisanship and is something that we need to come together and stand together around and say, we wont stand for this because it is not who we are. It is not who we are. We stand up for one another regardless of race or religion ,rientation or anything else because we represent the strength of our country. We are strongest when we are united, and whether we are the target of that attack or not, we will stand together. Will democrats be willing to let go of the Mueller Report . Rep. Gabbard let go of the Mueller Report . Because there is nothing there. Rep. Gabbard congress is continuing to exercise its oversight responsibility. Congress needs to focus on passing legislation that meets a lot of the challenges i have been talking about today. That is what people are most concerned about. Most people are asking about what happens with my child. Would you commit to supporting the potential nominee . Rep. Gabbard yes i will pledge to support the eventual nominee, i will work hard to make sure that is me and i will support the eventual nominee. How do you feel about the top leader in the Intelligence Community leaving . Rep. Gabbard anytime you have a lot of people, it can cause instability. I am not familiar with why they are leaving or what is going on, but i know a lot of folks are working to continue to do their jobs every day to serve our country. You and senator harris have a much different approach. Speak to your different approach, and would you commit to ending the filibuster . Rightabbard we have seen now you have democrats and republicans, progressives and services, trying to fix our broken criminal justice system. We dont have to wait around for anything to continue down that path. We have passed significant Prison Reform and have to follow that up with more necessary reforms that have both democrats and republican support, things like ending the cash bail system, and im continuing to push to end the federal marijuana prohibition. This is one of the areas where we have more potential to get something done more quickly, probably than any other issue. We have already started and we need to continue and we can do it now. Do you consider yourself and antiam. Consider yourself an antiimperialist . Rep. Gabbard i consider myself a proamerican, everything i say comes from love for our country and how important it is we have unifying leadership to bring people together so we can bring about the changes we need to see. As far as Foreign Policy goes, to end our wasteful policies of regime change so we can focus on serving the interests of the American People using the limited resources we have to do so. [indiscernible] they have been citing these four congresswomen known as the squad. Is that a good strategy . Could it energize democrats or scare off half of the country . Muchgabbard there is too conversation focused on one side versus the other when you talk about democrats and republicans, left versus right, or some differences within the Democratic Party we are seeing. Instead, lets focus on problems and how we find a solution, because this divisiveness and the labels people seem really obsessed with our getting in the way of people coming together to solve problems. You might have a different idea on how to solve them than i would, but lets begin that conversation. Because we find that when we actually do that, that things get done, rather than sitting and squabbling about things. Do think the attacks are working, by attacking those congresswomen . Rep. Gabbard i try not to pay too much attention to trump. Im focused on how we can best address the needs of the American People and make it so washington isnt the disconnected bubble that it is, where they are out of touch with the reality folks are dealing with in their everyday lives, and see how we can come together across the country, across party lines, across all of these divides, to serve them. Thank you. Aloha, everybody. Thank you. [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] [indiscernible chatter] rep. Gabbard i am going to take a quick picture here. How are you guys doing . Good. Im originally from iowa. Would you take money from the militaryIndustrial Complex . Would you increase funding for global aid programs if you became president . We havebard wrongheaded Foreign Policy decisions now. This is one of many things we need to invest more in. I want to say hi to a few more people here. The picture we gave you earlier, rep. Gabbard i havent had a chance to look at it yet. Really want you to think about that. U suort reparations . Can i have my money now . Rep. Gabbard i support hr 40. You support hr 40, which is reparations. The question i have, the problem that i have as a black american who doesnt support reparations, im afraid people who are race hustling for democrats for black votes in the pass are going to get that money, and it is not going to get into the hands of the people. This is part of a conversation we need to have in this country about how we can best move forward. What do you say to people who say democrats only come to black voters for handouts every four years or eight years . And that there arent as many black people doing well under this economy. Rep. Gabbard we have to look at the challenges that face all of us. We are from minnesota. Im so glad to see you here today. We heard your speech. We loved it. Thank you. Here, 1, 2, 3. Awesome. Rep. Gabbard enjoy the rest of your day here. Thank you. Nice to see you. Aloha. Thank you. Rep. Gabbard aloha. People seem to be really worried i am not going to find anything to eat here. What is she going to eat . [laughter] pineapple wedge. Sounds like you have scoped it all out. That is awesome. [indiscernible] i am doing google, because i think the American People are under threat from big tech and the awesome power that it has. Hi, how are you . Rep. Gabbard nice to meet you. [laughter] there you go, there you go. Thank you. Do you mind if i get a picture . Thank you for your service, both in the military and government. If we can go over there, guys, that would be awesome. We appreciate you bringing voice to so many people who are struggling. Awesome. Thank you so much. Rep. Gabbard thank you. Thank you, guys. Keep up the great work, maam. You are from hawaii. Awesome. What part . Rep. Gabbard maui. 1, 2, and, got it. How are you . Doing all right. Rep. Gabbard good to see you. What are we ordering . Rep. Gabbard i dont know. Want the veggie combo . Rep. Gabbard i am tulsi gabbard. Nice to meet you. Thank you. Thank you, so much. What are we getting . I think we are getting avocado slices. What else . Rep. Gabbard i think the veggie combo. [laughter] im vegan and i was worried we werent going to find anything to eat over here. Thank you very much. There is mustard on the right. The democratic table is that way. Follow me, guys. And the veggie corndog. Can i get a selfie form a bad joke . Thank you. It is an honor to meet you. [indiscernible] i have the information here. Rep. Gabbard great. Can i take this with me . I want you to have this. Rep. Gabbard thank you. Nice to meet you. Can i get a picture with you . 1, 2, three. Thank you. Rep. Gabbard how are you . Rady, one, two, and, three. Take a picture with you . And, three. Rep. Gabbard thank you. Nice to meet you. Thank you for your service. Steve Representative Tulsi Gabbard at the iowa state fair, one of five democrats attending the political soapbox, a chance to speak with fairgoers. Our coverage continues tonight from clear lake iweb beginning at 7 00 p. M. Eastern time with 20 Democratic Candidates at the iowa Democratic Party dinner, a two and a half hour drive from downtown des moines. It is also leave on cspan radio and online at cspan. Org. Lets look at the schedule. Tomorrow morning governor jay inslee begins things with his remarks, followed by senator kamala harris, in total eight candidates speaking tomorrow, along with ohio congressman tim ryan. That gets underway at 12 15 eastern time. Senator Amy Klobuchar at 1 45 eastern. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand at 3 15. Former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper scheduled at 4 00 eastern time. That will be followed by, craddick senator Elizabeth Warren of massachusetts and senator cory booker of new jersey. Into sunday, we hear from one of the republicans trying to vie for the nomination against President Trump, former Massachusetts Governor bill weld at 12 15 eastern followed by businessman and billionaire tom steyer. In the afternoon we hear from senator michael bennet, senator Bernie Sanders and former and current new york mayor bill de blasio at 5 30 eastern. So that is the schedule for sunday. All of our programming information is Available Online at cspan. Org. Mayor Pete Buttigieg will be there tuesday at 2 30 eastern and we will be live with that as well. Iowa stateok at the fair, 450 acres, day two, more than one Million People expected to attend over the next weekend a half, 20 of the candidates will be speaking at we are covering all of them for you on cspan ascoverage. Our website is cspan. Org. Campaign 2020. Watch live coverage of the president ial candidates on the campaign trail and make up your own mind. S cspans campaign 2020, your unfiltered view of politics. President trump starts a vacation today. He is attending a number of fundraisers this afternoon, and he got his property in bedminster new jersey this evening. Before leaving the white house earlier today, the president stopped to answer a few questions from reporters