Transcripts For CSPAN Campaign 2020 Tom Steyer At Politics And Eggs 20240713

If i could have your attention so i can begin the speaking portion of the program and allow you to go shopping. This is christmas week, after all. We are amazed at the attendance knowing how close we are to christmas. I think, and our guest speaker would agree this is why New Hampshire is so unique. We fight hard to maintain first in the nation. State takece of this their politics seriously and they are to be commended. It is also a sign why we should be and continue to be the number one primary in the states. [applause] i want to thank all of you for being here. Today is the new england council. Our final event. What a year it has been. Ies. Ave had cabinet secretary and today we have our 21st president ial candidate speaking to the new england council. They are outstanding Civic Leaders here. If you see them, say thank you. This has been a great series. With always possible support of our corporate citizens. We will be taking a break for a while. But stay tuned spur some. Nnouncements this has been a huge event. Because ofble only the work of this man who has done an outstanding job. [applause] neil well, welcome. Welcome to the New Hampshire institute of politics at Saint Anselm College for another great series. Youre right, were still hopeful well have one more before the end of 2019. [laughter] punch them right in. A lot of special guests here today and a lot of really good friends. These are people but not on support the institute but support the college and all we do here, and without you we really couldnt do this. And so often, and thanks to all the chickens after her producing all these eggs because we keep serving them up and its great. [laughter] i think were running out of eggs at New Hampshire at this point. We have a very special guest here today, so special that even my sister all the way from maine decided to come and join, my sister kristin is here. A lot of people know who tom steyer is but im going to give you just a brief history that i think is very telling of his character and his background. Tom steyer graduated from yale. He didnt get into st. Anselm. [laughing] and he earned his mba at stanford. He turned to San Francisco rather than go to new york and started a small investment firm. He produced doubledigit returns for his investors, mostly universities and nonprofits, some individuals. In 2013, he switched his focus to politics and the environment, and founded nextgen america, a Nonprofit Group that aims to combat Climate Change, promote social justice and increase participation in our democracy. He then launched the need to impeach in 2017, a public call to impeach donald trump that got millions of petition signers and a couple people signed on in washington. He and his wife devoted countless hours of the time and donate tens of nights of dollars to charitable projects. In 2010, they signed the giving pledge to donate half of the ir fortune to charity during their lifetime. Wow. By the way, Senior Vice President of advancement jim flanagan is here today. [laughing] mr. Steyer most recently spoke here at an event in april. He spends a lot of time doing tv here as well. When he officially announced his candidacy for presidency. Im going to tell you that all across the country when i go across the country or here in New Hampshire i always get asked, what is with the belt . If youve seen his and i know you have, you say theres a belt he always wears. People always ask me, so i had to ask him. So theres a project that hopefully he will talk a little bit more about in kenya where the goal is to educate young girls and, of course, if you work on educating young women in a lot of these countries it gives them selfesteem. Educated population obviously is better for a lot of these countries. And this is what that belt represents in kenya, and i think it goes along with your entire biography. So, tom, welcome. [applause] tom good morning. So let me say i am impressed. December 23, really . Its amazing. We were talking about it. Jim and i were talking and it really does Say Something about the commitment of people in New Hampshire to doing their homework and knowing what they are talking about in terms of the president ial primary. So duly noted, amazing. I will tell you a little bit about the belt before i get going, which is neil is exactly right but the thing that is true its not just about selfesteem when women get educated. When women get educated, which doesnt happen the same way boys get educated around the world, it actually changes the world. I wear the belt because the education of women will save the world if, in fact, we accomplish it everywhere. So i wear the belt because if i were not doing this i would be doing that. Its incredibly powerful to understand how much it changes as i like to say, of 20 things that we can do to arrest Climate Change, three of them have to do with the education of girls and women. And when you think about that, you never think that thats one of the most powerful levers or combined the most powerful lever to combat Climate Change but it is. So just saying that. Doing a good thing can often have ripple effects that are hard to imagine around the world, and this is one of them. But let me explain for a second about why i am running for president. I would really like this to be question and answers as much as possible, so if you will prepare whatever your cruelest, hardest questions are, completely contrary to the spirit of the i would be happy to take them. [laughter] look, im running for this simple reason that i think the government is broken. I think it is been bought by corporations. I think the reason that the people are not being served in terms of affordable healthcare, in terms of the end to gun violence, having some significant climate legislation, education, i really think is because it works perfectly for corporations. I know i am speaking to a business audience. I spent 30 years in the private sector. I believe in a vibrant, competitive, Innovative Private sector. I just dont Want Companies to write the rules. I want the government to work for the people of the United States and let the private sector work within the rules that serve the people. Thats why im running for president. [applause] and i think neil alluded to it a little bit but i spent the last ten years putting together coalitions of americans, ordinary citizens, to stand up for their rights and to push back when you think theres unchecked or unfair corporate power. So i started in california my home state taking on Oil Companies about the most Progressive Energy laws in the world. People thought it was a reverse iq test, if youre stupid enough to do you will definitely lose, and we got 70 of the vote. Ive had a chance to take on Oil Companies, Tobacco Companies, utilities to get them to push them towards 50 clean energy by 2030. Ive closed the Corporate Tax loophole that was just a mistake for 1 billion and gave it to the public schools. We got a twodollar a pack cigarette tax which the Tobacco Companies had fought for 20 years and won 17 times in a row. 3 billion to 4 billion a year and give to the medical which is a Healthcare Services for the lowest income californians. I also started the largest grassroots organizations in the United States, nextgen america, which neil referred to, which in 2018 did the largest youth Voter Mobilization in american history. History. We went into 38 republican congressional districts, 421 campuses. I think we are in Something Like 40 campuses in New Hampshire and weve been here since the beginning of 2014, and we flipped 33 out of the 38. We more we more than doubled turnout of young people. If you think about the New Hampshire law that was passed to say outofstate College Students cant vote in New Hampshire unless they get a New Hampshire license plate, that was a direct response to College Students voting at more than twice the rate they been voting at and being a margin of victory for a lot of close victories in the state by democrats. So really what i believe in is more democracy, more power to the people. Its really been ten years of trying to push power down to the people of the United States because i actually trust the people of the United States. We were talking at breakfast about, what have i learned basically running for president . And running for president is kind of a more intense version of what i have been doing for seven years, which is to travel around the United States and talk to americans and listen to what they are saying about their lives, and listen to what theyre saying about how the government affects them and problems they are dealing with. And so i believe i have met an Incredible Group of people who are not atypical americans. They are normal americans, really hardworking, really decent, inspirational across the country. That has been my experience for seven years, is to think the people of the United States are wonderful. Just wonderful, and they do things every day that are tough, out of the goodness of their heart. I cant tell you how inspirational, fun it is to travel around this country and meet people. And a lot of them are suffering. When i like to say we use fancy language in politics, we use the language of econ 101 and poli sci 101, and it really takes us out of whats going on. Because Actual Stories about what people are going through are the stories of human beings who are often really suffering. And so my attitude about this is a Pretty Simple one. We have more than enough money to do all the things we want, to have affordable healthcare, quality Public Education from prek through college, pay people a living wage so one job can support a family. Secure clean air and clean water for everybody. We can afford it. But were definitely not delivering, and the reason is, its not profitable for a lot of corporations and that isnt a good enough reason. Because what weve seen is, i think those are rights of americans, and thats really what were going to get if we break the corporate control of our government. And thats what i intend to do. But let me say wow, you guys are quiet. [laughing] let me say this. People always describe me, i sometimes say im going to change my name normally to change my name formally to insteadire tom steyer of just tom steyer. Into oney i just ran of the sons of my parents best friend in life whos been running a summer camp for 22 years. So let me say this. My mother taught in the new York Public Schools and tutored prisoners at the brooklyn house of detention in remedial reading. My father who was a partner in law for a partner in years. The first generation in his family to go to college. My grandfather was a plumber. My father quit the law to go into the navy in world war ii, ended up because he was a lawyer being one of the people who prosecuted the nazis at the end of the war, the war criminals. One of the things my father always said to my two older brothers and me was, if you see something wrong in your society, at the heart of your society, then fight it really early and keep fighting it. I was referring to the nuremberg trials. He said thats what the germans didnt do. Basically when you see something wrong, you cant let it take root. That really was a big part of why i started the need to impeach movement. There was something i thought consistently wrong at 1600 pennsylvania avenue, and i said to people when we started over two years ago over 8. 5 Million People signed a petition, said if you dont believe me, read the paper tomorrow here if you dont believe tomorrows paper, read the next days paper. Because this is a pattern that is not going to change for as long as this guy is president. So i will say two more things and then i really am ready for questions. One is you should know im the only person in this race who will say that climate is my number one priority. I say it because i have to, because its true. It has to be true. Ive been working on climate for more than a decade. We have pushed successfully for clean energy, stopped power plants, fossil fuel plants, stopped pipelines. I have taken on companies on this, but let me say we have to do it. We can do it. I guarantee you we can do it in a way that cleans up the air and water, particularly in the black and brown communities that have air you cant breathe and water that comes out of the tap that will make you sick. We can do it from that angle and we will and we can do it and create literally millions of good paying union jobs. So when people talk about this, we have to do it, we can do it, and we can do in a way that is just a winwinwin, with cheaper energy, faster growth, more jobs, healthier. We have to do it and we have to lead the world on it. If we dont look at this on a global basis, we are not looking on a realistic basis. You cannot solve this inside the boundaries of the United States. So unless we lead the world morally and financially and technologically and commercially, we lose. Theres no other country that can do it, just to be clear. If you look at what just happened in madrid, if the u. S. Doesnt lead, it doesnt happen. And so here is the good news. People are always asking me how do we come together as a country . We are so partisan. I think this would be a very emotional, very competitive thats a nice word for what i think election. And how are we going to come together . Everybody feels distraught about the divisions and partisanship in the country, and i do, too. What i can say is my experience of playing sports is, do you know who loves each other . Winning teams. And if we take on the biggest challenge in the world, which we have to take on together, cant be democrats doing it, it has to be americans doing it. If we take on the biggest challenge in the world and succeed and reestablish ourselves as a moral value driven country, thats how we will come together. Is being a winning Team Together in pursuit of something we have to do and that we have to succeed in. The last thing i want to talk for one second about, economics. I mean, we know what mr. Trump is going to run as, because he said it about ten days ago. He was talking to i think the israeli american conference. I dont know if you guys read this quote but he said you guys dont like me, and i dont like you. But youre all going to vote for me because if the democrats get control, they are going to destroy the economy in about 15 minutes. Thats what hes going to run as. When hes been impeached, he said you cant impeach me, the economy will fall apart. Like, really . So what im saying is this. He can win. For us to win we will have to have a candidate who can actually go after him on the economy. We cant have a candidate where he can paint them as a socialist who will destroy the economy because Americans Care about growth and prosperity as well as economic justice. And after 30 years building a business from scratch, figuring out what creates prosperity, i feel like i have unique experience and expertise in terms of pointing out the fact that mr. Trump is actually a fake business person and a failed business person. He actually played a businessperson on a reality tv show, and that he is actually a terrible steward of the american economy. If you actually look at the things hes done, they have been counterproductive and bad for the American People. And so i think we need somebody who can take him on and take him down in terms of economics because that is definitely i am not exaggerating what he said to those people, his basic campaign shtick is im a criminal who hates 80 of america, but you cant afford to get rid of me. And what we have got to prove is we can afford to get rid of him because we will do much better with a completely different understanding about what creates true prosperity and true growth and true success for americans. And that is going to be something that we have to establish in 2020, and really talk to people about what actual productivity looks like in the United States, what actual Value Creation looks like, which is investing in the American People. A completely different idea than he is using in terms of what success looks like. And that has got to be a conversation we have. It is a different way of thinking about what we are trying to accomplish together in this country. With that i would love your toughest christmas questions. [laughing] [applause] we have time for a few questions. We have students, i believe, that have the mic, and will roam around. Just identify yourself. If i could just ask the first question, mr. Steyer. The house of representatives passed a major trade bill this past week. First major trade bill passed since 2005. Usmca. Unions, mr. Trumka, aflcio endorsed the bill. The white house would like the bill, Many Democrats voted for the bill as well as republicans in the house. I think 385 members voted for it. Sherrod brown, never voted for trade bill, says this is something i think i cant embrace and support and vote for. If you were the president , would you sign that bill . Tom let me say this, if i were the president i would never have negotiated that bill. Let me explain why. I understand the point about workers, organized labor, and what actually went into that bill to make it acceptable to Union Leaders around the country. Lets talk about how trade works in the real world. The basic understanding of trade is that basically Different Countries get to excel in their areas and trade works for everybody. That is true. Thats basic econ 101 about trade stop lets talk about how it works in the real world. That is true. What has ended up happening with trade bills is it has been good for gdp, but we have looked at trade bills in terms of gdp instead of that. And also who is benefiting from gdp and what the impacts are, in terms of the different people in society and thats why unions were screaming about nafta. They thought it may be good for the corporations and gdp, but its going to hurt working people in the United States. Thats what the fight was about in terms of usmca. That in fact, what weve seen focusing on gdp, which weve done for the last 40 years, has an implicit assumption in it that gdp is shared equally between people in society. And what we know is thats not true. Over the last 40 years the richest people have gotten all the increased income in the United States of america and well over 90 of americans havent had a raise in two generations, so if you think, that is not success, if you value people equally, which were supposed to do in a democracy last i checked. So, this trade bill actually did work on this and they went back and redid it to try and make sure that it would work for working people in the United States. But the other complaint about trade bills traditionally has been that they havent dealt with the environment, that in effect, we allow other countries to do manufacturing in ways that are environmentally destructive and therefore we are sort of exporting our pollution to other countries and at some level, that falls apart in terms of climate. Are environmentally destructive and therefore we are sort of exporting our pollution to other countries and at some level, that falls apart in terms of climate. Because when you talk about climate, the pollution in china is also the pollution in the because when you talk about climate, the pollution in china is also the pollution in the United States. The pollution in mexico, and canada, is also the pollution in the United States. So if you look at this trade bill, what jim said is exactly true, all of the now, i think virtually every union came on and supported the bill, in the way it was rewritten. But all of the environmental groups fought it and are opposed to it because the other issue has been, if were going to do trade we have to do it in a way that will preserve the natural world. So when i look at this bill, it brings up the idea, who is at but all of the environmental groups fought it and are opposed to it because the other issue has been, if were going to do trade we have to do it in a way that will preserve the natural world. So when i look at this bill, it brings up the idea, who is at the table really matters. You know the old saying if youre not ott the table, youre if youre not at the table, youre on the menu. [laughter] i can tell you climate was on the menu. Its not mentioned in this bill. So, in fact, when we think about what were going to accomplish around the world, if we dont have climate as a primary i would honestly say the primary point of our international relations, were not going to solve climate. And if you guys have been reading just the last weeks information about whats going on in the natural world, in terms of the amazon, you can go back, if you want to have a sleepless night, read about the amazon and where we are. And if you want to just take a look at a picture. Take a look at sydney where literally, its completely surrounded by smoke from the fires. Australia is on fire. It was 107 degrees average in the country last week. So, actually, jim, if i were going to do that bill, they redid it based on working people and they should redo it based on climate because these people need our market. They dont want our market. They cant survive without our market. And we have to use that to make sure that theyre behaving in ways that serve the people of the United States. So i would renegotiate that bill on climate, period. And i believe that you have to have working people at the table to make sure that those concerns are really met in the real world, and you need people who are going to worry about climate to make sure that those concerns are met in the real world and if you dont, then you get presented a bill that has positive things about it compared to where we are. Are going to worry about climate to make sure that those concerns are met in the real world and if you dont, then you get presented a bill that has positive things about it compared to where we are. And also, has things that are completely unacceptable. And that is proof i mean, we have a president who would never think about using the word climate, who at the International Climate conference, america was there to try and sabotage the conference. All i can say is that were talking about the health and safety of every american citizen in terms of dealing with this in a smart and effective way. And at some point, you know, its exactly like everything else, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. We have to do this, we can do it and we can do it in a way that makes us pretty mucher and health and makes us richer and if we dont do it, its as far as the eye can see. Thank you. [applause] just one further question. The dnc is going to increase the standard eligibility for the people to be on the next debate and some people are saying theres no diversity at all in these debates and that we should revisit the standard, maybe lower it, allow people like cory booker or Julian Castro to be back on the stage to give the richness that reflects the diversity of the american public. Your thoughts on what the dnc should do . Tom theyre in a tough spot, ive got to say. [laughter] after Kamala Harris withdrew, i wrote an open letter, i think that day or at latest the next day to say that they should lower the requirements so wed have a larger and more Diverse Group of people on stage. Because i think its important to hear a diversity of opinions and i think we have a very diverse, thank god, Democratic Party. And i think im i like people to hear as many messages and as many truths as they can and make up their own minds. I know thats not in my interest. My interest is to have the game of Musical Chairs to continue as fast as possible, but i think in the interest of the Democratic Party and democratic voters, to loosen their requierments, and get a more Diverse Group and they do what they always do and not listen to me. [applause] we have a roving mic. And raise your hand and we have a good friend from aarp with a question. [laughter] good morning and welcome to New Hampshire. Tom and will you remind everybody of your name . My name is mary robers, and im a volunteer with aarp New Hampshire, and my question is, basically about prescription drugs. We all know that the cost of prescription drugs is continually rising. Weve all had personal stories of friends or relatives who have had to make some difficult choices and have also been in some very difficult situations healthwise because they could not afford their prescription drugs. What would you do to hold Drug Companies accountable for the high cost of prescription drugs . Tom so, mary, i started by saying im running for president because i think that corporations have bought the government, and if you wanted one of the many obvious cases, the Drug Companies are pretty good argument for that, you know, we pay its not just that we pay high prices, we pay many multiples of what other countries pay for the exact same drug. And i know people in New Hampshire know that we can pay ten times as much as canada and then they wrote a law that says you cant drive to canada to buy the drugs. And the more you know about how drugs are priced in the United States, the angrier you get. Because theres the price and then theres the inability to go anywhere else to buy it, but the common behavior in terms of maintaining high monopoly prices based on patents when its no longer appropriate, when you hear about the behavior thats common in order to continue that, its upsetting. Because you realize were getting ripped off. And the government doesnt represent the people of the United States to stand up for us. Every other government negotiates really hard and thats why they pay a fraction of what we pay. And let me say this, i understand that Drug Companies do research and come up with new molecules and were going to get a lot of new drugs in the 21st century, thank god. But theres something going on here thats absolutely flagrant at the defense of expense of americans and that they should work on behalf of the citizens not the Drug Companies. So what would i do . Look, i happen to be in the larger case, im one of the people who believes in a public option not in medicare for all and i could take you through that, but we cant wait for that. Yeah. Im just saying, we cant wait for that. So what i would do, i would negotiate very hard on drug pricing. And i would use the power of the United States government to buy, to push these people, because what theyre doing isnt appropriate. And for reasons that are obvious. We havent done that. And so when i think about what they charge us relative to other countries, the United States government is a gigantic purchaser and we have the ability to drive these prices down for americans, period. We dont do it. If i were there, i promise you, to me, im a competitive person. I am 100 on the side of the american citizens here. We have a lot of power that were not using over these Drug Companies. I would use it. And its like a negotiation. They are killing us. Sometimes literally. And its not right and so, i have no qualms whatsoever about pushing back and theyre going to make arguments about needing money for research, and theyre bogus. And so, i would push really, really hard on drug pricing and i would push really hard, especially after the seven years of the original patent, because this is something where they are really extending prices. If you looked, there were hundreds of drug prices that went up on january 1 of this year, completely unrelated to anything, but wanting more money. Theres no cost increase. Its just a question of what they can get away with the american government. And we have an enormous amount of power to push back and i would push back really, really, really hard because we are our health care in general is device twice as expensive as it should be and this is absolutely an egregious case getting ripped off compared to other countries, ten times for insulin, compared to canada. We pay 100 times what australians pay for some drugs. 100 times. Thats unconscionable. So we have to take it seriously, but im telling you, im running for president because i believe these corporations own the government. And i want structural change like term limits and direct democracy because i want to change their ability to run the government and start thinking that health cares actually about serving the American People, not about promoting profit lines for Drug Companies and Insurance Companies and private hospitals. [applause] other questions for mr. Steyer . Yes, maam . Just identify yourself. Trudy, im originally from baybridge, brooklyn. Im here from cape cod and i just want to know, you talk so much about big business. Were in the Opioid Epidemic because of what big business has done in the pharmaceutical industry and on the other, big business trying to save money by not providing the treatment that our next generation needs for addiction. So, id love to hear your thoughts on that, not only do i work in the field, but i am the mother of a 32yearold son in longterm recovery who is doing very well today because i was forced to sue our Health Insurer in order to access treatment, took them to the state attorney general and won my case. [applause] tom so, trudy, youve had this very personal experience. I think almost everybody has been touched by this one step removed. My best friend from growing up is a dead heroin addict, so no illusions how this plays out. She asked two different questions. One was about what to do about opioid addiction and one was what to do about opioid addiction and how to treat the Drug Companies that prospered from it. I know those people are going to pay huge fines, but that seems to me to be criminal behavior. If you go into a room and conspire to addict american citizens to an opioid and you think of that as a legitimate business practice, i think in a i think we have to change her mind. I think in a sense theres overall that if you do it in a corporate setting, it may be a fine, it may be a civil penalty, but its not a criminal violation. I just dont think that we can do that anymore. I think that people have to be sitting in the room saying, am i doing the right thing . Am i obeying the law . And i think this is a perfect example because when you read the notes of those meetings, it curls your hair to think about what those people said without real attention to the consequences for american citizens. So, one thing id say is, you have to put criminal sanctions on the table and have the Justice Department look at it and pursue it, for starters. In terms of, 72,000 people died of opioid overdoses last year. You know, that is a gigantic number and the only reason it was so low is because there are new drugs that can stop you when youre having an overdose from dying. So, this is obviously a gigantic problem. Let me say that i do support you in your thinking that this is a health issue where we need to support the people in this from a health standpoint and i propose putting 75 billion a year into that. But i also think in addition, this country is suffering from a lot of Mental Health pain and separately, i would also put a lot of money into that in a way that we havent. And i think that this is an example of the Mental Health pain that people are undergoing here. And its specific like every single example is specific, but i think we actually need to address it, focus on it, resource it, and deal with the pain people are feeling around the country and particularly in New Hampshire. And let me say this, there was just a study out, which was very painful, i dont know if you saw it, which says for the third year in a row, American Life expectancy went down for the third year in a row and New Hampshires Life Expectancy for people between 25 and 60, went down the most of any state in the country. And the reasons were all health related, but three of the top four were alcoholism, opioids and suicide. And i know that thats a really uncomfortable thing to talk about and i know this is the Holiday Season, but lets talk about when i talk about the country coming together about climate, when i talk about partisanship and what i believe in, i believe theres a gigantic need in america for purpose. What are we doing as a country . What do we stand for . Who are we . What does being an american mean . Traditionally being an american was leading the world for freedom, justice and equality. And thats what being an american is. And were the moral leaders of the world who stand up for democracy and freedom and the sanctity of human beings. And thats gone. I mean, we have a president who absolutely doesnt believe one word of that. But when i talk about climate, what im really talking about is the United States going back to our traditional role of leading the world. And when i think about people in despair in this country, which is, thats what those numbers mean, that really, is that people dont know, feel like theres a purpose that they have for Walking Around the earth on two legs. And what were talking about is, if theres a bigger purpose that you can imagine for all of us than to actually take on the biggest challenge and save the world, i dont know what it is. Its not a fake. We actually have to do this together. And it is an absolute gift of meaning for everybodys life. So when i think about somebody, if i think about my dead friend, if i could have said to him, dean, here is what were going to do. We need you to do this. You know, i know that theres some hard things in your life, but we need to do this together, thats what i want to say to everyone in the United States. There is a purpose for what were doing on this planet. There is something that americans do differently from everyone else in the world. And we have to do it, so lets do it and lets take incredible joy in doing it. Lets succeed together. That is what i think we need to do. That is what were missing. You know, god did not put us on this planet about gdp per capita. Theres a bigger purpose to the United States of america and thats really what i think the solution is. [applause] hey, you guys, could i tell you a funny story. My mom and dad got married, i think in 1953, so the week before he got married, my father went to go gambling in nevada, which was the only place in the time you could go gambling. And they went to lake tahoe too, the north shore, and they went with vin brodericks uncle, Joe Broderick. They come back from gambling, and Joe Broderick becomes a catholic priest, it was his last hurrah, also, until he married a nun. And ive always thought i could see these two guys and her brother was on the board here at saint anthony. Tom is that right . So im just saying, life can be super, super, fun in a pure way. The gentleman here. Identify yourself. My name is dustin. Good morning, tom. So, my question and being a veteran, its important to me the United States constitution. At one point, i swore an oath to uphold and defend that. And the this being a Constitutional Republic and we have a bill of rights and i guess my question is real simple to you. Are you going to if youre elected are you going to uphold the u. S. Constitution and the bill of rights up to and including the Second Amendment . Tom so, dustin, let me start by saying what i think is only fair. Thank you for being a vet. Thank you for your service. [applause] and out of some sense of responsibility, i recently reread the constitution of the United States, including the Second Amendment. So, lets talk about the Second Amendment which is obviously the right to bear arms. And here is what i think about this. And let me say that i raised grass finished cattle, pigs and chickens. And on our ranch, we give gun safety lessons for anyone for free so anyone can come and be a safe gun owner and, you know, basically get hunting licenses. We also have gun violence in this country at levels that are unbearable. And i think that people focus on the Mass Shootings, where were off the charts compared to every other country. Well have 400 Mass Shootings here in the United States of america and you can read about them every single day in the paper. But in the next country, in terms of Mass Shootings, well have 400, the next country will be mexico which i think will probably be five. We also have spousal abuse, gun related spousal abuse, streets that people are scared to walk down and we have to remember that 60 of gun related deaths are suicides. So what do i think about the Second Amendment . I believe in the Second Amendment, but i also believe in protecting the people of the United States. So what does that look like . For one thing, over 90 of americans, including more republicans percentagewise than democrats and 70 of n. R. A. Members want background checks on guns, gun purchases, so that if you fall into the category of felon, convicted spousal abuser or certifiably having mental problems, you cant buy a gun. That hasnt happened because Gun Companies actually control the n. R. A. And they dont want it to happen, but if you look at what im talking about, i dont think were abridging anyones Second Amendment rights to ask for background checks. I would license gun owners the way we license people who drive cars. People have a right to drive a car, but you have to be able to be licensed and safe. I would register assault weapons so that wed know where they are. I would have voluntary, but not mandatory buybacks of guns because this is really about the number of guns in society and make sure theyre in the hands of people who people dont put into these categories of people who cant have them. So, the real answer, dustin, when i think about guns, we have an enormous number of guns in society and a lot of it is done on a state basis. When you look at how things work out in the states where there are fewer guns per capita, theres less gun violence so i dont want to take away peoples rights to own guns. Im a gun owner, too. But i want to make sure that we do it in a much, much, much safer way and were at a stage where, lets face it, theyre doing active shooter drills in first grade. Thats a level of fear in our society thats damaging and inappropriate, if i may use unemotional terms. So i think were balancing the Second Amendment with the rights of people to be safe and to feel safe. And i look at it a little bit the way, you know, the famous example of theres freedom of speech in the United States and thats in the bill of rights. But you dont get to yell fire in a crowded theater. Because thats putting other people at risk. And thats how i feel about guns. I want to respect the Second Amendment, but i dont want to allow somebody to call fire in a crowded theater and put at risk hundreds of other people. [applause] just wait for the mic. [laughter] good morning. And thank you for being here. Our state, New Hampshire, is an aging state. Of course, not in this room, however, but second in the nation only to maine. So, we have some concerns that affect our aging populations, which is the ability to live independently in communities as we age. You know, there are transportation issues, there are Affordable Housing issues, there are limited income issues that all restrict and constrain peoples ability to do that. What would you do if elected to help that population stay in their communities . Tom see, thats a series of questions so im going to go down will you remind me of your name, maam . [indiscernible] nice to see you. Let me start with one that is an obvious one that you didnt specifically refer to, but you indirectly referred to which is Social Security. Look, Social Security is, for 75 of seniors, is their main source of income. For Something Like 40 of seniors, its their sole source of income. So, the idea that the Social Security trust fund is going to go bankrupt and were going to cut benefits has to be completely off the table. That just cannot happen in the United States of america. We cannot have made a promise to seniors to a huge number of people who have been citizens their whole life and then renege. Cannot happen. So we can talk about the different ways and id be happy to to make sure that that never happens, but that has to be off the table. Thats for starters. Secondly, in terms of Affordable Housing, we have seven million too few Affordable Housing units in the United States of america. The government basically, of the federal government pretty much got out of the housing business, assuming that with incentives, the market would take care of it. And actually we can see i live in the center of homelessness in the United States, known as the golden state of california and so we can see what happens when you have too few Housing Units and it drives up prices, so for people on fixed incomes or limited incomes, they get driven out of the market and theres no real answer. Thats why we have so many Homeless People and thats one of the upshots. Part of what well do is address the overall housing problem. One is by putting tens of billions of dollars into building houses and the other is if we have to rebuild the country from a climate standpoint so far of it is climate housing, and Building Seven Million Units to so people arent driven out. If youre feeling it in New Hampshire, i promise you theyre feeling it in San Francisco, feeling it in charleston, South Carolina, people are feeling it across the country. This really is econ 101, supply and demand. Too many people need to live in a house, too few houses, the price goes up. Thats something that we absolutely have to do. In terms of health care, i mean, were talking every one of these things is a reaction, in my mind, to what Ronald Reagan said in 1980. Look, were still going off the reagan model of the United States of america, which involves all taxes are bad, government itself is bad, the market will take care of it, the market is efficient and just. Unions are bad and trickle down works. It turns out, that every single one of those things, i completely disagree with. And i think weve got 40 years of data to say, actually, youre wrong. And so this is a perfect case where the government has to step in on behalf of seniors. And theres no question about it. And the only question is, how are we going to pay for it, and how are we going to focus on it and if youve looked at what ive said and i know that people from New Hampshire do their homework, but ill say it quickly in case you skimmed that part of the lesson, im for wealth tax. Ive been saying that for over a year long before i was running for president. I think its the only way, really, to deal with the inequity, redistribution to rich people in this country for over 40 years. Im for undoing the tax breaks for richest people in the biggest corporations that theyve pushed through. Im actually for treating passive Investment Income the same way you treat income for people who go to work every morning. And if we do those things, we can get these programs and cut taxes by 10 for 95 of americans. [applause] i believe weve seen gross injustice for 40 years. Ive definitely profited from it. Its one of the reasons i took the giving pledge. I felt, this isnt right. But i think Going Forward we have to stand up for the people of the United States, and really, thats what youre talking about here across the board. [applause] i love doing this. If i could just theyre going to have to take me out of here. [laughter] if i could ask one question, mr. Steyer. The house of representatives has impeached the president. But the speaker held back sending the resolution to the senate until she feels theres going to be a fair process at the trial. Your thoughts on what should be done now . Tom so i was pushing a petition, because i believe that impeachment is about not about the house of representatives or the senate, ive always believed that people who counted are the people of the United States. And i did a petition because i know for sure that nobody in the house of representatives is going to listen to me. But if they have 50,000 of their constituents who care, who sign a petition and go write them letters, theyll care a lot. And so this was always about trying to give voice to the people of the United States. And i believe that those people pushed the congress to do the right thing and not to look at it just a question of their reelection, which is how they were looking at it, but to look at it in terms of right and wrong, that we have the most corrupt president in history, so do the right thing. Because if you dont do the right thing, then the rule of law doesnt really mean a lot. If the rich and powerful arent subject to the rule of law, then the rule of law isnt really existing in the United States and thats a terrible thing. So now we are where hes been impeached and the majority the leader of the senate says i dont intend to do a fair job. Amazing. And Lindsey Graham has said, i dont intend im not trying to be fair here, really . So what Speaker Pelosi is trying to do, is use the leverage she has, to try and see whether the senate will have a trial not so much to convince the senators, but so the people of the United States can see what happens. You know, this president has refused to allow members of his administration to obey subpoenas, which is the law that they have to obey to go in front of the American People and testify about what happens under oath on tv. So we can see. Thats what im for. And so, anything that will get that to happen, to get the people who know in front of the tv cameras so that people of the United States can see what happened. Thats what i care about. Because i tell you, the only way were going to ever get republican senators to actually look at their conscience, is if their constituents say to them, get rid of him or well get rid of you. [applause] you know what we call that . Thats called democracy. Because i can tell you this, Lindsey Graham will stop talking about breaking his oath of office in public the minute the people of South Carolina say to him, lindsey, keep talking and youre out. Thats the words he can understand. And thats what, if you guys remember, for those of us in aarp, in 1974. Thats what happened, the people of the United States said to the them, i cant rid of remember, or we will get rid of you. I can remember my parents saying, he lied, hes got to go. Nothing to discuss about this. And nixon lied, he has to go. And they got to see it on tv. They got a chance to hear everybody in that administration testify under oath. They all went to jail. The American People got to see the truth on their tv screens. We made up our minds and that actually made the difference and thats what im asking for here. Put the people in charge. [applause]. Last night was the first night of hanukkah, christmas is in two days, could we please have a joyous and loving Holiday Season . Good grief its fantastic. [applause] thank you so much, i cant believe you came out on december 23rd. You must be insane. Thank you so much [applause] really, really, really fun. Well done, brother. [laughter] [greeting conversations] that was great, terrific. I dont have a pen but i have an egg. Im coming back as pete rose. [laughter] you become president , you will be able to do that. Thank you for your time, i appreciate it. [inaudible conversations] you are inspirational, thank you. Here. I am glad i came. Thank you. I lived here for four years. People in New Hampshire [inaudible conversations] can you sign one for someone who is not able to make it . At a great time. Great, thank you very much. [laughter] really, yes. Thank you for responding and i do have the pharmaceutical industry in the biotech world, making drugs for people im highly aware, my son, working [inaudible conversations] awesome, awesome. I know that you understand. It would be great to have that conversation. He response did not make way for players and the rest of the room so i understand where you are and what your [inaudible conversations] the reason people as can i answer about Drug Companies as you can make over [inaudible conversations] the amount of money we save on the other side, from hospitalizations, etc. It turns out [inaudible conversations] out [inaudible] thats what i was thinking of [indiscernible] but theres no way the Drug Companies could have done that, without that [indiscernible] i would love to have a further conversation and provide you with great information that will put more in balance. I studied this for 20 years, looked at not just the initial period but the followup. And Different Things that take seven years of pricing to its not free pricing [laughter] and you do have the answer wall street, so unless you take wall street out of the mix , i willall seriousness be much harder. I did that to the Drug Companies, my son works in drug research, i will be much harder on them. I will listen. As long as you get the whole picture, that balance. Great to meet you. Tom i will. Can i get one quickly . [laughter] thank you so much. Nobody mentioned your eggs. Tom i know, gosh darn it. Your New Hampshire connection. The only Community Health center in the nation, Charter School in health care and education. How to get somebody out of poverty. [indiscernible] tom thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you, sir. Thank you so much. Tom i will come back and im happy to hear you [indiscernible] change in washington. Tom it starts by the American People watching. Actually, even if the American People want, its different. Thing ise, the first they say, turkey has never there for thanksgiving. I said it. Make sure we have a chance for tom to meet everybody. If we can keep it moving, we have about five minutes. Frank the of mine, rosa. Frank. Love the nicest human being in the whole world. Very effective, incredibly sweet people person. Love him. Would you like me to take that for you . Sure. Hello, mary. How are you . Tom good, thank you. Thank you. Tom my pleasure. That would be great, thank you. Tom the trick is to actually be in a good mood. Im kidding. Thank you. Thank you. This is not our first rodeo. [laughter] we appreciate it. Thank you. Tom frank has been on the board of the church. I know how nice he is. Just to be a nice guy. He is affected by clean energy. Exactly. [indistinct conversations] tom m. I. T. I remember. Good luck, tom. Going to have to start forging my signatures. Thank you so much for coming. Tom my pleasure. 16 . You are killing me. I am doing the reverse id. Merry christmas. Tom i did not go into it. Merry christmas to you. Isnt that a famous name . Is not his name. Tom was his real name . Stop, youre killing me. Can you do me a favor, im the worst. I literally dont know what im doing. Can i ask you a nonpolitical question . Tom yes. What do you think about the impression of you . Tom if will ferrell is making fun of you, that is a win. Thanks for your work with women. Very important. I responded, thank you very much. I could not agree more. The fact that they are mistreated, it even remotely changing is a huge change. Its crazy. Thank you, i really love to hear that. Tom its true. Thank you. Tom the way they taught me to write when i was in first grade and i never grew up. I follow the rules. Tom i love having conversations. Thank you so much. Have a nice holiday. Want to say that i have done a lot of these events and you have a great staff. Thank you, very much. Thank you for coming. Wonderful. How are you, its good to see you. Tom oh my god. You know joe, my son. We came up from boston. Tom katie said you were going to. Thank you for talking about climate. I am so jealous. Tom i called her up when she got engaged. So exciting. Tom you know she had been to visit. Pretty sure it was them. I know, it was so exciting. Probably will see her. Shes getting married. She assured me she would be there. Great to see you, thank you. God bless. Tom god bless you. I have several of my students working on your campaign. We learn more about politics in a president ial campaign. We shared an office space with them in durham, 2016. Tom ive been on the you in h unh campus. I also had basketball and soccer. Thanks for coming. Thank you so much. We have seen once before in october. I just moved here from pennsylvania. Tom thank you. Just before christmas. I am very excited. Thank you for what youre doing. Should be pretty straightforward. Tom how are you guys . Steyer, you joked about being a billionaire and changing her name. How much of a problem is it for you to have that attached to your name so much as you campaign . My goal and all of this is to explain who i really am. I have to introduce myself to people because i am not a famous person. I think its part of the experience. Thats why i try to talk a little bit about my family, so i can give people a sense of i am not this twodimensional person who they might think i am. That they might think i am this person that has a long commitment to social justice and giving back to the United States. Is it a challenge . Does a key people from voting for you . Tom no. I think most people in the United States actually think succeeding is a good thing. And starting a business from scratch is a good thing. Is a negative, i want to make sure people understand it is not the sum total of who i am and theres a lot more than me than somebody who started a business and grow grew it. Its something i did and i am not ashamed of it at all. Have we given up on the idea of success . Not as far as i know. Americans like to succeed and win. So do i. You spoke about the Opioid Epidemic. I am curious if you believe in safe needle exchanges and safehouses. Tell me why . Tom yes. We should be treating it as a health issue. We should support people trying to make sure they get back on their feet. That is one of the ways we can do it to try to keep them safe and get them back on their feet. You are on the debate stage when folks were going back and forth about fundraising. I wonder if you think there should be a cap on how much a candidate can spend personally puour into their own campaign. Tom i have not thought about it. I am for Public Financing of campaigns. The way the house bill reads is a contradiction. I have been thinking about it. The way to house bill reads is a matchup, 200 of contribution. I think the idea of giving people vouchers brings a whole bunch of people into the mix. I would be in favor of that and that is where i think we should go. Public financing of campaigns. Lets stick with fundraising. You were on the stage when Elizabeth Warren when after Pete Buttigieg. For wine caves. At sign anybody talked about. We are learning from an ap report that she had her own fundraiser at a winery. Im just wondering, do you think she was being a little defended disingenuous when she took on Pete Buttigieg with that attack . Tom the real thing we should be worried about is how we will beat donald trump. We should be talking about how we will do that. I do not think the way to do that is to tear each other down. The question which i asked Pete Buttigieg, is why dont you have a Better Climate stance . You are 37 years old. You are of a generation of people who understand this is the number one issue in front of us. Why arent you stronger on climate . That is a critical question for him to answer. I have tried to stick to things that i think really, really matter, and that have not been answered. I am pushing a different way. Did you feel it you got a good answer from him . Tom no. I dont think he responded to it really directly at all. I think that is a fact. To me, there are real questions here. I have tried to make it clear that what we need to do is go directly to the American People about what we think matters, how their lives will be better and why we are the actual better answer. Thats why i was talking about teamwork. We have to beat mr. Trump. We have to do it by having better answers for the American People. Could you speak a little bit to Election Security and things you are looking to better protect. Is it a concern for you . Tom yes. Its a concern on two levels. I think the question you are asking is about being hacked by Foreign Countries. This administration is welcoming hacking from Foreign Countries because they believe it is on their behalf. That is ridiculously improper and unconstitutional and illegal. There is also a question about the attempt to strip the voter files of the United States. Its been a consistent attempt to purge people who would otherwise vote, and who they think would vote democratic. When you talk about Election Security, we are talking about an administration thats not doing what it can to protect our election system because they think the hacking will be on their the have. We are looking at the Republican Party consistently trying to take away the right to vote from africanamericans and young people. We are in New Hampshire right now. New hampshire passed a lot to try to restrict College Students from out of state to vote. We are trying to push back. The United States government protects us against the cyber warfare. You talk a lot about term limits but under the constitution, the president cannot do that alone. What are your plans on how to make that happen . Tom look, the first thing that has to happen is for the people of the United States to decide together through the president ial election process of whats important. I am talking about what i think of the things that have gone wrong. Corporations have bought the government. I am talking about Solutions Like term limits and direct democracy, letting people pass our own laws. I understand those have constitutional processes that are linked the. Reallyference is this, this election is about trying to frame how the america works. Mr. Trump has a framework. In my mind it is a cruel and racist framework. But he will make a case for how he things america should work. We have to make a different case and part of it is to say, which i firmly believe, that this government is broken and purchased by corporations. And heres an answer. The actual steps of getting there, arent significant and you know because you are referring to them. That is not the point of the president ial election. The point is to determine that people will us to break this corporate stranglehold and we will go after that. With the will of the people at our back. This election is about defining the problem and pointing out the solution and then we go get it. How is it that you seem to know so many people in the New Hampshire audience . Tom i went to high school in New Hampshire. Which one . Gosh, i of all have been to New Hampshire, we have been organizing in New Hampshire since the beginning of 2014. I have been coming here to go on to College Campuses to talk to activists, to register people and go door to door in New Hampshire for six years. So, if you do that you meet a lot of democrats. It was an absolute treat to run into the son of one of my fathers absolute best friends whose dad and his uncle were incredibly nice, nice guys. Been running a summer camp in New Hampshire for 22 years. Which is exactly what i would expect. Doing a really valuable, funding to help other people. Broaddrick, what a sweetheart, what a great guy. If you travel around the country you meet so many nice people. Thats really all that is going on. What makes you think this tax will work in the United States . Tom the United States has had 40 years of redistribution of wealth. We have a wealth tax, the Real Estate Tax of homeowners. I understand that there are some issues about implementation. But the question is something has happened that no one has talked about, which has been an accumulation of the wealth of people. At the expense of everyone else. It is shocking. This is something that i think if you really want to look at inequality and our country, we do need to look at inequality in terms of income. In terms of assets, it is shocking. This is not something i take lightly. I understand that the actual process of getting it is complicated. Our when you look at society and think about the it curlsion of money, your hair and you understand that is not justice. That is not an equal society. There is something wrong there and we need to address it. M have a wonderful holiday. This should be an lets try and do that you can. [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] campaign 2020 watch our live coverage of the president ial candidates on the campaign trail and make up your own mind. 2020, yourmpaign unfiltered view of politics. Coming up in one hour, a look at faith and politics with the sojourners founder talking about at book christ in crisis. Nine a clock a. M. , the Heritage Foundation on the trump administrations economic record and how it could impact the 2020 election. Trumps economic record and how it could impact the election. Host good morning. It is tuesday, december 24. A3 hour washington journal is ahead. We will begin by getting your view on the legacy of the Affordable Care act. It was 10 years ago today the Senate Passed legislation some dub obamacare. We want to know what the impact has been on your family and your community, phone lines are on your screen. Republicans, 2027488001. Democrats, 2027488000. Ndependents, 2027488002 you can also send us a text message this morning. Thatbe