2020 Democratic contender Amy Klobuchar said Tuesday on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" that her rival Michael Bloomberg should be on the primary debate stage "instead of just putting [his] money out there."
The state of play: Billionaires Bloomberg and Tom Steyer have been criticized by their rivals for blanketing television airwaves — even beyond the early primary states — with huge ad buys. Unlike Steyer, however, Bloomberg's campaign has refused to accept donations, which prohibits him from reaching the debate stage under current DNC qualification rules.
What she's saying:
"I'd be fine with him being on the debate stage because I think that instead of just putting your money out there, he's actually got to be on the stage, and be able to go back and forth so that voters can evaluate him in that way.
"Certainly being on the debate stage for me and making every single benchmark put in front of me has been helpful because then people get to know me. They can see that I'm tough enough to take on Donald Trump, and they can see how I respond with other people on a stage, and I think that would be really important."
The big picture: Seven candidates, including Klobuchar and Steyer, have qualified for the next debate on Feb. 7.
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