Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) dragged former Vice President Joe Biden’s record on civil rights into the bright lights of Thursday's debate stage, as she confronted him about his voting record on busing to integrate schools.
Driving the news: Harris spoke from personal experience: She was in the second class to integrate schools in Berkeley, Calif. Almost 10 days earlier, other Democratic rivals for the White House criticized Biden for describing his relationship with segregationists in the Senate, who had helped him pass an anti-busing amendment.
HOMESTEAD, Fla. — In the blaring sun, at least nine Democratic presidential candidates have stood on stepladders this week to peer into the migrant detention center here where approximately 2,600 teenagers are being held.
Why it matters: The immigration crisis is becoming the defining issue of the 2020 election — at least for now — as Democrats criticize not only the conditions in which these children are being held, but also the Trump administration's handling of young migrants who have come to the U.S. with their parents.
The number of Democrats who have called for the House to launch impeachment proceedings against President Trump continues to grow, with support swelling to an all-time high in the wake of special counsel Robert Mueller's rare public statement last month.
The state of play: Nearly than 80 House Democrats — and a single House Republican — have publicly expressed support for opening an impeachment inquiry, according to an Axios count. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the one House Democrat who matters most, has continued to insist that impeaching Trump would be premature, especially without the support of the Republican-held Senate. Whether she will be able to maintain that stance as divisions grow within her caucus remains to be seen.
The Supreme Court agreed Friday to hear a set of lawsuits challenging President Trump's effort to end DACA, the Obama-era immigration program that shields roughly 700,000 children from deportation.
Why it matters: The move tees up a high-stakes, high-profile immigration ruling next year during the heat of the 2020 campaign.
The state of play: Democrats are not united on everything. If one of the more progressive Dems won, they'd still have plenty of moderates telling them to get real and stop trying to offer free college to everyone or abolish private health insurance.
President Trump playfully told Russian President Vladimir Putin that his country shouldn't meddle in the 2020 presidential election during their meeting at the G20 summit in Osaka on Friday, per the AP.
Why it matters: Trump's statement to Putin came only after being pressed by a reporter on the issue during their appearance before the press corps. The meeting comes nearly one year after their controversial summit in Helsinki where Trump refused to publicly stand up to Putin's assertion that Russia did not interfere in the 2016 presidential election.
NBC's Chuck Todd asked all 10 candidates at the second night of the first Democratic debate on Thursday to name the top issue that they hope to accomplish.
What they said:
Marianne Williamson: Making America the best place in the world for a child to grow up.
Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper: Enacting a collaborative approach to climate change.
Andrew Yang: Giving $1,000 a month in universal basic income to every American over 18.
South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg: Fixing our democracy.
Former Vice President Joe Biden: Defeating Donald Trump, "period."
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.): Taking on special interests.
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.): A tax cut for the middle-class and working families.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.): A family bill of rights including universal pre-k, affordable daycare and paid leave.
Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Col.): Climate change.
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Cali.): Ending gun violence.
The Democratic presidential candidates were asked what they'd do on immigration if elected, on the second night of primary debates on Thursday.
Why it matters: President Trump has received backlash for his handling of the influx of migrants --particularly children--along the southern border. Many of the Democratic candidates have pledged to reverse Trump's immigration policies and that didn't change Thursday night.
Taxation has become a foremost issue in the 2020 Democratic primaries on the heels of an administration widely accused of favoring corporations and the rich.
Why it matters: Taxation has become a defining issue among Democrats. Wealth-tax plans like Sen. Elizabeth Warren's have drawn considerable attention and boosted her platform. Sen. Bernie Sanders similarly favors a tax overhaul and emphasizes his belief that corporations aren't paying their fair share. But after President Trump's 2017 tax cuts, a Democratic administration would have a lot to do to reverse conservative policy on the issue.
What they're saying: On the second night of the first Democratic debates, candidates took aim at tax cuts for the highest economic class.
Sen. Bernie Sanders: When asked if taxes will go up for the middle class to fund medicare for all, he stated, "Yes, they will pay more in taxes and less in health care for what they get."
Former Vice President Joe Biden: "The one thing I agree on is we can make massive cuts in the $1.6 trillion in tax loopholes out there, and I would be going about eliminating Donald Trump's tax cut for the wealthy."
Sen. Kamala Harris: "For too long, the rules have been written in the favor of the people who have the most and not in favor of the people who work the most... On Day One, I will repeal that tax bill that benefits the top 1% and the biggest corporations of America."
Andrew Yang: "We need to put the American people in position to benefit from all these innovations and other parts of the economy. If we had a value-added tax at even half the European level, it would generate over $800 million in new revenue... It would be the trickle up economy."
Top Democratic candidates attacked President Trump early during the second Democratic primary debate on Thursday, targeting him for passing a tax cut that benefitted the wealthy and for attempting to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
Why it matters: With 52 mentions of Trump, the second debate saw a markedly different tone than the ones candidates struck at the first debate on Wednesday. The 10 candidates on Wednesday mentioned Trump a total of 35 times, with Sen. Elizabeth Warren — who is polling highest among that group — failing to mention the president a single time.
Thursday's Democratic debate is the perfect opportunity for 2020 candidates to pick at frontrunner Joe Biden's voting history on reproductive rights.
Driving the news: If elected, Biden says he would codifyRoe v. Wade into federal law and restore federal funding to Planned Parenthood and other reproductive-care providers for health services other than abortion. He also no longer supports the Hyde Amendment, which bans the use of federal funds for abortion except in cases of rape, incest or life-threatening circumstances.
