Andrew Yang came out swinging during Thursday’s Democratic debate by criticizing the ways cable news networks have covered the Trump administration.
“If you turned on cable network news today, you would think [Trump’s] our president because of some combination of Russia, racism, Facebook, Hillary Clinton, and emails all mixed together. But Americans around the country know different,” Yang said.
His statement came after an awkward on-stage interaction with moderator Judy Woodruff.
As candidates were asked about their response to President Donald Trump’s impeachment, Woodruff began to address a question to Yang but was looking toward the opposite end of the stage toward billionaire Tom Steyer.
“I’m over here,” Yang said, while clapping at Woodruff to get her attention.
Woodruff apologized and said she meant to address her question to Steyer, not Yang. And after Steyer finished his response, Yang offered a differing stance on the impeachment news.
“The more we act like President Trump is the cause of all our problems, the more Americans lose trust that we can see what’s going on in our communities,” Yang said. “We need to stop being obsessed with impeachment and start actually digging in and solving the problems that got Donald Trump elected in the first place.”
Yang is one of the seven Democratic candidates who qualified for this month’s debate, co-hosted by PBS NewsHour and Politico.
Andrew Yang on loss of manufacturing jobs: "If you turned on cable network news today, you would think (Trump's) our president because of some combination of Russia, racism, Facebook, Hillary Clinton and emails all mixed together. But Americans around the country know different." pic.twitter.com/jcHJm8mXdG
— Axios (@axios) December 20, 2019