Yang: DNC changed debates just for Bloomberg
February 2, 2020
Andrew Yang on Sunday called the Democratic National Committee‘s overhaul of debate criteria “tailor-made” for 2020 competitor Michael Bloomberg — but he’s not sure the billionaire will welcome the changes.
“The fact is, Mike Bloomberg could have gotten himself on the debate stage any time he wanted,” Yang said on ABC’s “This Week.” “It’s pretty straightforward to meet the donor requirement. He could have just made that happen through online spending.
“I’m not sure that this is a development that he's going to welcome, frankly. I think the DNC looked at this and said, 'We need to get Bloomberg on the debate stage.' This change is clearly tailor-made to deliver him to the debate stage,” Yang added.
The DNC announced changes this week for primary debates starting with the Feb. 19 debate in Las Vegas: It doubled the polling threshold but eliminated the individual donor requirement. Candidates who earn at least one delegate to the national convention in either Iowa or New Hampshire will also qualify for the Nevada debate.
The new criteria pave the way for Bloomberg to participate in debates. The self-funding candidate has refused to take donations.
Rivals like Sen. Bernie Sanders have argued the DNC changes will rig the system for billionaires. Yang, who has earned a spot at the February debate in New Hampshire, has pushed for the donor requirement to be eliminated for some time.
“The question is, whether this is a move that Mike's excited about it or whether Mike’s indifferent to or even negative toward,” Yang said Sunday.
“Are you excited about debating him?” “This Week” host George Stephanopoulos asked.
“I’m excited. I’m thrilled that I’ll be back on the debate stage next week in New Hampshire. And we plan to be on the debate stage the entire time. So, I expect to see Mike on the stage in Nevada.”
Source: https://www.politico.com/
