♪ ♪ good evening, and welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. we're just moments away from the cnn/new york times democratic presidential debate. i'm jake tapper along with chris cuomo. this s this is a special edition of "out front". >> it's great to be here. erin burnett getting ready to co-moderate what is quite literally the biggest field of candidates on a debate stage ever in american political history here in ud bonn university in westerville, ohio. grit to be with you. >> a dozen presidential candidates are here and they've been streaming in over an hour

or so and some with their closest friends and advisers in tow. i'm coming to you from the proverbial spin room as the candidates put their finishing touches on the game plan in the critical night on the 2020 race. there's no night two, and no undercard debate and no second stage. >> it's true. we'll probably never see this again in this election. it's likely that, you know, up to three of these people that you see out of 12 dozen democrats up there they may not make the next round, but the big story will be center stage. joe biden and elizabeth warren. sure, they'll be flanked by other candidates and this may be the last chance to make an impact, but when you watch those two, there can only be one number one. so how are they going to deal with attacks on them? whom will they target and how? and of course, there aris a lotf news and we have a formal impeachment inquiry and his personal attorney is under crimin criminal investigation with the rough transcript of a call between the president and ukraine's leader where the

president asks for a favor and talks about investigating his political rival who, of course, is on the stage, jake. it's a big deal and there are big stake especially in the middle of that stage. >> also the first time that there will be a debate since the president decided to pull troops out of northern syria, but there's a lot to talk about. let's discuss it right now with my team. what are you looking for tonight, nia malika? what is the most important thing for viewers tuning in to keep an eye on? >> a lot of folks on that stage. the dynamics of this race has changed and you're seen warren be the ascendant and she's the co-front runner and she'll have a lot of folks coming at her. who will come at her? is it going to be biden? maybe not, they're not going to necessarily attack her. they do want to draw the contrast in terms of what he would do with health care and what she would do with health carry and who might not make it to the next stage and someone

like tulsi gabbard, what does she do? how do they get in the mix and how do they break through this pack of 12 and also joe biden, right? he's been sort of average at these debates. warren is a much better debater. how does he bring his a game? something we haven't quite seen yet and he's under scrutiny because of ukraine and seeing warren in some ways a lap hand in some of those polls. >> huntered by ern biden the vi president's son, is almost like the 13th person on the stage. president trump and his team have lied significantly about joe biden and the son hunter biden, the president's conduct in terms of pushing and asking other countries to investigate the bidens has been deemed impeachable or at least enough for an impeachment inquiry, but beyond that there is also this question -- >> there is a question. >> about hunter biden and what he was doing. >> and whether it was appropriate for him to be on the

payroll of this ukrainian energy company while his father was the vice president and had the ukraine portfolio for the administration. he said this morning that he thought maybe he made an error in judgment. >> hunter biden. >> yes. hunter biden. joe biden hasn't given any quarter on this. he said my son did nothing wrong, but in my administration he won't have any -- the point i guess is he's done nothing wrong, but he won't do it again. >> right. >> one of the things when i asked mayor pete buttigieg on this on sunday, gloria borger, the first thing he did was defend joe biden was to go after president trump and president trump's children. >> think you'll hear a lot of that on the stage. some oft campaign trail said we won't have our children serving in our administration, but joe biden has said that as well now and i think given the opportunity to take on trump versus joe biden on this issue and the conspiracy theories that are being fed by the trump campaign, yeah. i think they're going to do

that. one thing i want to say also si think we need to look at bernie sanders tonight because elizabeth warren has risen and he's declined. he's had a heart attack. i think he has to look as vigorous as he's looked at the last debates, and show -- show voters that he's okay, and i'm wondering whether, in fact, he'll take on warren and he did it earlier this week where he said, you know, she said she's a capitalist through and through. is that going to hurt her? i don't think so. >> she'd urge him to do it again. this is -- it's 12 candidates, more candidates than have appeared on the debate stage in the history of man, as far as we know. we had 11 in 2015. this is 12, one more. three hours. that's a long time for a 20-year-old to stand on a stage and be adept and answer questions much less somebody who just had a heart procedure because he suffered a heart

attack. >> absolutely. you have a lot of candidates who might be trying to make breakout moments and it's a very stressful situation. i wouldn't want to be bernie sanders' wife right now. she's got to hope that he's doing what we all hope he does tonight. the other new thing about tonight is that we are having a debate while a president is under an impeachment inquiry. that has also never happened before in the history of man, and a lot of these candidates came out really strong on impeachment very early. they were prescient, they were bold. >> i think castro was first. warren was second. >> kamala was out there. booker was out there. >> biden was last. >> my question is do the other candidates use this against biden? he waited until congress, public opinion and 50% of independents and a quarter of republicans said it was okay before he said the president ought to be impeached. so do they use that as a wedge issue? >> van, the fact that an impeachment inquiry is going on right now, does that mean, do you think, that democrats should

talk a lot about that and a lot about donald trump and their view that he's unsuitable or should they follow the example that, and you talk to voters all of the time and they don't bring up impeachment with you. >> it doesn't come up. they've got to deal with it, but i think that if they are -- thinking about the voters at home who are not watching cable news all day, they're checking in and they should be talking about what voters care about. the two people i'm looking at, you have the oldest person on the stage, does bernie still have his bark and does pete have his bite? is pete going to do anything to separate himself? this should be his night. syria. he is a veteran. he can own that issue. tulsi gabbard can't, but he can. he has a difference of opinion with elizabeth warren on medicare for all. he said medicare for all don't want it. if he does not find a way tonight to stop being a puppy

dog and become the attack dog i don't understand the strategy. >> do you agree with that? do you think that mayor buttigieg needs to step it up? >> i think he could stand to be a lot more aggressive and this is his opportunity to do it and if he doesn't do it tonight it's probably not going to happen, and so i would expect to see a lot of fight around the medicare for all and that's where the disagreement is going to come between warren and sanders and the rest of the people on the stage and that's where they can have a clarifying moment with them especially go after warren who now really, you know, a lot of people weren't going after her and everyone you understand stood that she was ascendant and now she is a top two candidate and so i think it will be interesting to see if anyone can land upon her because she is such an adept debater. >> this is a difficult thing in the dynamics of politics. how do you go after a woman candidate that can be dicey for a male candidate? he comes across rick lasio going after hillary clinton and there

is a risk -- john delaney went after elizabeth warren and she left him by the roadside. so i think she's very equipped to deal with it. >> she is the most deft debate or the stage and one of the reasons people haven't gone after her is because they're worried about tangling with her, and she's the front-runner now and unless they want to just spew, strewn rose petals in front of her toward the nomination, they better start drawing those distinctions. >> listen, on medicare for all she's blade a cagey game. she said i'm with bernie. she has a plan for every single problem, but the one that's most paramount in people's minds is health care. my view is she's holding back trying to consolidate the left and she's having a more nuanced health plan and she'll be pressed tonight. >> sanders has been doing that a bit. pete buttigieg has been doing that and can she actually bring it. the other thing is who comes to

her aid, right? are there other wing men and wing women on the stage. maybe castro gets in there and gets in the way between somebody like warren and buttigieg because there is this whole thing going on between those folks and it will be interesting. >> i think biden can take her on. >> let's turn our attention to the debate where it will be playing out at the top of the hour. >> and ladies and gentlemen, please rise for the national anthem performed by broadway star jordan danica, a 2016 graduate of audubon university. [ cheers and applause ] ♪ o say, can you see

by the dawn's early light ♪ ♪ what so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? ♪ ♪ whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight ♪ ♪ o'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming? ♪ ♪ and the rockets' red glare the bombs bursting in air ♪

♪ gave proof through the night that our flag was still there ♪ ♪ oh, say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave ♪ ♪ o'er the land of the free ♪ ♪ and the home of the brave? ♪ [ cheers and applause ]

jordan danica with the national anthem. we will squeeze in a quick break. up next, it's a whole new world and a whole new race since the last time these candidates met and our experts will tell us what to watch for tonight. stay with us. i...decided to take the dna test. and i...was...shocked. right away, called my mom, called my sisters. i'm from cameroon, congo, and...the bantu people. i had ivory coast, and ghana...togo. i was grateful... i just felt more connected... to who i am. greater details. richer stories. and now with health insights. get your dna kit at ancestry.com.

governot just the powerful and well-connected. that's the american promise. but big corporations and special interests are in control. nothing's happening for real people. our democracy has been purchased. the candidates running for president have great ideas. but we can't get anything done unless we make our democracy serve the people again. i'm tom steyer. i approve this message. i'm running for president because it's time our democracy works for people.

val, vern... i'm off to college and i'm not gonna be around... i'm worried about my parents' retirement. oh, don't worry. voya helps them to and through retirement... ...dealing with today's expenses... ...like college... ...while helping plan, invest and protect for the future. so they'll be okay... without me? um... and when we knock out this wall imagine the closet space? yes! oh hey, son. yeah, i think they'll be fine. voya. helping you to and through retirement.

wthat's why xfinity hasu made taking your internetself. and tv with you a breeze. really? yup. you can transfer your service online in about a minute. you can do that? yeah. and with two-hour service appointment windows, it's all on your schedule. awesome. so while moving may still come with its share of headaches... no kidding. we're doing all we can to make moving simple, easy, awesome. go to xfinity.com/moving to get started.

all right. big night. welcome back. we are live at audubon university in westerville, ohio. just a little bit outside columbus. the excitement, tension, building and with good reason. we are just a few minute away from the cnn/new york times democratic presidential debate. the headliners at this moment in the race, joe biden and senator elizabeth warren. they are what we're calling, i guess, co-leaders. we have david chalian here. he's in charge of telling me how i depict what the state of the race is. it is fair to say the fight tonight is in the middle of the stage, yes? >> yes. without a doubt. elizabeth warren is the dominant force in this race right now, and so what i'm looking for tonight is how she handles come the incumbent coming her way and some are clear in coming and pete buttigieg has made it

clear. he wants a fight with medicare for all over anyone who wants it. this is not a night, i think, of where we are in this race for you to shy away if you're a candidate not named elizabeth warren about trying to blunt the momentum she's had in the last couple of months. >> the reporting suggests that they're much more aware of the dynamic of sword and shield. what are you seeing from the players? >> just to pick up what david is saying. p pete buttigieg has televised, and it was certainly not an accident. >> yeah. also behind the scenes, his campaign is saying that he does plan, if given the opportunity to go after elizabeth warren on what our colleagues were talking about before the break which is the fact that she has a plan for everything, not medicare for all. she just says i'm with bernie, and to press her on not just the specifics of the plan, but one particular issue which is how is

she going to pay for it and will she raise taxes? >> on the flip side, i'm told that the warren campaign has prepared her for that exact thing. how is she going to respond to that? she's ready for it, she's waiting for it and apparently she has a response plan. >> i don't mean it as an insult. we talked about this before. senator warren is not easy to hit and that's a part of a political skill and i'm not saying that cynically. how are you hearing people are making adjustments and tonight it will be a shot at the title for a third of it out there. >> we've seen senator warren trying to get to media and journalists saying she's had an easy ride during this climb and now it's their turn when they're on that stage to be able to press her on some of these issues, but as dana says the warren campaign is prepared for this. we know in the previous debates and john delaney and others and even joe biden has come on some of these issues and she's ready for it and she thinks that doing the town halls have prepared her

for any of the questions, and if someone can land those punches and it will be tough. >> first they have to throw them. i think we haven't seen her be a target and the person who has taken the biggest toll for that in activity is bernie sanders. i do not believe first the reports are his health is good. thank god, bernie sanders is full strength and we hope that that is the situation, but he's been too nice for too long and she's eaten his lunch. she got the young people. that center left perspective, they took it from her to his pie. >> there's no doubt. she has carved out some of his vote share and part of what's fueling her rise. young people, no doubt about that, chris. bernie sanders has been totally reluctant to take her on, and everything is always, we're friends. he didn't see, and he didn't believe from the beginning of this race that she was the mortal threat to his candidacy. he thought he'd be able to create what he had last time around and grow from there, but he is a huge blockade.

you see who we see? joe biden is arriving. big night for him. i heard in the depicting of tonight what you said. i've never heard before that elizabeth warren is the dominant force in the race right now. this is the first time in a performance setting where biden has to show that he is better than she is because she is edging in front of him. i know in the poll of polls he's still up a few, but he's been in the same number for month, dana and she is coming up. >> even as he's articulated and say out loud what he's planning to do in a fund-raiser earlier this week that he has to get more aggressive. he knows that. he knows that in his heart of hearts. the big question is can he deliver? >> shocker we're finishing each other's sentences. >> you have to fight for space. >> same thing here. >> it is about sustaining those moments and you can have a debate at this moment and it's about continuing it all of the way through the campaign and to

make sure you have a vision that voters are coming, to. my mom used to have a phrase, you can't go to sleep a blunder and wake up a wonder. you have to have a moment and continue that through the next couple of months. >> i don't know that that's true. what she has been able to do is sustain this ascension without getting knocked off very much. one of the interesting thing that we mentioned bernie sanders and this illness, the fact that he's back and it's the first time we'll see him in a very intense setting and the warren campaign, i am told, they are preparing to take all incoming on progressive questions because people on the stage particularly in the wings who want to make the point that the race is too focused on ideals and they'll not want to hit bernie sanders and it just so happens that elizabeth warren is the person to hit because she's ascended in the polls and just in terms of the human dynamic, i found that very interesting. >> i think you're right. that will be something to watch, although bernie sanders, what did he say about senator warren

last week that was some attempt of distinguishing? >> he's a capitalist to her bones and he quoted her. >> she sent him flowers. >> i don't think that's helpful. >> to elizabeth warren, it is. >> no. for senator sanders i don't think that's the way that he shows i'm the one who can win for this party. i think the word socialist is a death sentence for him. you can define it however you want. >> he's trying to pull back his supporters from warren's camp and also whether it's on purpose or not, the warren campaign said they don't think it was, it was giving her a gift. >> of all of the terrible things that can be called, and you're tall. >> the policy discussions are still warren's turf. if you'll try to attack her on one of the plans, she's comfortable having that discussion with the establish and the questions about the gen election and can those candidates make the argument on the debate stage. can you say in the delaney-esque

vision that would scare people off? that's the minimalist view and it's a hard argument to make on the debate stage. she welcomes those ashlgs tacks. >> i've seen her and trying to test her with town halls and she's battle ready and i'm interesting to see what the very p does. his son was on tv today. he's not happy about it. he can't be happy about it and how does he handle it if it comes up, it should come up. if someone wants to make points, but they have teams who are telling them we need something. will someone go there? we'll see. plenty to talk about. let's take a quick break. we're just about half an hour away from the big debate. you will never see this again in this race and by the way, we've never seen it before. a dozen democrats are assembled. how are they getting ready? stay with us.

♪ the amount of student loan debt i have i'm embarrassed to even say i felt like i was going to spend my whole adult life paying this off thanks to sofi, i can see the light at the end of the tunnel as of 12pm today, i am debt free ♪ we have no debt, we don't owe anybody anything, and it's fantastic ♪

welcome back for the big, vent. we are live at audubon university in westerville, ohio, just minute away from the

cnn/new york times democratic debate. you're about to hear from the leader of the ohio democratic party and the chairman of the democratic national committee. it is a very big night for them. 12 candidates up there. we've never seen it before, and we'll probably never see it again. so let's turn our attention to the big stage. >> and ladies and gentlemen. ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage ohio democratic party chairman mr. david pepper. [ cheers and applause ] > >> hello, ohio. >> the nation is watching so give me an o-h! >> i-o! >> here's a fun fact for us tonight. donald trump has traveled to ohio more in the past year than any state in the country where he doesn't own a golf course. now why is that?

it's not that he's golfing here. no. it's because he's scared. he's under water, and he knows that when ohio turns blue that's the end of his presidency. that's it. [ cheers and applause ] >> and guess what? he's right. he is in trouble here. deep trouble, and we agree with him, don't we? we will be the state that ends the trump presidency. [ cheers and applause ] >> and communities like where we're standing right here, sitting here in westerville are precisely why that's the case. a decade ago this was a solid red community. john kasich won here. mitt romney and george w. bush won here. well, guess what, america and ohio? westerville is now blue. in 2016 and even more in 2018 this committee turned blue and

is getting a deeper blue every single year and westerville, you're not the only one. all across ohio, communities like westerville are turning blue, near cincinnati, near columbus and near akron, communities that used to be the base of the republican party are turning blue. large communities and by the way, driven largely by women. thank you very much, women, for making that happen. [ applause ] and voters and women are shifting and getting energized in these areas because theysee a party that used to vote for lurching further and further to the extreme on every issue. the westerville's alone presents a big threat to the gop grasp on ohio, but the second threat to trump is that he made a lot of promises here in ohio. he told -- you heard it earlier, he told folks in the valley that all of the jobs were coming back. he said don't sell your home. he said he'd make health care

better. he told farmers he'd go to bat for them. well, guess what? he broke those promises and his policies, it's hard to call them that, they're more like a tweet storm nonstop, they've had a bigger impact on ohio than almost any other state. talk to soybean farmers and talk to autoworkers. if you know much about ohio's economy, when you go after soybean farms and auto manufacturing you're hitting us in our gut, in our core. and the third factor that leads us to scare donald trump is if you've been a longtime democrat as many of you here, you're more fired up than ever, aren't you? aren't you? [ cheers and applause ] the reason brown won 100,000 voters last year that donald trump didn't win is because of the energy we talked about, the switching in the suburbs and those broken promises. these folks around the state, we talked to a lot of them over the last few day, are doing a lot

about spending on the broken promises. >> on a serious note, we are two years and ten months in to a horrible era. if the trump presidency ended tomorrow, it would take us years to undo the damage, but if we re-elect this man, knowing all we know the damage -- i have a 2-year-old and a 5-year-old. it will take -- almost their entire lives to undo it. think about it. two or three more justice cavanaughs. nothing on climate change and nothing on gun violence, for years. we can undo the damage if we start next year, but it would take time. if we let this man get re-elected it would be lifetimes and some of the damage may never be undone. let's get it done, folk, there's no better reason to turn this

ohio here, can i get a witness on that, please? [ applause ] >> now -- please welcome a great friend of ohio, a great friend of mine, the chairman of the democratic national committee and chairman tom perez. welcome, chairman perez. [ applause ] >> good evening, democrats! give it up for david pepper. welcome to the fourth pre presidential debate here in the great battleground state of ohio! folks, as you know, democrats won the buckeye state in 2008 and again in 2012 and i'm here to tell you we're going to do it again in 2020! [ applause ] yes, we fell short in 2016, but we came right back in 2018 and

re-elected the great senator sharon brown! one of the most effective members of the united states senate and now, folks, we've got 385 days until the most important election of our lifetime. 385 days until the weekend, and we are organizing and we are investing everywhere. i come to you tonight not simply as chair of the dnc, but i come to you as a proud alum under the department of justice. i served under republican and democratic leadership. back then it was our currency, our attorney general was the people's lawyer. it wasn't the president's lawyer. and now i'm watching this president poison our democracy. he was elected to shake things up, but he's just shaking down the american people. he practices the politics of division and distraction, and

he's chronically ineffective. he makes matters worse all the time. his call to ukraine was all about himself because his north star is himself. he was looking out for himself, not you. not america. mr. president, our democracy is not a bargaining chip! our security is not for sale! [ cheers and applause ] and then he has the audacity to say that a sitting president can't be investigated. that's not democracy. that's a disgrace. nobody is above the law. nobody. no footnotes. now it's up to congress to hold him accountable. thank you, speaker pelosi. thank you, chairman schiff and other house members and thank you to the dedicated career professionals at the state department and the intelligence

community who are speaking truth to power and putting our country first. [ applause ] >> folks, this isn't about left versus right. this is about right versus wrong. folks, let me assure you, democrats know how to walk and chew gum. they can continue to hold this president accountable. hold the necessary hearings while delivering on our promise to address the critical day to day issues that matter most to people here in ohio and across america. that's because democrats are always looking out for you and donald trump is just looking in the mirror. i just saw a headline a few days ago, it was the cincinnati examiner that said new ohio poll has bad news for trump and david and others explained why. voters are asking themselves hare and elsewhere did this president keep his prommeses.

all zee to do is check the record because here in the columbus area he prom iised to make healthcare, and he has no plan than killing protections with people with pre-existing condition, he's trying to cut millions from medicaid and other critical programs that help people suffering from opioid addiction. he went to canton and said i'm going to lower your taxes. turns out he was only going to lower the taxes of his rich friends, and now the income gap is greater than ever. he promised to help farmers and now they're facing a once in a generation crisis because of his reckless tariffs. in dayton, he promised to take action on gun violence and that he left the nra in charge. in toledo and elsewhere, as he said before, he promised there would not be a plant closure on his watch. last year i walked the picket

line with uaw members and i was proud to do so. it wasn't the first time i did it and it won't be the last time i'll do it. thank you for your remarkable testimony. they were cold, folks, yesterday, but they were determined because they know this fight isn't simply about dollars. it's about dignity. it's about fairness, and my message, respectfully, to our gm ceo mary barra is simple. your workforce is your most precious asset. your workforce had your back and they made sack ri feces when you were on life support and now you need to have their back and that's what you're doing. i am so inspired by the work that you're doing. and i have to tell you, i can't help, but wonder about this president who talks about the forgotten man. he can walk 18 holes. why can't he walk a picket line? or maybe his feet are too sore from the bone spurs. so mr. president, you know,

actions speak louder than words, and your actions have demonstrated time and time again that you're no friend to the american workers. and now you compare that to the democratic party. don't forget, democrats led by barack obama saved the auto industry! republicans said let them die. democrats created medicare, medicaid, social security, the affordable care act, democrats are leading the fight against climate change, democrats are protecting a woman's right to choose, democrats are fighting for civil rights, immigrant rights, and they're fighting in short, for an america that works for everyone. they're fighting for the union movement. we have your back, folks, and every single depend at on this debate stage and every single candidate running for president would make a hell of a better president than this donald trump. [ applause ] this is, indeed, folks.

this is, my friend, this is a where were you moment because history has its eyes on us and our grandchildren will be asking us where were we during this critical moment and we must remember our unity is indeed our greatest strength, and donald trump's worst nightmare. so let us unite together. let's seize this moment. let's unite around our values of inclusion, and if you believe in this cause, come with us. text unify to 63347 -- 43367, my dyslexia sometimes gets best of me, 46637, text unify, let's work together and let's win and let's take back the white house! thank you very much! [ applause ]

mitch mcconnell has a problem. a big problem. you see, mitch needs to get these republicans re-elected to hold onto power. that requires protecting our national security and upholding the constitution. problem is, mitch is afraid to cross donald trump. just look at what happened to mitt romney. so will mitch defend the constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. or protect trump at all costs? need to impeach is responsible for the content of this advertising. oh, wow. you two are going to have such a great trip. thanks to you, we will. this is why voya helps reach today's goals... ...all while helping you to and through retirement. can you help with these? we're more of the plan, invest and protect kind of help... voya. helping you to and through retirement.

welcome back to debate night on cnn just moments ago the democratic presidential hopefuls headed toward the debate stage here in westerville, ohio, outside columbus. 12 democratic candidates will soon take their podiums and the most ever on stage at once in

the history of mankind. the focus tonight will be on joe biden and elizabeth warren in all likelihood and it may also be the last chance for other candidates to get a moment and propel their candidacies. let's talk more about this with our experts and kristen, someone we haven't really spoken about yet is the woman on the right side of the screen there, senator kamala harris, who had a good first debate showing, and has kind of stuck at 4% in the polls. >> she's kind of faded, and i think she came out with a big bang. she had that moment with biden and she seemed like she was on the rise, and she's -- she sort of sputtered out. so tonight is an opportunity for her to try to get back in the game. she's already qualified for the november debate so she doesn't have to do anything too radical because it will get whittled down. there are people on the stage in a more desperate position who haven't qualified who may go for the kamikaze attacks because it's their only chance, but she needs to have a good, strong,

debate performance tonight. >> and, van, because people are probably wondering, who are the four that haven't qualified and they are senator amy klobuchar, beto o'rourke and tulsi gabbard, and they have not qualified for the november debate according to the rules and regulations set up by the democratic party. >> this is the biggest musical chairs game of their life. somebody will not be sitting there next time and what they have to figure out is some way to make a difference and you do have this opportunity, kamala harris is a great prosecutor. what happened to her in one of the debates was she got some incoming that she didn't know how to handle. >> tulsi gabbard, and biden brought the incoming and she had a glass jaw. she'll be on offense and defense. we'll see. the rest of the folks have really, really struggled and i don't know if i see a way for them forward. >> is there anybody that you think, you're surprised they're not doing better? >> i'm surprised kamala isn't doing better.

she's run a strong campaign and she's run into odd news cycle headwinds and she spent a week answering for something at her husband's law firms that her husband wasn't even involved in and i don't think candidates have to deal with that. i'm worried about some of these things backfiring. i saw something from pete buttigieg, where he said elizabeth warren can't win based on pocket change. if you want to go after her for medicare for all that's one thing, and pocket change. those are real people and this campaign is being fueled by independent, individual donors, and we're still at the point where people are donating to multiple candidates just to keep them in the race. he might be insulting his own donors with that. so i think if he comes at it especially on a day that she released her get big money out of politics plan, i think she's hoping that it's on that front. >> she's acknowledged his point because she said she will take large donations in the general

election. so in a sense, she has confirmed his theory on this. >> with being as dismissive as he was i think can be a mistake and if he does it on this stage in front of anybody -- >> i think there was something a little petty about his remarks there. i think this was in an interview that he was in with peter handy. i think the problem that pete has is -- >> pete buttigieg is having is he's trying to define himself now vis-a-vis elizabeth warren. what is he bringing to the stage on his own? elizabeth warren has been successful by defining what her issues are and giving people a sense of what an elizabeth warren presidency would be and it's a big, bold vision for the country talked about foreign policy. that's something that will be raised tonight. pete buttigieg has a story to tell as a veteran. and he has a lot of credibility on that front.

one more thing, tom steyer is on this stage. >> the multimillionaire. >> billionaire. >> on this stage for the first time. we haven't heard from him. will he come out of the box going on the attack against joe biden? why not? >> he may be a multimillionaire by the time he stops spending. i was projecting in the future. let's talk about the foreign policy angle. it hasn't been a major part of any debates. with what's going on right now in northern syria and turkey, it might be a big topic tonight. >> as this slaughter goes on, as things get worse and worse, gabbard and buttigieg have a unique perspective. they are the generation that's carried that weight of the -- >> both veterans. >> they would never have handled it this way. i think there's something he can say for himself on that. anybody who comes at elizabeth warren, you better be ready to see your head coming back at you. however, he has a different with

her if she's going to continue to hug bernie sanders' medicare for all position, which is you cannot have private insurance, you have to be on the government program. i don't think that's a good place for the democratic party. i think pete has been brilliant -- we want medicare for all who want it. i think tonight pete could flush her out. you can't have it both ways. you can't keep tap dancing and be with bernie when you want to and not -- are you going to force everybody or not? that's a confrontation i would love to see. then you have an extraordinary moderate, an extraordinarily progressive on -- >> if he doesn't do it, he is cooked. he has signalled so profoundly that this was an exchange he was eager to have. if he can't find it in himself to have that exchange, then he is not the alpha that you have to be to be a candidate. it's a big test for him. >> one thing that's interesting is tulsi gabbard, i suspect, will talk how she wants to end

forever wars. she's not in favorite of regime change wars. she will try to distinguish herself that way from the rest of the democratic pack who supported the wars. joe biden voted for the war in iraq. >> she has to be careful about drawing too much to her position on syria. it's problematic. >> she met with assad. >> she met with assad. she has a fringe view of the situation, i think. i think it's a needle she's going to have to thread. >> what do you think about tulsi gabbard, is she going to thread this needle? >> no. this is the worst possible foreign policy conflict for her to deal with. she should be able to talk about other things. she's met with assad against u.s. advice. >> we will see what happens. i'm sure it will come up, because what's going on right now in syria. let's go down now to the stage where anderson cooper is about to introduce the candidates.

>> we are just minutes away from the top of the hour and the start of this fourth democratic presidential debate for the 2020 election cycle. it will feature the largest field of presidential candidates on one stage. from delaware please welcome former vice-president joe biden. [ applause ] from massachusetts, senator elizabeth warren. [ applause ] from vermont, senator bernie sanders. [ applause ]

from indiana, south bend mayor pete buttigieg. [ applause ] from california, senator kamala harris. [ applause ] from new york, businessman andrew yang. [ applause ] from new jersey, senator cory booker. [ applause ] from texas, former congressman

beto o'rourke. [ applause ] from california, businessman tom steyer. [ applause ] from minnesota, senator amy klobuchar. [ applause ] from hawaii, congresswoman tulsi gabbard.

[ applause ] from texas, former housing and urban development secretary julian castro. ladies and gentlemen, the democratic candidates for president of the united states. [ applause ] ♪

we are seconds away from the big debate. final thoughts. david, you have coached a candidate before a debate like this, barack obama. what do you say to a candidate right before they go on stage? get that zinger ready or -- what are you saying? >> we have been through everything for weeks. we have practiced this. you know the points you need to

hip. make sure you hit them. then the last thing you say, is go have fun. they look at you like you are nuts. there's nothing but pressure on that platform. for some of these candidates, it really is a matter of survival as it has been mentioned. this is an important juncture in the campaign. and it is very hard on a stage of 12 people to score in a meaningful way. so you have to make every intervention count. if i were one of the strategists, i would say, whatever you do, make sure we have this intervention that we have practiced, that we have rehearsed. >> what do you mean by intervention? >> with another candidate, with the questioner. you rehearse these things. debates are not -- they're not like a trial of law. they are performances. candidates go in knowing where -- what they want to land and the question is, can they land it in the right way, does it come out awkwardly.

musical chairs for the ones who aren't necessarily in the next debate. does your music sound like the texas chain saw massacre or does did come out harmoniously and work for you? you know what a successful debate is going to look like for you. it requires you doing what you rehearsed and practiced to do. >> i also expect, especially if one of the questioners brings up something that the democratic audience doesn't want to hear, that you will hear candidates go after the media. that's entirely possible. that happened during my debate. >> around this biden question, amplifying some of the charges that the president has made will not be greeted well by this audience. and other candidates -- there's a free applause line here for defending joe biden. >> david, thank you so much. the cnn/"new york times"

democratic debate starts right now. ♪ [ applause ] >> just north of columbus, ohio, this is the cnn/"new york times" democratic presidential debate. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and watching around the world, watching us on cnn, cnn internationally, cnn.com, newyork didn newyorktimes.com and npr and the american forces network. i'm anderson cooper along with erin burnett and mark