Democratic debate live updates: If elected, Yang would say to Putin: ‘I’m sorry I beat your guy’ – latest | US news

The debate has taken another commercial break, with just thirty minutes left to go in the event.

But it’s worth noting that the widely anticipated attacks on Pete Buttigieg have largely not materialized, even though he has become a frontrunner in Iowa.

Pete Buttigieg, a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, was asked by Rachel Maddow whether he would cut military spending.

The Indiana mayor replied that he would “reprioritize our budget as a whole and our military spending in particular.”

Buttigieg went on to criticize some of Trump’s defense proposals, such as the president reportedly considering construction of a border wall moat filled with alligators. (Trump denied he considered such a plan.)

Moderator Andrea Mitchell posed a question to Joe Biden about how the former vice president would approach Saudi Arabia considering the killing of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Biden said the status quo with Saudi Arabia was unacceptable and went on to more broadly discuss how he would approach foreign policy, including the protests happening now in Hong Kong.

Amy Klobuchar responded to the same question by saying, “We need a new foreign policy in this country.”

Getting another chance to speak tonight, tech entrepreneur Andrew Yang was asked what he would say in his first conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin if he were elected.

Yang said he would first tell Putin he was “sorry I beat your guy,” prompting laughs here in the press room at Tyler Perry Studios.

Tonight’s debate is historic in one way: it marks the first time that women make up the majority of participants, counting both moderators and candidates.

Answering a question about whether she would offer concessions to North Korea to continue meetings with Kim Jong-un, Kamala Harris said Trump “got punked” by the country’s leader.

The California senator accused Trump of making major foreign policy decisions based on his “fragile ego” and called the president the “greatest threat to the national security” of the country.

Pressed on whether she would offer concessions to continue the Kim meetings, Harris said she would not do so at this time.

Tom Steyer and Joe Biden sparred over climate change, with the billionaire activist accusing the former vice president of not addressing the crisis with an appropriate level of urgency.

Biden replied that he didn’t “need a lecture from my friend” and accused Steyer of having a terrible record on renewable energy.

The debate has returned from a commercial break, and the first question went to Pete Buttigieg about continuing farm subsidies created under the Trump administration.

The Indiana mayor delivered a long answer about the many ways to strengthen America’s farms before moderator Rachel Maddow interjected: “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I need you to answer the question.”

Buttigieg then said he would continue the subsidies but that they would not be necessary under his administration.

The debate has gone to a commercial break, which gives the blog a chance to deliver a halftime report on the event.

• The first question was about the impeachment inquiry, and candidates reiterated that they believed Trump has committed impeachable offenses.
• Amy Klobuchar received Twitter praise for her answer on the double standard facing women in politics. “If you think a woman can’t beat Donald Trump, Nancy Pelosi does it every single day,” the Minnesota senator said.
• Kamala Harris and Tulsi Gabbard got into a contentious exchange about Barack Obama’s presidency, picking up on a feud that started during the July debate.

The blog will have much more coming up, so stay tuned.

Tonight’s debate just became the first of this election cycle to include a question about paid family leave and childcare, with Amy Klobuchar and Kamala Harris describing their plans on the issues.

The conversation then turned to homelessness and housing affordability, which has similarly received little attention in past primary debates.

Meanwhile, over at the Trump campaign’s headquarters, the president’s allies are highlighting Tulsi Gabbard’s criticism of the Democratic Party.

Bernie Sanders was asked about chants of “Lock him up!” when Trump recently went to a World Series game, and he said such chants were distinct from similar chants about Hillary Clinton because the president’s critics are expressing that no one is above the law.

In contrast, Joe Biden emphasized that Democrats should not model their behavior off Trump’s supporters with the chants.

Cory Booker appeared to deliver an indirect criticism of Pete Buttigieg when he pointed out that he was the “other” Rhodes scholar mayor onstage tonight.

This comment prompted celebration from HuffPost’s Washington bureau chief, who recently wrote an article about how Buttigieg’s Rhodes scholarship is mentioned far more than Booker’s.