clyburn held his annual fish fry in south carolina 21 presidential candidates spoke and mingled with voters. to coincidecheduled with the democratic party's gala dinner held over the weekend. the first fish fry was held in 1992 as a thank you to the campaign volunteers who helped mr. clyburn win his first national election. [cheering] >> alright! oh, my gosh! good evening, colombia! [applause] the view from here is absolutely marvelous. came to see all of you. [applause]

state blessedher with that number of candidates all in one place. you are special. [cheers] >> my task is to introduce to you the members of congress who have joined us from all over the country. we do have a few. and if they would join me on the stage, i would appreciate it. and these members are the ones not running for president. first, we have representative barbara lee from california. 13th district. secondly, we have marcia fudge from the 11th district of ohio. we have representative richmond

from the second district of louisiana. [applause] next, cheri bustos from the 17th district of illinois. [applause] she's probably out there swallowed by you. the next, we have representative from the 17th district of california. [applause] and we have some coming to the stage now. next, we have steve forsberg from the fourth district of nevada. [applause] and lastly, we have representative joe cunningham. [applause] from the first district of south carolina. [applause] and because representative

cunningham flipped the district, we will allow him a generous one minute for remarks. [applause] it 45 seconds, though. listen, thank you also much for coming here tonight. thank you to majority whip congressman clyburn. [applause] we're one of the few seats that actually flipped the house. because i can tell you that majority whip clyburn sounds a lot better than minority whip clybourn. we're going to keep him in the minority. a lot of people think south carolina is a red state. i'm here as living proof that democrats with our values, we can win every precinct of the state of south carolina.

you all need to be proud to be south carolinians. be proud to be democrats. and be proud to be eating fried fish with the next president of the united states here tonight. y'all give it up. >> wonderful. thank you so much for those remarks. are we ready for the next speaker? >> [inaudible] >> i know, right? ok .if jamie harrison could come -- ok. ok. if jamie harrison could come to the stage, please. and while we're waiting for him

to come up, we'll have remarks from cedric richmond, a representative from louisiana. >> well, i have the great title of being assistant to the whip, which means i do whatever he wants me to do for free. so in that light and in honor of the first amendment right now, he's going to get a free speech. actually, what he's going to get is a free introduction. jim clybourn is one of those special people. he means what he says and he says what he means. and he is absolutely the conscience of the congress. he is our leader. he is our majority whip. come on up, james t. clybourn. [applause] better known as the husband to ms. emily. >> thank you. thank you, thank you, thank you. thank you, cedric. thanks to each and every one of you.

thank you so much for all that you are doing. to help restore dignity and respect to the governmental process in this country. thank you. so much for all that you're doing to help turn this state blue. [applause] say. want to [indiscernible] how mucht want to say i appreciate the respect these candidates have given to your hard work, your dedication, for

your love of country, for all the efforts making this a viable party here in this state. i have been asked time and time again, what is this fish fry all about? let me tell you. this is our effort to say thank you to those who worked every day, not looking for anything in return. just trying to get good people in government. trying to improve your lives, trying to select leaders who will make this a great country. and i hear this all the time. this country doesn't have to be made great again. it's already great. it's been great for a long time.

and the candidates here today are those people vying to make the greatness of this country acceptable and affordable for all americans. that's our challenge. and to get us started tonight, i --t to call to the stage we get started, barbara lee finally made it. come on up. say thank you. the chair of the state party chair, who just had a dinner that turned out to be the biggest sit down event ever held in the columbia convention center. congratulations, chad robinson. now before we start the candidates who will be coming up

momentarily, i want to call up here one of my proteges. i love this young man. i met him when he was in the 11th grade. and i've been trying to get rid of him ever since. can't get rid of him. quite frankly, don't want to get rid of him. he is going to be one of the biggest surprises in the united states of america next year, jamie harrison. >> thank you, congressman. south carolina, are y'all ready? are you ready? what are we going to do, south carolina? no, we are going to send lindsey home. [applause]

we all know about our senator lindsey graham. he's probably the most well off golf caddie in the country. george will calls him a political wind socket. this is a man who changes his colors more so than any chameleon. but his spine went away. it left somewhere. i don't know. this is what we're going to do. this campaign is not going to be about lindsey graham. this campaign is going to be about all of you, the people of south carolina. we are going to make a toference but we have rebuild trust in this state. people no longer believe in the political process. they don't even believe in political parties. we are going to give people hope again. we are going to build trust and

we are going to do it all again this year. all of the pundits, some of them are here, saying there's no way in the world you will win in south carolina. let me tell you what my fairytale is. the day after the election, you all turn on your tv's and you flip over to fox news. you see sean hannity with a handkerchief, crying. and you say to him, what happened to hannity? the first thing is donald trump is packing his bags. [applause] the second thing is, on the they'ref the ticker, going to say, oh, my god, what happened in south carolina? we are sending lindsay home. thank you so much. sign up and volunteer. we need you. i love you. thank you all.

>> thank you, jamie. ladies and gentlemen, she finally showed up, barbara lee from california. and here is my good friend, roe carter. also from california. and now, to get us started -- ladies and gentlemen, he's a former congressman. i told him here tonight i give him credit for helping establish the tone that made our comeback possible. many of you recall one night on the floor of the house of representatives john lewis led a sit down. and we were told it was against the rules. at when john lewis sat down

the lunch counters down in georgia, it was against the rules. however, he sat down anyway to make sure the country knew what we were doing. this man, beto o'rourke, put together an effort that led to make everyone know what we were doing. we stayed on that floor until 2:00 a.m. in the morning. and we saw him reestablish his party in state of texas, beto o'rourke. >> thank you. how's everybody feeling? buenos noches. i am so grateful for majority

whip clyburn for his work, along with joe cunningham, to make sure the house of representatives closes the charlston loophole, that we make progress on ending gun violence in this country. but one of the things i am most grateful to you for, sir, is his work in the reconstruction era national monument and pen center, making sure that the full story of the united states of america is told to the people of the united states of america. because we know when everyone's story is included in our national story, it is only then we can right the wrongs and set this country in the right path. following the lead and the inspiration of jim clyburn, we have been going through every single part of this state to listen to everyone. going to sumter to listen to those veterans who put their

lives in this line to make sure when they return, we spare no expense. that we end the wars we're in and bring those servicemembers back home. going to buford, paying respects at the gravesite of robert smalls to make sure that he's in this national story, and make sure we know how the people of the low country will meet the challenge of climate change before it is too late. going to denmark, south carolina and listening to people who just want to be able to drink the water that's coming out of the tap. and they want a federal government who will invest in their communities. and going to south carolina state university and listening to people talk about justice where every story is included so there is justice for every single american. if we bring everyone's story into the story of this country,

it is only then that we will achieve the great things we want to do, universal high-quality health care. a world-class public school education system because we get behind public school educators. criminal justice reform in this country, confronting the challenge of climate change before it is too late. so south carolina, thank you for sharing your story with us, making it part of the national story, and insuring that this country can meet the greatest challenges that we've ever faced and do it together. [speaking in spanish] we'll see you later. adios. thank you very much. >> thank you so much, beto. thank you. now, ladies and gentlemen, the next person up needs no introduction.

he is the former vice president of these united states. ladies and gentlemen, joe biden! [cheers and applause] rep. biden: hello, everybody. it's great to be back. this is my third fish fry, jim. number three. i think i've been in every one of your counties over the years. if is like i've lived in south carolina for a long time. look, it's a delight to be here with jim. i was pointing out today, the highest ranking african-american other than the guy i worked with for eight years. [applause] know ins, look, you all your gut this election is more important than any one, no matter how old you are you've ever been involved in. not because any of us are running because of the man who occupys that office. we can make up the four years of damage he's done. but eight years of damage will be almost impossible to get back. so folks, i'm here to tell you, i hope to be your nominee. i'm going to work as hard as you

can to get your support. but here's the deal. whomever the democratic nominee is, we have to stay together and elect a democrat president of the united states of america. [cheers and applause] so thank you! thank you! thank you! thank you! and i tell you what, i do miss fritz being in here, jim. nice to see y'all. i did it in a minute. rep. clyburn: thank you so much. we might have to put this as a day down in history, that's the shortest speech joe biden ever made. now, ladies and gentlemen, i understand that today is national selfie day. if that is true, we got the best representation of that fact that one could have. next up, i call him the selfie man of the united states of america, my good friend cory booker!

[cheers and applause] sen. booker: it is selfie day. hello, south carolina! give it up for jim clyburn. alright. there's a whole bunch of candidates that are going to coming onto this stage. but this is not about one person or one office. it's about who we are as a nation and who we must be for each other. and so, let us all dedicate ourselves in this election to making this all about taking it back, not for elected -- not for connected, but for the people of the united states of america. and we all must make sure that we may be in the midst of a primary, but when the primary's over, we become a united force. [cheers and applause] not just to beat one guy in one office, but we become a united force to put the indivisible back in this one nation under

god and stand up for liberty and justice for all. and so now, this is a fish fry. so i want to end with this. from one dad to a guy that loves dad jokes. let's not flounder. let's get out there and kick some bass. [laughter] rep. clyburn: that's great. thank you. and now, ladies and gentlemen, this next candidate is an author who has written many self help books, a great friend of oprah winfrey, and now a presidential candidate. put your hands together for the woman who has writed a self-help guide on how to become president of the united states, mary anne williamson. mary anne: thank you, sir, thank you. thank you so much, congressman.

ladies and gentlemen, in 1863, at the battlefield where the soldiers at gettysburg had died, abraham lincoln said that they had died so that a government of the people and by the people and for the people would not perish from the earth. and yet, today, in 2019, on our watch, a government of the people and by the people and for the people is perishing in front of our eyes. a government by the people for the people and by the people has become a government for a few of the people for a few of the people by a few of the people, by multi-national corporations, and for multi-national corporations. a capitalism gone amuck. a viral strain of capitalism has

corrupted our government and it has hijacked our moral value systems. it is time for the people to step in. [cheers and applause] we need a moral and a political and an economic revolution in this country. in 1776, we said hello to an aristocracy, and it's time to say it again. ladies and gentlemen, it's time for our generation, a generation rose up and abolish slavery, a generation rose up and gave women the right to vote. a generation rose up and abolished segregation. ladies and gentlemen, it is our time. it is time for the people to step in. thank you! see you tomorrow! thank you! thank you! thank you! thank you, congressman. rep. clyburn: thank you so very, very much. now, ladies and gentlemen, our next candidate announced his candidacy in the most millenial way possible.

he announced on late night tv and the next day on twitter. my good friend -- he really is my good friend, eric swalwell. rep. swalwell: thank you, whip clyburn. i think it's so appropriate that you gave us all the same t-shirt believe our candidates are all part of the avengers. we're here to save america. the republicans, that's the hunger games. but i have to ask you, south carolina, were you finished with your work when you made us in the majority in the house of representatives by sending us joe cunningham? were you done? no. you know what you did? you gave us the majority. you gave us a shot to save this country. you cut our time in hell in half . i'm bringing the promise to

americans to all americans. i was the first to go to college. my dad was a cop. they worked hard so i would do better and dream bigger. we have an opportunity with 21 -- 28 new embers of congress in their 40's and under. will the future be a health care guarantee where if you're sick your scene and you don't go broke? will the future for college be 0% interest for student loans? will the future include dirty maps and dirty money? and will the future for women's health care say her body, her choice? and will the future for ending gun violence say that we love our children more than we love our guns? [cheers and applause] so here's my pledge to you. ending gun violence will be my top priority. we pass background checks in the house of representatives because you sent us joe cunningham. make me your nominee. you will get sick and tired of

seeing me because i'm going to come here all the way in november to help elect jamie harris into the senate so we can pass that there, too! so let's challenge the next generation to go big on the issues. be bold with the solutions and do good again as americans. thank you so much. thank you, whip. rep. clyburn: thank you very much, eric. our next candidate comes to us all the way from colorado. he has been on a restaurant tour. he's been a geologist. he's been a mayor. he's been a governor. and he is aspiring for the next office. john hickenlooper from california. [applause] john: all right. how are we doing out there, south carolina? i want to thank reverend clyburn, thank you for putting this together. i want to take all of the volunteers this is an honor of. my name is john hickenlooper. i'm a small business owner who took that scrappy spirit into

being governor of colorado. i want to give you a few examples what we did there with that scrappy spirit. we expanded women's reproductive rights and we reduced teenage abortion by 66%. we were the first state to legalize marijuana. in the process, we also changed our legal system. we closed two prisons. we got the near universal health care. we passed universal background checks. we have the most secure voting system in the country and some of the highest turnouts. you should care about that. we also have the number one economy in america for the last three years and the best apprenticeship program this side on the atlantic. i want to take those same processes, successes, and roll them out for the country. a lot of people here have a lot

of good ideas. if it worked in colorado, it will work for the usa. thank you all for being here. [cheers and applause] rep. clyburn: thank you so much, governor. our next candidate is a former mayor, a former secretary of housing and urban development, a young man who aspires for another housing program, the white house of the united states of america. my good friend julian castro. julian: [speaking in spanish] good evening. thank you, whip clyburn. you know, i have a twin brother joaquin that serves with representative clyburn. we grew up on the west side of san antonio with my grandmother and my mom. my grandmother had come over from mexico when she was 7 years old as a little girl because her parents died. she never finished elementary school in san antonio, so she worked as a maid, a cook and a babysitter her who life.

she raised my mom as a single parent. and my mom raised my brother and me as a single parent. and to think that just two generations after my grandmother got here with nothing to the united states, one of her grandsons is serving as a member of the united states congress , and the other one is running for president of the united states of america. [cheers and applause] that is america. that is its promise. and, you know, in this campaign we're not just going to talk the talk, we're going to walk the walk. we're going to be fearless. a couple of months ago, i was in charleston, a couple of blocks away from the mother emanuel church. and it reminded me that four years ago, someone went in there and he murdered nine people. and then a few hours later, he was apprehended by police without incident. and it made me think, well, then, what about eric garner? and what about stephon clark?

and what about jason ferrell? and what about laquan mcdonald? and what about pamela turner? and walter scott and sandra bland? we are going to be fearless about making sure this country works for everyone, whether it is dealing with police brutality, or making sure we don't have another flint because we'll insure that lead is not another major public health threat. we can be the smartest, healthiest, fairest, and most prosperous nation on earth. let's go make it happen. thank you. rep. clyburn: thank you so much, julian. our next candidate is someone with whom i worked very closely over the years. we have been the fearless duo when it comes to expanding health care through community, health centers. he ran before.

he's back again. ladies and gentlemen, my friend, your friend bernie sanders. [cheers and applause] bernie: thank you. let me thank -- thank you. let me thank jim clyburn not only for being a great congressman but for working together to make sure that everybody in this country can at least have high quality primary health care. [cheers and applause] you know, we've got a president today who thinks he's going to win re-election by dividing the american people up. well, we've got some bad news for him. we're going to do exactly the opposite. we are going to bring the american people together.

black, white, latino, native american, asian-american, and we're going to bring our people together around an agenda that works for all of us not just the 1%. [applause] health care is a right, not a privilege. we are going to raise that minimum wage to a living wage 15 bucks an hour. we are going to make public colleges and universities tuition-free. and we are going to substantially reduce student debt. [applause] donald trump thinks that climate change is a hoax.

well, donald trump is wrong. and together, we are going to take on the fossil fuel industry. and we are going to transform our energy system to energy efficiency and sustainable energy. we are the richest country in the history of the world. 500,000 people should not be sleeping out on the streets tonight. gentrification should not be destroying neighbors. we are going to put people to work rebuilding our infrastructure and building the affordable housing this country desperately needs. brothers and sisters, at the end of the day, the 1%, they've got a lot of money and a lot of power. but we've got something they

don't have, we are the 99%. and 99% is a hell of a bigger number than 1%. let us stand together. let us defeat trump. let us transform this country. thank you, all. rep. clyburn: thank you so much. and now, ladies and gentlemen, our next candidate is a gentleman who decided that it was not difficult enough to be mayor of new york city. he decided to take on something a little more difficult and that is running for the united states of america, the mayor of new york city, mayor de blasio. mayor de blasio: everybody,

congressman jim clyburn was a civil rights activists in his youth, now one of the great leaders of the united states of america. let us thank him for all he does. [applause] and congressman : that is some damn good fish. thank you for the fish fry. everybody, our party needs to be the party of working people. i have a simple message. working people first. do you agree with that? working people first. working people are the heart of this country. but the government is not on the side of working people. we have no such illusion. we have to make a change. now, in new york, i've proven it does not have to be of and by the 1%. in new york, we listen to the people. and we've given things to the working people they deserve. we put money back into the hands of working people. we need to put money back in the hands of south carolinians. and americans everywhere.

we've done pre-k for every child for free. do you want that in south carolina? we've made sure that working people if they get sick, got -- god for bid, they get paid sick days, so they don't have to choose between going to work or going to doctor to get well. do you deserve paid sick days in south carolina? we believe in the green new deal in new york city. do you believe in the green new deal? we're making it come alive in new york. and we can make it come alive in this whole country. you know what else we've done, we've divested $5 billion from the fossil fuel company that put us in this mess to begin with. and one more thing -- one more thing. i got sick of waiting for washington to address health care. today in new york, we guarantee health care for anyone who does not have insurance. we guarantee it. we give them a primary health care doctor for free. do you think you deserve that in south carolina? do you think people should go to

the emergency room and that's their only doctor? we need to guarantee health care. by the way, there's no health care without mental health care. and i want to thank my wife chirlane mccray who is leading the charge in new york and around the nation. everyone deserves access to the mental health care they need without any sigma or any discrimination. so my friends, our party -- our party needs be to every american, clearly the party of working people. we need to be the party that's on the side of people who have been ignored for so long. we need to be the party that's willing to take on the rich and the powerful once an for all. when we become in the eyes of every day americans the party of working people again, we will not only defeat donald trump, we will defeat trumpism. we will defeat all the division, all the hatred. we will unify this country,

because it will be a place for everyone again. let's be the party of working people. let's be a country that honors working people, and let's win in 2020. thank you, everyone. rep. clyburn: thank you very, very much and now, ladies and gentlemen, our next speaker demonstrates there's something in the water out in colorado. ladies and gentlemen, the united states senator from the state of colorado, a good buddy, michael bennett. [applause] sen. bennett: i don't know if it's in the water, mr. whip, in colorado, it might be something else. hello, everybody. i'm michael bennett from colorado. you may not have heard of me. i haven't spent my life running for office. i'm not a career politician. in fact, i was a school superintendent before i was in the senate. i want to say a couple of things tonight while i'm on the stage.

thank you, mr. whip for your incredible leadership of this country. it is an unbelievable thing that as we meet here tonight, we have a president in the white house that does not believe in the rule of law. we have a president who doesn't believe in an independent judiciary. we have a president who doesn't believe in the congressionally -- we have a president who doesn't believe in the constitutionally granted right to a free press. we have a president who doesn't believe in a women's right to choose. we have a president who doesn't believe in universal health care, and he's taking health care away from millions of americans. we have a president who denies that climate change is real. in my view, we have a president who doesn't care about america. i don't think he loves america. i don't think he loves anybody but himself. and if you didn't vote for him, he's not working for you.

and he doesn't think you count. and he wants to take your food away from you. and he wants to take your chance for free speech away from you. we need to beat this guy in 2020. and the only way we're going to do it is by overcoming the divisive politics that he represents. the rear-view mirror that he represents. we need to go forward, united on an agenda that brings the american people together around health care, around our economy , and around climate change. i think we can do it. and not just beat donald trump. but govern this country again and do the right thing by the next generation of americans. thanks for being here tonight. thanks for having me, mr. whip. we'll see you soon, south carolina. rep. clyburn: thank you very much, senator. our next candidate, we have a woman who is a reigning

wrestling champion from the state of new york, the woman who proved to me that they got more cornfields in upstate new york than we have here in upstate south carolina. kristen gillibrand. sen. gillibrand: i just want to thank congressman clyburn for hosting us, for making this an opportunity for all of us to have the best fish fry in the nation. god bless you, god bless congressman clyburn. ladies and gentlemen, the one thing you need to know about me is that i've taken on the powerful and the corrupt my entire career. i took on the pentagon twice. first over the repeal of don't ask, don't tell. and then over sexual violence in the military. as a member of congress from new

york state, i took on the banks. i voted against the bailout twice. i've taken on members of congress many times. first by posting my earmark, my schedule, my financial disclosure, and my taxes, and then passing a law that bans insider trading by members of congress. i have taken on president trump more than any other senate in the u.s. senate voted against his agenda more than anyone else. so i will take on the battles that other people won't because that's what this presidential election is actually about. about standing up for our democracy, about fighting for our values, about making sure our voices are heard. in 2018, record number people turned out. over 100 women ran because we stood up to president trump.

imagine not just a woman having a seat at the table, but imagine a woman at the head of the table. [applause] imagine what the agenda would be. in order to do any of the good ideas we've heard tonight, any of them, the first thing you need to do is go to the root of the corruption. you need clean elections. you've got to root out political corruption with publicly funded elections. once you restore that democracy, that power into the hands of the people, so you have as much power as any koch brother. then you can do anything that we talked about. health care is a right and not a privilege. medicare for all, single payer health care. when you do that, you could pass a green new deal. take on the corrupt polluters. take on the fossil fuel industry. and you can make sure that we have lower prescription drugs by

taking on the drug companies, taking on the opioid industry. so i promise you, the best way to take on a bully is to stand up to him and fight for what we believe in. and that's what we, this country will do in 2020! god bless, america! rep. clyburn: thank you very much, kristin. our next candidate announced her candidacy for president of the united states in a big snowstorm. and she kept those snowflakes in her hair so long, thought she needed to come down here to south carolina to get rid of them. so amy klobuchar step forward, the senator from minnesota. sen. klobuchar: thank you so much, mr. clyburn. and, you know, the last time we were together at this fish fry

when i spoke here, i think it gives us all good luck, south carolina. because the last time was the year that we elected barack obama as president. [cheers and applause] ok. so yes, i announced in the middle of that snowstorm. and afterwards, the president of the united states sent out a tweet. and he made fun of me for talking about climate change in the middle of a blizzard. so i wrote back. donald trump, the science is on my side. and i'd like to see how your hair would fair in a blizzard. ok. but the reason i did that by that river was that i wanted to make a point. that it is time to cross the river of our divide, to get to a higher plane in our politics. and my background is a little different than donald trump's. my grandpa was an iron oer minor. my mom was a teacher and a proud

union member. my dad was a proud newspaper man. and i stand before you as the granddaughter of an iron ore miner, as the daughter of a teacher and a newspaper man, as the first woman elected to the u.s. senate from the state of minnesota and a candidate for president of the united states! that is what america is about. shared dreams, the simple idea that no matter who you come -- the simple idea that no matter where you come from, no matter who you know, no matter where you worship, no matter where you love, that you can succeed in the country. we have a man in the white house that divides us every day. he goes after immigrants after people of color. he decides he's going to send us to war by tweet. and we need to come together and win. and every great thing that my colleagues have said up here, we need to get done. we need to go after climate change, right? we need to do something about prescription drugs and bring

those costs down. we need to go after college costs and bring them down. but none of this is going to happen unless you vote. so i'm going to end with this, there is nothing more important than voting, not only for president, but for all of your tickets. the great joe cunningham if you're over there in charleston , for representative clyburn for all your candidates for state house, for state senate. and you've got to do it. and the way we do it, by the way, is reauthorizing the voting rights act by stopping what they have done. stacy abrams would be governor in georgia if they hadn't done what they would do. that is right, that is true. so the last thing i ask you, i'd love your support because our number one for our democracy to pass my bill to automatically register every kid in this country when they turn 18! that is how we move this

country. i'd love your support! thank you, everyone. thank you, south carolina! [applause] rep. clyburn: thank you, senator. thank you so much. our next candidate comes to us from middle america. he has the experience of watching a small town lose all of its economic impact, watching working men and women not do well, a guy i spend a lot of time with up in washington, d.c. but i turned on my tv the other morning and he was doing yoga. i don't know what that means. but tim ryan is your mic. and do a yoga move. tim: thank you, jim clyburn. and i think we're doing some hot yoga tonight. thank you so much. my name is tim ryan.

i represent a congressional district in northeast ohio, halfway between cleveland and pittsburgh. and i can tell you stories going back 40 years where my father-in-law lost his job at youngstown sheet and tube 40 years ago, unemployed for 13 months. had a second daughter, had a mortgage. borrowed money from his parents. i could tell you about my cousin donnie, who was a vietnam vet 15 years ago. his last act that he did at the company he worked for was to unbolt the machine from the factory floor, put it in a box, and ship it to china. i could tell you a story just a of a general motors plant in my district that used to have 16,000 workers that is now idle. and what i want you to know here in south carolina is that when

those factories close, i know who works in them. they're my family. they're my friends. and the middle-class has been getting screwed now for 40 years. it's time for us to reclaim our place in the american democracy that we have here! and we do this, my friends, by building again in the united states of america, by making things again in the united states of america, by filling these factories where we make the electric vehicles, where we make the batteries, where we make the solar panels, where we reverse climate change by putting the american people back to work. , my friends, by moving forward -- by moving the center of gravity in the democratic party back to the

middle of the country and back to the south. if we do that, we will send donald trump packing, but we will also send mitch mcconnell packing. we will win a seat in north carolina. we will win a seat in west virginia. we will win a seat in iowa. and we will send lindsey graham packing too. thank you! rep. clyburn: thank you, tim. our next candidate is a member of the house of representatives, but before that, he gave his all so that we can stand here tonight. a man who spent three tours of duty in afghanistan sacrificing on our behalf. ladies and gentlemen, seth moulton. rep. moulton: thank you very much, good evening, south carolina!

i'm a united states marine veteran. i'm a united states congressman. and i am a young father. and i do not want my 8-month-old daughter growing up in a country defined by donald trump. donald trump thinks he knows what is patriotism is. he thinks that patriotism is hugging the flag. patriotism is standing up every single day to make sure the flag stands for something. donald trump also thinks that he is above the law. and that is wrong. which is why i was the first candidate in this race to say that the job of the united states house of representatives when a president breaks the law is to start impeachment proceedings and we should have done that a long time ago.

i have fought for this country. and i will fight for you. and someone who has been fighting for you for 25 years is jim clyburn. and i just want to tell you one quick thing. when i came to the united states congress, i defeated an 18-year incumbent in my own party. i was not exactly the popular kid on the block. and a lot of people said they would be a good mentor to me. but one man took me under his wing, introduced me to all his friends, and made sure that i got off to a great start. that's your jim clyburn. it's our jim clyburn. a great american. thank you all very much. rep. clyburn: thank you. and now, ladies and gentlemen, our next candidate -- [applause] all right.

the leader of the yang gang. there they are. andrew: hello, south carolina! it's so fantastic to be here with you! i'm not a career politician. i'm an entrepreneur and a problem-solver. and i am here to solve the biggest problem, the biggest challenge of our time. it is a challenge that got donald trump elected in 2016. the reason why donald trump is our president today is this, we automated a way four million manufacturing jobs here in south carolina, michigan, ohio, pennsylvania, wisconsin, missouri, iowa, and our friends in technology no that we will do to the retail job. the call center jobs, the fast food jobs, the truck driving jobs, and on through the

economy. we are in the midst of the greatest economic transformation in the history of our country. what experts are calling the fourth industrial revolution. i'm running for president to help manage and make real solutions that will help improve our lives. if you have heard anything about me, you have heard this, there is an asian man running for president that wants to give everyone $1000 a month. all three of those things are dead true. what would $1000 a month mean for the college kids struggling tousc or columbia college pay your bills, tuition, textbook russia -- textbooks? what would it mean for a single mom planning a better life for their son or daughter? what would it mean for the elderly south carolinians struggling with prescription

drug prices going higher and higher? this is a vision of a trickle up economy that with your help, we will take to the rest of the country in 2020, trickle up from our families, our communities, what do you think, south carolina? this is the vision. we have to solve the problems that got donald trump elected in the first place. now, donald trump is our president because he got some of the problems right. but his solutions were garbage and nonsense. his solutions were build a wall, turn back time, bring the jobs back. and we have to do the opposite of all that. we have to turn the clock forward. we have to advance our society and our economy as fast as possible, and i am the man for that job because the opposite of donald trump is an asian man who likes math. let's make america think harder. thank you, south carolina. i love you. thank you, congressman, clyburn.

rep. clyburn: thank you, andrew. [applause] rep. clyburn: ladies and gentlemen, our next candidate is also a mayor from the state of florida. him -- mesasam. mayor messam: thank you, congressman clyburn. hello, south carolina! i'm mayor wayne messam. my wife of 21 years, i drug her up from south carolina. i'm getting out of the dog house. so help me say, i'm sorry, baby. south carolina, miramar mayor wayne messam.

i stand before you as the son of immigrants. my father was a contract sugarcane cutters who cut sugarcane's in the heart of south florida for $.75 for a role of sugarcane's. i'm not supposed to be in front of you today. i have not been the candidate you have seen on cnn, fox, msnbc town halls, but i'm a formal football player -- but i'm a former football player. and sorry for my clemson tiger friends. i caught my first touchdown against clemson for the heisman trophy winner, charlie ward. but i went on after my nfl career was cut short. we built a construction company, one of the fastest minority firms in florida. we're proud of that and grateful for that. and i'm living the american dream that my parents came here for. but i've seen for too many americans that that dream is

slipping away. let's talk about what i've done as a mayor. we're the 13th largest city in the state of florida. but we're fighting a lot of issues that are transferable across this country. i'm suing the state of florida so i can put sensible gun control laws in my city. if i don't want assault style weapons in our parks, don't you know the governor of florida can remove me from my office. find me $5,000 and my city can be seen. that is ridiculous. but i'm not sitting back. i'm suing the state for that. right now, there's a rig trying to drill oil until the -- trying to drill outside of my city in the everglades. and we're fighting that right now. as a mayor we passed a living wage in our city because we feel our city workers should not have to work more than one job to take care of their families. we banned the box in my city because you may have had a hiccup in your past. so we don't ask the question if

you've been arrested if you're trying to get your life back on track. america, my friends, for us to win this election, we cannot forget the disenchanted. i was the first candidate to propose a complete forgiveness of student loan debt in this country. $1.5 trillion. affecting 44 million americans. i'm so glad to see other candidates have proposed their own plans. we know that access to higher education is far reaching for many of us, especially people of color and women, who own almost 50% of that debt. we can do that. we have a president in this country right now that is so bent up on building a wall on our southern border. the political will is just that strong that he'll take money away from our bases to build it. so my question to you is, why isn't our political will so

strong enough that we'll provide health care to every american in this country? why don't we have political will to have sensible gun control in america? why don't we have the political will to make sure that we pass a living wage at $15 an hour in this country so that americans can really be able to take care of their families? so if you want to support this campaign, i want to thank you, south carolina. you gave me my second national poll. and i'm only one poll away from making it to the debates. so if you want to continue to help my campaign, visit wayneforusa.com because i tell you i will bring a championship voice to this race. there's more ideas. so thank you for having me this evening. thank you mr. clyburn for having a great fish fry. i think i had too many pieces, but i'm going to get a couple

more. we love you, south carolina. take care. rep. clyburn: thank you, mr. mayor. our next candidate is my classmate. we came to congress together. sworn in in 1993. i'm still hanging around congress. he's now retired as the governor of the state of washington. ladies and gentlemen, my good buddy jay inslee. gov. inslee: thank you. that's my phrase. my name is jay inslee, governor of the state of washington. could we give a big thanks to the people who fed us tonight? they were incredible. a lot of work going on. listen, we know that we've got hot fish and cold beer. two of the best things in the world. but we do have a little serious work to do tonight. and i want to talk to you about two things. i want to talk to you about one of the reasons i've always been jim clyburn's big fan. back when george bush was trying to start a war in iraq and the

war drums were beating, and the deception was fine, and john bolton and his crew was trying to start a war in the mideast, jim clyburn stood like a big oak tree against the iraq war and i stood with him. and now, that same strength that this man showed, we've got to show to stop a war in iran. that's what the democratic party needs. i do hope you're going to stand with me in that regard. i think this country deserves a president who doesn't lie to us all the time. now, there's a lot of lies that can get to us. but there's one that bugs me the most. when he says that climate change is a hoax, when our towns are burning down, when our fields are flooded, when our coastlines are inundated, when he says that wind turbines cause cancer, we

democrats know they don't cause cancer. they cause jobs. and we are going to put people to work in this nation defeating climate change, because we're going to make defeating the climate crisis the number one job of the united states. and when we do that, we're going to put 8 million people to work in union jobs, i.b.w. members, machinists, carpenters, car workers, this is for the united states. let's go beat climate change. it is our destiny. thanks a lot. rep. clyburn: thank you. and now, ladies and gentlemen, our next candidate is also a friend, a former colleague. i had my biggest book signing event in his home, hosted by him and his great wife. ladies and gentlemen, john delaney. john: thank you, thank you, jim

clyburn. let's hear it for jim. for the incomparable. the extraordinary, the one-of-a-kind. thank you, south carolina. i tell you, the one thing that always struck me about jim -- so i grew up in a working class family. my dad was an electrician, he was a union electrician. and we didn't have any fancy conversations around the dinner table about politics. but what he would tell me all the time, if you care about workers, you vote for the democrats. and i tell you if we can get back to that lesson, we're going to win every election. and jim clyburn doesn't let anyone forget about that lesson in the congress of the united states. my friends, together, we are on a mission. a mission to find the america that has been lost. lost through inaction, through

instability, lost through a president who lacks a moral compass. we are better than this. every one of us are better than this. we are a country of faith, of goodness, of strength, and ambition. we saved the world. we created the american dream for millions of people, including people like myself who grew up in a blue collar family, had a successful career in business, then the privilege to serve my country. but we did it with real solutions. not impossible promises. and we got to do that again. whether it's fixing health care, improving public education, building infrastructure, or creating jobs. we got to do it with real solutions and put the worker at the center of those solutions. that's what i promise to do as your president. i've done it my whole life. i don't want to just be your president. i want to do the job. god bless y'all.

thank you, jim clyburn. thank you, south carolina. and thank you for soon sending jamie harrison to the senate of the united states of america. rep. clyburn: thank you very much, john. many of you recall, john was here last year. thank you so much for coming back. ladies and gentlemen, our next candidate is someone with whom i've partnered in recent weeks to do what we can, to reduce student debt. she's got a plan for that. and i want to share in that plan. ladies and gentlemen, elizabeth warren. [cheers and applause] rep. warren: hello, south carolina! we got aolina --

government that works great! it works fabulously! it works terrifically for the rich and the powerful! i'm running for president because i want a government that works for the rest of us. i'm in this fight because i believe that the time for small ideas is over. we need big, structural change in this country and this economy. and big structural change starts with big ideas. how about a wealth tax on the top .10 of 1%? and, you know, what we can do with that money? we can build opportunity in this country. universal childcare for every baby age 0 to 5.

pre-k for every 3 year-old and 4-year-old in this country. raise the wages of every childcare worker and pre-school teacher in this country. tuition-free technical college, community college, and four-year college all across this country. $50 billion to our historically black colleges and universities. and in a great plan with congressman clyburn, we can cancel student loan debt for 95% of the kids who have got it. we make this government work for us. and that means we're just getting started. we need to attack our problems head-on. we need to attack climate change head-on. we need to attack the control of

the nra head-on. we need to have courage in this country. so for me, it's about building a future. this is our chance. 2020, we can dream big, fight hard, and win! [applause] rep. clyburn: thank you. and now, ladies and gentlemen, to all of the candidates, after our next two speakers, we would like for you to come up. a lot of people would want this picture of all of the candidates up. we believe that picture can be the picture we can carry across

south carolina and help turn this state blue. so now, ladies and gentlemen, i want to introduce you to our next candidate who is a fierce, fierce prosecutor, a great united states senator from the state of california, a good friend whose name i know how to pronounce, kamala harris. [applause] rep. harris: what's up, columbia! [laughter] so listen, it's that point of the evening where almost everything that has to be said has been said except one thing -- >> madam president! [laughter] rep. harris: i'm going to take us down for a moment. i'm going to take us down. let's go for a moment.

we just celebrated this week , sadly, the fourth anniversary of emanuel nine. and we cannot forget that it was here in south carolina that we have had heroes of our nation who fought and died for civil rights, who fought and died for equality, who fought and died to insure that we would have a voice, that our voice would be recognized, that our voices would be powerful, and that we would not relent until there was fully equality for all americans and all human beings. and so we honor the emanuel nine. we an honor the heroes that they were. it is upon their shoulders that i stand as a candidate for

president of the united states. and i will tell you, i fully intend to win this election. [applause] and -- and in this fight -- this is a fight not only to recognize our history and honor the ancestors and honor the heroes. it is a fight for our future and a vision of our future and a vision of our future of our america. and our vision of our america's future includes a vision where everyone has health care, it will not be a matter of privilege. it will be a matter of a right. our vision for our america is an america where no one has to suffer. no one has to be in pain. no one has to worry about where their next paycheck is coming from. in our america, people will only have to work one job to put food

on the table and a roof over their head. in our america, our teachers will be paid their value because they are rising our future. [applause] in our america, no one that has h.i.v. or aids will be prevented from having the drugs they need because they don't have the money in their back pocket. [applause] in our america, our children will never have to sit in school worrying about a gunman roaming the halls of their classroom and schools, because we will put andther reasonable gun laws a renewal of the assault weapons ban in our america. and in our america, we will have a president of the united states who is in the business not of

beating people down but lifting people up. and with your help, we will get this done. thank you, south carolina. [applause] rep. clyburn: thank you, my dear. and now, ladies and gentlemen, our next candidate, i know you have seen her picture on billboards all up and down our highways and byways. not just on the interstate, coming out of rural church in colleton county sunday before the last, and i looked up, there was this big billboard in rural carlton county, a billboard of tulsi gabbard. tulsi. rep. gabbard: aloha, south carolina! let me hear you one more time. aloha! thank you very much, congressman clyburn for your incredible leadership. and how much hard work you and

your team put into hosting this event. it's great to be back here in south carolina especially in the middle of summer. almost 17 years ago, i was here with a big rucksack on my back and a duffle bag in my front as a young private headed to fort jackson. now, i've served for now over 16 years in the army national guard. i've deployed twice in the middle east where i had the privilege and the honor of serving with so many great americans, people who truly embodied what it means to put service above self, people who sacrificed so much. as your president, i will bring those values of service above self to the white house, putting people ahead of profits, putting people ahead of politics, placing the interest of the american people in our country above all else. now, the challenges that we face

are great. because the rich and powerful have been in charge of washington for far too long, leaving the rest of us behind. but here is what i know, that when we stand united, motivated by the care and love we have for each other and our country, there is no challenge we cannot overcome. when we stand united, we can pass medicare for all. when we stand united, we can take on big pharma and insurance who are exploiting profits. when we stand united, we can pass criminal justice reform and federal marijuana prohibition and ban private prisons. when we stand united, we can stand together to protect our environment. make sure we have clean water and clean air, and ban offshore drilling.

as your president and commander in chief, i will end the wasteful regime change wars that have been so costly. i will end the new cold war and nuclear arms race and take the trillions of our hard-earned taxpayer dollars and invest them in our people, in our communities, and in our future. so i am asking you to stand with me and join me as we bend the arc of history away from war and towards peace, towards that bright future with hope and opportunity, justice, and equality for all. thank you all so much. aloha! rep. clyburn: if i could get all the candidates, please join us -- if we can get the candidates -- >> kamala!

>> i know, right? go on down to the end. all the tall people in the back. oh, they want the short people up front. all right. can we see everybody? all right. get your head between someone. ladies and gentlemen of south carolina, these are your candidates!

[applause] show them how much south carolina appreciates them being here! [applause] rep. clyburn: where's angela? ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much for being here. i want to thank my daughters, jennifer, angela, mignon. my granddaughter, cindy. -- my granddaughter, sydney. my staff. and those of you, i want you to know how much i love each and every one of you.

if things go well, let me tell you, emily is doing well. she is going to be around. we are going to celebrate our 58th on monday. [applause] thank you so much for asking. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2019] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> tomorrow morning, planned parenthood's action front will host a forum in columbia, south carolina, with 16 of the democratic presidential candidates. scheduled to talk about access to abortion and women's reproductive health care. watch live starting at 11:00 a.m. eastern. >> sunday at 3:00 p.m. eastern, democratic