CNN "The Situation Room" - Transcript: Interview With Andrew Yang (D), Presidential Candidate

Interview

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BLITZER: Let's continue this. Joining us now, Democratic presidential candidate, Andrew Yang, who's also a businessman.

Thanks very much, Andrew, for joining us. So let me start with the breaking news and get your reaction. Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York, thinking seriously of jumping into the Democratic primary. What do you think?

ANDREW YANG (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, he is a phenomenal entrepreneur and businessman. I will say that I think it'd be very tough for someone to jump into the race at this point in time. I'm here in New Hampshire. And I've been here now over 20 times, getting to know the voters of New Hampshire. I just wouldn't envy anyone who tried to get into the race at this late juncture.

BLITZER: Because I suspect he's very uneasy with the current field of Democratic candidates. He's worried -- this is what I've heard from some of his associates over these past few weeks as these rumors were starting. He's worried that the current field might not be able to beat the incumbent president. What do you think?

YANG: Well, the burden is on us to present a new way forward and a new vision for the country that gets people excited. That's what's going to help solve the problems that got Donald Trump into office in the first place and that's what it will take to beat him in 2020, in the general election. I plan to be that candidate.

BLITZER: So tell us why you think -- let's say he jumps in, hypothetically, Andrew, why do you think you'd be a better candidate than Michael Bloomberg, who spent, you know, a couple of terms as the mayor of New York City and by all accounts was widely respected and did well?

YANG: I admire Michael's work a great deal. He and I have actually met. But to me, the focus has to be on solving the problems that got Donald Trump elected in the first place. We're going through the greatest economic transformation in our country's history. We started with decimating millions of manufacturing jobs, and now we're heading to retail, transportation, call centers.

And to me the focus has to be on these problems. I haven't -- I know that Michael understands technology and the future but I haven't seen him present real solutions beyond retraining that from the data I have seen will not be effective for the majority of Americans, particularly those who are a bit older, who are being forced to transition.

BLITZER: He's worth billions and billions of dollars. You say it might be too late. He doesn't have to worry about raising money. He's got billions. If he wants to self-fund his campaign, he could easily do that. That's an advantage. Right?

YANG: For sure. But we already have one billionaire in the race. And we're seeing the limits of what money can do. You know, as someone who's now been campaigning for a number of months, again, there's no substitute for meeting people in their homes or union halls or places of business or worship and getting the chance to meet people over the last number of months has, to me, been the lifeblood of my campaign. And I think it's very, very hard to substitute that with money.

BLITZER: You just wrapped up a town hall in New Hampshire. You're up there very actively on the campaign trail. Let me ask you this. What are you hearing from voters about impeachment?

YANG: You know, Wolf, I get very, very few questions about impeachment. And the fact is, when we're talking about Donald Trump, we are not presenting a new vision that's getting people excited. The voters here in New Hampshire see it the same way I do, which is that impeachment will not help move the country forward and talk about Donald Trump is a loser for Democrats even if it's in the context of impeaching him.

BLITZER: If the House of Representatives, Andrew, were to vote to impeach the president by Christmas, the trial in the Senate would likely begin in January. That's right before the Iowa caucuses, right before the New Hampshire primary. Do you worry about that dominating the news and the race for the Democratic nomination becoming a distraction?

[17:45:03]

YANG: I do. I think that would be terrible timing for the Democratic field. And we have to face facts that not a single Republican crossed the aisle for the House impeachment vote. And if that plays out in the Senate, then Donald Trump is likely to not be successfully impeached. I expect him to be there for to defeat at the ballot box in 2020.

BLITZER: Would you like to see impeachment wrapped up on an expedited timeline or should the House take its time to lay out all the alleged wrongdoing by the president?

YANG: I think the sooner the better and then we can get our focus back to beating Donald Trump, if he's still there, which I expect him to be. So, if the timeline plays out where half the Democratic field is in D.C., listening to testimony through the crucial month of January, I don't think that's a good thing.

BLITZER: Let's talk a little bit more about the campaign. As you know, Elizabeth Warren's rise in the polls is being met with some rather sharp criticism from Joe Biden who slammed her Medicare for All plan, accused her of being an elitist. You called Warren's plan overly optimistic. But do you think it's fair to label her, to call her an elitist?

YANG: It's certainly not a term I would use. We have to focus on people's actual ideas and policies for the country and not get caught in attacks about someone's background. To me, I said it was overly optimistic because one of her primary funding mechanisms is a wealth tax that when a wealth tax was tried in France and Germany and Denmark and Sweden, they repealed it because they couldn't meet the optimistic revenue projections. I don't see any reason to expect that it would meet those revenues here in the U.S. when it didn't work in those countries.

BLITZER: You have a Medicare for All plan that would give people still the option of keeping their private health insurance. Do you see your plan as closer to Elizabeth Warren's or Joe Biden's?

YANG: I think it takes the best of both worlds, Wolf. The fact is, the burden has to be on our government to demonstrate to the American people that any Medicare plan or public plan is a better alternative to the existing insurance programs. And if we can demonstrate that, then people will vote with their dollars and with their feet and we can squeeze out private insurers over time. But if we can't demonstrate that, then American consumers will make the choices that are best for them and their families.

And unlike Elizabeth Warren, I do not believe that every American hates their insurance company. I think that there are some Americans who actually are quite attached and happy with their coverage.

BLITZER: Yes. There's a lot of people who like their private health insurance. You're going to share a debate stage on, what, November 20th in Atlanta, Georgia, with nine other Democrats. You qualified for that debate. You haven't yet qualified for the Democratic presidential debate in December. I think that's going to be in Los Angeles. If you don't make it, what will that mean for your campaign?

YANG: We're going to make it, Wolf. And as you know, we just put down a seven-figure ad buy in Iowa. Our polls are all heading up to the right. We made every debate very comfortably. I'll be on the stage in November and December and January and February, and the entire way through the winter and the spring.

BLITZER: A very confident Andrew Yang joining us here in THE SITUATION ROOM.

Andrew, thanks so much for joining us. Good luck out there on the campaign trail.

YANG: Thanks, Wolf. See you soon.

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