The second half of the Democratic candidates, relatively more uniform in policy than their night one counterparts, took the stage Wednesday to tussle on everything from criminal justice reform to deportations.
The night was punctuated with chanting hecklers, personal attacks and spotlights on the records of lawmakers like former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA).
Here are the biggest takeaways from the debate:
“Take it easy on me, kid”
The initial interactions between Biden, Harris and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) belied some of the underlying tensions between the three. Biden shook Harris’ hand with a folksy “take it easy on me, kid.”
When Booker strode onto the stage, he fixed Biden with a silent and steely gaze. He was much warmer with Harris, giving her a big hug as she called him “buddy.”
The Harris-Biden clash over busing was the most notable snippet from the first debate and Booker has since gotten in on the Biden jabs, earning himself some headlines and ratcheting up the three-way tension.
Biden to Harris: “Go easy on me, kid” pic.twitter.com/dS2tJ42IPv
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) August 1, 2019
Harris took some serious heat
Harris was hit early and often by not only Biden, but also Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI). In the health care portion, the three of them took aim at her plan, sometimes subtly accusing her of dishonesty.
Here, Bennet calls her his “friend” then proceeds to implore honesty about the contents of her health care plan:
Bennet taking aim at Harris over her healthcare plan pic.twitter.com/h3gMdtot28
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) August 1, 2019
So much heckling
There were multiple bouts of heckling during the debate, some reaching such a pitch as to force the candidates to stop speaking.
The first occurred during New York Mayor Bill de Blasio’s introductory statement and seemed to spill over into Booker’s comments. They appear to have been chanting “fire Pantaleo!” a reference to the New York police officer who placed Eric Gardner in a fatal chokehold for selling loose cigarettes.
Later, the chant “three million deportations!” broke out while Biden was speaking on immigration, a reference to those deported under the Obama administration.
Biden’s immigration comments interrupted by hecklers pic.twitter.com/5oBigvGg13
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) August 1, 2019
Biden took fire on immigration, criminal justice
Both de Blasio and Julián Castro slammed Biden on deportations under the Obama administration, and the former veep seemed flat-footed in response. It was a fairly predictable attack, as he’s the only candidate that served directly in a presidential administration overseeing deportations, as every administration does.
He took heat from Booker on criminal justice reform too, as the senator accused him both of having a poor track record on the issue and not being forward-oriented enough. Harris jumped on the topic too, revisiting the busing debate that was the hallmark of the first debate.
The Mueller report finally came up
The Mueller report came up Wednesday night after being completely omitted on night one. The question was most likely prompted by Harris’ statement about directing her Justice Department to prosecute President Donald Trump, should she become President.
It gave the candidates a chance to reiterate their calls for impeachment, though there isn’t much sunlight between them on the conviction that Mueller brought Trump’s misdeeds to the forefront.
