Donald Trump attacked the first two nights of the 2020 Democratic debates while attending the G20 summit in Japan on Thursday.
The president said the first night of debates among leading Democrats in Miami, Florida “wasn’t very exciting” and lambasted his opponents for supporting health care for undocumented immigrants during the second night of debates.
While meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the US president said, “You know they have a debate going on. They had the first debate last night, perhaps you saw it — it wasn’t very exciting, I can tell you that.”
“They have another going on today,” he continued, speaking with the German leader on Thursday night as the debates were going on. “They definitely have plenty of candidates. That’s about it.”
“I look forward to spending time with you rather than watching that,” he added.
1/22 Bernie Sanders
The Vermont senator has announced that he will be running again in 2020 after losing out to Hilary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primaries. He intends to run on a similar platform of democratic socialist reform
Getty
2/22 Joe Biden
The former vice president – poised to be a frontrunner – has announced his run. He recently faced scrutiny for inappropriate touching of women, but was thought to deal with the criticism well
EPA
3/22 Elizabeth Warren
The Massachusetts Senator has formally launched her bid for president in 2020. A progressive Democrat, she is a major supporter of regulating Wall Street.
Reuters
4/22 Bill De Blasio
The New York mayor announced his bid on 16 May 2019. He emerged in 2013 as a leading voice in the left wing of his party but has struggled to build a national profile and has suffered a number of political setbacks in his time as mayor
AFP/Getty
5/22 Pete Buttigieg
The Indiana mayor and war veteran will be running for president. If elected, he would be the first openly LGBT+ president in American history
Getty
6/22 Beto O’Rourke
The former Texas congressman formally launched his bid for the presidency in March. He intends to run on a progressive platform, stating that the US is driven by “gross differences in opportunity and outcome”
AP
7/22 Steve Bullock
The Montana governor announced his bid on 14 May. He stated “We need to defeat Donald Trump in 2020 and defeat the corrupt system that lets campaign money drown out the people’s voice, so we can finally make good on the promise of a fair shot for everyone.” He also highlighted the fact that he won the governor’s seat in a red [Republican] state
Reuters
8/22 Cory Booker
The New Jersey Senator has announced that he will be running for the presidency in 2020. If he secures the nomination he said finding a female vice president would be a priority
Getty
9/22 Wayne Messam
Mayor of the city of Miramar in the Miami metropolitan area, Wayne Messam has announced his bid. He intends to run on a progressive platform against the “broken” federal government. He favours gun regulations and was a signatory to a letter from some 400 mayors condemning President Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord
Vice News
10/22 Kirsten Gillibrand
The New York Senator formally announced her presidential bid in January, saying that “healthcare should be a right, not a privilege”
Getty
11/22 Kamala Harris
The former California attorney general will be running for president in 2020. Introduced to the national stage during Jeff Sessions’ testimony, she has endorsed Medicare-for-all and proposed a major tax-credit for the middle class
AFP/Getty
12/22 John Delaney
The Maryland congressman was the first to launch his bid for presidency, making the announcement in 2017
AP
13/22 Tulsi Gabbard
The Hawaii congresswoman announced her candidacy in January, but is likely to face tough questions on her past comments on LGBT+ rights and her stance on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad
Getty
14/22 Andrew Yang
The entrepreneur has announced his presidential candidacy, and has pledged that he would introduce a universal basic income of $1,000 a month to every American over the age of 18
Getty
15/22 Julian Castro
The former San Antonio mayor announced his candidacy in January and said that his running has a “special meaning” for the Latino community in the US
Getty
16/22 Marianne Williamson
The author and spiritual adviser has announced her intention to run for president. She had previously run for congress as an independent in 2014 but was unsuccessful
Getty
17/22 Eric Swalwell
One of the younger candidates, Swalwell has served on multiple committees in the House of Representatives. He intends to make gun control central to his campaign
Getty
18/22 Seth Moulton
A Massachusetts congressman, Moulton is a former US soldier who is best known for trying to stop Nancy Pelosi from becoming speaker of the house
Getty
19/22 Amy Klobuchar
Klobuchar is a Minnesota senator who earned praise for her contribution to the Brett Kavanaugh hearings
Getty
20/22 Jay Inslee
Inslee has been governor of Washington since 2013. His bid centres around climate change
AFP/Getty
21/22 John Hickenlooper
The former governor of Colorado is running on a sensible ticket. He aims to sell himself as an effective leader who is open to compromise and evidences this with his experience as governor
Getty
22/22 Tim Ryan
Ohio representative Tim Ryan will be running a campaign that hinges on his working class roots
Getty
1/22 Bernie Sanders
The Vermont senator has announced that he will be running again in 2020 after losing out to Hilary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primaries. He intends to run on a similar platform of democratic socialist reform
Getty
2/22 Joe Biden
The former vice president – poised to be a frontrunner – has announced his run. He recently faced scrutiny for inappropriate touching of women, but was thought to deal with the criticism well
EPA
3/22 Elizabeth Warren
The Massachusetts Senator has formally launched her bid for president in 2020. A progressive Democrat, she is a major supporter of regulating Wall Street.
Reuters
4/22 Bill De Blasio
The New York mayor announced his bid on 16 May 2019. He emerged in 2013 as a leading voice in the left wing of his party but has struggled to build a national profile and has suffered a number of political setbacks in his time as mayor
AFP/Getty
5/22 Pete Buttigieg
The Indiana mayor and war veteran will be running for president. If elected, he would be the first openly LGBT+ president in American history
Getty
6/22 Beto O’Rourke
The former Texas congressman formally launched his bid for the presidency in March. He intends to run on a progressive platform, stating that the US is driven by “gross differences in opportunity and outcome”
AP
7/22 Steve Bullock
The Montana governor announced his bid on 14 May. He stated “We need to defeat Donald Trump in 2020 and defeat the corrupt system that lets campaign money drown out the people’s voice, so we can finally make good on the promise of a fair shot for everyone.” He also highlighted the fact that he won the governor’s seat in a red [Republican] state
Reuters
8/22 Cory Booker
The New Jersey Senator has announced that he will be running for the presidency in 2020. If he secures the nomination he said finding a female vice president would be a priority
Getty
9/22 Wayne Messam
Mayor of the city of Miramar in the Miami metropolitan area, Wayne Messam has announced his bid. He intends to run on a progressive platform against the “broken” federal government. He favours gun regulations and was a signatory to a letter from some 400 mayors condemning President Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord
Vice News
10/22 Kirsten Gillibrand
The New York Senator formally announced her presidential bid in January, saying that “healthcare should be a right, not a privilege”
Getty
11/22 Kamala Harris
The former California attorney general will be running for president in 2020. Introduced to the national stage during Jeff Sessions’ testimony, she has endorsed Medicare-for-all and proposed a major tax-credit for the middle class
AFP/Getty
12/22 John Delaney
The Maryland congressman was the first to launch his bid for presidency, making the announcement in 2017
AP
13/22 Tulsi Gabbard
The Hawaii congresswoman announced her candidacy in January, but is likely to face tough questions on her past comments on LGBT+ rights and her stance on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad
Getty
14/22 Andrew Yang
The entrepreneur has announced his presidential candidacy, and has pledged that he would introduce a universal basic income of $1,000 a month to every American over the age of 18
Getty
15/22 Julian Castro
The former San Antonio mayor announced his candidacy in January and said that his running has a “special meaning” for the Latino community in the US
Getty
16/22 Marianne Williamson
The author and spiritual adviser has announced her intention to run for president. She had previously run for congress as an independent in 2014 but was unsuccessful
Getty
17/22 Eric Swalwell
One of the younger candidates, Swalwell has served on multiple committees in the House of Representatives. He intends to make gun control central to his campaign
Getty
18/22 Seth Moulton
A Massachusetts congressman, Moulton is a former US soldier who is best known for trying to stop Nancy Pelosi from becoming speaker of the house
Getty
19/22 Amy Klobuchar
Klobuchar is a Minnesota senator who earned praise for her contribution to the Brett Kavanaugh hearings
Getty
20/22 Jay Inslee
Inslee has been governor of Washington since 2013. His bid centres around climate change
AFP/Getty
21/22 John Hickenlooper
The former governor of Colorado is running on a sensible ticket. He aims to sell himself as an effective leader who is open to compromise and evidences this with his experience as governor
Getty
22/22 Tim Ryan
Ohio representative Tim Ryan will be running a campaign that hinges on his working class roots
Getty
Still, the president reportedly claimed to have passed by a television during Thursday night’s summit when he noticed the second round of debates at a moment when politicians were responding to a question about providing health care insurance for undocumented immigrants.
Each of the 2020 hopefuls on stage at Thursday night’s contentious debate were in agreement over providing health care to migrants who arrived at the nation’s borders with documentation.
Mr Trump tweeted seemingly in between meetings: “All Democrats just raised their hands for giving millions of illegal aliens unlimited healthcare.”
“How about taking care of American Citizens first!?” he continued, adding, “That’s the end of that race!”
On Wednesday night, the president tweeted the first night of debates were “BORING!” and did not live-tweet the entirety of the events as some reports suggested he was planning on doing while travelling to the G20 summit.
Numerous candidates took a turn to swipe at Mr Trump during their remarks at the multi-day debates, with leading candidates like Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren each portraying themselves as the president’s polar opposite in terms of rhetoric, policies and proposals.
