7 standout moments from the third Democratic debate in Houston

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7 standout moments from the third Democratic debate in Houston

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2020 Democratic debate

Jonathan Bachman/Reuters

Candidates pose before the start of the 2020 Democratic US presidential debate in Houston, Texas.

  • On September 12, ten of the top Democratic presidential candidates gathered in Houston, Texas for the third Democratic primary debate hosted by ABC. 
  • Right off the bat, Andrew Yang made waves by announcing an online raffle to give 10 American families a "Freedom Dividend" universal basic income of $1,000 a month for a year. 
  • Later in the debate, former HUD Secretary Julian Castro took several shots at Vice President Joe Biden, both of whom served in former President Barack Obama's administration together. 
  • Here are the biggest moments from Thursday night's debate. 
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

On September 12, ten of the top Democratic presidential candidates gathered in Houston, Texas for the third Democratic primary debate hosted by ABC. 

Overall, the ABC debate had less direct conflict and fewer dramatic clashes between the candidates than the June and July debates.

Right off the bat, Andrew Yang made waves by announcing an online raffle to give 10 American families a "Freedom Dividend" universal basic income of $1,000 a month for a year. 

Read more: Biden touts Obamacare while slamming Sanders and Warren's healthcare plans

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Later in the debate, former HUD Secretary Julian Castro took several shots at Vice President Joe Biden, both of whom served in former President Barack Obama's administration together. 

"I'm fulfilling the legacy of Barack Obama and you're not," Castro told Biden of his healthcare plan, to which Biden shot back, "That'll be a surprise to him."

While the rest of the debate was relatively tame, Sen. Kamala Harris got in some zingers at Trump, and Sen. Bernie Sanders thoroughly denounced Venezuelan dictator Nicholas Maduro and explained his vision of Democratic socialism. 

Here's a rundown of the seven biggest moments: 

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Andrew Yang announced his campaign would give away a $12,000 annual universal basic income to 10 families.

Andrew Yang announced his campaign would give away a $12,000 annual universal basic income to 10 families.

Andrew Yang's flagship campaign proposal is a universal basic income of $1,000 a month for every American adult, which he calls the Freedom Dividend.

The raffle, first reported by Politico, will begin online next week, and will give ten winning families $1,000 a month for a year. The universal basic income program, which Yang calls the Freedom Dividend, is his flagship campaign proposal.

"It's time to trust ourselves more than our politicians," Yang said. "My campaign will now give a Freedom Dividend of $12,000 per year to 10 families. This is how we will get our country working for us again, the American people."

Julian Castro went after Joe Biden on both healthcare and immigration.

Julian Castro went after Joe Biden on both healthcare and immigration.

One of the biggest clashes of the night was between former Vice President Joe Biden and former HUD Secretary Julian Castro, who served in former President Barack Obama's administration together.

Castro argued that while his plan would automatically enroll people who didn't have private insurance into a public option when they lost their jobs, for example, Biden's would require people to actively enroll.

"The difference between what I support and what you support is that you require them to opt-in, and I do not require them to opt in," Castro said. "Barack Obama's vision was not to leave 10 million people uncovered, he wanted every single person in this country to be covered."

Biden argued that people would not have to buy in to Medicare under his plan, but Castro pushed back, saying, "You just said two minutes ago that people would have to buy in — are you forgetting already what you said two minutes ago?" We need a system that automatically enrolls people no matter what," Castro said.

I'm fulfilling the legacy of Barack Obama and you're not," Castro told Biden, to which Biden shot back, "That'll be a surprise to him."

On the issue of immigration, Castro further accused Biden of constantly name-dropping Obama while shying away from the more controversial parts of Obama's record on immigration.

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And Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Amy Klobuchar admonished their rivals Biden and Castro for trading barbs with each other.

And Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Amy Klobuchar admonished their rivals Biden and Castro for trading barbs with each other.

Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Amy Klobuchar had otherwise unremarkable nights on the debate stage, but did get in some digs at their opponents.

"This is why presidential debates have become unwatchable, this reminds people of what they cannot stand about Washington; people scoring points at each other, people poking at each other," Buttigieg said after Castro and Biden's spat.

"A house divided cannot stand," Klobuchar further admonished, quoting Abraham Lincoln.

Sen. Kamala Harris drew laughs and applause for saying Trump's handling of trade policy reminded her of the Wizard of Oz.

Sen. Kamala Harris drew laughs and applause for saying Trump's handling of trade policy reminded her of the Wizard of Oz.

"The bottom line is this: Donald Trump, in office on trade policy, you know, he reminds me of that guy in 'The Wizard of Oz,' you know, when you pull back the curtain, it's a really small dude," Sen. Kamala Harris said to laughter.

She also jokingly clarified that she wasn't talking about moderator George Stephanopoulos, who is known for — in addition to many aspects of a distinguished career in politics and journalism — his short stature.

Kamala Harris: "The bottom line is this: Donald Trump, in office on trade policy, you know, he reminds me of that guy in "The Wizard of Oz," you know, when you pull back the curtain, it's a really small dude?" pic.twitter.com/jxNtJLGlZf

— Axios (@axios) September 13, 2019
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Moderator Jorge Ramos put pressure on Sen. Bernie Sanders to call out Venezuelan leader Nicholas Maduro as a dictator.

Moderator Jorge Ramos put pressure on Sen. Bernie Sanders to call out Venezuelan leader Nicholas Maduro as a dictator.

"Let me be very clear, anyone who does what Maduro does is a vicious tryrant," Sen. Bernie Sanders said, a much stronger denunciation of Maduro than his previous comments.

Ramos also challenged Sanders to explain the difference between Maduro's left-wing authoritarianism and Sanders' vision of Democratic socialism.

"To equate what goes on in Venezuela with what I believe is extremely unfair," Sanders said. "I'll tell you agree with what goes on in Canada and in Scandinavia — guaranteeing health care to all people as a human right," he said. "I believe the United States should not be the only major country not to offer paid family leave or medical leave."

While discussing educational disparities, Biden went on a confusing tangent about how parents keeping their record players on helps their kids learn more words.

While discussing educational disparities, Biden went on a confusing tangent about how parents keeping their record players on helps their kids learn more words.

Here's the moment where Biden made an outdated suggestion for parents to keep record players on to help kids learn, before immediately switching to talk about American involvement in Venezuela:

“We bring social workers into homes with parents to help them deal with how to raise their children...they don’t know quite what to do...Make sure you have the record player on at night.” - @JoeBiden pic.twitter.com/w3Wc6rGrh4 #maga #DemDebate

— Matt Batzel (@MattBatzel) September 13, 2019
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And in his closing statement, Buttigieg opened up about serving in the military during the era of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." He also spoke of decision to come out while serving in elected office — a historic moment for LGBTQ representation in US politics.

And in his closing statement, Buttigieg opened up about serving in the military during the era of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." He also spoke of decision to come out while serving in elected office — a historic moment for LGBTQ representation in US politics.

Buttigieg made history by using a presidential debate stage to candidly discuss his decision to come out at the risk of his career, saying, "I was not interested in not knowing what it was like to be in love any longer."

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Pete Buttigieg reflects on his decision to come out and the challenges of being a "military officer serving under 'don't ask, don't tell,'" and being "an elected official in the state of Indiana when Mike Pence was governor" https://t.co/T37EaVOvlU #DemDebate pic.twitter.com/DBDMKMPvSH

— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) September 13, 2019
Next StoryKamala Harris says Trump reminds her of the Wizard of Oz: 'When you pull back the curtain, it's a really small dude'