Andrew Yang
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Tech entrepreneur Andrew Yang blasted his party for being "obsessed" with President Trump and impeachment at Thursday's debate, saying Democrats appeared out of touch for ignoring the broader economic forces that led to Trump's election.

"Congress's approval is at 17 percent and Americans don't trust the media networks to tell them the truth," Yang said. "The media didn't do us any favors by missing why Trump became president in the first place ... you'd think he's president due to some combination of Russia, racism, Facebook, Hillary Clinton and emails all mixed together."

"But Americans know different," he continued. "We blasted away 4 million manufacturing jobs primarily based in Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Missouri. I just left Iowa where we blasted 40,000 manufacturing jobs. The more we act like Trump is the cause of all our problems, the more Americans lose trust that we can address their concerns."

The Democratic candidates were asked at the start of the debate why public opinion was so divided on impeachment even after the House had made the case that Trump illicitly threatened to withhold funds from Ukraine if the country did not open an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden.

Yang warned that Democratic focus on impeachment would be a political loser in 2020, and said the party must instead focus on how to improve the lives of working class people who lost jobs to automation.

Yang said "we have to stop being obsessed with impeachment" and instead "start digging in and solving the problems that got Trump elected in the first place."


"The American people are treating impeachment like a ballgame where they already know the score," he added.