Steve Bullock Fields Questions at CNN Town Hall Meeting
Montana Governor Steve Bullock, the last governor remaining in the hunt for the Democrat nomination for the Presidency, fielded questions from a CNN Town Hall meeting on Sunday evening.
Host Alisyn Camerota introduced the first participant, a high school student, who asked Bullock about his stance on gun control after so many school shootings. Bullock has often stated that gun violence should be addressed as a public health issue, but veered from that view to criticize President Trump.
“I’ll give you a reason why we can’t look at it as just a public health issue,” said Bullock. “In fact, I’ll give you 30 million reasons. That’s how much the NRA spent to make sure that Donald Trump was elected. When I was growing up the NRA used to be just a gun safety and hunting organization, now it’s a dark money-filled organization that does nothing but drive us apart.”
Bullock was also asked about the reported rise in white supremacy across the country, where, once again, Bullock laid the blame at the feet of Donald Trump, who he said is fueling the issue.
“I think we’re in a challenging time in this country,” he said. “I think the first thing that we can do to really tamp this down is to make sure that Donald Trump isn’t reelected President. Secondarily, leadership matters in this country. The way one leads both Democrats and Republicans, no one will countenance the hate-filled rhetoric, not just from this President, but so many people across this country.”
The final question came from Camerota, who asked Bullock if he believed there was really a crisis at the southern border.
“It is a crisis,” he said. “It’s a humanitarian crisis that we have to address. Look, I believe in border security, but I don’t believe in ripping families apart, and at some point we have to acknowledge that we need comprehensive immigration reform. But, we also have to recognize that the biggest problem we have right now in our immigration system is Donald Trump. He’s using it to not only rip families apart but to rip this country apart. The best step that we can take until we get to comprehensive immigration reform is getting rid of Trump.”
Following Bullock on the stage on CNN was New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.
(The full video of the town hall meeting is attached to the story above)