Tom Steyer announces 2020 run with campaign video evoking Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump Jr.
For a brief, blissful second, the Democratic 2020 pool narrowed to 23 candidates. That time is over.
After a slew of Monday reports indicated that liberal billionaire Tom Steyer was inching toward a 2020 run, he officially announced his Democratic campaign for president with a four-minute campaign video released Tuesday morning. The announcement comes after Steyer indicated earlier this year he wouldn't run in 2020, but well after his November ad campaign that looked an awful lot like a presidential platform.
Steyer starts the video by explaining how he grew up during the Civil Rights era, and how that showed that the "underlying injustice of America was coming under attack." He also doesn't shy away from the fact that he's a billionaire, but instead emphasizes that he signed the Giving Pledge to donate half of his wealth while he's alive, while saying many other wealthy people would "rather make money than save the world" from climate change. To emphasize that point, the ad flows through footage of Jeffrey Epstein, Martin Shkreli, and other wealthy people and Republican politicians.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In November, Steyer unveiled a website and six-figure online ad campaign touting what he called the "five rights" essential to "an equal chance to earn their fair share of America's prosperity." He's also spent much of President Trump's term calling for his impeachment, including with a $12 million TV ad buy aimed at congressional Democrats.
The announcement comes after Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) announced Monday he was ending his 2020 campaign, focusing instead on his reelection next year to the House.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
‘It’s hard not to feel for the distillers’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
A long weekend in FontainebleauThe Week Recommends Less than an hour from Paris, this historic town is perfect for a short break
-
Political cartoons for December 16Cartoons Tuesday’s editorial cartoons include calibrating fonts, Christmas classics, and more
-
Senate votes down ACA subsidies, GOP alternativeSpeed Read The Senate rejected the extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits, guaranteeing a steep rise in health care costs for millions of Americans
-
Abrego García freed from jail on judge’s orderSpeed Read The wrongfully deported man has been released from an ICE detention center
-
Indiana Senate rejects Trump’s gerrymander pushSpeed Read The proposed gerrymander would have likely flipped the state’s two Democratic-held US House seats
-
Democrat files to impeach RFK Jr.Speed Read Rep. Haley Stevens filed articles of impeachment against Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
-
$1M ‘Trump Gold Card’ goes live amid travel rule furorSpeed Read The new gold card visa offers an expedited path to citizenship in exchange for $1 million
-
US seizes oil tanker off VenezuelaSpeed Read The seizure was a significant escalation in the pressure campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro
-
Judge orders release of Ghislaine Maxwell recordsSpeed Read The grand jury records from the 2019 prosecution of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein will be made public
-
Miami elects first Democratic mayor in 28 yearsSpeed Read Eileen Higgins, Miami’s first woman mayor, focused on affordability and Trump’s immigration crackdown in her campaign
