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.
-
Breaking news: the rise of ‘smash hit’ rage roomsUnder the Radar Paying to vent your anger on furniture is all the rage but experts are sceptical
-
Did markets’ ‘Sell America’ trade force Trump to TACO on Greenland?Today’s Big Question Investors navigate a suddenly uncertain global economy
-
‘We know how to make our educational system world-class again’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
The billionaires’ wealth tax: a catastrophe for California?Talking Point Peter Thiel and Larry Page preparing to change state residency
-
Hegseth moves to demote Sen. Kelly over videospeed read Retired Navy fighter pilot Mark Kelly appeared in a video reminding military service members that they can ‘refuse illegal orders’
-
Trump says US ‘in charge’ of Venezuela after Maduro grabSpeed Read The American president claims the US will ‘run’ Venezuela for an unspecified amount of time, contradicting a statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio
-
Bari Weiss’ ‘60 Minutes’ scandal is about more than one reportIN THE SPOTLIGHT By blocking an approved segment on a controversial prison holding US deportees in El Salvador, the editor-in-chief of CBS News has become the main story
-
CBS pulls ‘60 Minutes’ report on Trump deporteesSpeed Read An investigation into the deportations of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador’s notorious prison was scrapped
-
Trump administration posts sliver of Epstein filesSpeed Read Many of the Justice Department documents were heavily redacted, though new photos of both Donald Trump and Bill Clinton emerged
-
Trump HHS moves to end care for trans youthSpeed Read The administration is making sweeping proposals that would eliminate gender-affirming care for Americans under age 18
-
Jack Smith tells House of ‘proof’ of Trump’s crimesSpeed Read President Donald Trump ‘engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election,’ hoarded classified documents and ‘repeatedly tried to obstruct justice’
