2020 Democrats Take On LGBTQ Issues At CNN Town Hall
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: In our "2020 LEAD" today, a moment getting a lot of attention from Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren at CNN's Town Hall last night focused on LGBTQ issues.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If a supporter approaches you and says, Senator, I am old fashioned, and my faith teaches me that marriage is between one man and one woman. What is your response?</s>SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I'm going to assume it's a guy who said that. And I'm going to say, just marry one woman. I'm cool with that. Assuming you can find one.</s>TAPPER: A lot of applause for that in the room. What was your response?</s>MARY KATHARINE HAM, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, look, it's a moment that sort of built to go viral for her on Twitter, but Twitter is not the American electorate. So I would have suggest had I been advising her which have not, a note of respect for the person's religious beliefs while also noting you're welcome to do as you wish and these people can do is they wish. That's how we coexist, right? I think that would be maybe slightly better tone because if you take that to believers in Michigan, and Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin where you have to win their hearts, maybe a nod to their sincere religious beliefs would be helpful. I would also note that on the other side of things, something built to go viral the bad way is Beto O'Rourke's idea that he's going to punish churches that don't perform same-sex marriages. And that is also --</s>TAPPER: Take away their tax exempt status.</s>HAM: Right. That is also something that does not play in Peoria.</s>TAPPER: Are you -- are you concerned as a Democrat who wants a Democrat to win, are you concerned about what you heard last night in those two examples?</s>JEN PSAKI, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: You know, one, as we all know, they're all playing to the Democratic base right now because they have to win the nomination before they worry about any of those questions. I don't think that Elizabeth Warren is betting in a general election. She is going to win the hearts and minds of people who are against gay marriage. I think that is a pretty safe bet on her part. The majority of the public is for it. On Beto O'Rourke's part, you know, I think he's making some headway a little bit by saying things that he clearly believes that are a little out there for the Democratic electorate. I don't think he's going to be the nominee. Others may be asked that. It's probably not in line with Peoria but they're betting that the majority of the public is -- that they need to win over the general election is where they are.</s>TAPPER: Another interesting moment from last night from former Vice President Joe Biden talking about how far discussions on LGBTQ issues have come.</s>JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Remember, Anderson, back 15, 20 years ago, we talked about this and in San Francisco is all about, well, you know, gay bathhouses, and everything. It's all about around the clock sex. It's all -- come on man.</s>TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, part of the reason that Vice President Biden is facing some challenges especially among younger voters, people who think that he's not sort of attuned to the current moment. That comments that were OK, maybe 20, or 15 years ago are no longer OK in the political sphere, especially among the Democratic base. He seems to still be pulling well, he still seems to be doing OK especially among older voters, but those types of gaffs, if you call if you want to call them that or misstatements, will make it harder for him to build a broad coalition that you need in a Democratic primary to not only, you know, winning the general but also be able to make it through a Democratic primary where the base, specifically younger voters and people who may be offended by that kind of language will need to be catered to. And I'm not sure that --</s>HAM: Can someone give him a list of things not to say in this forum and he just like read it? Because the top of the list would be gay bathhouses and the round the clock sex, those would be the two things.</s>TAPPER: Does it concern you at all? It seems like another record player moment kind of to me.</s>PSAKI: Yes, look, there have been a number of moments where even those of us who have affection for Vice President Biden think what on earth is happening right now. But there's still continues to be affection from The American public including within the Democratic primary voters for him.</s>TAPPER: He still leads.</s>HAM: And in Peoria.</s>PSAKI: And in Peoria. And part of his appeal is that he says things that your uncle says and people feel comfortable with him and it's a return to normalcy. So yes, that was a weird comment. I'm not sure it's going to impact him in the -- in the long run.</s>TAPPER: Record players and bathhouses. Be sure to tune in Tuesday night for the CNN New York Times Democratic Presidential Debate they'll be 12 candidates on stage in Ohio. That's at 8:00 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday. Coming up, thousands of people evacuated, several homes destroyed, at least three major highways have been closed. 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