Andrew Yang (D) is Interviewed on Debate Performance.
CUOMO: All right. We're waiting on Andrew Yang from Houston. He had a good night on the debate stage. And there he is. The Yang gang very active online. I saw one set of reporting, one metric on Twitter about who had gotten the most followers during and after the debate. You were right up there, if not at the top. How did you think it went?</s>ANDREW YANG (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I thought it went great, Chris. People can now feel the Freedom Dividend, because they're going to see their friends and neighbors, hopefully, get it. And I cannot wait to pick the winners of people that can see that $1,000 a month actually makes a stronger, healthier, less-stressed-out. It's going to improve relationships. It's going to improve our entire country.</s>CUOMO: So to those who say, "Man, these people in the Democratic Party, they just can't give away my money fast enough," what's your answer?</s>YANG: Well, first, a study just came out that said that our data is now more valuable than oil. And so I'd ask them to reflect, did you get your data check in the mail? Because there are companies that are profiting to the tune of billions of dollars off of our information, and that's the nature of the 21st Century economy. This is not us getting something for nothing. This is actually our getting what we should be getting as the owners and shareholders of the richest country in the history the world.</s>CUOMO: So you're saying that the money that give each of us $1,000 a month doesn't come from tax rolls? It comes from where?</s>YANG: Well, it comes from the biggest winners of the 21st Century economy. You have a trillion-dollar tech company, Amazon, closing 30 percent of America's stores and malls and literally paying zero in taxes. So if we give the American people our fair share of every Amazon sale, every Google search, every Facebook ad, every robot truck mile, we can easily afford a dividend of $1,000 a month for every American. Because we're going to end up taking this money and spend it in our communities anyway.</s>CUOMO: Why doesn't that offend capitalism?</s>YANG: This is capitalism where income doesn't start at zero. And it's not just me. Jamie Diamond, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, recently came out and said we should declare a national emergency around the economy and have a negative income tax, which is very, very similar to my dividend. So this is the most capitalist thing in the world, because our consumer economy and our markets function much, much better when we have money to spend. It's going to be great for business.</s>CUOMO: The idea of what happened on the debate stage tonight with Castro. I just had him on the show, and I said, "It seemed to me that you took a cheap shot at Biden. You said it three times." He said, "No, no, no, I had a disagreement over policy, and I am here to debate." And I said, "Yes, but how you debate matters." And he says, "No, I didn't mean it in any other kind of way." I said, "Well, everybody went 'Oooh', and people came after you on the debate stage." He wouldn't own it that way. What was your take?</s>YANG: Well, you know, I was standing right between the two of them. And I'll certainly leave it to Americans watching at home how they interpreted it. I have a feeling I interpreted it the same way most people at home did.</s>CUOMO: What does that mean? Why are you guys -- why are you learning these politics games about not answering a question I just asked you? You were one of the straightest shooters up there.</s>YANG: I'm sorry, Chris. I'm a quick study.</s>CUOMO: Well, you -- I know. You're too smart. Damn it. When you were up there, you said, "Come on, guys. Come on, guys." What was that about?</s>YANG: Well, it is literally -- Julian and Joe both worked in the same administration.</s>CUOMO: Right.</s>YANG: And the truth of it is that, when you are in a tough spot and you're, let's say, lower in the polls, then you feel like you don't have a choice but to be aggressive. But I don't think that aggression is what the American people want to see on the debate stage when it comes to people that are, frankly, aligned on very many things.</s>CUOMO: Yes. I think it's -- I think it's a tricky situation for you Democrats, and here's why. As you know, you hear it more than I do, because you're out there on the hustings. Democrats see this president as an existential threat. They consistently tell me in every forum I have, "I'll vote for any of them are as long as they can beat Trump. I don't care who it is." And how you go against him, though, will matter to Democrats. See, that's the difference between your party and that party. If you check certain boxes in the Republican Party, you'll get the vote. They don't care how you get there. The conservatives just showed that by standing next to somebody who doesn't inculcate any of the values that they've preached for decades. You guys aren't like that. So when Julian Castro says, "I'm here to debate. This is how I'll take it to Trump, too," you think that wins for Democrats?</s>YANG: Well, no, I'm on board with the fact that Democrats are laser- focused on trying to beat Donald Trump. I'm one of only two candidates who was on that stage tonight that 10 percent or more of Trump voters said that they would support. So if I'm the Democratic nominee, we will win. That is the math. And that is the case I'm looking forward to making to Democrats around the country.</s>CUOMO: You is your acronym for MATH again?</s>YANG: It's "Make America Think Harder."</s>CUOMO: That's it.</s>YANG: We have to focus on the real problems and start solving them.</s>CUOMO: Yes. I mean, you have a tall task. I couldn't even remember the acronym. Let me ask you one other thing before you let you go. Are you sure you want this job? You see what happens to a president of the United States. You've made it your own way. You've got a beautiful family that you love taking care of. You've been successful a hundred different ways. You're a young man. Do you really want jackals like me coming at you on a 24-seven basis about everything you do and eat?</s>YANG: Well, one of the lessons in entrepreneurship is there are two approaches to a problem. Someone else will take care of it or you're going to take care of yourself. And unfortunately, the first one doesn't work. So we're facing some of the biggest problems for your kids and mind, and if no one else is going to take care of them, then I'm very happy to step up and do all I can.</s>CUOMO: Andrew Yang, I appreciate you taking the opportunity tonight. Good luck going forward. You're always welcome on PRIMETIME to talk about what matters.</s>YANG: Thank you. I'll see you soon, Chris.</s>CUOMO: All right.</s>YANG: All the best.</s>CUOMO: Be well. All right. We just heard from three of the candidates on the big stage tonight. Let's unpack who said what and what does it mean and what is at play and what happens next. Next.