Eric Swalwell Urges Fellow Dems To Take It To Trump In Second Round Of Debate

Presidential hopeful Rep. Eric Swalwell called it “mind-boggling” that his fellow Democratic candidates spent much of Wednesday’s debate avoiding Donald Trump.

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During a pre-debate interview with MSNBC’s Ari Melber, Swalwell said it’s important for the Democratic candidates to explain just how big a threat Trump poses to the country.

“I think it’s like we were all avoiding the elephant in the room,” Rep. Swalwell said. “He’s a threat to everything that we value.”

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When the MSNBC host asked Rep. Swalwell if he would take it to Trump on Thursday night, he responded:

How can we not? … That was mind-boggling to me (that Democrats largely avoided going after Trump on Wednesday). It’s like we were all avoiding the elephant in the room, which is he’s a threat to everything that we value. He’s a threat to all of our freedoms, including the freedom to dream, which is if you work hard, do better, dream bigger.

It’s important to identify the threat Trump poses to America

In the first Democratic primary debate on Wednesday, many of the candidates were effective in introducing themselves to the country and laying out their vision to the future.

What was largely missing, however, was a sense of urgency from the candidate about how critical it is that the current president – more than any in this country’s history – must be denied a second term in the White House.

Democratic candidates are right to try to make their campaigns about the issues. But they also need to show that they understand the threat Trump poses to the country and have what it takes to go to head-to-head with him on the general election debate stage next fall.

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Sean Colarossi

Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.