AVENTURA, FLA. (WSVN) - - Three presidential candidates gave speeches and answered questions at the National Association of Black Journalists conference in Aventura.
South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and U.S. Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey took the stage to answer questions from a panel of journalists, Thursday.
President Donald Trump was a point of emphasis for all of the candidates that spoke at the conference, the largest journalism conference in the U.S.
“This president represents a tremendous challenge, and we must call out his racism,” Buttigieg said.
“[Trump] is trying to divide us up by the color of our skin and where we were born,” Sanders said.
Buttigieg spoke first and discussed a variety of topics, such as mass shootings, gun safety, race relations in the U.S., criminal justice reform and climate change.
“This whole country is in danger by white supremacy,” Buttigieg said.
Buttigieg was then followed by Sanders, who led with a discussion on wealth inequality as well as massive disparities between the rich and the middle class. Sanders also spoke about health care and race relations.
“Making sure that there are more African American health care professionals right now in under-served areas,” Sanders said.
Booker gave a speech to the forum’s attendees and also answered questions from the panel.
“We have come to the distraught present that right now in America, there’s more black folk under criminal supervision than all the slaves in 1865,” Booker said.
Booker ended the event with a message on diversity, prosperity and his vision if elected president.
“At times, we’ve seen the best of America through our multi-racial, multi-cultural, multi-ethnic coalitions that actually have been the times we’ve made major advancements,” Booker said.
The candidates will head to the Iowa State Fair, where they hope to gain some critical points in the important battleground state.
All three candidates are vying for the democratic presidential nomination in 2020.
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