Andrew Yang broke down in tears while speaking at a town hall on gun violence on Saturday, explaining that he got emotional because he was imagining his children being shot and killed.
Yang, a political outsider and 2020 presidential contender, dismounted the stage and hugged a woman who lost her 4-year-old daughter to a stray bullet as her son watched in 2011.
The woman, Stephanie, was asking the candidate what he would do as president to protect children from gun threats.
‘I have a six- and three-year-old boy, and I was imagining –’ Yang said when he returned to the stage, stopping to place his hand over his face as he broke down in tears.
He couldn’t seem to compose himself as he hid his face and cried, taking more than 10 seconds before continuing, ‘I was imagining it was one of them that got shot and the other saw it.’
‘I’m so sorry,’ Yang said, looking in the direction of Stephanie.
Andrew Yang, a 2020 contender, broke down in tears at a gun forum Saturday and took more than 10 seconds to compose himself while speaking to a mother who lost her 4-year-old to a stray bullet
Yang left the stage and hugged the mother, Stephanie, when she asked what he would do as president to address unintentional shootings by children. She said her son watched as her daughter was shot and died
‘I have a six- and three-year-old boy, and I was imagining –’ Yang cut himself off as he covered his face and began to cry. ‘I was imagining it was one of them that got shot and the other saw it,’ he said
The candidate has two sons, and the older one is autistic.
While speaking to reporters after the forum, he explained why he broke down in tears when answering the question.
‘I was just imagining what it was like to be a mother and see your four year old shot and turn around – legally shot – and her brother see that happen,’ he said. ‘If you’re a parent and imagine it happening to your family, it’s really incomprehensible. You know I have six and three-year-old boys and they’re very similar in age and I just couldn’t help think what would happen to my family.’
‘It was certainly nothing I anticipated happening. It was just a deeply touching story,’ he added.
Yang’s emotional display happened during a gun safety forum in Des Moines, Iowa over the weekend, which several other candidates also participated in. The stop was part of a Democratic tour through the state as the Iowa State Fair commenced last week.
‘The biggest downside of running for president for me has been that I don’t get to see my family very much, so I get pictures,’ Yang continued. ‘That scene that you described, I’m sorry, it’s very affecting.’
The New York City tech entrepreneur usually polls within the top 10 candidates, with a RealClearPolitics average of 1.3 per cent support among likely Democratic primary voters as of August 10.
Last weekend, 31 people lost their lives and dozens of others were wounded when two separate gunmen opened fire within hours of each other in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio.
Since then, there have been reupped calls for stricter gun control legislation, and specifically universal background checks. Trump has conceded that he supports stricter background checks for those looking to purchase a firearm.
Yang, a New York City tech businessman, said personalized guns – also known as ‘smart’ guns – would help fix this problem
These guns can sense and detect those who are authorized to use the gun, meaning if an individual not approved to use the gun were to try and use it, it would not work
‘[If] there’s a gun in the household, you’re more likely to have a child get shot or the owner get shot than to kill, let’s say, an intruder into the house,’ Yang said in response to the question.
‘Those are just numbers, those are just the facts,’ he continued. ‘If we can convince Americans that personalized guns are a good idea then again, if the child gets ahold of the gun then they can’t do anything with it, then it just becomes a very heavy, expensive prop.’
Yang has said he would be a good candidate to oppose Trump because he is the opposite of the current president: an Asian man who likes math.
Also on Saturday, while talking about the food he was enjoying at the Iowa State Fair, Yang called the president ‘fat’ and a ‘slob.’
‘I can’t be eating crap on the trail too often because I need to stay in presidential form,’ Yang told reporters after he spoke at the gun forum.
The candidate abandoned the somber tone after the forum, telling those at the Iowa State Fair that Donald Trump is ‘fat’ and a ‘slob’
‘I don’t think Donald Trump can run a mile. Would you guys enjoy watching Donald Trump run a mile? That would be hysterical. What does that guy weigh? 280 or something,’ Yang said of the president
He also challenged Trump to a push up contest, and several other physical and mental competitions
‘No one wants a president who doesn’t seem he can run a mile,’ he said. ‘I don’t think Donald Trump can run a mile. Would you guys enjoy watching Donald Trump run a mile? That would be hysterical. What does that guy weigh? 280 or something.’
‘I say he like passes out at the quarter mile mark,’ he added.
After his presidential physical in February 2019, Trump’s doctor said the president weighs 243 pounds, which at his height of 6 feet 3 inches, is considered just over obese.
‘Oh yeah. I’d challenge Donald Trump to any physical or mental feat under the sun,’ Yang said. ‘Oh god. What can that guy beat me at? Being a slob?’
‘I can do approximately infinitely more push ups to Donald Trump,’ he said.