Bullock: I would not have endorsed health care for undocumented immigrants on debate stage

Montana Gov. Steve Bullock (D) said Sunday that he would not have joined his fellow 2020 Democratic presidential candidates who raised their hands on the debate stage last month to indicate they favored providing health care to undocumented immigrants.

“A lot of the discussion that’s been happening on the debate stage is a bit disconnected from people’s everyday lives,” Bullock, who did not qualify for the Democratic National Committee’s first debate but is set to participate in the second, told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos.

{mosads}“I don’t believe in open borders [but] I don’t believe we have to build a wall,” he added, saying that guaranteeing health care for undocumented immigrants would mean “multiples of” the recent influx of migrants crossing the border.

Bullock, who has often touted his electoral victory in a state that went 56.2 percent to 36.7 percent for President Trump in 2016, told the “This Week” host that he believed governors were innately better-connected to their constituents than federal officeholders, adding that he “hear[s] about health care directly from constituents” when grocery shopping.

The Montana governor contrasted himself with candidates such as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) who have called for the elimination of private health insurance, which Bullock said would “disrupt … 18 million people,” adding that he favored a public option and negotiations between the federal government and drug manufacturers.

Bullock also defended four congresswomen on the left flank of the party after President Trump tweeted last week that they should “go back” to other countries, saying that while he disagreed with them on many issues, “any parent, any preacher, knows that telling four duly elected congresswomen to go back home, it’s racist.”

The presidential candidate blasted Trump for a chant of “send her back” that erupted at a campaign rally last week in reference to Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), which Trump has since disavowed. Bullock told Stephanopoulos the moment was “going to be a stain on this presidency.” 

Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, a 2020 candidate, tells @GStephanopoulos President Trump is “using race and using immigration to distract and divide us” https://t.co/2SgN2rxLp3 pic.twitter.com/J8KNqut00D

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) July 21, 2019