Andrew Yang on being only candidate of color on Dem debate stage: 'Honor and disappointment'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Businessman and 2020 presidential candidate Andrew Yang lamented the fact that he was the only person of color on the Democratic debate stage Thursday night.
"It's both an honor and a disappointment to be the lone candidate of color on the stage tonight," Yang said during the debate.
Thursday's debate occurred just weeks after Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., dropped out of the 2020 race -- leaving a top tier of just white candidates.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I miss Kamala, I miss Cory, though I think Cory will be back," Yang said, referring to Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J. Booker remained in the race but was unable to qualify for Thursday's debate.
HARRIS' 2020 EXIT LEAVES POTENTIALLY ALL-WHITE DEBATE, CAUSING CONSTERNATION AMONG DEMS
Yang went on to suggest that he was the only candidate of color on stage because minorities lacked disposable income.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"You know what you need to donate to political campaigns? Disposable income," he said to applause.
"The way we fix it this is we take Martin Luther King's message of a guaranteed minimum income, a freedom dividend of $1,000 a month for all Americans -- I'd guarantee if we had a freedom dividend ... I would not be the only candidate of color on this stage tonight," he said.
Yang wasn't the only one to note that the 2020 field was overwhelmingly white for a party that claims to champion diversity.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}DNC UNDER FIRE FOR TIGHTENING DEBATE CRITERIA AGAIN, DESPITE BOOKER APPEAL
Aimee Allison, a leading progressive activist, lamented Harris' departure from the race, noting that it left only white candidates to participate in the debate.
"It's a sad state of affairs to have six white candidates on stage, many of whom don't necessarily speak with black women, who are the powerhouse voters -- and we're at this moment where we went from the most diverse set of candidates in the history -- certainly in my lifetime -- to an all-white stage," Allison told MSNBC's Ali Velshi.
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Yang's comments came amid a Los Angeles Times report claiming that progressive leaders viewed Mayor Pete Buttigieg as a symbol of white privilege.
“There is frustration that Pete is the living and breathing embodiment of white male privilege," Rebecca Katz, who leads a progressive consulting firm, told the paper.