Exclusive Andrew Yang interview: ‘I genuinely am just a human.’
Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang was in Rock Hill late last week to talk with voters at the Old Town Amphitheater.
Before the event, the entrepreneur and founder of the nonprofit Venture for America talked with The Herald about his policies, campaign strategy and low amount of speaking time in the November Democratic presidential debate.
What was your reaction to Wednesday night’s debate and your speaking time?
You always want more of a chance to talk to the American people. We’ve had great nights at the debate independent of speaking time. And I think that was the case this week.
But we’re excited for the next debate because I think the field’s going to shrink and we’ll have even more time to let people know that we need to rewrite the rules of the 21st century economy to work for us. And even in limited speaking time this week, I think that message hit home.
In the Carolinas, there’s discussion about the inadequacy of special needs education. Have you encountered a lot of people who talk about special needs in the Carolinas and how do you handle that discussion?
I do because as you know, one of my boys has special needs. He’s on the autism spectrum and I talk to parents around the country who struggle with the fact that their communities don’t have the resources necessary to help their child develop and get stronger in various ways.
I feel for them really deeply because I’ve been through it. And we’ve been fortunate, but not everyone is around people who have the right expertise. Their school district doesn’t have the same support mechanisms in place.
So, we need to change that because one of the things I’m saying is that being atypical is the new normal. At this point, everyone knows someone who has special needs or is on the autism spectrum or is differently-abled in some way.
I’m not the first presidential candidate to have autism in the family, but I may be the first to talk about it, which to me is overdue.
How much are you trying to make your campaign strategy mirror Obama’s in that you are building a strong online presence?
I think the Internet has evolved even since Obama ran in 2008. And so we’re taking advantage of what the current landscape is.
We’re getting our message out in different ways. And what we found is that people listen to other people first and foremost, and online is a great way for people to be able to spread the campaign to their friends, families and neighbors.
And how do you keep momentum over a long period of time with a target audience that is so prone to jumping to the next big thing?
Well, you dig into the numbers — two things. Number one, most voters are just tuning in. Support is way up in the air. But number two, if you look, you’ll see that people who are supporting my campaign have (great enthusiasm).
So, we’re growing all the time and when people join the Yang Gang, they get very excited and they stick around. If anything, they’re telling other people to also see that we can create a new way forward, that we must create a new way forward.
I was just talking to someone who has a 14-year-old son, and he’s stressed out about how the heck he’s going to pay for college. And he says he does above average here in South Carolina. So, he’s like, ‘What the heck are other families doing?’ It’s like, why the heck is college two and a half times more expensive than what it was when I went to school.
So, that’s a perfectly normal situation that families deal with, and we have to make it better. And like it or not, there is no way to make it better that does not involve getting a hold of the government and actually changing things.
What advantages do you get by coming to Rock Hill?
We’ve seen the energy just grow and grow. The crowds get bigger and bigger. (About 700 people went to hear Yang speak recently in Rock Hill) And we’ve been growing continuously in the state, so spending more time here is a great opportunity for us.
Again, most voters are just figuring out who’s running, much less figuring out who to support. We just opened our fifth office up the road and we have an incredible team here and we’re hiring and the team is getting bigger every day.
What message do you think you’re sending by being adamant against conventional practices, such as not wearing a tie?
To me, I’m not a lifelong politician and so, wearing a tie would seem like I’m frankly presenting myself as something I’m not. It’s much more comfortable for me to be a little bit more natural.
Now, after I’m president, if there’s a world leader who really loves ties, I’m very happy to wear one. I’m not like anti-tie in some kind of extreme way.
But certainly I’m more comfortable just presenting myself as more myself, and I find that most people here in South Carolina and around the country actually respond very well to that.
That’s what I noticed after the debate, people made comments like, ‘He’s just a human,’ and that it was nice to see.
I genuinely am just a human. I’m just a parent and a patriot who sees that we need to fix things for the next generation, for parents, for elderly Americans to be able to retire with dignity, for teachers to get paid what they deserve.
I look up and I see we have to make these changes. And I thought I could make a difference and I’m really glad to see that I was right.
This story was originally published November 26, 2019 at 11:31 AM.
