Amy Klobuchar on Viral Debate Photo: Tom Steyer Was So Close I Thought He Was Going to Hit Me

Minnesota Senator and Democratic presidential candidate Amy Klobuchar joked that billionaire candidate Tom Steyer was so close to her, in a debate moment captured in a viral photo, that she thought he might hit her, which would’ve allowed her to empty his “deep pockets.”

During Tuesday night’s CBS News Democratic Presidential Debate in South Carolina, a Getty Images photographer captured a photo of Klobuchar giving a priceless reaction to Steyer and former Vice President Joe Biden jousting on either side of her.

Sen. @AmyKlobuchar (D-MN) reacts as former Vice President @JoeBiden and @TomSteyer get into it during the South Carolina Democratic presidential primary debate #DemDebate2020 ?: @WinMc pic.twitter.com/HL92lONWFH

— Getty Images News (@GettyImagesNews) February 26, 2020

On Wednesday morning’s edition of CNN’s New Day, anchor John Berman asked Klobuchar about that moment, which has gone viral.

“I’m just wondering if you can fill in the thought bubble right there,” Berman said.

“Yeah well that was about private prisons, it was a legitimate discussion,” Klobuchar said, but then Steyer “moved over closer and closer to my space, to the point where I thought I could actually get hit on the debate stage, and then I thought ‘Well he’s kind of got deep pockets if that happens, I don’t know.'”

As Berman let out a laugh, Klobuchar added, “But I was literally sandwiched between the two of them yelling at each other. I knew very well what was going on and what that photo would be, because my point to America was we don’t all agree with all this fighting.”

“People can make their points, but this keep just keeps going and going, and to me it is one thing to make a policy point. It’s another to make it so you get a sound bite the next day on TV just to raise money, and that feels a bit what was going on with some of my colleagues,” Klobuchar said.

“I will say the Republicans, if they had a debate, would bring up tort reform based on what you just said,” Berman zinged, to laughter from Klobuchar.

Watch the clip above via CNN.

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