Billionaire Tom Steyer Talks About Putting Millions of Dollars Into Impeaching Trump

“I have a genuine, deep belief that [President Trump] is a threat to us… that will only grow.”

Laura Weber Davis/WDET

Note: This conversation first aired on Detroit Today on March 20, 2018.

If you watch cable news you’ve probably seen Tom Steyer.

He’s the face and money behind a large marketing campaign called “Need to Impeach”. In the commercials he sits in front of the camera, imploring politicians, and Americans more broadly, to push for impeachment of President Donald Trump.

“I actually believe this president is an urgent danger to our country and to our democracy,” says Steyer.

“I have a genuine, deep belief that he is a threat to us… that will only grow.”

Steyer says he thinks the threat Trump poses must be tackled first before we can make headway on the other progressive causes he spends his personal wealth on, including climate change, immigration, health care, and education.

Steyer became a billionaire as the founder and principal of Farallon Capital investment firm. But he left the private sector and founded NextGen America, a non-profit organization and Super PAC aimed at motivating young voters to action.

Steyer has narrowed in on 10 states where he sees key political shifts that could be made in 2018, and Michigan is one of them.  

Steyer says lawmakers in Washington aren’t dealing with the issues that are of the greatest concern to young people, as exemplified by the recent student-led gun debate. Beyond gun control, Steyer says young voters are worried about climate issues, college debt, and job prospects when they graduate.

“It’s very, very threatening to this generation to see what’s going on in Washington D.C.” he says. “There is a high degree of emotion about what’s going on right now, at a level we’ve never seen before.”

To hear more from Steyer on Detroit Today, click on the audio player above.

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