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Yang: 'I Can’t Believe I Lost to These People'

Andrew Yang / Getty Images
February 12, 2020

Businessman Andrew Yang announced he is suspending his presidential campaign, telling reporters he could not believe he lost to the Democrats he was running against.

"There's part of me that feels disappointed, like I didn't fulfill some people’s goals for this campaign," Yang told Buzzfeed. "There's also a competitive part of me, too—like, I can't believe I lost to these people."

Yang also criticized his former rivals for not addressing issues that really matter.

"When I speak at an event and some of my fellow candidates speak at an event, I feel like we're sometimes speaking different languages," he told BuzzFeed.

"And the language that I speak is just English," he said with a laugh. "With some numbers thrown in, too."

Yang campaigned on a universal basic income proposal he called "The Freedom Dividend," which would have given Americans over the age of 18 a monthly stipend of $1,000. He also warned about the impacts of increased automation in the workplace and its effect on the American workforce.

He also voiced concern over the way the Democratic presidential debates were moderated.

"It felt like when the hell are they going to f—ing call on me?" he said after a November debate on MSNBC. "The hypocrisy of MSNBC in a way just makes us stronger. I'm almost—almost grateful."

Yang clashed with the media over coverage of his campaign on multiple occasions. MSNBC excluded him from a fundraising graphic, leading him to call out the network on Twitter. The network apologized to him after leaving him out of a polling graphic around the same time.

Sen. Michael Bennet (D., Colo.) also dropped out of the race Tuesday night, leaving a still-crowded field heading towards the Nevada caucus on Feb. 22.