AuthorMarianne Williamson criticized Democratic candidates’ emphasis on “plans” on Thursday during the second night of primary debates and claimed they would be insufficient to defeat President Donald Trump in the general election.
“I’ll tell you one thing, it’s really nice if we’ve got all these plans, but if you think we’re going to beat Donald Trump by just having all these plans, you’ve got another thing coming, because he didn’t win by saying he had a plan,” Williamson said. “He won by simply saying ‘make America great again.'”
The comment was one of several moments Williamson had that helped the Texas native stand out among the other nine candidates on stage.
Though her campaign has yet to break through in the polls, Williamson qualified for the debate on the relative strength of her donor base — part of a dedicated core of support that embraces her uncanny mix of spirituality, anti-corporate rhetoric and the desire to tell “big truth.” She has offered videos of herself dancing (on Instagram), press releases on self-care and — more pointedly — some tough criticism of her Democratic opponents.
“Too many Democrats are half-truth tellers,” Williamson said in Iowa earlier this month. “And Donald Trump will eat the half-truth tellers alive.”
Williamson has written several best-selling books, beginning with her first, “A Return to Love,” which got the attention of Oprah Winfrey.
Throughout the night on Thursday, Williamson’s contributions were often unorthodox in both style and substance.
“I have had a career not making the political plans, but I have had a career harnessing the inspiration and the motivation and the excitement of people, masses of people,” Williamson said.
Williamson also called out the other candidates on what she perceived was a surface-level discourse: she criticized them for not discussing “American foreign policy in Latin America,” called on them to “get deeper than the superficial fixes” regarding the health care system and underscored the “deep, deep realms of racial injustice” at play when discussing police shooting incidents.
In an unusual turn, Williamson also addressed the Prime Minister of New Zealand when answering a question on her initial plans for a potential presidency, with a statement that has since gone viral.
“My first call is to the Prime Minister of New Zealand, who said that her goal is to make New Zealand the place where it’s the best place in the world for a child to grow up,” Williamson said. “And I would tell her, girlfriend, you are so on, because the United States of America is going to be the best place in the world for a child to grow up.”
In her closing remarks, Williamson turned her attention to Trump, and outlined how she planned on defeating him should she earn the Democratic nomination.
“So I, sir, I have a feeling you know what you’re doing. I’m going to harness love for political purposes. I will meet you on that field. And, sir, love will win,” Williamson said.
