NEW: Tom Steyer told me he doesn’t think discussion of Michael Bloomberg’s non-disclosure agreements “rises to the level of a presidential debate.” Steyer also said he won’t apologize “for being a success” & plans to criticize Bernie Sanders at the debate. https://t.co/0eC6kax5AK

— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) February 25, 2020

In an interview with PBS NewsHour ahead of the tenth Democratic presidential debate, Steyer suggests that the focus on Bloomberg’s refusal to release women from NDAs about their treatment by him and/or at his organization was unnecessary. He says, “The attitude you have towards women matters. If you could show that there was something really wrong, that really matters. But something that says, ‘There could have been something wrong,’ and they have a non-disclosure agreement — I don’t think that rises to the level of a presidential debate.” Steyer says he felt that Trump fared well in election 2016 because “people spent their time talking about minor, irrelevant points to try and tear each other down, when in fact the real question is, what you are going to do for the American people that’s different and better?” Steyer’s suggestion that the NDAs are unimportant is more consistent with presidential politics to date, where men’s previous mistreatment of women has not been disqualifying to their candidacies.