Past Candidate Statements
Each election cycle, Christian leaders of the Circle of Protection ask presidential candidates for short videos telling the American people what they would do as president to offer help and opportunity to hungry and poor people.
In 2012, 2016, and 2020 (below) the Circle of Protection secured videos or statements from all the major presidential candidates and promoted them to the members and supporters of our churches, agencies, and schools.
These videos were the only direct statements on hunger and poverty to emerge from the campaigns.
2019 Primary Elections
In the primary elections of 2019, the Circle received the following videos from seven Democratic candidates, including Joe Biden. Donald Trump and his challenger, Bill Weld, did not respond to the Circle’s request for a statement. Some campaigns have deleted the videos their candidates made in 2019.
Michael Bennet, Democrat
Joe Biden, Democrat
Mike Bloomberg, Democrat
Cory Booker, Democrat
Pete Buttigieg, Democrat
John Delaney, Democrat
Amy Klobuchar, Democrat
Tom Steyer, Democrat
2016
During the general election, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton both provided written statements. Click an image to view the full text.
Below the written statements are the videos provided during the primary elections. Nearly all the candidates, both Democrats and Republicans, provided videos.
Transcript for Hillary Clinton
Transcript for Martin O’Malley
2012