DES MOINES, Iowa — Former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro told reporters in the spin room after the Democrat debate at Drake University on Tuesday evening that Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) brought diversity to the debate stage.

Castro was making his first appearance in the spin room as a surrogate for Warren after dropping out of the 2020 primary race himself and endorsing his former rival earlier this month. Breitbart News asked Castro whether he thought the slate of candidates onstage failed to represent the party, since it was exclusively white, with no black or Latino candidates.

Initially, Castro dodged the question, preferring to answer another, but Breitbart News’ Matthew Perdie posed it to him again. Castro said:

I think that of all of the candidates up there tonight, you noticed, in her closing statement, that Senator Warren brought in many of the folks who often get left out in our political conversation. I was very proud that when she had the opportunity — and we get very little time, you know, for a closing statement — but when she had that opportunity, she focused it on people who, too often, are left behind in our political process. I’m proud of that. And that’s one of the reasons that I decided to support Senator Warren, is because she also believes in an America where everyone counts, that no matter who you are, you have a shot at opportunity. And she showed that tonight. So, I’m very proud of that.

In her closing statement, Warren name-checked the “disability community,” “trans women,” and “black and brown communities,” saying that the latter were disproportionately affected by climate change.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He earned an A.B. in Social Studies and Environmental Science and Public Policy from Harvard College, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. He is also the co-author of How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, which is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.