How Andrew Yang’s Opening Statement in the upcoming Democratic debate could boost his name recognition, and send him to The White House.

With the second Democratic debates coming up I believe Andrew Yang has a chance to break this election wide open. While the first debate didn’t exactly pan out how some of us would have liked, with Yang receiving the lowest amount of time to speak on the debate stage, we can still rejoice in the fact that Andrew is picking up more and more supporters, and the supporters he has are extremely active and passionate.

With his name recognition still relatively low, Andrew Yang has a ton of opportunity to gain support over the coming months. Yang will need to poll at 2% in four qualifying polls to attend the upcoming debates. In the most recent NBC/WSJ poll, Yang succeeded in garnering the 2% support — bringing him one step closer to making the September and October Democratic debates. Understandably, some might say 2% is a long shot from a front runner like Joe Biden, who is sitting at 26%. However, my belief is that the polls aren’t low because people don’t like Andrew, and they aren’t low because people disagree with him. On the contrary, when people really listen to what he has to say, they seem to jump right into the Yang Gang. I believe the polls are low because of one simple fact: they haven’t heard of him.

The format of the next debate is one of the reasons this could be a game changer. In this debate, each candidate will get an opening statement. This is HUGE! Candidates with high name recognition don’t need an opening statement. But for candidates like Yang, the lack of an opportunity to introduce themselves and make an opening statement in the last Democratic debate really hurt the ability to build name recognition. Think about it like this: you and your friends are all standing around discussing politics, when out of nowhere, some random guy, who no one knows, pops up and suggests we should give everyone $1000 a month. It’s like, super awkward. A lack of an introduction only hurts people who aren’t already known.

For the first time on the debate stage Andrew Yang is going to get one full uninterrupted minute to introduce himself. If he is going to win the presidency, he needs to get recognized. He needs to get people interested and talking. He needs to make headlines and have his face posted everywhere the very next day. This may be the most important minute of his candidacy.

As a huge fan of Yang’s, a passionate supporter of his policies, and someone who longs to see him in The White House, I felt the need to share my opinion on what this opening statement might look like. I believe Andrew Yang needs to…

Get the attention of all viewers by painting the big picture of automation. Explain why the current tax breaks and corporate incentives that have been passed under the Trump Administration are only going to worsen the situation (e.g. Carrier Corporation). Separate himself from the other candidates by pointing out that they are not prepared to solve this problem. Give the viewers hope by proposing the solution of a Universal Basic Income (i.e. The Freedom Dividend).

When I envision an opening statement that would combine these four points, I think it might go something like this:

“Tonight it pains me having to stand here and break the news to so many Americans about the realities of their economy. It pains me to say that so many of the jobs which have been lost are not coming back. And despite what Donald Trump would have you believe, it is not immigrants who are taking your jobs, it is Automation. We are in the midst of what experts are referring to as the fourth industrial revolution. We are now living in a world where it is more likely that a large corporation will employ thousands of robots, rather than thousands of people.

After Donald Trump was elected he negotiated with Carrier Corporation to keep jobs in Indiana. Carrier was given millions of dollars in incentives, and as a thank you to the American people they immediately laid off hundreds of workers and stated that those savings would go directly to — you guessed it: “automation.” This is the America we live in. An America where tax cuts and incentives for the wealthy and large corporations do not lead to more jobs, they lead to more automation!

Not one Candidate up here has an effective plan to solve this crisis. You may hear solutions tonight such as, “we will train employees for the jobs of the future,” or discussion of a Federal Jobs Guarantee. I am sorry to say, neither will solve this problem.

We must move to a TRICKLE UP economy. One in which large corporations pay their fair share, and Americans are treated as shareholders of the richest country in the world. My flagship proposal is a Freedom Dividend of $1000 a month for every American adult, starting at the age of eighteen. This will help alleviate poverty and prepare Americans for the coming industrial revolution.”*

I hope by now two things are clear. One, I am not a professional speech writer. And two, this is a very radical opening statement compared to what the other candidates might say. Terms such as “automation”, “robots”, “trickle up economy”, and “revolution” are rarely mentioned in mainstream political discussion. However, I would suggest these are terms one might use if they were trying to get a reaction, if they were trying to evoke emotion, or if they were trying to get recognized. And that is exactly what Andrew Yang needs: he needs to get recognized.

*The above opening statement is fabricated for this article as an example, and is the writer’s own words and opinions