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When asked why he changed his mind on a presidential bid, Steyer said he \"couldn't sleep\" after forgoing a run, adding that climate change and corporate control over the government were the two issues that animated him to run.

\"I really couldn't sleep. I changed my mind...I think we're dealing with the two real issues that are standing between us and the greatest society anybody can ever imagine. And that is one, we really need to break the corporate stranglehold on our government, and two we need to stabilize the climate,\" Steyer said about his change of heart.

In a tense exchange, co-host Meghan McCain confronted Steyer, telling him that his campaign message does not resonate with her. But in an interview backstage the billionaire activist insisted that his message is reaching Americans.

“If you you look at what's happening in polling data in the first two, or three weeks after we announced -- it is resonating,” Steyer told ABC News. “I can try harder to reach Meghan McCain, and she's somebody who I respect. But I think that overall Americans are hearing it.“

BACKSTAGE at @TheView: I spoke to @TomSteyer in the green room about the moment when @MeghanMcCain told him his message is not resonating with her. He said while he might need to work on getting her on board, he believes his campaign is hitting Americans. https://t.co/SZbLuJp0WS pic.twitter.com/QgzjfkMNHs

— Briana K. Stewart (@BrianaKStewart) August 1, 2019

Pledging to spend over $100 million of his own money on his campaign, Steyer has already been flooding the airways with television advertisements targeting Trump and introducing himself to the American people.

\"PHOTO:Billionaire
Steven Senne/AP, FILE
PHOTO:Billionaire investor and Democratic activist Tom Steyer steps on a stage at the start of a "Need to Impeach" town hall event, in Agawam, Mass., March 13, 2019.
>

“Donald Trump failed as a businessman,\" Steyer says in his most recent ad. \"He borrowed billions and left a trail of bankruptcy and broken promises. He hasn't changed. I started a tiny investment business and over 27 years, grew it successfully to $36 billion...I'm running for president because unlike other candidates, I can go head to head with Donald Trump on the economy and expose them for what he is a fraud and a failure.”

Boosting his name recognition and getting his face in front of more voters will be the key to success for the first phrase of Steyer's campaign, as he needs over 130,000 individual donors and 2% or more support in four national or early state polls to qualify for the next round of Democratic debates in September and October, per rules set forth by the Democratic National Committee.

Steyer already has two polls that qualify him for the next debates, but when pressed would only say that he is \"on schedule\" to achieve the grassroots fundraising threshold.

\"We're on schedule on that,\" Steyer told ABC News in a recent interview, \"I'm happy that the message that I'm pushing forward about action, about taking on the corporations, about restoring democracy is resonating with people.\"

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