Best Debate Moment: Bernie Has Trouble with Math While Demanding Credit for 30-Year-Old Election Win
A curious exchange during Tuesday night’s Democratic presidential debate in Des Moines, Iowa, had Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders struggling to do basic math.
It started with Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren claiming she was “only person on this stage who has beaten an incumbent Republican anytime in the past 30 years,” Politico reported.
Indeed, Warren did defeat incumbent GOP Sen. Scott Brown in the 2012 election.
But her claim, particularly the 30 years part, still drew Sanders’ ire.
Sanders, you see, also defeated a Republican incumbent — Peter Smith, who used to represent Vermont in the House of Representatives — in 1990.
So, a little later on in the debate, Sanders tried to “set the record straight.”
“I defeated an incumbent Republican running for Congress,” he said.
“When?” Warren asked.
Sanders responded: “1990. That’s how I won. Beat a Republican congressman.”
Of course, the current year is 2020, meaning 1990 was three decades ago.
“Thirty years ago. Wasn’t that 30 years ago?” Warren asked.
“I beat an incumbent Republican congressman,” Sanders said again.
Warren reiterated her claim: “And I said, I was the only one who’s beaten an incumbent Republican in 30 years.”
Sanders finally appeared to admit he was wrong.
Bernie Sanders: Just to set the record straight I defeated an incumbent Republican running for Congress
Elizabeth Warren: Wasn’t it 30 years ago… #DemDebate pic.twitter.com/4UhWF6SWcq
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) January 15, 2020
“Well, 30 years ago is 1990, as a matter of fact,” he said.
All in all, Sanders didn’t come off looking too great. For one thing, he showed a basic inability to do simple math — 2020 minus 1990 is 30, after all.
Perhaps more importantly, he insisted on being given credit for winning an election three decades ago.
Warren, despite her many policy faults, beat a Republican incumbent just eight years ago.
Sanders hasn’t done it in 30 years.
Simply said, it’s not a great look to insist on being praised for something you did that long ago, especially in the sphere of politics, which is very much a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately world.
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