Dem Debate Includes Heated Attacks from the Get-Go: Buttigieg vs. Sanders, Everyone vs. Bloomberg
Six 2020 Democratic presidential candidates clashed in a fiery debate in Las Vegas on Wednesday night.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg was welcomed to his first presidential debate by a series of attacks from his competitors. Bloomberg has risen in the polls to third place with 16.1 percent support in the RealClearPolitics polling average.
“I’d like to talk about who we’re running against: a billionaire who calls women ‘fat broads’ and ‘horse-faced lesbians,'” Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren said.
“No, I’m not talking about Donald Trump,” Warren said. “I’m talking about Mayor Bloomberg. Democrats are not going to win if we have a nominee who has a history of hiding his tax returns, of harassing women and supporting racist policies like redlining and stop-and-frisk.”
BARS BARS BARS from @ewarren in opening of #DemDebate
— Nelini Stamp ?? ?? (@NelStamp) February 20, 2020
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders also criticized the “stop-and-frisk” policy Bloomberg implemented as mayor, under which people could be stopped and searched by police without warrants. In a 2015 speech, Bloomberg defended the policy and acknowledged that it disproportionately targeted the city’s black and Latino population, according to CBS News.
“In order to beat Donald Trump, we are going to need the largest voter turnout in the history of the United States,” Sanders said. “Mr. Bloomberg had policies in New York City of stop-and-frisk, which went after African-American and Latino people in an outrageous way. That is not a way you’re gonna grow voter turnout.”
In order to beat Donald Trump we are going to need the largest voter turnout in the history of our country. Mr. Bloomberg’s record of stop-and-frisk is not going to do that. #DemDebate pic.twitter.com/GD2CwkGi5b
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) February 20, 2020
Former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg said the Democratic Party needed to wake up because the current front-runners, Sanders and Bloomberg, were the “two most polarizing figures on this stage.”
“Most Americans don’t see where they fit if they’ve got to choose between a socialist who thinks that capitalism is the root of all evil and a billionaire who thinks money ought to be the root of all power,” he said.
“We shouldn’t have to choose between one candidate who wants to burn this party down and one candidate who wants to buy this party out. We can do better.”
We shouldn’t have to choose between one candidate who wants to burn this party down and one candidate who wants to buy this party out. #DemDebate pic.twitter.com/iE8syCzv17
— Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) February 20, 2020
Buttigieg also clashed with Sanders over health care. Buttigieg has proposed what he calls a “Medicare for All Who Want It” plan, while Sanders is pushing “Medicare for All.”
“We can actually deliver health care without taking it away from anyone,” Buttigieg said. “We can actually empower workers and lift wages without further polarizing this country.”
We can actually deliver health care without taking it away from anyone. #DemDebate pic.twitter.com/VGEsWK6BMx
— Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) February 20, 2020
Buttigieg and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar battled for the more moderate position throughout the debate, Politico reported.
In one such instance, Klobuchar listed bipartisan efforts she worked on to address the immigration crisis, saying the former mayor does not have that experience because he has not “been in the arena.”
“I’m used to senators telling mayors that senators are more important than mayors, but this is the arena too,” Buttigieg said. “You don’t have to be on Capitol Hill for your work to be significant.”
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
