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Sanders and Bloomberg come under attack in latest Democratic debate – live Sanders and Bloomberg come under attack in chaotic Democratic debate – live
(32 minutes later)
Opponents seek to slow Bernie Sanders’ momentum while billionaire Mike Bloomberg needs a strong showing at tenth debateOpponents seek to slow Bernie Sanders’ momentum while billionaire Mike Bloomberg needs a strong showing at tenth debate
Did Mike Bloomberg fall prey to an unfortunate Freudian slip earlier, and say he bought 21 Democratic seats in 2018?
Donald Trump Jr has already jumped on the moment, but watch the clip and decide for yourself (it happens just towards the end):
There is a sense of desperation to tonight’s debate, as candidates repeatedly cut each other off to launch attacks at each other.
Here’s how much each candidate has spoken tonight, via the New York Times’ live tracker:
Once again turning their attention to frontrunner Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg criticized the frontrunner for not supporting an elimination of the Senate filibuster.
“How are we going to deliver a revolution if you won’t even support a rule change?” Buttigieg asked.
Eliminating the Senate filibuster would lower the threshold required to pass legislation, and the proposal has another high-profile supporter -- Donald Trump.
The debate moderators are coming in for a lot of heat tonight. Viewers’ criticisms have included the lack of control over the bickering candidates, and the fact no-one has yet been asked about the global panic over coronavirus.
Bernie Sanders was asked why he voted to protect gun manufacturers from legal liability, which other candidates have criticized him for.
Sanders initially tried to pivot to criticizing Joe Biden for his record on trade deals, which prompted boos from the Charleston audience.
“I have cast thousands of votes, including bad votes,” Sanders then said. “That was a bad vote.”
Elizabeth Warren has so far directed more criticism at Mike Bloomberg than Bernie Sanders, the frontrunner in the primary race.
As another progressive senator, Warren will likely need to pick off some of Sanders’ supporters to have any chance of the nomination.
But Warren cannot criticize Sanders’ agenda too harshly -- because it aligns so closely with her own -- so she has decided to continue slamming the billionaire former mayor of New York.
While tonight’s debate hasn’t been quite as fierce as last week’s, it has featured the most cross-talk, shouting and overall bickering. At one point the candidates spoke over one another for about 20 seconds as they argued over the cost of Bernie Sanders’ healthcare plans.
And it’s not just the candidates on stage – the audience is also far more vocal and unruly than before:
Joe Biden just went after Tom Steyer for his past support for private prisons, a clear effort to stop the billionaire activist’s rise in the South Carolina polls.
Biden pointed to Steyer’s past investment in a private prison system to argue he was not in sync with Democratic voters on criminal justice.
Steyer responded by saying he no longer supports private prisons, which prompted Biden to give him a new nickname: “Tommy come lately!”
It’s round two of Warren v Bloomberg, and this time it’s just as personal as it was last week.
Similar to her first attack on the billionaire media mogul in the previous debate, Warren started off by highlighting one of the disturbing remarks Bloomberg allegedly made to a female employee in 1995 (which he denies):
Warren has also gone after Bloomberg over his electability with Democratic voters, and whether they can trust him:
Elizabeth Warren was asked for evidence to back up her accusation that Mike Bloomberg responded to news of an employee’s pregnancy by telling her to “kill it.”
But the claim has been thoroughly reported:
Asked about reports of his sexist comments, Mike Bloomberg said he was “probably” wrong to make jokes that sparked complaints against him.
Elizabeth Warren used her first answer to criticize Bernie Sanders, but she has now turned her attention to Mike Bloomberg, who she targeted in the last debate.Elizabeth Warren used her first answer to criticize Bernie Sanders, but she has now turned her attention to Mike Bloomberg, who she targeted in the last debate.
“I don’t care how much money Mayor Bloomberg has,” Warren said. “The core of the Democratic Party will never trust him. He has not earned their trust. I will.”“I don’t care how much money Mayor Bloomberg has,” Warren said. “The core of the Democratic Party will never trust him. He has not earned their trust. I will.”
Warren then resurrected reports of Bloomberg’s history of sexist remarks, specifically an allegation that the billionaire responded to news of an employee’s pregnancy by telling her to “kill it.”Warren then resurrected reports of Bloomberg’s history of sexist remarks, specifically an allegation that the billionaire responded to news of an employee’s pregnancy by telling her to “kill it.”
Bloomberg denied the claim and criticized the senator for once again raising the issue of his company’s non-disclosure agreements, accusing Warren of continually moving the goalposts.Bloomberg denied the claim and criticized the senator for once again raising the issue of his company’s non-disclosure agreements, accusing Warren of continually moving the goalposts.
Amy Klobuchar was just been asked her first question of the night. But while the other candidates have been going back and forth over the last eighteen minutes, it’s the first chance she’s had to speak.Amy Klobuchar was just been asked her first question of the night. But while the other candidates have been going back and forth over the last eighteen minutes, it’s the first chance she’s had to speak.
Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar both agreed “stop and frisk,” the controversial policy supported by Mike Bloomberg while he was New York’s mayor, was racist.Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar both agreed “stop and frisk,” the controversial policy supported by Mike Bloomberg while he was New York’s mayor, was racist.
“I’m conscious of the fact that there are seven white people on this stage talking about racial justice,” Buttigieg added.“I’m conscious of the fact that there are seven white people on this stage talking about racial justice,” Buttigieg added.
“Stop and frisk” has been repeatedly criticized for unfairly targeting young men of color. Bloomberg has apologized for supporting the policy, but his controversial record on race could be an issue in the South Carolina primary, where more than half of voters were African American in 2016.“Stop and frisk” has been repeatedly criticized for unfairly targeting young men of color. Bloomberg has apologized for supporting the policy, but his controversial record on race could be an issue in the South Carolina primary, where more than half of voters were African American in 2016.
Asked about his declining support among African American voters, Joe Biden expressed confidence he would win Saturday’s South Carolina primary.Asked about his declining support among African American voters, Joe Biden expressed confidence he would win Saturday’s South Carolina primary.
Biden noted polls indicate he still leads the Democratic field with black voters. “I’ve worked like the devil to earn the vote of the African American community,” Biden said.Biden noted polls indicate he still leads the Democratic field with black voters. “I’ve worked like the devil to earn the vote of the African American community,” Biden said.
The former vice president then unequivocally predicted he would be victorious on Saturday. “I will win South Carolina,” Biden said.The former vice president then unequivocally predicted he would be victorious on Saturday. “I will win South Carolina,” Biden said.
Elizabeth Warren has taken aim at Bernie Sanders tonight. It’s not the first time she’s tried to contrast herself with him, but it’s definitely her sharpest rebuke of the senator yet. And it hasn’t gone unnoticed:
Everyone is clearly focusing their attacks on Bernie Sanders tonight after his landslide victory in Nevada.
Elizabeth Warren used her first debate answer to try to distinguish herself from her fellow progressive senator.
“Bernie and I agree on a lot of things, but I think I’d be a better president,” Warren said, arguing she would be the best option to implement a progressive agenda.
“Progressives have one shot, and we need to spend it on a leader who will get something done,” Warren said.
Mike Bloomberg used his first debate answer to criticize Bernie Sanders over recent reports that Russia is interfering in the 2020 election to help his campaign.
Trying to recover from his disastrous first debate performance, Bloomberg said Russia’s efforts showed Sanders is the weakest candidate Democrats could put up against Trump.
“That’s why Russia is helping you get elected so you’ll lose to [Trump],” Bloomberg said.
Moderators Norah O’Donnell and Gayle King kicked off the debate by explaining the rules and underscoring the signficance of tonight’s event.
King called the debate the “last, best chance for candidates to make their case” to South Carolina and Super Tuesday voters.
The first question went to Bernie Sanders, who was asked how he would reassure voters concerned the democratic socialist would halt the country’s economic growth.
Sanders said the economy was working well for “Mr Bloomberg and other billionaires” but not everyday Americans, lamenting the country’s stagnant wage growth.
Sanders pledged to create an economy that works for American families and not just the wealthy few.
If you want to see for yourself how much trouble Joe Biden is in at the moment – and how much Bernie Sanders is surging – then you can take a look at this graph from Real Clear Politics, which aggregates all the reliable primary polls (Sanders is in blue and Biden is green). Going back to the December 2018 it shows just how spectacular and how sudden Biden’s fall has been.
You can see the full interactive graph for yourself here.
The tenth Democratic debate, the last debate before the South Carolina primary and Super Tuesday, is now under way.
With minutes to go before things kick off here in Charleston, the spin room is in a mild degree of panic as the WiFi, provided by the DNC, has been down for over an hour.
As such, I’m now in a grand ballroom behind the debate stage, with a few hundred panicking journalists, scrambling to figure out how they’ll file stories.
Luckily, here at the Guardian, we’re supported by a crack team in Washington and New York who are taking my words straight off my phone.
We’ll see what happens when things kick off, but this is already seeming like a bit of a logistical meltdown as crews of DNC tech support people continue to swarm around their a single laptop to get it fixed.
In a new memo to donors, Pete Buttigieg’s campaign appears to be lowering expectations for Super Tuesday.
If Sanders’ opponents cannot sufficiently slow his momentum between Saturday’s South Carolina primary and next week’s Super Tuesday contests, the Vermont senator could be unstoppable.
After all, winning generally begets more winning in presidential primaries, and Sanders’ opponents need to start landing victories if they want to stop him from running away with the nomination.
The 10th Democratic debate is about 10 minutes away, so here is how you can watch the candidates face off for the last time before the South Carolina primary and Super Tuesday.
Tonight’s debate is hosted by CBS News and the Congressional Black Caucus Institute, so it can be watched on CBS stations and streamed on CBSN, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
The moderators of the debate are CBS Evening News anchor Norah O’Donnell and CBS This Morning co-host Gayle King, and three other CBS correspondents – Margaret Brennan, Major Garrett and Bill Whitaker – will join them in questioning the candidates.
The debate is scheduled to run for two hours and will kick off shortly, so stay tuned.
Tonight’s debate, at the Galliard Center in downtown Charleston, is taking place just a few dozen feet from the Mother Emanuel AME church.
This historic building, built in the early nineteenth century, is the oldest African Methodist Episcopal church in the southern United States and has long been a centre for resistance against white supremacy and racism in South Carolina.
In 1822, its founder Denmark Vesey was a lead organizer in a planned slave revolt, and the church was a hub of activity during the civil rights era.
It was also the site of the 2015 church massacre, when a white supremacist terrorist murdered nine black churchgoers in a mass shooting that shook the nation and led to the then Republican governor Nikki Haley to remove the confederate battle flag from the grounds of the South Carolina statehouse.
As such, it’s likely the legacy of that horrific terror attack will be referenced at a number of policy junctures at tonight’s debate -- namely the candidates’ plans for gun control and what they hope to do to combat the rise in white nationalist terror in the US.