The 7 most dramatic, eye-popping moments from the Democratic debate in Las Vegas Everybody piled on Mike Bloomberg, Pete Buttigieg went after Bernie Sanders, and much more. By Dylan Scott and Li Zhou
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/2/19/21144763/nevada-democratic-debate-highlights-warren-bloomberg
“But it was Warren who landed the biggest blow, with a clever bit of misdirection:I’d like to talk about who we’re running against. A billionaire who calls women “fat broads and horse-faced lesbians.”
At the Democratic debate in Las Vegas, Nevada, Mike Bloomberg took a lot of heat, Elizabeth Warren looked feisty, and Bernie Sanders started to get the frontrunner treatment from his competitors.
Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor, was the target early and often for the other Democratic candidates; they attacked him for his billions of dollars in wealth, the sexual harassment allegations he’s faced, and his record as mayor, particularly his continuation of the stop-and-frisk policy that disproportionately affected nonwhite New Yorkers. Warren was his most relentless foil, going after him again and again on a range of subjects. Sanders faced plenty of scrutiny, too, from his opponents and from the debate moderators, befitting his status as the tentative frontrunner with voting finally underway.
With three days before the Nevada caucuses, Wednesday night’s debate performance was pivotal for several candidates. With votes already cast in Iowa and New Hampshire, Sanders has established himself as the early frontrunner, but the race still seems very volatile.
Pete Buttigieg narrowly won Iowa and finished a strong second in New Hampshire, but he might struggle as the primary moves to more diverse states. After dismal showings in the first two states, Joe Biden is still betting he can turn his campaign around in Nevada and then South Carolina before having a big Super Tuesday on March 3. Warren and Amy Klobuchar have done enough to keep their campaigns afloat, but they need to break through soon to make a serious run at the party’s nomination.
The new face onstage, Bloomberg, has shaken up the race by exponentially outspending the other candidates on television ads, and he has been correspondingly rising in the national polls. His campaign starts in earnest on Super Tuesday. But Wednesday’s debate was the first chance voters have had to see him on the debate stage with his opponents.
If you missed the ninth Democratic debate, and Bloomberg’s debut, these were the most important moments.
Everybody piled on Bloomberg
The shiny new object on stage was Bloomberg, who has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on TV ads and seen his polls numbers rise accordingly. The first time every other candidate spoke on Wednesday night, they trained their sights on the billionaire.
“Mr. Bloomberg had policies in New York City of stop and frisk, which went after African American and Latino people in an outrageous way,” said Sanders, who got the debate’s first question about why he would be a better electability bet than the centrist ex-mayor. “That is not a way you’re going to grow voter turnout.”
But it was Warren who landed the biggest blow, with a clever bit of misdirection:
I’d like to talk about who we’re running against. A billionaire who calls women “fat broads and horse-faced lesbians.”
And, no, I’m not talking about Donald Trump, I’m talking about Mayor Bloomberg.
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