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Michael Bloomberg mauled at debate, Elizabeth Warren stood out
Straight off the bat, Senator Bernie Sanders, who leads the pack in polls, brought up discriminatory policing methods during Bloomberg’s stint at mayor of New York calling them “outrageous”.
Billionaire Michael Bloomberg came under blistering attack Wednesday from rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination at his first time on a debate stage with them, some of whom are in a desperate struggle to keep their chances alive as the race enters a crucial phase.
Straight off the bat, Senator Bernie Sanders, who leads the pack in polls, brought up discriminatory policing methods during Bloomberg’s stint at mayor of New York calling them “outrageous”. Senator Elizabeth Warren, who turned in a strong performance, was next, and everyone joined in even as they also turned upon each other with equal enthusiasm.
Warren landed one of the most severe, and defining blow, in a way. “I’d like to talk about who we’re running against: a billionaire who calls women fat broads and horse-faced lesbians,” she said referring to a compilation of insulting and demeaning remarks Bloomberg has made about women as a businessman, which he has denied. “And no, I’m not talking about Donald Trump. I’m talking about Mayor Bloomberg.” Nothing could be more devastating for a Democratic candidate than to be compare to President Donald Trump.
Bloomberg was expected to be tested at the debate, and more so as he is seen to have been buying his way into the race. He has spent $400 million on advertisements on TV and social media and shop in polls, overtaking many of his rivals despite entering the contest late — he is now in third position in the RealClearPolitics average of polls behind Sanders who is Number 1, and former Vice-President Joe Biden is second.
Biden and Warren have both performed poorly in the only two nomination contests held thus far, Iowa and New Hampshire. And repeat debacles in the next two — Nevada on Friday and South Carolina on February 29 — could imperil their candidacy irretrievably. Both came out swinging Wednesday.
And so did former Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Senator Amy Klobuchar, who skirmished with each other as they try to build on the momentum from their surprisingly strong performances in the Iowa and New Hampshire contests, as they both seek to elevate their stature nationally.
It got quite testy in that corner as well. Buttigieg brought up her failure to name the president of neighboring Mexico in a recent interview, despite her vast congressional experience in related issues. Klobuchar shot back, asking if he was calling her “dumb”.
