Elizabeth Warren remarked that Bernie Sanders is her friend during Tuesday’s Democratic debate, but there were clear signs that friendship isn’t on solid ground. After the debate ended all the candidates were shaking hands, but when Sanders extended his hand to Warren she ignored it. Instead, the pair engaged in a tense, short exchange that ended with Sanders throwing up his hands and walking away. Wednesday night, CNN released audio from the exchange so we now know what was said.
Elizabeth Warren accused Bernie Sanders of calling her a liar on stage after Tuesday's debate. Here's the tense moment. https://t.co/cL3ppFmtxw pic.twitter.com/F5wFMmy8FX
— CNN (@CNN) January 16, 2020
This was sparked after a moment earlier in the debate when Sanders denied telling Warren that a woman couldn’t win the presidency. Warren says that remark came from Sanders during a meeting the two had back in 2018.
Sen. Bernie Sanders: "As a matter of fact, I didn't say it." #DemDebate https://t.co/JCTX0maauJ pic.twitter.com/mkbUqfCJui
— The Hill (@thehill) January 15, 2020
But Warren stuck by her account of the conversation.
Asked to respond to the "Can a woman beat Trump" question:
"The best way to talk about who can win is by looking at people's winning records," Warren said. "The only people on this stage who've won every election they’ve been in are the women: Amy and me" https://t.co/GzFTURAlZ9 pic.twitter.com/3Xo2I9kPLD
— POLITICO (@politico) January 15, 2020
The question of whether a woman can defeat Mr. Trump has been the long-whispered soundtrack of much of this Democratic primary, invoked constantly in voter interviews among even supporters of candidates like Ms. Warren and Ms. Klobuchar.
Ms. Warren had not directly addressed gender as forcefully as she did Tuesday night, when she vowed, in her closing statement, to become “the first woman president of the United States of America.”