US presidential contenders Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders called each other liars in a heated exchange that could be seen but not heard unfolding on stage after the Democratic debate, CNN revealed Wednesday.
The animosity started after Senator Warren alleged that Bernie Sanders had told her in a private meeting that it is unlikely that a woman will win the upcoming Presidential Elections.
Senator Sanders, however, refuted the accusation of a sexist and misogynistic statement, saying that “Anyone who knows me knows that it’s incomprehensible that I would think that a woman could not be president of the United States.”
The spat between two of the primary campaign’s most progressive standard-bearers, played out in the moments following the end of Tuesday’s debate, when the majority of the six candidates cordially shook hands after the forum.
A visibly irritated Warren, however, refused to take Sander’s hand, appearing to rebuke him as the two senators seemed to exchange angry words.
WATCH: As they walked off of the #DemDebate stage — Elizabeth Warren rejected Bernie Sanders’s handshake and they exchanged words https://t.co/1Sglwm1S1X pic.twitter.com/sEHeEJ2gOC
— Bloomberg (@business) January 15, 2020
For months, Sanders and Warren have battled peacefully for the right to wave the campaign’s progressive flag. But their non-aggression pact unraveled in recent days, with Warren endorsing a report that Sanders privately told her he believed a woman could not defeat Trump.
Iowa caucuses on February 3 will begin the presidential primary season, as the candidates battle for the right to challenge incumbent Donald Trump in November’s election
“I didn’t say it,” Sanders, 78, insisted at the debate, stressing it was absurd for anyone to think a woman could not win the White House. Warren, 70, said he did, before insisting she was “not here to try to fight with Bernie.”
The backup audio recordings recovered by CNN revealed they continued their exchange on the topic in the moments after the debate, lobbing accusations of “liar” at each other.
“I think you called me a liar on national TV,” Warren said.
“What?” Sanders replied.
“I think you called me a liar on national TV,” she repeated.
“You know, let’s not do it right now. If you want to have that discussion, we’ll have that discussion,” Sanders said, as Warren replied, “Anytime.”
“You called me a liar,” Sanders continued. “You told me — all right, let’s not do it now.”
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With no candidate yet to carve out a clear lead less than three weeks to go before the first votes in the nominations battle, the stakes in the debate were high.
Iowa caucuses on February 3 will begin the presidential primary season, as the candidates battle for the right to challenge incumbent Donald Trump in November’s election.