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FORMER US VICE President Joe Biden put in a combative display last night, as he clashed with rivals in the third Democratic debate of the 2020 White House race.
Chief among them were Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, and the three frontrunners all had their say on health care reform, climate change and the current occupier of the White House, President Donald Trump.
The 76-year-old Biden managed to snatch most of the speaking time as the other nine candidates on stage fought to put their case forward.
On healthcare, the former vice president accused Sanders and Warren of pushing pipe dreams without a plan to fund them.
“I lay out how I can pay for it, how I can get it done, and why it’s better,” the former vice president said of his health plan, which builds on the Affordable Care Act known as Obamacare.
Warren, a rising star in the race, and Sanders, a liberal fixture from the 2016 campaign, each put up a spirited defense.
“I know what’s broken, I know how to fix it and I’m going to lead the fight to get it done,” promised Warren, who has impressed voters with her policy platforms.
On health care reform she vowed “those at the very top” would bear the cost, while Sanders pledged to make sure “every American has health care as a human right”.
Their three-way battle kicked off an almost three-hour showdown, as the rival Democrats highlighted differences on immigration, trade tariffs and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Biden also defended Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama, who came in for criticism from the some candidates for deporting immigrants and not going far enough on health care reform.
“I stand with Barack Obama all eight years, good bad and indifferent,” Biden said.
But all candidates stood united on one key point: ousting Trump – who several candidates attacked as racist – from the White House.
“There’s enormous, enormous opportunities – once we get rid of Donald Trump,” Biden said.
Texas hopeful Beto O’Rourke called Trump a white supremacist while California senator Kamala Harris said Trump’s social media output provided “the ammunition” for recent mass shootings.
“President Trump, you have spent the last two-and-a-half years full time trying to sow hate and vision among us, and that’s why we’ve gotten nothing done,” Harris said.
‘Go to hell’
While the debate was going on, President Trump gave a speech to Republicans and took digs at his potential rivals in the 2020 presidential election, calling Biden “Sleepy Joe”, Warren “Pocahontas” and Sanders “Crazy Bernie”.
“Our country will go to hell if any of these people get in,” Trump warned.
All eyes had been on Biden in debate number three, after a number of gaffes and verbal miscues in previous debates raised doubts he could do the top job at the age of 76.
Seeking a breakout moment, low-polling candidate Julian Castro challenged Biden, accusing him of “forgetting what you said just two minutes ago” – drawing boos from the crowd.
The former vice president avoided any blunders last night in Houston and parried further attacks from Sanders, who accused him of the “big mistake” of voting for the war in Iraq.
Biden maintains a grip on pole position with 26.8% support, despite a recent dip, according to a poll average compiled by RealClearPolitics.
Sanders, 78, is on 17.3% support, narrowly ahead of the 70-year-old Warren at 16.8%.
With reporting from AFP
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In extraordinary times like this would it not have been sensible for Democrats to come together, choose a candidate and put on a united front against Trump. These debates between themselves seem to be doing Trumps work for him.
@Jane: that is what they’re doing. Having these debates gives the candidates the opportunity to put forward their positions to the public because the voting public are the ones who will decide on the nominee.
Or do you mean that the Democratic Party should pick a candidate in secret and then tell the voting public to like it or lump it?
Because I think in 2016, it was pretty obvious who the Democratic Party wanted as their candidate and that didn’t work out so well now, did it?
BIDEN LEADS THE DEBATE! Does the journal pull their heads lines off the AP too. Biden did not lead that debate. Biden and Harris came off terrible.
Pathetically transparent how the DNC blocked Tulsi Gabbard from the debate. She’s polling ahead of Kloubuchar and Castro, yet didn’t get a slot. She landed an almost knock-out blow on Harris at the last debate and they’re obviously terrified that she’ll do the same to Warren. Not to mention that she’s pro-border control and anti-war, which is way off the DNC script. You think they would have learned their lesson last time with their stage-managed, attempted coronation of Hillary. If they put Warren or Biden (assuming he’s still alive at that point) up against Trump and a good economy, they’re going to get pummelled.
@jacquoranda:
Spot on
@jacquoranda: sanders is the best option, Biden would just be a Hilary rerun and Trump would have too much ammo against him by bringing up Obama (his favourite hobby).
@Jake Kelly: Bernie Sanders is an Independent senator. He’s got even less chance of the DNC giving him the ticket than Gabbard does.
The only good thing going for the Dems is Tulsi Gabbard, and even she doesn’t tow the left leaning direction the the Dems seem to going in.
@➕The Gray➕: just don’t ask her about Kashmir
@Carlin Ite: why?
The mainstream media is going out of it’s way again to try and make it look like Sanders is not winnning even though he is. Biden did horrible. He rambled on when questioned about his history of supporting segregation even rambling on about South America and not answering the question. He called Sanders ‘President’ at one point and could not remember when questioned by Castro what he had said one minute before in regards to paying into his healthcare plan even though he just said it. Biden did not lead anything other than media headlines.
@Wade Wilson:
How could Sanders be trusted to run the country after how he allowed Clinton to rig the last primaries against him, what did he do about it? nothing. He’s a hypothetical Champagne Socialist, with no backbone.
@➕The Gray➕:
*hypocritical
The DEM 2020 ticket…Gun grabbing, everything for free and hair sniffing Biden leads?
Trump will be re-elected if the Democrats do come up with a credible candidate. Most of what was on offer last night was just batshit crazy
@Peter Buchanan: They represent the opinions of their base, so yes, crazy.
@Peter Buchanan:
Judging by the polls it will be gaffe prone Joe (76) more to the centre of DNC. Or Bernie Sanders (78) quite far to the left of DNC, Or Elizabeth Warren (70) also quite far to the left. To go against Trump (73). At this stage the supporters of Warren or Sanders who ever gets knocked out first will go to the other and there will be a very left (for America) candidate against Trump. This will alienate the moderate/centrists and Trump with incumbent advantage will win.
@Peter Buchanan: What makes them crazy? The fact they support the same things we already have in Ireland, UK, France, and the rest of Europe? Are you a yank? Because supporting socialised healthcare and university level education for all is already standard in Europe, Scandinavia, and the rest of the industrialised world so it doesn’t sound crazy to anyone who already lives in a country that has it.
@Peter Buchanan: Bernie beats him in Fox News polls. He has been canvasing red states non stop. He just has to beat the corrupt DNC to do it. The DNC like Biden and Harris and Beto
@Wade Wilson:
Look up the history of the Democratic party, they have nothing whatsoever in common with Ireland or Europe, they are the party of division, segregation, and virtue signalling.
You’re obviously not a Yank.
@Peter Buchanan: F*** off, boomer.
Democrats in a nutshell….
https://twitter.com/JoeySalads/status/1172177318376288257?s=09
@➕The Gray➕: that bellend drank his own piss and was at a literal nazi rally. Also nobody on the left likes CNN. They’re the centrist version of Fox News. Serving corporate propaganda 24/7
@Judas: 85% of US media is own by 5 corporations, Inc CNN and Fox, so what’s your point. Couldn’t give a flying what he did, he’s bang on the money.
@Sean Murray (author)
“The former vice president avoided any blunders last night in Houston.”
How can you publish that line? Biden called Sanders president. When talking about children’s education he talked about parents playing records players for the children.
Trump’s tweets about the candidates, name-calling them is beyond infantile, imagine Obama, Bush, Clinton or Reagan engaging in such primary school yard nonsense, what an embarrassment to their country, you are the President, show some fkn decorum for the office manbaby!
@Mairead1990:
He is following the gameplan from 2016 – crooked Hillary.
@Maurice: Which led to him getting 3 million votes less than toxic candidate Clinton, she’s not running this time though and Trump’s popularity over the last 2 years has been significantly, not even marginally, the lowest of any POTUS since WW2.
@Mairead1990: And yet you will have to put up with him for another term lol thank your Democrat buddies bunch of fairies!
@Mairead1990: Yes she will run again. Don’t you find it strange that she hasn’t endorsed any candidate yet?
@Mairead1990:
Just explaining it. Yes he lost the popular vote but won thanks to the electoral college of the United STATES of America. It is not a federal election. He needed to win the states.
He and Obama had the same approval rating after the same amount of days in office. Obama got re-elected.
@Darren: He won’t get relected Darren, you are consistently a Walter Mitty fantasist with nothing of relevance to contribute here. Let us both bookmark this article and see how hopelessly wrong (again) you are in 2020.
@Mairead1990:
Hahahahaha “since WW2″
Tell us, how long has the electoral college been in use again, and how does it work?
@Mairead1990: Serious question, what makes you so certain he will not get re-elected?
@Mairead1990: You must live in a world of eternal disappointment Mairead. How many times in the last two and a half years have you thought “this is it, finally they’ve got him”, only for it to turn out to be a big let down? And now you think “Well, at least there’s an election coming up, and obviously he doesn’t have a chance. I mean he’s orange and he’s bad, and he’s gonna be impeached before then.” Good luck with that Mairead, but maybe you should prepare for disappointment, just in case.
Source: Gallup polls going back to 1937 to present day, this is what my statement is based on, facts. Nothing to do with when the electoral commission started. Facts are anathema to Plastic Fascists. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_approval_rating
@Mairead1990:
test
@Mairead1990:
So the fact he had the same approval rating as Obama after the same amount of days has no affect on your conviction?
His job approval is low, Real Clear Politics (RCP) says it is 43.4%
He is up against Sanders who has a favourability rating of 42.9% on RCP
Elizabeth Warren, favourability of 38.4% on RCP
Biden’s average seems to be missing but looks higher than Trump.
So using facts, Trump is ahead of 2 of the 3 major candidates, will have the incumbent advantage and Joe is very prone to gaffes. I would not be so certain if I was you.
The absense of Gabbard confirms how corrupt the DNC is! Have they not learned anything from the last election when they shafted Bernie?!
I think a Barnacle in a suit could beat the Orange ego.
@Anthony John Cotter: everyone assumed hat about Hillary and she didn’t
@Carlin Ite: for sure, but as the biggest liar on the planet with an IQ ten points lower than an up & coming jellyfish & a downturn starting, it cannot happen again.
@Anthony John Cotter: I Hope not but watch this space. I think trump could bury Biden. Did you see the videos of Biden forgetting barrack Obama’s name
That was a victory for Hilary 2020.
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