Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders had a tense exchange during Tuesday night’s Democratic debate, during which both candidates were asked to address a report that Sanders once told his Senate colleague he did not believe a woman could be elected president. But things got even more uncomfortable when the debate ended, and Warren appeared to deliberately swerve Sanders’s extended hand. What was that all about?
We may now have an answer.
When asked onstage about the report, Sanders once again denied ever having said such a thing, while Warren pivoted to a more general statement about women’s electability. She also noted that she was “not [t]here to try to fight with Bernie,” but still, approached him after the debate ended. According to CNN, which co-hosted the event and subsequently synched the audio feeds from the candidates’ mics, Warren reportedly accused Sanders of calling her a “liar.” Here’s the full exchange:
Warren: “I think you called me a liar on national TV.”
Sanders: “What?”
Warren: “I think you called me a liar on national TV.”
Sanders: “You know, let’s not do it right now. If you want to have that discussion, we’ll have that discussion.”
Warren: “Anytime.”
Sanders: “You called me a liar. You told me — all right, let’s not do it now.”
And then billionaire Tom Steyer, also onstage last night, allegedly interceded: “I don’t want to get in the middle. I just want to say hi, Bernie.”
Neither the Warren nor the Sanders campaigns gave CNN comment on the audio. Here’s hoping that discussion is productive, for all our sakes.
