Former New York City Mike Bloomberg participated in his first presidential debate in Las Vegas on Wednesday night and was taken to task by his fellow candidates running for the Democratic nomination.
Senator Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., launched an immediate attack on Bloomberg shortly after the start of the debate, arguing that the billionaire is too similar to President Donald Trump.
“I’d like to talk about who we’re running against: a billionaire who calls women fat broads and horse-faced lesbians,” Warren said. “And no, I’m not talking about Donald Trump. I’m talking about Mayor Bloomberg.”
“Democrats are not going to win if we have a nominee who has a history of hiding his tax returns, of harassing women, and of supporting racist policies like redlining and stop-and-frisk,” she added. “Democrats take a huge risk if we just substitute one arrogant billionaire for another.”
The other Democratic candidates also took aim at Bloomberg throughout the debate, criticizing the former mayor for New York City’s stop-and-frisk policy as well as his non-disclosure agreements with women that purportedly accused him of harassment.
The attacks on Bloomberg come as he has used his personal fortune to fund a massive advertising campaign, helping him jump as high as second in some national polls despite his late entry into the race.
The vitriol was not only directed at Bloomberg, however, as the candidates repeatedly took shots at one another in what some pundits described as a “circular firing squad.”
Former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Senator Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., had some particularly testy exchanges as they both came off strong showings in the New Hampshire primary.
The debate came just three days before the Nevada caucuses, the third contest in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.
(Photo: Gage Skidmore)
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