Bernie Sanders faces onslaught from rivals in chaotic South Carolina debate

Candidates bickered and shouted over each other in sharp exchanges in debate before Super Tuesday contests

The Democratic presidential candidates engaged in a series of chaotic and fiery exchanges on Tuesday night, in the final debate before the critical South Carolina presidential primary and Super Tuesday contests that could represent a make-or-break moment.

Senator Bernie Sanders, the frontrunner who cruised to victory in Nevada last week, bore the brunt of criticism from a number of his centrist rivals, including the former vice-president Joe Biden, the ex-New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg, and Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana.

Continue reading...

Sanders and Bloomberg come under attack in chaotic Democratic debate – live

Bernie Sanders was asked why he voted to protect gun manufacturers from legal liability, which other candidates have criticized him for.

Sanders initially tried to pivot to criticizing Joe Biden for his record on trade deals, which prompted boos from the Charleston audience.

Elizabeth Warren has so far directed more criticism at Mike Bloomberg than Bernie Sanders, the frontrunner in the primary race.

As another progressive senator, Warren will likely need to pick off some of Sanders’ supporters to have any chance of the nomination.

The difference between how aggressively Warren goes after Bernie (the front runner & existential threat to her candidacy), and Bloomberg (who she clearly despises), is something to behold.

Continue reading...

Democratic party grapples with rising likelihood of Sanders as the nominee

In the aftermath of Bernie Sanders’ victory in Nevada and as the South Carolina primary looms, the Democratic party establishment continues to grapple with the increasing likelihood that the Vermont senator, a self-proclaimed socialist, will be its nominee for president.

Related: Trump holds rally in India while Steyer qualifies for South Carolina debate – live

Continue reading...

Bernie Sanders’ rivals applaud his Nevada caucus win – video

Strong results in New Hampshire and Iowa helped the senator achieve a landslide victory. He is clearly in the lead to win the democratic nominations and take on Donald Trump in a presidential election. Sanders’ rivals congratulated him but galvanised their supporters as they looked ahead to the South Carolina race and Super Tuesday in March, when 14 states will vote

Continue reading...

Bernie Sanders celebrates thunderous Nevada caucuses win – video

Bernie Sanders has celebrated a huge win at the caucuses in Nevada, putting him clearly in front of the race for the Democratic presidential nomination a week before the South Carolina primary and then Super Tuesday on 3 March, when 14 states will vote.

Sanders, who had already moved on to San Antonio Texas, celebrated a win that 'brought together a multigenerational, multiracial coalition' after winning in Nevada, a state that is nearly 30% Latino, 10% black and has a rapidly growing Asian American community

Continue reading...

Buoyed by Latino voters in Nevada, Sanders cements his frontrunner status

Saturday’s caucuses were the first real test of Latino support in the Democratic primary – and the result was promising for Sanders

The senator from one of the whitest states in the US on Saturday trounced his rivals in the first primary of the 2020 election cycle that actually reflects the racial diversity of the country and the Democratic party.

The Vermont senator Bernie Sanders won a resounding victory in Nevada, buoyed by strong support among Latino voters. Sanders’ victory in the desert state strengthens his position as the party’s frontrunner and sends him into the next, high-stakes phase of the primary with a burst of momentum.

Continue reading...

Debate shows Bernie Sanders could win most votes but be denied nomination

The Vermont senator was alone in saying he would back whoever won a plurality of delegates – with others open to superdelegates tipping the balance for another candidate at the convention

Amid the Mike Bloomberg pile-on and the Pete Buttigieg-Amy Klobuchar squabbling, there was a key point that slipped by almost unnoticed during Wednesday’s tumultuous Democratic debate – one that could potentially prevent Bernie Sanders from becoming the nominee.

Towards the end, each of the six candidates was asked if – at the Democratic national convention this summer in Milwaukee – they would support the person who has won the most delegates – even if that person hasn’t achieved a majority.

Continue reading...

Democratic rivals attack Bloomberg in punishing debate debut – video

Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg fiercely attacked Mike Bloomberg on his first Democratic debate appearance.

Senator Warren led the assault, challenging the former New York mayor to release women at his company from non-disclosure agreements they signed while settling lawsuits. Bloomberg defended his record, saying: 'In my company, lots and lots of women have big responsibilities.'

Here are the key clashes from the ninth Democratic presidential debate in Las Vegas

Continue reading...

Bloomberg roundly attacked by rivals in fiercest Democratic debate so far

  • Billionaire’s record on policing and discrimination condemned
  • Centrists Buttigieg and Klobuchar rip into each other
  • Warren gives spirited display and likens Bloomberg to Trump

The top six Democratic presidential candidates faced off in Las Vegas on Wednesday in the most combative debate of the election and days before the high-stakes caucuses in Nevada.

It was the first debate for Mike Bloomberg, and the former New York mayor’s rivals in the Democratic race for president immediately took aim – attacking him for his legacy on racist policing and reports of sexist comments and discrimination at his companies.

Continue reading...

Democratic debate: Warren attacks Bloomberg over non-disclosure agreements – video

Mike Bloomberg has come under attack in Las Vegas from his Democratic rivals after taking part in his first debate. The former New York mayor was criticised for the city's stop-and-frisk policy, his wealth and the non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) several women at his company have signed while settling lawsuits. Elizabeth Warren repeatedly urged him to disclose how many NDAs women had signed and to let the women speak freely. Bloomberg refused to answer her direct questions, leading to boos from the crowd. “I hope you heard what his defence was: ‘I’ve been nice to some women,” Warren said


Continue reading...

Mike Bloomberg’s Democratic opponents target him ahead of debate – live

The White House said that Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron spoke over the phone yesterday.

“The two leaders discussed the importance of NATO, French and United States counterterrorism efforts in the Sahel, and other bilateral issues,” the readout says.

Bernie Sanders may also be asked about this during tonight’s debate: the Atlantic is reporting that the Vermont senator considered challenging Barack Obama for the 2012 Democratic nomination.

The Atlantic reports:

Bernie Sanders got so close to running a primary challenge to President Barack Obama that Senator Harry Reid had to intervene to stop him.

It took Reid two conversations over the summer of 2011 to get Sanders to scrap the idea, according to multiple people who remember the incident, which has not been previously reported.

Continue reading...

Trump seems to call for new Roger Stone trial – live updates

  • Billionaire Bloomberg will face opponents on debate stage in Las Vegas
  • Democratic rules were changed, opening door to former NY mayor’s participation
  • Bloomberg facing criticism over past policies and alleged comments
  • Help us cover the critical issues of 2020. Consider making a contribution

The good polling news for Michael Bloomberg just keeps on coming this morning.

A new poll from Oklahoma, which will also hold its primary on Super Tuesday, shows Bloomberg leading the field with 20%.

In addition to qualifying for the next Democratic debate, Michael Bloomberg also got some good news from a Virginia poll out this morning.

According to the Monmouth University survey, Bloomberg and Bernie Sanders are tied among likely voters in Virginia, which will hold its primary on Super Tuesday.

Continue reading...

The electability business: is Bernie Sanders America’s Corbyn?

Some Democratic observers fear their party is following the British left’s road to defeat

British politics rarely intrudes into a US presidential election. In 1988, Joe Biden was forced to abandon his first bid for the White House after it emerged that he had quoted without attribution a chunk of oratory from the then Labour party leader, Neil Kinnock. In 2016, Donald Trump deployed Nigel Farage as an occasional mascot on the stump, the Brexit victory in that year’s referendum deemed a happy omen that populists could defy the odds and win. In 2020, a third name has surfaced, offered as a cautionary tale to a Democratic party that this week confirmed a septuagenarian radical socialist and longtime backbench rebel as its frontrunner. That name is Jeremy Corbyn.

“I don’t want the Democratic party of the United States to be the Labour party of the United Kingdom,” James Carville, the victorious manager of Bill Clinton’s 1992 campaign, told audiences on cable TV and in New Hampshire this week, warning that if Democrats nominate Bernie Sanders, they will almost certainly be following Corbyn’s Labour party to defeat.

Continue reading...

Iowa Democratic party chair resigns after caucus chaos

Troy Price says he is ‘deeply sorry for what happened’ at derailed event, as results remain unclear

The chair of the Iowa Democratic party, who oversaw a chaotic caucus last week that still has not yielded final results, resigned from his position on Wednesday.

Troy Price, who has been the head of the state’s Democratic party since 2017, apologized for what had happened on caucus night.

Continue reading...

Extreme alarm as prosecutors resign after Trump intervention in Stone case – live

  • Ex-DoJ officials and watchdogs warn of ‘five-alarm fire in our democracy’
  • Trump congratulates Barr for ‘taking charge’ in case
  • Help us cover the critical issues of 2020. Consider making a contribution

Trump: congratulations William Barr on following the order I tweeted to 72m people.

Congratulations to Attorney General Bill Barr for taking charge of a case that was totally out of control and perhaps should not have even been brought. Evidence now clearly shows that the Mueller Scam was improperly brought & tainted. Even Bob Mueller lied to Congress!

GOP Sen. John Kennedy said Trump’s tweets about Stone were “problematic” but he also told us he’s seen “no evidence” that Trump improperly interfered and thought it was simply lack of coordination on sentencing. He wouldn’t comment directly when I asked if Barr should testify

Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer on Tuesday asked the inspector general of the justice department to investigate the Stone sentencing recommendation reversal.

This morning on the Senate floor, Schumer called on the chair of the judiciary committee, Republican Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, to convene hearings on the matter. Graham, a staunch ally of the president who has lately been focused on the need to investigate Hunter Biden’s conduct in Ukraine, is not likely to do that.

The president ran against the swamp in Washington, a place that is rigged by the powerful to benefit them personally. I ask my fellow Americans, what is more swampy, what is more fetid, what is more stinking than the most powerful person in the country literally changing the rules to benefit a crony guilty of breaking the law?”

NEW: Chuck Schumer calls on Lindsey Graham "to convene an emergency hearing...to conduct oversight and hold hearings" following DOJ reversal on Stone sentencing recommendation.

"That's the the job of the Judiciary Committee, no matter who's president." https://t.co/xDonmgJTd0 pic.twitter.com/Bwx57FoFez

Continue reading...

For Democrats, it’s Bernie Sanders v centrists as race still unsettled

The Vermont senator claimed a ‘great victory’ on Tuesday night – but he was trailed closely by a pair of midwestern moderates

After the Iowa caucuses failed to produce a clear winner last week, the results of the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday night helped crystalize the presidential primary - only insomuch as it appears to be a fiercely contested battle between Bernie Sanders and any candidate who can stop him.

From a sports arena in Manchester on Tuesday night, the Vermont senator and self-declared democratic socialist claimed “a great victory” and declared the “beginning of the end of Donald Trump”, while his rivals sought to convince Democrats nervous about a Sanders nomination that they were the most viable alternative.

Continue reading...

New Hampshire primary: most polls close with Sanders favorite to win – live

  • Most polls now closed but some places open for another hour
  • Sanders leads with Buttigieg trailing, and Klobuchar on the up
  • Help us cover the critical issues of 2020. Consider making a contribution

Tech entrepreneur Andrew Yang, who has signaled in recent days that the future of his candidacy depends on the results in New Hampshire, thanked his supporters as most of the state’s polls closed.

I am so proud of this campaign. Thank you to everyone who got us here.

It is 7 pm ET, so most New Hampshire polls have now closed, although a few polling locations will remain open for another hour.

Depending on the results, it could be a relatively early night -- especially in comparison to the days-long debacle that was the reporting of results for the Iowa caucuses.

Continue reading...

Joe Biden calls student ‘lying, dog-faced pony soldier’ at rally – video

In an exchange between Joe Biden and a 21-year-old college student in New Hampshire, she challenges him about his poor performance in the Iowa caucuses. Biden responds by asking her if she has ever been to a caucus. When she replies yes, he says – reportedly believing that he was quoting from a film – 'No you haven't! You're a lying, dog-faced pony soldier.'  A videoclip of the exchange has goes viral

Continue reading...

Buttigieg v Sanders: Democrats gaining frontrunner status as ‘polar opposites’

A day ahead of the New Hampshire primary, Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders remain on a collision course.

Related: Sheldon Adelson to donate $100m to Trump and Republicans, fundraisers say

Continue reading...

Sanders and Buttigieg campaigns request partial recanvass of Iowa caucuses – as it happened

The rallies still rage in New Hampshire tonight, but that’s it from us. Stay tuned for more news from our stellar politics team, who will have updates.

At the Trump rally in Manchester, a familiar chant has appeared to have turned on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

New Hampshire crowd chants "Lock her up!" after President Trump alluded to Nancy Pelosi "mumbling terribly behind me" during the State of the Union.

"There was a little anger back there," he said. "We're the ones who should be angry, not them." https://t.co/2OrQPtHreq pic.twitter.com/TkKtm2MxgM

Continue reading...