Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (D) was the apparent target at the outset of the Democratic presidential debate in Nevada.
In the opening minutes of the debate on Wednesday night, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) wasted no time blasting Bloomberg for his crude comments he reportedly made about women.
“I’d like to talk about who we’re running against: A billionaire who calls women ‘fat broads’ and ‘horse-faced lesbians.’ 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.”
“Look, I’ll support whoever the Democratic nominee is. But understand this, Democrats take a huge risk if we just substitute one arrogant billionaire for another,” she added.
Watch the video below:
Warren came out SWINGING at Bloomberg pic.twitter.com/3D8bnvvm4m
— Pod Save America (@PodSaveAmerica) February 20, 2020
Warren has previously blasted Bloomberg for lawsuits filed against him by female employees, alleging that he created a work environment that was hostile toward women.
Bloomberg has admitted that he made crude remarks but has since said that he was embarrassed by them and they do not aline with his values.
Wednesday’s debate was the first time Bloomberg was on the debate stage, which comes as he has been considered a viable moderate candidate who could stop Sanders from winning the nomination and has been on the receiving end of attacks from his fellow candidates.
An average of national polls from RealClearPolitics finds that Bloomberg has shot into third-place and former Vice President Joe Biden faltered in the first two primary contests.
In recent days, Democrats have grown worried that Sanders would win the nomination and harm the party’s electoral prospects later this year and some have hoped that Bloomberg can blunt his momentum.