News • Opinons • Politics

‘Rigged’: Critics Cry Foul as CNN Debate Slants Against Bernie Sanders

Supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) are infuriated by the results of the seventh Democrat presidential debate in Iowa because it appears that moderators favored Sen. Elizabeth Warren in the debate hosted by CNN on Tuesday.

The clearest example of bias cited by debate watchers was when CNN moderator Abby Phillips had the following exchange with Sanders and Warren:

Phillips: You’re saying that you never told Senator Warren that a woman couldn’t win the election?


Bernie: Correct.

Phillips: Warren, what did you think when Sanders said a woman couldn’t win the election?

Warren: I disagreed. Bernie is my friend, and I am not here to try to fight with Bernie.


High School Football Coach Fired, Allegedly for Running Up Score Against Lesser Opponent
House Democrat Reveals Plan to Knock Maxine Waters Off Her Leadership Pedestal, Sparking Internal Turmoil
Fox News Poll: Cost of living concerns weigh on GOP in midterms
Expert calls California ‘Wild West’ for surrogacy after couple charged with abusing surrogate-born children
Karen Bass and Nithya Raman vie for Spencer Pratt’s voters in final Los Angeles mayoral debate
DOJ unveils nationwide tax fraud crackdown involving 76 defendants, nearly $500M in alleged losses
Breaking: The DOJ Has Seized Ilhan Omar’s Phone
Dem AG targets Trump on voting while his state sends rights letters to dead people
Metallica Frontman Triggers Leftists with Subtle Shot at Zach Bryan, Macklemore, and Jelly Roll
Mamdani accuses Blakeman of ‘bigotry and racism’ in breakout debate that mayor didn’t watch
Lindsay Clancy mistrial holdout says he thought she was ‘methodical’ in the ‘execution’ of her children
Ken Paxton sues major baby food companies, alleging dangerous levels of heavy metals
AOC puts her standing as progressive leader on the line by hitching wagon to el Sayed
Federal Judge Sides with CNN, Politico, MS NOW in Battle Against White House
Massive trove of Republican voter and donor info breached in Biden DOJ probe: Senate chairman

After the debate, Warren pointedly refused to shake Sen. Sanders’s hand, a puzzling move, as Warren tried to paint her relationship with the Vermont Senator as respectful and collegial.

The story kicking off the alleged claim of Sanders’ sexist remark towards Warren in 2018 was published Monday by CNN and prominently featured on their network before the debate.

Phillips followed up by asking Sen. Amy Klobuchar, “What do you say to people who say that a woman can’t win this election?”

See also  DeSantis presses reluctant Floridians for swift evacuations as Hurricane Isaias strengthens

Warren did not repeat her claim against Sanders during the debate, and Phillips and other CNN moderators failed to cross-examine the Massachusetts senator’s account of what occurred during their conversation.

Warren instead pivoted into an answer that trumpeted women running successfully for elections, earning loud cheers from the debate audience.

Supporters also claim that CNN moderators focused more attention on demanding that Sen. Bernie Sanders explain how he plans to pay for his socialist programs, ignoring Warren’s proposals for similar programs.


High School Football Coach Fired, Allegedly for Running Up Score Against Lesser Opponent
House Democrat Reveals Plan to Knock Maxine Waters Off Her Leadership Pedestal, Sparking Internal Turmoil
Fox News Poll: Cost of living concerns weigh on GOP in midterms
Expert calls California ‘Wild West’ for surrogacy after couple charged with abusing surrogate-born children
Karen Bass and Nithya Raman vie for Spencer Pratt’s voters in final Los Angeles mayoral debate
DOJ unveils nationwide tax fraud crackdown involving 76 defendants, nearly $500M in alleged losses
Breaking: The DOJ Has Seized Ilhan Omar’s Phone
Dem AG targets Trump on voting while his state sends rights letters to dead people
Metallica Frontman Triggers Leftists with Subtle Shot at Zach Bryan, Macklemore, and Jelly Roll
Mamdani accuses Blakeman of ‘bigotry and racism’ in breakout debate that mayor didn’t watch
Lindsay Clancy mistrial holdout says he thought she was ‘methodical’ in the ‘execution’ of her children
Ken Paxton sues major baby food companies, alleging dangerous levels of heavy metals
AOC puts her standing as progressive leader on the line by hitching wagon to el Sayed
Federal Judge Sides with CNN, Politico, MS NOW in Battle Against White House
Massive trove of Republican voter and donor info breached in Biden DOJ probe: Senate chairman

Sanders’ campaign co-chair Nina Turner immediately pointed out CNN’s bias in a series of screenshots on Twitter.

After the debate, many of the Democrats on the CNN panel immediately declared Warren the victor of the debate, noting her strong performance.

“I think what Bernie forgot is that this isn’t a he-said, she-said story,” political consultant Jess McIntosh said after the debate. “This is a reported out story that CNN was a part of breaking, so to have him just flat out say, ‘no,’ wasn’t nearly enough for the women watching.”

See also  Federal agents conduct predawn search of Ilhan Omar’s home in Washington

CNN anchor Anderson Cooper corrected McIntosh to note that Warren’s entire accusation and Sanders’ response was basically a “he said, she said” case, as there were only two people in the meeting — Sanders and Warren.

But the rest of the panel delivered unanimous praise for Warren’s debate performance.

Campaign manager for former President Barack Obama David Axelrod said that it was Warren’s “best debate.”

“She was consistent, strong, emphatic, I think she did what she came there to do,” he said.

Political reporter Nia-Malika Henderson said that Warren had the “best plan,” the “best energy” and the “best moment” in the debate.

Even Van Jones said that “this was Elizabeth Warren’s night.”


High School Football Coach Fired, Allegedly for Running Up Score Against Lesser Opponent
House Democrat Reveals Plan to Knock Maxine Waters Off Her Leadership Pedestal, Sparking Internal Turmoil
Fox News Poll: Cost of living concerns weigh on GOP in midterms
Expert calls California ‘Wild West’ for surrogacy after couple charged with abusing surrogate-born children
Karen Bass and Nithya Raman vie for Spencer Pratt’s voters in final Los Angeles mayoral debate
DOJ unveils nationwide tax fraud crackdown involving 76 defendants, nearly $500M in alleged losses
Breaking: The DOJ Has Seized Ilhan Omar’s Phone
Dem AG targets Trump on voting while his state sends rights letters to dead people
Metallica Frontman Triggers Leftists with Subtle Shot at Zach Bryan, Macklemore, and Jelly Roll
Mamdani accuses Blakeman of ‘bigotry and racism’ in breakout debate that mayor didn’t watch
Lindsay Clancy mistrial holdout says he thought she was ‘methodical’ in the ‘execution’ of her children
Ken Paxton sues major baby food companies, alleging dangerous levels of heavy metals
AOC puts her standing as progressive leader on the line by hitching wagon to el Sayed
Federal Judge Sides with CNN, Politico, MS NOW in Battle Against White House
Massive trove of Republican voter and donor info breached in Biden DOJ probe: Senate chairman

“She knocked that moment out of the park,” Jones said, arguing that Sanders “stepped on a banana peel” during the debate.

“It was an out of the park moment for her,” said Chief Political Correspondent Dana Bash after the debate, praising the “clever way” that Warren brought in Klobuchar to rally the “sisterhood” on stage.

Supporters of Bernie Sanders immediately reacted to what they saw as a rigged debate by sharing the hashtag #CNNisTrash that trended quickly on Twitter after the debate.


High School Football Coach Fired, Allegedly for Running Up Score Against Lesser Opponent
House Democrat Reveals Plan to Knock Maxine Waters Off Her Leadership Pedestal, Sparking Internal Turmoil
Fox News Poll: Cost of living concerns weigh on GOP in midterms
Expert calls California ‘Wild West’ for surrogacy after couple charged with abusing surrogate-born children
Karen Bass and Nithya Raman vie for Spencer Pratt’s voters in final Los Angeles mayoral debate
DOJ unveils nationwide tax fraud crackdown involving 76 defendants, nearly $500M in alleged losses
Breaking: The DOJ Has Seized Ilhan Omar’s Phone
Dem AG targets Trump on voting while his state sends rights letters to dead people
Metallica Frontman Triggers Leftists with Subtle Shot at Zach Bryan, Macklemore, and Jelly Roll
Mamdani accuses Blakeman of ‘bigotry and racism’ in breakout debate that mayor didn’t watch
Lindsay Clancy mistrial holdout says he thought she was ‘methodical’ in the ‘execution’ of her children
Ken Paxton sues major baby food companies, alleging dangerous levels of heavy metals
AOC puts her standing as progressive leader on the line by hitching wagon to el Sayed
Federal Judge Sides with CNN, Politico, MS NOW in Battle Against White House
Massive trove of Republican voter and donor info breached in Biden DOJ probe: Senate chairman

Share this article:
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter