In her statement, Warren said “I have no interest in discussing this private meeting any further because Bernie and I have far more in common than on our differences on punditry. “We have been friends and allies in this fight for long time, and I have no doubt we will continue to work together to defeat Donald Trump and put our government on the side of the people.”
Sanders campaign manager Faiz Shakir had urged Warren to speak out on the CNN report earlier in the day, telling NBC News, “I believe strongly what we are talking about here is a lie.”
“I believe that she should come out and say yeah, that is not my recollection of events, of course Bernie Sanders does not believe that,” Shakir said.
The bitter back and forth between the two longtime friends comes one day before the two are due to share the stage at a Democratic presidential debate in Des Moines, Iowa.
The pair had defended each other against their more moderate rivals in past Democratic debates, but cracks in their relationship began to show in recent days after Sanders started surging in the polls.
Fox News Poll: Broad anxiety about AI doesn’t extend to jobs
Artemis II vs. Apollo: Why this mission loops the moon but doesn’t land
Trump Fires Off Heated Message After Walking Out of Supreme Court Oral Arguments
Sauer cites ‘striking’ figures on secretive birth tourism in high-stakes SCOTUS case
Trump highlights ‘day of prayer’ at National Mall next month with faith leaders
Ted Bundy unmasked in decades-old teen murder as cold case finally solved by DNA: report
Trump Goes to Supreme Court for Oral Arguments in Unprecedented Move
Trump says Artemis II launch is sign US is ‘WINNING, in Space, on Earth, and everywhere’
Trump working to clean ‘filthy’ Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, blames Biden for maintenance delays
Trump calls for second ‘big, beautiful bill’ to fund ICE on his desk by June 1
Audience of one: Trump watches from Supreme Court gallery during birthright citizenship arguments
Watch: Nancy Pelosi Plants Absurd Conspiracy Theory About the 2026 Election
Grand conspiracy investigation into Obama-era officials gains steam in South Florida
Impeach Them All: Rogue Judge Orders Trump to Restore Legal Status to Up to 900,000 Immigrants
Iran launches mass text-based recruitment drive, including minors, to join targeted security forces
“The timing of this clearly shows that this is a desperate move,” one senior Sanders aide told NBC News. “Unfortunately Elizabeth Warren’s campaign has been going down in the polls, and this is the latest in an attack on one of her leading competitors.”
Politico reported over the weekend that the Sanders’ campaign had been giving volunteers talking points describing Warren as the candidate of elites.
Warren said Sunday she was “disappointed” by the campaign’s actions.
“I was disappointed to hear that Bernie is sending his volunteers out to trash me,” she told NBC News.
Sanders downplayed the Politico report, saying his campaign has “hundreds of employees” and “people sometimes say things that they shouldn’t.”
“I have never said a negative word about Elizabeth Warren who is a friend of mine. We have differences on issues, that’s what campaigning is about. But no one is going to be attacking Elizabeth,” Sanders said.
Sanders has in the past been critical of some of Warren’s policy positions, particularly health care.
Fox News Poll: Broad anxiety about AI doesn’t extend to jobs
Artemis II vs. Apollo: Why this mission loops the moon but doesn’t land
Trump Fires Off Heated Message After Walking Out of Supreme Court Oral Arguments
Sauer cites ‘striking’ figures on secretive birth tourism in high-stakes SCOTUS case
Trump highlights ‘day of prayer’ at National Mall next month with faith leaders
Ted Bundy unmasked in decades-old teen murder as cold case finally solved by DNA: report
Trump Goes to Supreme Court for Oral Arguments in Unprecedented Move
Trump says Artemis II launch is sign US is ‘WINNING, in Space, on Earth, and everywhere’
Trump working to clean ‘filthy’ Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, blames Biden for maintenance delays
Trump calls for second ‘big, beautiful bill’ to fund ICE on his desk by June 1
Audience of one: Trump watches from Supreme Court gallery during birthright citizenship arguments
Watch: Nancy Pelosi Plants Absurd Conspiracy Theory About the 2026 Election
Grand conspiracy investigation into Obama-era officials gains steam in South Florida
Impeach Them All: Rogue Judge Orders Trump to Restore Legal Status to Up to 900,000 Immigrants
Iran launches mass text-based recruitment drive, including minors, to join targeted security forces
In an October interview with ABC, Sanders said his Massachusetts counterpart “is a very, very good senator. But there are differences between Elizabeth and myself. Elizabeth, I think, as you know, has said that she is a capitalist through her bones. I’m not.”
Before Sunday, Warren had largely avoided being critical of Sanders and his campaign, typically telling reporters asking about the differences between them that they’re friends and she doesn’t want to comment on other campaigns.