Nevada's caucuses are set for Saturday and based on last night’s debate in Las Vegas, the Democratic presidential hopefuls were taking no prisoners. In what would most politely be described as a “feisty debate,” it was clear that one candidate walked in with a target on his back: former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Bloomberg was on the defense for just about everything, including police practices in New York, his company's treatment of women and unreleased tax returns. Bloomberg was also accused of trying to buy the election. He said he's proud of the money he has earned and plans to give a lot of it back to change the U.S.
The candidate many have tagged as the “winner?” Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, who talked about Bloomberg and President Trump and said U.S. can't substitute "one arrogant billionaire for another." But he wasn’t alone - she also squarely went after everyone on the debate stage.
As for Bloomberg, he scored a few points – when he was allowed to get a word in. Among other things, he argued that current Democratic frontrunner Bernie Sanders cannot defeat Trump – and assailed Sanders socialist positions, pointing to Sanders’ own wealth.
Bloomberg also insisted that he is best positioned to defeat Trump and said the key is a massive Democratic turnout. Not according to former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who called Sanders and Bloomberg “the two most polarizing figures on the stage.”
The Democrats squabbled again over healthcare and the validity of Medicare-for-All proposals. Former Veep Joe Biden said it would be far too expensive and argued that Obamacare should be repaired and improved.
The Democrats agreed that climate change is the leading existential threat to the world. Dems also agreed that the U.S. tax code should be reformed to benefit working families.
So who got the most ‘talking time?’ According to NBC News, who hosted the debate, that crown goes to Elizabeth Warren – with 16.35-minutes of total speaking. Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar came in second (16:03) and Sanders was third (15:15). Buttigieg came in fourth (14:49), Biden was fifth (13:23) and Bloomberg was last at 13:22.
Conversely, the “Most Googled” honors go to Buttigieg, with Sanders, Bloomberg, Warren, Klobuchar and Biden rounding out the group.
Source: NBC News