CNN isolated the audio to reveal the words of a tense exchange between Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders on stage following the seventh Democratic debate Tuesday.
“I think you called me a liar on national TV,” Warren said as she confronted Sanders and refused his offer to shake hands immediately following the conclusion of the debate.
“Let’s not do it right now,” Sanders pleaded. “You want to have that discussion, we’ll have that discussion. You called me a liar.”
"I THINK YOU CALLED ME A LIAR ON NATIONAL TV" pic.twitter.com/c7LWL5SLoh
— Ursula Perano (@UrsulaPerano) January 16, 2020
The moment caught on camera came after the two engaged in a back-and-forth on Warren’s allegation that Sanders told her during a private meeting in December of 2018 that a woman could not win the White House.
Sanders has categorically denied the claim labeling it “ludicrous.”
During Tuesday night’s primetime event, CNN posed Warren’s unproven allegations as a statement of fact when bringing the topic up for discussion.
“Senator Warren, what did you think when Senator Sanders told you a woman could not win the election?” debate moderator and CNN political correspondent Abby Phillip asked.
CNN: “Sen. Sanders, I do want to be clear here, you’re saying that you never told senator Warren that a woman could not win the election?"
SANDERS: "That is correct."
CNN: “Sen. Warren, what did you think when senator Sanders told you a woman could not win the election?" pic.twitter.com/BZ1NajmQE9— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) January 15, 2020
The only proof offered for Warren’s claims include four anonymous sources who claimed to have knowledge of the 2018 conversation telling CNN of Sanders’ statement in a story published on Monday.
Sanders argued more than 30 years ago that a woman could indeed capture the Oval Office.
“In my view a woman could be elected president of the United States.” — Bernie Sanders, 1988 pic.twitter.com/WJd847DdmA
— Meagan Day (@meaganmday) January 13, 2020
