The Bernie Sanders campaign accused Joe Biden of pushing the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and CNN for a seated debate format in the upcoming Democratic debates on March 15.
The format, allegedly proposed by CNN and the DNC, would have candidates seated and taking questions from undecided audience members.
According to Politico, in a private call with CNN and the DNC, Sanders’ team was disappointed with the proposed seated format, saying it gives Biden a break in their face-off.
“Why does Joe Biden not want to stand toe-to-toe with Sen. Sanders on the debate stage March 15 and have an opportunity to defend his record and articulate his vision for the future?” said Jeff Weaver, a senior advisor to Sen. Bernie Sanders.
The Biden campaign denied reports it was pressing for a sit-down debate. They claim the DNC and CNN set the format for the debate.
“We will participate in whatever debate CNN chooses to stage: standing, sitting, at podiums, or in a town hall. The problem for the Sanders campaign is not the staging of the debate, but rather, the weakness of Sen. Sanders’ record and ideas,” said Kate Bedingfield, Biden’s deputy campaign manager.
These accusations come after Biden swept delegates on Super Tuesday and amid mounting concerns about his health. Biden makes routine gaffes such as calling his wife his sister and misquoting the Declaration of Independence. This leads people to question his health and suitability for office. In his latest gaffe, Biden said only President Trump can win re-election.
“We cannot win this re-election, excuse me, we can only re-elect Donald Trump,” Biden said.
I finally agree with Joe Biden on something!
He’s exactly right—If we don’t want 4 years of this, we can only re-elect @realDonaldTrump
RT! pic.twitter.com/ckHXu42jZc
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) March 8, 2020
In comparison, Sanders prides himself in his agility, despite having a heart-attack in October. The Sanders campaign is clearly trying to differentiate the two candidate’s physical abilities by highlighting Biden’s lagging performance and desire to sit.
