After reports surfaced on Monday that Sen. Bernie Sanders told fellow Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren that a woman could not win the presidency, Sanders and Warren were asked to address the squabble directly.
Sanders denied he told Warren a woman couldn't win.
“Well, as a matter of fact, I didn’t say it,” Sanders said. “And I don’t want to waste a whole lot of time on this, because this is what Donald Trump and maybe some of the media want.”
Sanders pointed out that Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by nearly 3 million votes as proof a woman can win the presidency.
Warren tried to defuse the disagreement.
“Bernie is my friend and I’m not here to fight with Bernie,” Warren said.
But it appeared the disagreement boiled over after the debate. As the candidates exchanged pleasantries following the debate, Sanders appeared to reach out his hand to Warren. Warren opted not to shake Sanders' hand, video showed.
The two sparred over electability and who has a track record of defeating Republicans.
“The only people on this stage who won every single election that they’ve been in are the women: Amy and me,” Warren said.
Warren then said that she was the only person on the debate stage to defeat an incumbent Republican in the last 30 years. But Sanders interjected.
"I defeated an incumbent Republican running for Congress,” Sanders said about his 1990 win over Republican Peter Smith. But Sanders previously lost to Smith in 1988 by a 4% margin. Sanders has also lost two Senate and three gubernatorial elections early in his political career.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar boasted her ability to be elected.
"I have won every race, every place, every time. I have won in the reddest of districts. I have won in the suburban areas, in the rural areas," she said.
