Democrat meltdown: Shock accusations fired at Sanders as 'he said no woman can beat Trump'
DEMOCRATIC presidential hopefuls Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have become embroiled in an unseemly spat on the eve of the crucial Iowa debate.
Bernie Sanders brands Elizabeth Warren's claims ‘ludicrous’
Mr Sanders and Ms Warren represent the progressive wing of the Democratic party and are vying for the Democratic nomination in November’s presidential election. Both have argued that the country needs sweeping changes to health care, financial and other systems. To achieve this they plan to tax higher-income and wealthier Americans to create new benefits for everyone else.
However, Ms Warren has now accused of Mr Sanders of sexism, after she claimed that he told her a woman could not defeat Donald Trump in 2020.
She said that Mr Sanders made the comment during a two hour meeting between the two in 2018.
Mr Sanders has denied the allegation, saying he absolutely believes a woman could beat Trump to the Presidency.
The dispute arose when CNN quoted Ms Warren’s aides as saying she had been told by Mr Sanders during a private meeting that a woman could not win.
Mr Sanders countered that the comment was pure fiction nd had been made up by “staff who weren't in the room and are lying about what happened."
He added: “It is ludicrous to believe that at the same meeting where Elizabeth Warren told me she was going to run for president, I would tell her that a woman couldn't win.
"Do I believe a woman can win in 2020? Of course!
“After all, Hillary Clinton beat Donald Trump by 3 million votes in 2016."
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Ms Warren issued her own statement later on Monday, where she stood by her allegation.
In the statement, she said: “Among the topics that came up was what would happen if Democrats nominated a female candidate.
“I thought a woman could win, he disagreed.”
She maintained that the pair remain friends, despite the spat.
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The pair will take part in a televised debate in Iowa on Tuesday, as the fight to pick the Presidential nominee is expected to go the full distance.
The winner of the contest will be declared at the Democratic Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in July.
Six candidates are still vying for the nomination, including former Vice-President Joe Biden, and South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg.
According to an opinion poll taken on 8-9 January, 23% of registered Democrats said they supported Mr Biden, while 20% supported Mr Sanders and 15% said they would vote for Ms Warren.
The debate is likely to be overshadowed by the impeachment saga, as Democrat speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Sunday that her party will meet on Tuesday to decide when to transmit the impeachment articles to the Senate.
The House of Representatives voted to impeach Trump in December, but so far Ms Pelosi has refused to pass on the articles to Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell.
Ms Pelosi is keen to ensure that a fair trial takes place in the Senate and wants to ring concessions from the Republicans over impeachment procedures.
In particular she wants to make sure that the Democrats can call the witnesses that they want to testify as well as have access to all relevant documents.
Trump has consistently dismissed impeachment as a witch hunt and called Ms Pelosi the “absolute worst speaker of the House in US history”.