With just two days to go before the New Hampshire primary, Democratic candidates ramped up their appearances on Sunday morning news programs.
While former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) gave exclusive interviews to ABC News, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and former South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg made the rounds on CNN, CBS and Fox News in addition to ABC News.
Here are the key takeaways from a hectic Sunday morning interview spree:
Biden denies attacking Buttigieg in campaign ad
A day after releasing a campaign ad that mocks Buttigieg’s experience as South Bend’s mayor, Biden told ABC’s George Stephanopolous that he “didn’t attack Pete” but that “Pete’s been attacking me.”
“He’s been saying that the reason we’re in the problem right now is because of the recent past,” Biden said. “That’s eight years of Obama and me. I don’t get that. I don’t understand that. And I think he has completely misunderstood or misrepresented my record. I have done a great deal. I have gotten an awful lot done, both as a senator and as vice president.”
Watch Biden’s remarks below:
Joe Biden on Buttigieg: “Let’s get something straight here. I didn’t attack Pete. Pete’s been attacking me. He’s been saying the reason we’re in the problem we’re in now is because of the recent past. That’s 8 years of Obama and me. I don’t get that.” https://t.co/nPQ57Pvs7t pic.twitter.com/r2GBbqA3GV
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) February 9, 2020
Buttigieg defends himself after Biden’s “he’s no Obama” jab
Following Biden’s post-Friday debate remark that Buttigieg is “no Barack Obama” given how his mayoral experience pales in comparison to Obama’s “much wider” experience — which includes his time as an Illinois senator — Chuck Todd of “Meet the Press” asked Buttigieg how he feels about Biden “implying that you are attacking the Obama presidency.”
Buttigieg responded that he “had the Obama White Houses’ back time and time again because they were doing the right thing” which “wasn’t always easy as a mayor in Indiana.”
“You know, in fact my first campaign statewide was on a platform of defending the Obama administration’s decision to rescue the auto industry because I knew what that meant to my state,” Buttigieg said. “But those achievements were important because they met the moment. Now we’re at a different moment. This is 2020.”
Watch Buttigieg’s remarks below:
Buttigieg responds to Biden implying that he's attacking Obama presidency pic.twitter.com/Cpf390RSQs
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) February 9, 2020
Sanders fields questions regarding his socialist label
When Fox News’ Chris Wallace asked Sanders how he plans to “overcome” the socialist label that Biden recently criticized — given how he is going to “need the support not just of liberal, progressive, left-wing Democrats,” but also “the support of independents, even conceivably moderate Republicans” — Sanders responded that “in many respects we have a socialist society today.”
“We have a huge budget, puts money into all areas,” Sanders said. “Now Donald Trump, before he was President, as a private business person, he received eight hundred million dollars in tax breaks and subsidies to build luxury housing in New York. Now, what does that mean, when government gives you eight hundred million dollars in tax breaks and subsidies?”
Watch Sanders’ remarks on Fox News below:
Chris Wallace asks Bernie Sanders about being labeled as a socialist pic.twitter.com/oSVvMcnvW6
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) February 9, 2020
Sanders also defended criticism against his “Medicare For All” plan on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
“I am not advocating for the United States government to take over the health care system,” Sanders said. “What I am advocating for is an expansion of Medicare. Medicare exists.”
Watch Sanders’ remarks on CBS below:
Sanders defends criticism of "Medicare For All" plan pic.twitter.com/k6tKtb9TYK
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) February 9, 2020
Warren is unfazed by placing third in Iowa caucuses
Warren appeared to keep her head up high heading into the New Hampshire primary during an interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopolous, who pointed out that “no one has ever gotten the nomination if they don’t crack the top two in Iowa and New Hampshire.”
Warren said that she sees that “it’s going to be a long campaign.”
“When I made the decision not to spend 75 percent of my time raising money from billionaires and corporate executives and lobbyists, it meant I had a lot more time to go around the country,” Warren said. “I have been to 31 states to do town halls, red states and blue states. We have about 1,000 people on the ground. We’ve built a campaign to go the distance, and that’s what I think is going to happen here.”
Watch Warren’s remarks below:
.@GStephanopoulos: No one has ever gotten the nomination if they don’t crack the top two in Iowa or New Hampshire.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren: “Look, the way I see this is it’s going to be a long campaign … we’ve built a campaign to go the distance.” https://t.co/nPQ57Pvs7t pic.twitter.com/7CWr6VyUTJ
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) February 9, 2020
Ed.Note: An earlier version of this article incorrectly reported that Elizabeth Warren came in fourth place rather than third place in the Iowa Caucuses. We regret the error.
