Former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) traded barbs at the ninth Democrat debate on Wednesday evening in Las Vegas, when Buttigieg implied that Sanders’ far-left campaign was inciting violence.
“You have to accept some responsibility and ask yourself what it is about your campaign in particular that seems to be motivating this behavior more than others, because in order to turn the page on the Trump era, we’re going to need a president, not just a candidate, but a president who can move this forward,” Buttigieg said.
Buttigieg then predicted what would happen in America if it came down to two polar opposites in the Democratic Party, and attacked Sanders for his socialist views.
“We could wake up two weeks from today, the day after Super Tuesday, and the only candidates left standing will be Bernie Sanders and Mike Bloomberg, the two most polarizing figures on this stage,” Buttigieg said. “And most Americans don’t see where they fit if they’ve got to choose between a socialist that thinks capitalism should be the root of all evil and a billionaire who thinks money should be the root of all power.”
“We shouldn’t have to choose between a candidate who wants to burn this party down and another candidate who wants to buy this party out.” Buttigieg continued.
Sanders responded that he is not trying to incite violence or polarize the Democratic Party, but instead give a voice to left-wing progressives who do not want to see the world controlled by billionaires such as fellow Democrat presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg.
“If speaking to the needs of a neglected, working-class is polarizing, I think you’ve got the wrong work. What we are trying finally to do is to give a voice to people who after 45 years are not making a nickel of work more than they were 45 years ago,” Sanders said.
“We are giving a voice to people who are sick and tired of giving a voice to billionaires like Mr. Bloomberg seeing huge expansions of their wealth while half a million people sleep out on the street tonight,” Sanders continued. “Maybe its time for the working class of this country to have a little bit of power in Washington rather than your billionaire contributors.”