Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) would not explicitly state that Joe Biden (D) is not a sexist during a campaign stop in Exeter, New Hampshire, on Monday, suggesting that voters and reporters “ask him” that question.
“I think you should ask him. For me, this is really talking about … all the little girls who came up just now and who’ve done pinky promises. … We’re here, we’re strong, and we have strong views,” Warren stated.
The beef between the two escalated after Warren unveiled her $52 trillion Medicare for All plan — a plan which she claims will not require a middle class tax hike. Biden’s Deputy Campaign Manager Kate Bedingfield remarked on the “mathematical gymnastics” used in Warren’s proposal, and the Massachusetts senator suggested that Biden was guilty of using “Republican talking points.”
“Democrats are not going to win by repeating Republican talking points and by dusting off the points of view of the giant insurance companies and the giant drug companies who don’t want to see any change in the law that will bite into their profits,” she said.
Biden defended his position in a Medium post last week, noting that Warren’s attack reflects “an angry unyielding viewpoint that has crept into our politics,” although he did not mention her by name.
“The other day I was accused by one of my opponents of running in the wrong primary. Pretty amazing. On one level, it is kind of funny,” he wrote.
He continued:
But at another level these kinds of attacks are a serious problem. They reflect an angry unyielding viewpoint that has crept into our politics. If someone doesn’t agree with you — it’s not just that you disagree — that person must be a coward or corrupt or a small thinker.
Warren subtly attributed Biden’s description — describing her as “angry” — to sexism.
“I am angry and I own it,” a Friday fundraising email from Warren read.
“Over and over, we are told that women are not allowed to be angry. It makes us unattractive to powerful men who want us to be quiet,” it continued.
The former vice president denied his critique had anything to do with sexism and doubled down on his remarks during CNN’s town hall Monday evening.
“The attitude is elitist that people can’t make up their own mind,” Biden said, alluding to her position on Medicare for All.
“It’s not about her, it’s about the attitude out there — the attitude that we know best, you do it my way,” he continued, arguing that he was not talking about her per se.
“I resent that. And I wasn’t talking about her, I was talking about the attitude that if you don’t agree with me, get in the other party,” he added:
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