Jane Sanders, wife of senator and presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders (I-VT), on Wednesday urged Democrats to remain united amid bubbling tensions between the respective supporters of the socialist senator and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).
“The @BernieSanders campaign is about unifying people across our country – not dividing them up by race, ethnicity or gender,” Sanders said amid rising hostilities between Democrats.
“Forget those who are trying to divide us, focus on building the progressive movement & be positive to succeed!” she urged, using the hashtag #MenWomenUnited:
Tuesday’s debate in Des Moines, Iowa, ended with an icy standoff between Sanders and Warren, who refused to shake her colleague’s hand following the conclusion of the debate. Tensions particularly soared after CNN’s Abby Phillip asked Warren, “What did you think when Sen. Sanders told you a woman could not win the election?” — phrasing the assertion as fact, despite Sanders’ vehement denial just seconds before.
Warren did nothing to dispute the claim and evidently did not take issue with the way the moderator framed the question.
Prior to the debate, Sanders denied CNN’s original report, which claimed he told Warren during a private meeting in 2018 that he did not believe a woman could win the presidency, calling it “ludicrous.”
Anti-Warren hashtags emerged after the debate, ranging from #NeverWarren to #WarrenIsASnake to #CNNIsTrash. However, the critiques caused many Democrats within the party to scramble to overtake the hashtags, using them to peddle a similar message as Jane Sanders urged Democrats to stay focused and unified no matter what.