Biden Gets Crowd on Its Feet, but Not for Himself

(Bloomberg) -- Seven of the Democratic presidential candidates got a little punchy at their eighth debate Friday, alternating between taking swings at one another and vowing unity once the race is over.

With the New Hampshire primary looming on Tuesday, most of the fire was directed at Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders, who emerged as the front-runners after the Iowa caucuses.

The debate featured attacks on Buttigieg for his age, a standing ovation for an impeachment witness against President Donald Trump and reassurance for Sanders that his opponents did, in fact, like him.

Biden Sets Low Expectations

Four days after getting a “gut punch” by coming in fourth in the Iowa caucuses, former Vice President Joe Biden all-but admitted he won’t do well in New Hampshire either.

Discussing Tuesday’s primary, Biden indicated that he expected to come in behind the “neighboring senators,“ Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.

“It’s a long race,” he said. “I took a hit in Iowa and I’ll probably take a hit here. Traditionally, Bernie won by 20 points last time. And usually it’s the neighboring senators that do well.”

He then suggested he would do better in Nevada and South Carolina, where he is currently ahead in the RealClearPolitics average of polls.

“I’ve always viewed the first four encounters, two primaries and two caucuses, as the starting point,” he said.

Biden Gets Crowd to ‘Stand Up’ for Vindman

The biggest applause of the night didn’t come for any of the candidates on stage.

During a discussion of Trump’s impeachment, Biden noted that the president had just hours earlier removed from a White House post Alexander Vindman, who had testified during the House investigation.

“Stand up and clap for Vindman,” Biden said, as the crowd gave a standing ovation. “Get up there! That’s who we are! We’re not what Trump is!”

Biden, who was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama, noted that Trump had awarded controversial talk radio host Rush Limbaugh the medal during the State of the Union Tuesday.

“He should be pinning a medal on Vindman, and not on Rush Limbaugh,” he said.

Klobuchar Jabs Buttigieg for His Age

Amy Klobuchar got in some not-so-subtle digs at Buttigieg’s age.

As the debate began, the Minnesota senator said that she too was a fresh face, referencing her age and Buttigieg’s. “Fifty-nine is the new 38,” she said.

Biden, 77, jumped in, adding that “70 is the new 50.”

Shortly afterward, while lauding the senators who participated in the two-week Senate impeachment trial, Klobuchar criticized the youthful-looking Buttigieg for wanting to “turn the channel and watch cartoons” during the proceedings.

That was a reference to Buttigieg’s comment at a town hall in Ames, Iowa, in January that watching the Senate trial was “exhausting.”

“I don’t know about you but watching the news right now, watching the impeachment coverage, watching the Senate is exhausting,” he said in Ames. “I live and breathe politics and I find it exhausting. It just gets you down, it makes you want to watch cartoons instead.”

Sanders Gets Some Love

Sanders’ competitors hit him over policy, including the costs of Medicare for All, but insisted that personally, he was likeable.

When moderators noted former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s remark that among senators “nobody likes him,” the other candidates on the debate stage came to his rescue.

“I like Bernie just fine,” said Klobuchar, as Biden crossed the stage to give Sanders a side hug.

At another point, Klobuchar noted that she had worked with Sanders on a prescription drug policy change which she called the Klobuchar-Sanders Amendment.

“Sanders-Klobuchar Amendment,” he joked in response.

“No, it is not,” she responded playfully.

It’s the King of Denmark’s Fault

Trump was nowhere near New Hampshire, but his presence was felt on the stage. Klobuchar poked fun at him for his frequent feuds, citing two of his more humorous ones.

During a discussion of the need to work with other countries, she argued that the president “literally blames everyone in the world,” saying he has castigated Obama and even Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, whom he appointed.

“He blames the king of Denmark. Who does that?” she said. “He blames the prime minister of Canada for, he claims, cutting him out of the Canadian version of ‘Home Alone 2.’ Who does that? That’s what Donald Trump does.”

In December, Trump complained that his brief cameo in “Home Alone 2” was cut from the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.’s version for TV, tweeting that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “doesn’t much like my making him pay up on NATO or Trade!” The network said the cut was made with many others years earlier to shorten the movie.

One small thing. Trump did have a dispute with Denmark, when he canceled a visit last August after the country’s prime minister rejected his idea of buying Greenland. But the invitation came from the queen of Denmark, Margrethe II, who succeeded her father in 1972.

Biden Forgets Debating 101

Biden learned an old debate lesson the hard way: Never ask a hypothetical question.

Speaking about the Senate’s role in confirming Supreme Court justices, he argued that Democrats needed to pick a nominee who can win broadly.

“Who is most likely to help get a senator elected in North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Pennsylvania, Minnesota?” he asked.

All of the other candidates on stage raised their hands.

“You can, I agree,” he said. “Here’s the point: You’ve got to be able to not just win.”

Pandering to New Hampshire

If you didn’t know that the debate was taking place in New Hampshire, the candidates went out of their way to remind you.

Discussing Amazon’s effects on local businesses, Venture for America founder Andrew Yang noted that 30% of New Hampshire stores and malls are closing.

Talking about his ability to get elected, Buttigieg noted that New Hampshire has an “independent streak” and won’t “be told what to do by anyone,” he said.

In an answer on gun laws, Sanders noted that his home state of Vermont, like New Hampshire, is “very rural.” And comparing America’s high prescription drug prices to Canada’s, he noted that the country borders the Granite State.

But Klobuchar took the cake, pointing out that New Hampshire has high voter turnout; giving two shoutouts to New Hampshire Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan, neither of whom have endorsed in the 2020 primary; and even noting in a discussion of international systems that the Bretton Woods agreement was signed in the state.

(Disclaimer: Michael Bloomberg is also seeking the Democratic presidential nomination. He is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.)

To contact the reporter on this story: Ryan Teague Beckwith in Manchester, New Hampshire at rbeckwith3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Wendy Benjaminson at wbenjaminson@bloomberg.net, Max Berley, Magan Crane

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