Impeachment Drama Unites Democratic Candidates Against Trump in Debate

(Bloomberg) -- The impeachment drama engulfing Washington overshadowed the fifth Democratic presidential debate, serving to largely mute the policy differences between the 10 Democrats on stage as they joined in their repudiation of President Donald Trump..In that way, the night offered no decisive winner and little opportunity to shake up the race. Vice President Joe Biden turned in a crisp performance on his 77th birthday, particularly early on when addressing Trump’s alleged misdeeds..Democrats largely passed up the chance to turn their fire on Pete Buttigieg to blunt his momentum in Iowa, where he now leads in the polls, but continued their attacks on Elizabeth Warren for her plans for a wealth tax and Medicare for All..Second-tier candidates like Tulsi Gabbard and Tom Steyer garnered airtime disproportionate to their standing in the polls, while Amy Klobuchar scored with comments about how it’s tougher for women to compete in politics than men..“If you think a woman can’t beat Donald Trump, Nancy Pelosi does it every single day,” Klobuchar said to applause and cheers in the audience and trending mentions on social media..Democrats Duck Big Fights in Atlanta Debate, Focus on Trump.It would have been hard for anything that happened on the debate stage in Atlanta to compete with the daylong testimony that tied Trump directly to the quid pro quo related to Ukrainian foreign aid..But impeachment did have a benefit particularly for Biden, giving him the opportunity to remind Democrats that he has all the right enemies..The impeachment inquiry began, after all, after allegations that Trump threatened to withhold military aid to Ukraine until that country announced an investigation into Biden and his son, Hunter, who served on the board of a Ukrainian energy company..“I learned something about these impeachment trials. I learned, number one, that Donald Trump doesn’t want me to be the nominee. That’s pretty clear,” he said. “And secondly I found out that Vladimir Putin doesn’t want me to be president.”.Envoy Undercuts GOP Defense of Trump as Hands-Off on Ukraine.Later, Biden took it as a badge of pride that North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un had called him a “rabid dog” and quoted from Trump tweets insulting him..Biden also said he would not direct his Justice Department to prosecute Trump after he leaves office, but leave that decision to his attorney general, and deplored the “lock him up” chants that have cropped up at sporting events and political rallies..Biden was less sure-footed later in the debate. He said he had won the endorsement of Carol Moseley Braun, who he said was the only black woman ever to serve in the U.S. Senate -- while Kamala Harris, a current black senator, stood just a few feet away..There were substantive issues raised by the MSNBC and Washington Post moderators, leading to exchanges on paid family leave, housing, immigration and decriminalizing marijuana. But with only disagreements around the edges on those issues, those questions, too, served to blur any substantive differences between the candidates..Warren once again found herself defending her Medicare for All proposal. She struggled to come up with a clear, concise answer of how she would implement and pay for it, even after releasing detailed spending plans and retreating on the timetable for implementing them..Early on, Warren and Cory Booker squared off over Warren’s wealth tax plan. Booker said Democrats needed to spend as much time figuring out how to help create wealth as taxing it..Sanders showed that he was still the same curmudgeonly socialist he’s been since 1980, despite a heart attack last month that sidelined him for nearly three weeks..He showed flashes of energy and humor, going back to his catchphrase the first time he was asked about Medicare for All. “Thank you, I wrote the damn bill,” he said..Buttigieg, whose well-organized efforts in Iowa have propelled him to the top of polls in the first caucus state, sparred with Gabbard and took some not-subtle hits over his youth and lack of support among African-Americans. But his rivals didn’t treat him as roughly as they would a true front-runner..Trump was never far from the proceedings, and the debate’s focus on impeachment didn’t go unnoticed by the Trump campaign..“Tonight, 2020 Democrats were short on solutions and heavy on their unhealthy obsession with taking down President Trump via an illegitimate coup,” Trump campaign spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany said. “Their goal is singular and unified: defeat Trump at any cost.”.Biden and his rivals were forced to discuss their views on the president repeatedly, with Biden calling for “civility. We have to restore the soul of this country. And that’s not who we are, not who we’ve been, not who we should be. Follow the law,” he said..Biden’s high road stood in contrast to the partisan impeachment hearings that dominated the day’s news..But Sanders argued that a singular focus on impeachment was counterproductive..“We cannot simply be consumed by Donald Trump,” Sanders said. “Because you know what? If we do, we will lose the election.”.To contact the reporter on this story: Gregory Korte in Atlanta at gkorte@bloomberg.net.To contact the editors responsible for this story: Wendy Benjaminson at wbenjaminson@bloomberg.net, Craig Gordon.©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

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Impeachment Drama Unites Democratic Candidates Against Trump in Debate

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