Bernie Sanders said he was talking about 'the weather' with Elizabeth Warren in viral moment at end of Iowa debate
- Sen. Bernie Sanders told a reporter on Wednesday that he and Sen. Elizabeth Warren were discussing "the weather" during a viral moment the night before.
- At the end of Tuesday night's debate in Iowa, Sanders and Warren could be seen talking and then walking off without shaking hands as billionaire Tom Steyer looked on.
- The moment prompted a great deal of speculation amid a growing rift between the two progressive, top-tier candidates.
Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday said he was talking about "the weather" with Sen. Elizabeth Warren in a viral moment at the end of Tuesday's debate in Iowa.
There was much speculation about the exchange, in which Sanders and Warren could be seen talking and then walking off without shaking hands as billionaire Tom Steyer looked on.
On Wednesday, NBC News reporter Gary Grumbach asked Sanders what he was discussing with the Massachusetts senator after the debate. "About the weather," Sanders said in response.
Tuesday night's viral exchange came amid a growing rift between the two progressive candidates, which was exacerbated this week when a report came out alleging Sanders told Warren in a 2018 meeting that he did not believe a woman could win the presidential election.
Sanders has vehemently denied the accusation, but Warren has commented publicly on it and contradicted him. "I thought a woman could win, he disagreed," Warren said in a statement.
The topic came up again during Tuesday night's debate, in which Sanders once again denied the allegation as Warren doubled-down.
The Sanders-Warren spat has sparked a great deal of discussion among political commentators and pundits about the difference between harboring the sexist belief that a woman is not qualified to be president versus believing that there is still too much sexism in the US for a woman to be successful in a presidential election.
Amid the disagreement between the two senators over what was said in the 2018 meeting, a number of pundits have suggested that Sanders was expressing concern to Warren that President Donald Trump would weaponize misogyny if a woman won the 2020 Democratic nomination.
The dispute between Sanders and Warren comes as they both vie for supremacy with the Democratic left, or the progressive wing of the party. Up until the past week or so, both had been cordial to one another. But the gloves are off with less than a month until the Iowa caucuses.