Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren issued a statement Monday standing by claims that Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders told her in 2018 that a woman couldn’t win.
In response to a great deal of questions we’ve had today, below is a statement from Elizabeth Warren: pic.twitter.com/PdBCHJQCJE
— Kristen Orthman (@KristenOrthman) January 14, 2020
Warren’s full statement read:
Bernie and I met for more than two hours in December 2018 to discuss the 2020 election, our past work together and our shared goals: beating Donald Trump, taking back our government from the wealthy and well-connected, and building an economy that works for everyone. Among the topics that came up was what would happen if Democrats nominated a female candidate. I thought a woman could win; he disagreed. I have no interest in discussing this private meeting any further because Bernie and I have far more in common than our differences on punditry. I’m in this race to talk about what’s broken in our country and how to fix it — and that’s what I’m going to continue to do. I know Bernie is in the race for the same reason. We have been friends and allies in this fight for a long time, and I have no doubt we will continue to work together to defeat Donald Trump and put our government on the side of the people.
CNN reported on Sanders’ reported comments earlier Monday, citing several unnamed sources who were not present at the time of the meeting. (RELATED: CNN Trots Out Four Anonymous Sources To Allege That, One Time, Bernie Said Something Sexist To Warren)
What we just broke on air @CNN: Bernie Sanders told Elizabeth Warren in a private meeting in December 2018 that he did not believe a woman could win, according to four sources.
Full story here, including Sanders’ aggressive on-the-record pushback: https://t.co/06ue2cqUP8
— MJ Lee (@mj_lee) January 13, 2020
Sanders insisted on the record that he had never told Warren a woman couldn’t win, and a Sanders adviser suggested that a false story had been leaked intentionally. The Associated Press’ Steve Peoples tweeted, “NEWS: A senior Bernie Sanders’ adviser tells me they believe that Elizabeth Warren’s campaign intentionally leaked a false description of their 2018 meeting. Says it’s a recent pattern of Warren attacking the Dem front-runner.”
NEWS: A senior Bernie Sanders’ adviser tells me they believe that Elizabeth Warren’s campaign intentionally leaked a false description of their 2018 meeting. Says it’s a recent pattern of Warren attacking the Dem front-runner.
— Steve Peoples (@sppeoples) January 13, 2020