Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton have remained mostly civil as they contend for the Democratic presidential nomination. But that changed on Thursday night at the final Democratic debate before the New Hampshire primary.
Only Clinton and Sanders were left to face off, since former Maryland governor Martin O'Malley ended his campaign following the Iowa caucus results. The remaining candidates argued over who was more progressive—and things got heated.
It all took a turn when Clinton accused Sanders of running a smear campaign against her, implying that her political views were bought because she took campaign contributions from Wall Street.
The audience didn't react favorably.
"I think it's time to end the very artful smear that you and your campaign have been carrying out in recent weeks, and let's talk about the issues," she said to Sanders, which caused the audience to boo her.
Clinton yells at Sanders and then gets booed by the audience: https://t.co/Vj3yNakIaI #DemDebate
To distinguish herself as a candidate that would reform Wall Street, Clinton claimed that experts found her proposals to regulate the one percent tougher than Sanders'. But according to the New York Times fact check, their platforms are pretty comparable on the issue, and "both campaigns can claim victory."
The contentious nature of the debate made its way to Twitter. Sanders' campaign took a dig at Clinton without naming her:
It's hard to be a real progressive and take on the establishment when you've become dependent on Wall St. and drug company money. #DemDebate
Clinton's campaign, however, stuck to the issues, reinforcing a claim she made on stage. “Senator Sanders has said he wants to run a positive campaign. I’ve tried to keep my disagreements over issues, as it should be. But time and time again, by innuendo, by insinuation, there is this attack that he is putting forth," she said during the debate.
✔️ Wall Street
✔️ Price-gouging pharmaceutical companies
✔️ The gun lobby
We will go after industries when they hurt families. #DemDebate
We cannot let Wall Street wreck our economy ever again. #DemDebate
According to @TwitterGovernment, the most tweeted moment from the debate was Sanders' claim that Wall Street is a fraud:
Most-Tweeted #DemDebate Moment: Sanders says "The business model of Wall Street is Fraud." pic.twitter.com/VUQefhkOUm
No matter the viewpoints that divide them, Sanders took the time Friday morning to advocate that either candidate would be better than a Republican one.
On our worst days, it's fair to say we are 100 times better than any Republican candidate. #DemDebate
