Warren Says Sanders Told Her a Woman Couldn't Win

The seventh Democratic primary debate is Tuesday night—and a lot of people will be watching for a clash between Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. After days of growing tension between the campaigns and multiple reports based on anonymous sources, Warren confirmed Monday night that Sanders had told her during a 2018 dinner at her home that he didn't think a woman could win the presidency, the New York Times reports. "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," Warren said in a statement, per Vox. "Among the topics that came up was what would happen if Democrats nominated a female candidate. I thought a woman could win; he disagreed." Sanders, however, strongly disagreed with her description of the conversation.

"It is ludicrous to believe that at the same meeting where Elizabeth Warren told me she was going to run for president, I would tell her that a woman couldn't win," Sanders said in a statement to CNN. He accused "staff who were in the room" of lying about the conversation. "What I did say that night was that Donald Trump is a sexist, a racist, and a liar who would weaponize whatever he could. Do I believe a woman can win in 2020? Of course! After all, Hillary Clinton beat Donald Trump by 3 million votes in 2016." In her statement, Warren said she had no interest in discussing the private meeting further because "Bernie and I have far more in common than our differences on punditry," per the Washington Post. Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, and Tom Steyer will also be taking part in the Des Moines debate. (More Election 2020 stories.)