Former Maryland Rep. John Delaney denounced Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren for her comment during Tuesday’s Democratic debate, in which she said he should not be running for president if he continues to shoot down liberal policies.
Delaney has presented himself as a centrist Democrat compared to the more left-wing contenders in the primary, calling out liberal candidates like Warren and Sen. Bernie Sanders for impractical policy proposals.
“You know, I don’t understand why anybody goes to all the trouble of running for president of the United States just to talk about what we really can’t do and shouldn’t fight for,” Warren said after Delaney explained that there should be more collaboration between the government and the private sector. “I don’t get it.”
Delaney did not have the chance to immediately respond as the crowd erupted in cheers, and social media posts of the moment went viral. However, the former U.S. congressman made his distaste with Warren’s remarks known during an appearance on Fox & Friends Wednesday morning.
“That’s the response when someone really can’t defend their plans,” Delaney said. “It’s a dishonest, kind of lazy response.”
Delaney repeatedly took aim at Warren and Sanders during the debate, saying Democrats win when they run on “things that are workable, not fairy-tale economics.”
“Either vote for someone who wants to solve problems and has ideas that are workable … or do we nominate someone who’s got a bunch of fairy-tale economics or impossible promises, none of which will ever happen?” Delaney reiterated on Fox & Friends. “As I said, they’ll turn off the independent voters and get the president reelected, in my opinion.”
Delaney secured a greater amount of attention on the debate stage Tuesday night than he did during the first round of Democratic debates in Miami last month. But the latest RealClearPolitics polling average shows Delaney receiving just under 1% of support, putting him in murky water if he wants to qualify for the September debates in Houston.
Still, Delaney did not shy away from criticizing left-wing proposals, calling Warren’s clapback against him “the problem with the extreme Left of the party.”
“When you point out obvious flaws in the things they’re talking about, they say, ‘Well, that’s a Republican talking point,'” he said. “And I’m like, ‘No, it’s actually a fact that you should be able to defend.'”
