Bernie Sandersâs campaign manager said Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren approached the Vermont senator right after the CNN/Des Moines Register debate to âraise a concernâ when she refused to shake his hand.
The two presidential candidates ditched their typically friendly relationship during Tuesday’s debate following Warrenâs accusation of sexism against Sanders. She claimed that Sanders told her in 2018 that women could not win the presidency, something he denied.
Tensions between the two erupted in the final moments on the debate stage when Warren refused to shake Sandersâs hand. The two senators engaged in a very brief but heated exchange before parting ways. CNN did not air the audio of the conversation.
Faiz Shakir, Sandersâs campaign manager, told the Washington Post Wednesday that Warren confronted his candidate to bring up an issue, which Sanders asked her to do later.
“She came to raise a concern, and he said let’s talk about that later,” Shakir explained.
Businessman Tom Steyer confirmed the tension during an interview with reporters after the debate.
He explained, “All I was trying to say was to both Sen. Warren and Sen. Sanders was itâs great to see you, thank you for participating in this. I don’t know what they were saying. Whatever they were going on between each other, I was trying to get out of the way as fast as possible.â
Neither candidate has explained what concern Warren tried to bring up moments after the debate. The two have been vying for the left-wing voter base in the primary race.
Sanders seems to have the edge over Warren, though both trail former Vice President Joe Biden in most nationwide polls. Sanders was leading the pack of Democrats in an Iowa poll that was released less than a week ago, but Biden reclaimed the lead just days later. It is not clear who will win when the caucuses take place on Feb. 3.
