LAS VEGAS, Nevada — Elizabeth Warren’s fiery attacks on Michael Bloomberg and Pete Buttigieg earned an energetic reception from one section of the debate audience: the press.
As Wednesday night’s 2020 Democratic primary debate opened in Las Vegas, journalists huddled in the media room of the Grand Ballroom at Bally’s resort and casino and made their thoughts clear on who they believed was having the best night so far.
When the Massachusetts senator quoted Bloomberg’s alleged comments about women, dozens of reporters erupted in applause. One male journalist let out a loud “woo!” as Warren recalled how Bloomberg, the billionaire former New York City mayor is said to have referred to a woman as a “horse-faced lesbian.”
But members of the press weren’t done there.
During Warren’s blistering assault on Buttigieg’s healthcare plan, claiming the former South Bend, Indiana, mayor’s proposal was cooked-up by high-paid consultants, numerous reporters began cackling. Several others began clapping in approval.
The press’s display was unprecedented in all the debates of the primary cycle before. In the past, journalists often sat expressionless and complained about boredom.
That seemed to change Wednesday night as all six candidates onstage exchanged various blows on the others’ records.
Warren’s reception from the press serves as a rebuke of her campaign’s complaints that it is being “erased” in favor of others such as Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota.
“Elizabeth hasn’t been getting the same kind of media coverage as candidates she outperformed,” a recent Warren fundraiser email read. “We can’t count on the media to cover our campaign fairly, so we’re taking our case directly to voters.”
