The presidency is tearing former BFFs Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders apart

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) used to be two progressive peas in a pod. But after some minor betrayal during the 2016 election cycle, the two senators are drifting apart, even as President Trump conveniently provides a unifying enemy.

From the moment Warren spoke at a 2008 Sanders town hall, the pair's politics have always been linked — that is, until Warren neglected to run for president in 2016 and Sanders stepped in, BuzzFeed News documents in a Thursday analysis. Everyone thought Warren, the far bigger star, would run, and Democratic strategist Bill Press told C-SPAN in 2016 that if she had, he's "pretty confident saying Bernie Sanders would never have run."

But Sanders did, and he became the hero of democratic socialism. Warren notably opted to stump for Hillary Clinton and has only distanced herself from Sanders and progressivism ever since. Take the logo of the Warren-aligned Progressive Change Campaign Committee. It's gone from touting the "Elizabeth Warren wing of the Democratic Party" to the "Elizabeth Warren wing of American politics," BuzzFeed News points out. Or when asked to describe how she's different from Sanders, Warren told CNBC last month that she's a capitalist who "believes in markets," while Sanders is a "socialist."

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Now, both senators are contemplating a 2020 presidential run — something that could split progressives in a primary and cost both Warren and Sanders the nomination. But unlike in 2016, sources on both sides tell BuzzFeed News that today, neither senator would step down for the other.

Read more about Warren and Sanders' fading friendship at BuzzFeed News.