2020 Democrats challenge Biden's call for calm at California gathering

Several 2020 Democratic presidential candidates took advantage of early front-runner former Vice President Joe Biden's absence from a California state party gathering on Saturday evening.

Biden was reportedly the only prominent candidate not in attendance, as he was campaigning in Ohio on Saturday. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), one of 14 candidates at the event, seemingly took a jab at the former vice president who had previously preached calm in the Democratic Party and said once President Trump is out of office, the GOP may have an "epiphany," leading them to embrace bipartisanship. "Some say if we all just calm down, the Republicans will come to their senses," Warren said. "But this country is in crisis. The time for small ideas is over." South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg was less direct than Warren, but also said "the riskiest thing we can do is play it safe."

Despite the veiled Biden criticism, most of the candidates united against President Trump, agreeing that the ultimate goal is driving him out of the Oval Office, The Los Angeles Times reports.

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