Swalwell gets in a dig at Biden's age during Democratic debate: 'Pass the torch'

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) was quick in the second round of Democratic debates to get in a dig at former Vice President Joe Biden — and it quickly sparked a shouting match that spiraled out of control.

Swalwell during the debate hit Biden by throwing out a 1988 quote of his about passing the torch to the next generation, encouraging Biden himself to now do so.

"Joe Biden was right when he said it was time to pass the torch to a new generation 32 years ago," Swalwell said, noting he was six years old when Biden said this. "He’s still right today."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

This diss got an audible reaction from the crowd, and Biden quickly shot back, "I'm still holding onto that torch." In that moment, just about everyone on stage felt the need to chime in all at once in what made for a chaotic moment, with South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg trying to get in a line about being the "youngest guy" in the race, while Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) came to Biden's defense as "part of Joe's generation" by saying the issue here is "not generational."

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) quickly swooped in with an attempt to put this confrontation to an end, telling her fellow Democrats, "America does not want to witness a food fight, they want to know how we're going to put food on their table." Brendan Morrow