Speed Reads

2020 Democratic debates

Joe Biden tried to pivot away from talking about his vote for the Iraq War. Bernie Sanders didn’t let him.

Former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) headlined the second night of the first Democratic primary debate in Miami on Thursday. But the two didn't share many memorable moments together until late in the evening.

Toward the end of the debate, Biden was asked about his support for the Iraq War in 2002 — which he since said was the wrong decision — as well as why voters should trust his judgment to refrain from leading the United States into another conflict. He answered the second part of the question by taking credit for getting troops out of Iraq while he was serving as President Obama Barack Obama's vice president.

Sanders, though, made sure Biden was unsuccessful in skirting around his record on Iraq by reminding everyone that he actually did vote against the war. "I helped lead the opposition to that war," Sanders said. Tim O'Donnell