Kamala Harris attacked 2020 rival Tulsi Gabbard as a traitor to the Democratic party Wednesday night, accusing her of 'buddying up' to Steve Bannon and spending 'four years on Fox News criticizing President Obama'.
Harris, who has been struggling in the polls, used two of her party's favorite bogeymen – and its last president - to hammer at the Hawaii congresswoman, building on an attack first made by Hillary Clinton, who accused Gabbard of being a favorite of 'the Russians.'
The California senator went after the Army veteran in one of the first signs of fireworks during the fifth debate in the party's primary cycle, which was largely marked by a lack of attacks and a recitation of policy positions and attacks on Trump.
She turned on Gabbard when she said she would end current foreign policy and bring home troops, in response to a question about Clinton's attack on her.
'I think that it's unfortunate that we have someone on this stage that is attempting to be the Democratic nominee for president of the United States, who during the Obama administration spent four years full time on Fox News criticizing President Obama. Who has been full time criticizing people on this stage as affiliated with the Democratic Party,' Harris said from the Atlanta, Georgia debate stage.
And Harris doubled down on her attack with a reference of a 'war criminal', which appears to have been Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian dictator who Gabbard has met despite the civil war raging in his country and atrocities committed by his forces.
'When Donald Trump was elected, not even sworn in, buddied up to Steve Bannon to get a meeting with Donald Trump in the Trump Tower, fails to call a war criminal by what he is - as a war criminal. And then spends full time during the course of this campaign, again, criticizing the Democratic Party.'
The jab prompted Gabbard to accuse Harris of pursuing a 'Bush-Clinton-Trump policy of regime change'.
'What Senator Harris is doing is unfortunately is continuing to traffic in lies and smears and innuendos because she cannot challenge the substance of the argument that I'm making, the leadership and the change that I'm seeking to bring in our foreign policy, which only makes me guess that she will as president continue the status quo, continue the Bush-Clinton-Trump foreign policy of regime change wars, which is deeply destructive,' Gabbard said.
'This is personal to me because I served in Iraq. I left my seat in the state legislature in Hawaii, volunteered to deploy to Iraq where I served in the medical unit where every single day I saw the terribly high human cost of war.
'I take very seriously the responsibility that the president has to serve as commander in chief, to lead our armed forces and to make sure always - no, I'm not going to put party interests first. I will put the interests of the American people above all else.'
The two prominent female Democrats clashed at an earlier debates after Gabbard went after Harris' record as a California prosecutor.
At the CNN Democratic debate in Detroit, Gabbard went after Harris for her tenure as the state's attorney general, a key part of her bio as she calls for prosecuting President Trump. Gabbard said she had locked up 1,500 people for marijuana violations 'and laughed about it when she was asked if she ever smoked marijuana' – in reference to a radio interview Harris had done.
Harris later called Gabbard an 'apologist' for Syrian dictator Bashar Assad – whom she visited in a 2017 'fact-finding' mission.
Wednesday night's clash finally brought electricity to a stage whose 10 rivals were desperately hoping to wrest the spotlight from Donald Trump's impeachment hours after Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland testified on Capitol Hill that the president did in fact set a quid pro quo with Ukraine.
The debate, hosted by MSNBC and The Washington Post, kicked off by asking candidates about the ongoing impeachment inquiry – giving those in the limelight at the Oprah Winfrey Soundstage the opportunity to bash the sitting president.
The qualifying contenders were expected to face race as a central issue of the fifth debate, which was held at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, which falls in Civil Rights leader and Democratic Representative John Lewis' district.
Donald Trump trashed Atlanta's fifth district, which includes most of downtown Atlanta, ahead of his inauguration, claiming the area is 'falling apart' and 'crime infested – and he attributed that to Lewis' longtime representation of that district.
Lewis has been a U.S. congressman for Georgia since 1987.
The claims from then President-elect Trump are reminiscent of his criticism of the late Representative Elijah Cummings, who represented the district including Baltimore from 1996 until his death in October 2019.
More than 50 percent of the population of Atlanta is black, but only two of those on stage Wednesday fit that demographic: Harris, who's half Jamaician and half Indian, and New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, who is African-American.
South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, however, has struggled earning support among the black community.
Over the summer, his campaign commissioned a focus group of 24 black voters in South Carolina, an early primary voting state, and only one participant indicated they would consider voting for the openly gay small-town mayor.
Many claimed they found his sexuality – and his openness about it – to be problematic.
'Race is Buttigieg's Kryptonite. [It's a] perfect storm for Kamala and Cory,' a senior House leadership aide told DailyMail.com.
Buttigieg also received flak after his campaign campaign used a stock image of a black woman on its website when promoting his plan to battle race inequality in the U.S., but the woman in the photo is actually from Kenya.
The picture is available on the free stock photography website Pexels, where a caption explains it was taken in Kenya.
Buttigieg also became a target of his colleagues after he surged in recent early primary and caucus states of Iowa and New Hampshire.
He earned the No. 1 spot with 25 percent support in two recent polls in the respective states, bypassing frontrunners Biden, Warren and Sanders.
Race was finally brought to the forefront toward the end of hour-two of the debate when Harris and Booker weighed in on the issue.
Harris has been critical of Buttigieg for not having enough experience to connect with diverse voters.
'I was asked a question that related to a stock photograph that his campaign published,' Harris explained, adding that she felt Buttigieg has rightfully apologized for the mistake.
'The larger issue is that for too long I think candidates have taken for granted the constituencies that have been the backbone of the Democratic party and they show up when it's, you know, close to election time and show up in a black church and want to get the vote but just haven't been there before,' she continued.
'And I'm running for president because I believe that we have to have leadership in this country who has worked with and has the experience of working with all folks,' she said, referencing Buttigieg, who is the youngest candidate at 37-years-old.
'And we've got to re-create the Obama coalition to win,' she said, invoking the first and only black president.
Buttigieg didn't push back against the only black woman running for president.
'My response is I completely agree,' he said. 'And I welcome the challenge of connecting with black voters in America who don't yet know me.'
Booker also took a jab at Buttigieg, bringing the conversation back to black voters after he wasn't asked to weigh in on the issue when Buttigieg and Harris had their exchange.
'I want to turn back to this issue of black voters,' Booker said when he was asked about immigration and the border wall. 'I have a lifetime of experience with black voters. I've been one since I was 18.'
'Nobody on this stage should need a focus group to hear from African-American voters,' he said in a direct attack on Buttigieg. 'Black voters are pissed off, and they're worried. They're pissed off because the only time our problems are paid attention to is when people are looking for a vote.'
Ahead of the closing statements, Buttigieg and Gabbard, the two youngest candidates who are both military veterans, clashed over ways to handle foreign policy.
Buttigieg touted his experience outside of Washington D.C. that would qualify him to become president, after facing attacks for his young age and inexperience.
'Washington experience is not the only experience that matters. There's more than 100 years of Washington experience on this stage, and where are we right now as a country?' Buttigieg said, prompting applause from the crowd.
He listed his Navy service as something that qualified him to become president.
'I have the experience of being commanded into a war zone by an American president. I have the experience of knowing what is at stake as the decisions made in those big white buildings come into our lives, our homes, our families, our workplaces and our marriages,' Buttigieg continued. 'And I would submit that this is the kind of experience we need.'
Gabbard said she wanted to weigh in on her fellow candidate and military veteran's comments.
'Pete, you'll agree that the service that we both have provided to our country as veterans by itself does not qualify us to serve as Commander in Chief,' she said. 'I think the most recent example of your inexperience in national security and foreign policy came from your recent careless statement about how you as president would be willing to send our troops to Mexico to fight the cartels.'
Buttigieg pushed back on Gabbard's assertion, insisting that she was taking a play from other politicians' playbook and quoting his comments out of context.
'I know that it's par for the course in Washington to take remarks out of context, but that is outlandish even by the standards of today's politics,' he said.
'Are you saying you that didn't say that?' Gabbard challenged.
'I was talking about U.S.-Mexico cooperation… Do you seriously think anybody on this stage is proposing invading Mexico?' Buttigieg questioned, sparking a lot of laughs and applause from those in attendance.
'If your question is about experience, let's also talk about judgment,' Buttigieg continued. 'One of the foreign leaders you mentioned meeting was Bashar al Assad. I have, in my experience, such as it is – whether you think it counts or not since it wasn't accumulated in Washington – enough judgment, that I would not have sat down with a murderous dictator like that.'
Gabbard attempted to defend herself, but it appeared Buttigieg had won over the crowd.
'What you've just pointed out is that you would lack the courage to meet with both adversaries and friends, to ensure the peace and national security of our nation,' Gabbard said of her meeting with Bashar al Assad. 'I take the example of those leaders who have come before us, leaders like JFK, who met with Khrushchev, like Roosevelt who met with Stalin–'
'Like Donald Trump who met with Kim,' Buttigieg interrupted, referencing Trump's three bilateral meetings with North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un.
Biden didn't disappoint those who have come to know him as the gaffe-filled candidate.
His opening statement of the debate, held on the night of his 77 birthday, was choppy, prompting Trump's eldest son Donald Trump Jr. to question if the former vice president is senile.
'Is... is Joe Biden senile?' Trump Jr reposted a tweet that included a video of Biden's opening statement.
'Is this real at this point? It's just embarrassing, he can't complete a sentence,' Trump Jr said.
Biden ignored the part of the first question directed his way that made reference to his son Hunter – who has been tied to the impeachment inquiry into Trump.
'You have to ask yourself up here who is most likely to be able to win the nomination in the first place, to win the presidency in the first place?' he said, meaning the latter. 'And secondly, who is most likely to increase the number of people who are Democrats in the House and in the Senate?'
Biden then moved on to his next observation.
'And by the way, I learned something about these impeachment trials. I learned number one that Donald Trump doesn't want me to be the nominee,' Biden said. 'That's pretty clear. He held up aid to make sure that while at the same time innocent people are getting killed by Russian soldiers.'
He made the same argument but subbed in a different leader.
'And secondly, I found out that Vladimir Putin doesn't want me to be president,' he said. 'So I've learned a lot about these early on from these hearings that are being held.'
Later in the debate, Biden also notably looked over Harris as the only black female on stage.
Biden, who served as President Obama's vice president, said he remained part of that Obama coalition.
'I come out of a black community in terms of my support,' Biden boasted.
The ex-veep said he had more people in the black community have come out in support of him because they know him well.
'Three former chairs of the black caucus, the only African-American woman who's been elected to the Senate,' Biden said.
At that moment, Harris piped up.
'No, the other one is here,' she said, sparking laughter from herself and the audience.
Biden had been referring to former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun, who represented Illinois from 1993 to 1999.
Pot-ty mouth Cory Booker tells Joe Biden 'I thought you were HIGH!' for not backing legal weed
Sen. Cory Booker tore into former Vice President Joe Biden at Wednesday night's Democratic debate for not backing weed legalization.
'This week I heard him literally say I don't think we should legalize marijuana,' Booker said of Biden. 'I thought you might have been high when you said it,' he added, turning to the former veep, and garnering laughs from the audience.
Booker explained that marijuana in the United States is 'already legal for privileged people,' but the war on drugs still incarcerates Americans who are black and brown.
'And anyone who has a record should be let out of jail, their record expunged, be completely zeroed out,' he continued. 'But I do think it makes sense based on data that we should study what the long-term effects are for the use of marijuana.'
Booker had brought up pot in the context of the Democrats finding a nominee who will, as president, be an advocate for black voters.
'Nobody on this stage should need a focus group to hear from African-American voters. Black voters are pissed off and they're worried. They're pissed off because the only time our problems are paid attention to is when people are looking for a vote,' said Booker, who is black. 'We don't want to see people miss the opportunity and lose because we are nominating someone who isn't trusted, doesn't have an authentic connection.'
Booker's comments seemed to be geared toward South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who is surging in Iowa, but has barely any black voter support, and whose campaign has made missteps in courting the demographic as of late.
Instead Booker pivoted to Biden, long considered the frontrunner of the large Democratic pack.
'I have a lot of respect for the vice president,' Booker said. 'He was sworn me into my office and he's a hero.'
The New Jersey senator then called Biden high - a high-light of the debate, which was eclipsed by hours of impeachment inquiry testimony all day Wednesday.
Biden, who served as President Obama's vice president, said he remained part of that Obama coalition.
'I come out of a black community in terms of my support,' Biden boasted.
The ex-veep said he had more people in the black community have come out in support of him because they know him well.
'Three former chairs of the black caucus, the only African-American woman who's been elected to the Senate,' Biden said.
At that moment, Sen. Kamala Harris piped up.
'No, the other one is here,' she said.
Biden had been referring to former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun.
'I said the first African-American woman,' Biden said, but of course he didn't.
Booker had a final point to make on pot.
'There are people in Congress right now that admit to smoking marijuana, while there are people - our kids in jail right now for those drug crimes,' he told the crowd.
In February, Harris admitted that she smoked pot in college and 'did inhale.'
Don Jr. retweets slur against Biden minutes into debate held on former vice-president's 77th birthday
Donald Trump Jr. retweeted a post asking 'Is... is Joe Biden senile?' sharing a video of the former vice president's choppy opening statement during Wednesday night's Democratic debate, held the same day Biden turned 77.
The president's eldest son followed that up with his own take on the video.
'Is this real at this point? It’s just embarrassing, he can’t complete a sentence,' Trump said.
Biden's start to the Atlanta, Georgia debate was marked by the former vice president being asked how he would get Republicans to work with him - a trait he's often boasted - while they're currently calling for investigations into him and his son Hunter, who had business dealings in Ukraine.
Democrats opened an impeachment inquiry into President Trump over the president pressuring the president of Ukraine to open an investigation into Hunter Biden's company, Burisma, and the 2016 campaign, holding up military aid and an Oval Office meeting in exchange.
Biden ignored any reference to his son, instead answering that the next president would have to, No. 1, beat Trump and No. 2 'go into states like Georgia and North Carolina and other places and get a Senate majority.'
'You have to ask yourself up here who is most likely to be able to win the nomination in the first place, to win the presidency in the first place?' he said, meaning the latter. 'And secondly, who is most likely to increase the number of people who are Democrats in the House and in the Senate?'
Biden then moved on to his next observation.
'And by the way, I learned something about these impeachment trials. I learned number one that Donald Trump doesn't want me to be the nominee,' Biden said. 'That's pretty clear. He held up aid to make sure that while at the same time innocent people are getting killed by Russian soldiers.'
He made the same argument but subbed in a different leader.
'And secondly, I found out that Vladimir Putin doesn't want me to be president,' he said. 'So I've learned a lot about these early on from these hearings that are being held.'
The former vice president then went back to his first point.
'But the bottom line is I think we have to ask ourselves the honest question, who is most likely to do what needs to be done?' he said. 'Produce a Democratic majority in the United States Senate, maintain the House and beat Trump.'
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