Joe Biden hits back at critics in Detroit
Detroit: Former US Vice-President Joe Biden has come under attack from other Democratic 2020 candidates in a televised debate.
The party’s frontrunner shared a stage in Detroit with nine other presidential hopefuls and there were several sharp exchanges on healthcare and the border.
In an echo of the last debate in June, Senator Kamala Harris again launched an assault on Mr Biden’s record on race.
But she herself had to defend her actions against drug offenders when she was a prosecutor in California.
“She put over 1500 people in jail for marijuana violations then laughed about it when she was asked if she ever smoked marijuana,” said Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard.
All eyes were on Mr Biden and Ms Harris when they took the stage, given what happened last month.
And as the candidates were introduced ahead of the opening statements, they shared their first exchange of the night, with the former vice-president saying: “Go easy on me, kid.”
While Mr Biden was criticised during his last debate appearance for being unprepared, he seemed better equipped to respond to the attacks on Wednesday night.
The winner of the Democratic presidential nomination will be announced next July at the party convention.
The presidential election will take place months later, in November 2020. The line-up was chosen at random by CNN, who hosted the event.
In addition to Mr Biden and Ms Harris, the debaters are:
New Jersey Senator Cory Booker
Former Secretary of Housing and Development Julián Castro New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio
Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard
New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
Colorado Senator Michael Bennet
Washington Governor Jay Inslee
Business entrepreneur Andrew Yang.