‘Impeachment’ highlights US Democratic debate
Twelve top White House contenders will take part in the first Democratic debate since the launch of an impeachment inquiry into Republican President Donald Trump’s efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate leading rival Joe Biden. The fourth debate in the race to find a challenger to Trump in the November 2020 election will also match Biden and US Senator Elizabeth Warren for the first time since Warren surged into a virtual tie with the former vice president in many Democratic opinion polls.
The debate marks the return of US Senator Bernie Sanders, 78, the oldest candidate in the field, who suffered a heart attack two weeks ago and has been recuperating at home in Vermont since having stents inserted to open a blocked artery.
The dozen candidates cramming the debate stage in the electoral battleground state of Ohio will make for the most crowded debate so far in the Democratic race. The 10 candidates who took part in last month’s third debate in Texas all qualified for Tuesday’s event, along with US Representative Tulsi Gabbard and Tom Steyer, a billionaire activist who is making his first debate appearance.
The packed stage and tangle of competing story lines could create a contentious atmosphere, and the Democratic-led congressional impeachment inquiry is likely to be a frequent theme.
The impeachment probe focuses on Trump’s efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate his unsubstantiated allegation that Biden improperly tried to aid his son Hunter’s business interests in Ukraine. Trump has repeatedly tried to turn the focus on Biden with vociferous attacks on his integrity.
Every Democratic candidate has voiced support for the impeachment inquiry. The debate will be Biden’s first chance to fire back at Trump before a national audience.
It also will give Biden’s rivals a chance to offer their support — or not. They will be closely watched to see how they talk about the issue and whether any of them use it as an opportunity to attack Biden.
Biden has seen his once solid lead in opinion polls in the Democratic race diminished by Warren, a leader of the party’s progressive movement, who has steadily risen over the past two months. The two candidates have mostly refrained from directly attacking each other. But Warren’s gains could make her more of a target this time, particularly for other contenders who are running out of time to make an impression.
“Warren tends to recede with so many people on the stage and that has been working for her,” said Alan Schroeder, a professor emeritus and debate expert at Northeastern University in Boston.