Overview

The Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren Female Electability Controversy began as the result of a January 2020 report by CNN that Senator Bernie Sanders told Elizabeth Warren that he did not believe a woman could win a general election for president. Sanders later denied the allegations, but Warren stated that the conversation happened.

Background

On January 13th, 2020, CNN^[1] reported that, at a private meeting between the two in December 2018 in Washington, DC, Sanders had told Warren that "he did not believe a woman could win" the 2020 presidential election. They wrote:

The stakes were high when Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren met at Warren's apartment in Washington, DC, one evening in December 2018. The longtime friends knew that they could soon be running against each other for president.

The two agreed that if they ultimately faced each other as presidential candidates, they should remain civil and avoid attacking one another, so as not to hurt the progressive movement. They also discussed how to best take on President Donald Trump, and Warren laid out two main reasons she believed she would be a strong candidate: She could make a robust argument about the economy and earn broad support from female voters.

Sanders responded that he did not believe a woman could win.

The description of that meeting is based on the accounts of four people: two people Warren spoke with directly soon after the encounter, and two people familiar with the meeting.

Developments

Bernie Sanders' Statement

In the article, Sanders called the report "ludicrous." In a statement to CNN, he said:

It is ludicrous to believe that at the same meeting where Elizabeth Warren told me she was going to run for president, I would tell her that a woman couldn't win. It's sad that, three weeks before the Iowa caucus and a year after that private conversation, staff who weren't in the room are lying about what happened. What I did say that night was that Donald Trump is a sexist, a racist and a liar who would weaponize whatever he could. Do I believe a woman can win in 2020? Of course! After all, Hillary Clinton beat Donald Trump by 3 million votes in 2016.

Elizabeth Warren's Statement

Warren confirmed CNN's reporting on the meeting, stating "I thought a woman could win; he disagreed." In a statement,^[2] she said:

Bernie and I met for more than two hours in December 2018 to discuss the 2020 election, our past work together and our shared goals: beating Donald Trump, taking back our government from the wealthy and well-connected, and building an economy that works for everyone. Among the topics that came up was what would happen if Democrats nominated a female candidate. I thought a woman could win; he disagreed. I have no interest in discussing this private meeting any further because Bernie and I have far more in common than our differences on punditry. I'm in this race to talk about what's broken in this country and how to fix it -- and that's what I'm going to continue to do. I know Bernie is in the race for the same reason. We have been friends and allies in this fight for a long time, and I have no doubt we will continue to work together to defeat Donald Trump and put our government on the side of the people.

The day after the reports went viral, BuzzFeed ^[13] reported that Warren's team would actively attempt to "de-escalate" the controversy. They wrote:

Elizabeth Warren’s campaign is telling key online supporters that their “goal is de-escalation” and warning backers not to accuse Bernie Sanders of sexism, signaling a desire to move on from a story that has driven a rift between two longtime allies, and within the progressive community, over questions of gender and electability.

Online Reaction

Following the initial reports, many of Sanders' supporters stood by the candidate. Some began sharing videos of Sanders saying that a woman could win the election in the past. Twitter user @KindAndUnblind tweeted a video from 1988 of Sanders saying, "The real issue is not whether you're black or white, whether you're a woman or a man--in my view, a woman could be elected President of the United States." The post received more than 1.4 million views, 5,900 likes and 1,600 retweets in less than 24 hours (shown below).

1988,@BernieSanders, backing Jackson:"The real issue is not whether you're black or white, whether you're a woman or a man in my view, a woman could be elected POTUS The real issue is are you on the side of workers & poor ppl, or are you on the side of big money &corporations?" pic.twitter.com/VHmfzvyJdy

— Every nimble plane is a policy failure. (@KindAndUnblind) January 13, 2020

Others called into question the validity of the report (example below, left).

However, after Warren released a statement about the meeting, some who donated to Warren's campaign began posting about requesting refunds for their donations using the hashtag #RefundWarren. Twitter^[3] user @unspokenbond tweeted, "If you donated to #Warren2020, and would like a refund after their disgusting smears: #RefundWarren. The post received more than 2,200 likes and 585 retweets in less than 24 hours (shown below, center).

Some questioned the campaigns against Warren, including #RefundWarren and #ITrustBernie. Twitter^[4] user @Chess_1967 tweeted, "If I had to guess where the #RefundWarren and #ITrustBernie hashtags started, I'd be looking at the same Russian troll farms that have been throwing gasoline on the fire of US politics for years. 'Only a fool fights in a burning house.' Stop falling for this bullshit." The tweet received more than 10,000 likes and 3,200 retweets in less than 24 hours (shown below, right).

Some of Warren's supporters accused Sanders' supporters of misogynistic attacks. Twitter user @seankent tweeted,^[5] "#RefundWarren is a joke. Bernie said something f**ked up and he should own it. Also the idea that thousands of Berners donated to her campaign is hilarious. They only give money to their overlord." The tweet received more than 955 likes and 135 retweets in less than 24 hours (shown below, left).

Activist Amy Siskind tweeted,^[6] "I just made another donation to @ewarren. She’s my #2 candidate but I cannot stand to see Bernie Sanders and his Bernie Bros doing the same thing misogynistic shit they did to Hillary Clinton. He could stop this at any time. This is not leadership. #RefundWarren." The tweet received more than 2,100 likes and 445 retweets in less than 24 hours (shown below, right).

Media Coverage

Several media outlets covered the controversy, including Mediaite,^[7] The Daily Dot, ^[8] The New York Times,^[9] The Washington Post,^[10] Newsweek,^[11] Politico^[12] and more.

Search Interest

Not available.

External References