Democratic Debate: Here are the winners and losers of the night

Democratic presidential hopefuls sparred during a tense debate the day after Donald Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives and just about 50 days before the first votes are cast in the 2020 election.

The most contentious moments of the debate did not focus on the president’s impeachment, however — all seven candidates express strong support for the articles approved by the House on Wednesday. Rather, candidates took the gloves off and fought over what they each plan to do if given the chance to unseat Mr Trump in the Oval Office, from health care to making the economy work for middle class Americans.

Candidates also sparred over funding for their presidential campaigns, with several Democrats jabbing at Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg for meeting privately with donors inside a luxurious “wine cave” in California. Mr Buttigieg hit back at Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, noting how she transferred millions of dollars from her past senatorial campaign into her presidential coffers before announcing she would not be seeking big dollar donations along the campaign trail.

The night was a perfect reflection in many ways of the deep divisions within the Democratic Party, between liberals calling for progressive initiatives and moderates calling for unity and bipartisan resolutions to reversing the current White House administration’s agenda.

The night featured seven of the leading Democratic candidates for president: former Vice President Joe Biden, Ms Warren, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, Mr Buttigieg, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, entrepreneur Andrew Yang and billionaire activist Tom Steyer. Check out The Independent’s winners and losers of the night below.

Joe Biden

The former vice president appeared well prepared throughout the night and delivered arguably one of his best debate performances yet.

He defended his ability to work with Republicans in spite of the current polarisation in Washington, saying that while he has “no love” for the GOP after its attacks against him, “we have to be able to get things done”.

“If anyone has reason to be angry with the Republicans and not want to cooperate it’s me”, he said. “The way they’ve attacked me, my son, my family. I have no love. But the fact is we have to be able to get things done and when we can’t convince them, we go out and beat them like we did in 2018.”

Mr Biden was referring to the impeachment saga against Donald Trump, in which the president was accused of abusing his power by asking the president of Ukraine to announce political investigations into the former vice president as he was surging in the polls.

Democrats say Mr Trump was worried Mr Biden could beat him in the general election, and so he leveraged crucial military aid to the country and a key meeting at the White House with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky while asking him “to do us a favour” and investigate the Bidens during a 25 July phone call.

“I refuse to accept the notion as some on this stage do that we can never, ever have cooperation again … we need to have the ability to reach consensus”, he added.

Mr Biden also provided bold responses to a range of questions, saying China has “one million Uyghurs in concentration camps” and slamming Mr Trump for “dumbing down” the office of the presidency.

Elizabeth Warren

Ms Warren described the president as the most corrupt “in living history” while making her case to become the first female president in American history.

At one point when a moderator noted she would become the oldest president ever inaugurated if she wins the White House, Ms Warren quipped: “I’d also be the youngest woman ever inaugurated.”

The moment became an instant viral hit and drew a standing ovation from members of the audience. But the 2020 hopeful also managed to land some heavy hits on Mr Buttigieg, who is currently leading in Iowa, the first state to vote in the primary elections.

“Billionaires in wine caves should not pick the next president of the United States”, she said of the millennial mayor’s recent fundraising trip.

Ms Warren provided a more personal aspect of her candidacy throughout the night, talking about the people she’s met along the campaign trail and discussing the stories she’s heard from working class Americans. The delivery was in line with her more intimate campaign events in recent weeks, in which the senator has opted for smaller visits with voters and focusing more on her story as a former teacher and single mother.

Donald Trump and the GOP

All seven candidates hit out at Mr Trump the night after he faced a damning vote on Capitol Hill, in which he became the third president in US history to ever be impeached.

“This is a global Watergate”, Ms Klobuchar said of Mr Trump’s impeachment, noting how the president urged political investigations to aid his re-election.

Ms Warren meanwhile described Mr Trump as the most corrupt president in “living history”, which was similar to Bernie Sanders’ statement on the issue, saying he was “running the most corrupt administration in the modern history of this country”.

The president attacked the Democrats on Twitter during the debates, writing: “The reason the Democrats don’t want to submit the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate is that they don’t want corrupt politician Adam Shifty Schiff to testify under oath, nor do they want the Whistleblower, the missing second Whistleblower, the informer, the Bidens, to testify!”

But his defence did little to undermine the historic impeachment charges — and the fact that all of the top candidates running for president support the articles against him.