Mike Bloomberg Raked Over Coals in First Debate Appearance

After Wednesday night’s Silver State debate, it is clear who has the target on their back in the Democratic primaries.

No, it’s not radical frontrunner Bernie Sanders, nor is it only-moderate-left-standing Pete Buttigieg.  Instead, the ire of the entire party is singularly focused on former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

This was apparent from the very onset of the event, when Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren savaged the Big Apple billionaire in front of an enormous television audience.

From the opening bell, Democrats savaged New York billionaire Mike Bloomberg and raised pointed questions about Bernie Sanders’ take-no-prisoners politics during a contentious debate Wednesday night that threatened to further muddy the party’s urgent quest to defeat President Donald Trump.

Bloomberg, the former New York mayor who was once a Republican, was forced to defend his record and past comments related to race, gender and his personal wealth in an occasionally rocky debate stage debut. Sanders, meanwhile, tried to beat back pointed questions about his embrace of democratic socialism and his health following a heart attack last year.

The ninth debate of this cycle featured the most aggressive sustained period of infighting in the Democrats’ yearlong search for a presidential nominee. The tension reflected growing anxiety among candidates and party leaders that the nomination fight could yield a candidate who will struggle to build a winning coalition in November to beat Trump.

Warren was tough to handle for Mr. Mayor:

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren was in a fight for survival and stood out with repeated attacks on Bloomberg. She sought to undermine him with core Democratic voters who are uncomfortable with his vast wealth, his offensive remarks about policing of minorities and demeaning comments about women, including those who worked at his company.

Warren labeled Bloomberg “a billionaire who calls people fat broads and horse-faced lesbians.”

Many of the left-leaning candidates were concerned that Bloomberg is too similar to President Trump, making him a difficult sell to the youth demographic within the party.  And, as Hillary Clinton learned in 2016, this is one voting bloc that you must have to succeed in the general election.