Top 4 Takeaways From the Sanders-Biden Debate During Coronavirus Spread

Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden met last night on stage inside of a Washington, D.C., CNN studio. This was instead of in front of an audience in Arizona, as originally planned. Thanks to the coronavirus continuing to spread throughout the United States, the debate was held in D.C.

Right before they started the debate, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced new guidelines that encouraged Americans to not gather in groups larger than 50 for the next eight weeks.

Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders greet each other before the Democratic debate
Evan Vucci | AP via NPR

Here are the top 4 takeaways from the Sanders-Biden Debate, as many Americans continue to seek out flu symptom relief, hoping that it isn’t something worse:

Coronavirus Dominated the Conversation

During the early part of the debate, the biggest topic was the coronavirus and how they’d each handle the spread of the virus, and how they’d differ from Donald Trump.

While Sanders focused on issues that the United States has with their healthcare system and tried to promote his Medicare For All plan, Biden used Italy as an example of how the single-payer system didn’t stop the spread of the virus.

It should be pointed out that we don’t know if the spread might have been even worse for Italy if they didn’t have the single-payer system in place.

Biden Says He’ll Commit to a Female Vice President

Joe Biden steered the conversation away from the coronavirus when he declared that if he was the nominee, that he’d choose a female Vice President.

“There are a number of women who are qualified to be president tomorrow. I would pick a woman to be my vice president,” said Biden.

Sanders said that “in all likelihood,” he’d also choose a woman. But, he said, he wanted a “progressive woman.”

Related: Super Tuesday: Biden Scores Most Delegates While Sanders Wins Biggest Prize

Decades-Old Statements and Votes Were a Small Matter

Having two older members of the Senate debating one another might mean they’d sometimes slip into “Senate-ese.”

However, those things seemed to be a small matter during the debate.

Instead, they were more focused on the crisis at hand. Both clarified how their positions on key topics best coincided with that.

Biden and Bernie Both Looked Ahead, Showed Warmth Toward Each Other

Although the debate grew a little acrimonious at times, both Sanders and Biden appeared to be respectful toward one another.

“I’m not going to get into the back-and-forth about our politics,” said Biden at one point, and Sanders seemed to avoid saying anything that might hurt Biden either.

“I know your heart is in the right place,” Sanders said at one point.

The two men are said to have held a fondness for each other over the years. That was obvious during the debate.

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