„That’s fantastic news to hear that we won,“ Buttigieg said. „Sen. Sanders clearly had a great night, too, and I congratulate him and his supporters.“
Although the winner of the Iowa caucus is in dispute, both candidates agreed it is time to move on and focus on Tuesday’s primary in New Hampshire, where recent polling puts them at the front of the pack.
Eight of the Democrats running for president are appearing in CNN town halls at Saint Anselm College this week, four on Wednesday and another four on Thursday.
During the wide-ranging town halls, Sanders and Buttigieg each took questions from undecided voters for an hour. Though he trails Sanders in the popular vote in Iowa, Buttigieg said he’d like to get rid of the Electoral College and ensure the president is elected by a popular vote.
„I think the Electoral College has run its course,“ Buttigieg said, adding that he wants to „make sure the one who got the most votes gets to be president.“
The 38-year-old former mayor addressed how he would achieve legislative goals with a Republican-controlled Senate, a challenge for former President Barack Obama when he was in office. Buttigieg said he’d use Air Force One to travel to districts of Republican senators and rally their constituents around policy issues.
„Even if you can’t have a good faith interaction with the Republican senators, you can have a good interaction with the voters who sent them there,“ Buttigieg said. „I’m going to use that airplane to go directly into the backyard of senators who are not just defying my White House, but defying their own voters.“
„This isn’t just about campaigning for candidates, it is about campaigning for issues,“ Buttigieg added.
Buttigieg also criticized President Donald Trump’s comments at the National Prayer Breakfast earlier Thursday as „arrogant.“ Trump slammed his impeachment foes at that event, a day after he was acquitted by the Senate.
„There’s a whole lot of Scripture about the dangers of pride and arrogance and the importance of humility, and to see the way he conducted himself at a function whose purpose is to call us to our highest values is just a radically different way of dealing with faith than most believers I know,“ Buttigieg said.
Sanders took it a step further, slamming Trump as a „liar“ and a „fraud,“ and said he is unafraid to debate Trump if he is named the Democratic nominee.
„Trump is a bully and anybody who knows anything about bullies knows they are insecure human beings, and I do not get intimidated by bullies. Trust me, I don’t,“ Sanders said. „Trump is not going to intimidate me.“
With the New Hampshire primary five days away, a number of Democrats running for president have put an emphasis on uniting the party after the nominating contest is over. Sanders was asked how he will unite the party and avoid the tension that dogged his 2016 rival Hillary Clinton in the general election.
„All of us understand what a threat Donald Trump is to our country and to the world, and I think I can speak for all of the candidates in saying no matter who wins the nomination,“ Sanders said, „Needless to say, I hope it’s me, but no matter who wins the nomination, we’re all going to work together to defeat Donald Trump. That I think you can take to the bank.“
Looking ahead to the end of the primary, Sanders said he „may very well“ choose a running mate before the Democratic National Convention. He did not commit to choosing a woman or a person of color as his vice presidential pick, but he said it is his „inclination“ to choose a woman.
„What I want from a vice president is somebody whose world view is similar to mine, and there are a lot of brilliant women out there who hold that view,“ Sanders said.
Source: politico.com
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