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Biden and Harris show little success with second democratic debate

New Jersey Senator Cory Booker and Hawaii Representative Tulsi Gabbard were the surprise stars of Wednesday night’s Democratic debate, broadcast live from Detroit, Michigan. Analysts say Booker and Gabbard were shining, while front-runners Joe Biden and Kamala Harris struggled to keep up.

In his opening statement, Cory Booker addressed President Trump and his tweets calling Baltimore “disgusting” and “rat-infested.”

“Donald Trump, from Charleston, to Baltimore, to the border is using the tired old language of demagogues, of fear mongers and racists to divide our country against itself. We know who Donald Trump is, but in this election, the question is who are we as a people?” Booker said.

Biden, on the other hand, began the debate by jokingly telling Kamala Harris, a Senator from California, to “go easy on me, kid.” In the first rounds of debates in June, Harris attacked Biden for his willingness to work with segregationists and his history of opposing mandatory school busing in order to de-segregate schools.

When Biden said that any immigrant with a PhD should be allowed into the United States, Booker parsed that statement, saying Biden was “playing into what the Republicans want, to pit some immigrants against other immigrants … this should be a country that honors everyone.”

The next round of Democratic debates will take place in the fall, after some low-performing candidates have been eliminated.