Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders had a tense exchange immediately after the televised Democratic debate on Tuesday night, an audio recording has revealed.
While other candidates were still shaking hands at the podiums, Ms Warren made a beeline for Mr Sanders, but rejected his outstretched hand.
“I think you just called me a liar on national TV,” she said.
Mr Sanders said: “What?”
She repeated: “I think you called me a liar on national TV.”
The spat was captured by CNN audio following the debate in Des Moines, Iowa, after which viewers noticed Ms Warren appearing to snub the Vermont senator's handshake.
The rival candidates for the Democratic nomination had clashed over Ms Warren’s accusations that Mr Sanders once told her that a woman could not win the presidency, which her opponent denies.
“Let’s not do it right now,” Mr Sanders said when confronted after the debate. “If you want to have that discussion, we’ll have that discussion.”
“Anytime,” said the Massachussetts senator.
Appearing to have a change of heart, he then said: “You called me a liar. You told me, ‘All right, let’s not do it now.’”
Another candidate, the billionaire Tom Steyer, had hung around during their awkward exchange to “say hi” to Mr Sanders. “Yeah, good, OK,” he replied.
The two progressive candidates have been feuding for days over what was said during a private dinner at Ms Warren’s Washington apartment in December 2018.
Following a CNN report, she claimed that Mr Sanders told her a woman could not win an election against Donald Trump, the incumbent president.
Her opponent denied the account, saying he had outlined the likely tactics of Mr Trump, whom he called “a sexist, a racist and a liar”.
The argument was brought up during Tuesday’s debate, with both Democrats sticking to their versions.
Ms Warren said she “disagreed” with Mr Sanders when he told her a woman could not beat Mr Trump, before reminding the audience that the two women onstage – herself and Amy Klobuchar – were the only candidates to have won all their elections, while the men onstage had collectively lost 10 races.
Meanwhile, Mr Sanders defended himself against charges of sexism. “Does anybody in their right mind believe that a woman can’t be president?” he said. “I don’t think anybody believes that.”
The two progressives had reportedly made an agreement not to attack each other as they bid to become the Democratic presidential nominee to challenge Mr Trump.
However, Ms Warren said she was “disappointed” earlier this week to hear that Mr Sanders’ campaign had urged volunteers to paint her as a candidate for the elites.
Additional reporting by Associated Press
