Frontrunner Joe Biden came out swinging in the third Democratic debate for the White House nomination, clashing with his top two rivals over the future of health care in America and dismissing their plans as unrealistic pipe dreams.
Biden, under pressure to appear in command as the candidate to beat in 2020, pushed back hard against senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren during the debate in Houston, Texas a showdown seen as a tough test of the 76-year-old's stamina.
In a high-octane clash with his fellow septuagenarians, the former vice president warned Sanders's plan to finance universal healthcare "gets him halfway there," while Warren has yet to indicate how hers will be paid for.
"I lay out how I can pay for it, how I can get it done, and why it's better," Biden said of his plan, which maintains and builds on the Affordable Care Act known as Obamacare.
Warren, a rising star in the race, and Sanders each put up a spirited defence of their proposals.
"Those at the very top, the richest individuals and the biggest corporations, are going to pay more. And middle-class families are going to pay less," Warren said.
Sanders, whose plans advocates for a shift away from private health insurance, assured voters "we will finally make sure that every American has health care as a human right, not a privilege."
"We must and will defeat Trump, the most dangerous president in the history of this country," Sanders said. "But we must do more. We must do more."
And he reserved his longest joke for Biden, or "Sleepy Joe." "He's fallen asleep, he's no idea what he's doing or saying," Trump said to laughter from his party, before acting out a scene in which he imitated Chinese President Xi Jinping negotiating with Biden, with the Democrat mumbling "where am I?" and Xi telling him "sign here."
Early on Thursday she released her latest plan, one that would increase Social Security benefits for all Americans by USD 200 per month. While Warren's stock has risen, the campaigns of others such as Senator
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