CNN recently drew fire from the Bernie Sanders camp after a debate moderator appeared to dismiss the Vermont senator's denial that he once told 2020 rival Elizabeth Warren that a woman could never be president.

Just days before the most recent debate between Democratic presidential candidates held on January 14, the issue became a part of CNN's coverage as it was the first network to report on Warren's allegations.

CNN political correspondent Abby Phillip, one of the debate's moderators, pressed Sanders about the same. “I want to be clear here. You're saying that you never told Senator Warren that a woman could not win the election?” she asked. “That is correct,” he responded. But Phillip then turned to Warren and asked, “What did you think when Senator Sanders told you that a woman could not win an election?” While there was some muffled laughter from the audience, Sanders shook his head lightly.

It was a shocking moment for viewers at home, who saw Phillip—a veteran of the Washington Post, ABC News, and Politico—appear to outright dismiss Sanders' denial by implying it wasn't honest.

The cherry on the cake was that CNN had broken the initial story about the alleged conversation between the candidates based on completely anonymous sourcing. Warren later "confirmed" the news herself, thereby raising several doubts.

Bernie Sanders speaks as Hillary Clinton looks on during the CNN Democratic Presidential Primary Debate at the Whiting Auditorium at the Cultural Center Campus on March 6, 2016, in Flint, Michigan (Getty Images)

Bernie's rising star

Recent reports suggest Sanders is surging in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary polls, making it more apparent to rivals that the Vermont senator is a force to be reckoned with.

“Biden’s fundraising is not anywhere near as strong as Sanders’," noted CNN analyst Harry Enten on Sunday. Furthermore, a recent Politico story observed how Sanders’ campaign is “being taken seriously” among Democratic party insiders.

Bernie Sanders greets the crowd at the Royal family Life Center on March 14, 2019, in North Charleston (Getty Images)

And according to a story by the Daily Beast, Sanders’ rising popularity is scaring acolytes of former President Barack Obama. The report also noted how they are unable to figure out a way to stop his ascension.

“As Sanders gained new flashes of traction in recent weeks,” the Daily Beast reported, “the former president’s lack of official guidance to halt his momentum, and the scattering of his inner circle to rival campaigns, have hampered any meaningful NeverBernie movement.”

Sanders has made it to the top three candidates in several state and national polls, and his coalition is becoming increasingly diverse.

For all we know, Warren's statements concerning Bernie and his cosigning “a woman could not be President” could just be a chip in the Teflon that is his campaign. Instead, the Warren camp's efforts to paint Bernie as an anti-feminist could very well backfire on them.

Supporters of the Massachusetts senator have defended her for calling him out. However, a lot of people see it as a cheap shot.

Rigged again?

It is now widely known that the 2016 primary was rigged against Sanders, as indicated by bombshell emails released by Wikileaks.

The entirety of the Democratic Party apparatus had thrown their support behind then-candidate Hillary Clinton - after all, she was the establishment candidate. This became evident right from the way the Democratic National Committee (DNC) scheduled debates to their fundraising efforts.

Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders speak as Tom Steyer looks on after the Democratic presidential primary debate at Drake University on January 14, in Des Moines, Iowa (Getty Images)

Furthermore, Clinton enjoyed the support of the party's old guard even before the primaries began.

In July 2016, the DNC’s then-chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz was forced to abruptly resign just as the party’s nominating convention began. This came after emails leaked to Wikileaks showed how Democratic leaders disliked Sanders.

Donna Brazile, who was appointed to replace Schultz, revealed after the election that the DNC had struck a deal with Clinton in 2015 as it was heavily in debt at the start of the 2016 cycle: The agreement was a quid pro quo in which the DNC traded its autonomy for Clinton's fundraising help, further strengthening the argument that the primaries were rigged right from the beginning.

President Donald Trump speaks during a rally on January 14 at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Getty Images)

Trump empathizes with Bernie

President Donald J Trump, the juggernaut incumbent waiting on the other side of the aisle, appeared to take Sanders' side at a rally in Milwaukee later on the same day.

"According to her," Trump began, referring to Warren, "Bernie said—and I don't believe that he said this because I don't know him. I don't particularly like him. He's a nasty guy, but I don't believe he said it. It's not his deal." "She said that Bernie strongly stated that a woman can't win for president," Trump continued. "A woman can win for president. She said that Bernie said a woman can't win. I don't believe Bernie said that. I really don't." "It's just not the kind of a thing he would say," he added.

Considering all this, could 2020 see a reiteration of the 2016 sabotage of Bernie's campaign?

Only time will tell.

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