Vermont senator portrays opponent as beholden to big money but former secretary of state accuses him of playing ‘gatekeeper’ on the topic

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have escalated the feud over their progressive records, as the former secretary of state accused Sanders of having “set himself up to be the gatekeeper of who is a progressive”.

Appearing at a town hall event in New Hampshire at the end of a day that saw the two candidates for the Democratic nomination publicly clash after Sanders accused Clinton of only being progressive “on some days”, both talked up their liberal appeal.



Clinton defended her record during the town hall on Wednesday, saying that under Sanders’s definition, the president, Barack Obama, and vice-president, Joe Biden, would not even be considered progressives.

But she appeared to be taken by surprise when she was asked whether she should have been paid $675,000 by Goldman Sachs to give three speeches.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Clinton defends her progressive credentials during the New Hampshire Democratic town hall

“I don’t know,” Clinton said. “That’s what they offered.”

Hosted by Anderson Cooper on CNN, the Democratic candidates took the stage separately, to take questions from voters who were either registered as Democrats or independents, undecided between the two.

The set-up provided a less confrontational atmosphere than previous debates, and the pair took questions on some less visited topics on the campaign trail, even leading Sanders and Clinton to both expand on their spiritual views.

Sanders, the one candidate in either party who is arguably the least engaged in organized religion, told Cooper that his faith was a matter of community and inclusion.

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“Everyone practices religion in his own way,” Sanders said. “My spirituality is that we are all in this together.”

There were even moments of levity as Sanders described his 1980s folk record as “the worst album ever recorded” and Clinton recalled disguising herself in a cap and sunglasses to take incognito walks along the national mall when she was first lady.

Earlier on Wednesday, the two had engaged in a Twitter spat as Clinton posted an image showing a list of what she described as her progressive achievements in politics.

Sanders responded by posting a mock version, but listed areas of Clinton’s record – including her vote on the Iraq war – where he said she did not have a progressive record.

Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) Some other days... pic.twitter.com/7SjQdgiiQr

At the event at the Adams Memorial Opera House in Derry, however, both were forced to answer tough questions from the audience over their records and electability.

Clinton, in particular, was pressed by an audience member on her vote for the Iraq war in 2002. George W Bush had misled Congress, the then New York senator said. “I did make a mistake and I admitted that I made a mistake,” Clinton said. “In large measure that mistake really arose from the Bush administration’s approach towards what they thought they could accomplish in Iraq.”

Clinton was also forced to defend the speeches she gave to Goldman Sachs executives. Sanders has repeatedly criticized her for accepting the money – and Wednesday night was no different.

“I made speeches to lots of groups,” she said.

“But did you have to be paid $675,000?” Cooper asked.

“I don’t know,” she said. “That’s what they offered.”

Clinton added that other secretaries of state had done the same, although Cooper pointed out they were not running for president at the time.

“I wasn’t committed to running,” Clinton said, adding that she would not be – and has not been – influenced by those payments from the financial firm. “They’re not giving me very much money now.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Bernie Sanders at the Democratic event in Derry, New Hampshire. Photograph: Michael Reynolds/EPA

During his own question-and-answer session, Sanders was asked just one question about foreign policy: how he would keep the country safe from the Islamic State militant group.

“We have got to crush Isis,” he said, pointing to his vote against the war in Iraq as evidence of his foreign policy experience.

The town hall was the first event both had appeared at since the Iowa caucus, which Clinton won narrowly with 49.86% of the vote compared to Sanders’ 49.57%: a margin of 0.29%. Sanders has since called for the release of the raw vote count.

But the Vermont senator is expected to win the New Hampshire primary. A University of Massachusetts-Lowell/7News poll released on Wednesday, showed Sanders 33% ahead of Clinton among registered Democrats in New Hampshire. The poll had Sanders with 63% of the vote compared to Clinton’s 30%.

Nevertheless, Clinton said she was “thrilled” to be in the state and had never considered skipping the state’s primary, as some pundits had suggested she should.

The intimate setting – and the questions from the audience – also led to some revealing moments, on the eve of the candidates going head to head in a formal debate. Sanders expanded on his religious beliefs and answered questions about whether his age made him unsuitable for office.

Asked by an audience member about his faith, Sanders said religion was “a guiding principle”.

“I would not be here tonight, I would not be running for president of the United States, if I did not have very religious and spiritual feelings,” Sanders said. He tied his belief system to his message on inequality.

“My spirituality is that we are all in this together and that when children go hungry, when veterans sleep out on the street, it impacts me. That’s my very strong spiritual feeling.”

An undecided voter asked Sanders if he saw any “limitations” in his ability to serve two terms. Cooper pointed out that the 74-year-old would be 83 by the end of his second term.

“You know, I am, thank God, in good health. And one can’t predict the future, one never knows what happens tomorrow,” Sanders said.

“I’ve had good endurance and good strength my whole life. So, you know, if I am fortunate enough to win the general election, and we do well, yes, I would like to run for re-election.”

Cooper sat each candidate down at the end of their hour-long sessions for some lighter questions. Clinton was asked what she would do if she could be anonymous for one day.

She recalled that when she was first lady would put on a cap and sunglasses and order her secret service agents to dress down, before going for anonymous walks.

“I would end up on the Mall sometimes and a family would come up to me and say: ‘Would you mind taking a picture of us in front of the White House,’” she said, to laughter.

As well as asking Sanders about his 1987 album “on folk classics”, Cooper asked Sanders if he did an impression of Larry David – the Curb Your Enthusiasm star who bears a striking resemblance to the Vermont senator and has recently been doing an impression of him on Saturday Night Live.

“I am Larry David,” Sanders said. “You just didn’t get it.”

• The subheading on this article was amended on 4 February 2016. An earlier version referred to Bernie Sanders as “Vermont ex-senator”.