Sen. Bernie Sanders Bernie SandersThe Hill's Campaign Report: Trump faces backlash after not committing to peaceful transition of power Bernie Sanders: 'This is an election between Donald Trump and democracy' The Hill's 12:30 Report: Trump stokes fears over November election outcome MORE (I-Vt.) rebutted concerns from former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper John HickenlooperThe Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by Facebook - Trump previews SCOTUS nominee as 'totally brilliant' Cook Political Report shifts Colorado Senate race toward Democrat Willie Nelson playing at virtual fundraiser for Hickenlooper MORE (D) and Rep. Tim Ryan Timothy (Tim) RyanNow's the time to make 'Social Emotional Learning' a national priority Mourners gather outside Supreme Court after passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg Lincoln Project hits Trump for criticizing Goodyear, 'an American company' MORE (D-Ohio) that the Vermont senator is too radical to defeat President Trump Donald John TrumpSteele Dossier sub-source was subject of FBI counterintelligence probe Pelosi slams Trump executive order on pre-existing conditions: It 'isn't worth the paper it's signed on' Trump 'no longer angry' at Romney because of Supreme Court stance MORE.

The exchange went to the center of an ideological fissure within the Democratic primary field over whether the base is hankering for systemic change along the lines of Sanders’s “Medicare for All” plan or whether voters would favor more incremental adjustments.

ADVERTISEMENT

“You might as well FedEx the election to Donald Trump. I think we have to focus on where Donald Trump is failing,” Hickenlooper said when explaining why he thought Sanders’s policies were too extreme for the White House.

Sanders responded by touting a slate of polls showing him besting Trump in a handful of crucial swing states.

“Well, the truth is that every credible poll that I have seen has me beating Donald Trump, including [in] the battleground states of Michigan, where I won the Democratic primary, Wisconsin, where I won the Democratic primary, and Pennsylvania,” Sanders shot back.

“And the reason we are going to defeat Trump and beat him badly is that he is a fraud and a phony, and we're going to expose him for what he is.”

Hickenlooper responded that Americans would not agree to “go along” with Sanders’s progressive plans.

“So again, I think if we're going to force Americans to make these radical changes, they're not going to go along,” the Colorado Democrat said, prompting Sanders to throw up his hands.

“Throw your hands up!” Hickenlooper shouted back, to which Sanders snapped back “I will!”

Favorite moment of the night - when Hickenlooper tells Sanders to throw his hands up: pic.twitter.com/gB2DaZlsLf — Samantha-Jo Roth (@SamanthaJoRoth) July 31, 2019

John Hickenlooper says some of Sanders' proposals, such as Medicare for All and the Green New Deal, would be a "disaster at the ballot box." "You might as well FedEx the election to Donald Trump" #DemDebate pic.twitter.com/KCNzLL5l1s — CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) July 31, 2019

Ryan went on to note that polls at this point in the 2016 cycle showed eventual Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonFox News poll: Biden ahead of Trump in Nevada, Pennsylvania and Ohio Trump, Biden court Black business owners in final election sprint The power of incumbency: How Trump is using the Oval Office to win reelection MORE beating Donald Trump.

Sanders has touted a slate of progressive policies that would significantly expand the federal government’s role in providing health care, tackle climate change, rectify racial and fiscal inequities and more. Several centrists in the field have said such expansive and expensive policies could risk losing the support of swing voters in manufacturing areas.