The leading Democratic presidential candidates joined each other in California for a debate set nearly 50 days before the first votes are cast — and just after Donald Trump was impeached by Congress.

All seven White House hopefuls who qualified for the most recent debate took the stage at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles the day after the US House of Representatives voted to approve two articles of impeachment against the president, one for abusing the power of his office and another for obstructing Congress during its investigation into his Ukraine dealings.

Elizabeth Warren described the president as the most corrupt “in living history”, while Joe Biden said Mr Trump’s response to the impeachment saga was “dumbing down” the office of the presidency. Bernie Sanders also said Mr Trump was “running the most corrupt administration in the modern history of this country”.

“I will personally be doing this … making the case that we have a president who has sold out the work families of this country”, he added, “and the case to be made is … we cannot have a president with that temperament who is dishonouring the” office of the president.

“This is a global Watergate”, Amy Klobuchar said, describing how Mr Trump requested “dirt” from a foreign government on a political opponent. ​

The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Show all 25 1 /25 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Bernie Sanders The Vermont senator has launched a second bid for president after losing out to Hilary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primaries. He is running on a similar platform of democratic socialist reform Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Joe Biden The former vice president recently faced scrutiny for inappropriate touching of women, but was thought to deal with the criticism well and has since maintained a front runner status in national polling EPA The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Elizabeth Warren The Massachusetts senator is a progressive Democrat, and a major supporter of regulating Wall Street Reuters The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Amy Klobuchar Klobuchar is a Minnesota senator who earned praise for her contribution to the Brett Kavanaugh hearings Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Michael Bloomberg Michael Bloomberg, a late addition to the 2020 race, announced his candidacy after months of speculation in November. He has launched a massive ad-buying campaign and issued an apology for the controversial "stop and frisk" programme that adversely impacted minority communities in New York City when he was mayor Getty Images The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Tulsi Gabbard The Hawaii congresswoman announced her candidacy in January, but has faced tough questions on her past comments on LGBT+ rights and her stance on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Pete Buttigieg The centrist Indiana mayor and war veteran would be the first openly LGBT+ president in American history Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Deval Patrick The former Massachusetts governor launched a late 2020 candidacy and received very little reception. With just a few short months until the first voters flock to the polls, the former governor is running as a centrist and believes he can unite the party's various voting blocs AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Beto O'Rourke The former Texas congressman formally launched his bid for the presidency in March. He ran on a progressive platform, stating that the US is driven by "gross differences in opportunity and outcome" AP The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Kamala Harris The former California attorney general was introduced to the national stage during Jeff Sessions’ testimony. She has endorsed Medicare-for-all and proposed a major tax-credit for the middle class AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Bill De Blasio The New York mayor announced his bid on 16 May 2019. He emerged in 2013 as a leading voice in the left wing of his party but struggled to build a national profile and has suffered a number of political setbacks in his time as mayor AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Steve Bullock The Montana governor announced his bid on 14 May. He stated "We need to defeat Donald Trump in 2020 and defeat the corrupt system that lets campaign money drown out the people's voice, so we can finally make good on the promise of a fair shot for everyone." He also highlighted the fact that he won the governor's seat in a red [Republican] state Reuters The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Cory Booker The New Jersey Senator has focused on restoring kindness and civility in American politics throughout his campaign, though he has failed to secure the same level of support and fundraising as several other senators running for the White House in 2020 Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Wayne Messam Mayor of the city of Miramar in the Miami metropolitan area, Wayne Messam said he intended to run on a progressive platform against the "broken" federal government. He favours gun regulations and was a signatory to a letter from some 400 mayors condemning President Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord Vice News The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Kirsten Gillibrand The New York Senator formally announced her presidential bid in January, saying that “healthcare should be a right, not a privilege” Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: John Delaney The Maryland congressman was the first to launch his bid for presidency, making the announcement in 2017 AP The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Andrew Yang The entrepreneur announced his presidential candidacy by pledging that he would introduce a universal basic income of $1,000 a month to every American over the age of 18 Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Julian Castro The former San Antonio mayor announced his candidacy in January and said that his running has a “special meaning” for the Latino community in the US Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Marianne Williamson The author and spiritual adviser has announced her intention to run for president. She had previously run for congress as an independent in 2014 but was unsuccessful Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Eric Swalwell One of the younger candidates, Swalwell has served on multiple committees in the House of Representatives. He intended to make gun control central to his campaign but dropped out after his team said it was clear there was no path to victory Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Seth Moulton A Massachusetts congressman, Moulton is a former US soldier who is best known for trying to stop Nancy Pelosi from becoming speaker of the house. He dropped out of the race after not polling well in key states Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Jay Inslee Inslee has been governor of Washington since 2013. His bid was centred around climate change AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: John Hickenlooper The former governor of Colorado aimed to sell himself as an effective leader who was open to compromise, but failed to make a splash on the national stage Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Tim Ryan Ohio representative Tim Ryan ran on a campaign that hinged on his working class roots, though his messaging did not appear to resonate with voters Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Tom Steyer Democratic presidential hopeful billionaire and philanthropist Tom Steyer is a longtime Democratic donor AFP/Getty

Before Thursday night's debate, all seven had expressed their support for impeachment to varying degrees, with Ms Klobuchar previously calling it a “global Watergate” along the campaign trail while others expressed concerns for how the proceedings may impact the future of the Democratic Party.

Tom Steyer, a billionaire activist and the last candidate on stage to throw his hat in the ring for the Oval Office, effectively became known as a national figure during Mr Trump’s tenure in the White House through his campaign to impeach the president. He ultimately received eight million signatures on his online impeachment petition form before declaring a run for office in July.

Mr Sanders and Ms Warren, two of the more liberal senators who launched presidential campaigns in 2020, have also expressed strong support for impeachment in the past. Ms Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, said the president should be impeached early on in April after reading Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Ms Warren said at the time that she had read the report in full, which showed “a hostile foreign government attacked our 2016 election to help Donald Trump and Donald Trump welcomed that help”.

“Mueller put the next step in the hands of Congress: ‘Congress has authority to prohibit a President’s corrupt use of his authority in order to protect the integrity of the administration of justice’,” she wrote. “The correct process for exercising that authority is impeachment.”

Pete Buttigieg, the millennial mayor from South Bend, Indiana who has risen in the polls in recent months, also said in late April that Mr Trump “made it pretty clear that he deserves impeachment”.

Mr Sanders released a video immediately after the House passed both votes on the articles of impeachment against the president, calling the move “the right thing to do” and saying the US must “never forget that no individual in this country, certainly not the president of the United States, is above the law — is above the constitution”.

Others have been somewhat more hesitant in their approach to the issue of impeachment.

Andrew Yang, an entrepreneur whose campaign has been built on a plan for universal income called the “Freedom Dividend”, has said he is “pro-impeachment” but felt the issue would be a “loser” for the party.

“Not a single Republican has given any indication that they’re in fact-finding mode. They’re all in defend-the-president mode”, Mr Yang previously told Rolling Stone in a story published earlier this month.

He added: “You need literally dozens of Republican senators to switch sides when the trial starts, which we’ve gotten zero indication is going to happen.”

Ms Klobuchar, the senator from Minnesota, has meanwhile called for a “fair trial” in the US Senate and the ability for lawmakers to see all of the evidence surrounding Mr Trump’s alleged abuse of power.

“I want to look at all the evidence”, she said in a recent interview with ABC’s The View. “I am the one that said this is impeachable conduct. You have to look at each count, but I think this is very serious what happened here, and it will come over to the Senate, and remember, this isn’t a criminal proceeding. It is actually a decision under the constitution about whether or not he should be removed from office.”

She also said she would stay in Washington to serve a juror throughout the impeachment trial if it comes to that, telling The View: “What else am I going to do? I have a constitutional duty and I have to fulfil that duty.”

Mr Biden, the former vice president who has maintained a top-tier candidacy throughout the campaign trail, also expressed his support for impeachment in early October, after initially seeming to skirt the issue at times.