Michael Bloomberg's entry into the Democratic Ring was as anticipated. Struggling to defend himself, the candidate for the Democratic primaries suffered the numerous setbacks of his five opponents present at the debate in Las Vegas (Nevada), Wednesday, February 19. But he was not the only one to have been the target of attacks: the Vermont senator, Bernie Sanders, was also castigated for the actions of his supporters, when Pete Buttigieg seemed to get on the lack of knowledge of Amy Klobuchar.

Of a rare intensity, the tone of the debate was given from the first minutes. The billionaire, who was doing his fire baptism, was sentenced to entry for the "stop-and-frisk", a facies control policy implemented when he was mayor of New York, but also for his sexist remarks , the non-disclosure agreements he allegedly entered into with assaulted women or his lack of financial transparency.

"I would like to talk about our opponent. A billionaire who treats the women of big chicks and lesbians with horse heads. And not I am not talking about Donald Trump, but Michael Bloomberg," joked Elizabeth Warren. Attacks that are not unrelated to his third man status, according to the latest national polls published Tuesday.

The use of his fortune - Michael Bloomberg is the ninth richest man in the world in 2019, according to Forbes - was also flayed by the candidates, Senator Amy Klobuchar gently mocking his almost exclusively advertising campaign - he has already spent more than 400 million dollars (370 million euros) in spots. Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren never stopped pitting Michael Bloomberg against the working class. "The Democrats take a huge risk if we only replace one arrogant billionaire with another (...) It is time to have a leader who is on the side of the middle classes," argued the Massachusetts senator. Critics who have also touched Joe Biden, more consistent than usual.

Attacked on all fronts, Michael Bloomberg chose defense rather than attack. He thus became confused with an apology for his "stop-and-frisk" policy, stammered that he had too many pay slips to communicate them before the end of the Democratic primaries or assured to redistribute his money. But his explanations struggled to convince, the candidate failed to win among the voices of his opponents.

Verbal contests on controversies

Opponents who, it seems, found fierceness during this debate. All controversy has been a source of verbal contests. Favorite Bernie Sanders, head of two national polls published Tuesday by the Emerson Institute and the NBC channel, was tackled by the former mayor of New York, who assured that the Vermont senator had "no chance to beat President Trump. "

Asked by journalists about his position as a "socialist", the Vermont senator replied that today's society was "socialism for the rich". But the Democratic candidates have mainly questioned his responsibility after vicious online attacks by some of his supporters. "Democrats need a candidate with steadfast values," argued Elizabeth Warren, when Pete Buttigieg assured that a leader "must inspire people in their behavior."

Very fit, the young mayor of the Midwest also blamed Amy Klobuchar, the senator from Minnesota, who did not remember the name of the Mexican president during a television interview. So much so that Elizabeth Warren felt compelled to fly to her aid, assuring that the error was human.

Fate of dreamers, health care system, taxes: so many subjects on which the candidates were scalded throughout the evening, opposing their visions, and trying to detail their program.

Once is not custom, the cleavage between moderates and progressives widened. On Saturday, the 3 million inhabitants of this small state in the west of the country will have to choose their nomination contestant. A fact that Amy Klobuchar, who has repeatedly mentioned the people of Nevada, has not forgotten.

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