Joe Biden is acknowledging he “took a hit” in Iowa and says he'll “probably take a hit” in New Hampshire as well.
Biden was asked early in Friday's Democratic debate in New Hampshire why he thinks his party would be taking a risk by nominating either Bernie Sanders or Pete Buttigieg. Biden finished a distant fourth in Iowa's caucuses on Monday, while Sanders and Buttigieg finished in a near tie for first.
The former vice president noted that Sanders calls himself a “democratic socialist.” Biden said if Sanders is the nominee, President Donald Trump would put that label “on every Democratic running” nationwide.
Biden praised Buttigieg as a “patriot” but also took a dig at the 38-year-old former South Bend, Indiana, as a “the mayor of a small town.” Biden also suggested that Buttigieg will have trouble building a racially diverse coalition as the nominating contest moves beyond the overwhelming white states of Iowa and New Hampshire.
Biden noted that Sanders won the New Hampshire primary handily in 2016 over Hillary Clinton, so he said he'll “probably take a hit” in the state next Tuesday.
