The Hill reports that Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang and Michael Bennet trading friendly blows Friday in a satirical Twitter feud ahead of the second round of debates next week. The pair appear to be poking fun at the tendency of the debates to encourage attacks and spectacle.
Yang was the first to strike.
“I would like to signal to the press that I will be attacking Michael Bennet at next week’s debate,” he tweeted . “Sorry @MichaelBennet but you know what you did.”
“Andrew, how did you know I got a C in precalculus in high school — on the retake,” Bennet tweeted in response.
From there, the pair traded more joking blows, with many fans praising the lightheartedness of the exchange.
Both Yang and Bennet are long-shots to win the Democratic nomination, although Yang has been steadily gaining ground in the polls and increasing his media presence. He recently made an appearance on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show and spoke to Trevor Noah about his campaign. Yang also announced on Twitter on Thursday that he has earned 2 percent in three qualifying polls for the fall debates, meaning he needs one more to take the stage in September and October.
If I only get 3 minutes of talking time in the next debate I’m still using all of them to attack @MichaelBennet pic.twitter.com/3dCv01AFsm
— Andrew Yang????? (@AndrewYang) July 26, 2019
As for Bennet, he’s been lagging in the polls; RealClear Politics reports he has an average of 0.3 percent support. Regardless, Vox reports that Bennet is confident that he can not only take the nomination, but beat Trump.
“If history is any guide, the people that are leading the race today are not going to be the nominee,” Bennet said.
“For me, I look at it and say, ‘Look, there isn’t anybody else in this race who’s won a national race in a swing state.’ I’m the only one that’s done that in Colorado and I’ve done it twice.”
Just confirmed with debate officials that @AndrewYang ’s microphone will be muted during my rebuttal. https://t.co/YmR7HvkfRF pic.twitter.com/oT3Pe9shai
— Michael Bennet (@MichaelBennet) July 26, 2019
A recent Fox News poll reveals that former vice president Joe Biden is still leading the Democratic field, with 33 percent support among Democratic primary voters. In comparison, Bernie Sanders has 15 percent, Elizabeth Warren has 12 percent, and Kamala Harris has 10 percent.
Outside of the frontrunners, Pete Buttigieg has 5 percent, Amy Klobuchar and Yang have 3 percent, and Cory Booker, John Hickenlooper, and Beto O’Rourke have 2 percent. Everyone else, including Bennet, have 1 percent or less.
Fox News poll: Biden leads Trump by 10 points in 2020 matchup https://t.co/11E4RP09KH pic.twitter.com/xj3abfJJvX
— The Hill (@thehill) July 26, 2019
In terms of who can beat President Donald Trump, the Fox poll suggests that Trump would lose to Biden by 10 percentage points. Against Sanders, Trump would reportedly lose by six points. However, the poll has Trump beating Warren and Harris by one point, although it’s notable that the margin of error is 3 percentage points.