Elizabeth Warren Slams Bernie Sanders' Poaching Of Her Supporters

In something of a surprise, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has been surging over the last few months while Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) continues to drift further behind. That isn’t a coincidence, however, as many former Warren supporters are abandoning her for Sanders – and Warren is not happy about it.

A recent report from Politico found that those canvassing for Sanders are being given talking points that aim to portray Warren as being unable to expand Democrats’ support base in the presidential election.

Speaking with NBC News, Warren said she was “disappointed to hear that Bernie is sending his volunteers out to trash me,” adding that Sanders knows her and what her convictions are. Warren also warned against a repeat of the “factionalism” in the Democratic Party in 2016.

“I hope Bernie reconsiders and turns his campaign in a different direction,” Warren said.

In response to Politico’s report and Warren’s comments, Sanders said that “Elizabeth Warren is a very good friend of mine, we have worked together in the Senate for years, Elizabeth Warren and I will continue to work together, we will debate the issues, no one is gonna trash Elizabeth Warren.”

Sanders didn’t deny the report on canvassing talking points, but he said that “people sometimes say things that they shouldn't.”

Both campaigns have had a cease-fire, of sorts, in place since they began their campaigns. That truce, however, began to show its cracks when Sanders staffers tweeted negatively about Warren’s revelation of her Medicare For All platform last fall. Now with Sanders canvassers reportedly being told to talk negatively about Warren, those cracks appear to only be widening.

The next Democratic primary debate is set for Tuesday night, and it could prove to be the most crucial, with Iowa being the first state to caucus on Feb. 3. Six candidates have qualified, including Sanders and Warren.

While both appeals to the left-wing portion of the Democrats, Sanders and Warren stand apart on several key platform issues, including Medicare For All. Whereas Sanders plans to immediately move to expand medicare to all Americans, Warren has said she would wait before gradually rolling out Medicare access.

Both have also sought to contrast their political philosophies, with Warren calling herself a “capitalist to my bones” while Sanders has openly embraced the democratic socialist tag.