The campaigns of Democratic presidential hopefuls Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden are at odds with one another over rules for the next debate, according to a new report.
Members of Sen. Sanders’ (I-Vt.) team felt frustrated after a Friday call with CNN, which is moderating the March 15 debate, over their proposed new format for the debate, which has the two candidates seated instead of standing, according to Politico.
The outlet reports that Sanders’ campaign staffers felt that sitting would give Biden “too much of a break” in their first debate since becoming the final two frontrunners.
“Why does Joe Biden not want to stand toe-to-toe with Sen. Sanders on the debate stage March 15 and have an opportunity to defend his record and articulate his vision for the future?” Sanders’ senior adviser Jeff Weaver told the outlet.
A spokeswoman for Biden denied to The Post that the campaign was pushing for the debate to be in a seated format.
“We agreed to the format that CNN proposed on a joint call with the campaigns. We then agreed to a modification of that format that CNN proposed, to compromise with both campaigns. We will participate in whatever debate CNN choses to stage: standing, sitting, at podiums, or in a town hall,” Biden deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield said in a statement.
“The problem for the Sanders campaign is not the staging of the debate, but rather, the weakness of Senator Sanders’ record and ideas,” she added.
A spokesperson for Sanders did not respond to The Post’s request for comment on the matter.



