Trump says Roger Stone has 'very good chance of exoneration' in Las Vegas

President Trump blasted Roger Stone's treatment by the criminal justice system, the Justice Department and the jury forewoman in the GOP operative's trial Thursday in a blistering address in front of an audience in Las Vegas, saying Stone has a “very good chance of exoneration.”
His remarks, part of a speech to the organization Hope for Prisoners, came hours after a federal judge sentenced Stone to over three years in prison.
“Roger Stone has a very good chance of exoneration in my opinion,” Trump told the crowd of ex-convicts who recently had completed a career training program and would soon reintegrate into society.
Trump also claimed Stone was “never” involved in his 2016 campaign for the presidency. “I think long before I announced, he did a little consulting work or something,” the president said.
Trump said that Stone, though “definitely a character,” was a “very good person,” and that the jury in his sentencing had been tainted by an anti-Trump activist. “These people know more about bad juries than anyone else, the sheriff, the mayor. You're my experts, OK?” he told the room of previously incarcerated people. He said the jury forewoman “started going a little wild, was very happy,” when Roger Stone was determined to be guilty of obstruction last year, and it was later revealed she had a social media account full of anti-Trump posts which she did not disclose to the courts.
The jury forewoman, Tomeka Hart, even posted specifically about the Stone case before she was selected to sit on the jury, as she retweeted an argument mocking those who considered Stone's dramatic arrest in a predawn raid by a federal tactical team to be excessive force. She also suggested Trump and his supporters were racist and praised the investigation conducted by former Special Counsel Robert Mueller, which ultimately led to Stone's prosecution.
ROGER STONE SENTENCED TO 3 YEARS FOR LYING, WITNESS TAMPERING AS CASE ROILS DOJ 
Justice Department prosecutors initially had sought a sentence of up to nine years for Stone, but senior officials at the department later called for a lesser sentence. Attorney General William Barr’s move to intervene in Stone’s sentencing led to all four members of the prosecution team quitting the case.
U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson on Thursday also said the initial recommendation was excessive. Her sentence of 40 months in prison was considerably less than that -- yet far more than the probation sought by his defense.
Trump announced to the crowd that he would be considering the program’s founder, John Ponder, for a full pardon. Ponder, an ex-convict himself, started the program 11 years ago and Trump said he had a “feeling” Ponder would get the full pardon.
TRUMP COMMUTES SENTENCE OF EX-GOV BLAGOVICH, PARDONS KERIK 
Trump talked about previous pardons he had issued, adding that he “loves” finding those treated unfairly by the criminal justice system and offering them pardons.
“When I learned about the case of Alice Johnson, it was clear to me that there were injustices in our sentencing laws that caused people who made small mistakes to pay a huge price,” Trump said. Alice Johnson was a  great-grandmother who had been in jail for more than 20 years, serving a life sentence for non-violent drug charges. Johnson walked free in June after Trump commuted her sentence.
Earlier this week, Trump granted clemency not only to political figures like ex-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and ex-NYPD Commissioner Bernard Kerik, but also incarcerated people such as the three recommended by Johnson who walked free Tuesday.
“We have thousands of people in prison like Alice Johnson,” Trump said. “I love finding those people, the thousands of people in prison who shouldn't be there.”
Trump boasted of his criminal justice reform package signed in December 2018. Trump said that “people on all sides” were starting to “love” criminal justice reform.
“In order to redress the unfairness of the justice system, one year ago I passed criminal justice reform. Others tried and failed. They didn't try too hard because they knew it couldn't be done, I got it done.”
Trump told the crowd of 29 graduates, “the best part of your life is just beginning.”
“You’re going to be so successful you’re going to say, ‘I’m going to be more successful than Trump,’ and I’m going to be happy about it,” Trump told the room of former convicts.
“Today we declare that you are made by God for a great and noble purpose. You are valued members of our American family and we are determined to help you succeed,” the president said.
Fox News' Brooke Singman, Bill Mears and Gregg Re contributed to this report.

Who is Tomeka Hart?

Tomeka Hart served as the foreperson on the jury that convicted former Trump associate Roger Stone in his trial for lying to Congress, obstruction and witness tampering related to the 2016 presidential campaign.
The former Memphis City Schools board president and ex-president and CEO of the Memphis Urban League, garnered national attention in February when President Trump tweeted that she showed “significant bias” after she defended four Justice Department prosecutors who abruptly stepped down when senior Justice Department officials intervened and lowered their sentencing recommendation for Stone.
“Now it looks like the fore person in the jury, in the Roger Stone case, had significant bias,” Trump tweeted Feb. 13. “Add that to everything else, and this is not looking good for the “Justice” Department.”
After Stone was sentenced to 40 months on Feb. 20, President Trump told an audience in Las Vegas that Stone had a good chance of being exonerated -- and again criticized Hart.
“It’s my strong opinion that the forewoman of the jury, the woman who was in charge of the jury, is totally tainted," Trump said. "When you take a look, how can you have a person like this? She was an anti-Trump activist. Can you imagine this?”

"It’s my strong opinion that the forewoman of the jury, the woman who was in charge of the jury, is totally tainted."
— President Trump

"This is a woman who was an anti-Trump person, totally," the president said later. " .. She had a horrible social media account. The things she said on the account were unbelievable. She didn't reveal that when she was chosen."
TRUMP SAYS ROGER STONE HAS 'VERY GOOD CHANCE OF EXONERATION' IN LAS VEGAS
"I assume they asked her a question, 'Do you have any bias?' She didn't say that, so is that an undermining of the court? You tell me."
Previously, after the prosecutors in the Stone case stepped down, Hart posted on Facebook that she couldn’t “keep quiet any longer."
"I want to stand up for Aaron Zelinsky, Adam Jed, Michael Marando, and Jonathan Kravis -- the prosecutors on the Roger Stone trial," Hart wrote in the post. "It pains me to see the DOJ now interfere with the hard work of the prosecutors. They acted with the utmost intelligence, integrity, and respect for our system of justice."
ROGER STONE JURY FOREPERSON'S ANTI-TRUMP SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS SURFACE AFTER SHE DEFENDS DOJ PROSECUTORS

Tomeka Hart, forewoman in the Roger Stone trial, has been a vocal critic of President Trump. (Facebook)

"As foreperson, I made sure we went through every element, of every charge, matching the evidence presented in the case that led us to return a conviction of guilty on all 7 counts."
Hart's history of anti-Trump social media posts has included calling Trump supporters "racist" and quoting someone who referred to Trump as the “#KlanPresident."
Fellow juror Seth Cousins defended their guilty verdict against Stone and said Hart was “perhaps the strongest advocate in the room for a rigorous process for the rights of the defendant and for making sure that we took it seriously and looked at each charge," according to USA Today.
Hart, now based in Washington, D.C., is a senior program officer for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and has donated to Democrats, including Sen. Kamala Harris and former Obama Cabinet member Julian Castro, according to Heavy.
In 2012, she unsuccessfully ran for Congress in Tennessee as a Democrat.
She is also a former VP of strategic partnerships at the Southern Education Foundation, VP of African American community partnerships for Teach For America, and the president/CEO of the Memphis Urban League, according to her biography.
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She previously worked as a middle and high school teacher and was a former labor lawyer.

Trump slams Dems, Oscars, Brad Pitt as rally blitz moves to Colorado

President Trump continued his four-state trip out west Thursday evening with a wild rally in Colorado Springs, Colo., as he openly celebrated Democrats' intra-party squabbling at the Las Vegas presidential primary debate -- and took an unexpected shot at the movie "Parasite," prompting a scathing response from its U.S.-based distributor.
In the wide-ranging event that resembled a casual conversation at points, Trump also assessed that "Mini Mike" Bloomberg "didn't do well last night" and declared Amy Klobuchar's presidential campaign dead because she dejectedly asked Pete Buttigieg at the debate if he was calling her "dumb."
Trump again called Buttigieg "Alfred E. Neuman," after the scrawny fictional character, and advised Klobuchar, "You don’t say that even if it's true!"
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) president Dana White took the stage briefly at the outset of the rally, saying he wasn't a "very political person" before adding that he's known Trump for more than 20 years -- and that Trump has remained a "loyal" and "good friend" even after becoming president.
Trump then mocked the Oscars at length, saying he couldn't believe a foreign film like "Parasite" won Best Picture.
"By the way, how bad were the Academy Awards this year? 'And the winner is a movie from South Korea,'" Trump said. "What the hell was that all about? We've got enough problems with South Korea with trade. On top of that, they give them the best movie of the year? Was it good? I don't know. I'm looking for like, let's get 'Gone with the Wind.' Can we get 'Gone with the Wind' back, please? 'Sunset Boulevard'? So many good movies." (Trump has reportedly previously expressed affinity for Jean-Claude Van Damme action films.)
He continued: "'The winner is from South Korea.' I thought it was best foreign film. Best foreign movie. No -- did this ever happen before? And then you have Brad Pitt. I was never a big fan of his. He got up and gave a little wise guy statement."
The Democratic National Commitee quickly tweeted as Trump spoke: "Parasite is a foreign movie about how oblivious the ultra-rich are about the struggles of the working class, and it requires two hours of reading subtitles. Of course Trump hates it."
The U.S. distribution company for "Parasite," NEON, retorted with its own nod to the film's subtitles: "Understandable, he can't read."

"Understandable, he can't read."
— U.S. distributor for "Parasite," responding to Trump

Earlier, Trump honored three veterans of the battle of Iwo Jima. He further emphasized his administration's economic successes, including record-low unemployment and rising wages across the board.
"We've been killing terrorists, creating jobs, raising wages, enacting fair trade deals, securing our border, and lifting up citizens of every race, color, religion, and creed!" Trump said, while Democrats pursue failed "witch hunts."

UFC president Dana White took the mic at President Trump's rally in Colorado Springs. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

"We are in the midst of the great American comeback," he said. "That's what we're doing. Our country is stronger today than ever before! .. We will land the first woman on the Moon and become the first nation in the world to plant our flag on Mars!"
HUNDREDS CAMP OUT OVERNIGHT AHEAD OF COLORADO TRUMP RALLY
"Crazy Bernie" Sanders and Democrats, Trump said, would "demolish" the economy of Colorado and other key states with their environmentalist policies that would undermine America's energy independence.
Trump joked that, by Democrats' standards, President Obama should have been impeached for falsely and repeatedly claiming that his health care plan would ensure that people could keep their private doctors in all cases.
"We've deported record numbers of gang members ... and we've done more to secure the border than any other administration in the history of our country," Trump said.

Supporters of President Trump cheering as he arrived to speak at the rally. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

The line to enter the Broadmoor World Arena started forming Wednesday morning, with people bringing along tents, space heaters and sleeping bags, Fox 21 reported. Overnight and early morning temperatures were in the teens -- but Trump supporters, as they did in New Hampshire earlier this month, braved the cold regardless.
Ahead of his second of three rallies in three days, Trump was exuding reelection confidence Thursday following the Democrats' Vegas prizefight -- and, especially, the perceived weak debut debate performance from Bloomberg, aides and allies said.
At a rope line at the airport after deplaning Air Force One in Colorado, Trump asked supporters how they felt Bloomberg did. As the crowd laughed, Trump remarked, "That wasn't pretty, right?"

President Trump taking the stage in Colorado Springs, Colo. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

When Trump woke up Thursday morning in his gilded Las Vegas hotel, he tuned in to the post-debate coverage and displayed a similar glee, as The Associated Press put it.
Repurposing one of Bloomberg's own quotes about the Democrats infighting, Trump tweeted: "The real winner last night was Donald Trump." He tacked on his own coda: "I agree!"
Speaking in Las Vegas later Thursday, Trump confidently said Stone has a "very good chance of exoneration," even though a judge had just sentenced him to over three years in jail for lying to Congress. Stone was not charged with any criminal conspiracy with Russia or WikiLeaks, however, and his defense team has sought a new trial after the jury foreperson was revealed to be a fierce anti-Trump critic.

President Trump arriving to speak at his rally in Colorado Springs, Colo. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

The jury forewoman, Tomeka Hart, even posted specifically about the Stone case before she was selected to sit on the jury, as she retweeted an argument mocking people who considered Stone's dramatic arrest in a predawn raid by a federal tactical team to be excessive force.
She also praised the investigation conducted by former Special Counsel Robert Mueller, which ultimately led to Stone's prosecution.

Trump supporters camping out in advance of the rally in Colorado Springs. (Fox 21 KXRM)

On Wednesday night, after an earlier campaign rally in Phoenix, Trump summoned reporters to his office aboard Air Force One to join him in watching a replay of the debate on the return flight to Las Vegas. His motorcade jammed up traffic for over half an hour as it passed the casino that had hosted the Democrats' debate in the lead-up to the party caucuses in Nevada on Saturday.
WATCH: BLOOMBERG UNDER SIEGE AT DEM DEBATE
Even as he campaigned, Trump's preoccupation with the Democrats' scrambled nomination race has been clear throughout the trip.
TRUMP SAYS ROGER STONE HAS 'VERY GOOD CHANCE OF EXONERATION' -- IS PARDON COMING?
Bloomberg has been the most disconcerting force in the 2020 race for Trump since the ultra-billionaire entered the fray in November and spent over $400 million, which rocketed him in the polls in just three months.
Trump's campaign poll numbers have improved since his impeachment trial wrapped up in January and his campaign has broken fundraising records, raising $60 million in January and $14 million this week in California alone. But, Bloomberg's willingness to spend near-unlimited sums to defeat Trump this fall, and the mocking tone of many of his ads, are said to have rankled the president deeply.

President Trump at the podium for his Thursday night rally. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Trump's campaign had organized itself around the strategy that it would be able to paint any rival as an extreme liberal, a "socialist" or worse, and concerns mounted that strategists would have to come up with a different plan should Bloomberg win the nomination.
DIRTY JURY POOL? WHY WAS HEAD ROGER STONE JUROR REALLY LAYING INTO TRUMP, PRAISING ROBERT MUELLER?
Trump's team saw the debate as validating his reelection strategy and providing a fresh opening for Sanders, a self-described Democratic socialist, to gain a significant delegate lead on Super Tuesday. The president was hopeful that panic from more moderate Democrats at Sanders' rise would fracture their party only further.
"We don't care who the hell it is," Trump boasted Wednesday. "We're going to win."
Trump on Thursday placed a round of calls to confidants, echoing the thoughts he had posted on Twitter — at times with more colorful language — and opining that Bloomberg did not appear ready for the moment, two Republicans close to the White House told the AP.
Trump told confidants that the debate proved money alone did not lead to his own electoral success.
His eldest son echoed the thought as he tweeted during the debate.
"Like a deer in the headlights! Like I said last week Mini, you can’t buy personality or wit and the whole world just saw it," Donald Trump Jr. wrote.

Jody Miller of Scottsdale, Ariz., waiting for an appearance by President Trump at the rally Thursday in Colorado Springs. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Between three rallies and a pair of high-dollar fundraisers, Trump sought to use his western swing to highlight administration policies that delivered on campaign promises and appealed to key demographics.
On Wednesday, he ceremoniously signed new environmental regulations that eased water restrictions on farmers in the heavily Republican California Central Valley. On Thursday, Trump spoke to a graduating class of ex-prisoners in a renewed appeal to communities of color, as he championed his administration’s work on criminal justice reform.
"Your future does not have to be defined by the mistakes of your past," Trump told the graduates, before turning to political topics.
Trump received updates on the debate's opening minutes Wednesday evening moments before he took the stage at a rally in a packed Phoenix arena and promptly delivered his first review.
"I hear he's getting pounded tonight — you know he's in a debate," Trump said about the man he has dubbed "Mini Mike" because of his short stature. "I hear that pounding. He spent $500 million so far and I think he has 15 points. Crazy Bernie was at 30."
Fox News' Ronn Blitzer, Kelly Chernenkoff and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Buttigieg Cartoons

Buttigieg's brother-in-law: 'Everything Pete is pushing' is 'anti-God'

Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg's brother-in-law, Pastor Rhyan Glezman, slammed the Democratic hopeful for his comments Tuesday night, when the candidate claimed he doesn't see "any compatibility" between supporting President Trump and the teachings in Scripture after declaring that God "does not belong to a political party."
"Yeah, in the height of intellectual dishonesty for Pete to make claims that there's no compatibility with being a Christian and voting for Trump, [when] Pete, in fact, is the one who is pushing agendas and rhetoric that is against, clearly against Scripture," Glezman said on "Tucker Carlson Tonight" on Wednesday.
"Just everything that Pete is pushing is, it's anti-God. I'm just gonna be honest with you," Glezman said. "Nothing lines up with Scripture for him to make cases like to say that you cannot be a Christian and vote for Trump. He's the one that is openly contradicting God's word over and over."
"Do you think that it's impossible to be a Christian and support Trump?" CNN host Erin Burnett had asked Buttigieg during a town hall.
"I'm not going to tell other Christians how to be Christian," Buttigieg said, "but I will say I cannot find any compatibility between the way this president conducts himself and anything I find in Scripture."
Glezman also reacted to a clip of Buttigieg on "The View" addressing partial-birth abortion, in which co-host Meghan McCain asked the candidate about the topic, saying Democrats -- including pro-life Democrats -- want to know where his "line is."
"But my point is that it shouldn't be up to a government official to draw the line," Buttigieg said on the segment. "It should be up to the woman who's confronted."
"I'm just in a state of lament when you hear that we have someone running for commander in chief who can't make a moral decision on whether to keep a child after it's already been born or to have it killed," Glezman told Tucker on Wednesday. "What kind of moral suggestions is he going to be given if he can't come to an understanding of that? It's just, it's alarming."
Fox News' Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.

Andy Puzder: Debating Dems ignore strong Trump economy – have no plans to boost wages, job growth

The presidential candidate debate Wednesday night showed that Democrats simply have no idea how to defeat President Trump in the November election – and their frustration was on full display.
Not one of the six Democrats on stage in Las Vegas even claimed to have a plan to increase economic growth, create jobs and grow wages – areas in which President Trump has had great success and benefitted the American people.
Democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont; former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg; former Vice President Joe Biden; Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts; former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg; and Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota all focused on taxing Americans who have been successful and redistributing that wealth through massive government-controlled welfare programs.
What separates the candidates is the degree to which they want taxes and government to grow, and how many job-killing restrictions they want to put on the private sector.
But even the so-called “moderate” candidates are advocating programs so massive that their most aggressive tax plans would be wholly insufficient to fund them.
The candidates might as well have told potential voters that they intend to tax employers to the point where they are unable to invest in their businesses, create jobs or raise workers’ wages. That’s hardly an effective campaign slogan.
If you listened closely, you also heard what I believe will cost the Democrats the election: their refusal to acknowledge the obvious fact that the U.S. economy – and working-class Americans in particular – are doing quite well. Rather, the candidates fell all over themselves trying to outdo each other on claims that Americans are suffering.

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Yet, more people are working than at any time in our nation’s history, the unemployment rate is near a 50-year low, and wages are rising for all workers at rates not seen in a decade – higher for low earners than for high earners. Income inequality is declining and we still have 1 million more job openings than people unemployed. If you have a job or want one, life is good.
Contrary to what the Democrats on the debate stage at least claim to believe, the economic future of our country looks very bright and Americans know it – even if the Democrats running for president don’t.
According to Fidelity Investments’ 2020 New Year Financial Resolutions Study, 78 percent of Americans believe they will be better off in 2020 than they were in 2019.
A December CNN poll conducted by SSRS found that 68 percent of Americans expect our economy to be in good shape a year from now – the best showing in CNN’s polling since December 2003.
In a December poll from Quinnipiac University, 79 percent of Americans said “they are optimistic about their own financial future.”
Finally, a Gallup poll released earlier this month found that “74% of Americans say they will be better off financially in a year.”
Those are really tremendous numbers. And how Americans feel about the economy is a huge indicator of how they will vote in the presidential election.
A December Gallup found that 84 percent of Americans believe the economy is an "extremely" or "very" important issue in the upcoming election. That’s a huge number and was higher than for any other issue. You would think a presidential debate would spend some significant time discussing it.
The poll found the least important issues were wealth distribution, climate change and LGBT rights. You sure wouldn’t know that if you listened to the Democratic debate.
It’s hard to win an election when you’re unable to figure out how to address the issue that’s most important to voters. That’s where the Democrats find themselves and that’s why they will lose in November.

Mark Meadows says Democrats' debate had 1 winner: President Trump

Who won the Democratic debate Wednesday night? That's easy, says U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C.: President Trump.
“We now know why they've spent so much time on impeachment because they don't have a message that will resonate with the American people,” Meadows said on "Fox News @ Night."
He added that former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg seemed unprepared for the barrage of attacks by his fellow candidates. “He was just really just blown away,” he said.
Meadows said Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., a self-proclaimed democratic socialist who leads in the polls, is “closer to Karl Marx than he is Carl Icahn.”
BLOOMBERG UNDER SIEGE AT CHAOTIC DEBATE DEBUT, AS WARREN ATTACKS FIELD IN BID TO REVIVE CAMPAIGN
Sanders’ message, according to Meadows, is, “Let us make sure that we take everybody else's money and distribute it to those who don't have it. The only person who's not distributing his money is Bernie Sanders.”
“There were a lot of blows that were given and a lot of shots taken. But actually, Bernie Sanders seemed to come away unscathed," he added.
Meadows said he doesn’t think Sanders is unstoppable but he is the candidate to beat.
“He's the one with the most momentum,” he told Fox News' Mike Emanuel. “And as we see that Michael Bloomberg is not the one that's going to take him on. Maybe somebody else on that debate stage tonight. But it just shows that a billion dollars doesn't make you prepared for primetime because obviously Michael Bloomberg was not prepared tonight for even the simplest questions that he should have anticipated.”

"A billion dollars doesn't make you prepared for primetime because obviously Michael Bloomberg was not prepared tonight for even the simplest questions."
— Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C.

He added that the last couple of weeks have been good for the president “with a debacle that started in Iowa in the acquittal on impeachment.”
“He's feeling really good. He's feeling positive, mainly because he's delivering on the promises that he made,” he said. “And he's going to continue to do that not only for the next nine months but for the next five years.”

Mary Anne Marsh: In fierce Democratic presidential debate, 1 winner and 5 losers

Multibillionaire Michael Bloomberg landed in Las Vegas like a highly anticipated show on the Strip. But when he took to the stage with five competitors for the Democratic presidential nomination Wednesday night, their debate immediately became an Ultimate Fighting Championship match.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., landed the most blows and won the night. Warren would not be ignored or denied.
Warren flattened Bloomberg out of the gate using his own words against the former New York City mayor and he never recovered. As a result, voters got to see the real Warren, who was the front-runner last fall. And they saw the real Bloomberg, not the filtered one seen on paid TV ads and in social media.
Warren’s strong performance helped her at a time when she needs it most and hurt Bloomberg so badly that he may not recover.
If you are a presidential candidate at this stage of the campaign and you aren’t helping yourself then you’re hurting yourself and losing ground. The other candidates on stage didn’t help themselves – and that means they hurt their prospects.

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There was one winner and five losers at the end of the debate – Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont; former Vice President Joe Biden; Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota; former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg; and Bloomberg, who turned out to be the biggest loser of all.
BIGGEST WINNER: Sen. Elizabeth Warren
With Bloomberg standing to her right Warren landed a left to the jaw with a shattering exchange using his own words about women against him. She then used his nondisclosure agreements, the stop-and-frisk tactic employed by police primarily against minorities when he was mayor, and his vast fortune estimated at more than $60 billion against him too.
Warren continued to hit Bloomberg by using his record as a weapon while she highlighting her own in stark contrast. Bloomberg was unable to respond effectively and his poor performance can’t be fixed by the hundreds of millions of dollars in ads he is buying.

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., speaks as during a Democratic presidential primary debate Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020, in Las Vegas. (Associated Press)

But, that was just the start for Warren. She was determined to be heard and make her mark and she did just that.
Warren spent the debate drawing a sharp contrast with her opponents, making the case for herself for all to see, and laying out her plans. Most of all, Warren demonstrated once again that she could take on Trump and that may be the thing that helped her the most. That fiery Elizabeth Warren has been missing in debates and on the campaign trail of late and she came roaring back Wednesday night.
Warren comes out of this debate with a lot of momentum. If she can capitalize upon it then the results of three big contests from this Saturday to Super Tuesday will reflect it – and will put her back in race as the progressive capitalist.
 
BIGGEST LOSER: Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg
Bloomberg’s performance was a disaster. He was not the Bloomberg of his ads in this debate – and that’s now a big problem for him. Spending hundreds of millions of dollars on ads has bought Bloomberg name recognition, good poll numbers and a pole position in the debate – but no amount of money can guarantee a great debate performance.
And that was the case Wednesday night. Voters will see clips of this performance on TV and read about it for days, and it will seriously hurt Bloomberg’s standing in the presidential nomination race.

Democratic presidential candidate, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg speaks during a Democratic presidential primary debate Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020, in Las Vegas. (Associated Press)

Warren exposed the real Michael Bloomberg and it was not a pretty picture. It was Warren’s relentless challenge to Bloomberg on a host of issues – including his treatment of women who worked for him and his refusal to release them from nondisclosure agreements – as well as his treatment of people of color with his stop-and-frisk policy.
Bloomberg’s attempts to apologize and explain only made the situation worse. His apology came off as more about convenience than sincerity – and that will register with voters too.
Finally, Bloomberg also sounded a lot like President Trump when asked about releasing his tax returns, raising issues about his lack of transparency. Bloomberg leaned on the fact that he entered the presidential nominating race late, after a deliberate decision to skip the first four contests that require retail politics and the vetting he was experiencing during the televised debate.
By the time Bloomberg releases his tax returns, it will likely be after the Super Tuesday primaries March 3, after a big chunk of primary votes will have been cast. When you add the issue of his taxes to his treatment of women and people of color, Bloomberg will seem a lot more like Trump than the guy who can beat Trump to a lot of voters following his weak debate performance.
LOSER: Sen. Bernie Sanders
Sanders is the front-runner in the polls and in a close second place in the competition for delegates following the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary, but he missed the chance to put this race away with a strong performance Wednesday night.
Instead, the self-described democratic socialist who represents Vermont was repeatedly questioned about his lack of transparency regarding his medical records, his recent heart attack and the cost of his “Medicare-for-all” plan. All this could hurt him.
Clearly, Sanders has decided it is better to take the heat than release his complete medical records in addition to letters he has provided from doctors. But the issue of transparency could hamper Sanders in the remainder of this race.

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks during a Democratic presidential primary debate Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020, in Las Vegas. (Associated Press)

It wasn’t a bad performance by Sanders. He hit Buttigieg early in the debate – a smart move since Buttigieg is cutting into Sanders’ support among young voters.
Sanders also hit Bloomberg at points in the second hour of the debate. But that didn’t make up for the hits Sanders took early in the night.
The question is whether the lack of transparency by Sanders on several fronts takes hold and hurts him in future contests. We will find out in the next two weeks. If not, then Sanders could continue to add to his delegate count and that could give him an insurmountable lead when the results come in on Super Tuesday.
LOSER: Former Mayor Pete Buttigieg
Buttigieg is the leader in delegates at this early stage from his strong finish in Iowa and New Hampshire. He used the debate to land a few blows on Sanders, with whom he’s locked in a delegate fight. The former mayor also hit Klobuchar, who he is competing with for moderate voters.

Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg looks on during a Democratic presidential primary debate Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020, in Las Vegas. (Associated Press)

While Buttigieg didn’t hurt himself that also means he didn’t help himself. We will see how that factors into the results of the Nevada caucuses Saturday, but the debate was a missed opportunity for him to solidify his status as the early front-runner in the delegate count.
In addition, Buttigieg and Klobuchar had a number of exchanges in their fight for moderate voters. In fact, Klobuchar cost Buttigieg a win in New Hampshire and that dynamic is unlikely to change after Wednesday night’s debate. It was a good but subtle strategy on a night that called for stronger performance by Buttigieg to accelerate his momentum in this race.
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LOSER: Sen. Amy Klobuchar
Klobuchar’s last strong debate performance helped her raise $12 million in badly needed campaign contributions and go from the back of the pack to win third place in the New Hampshire primary.
But the senator from Minnesota didn’t deliver that kind of performance Wednesday night. Instead, we saw the Klobuchar of previous debates rather than the star performer of the last debate that gave her the momentum and most undecided voters in the last 72 hours of the New Hampshire primary campaign.

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., speaks during a Democratic presidential primary debate Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020, in Las Vegas. (Associated Press)

Klobuchar’s challenge will be to convince Nevada voters and a national audience that her performance wasn’t a one-hit-wonder.
LOSER: Former Vice President Joe Biden
Biden’s sights may be set on the Feb. 29 South Carolina primary – where he is counting on strong support from the large number of African-American voters – but he needed to roll the dice to deliver a strong performance Wednesday night to look like a winner.

Democratic presidential candidate, former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during a Democratic presidential primary debate Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020, in Las Vegas. (Associated Press)

Instead, Biden did nothing to help himself. He looked like a tourist in Las Vegas rather than someone who should own the stage. Biden did little if anything to reassure voters he’s the best one to take on Trump or stem his slide in the polls. And that’s more bad news for Biden in this race.
Nevada voters began early caucusing this week and when we see results of their caucuses Saturday we will have a stronger indication of where the Democratic nomination battle is headed.