Senator Elizabeth Warren got a first taste of what it is like to be the front-runner on the debate stage Tuesday when her rivals ganged up on her and questioned whether her tax-the-rich rhetoric was too “punitive” for an already polarized nation.
The more moderate 2020 Democratic hopefuls took aim at Ms. Warren’s far-left agenda and plans for a wealth tax to finance a host of new benefits from tuition-free college to universal childcare.
“We need to be focused on lifting people up and sometimes I think that Sen. Warren is more focused on being punitive or putting some part of the country against the other,” said former Rep. Beto O’Rourke of Texas.
Ms. Warren was baffled by his charge. “I am shocked at the notion that anyone thinks I am punitive,” she said.
The aggressive challenges to the Massachusetts senator, coupled with deferential treatment of former Vice President Joseph R. Biden, underscored Ms. Warren’s new status as the leader in the race.
In going after Ms. Warren, the Democrats clashed on familiar ground during the party’s fourth primary debate, including how far to go toward a government-run “Medicare for All” health care system.
Mr. Biden batted away questions about his son Hunter’s sweetheart foreign business deals by saying in the Democratic debate Tuesday that President Trump’s corruption was the real issue.
