Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) sparred in an often fiery seventh Democratic presidential primary debate on Sunday night.

The two presidential candidates debated in Flint, Michigan, the site of the lead contamination water crisis. And while the debate’s early moments centered around the crisis — both candidates called on Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder to resign — the night also featured feuding between the candidates over their past records.

Sanders criticized Clinton for her Wall Street ties and support of trade agreements, while Clinton attacked the senator over his stance on gun restrictions.

It started when Clinton condemned Sanders for voting against the 2008 auto bailout, arguing that the auto industry “would have collapsed” if everybody had voted the way Sanders did.

“The money was there to save the American auto industry and 4 million jobs,” Clinton said during the debate. “… I voted to save the auto industry, he voted against the money that ended up saving the auto industry.”

But Sanders quipped back, pointing out that the bailout was also for Wall Street banks, which is why he said he voted against it. The candidates were referencing the Troubled Asset Relief Program, which originally committed $250 billion to stabilizing banks and $82 billion to stabilizing the auto industry, according to the United States Department of the Treasury’s website.

Sanders used that as a launching pad to both call on Clinton to release the transcripts of her paid speeches to Wall Street firms and criticize the former secretary of state for having the support of a super PAC.

The senator also went after Clinton for her past support of trade deals such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), attacks he has intensified recently in the form of advertisements and tweets.

But Clinton pointed out that she voted against the Central American Free Trade Agreement during her Senate tenure and ultimately opposed the TPP.

Clinton also criticized Sanders for his stance that gun manufacturers shouldn’t be held liable for selling firearms that are eventually used in mass shootings. Sanders said doing so would be the equivalent to banning the manufacturing of guns, which Clinton said was similar to rhetoric used by the National Rifle Association.

Clinton and Sanders will face off in the Michigan presidential primary on Tuesday, when the Mississippi primary will also be held.

Published on March 6, 2016 at 11:29 pm

Contact Michael: mdburk01@syr.edu