#WomenForBernie trends on Twitter amid Sanders-Warren feud

The hashtag “WomenForBernie” trended Tuesday on Twitter amid an escalating feud between White House hopefuls Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).

The online campaign, which had more than 10,000 tweets as of Tuesday afternoon, came in response to reports and statements on Monday about a private discussion the two candidates had in December 2018.

CNN first reported, citing anonymous sources, that Sanders had told Warren a woman could not win the presidency.

Sanders denied the report, saying it was “ludicrous to believe that at the same meeting where Elizabeth Warren told me she was going to run for president, I would tell her that a woman couldn’t win.”

Warren later released a statement contradicting his account.

“Among the topics that came up was what would happen if Democrats nominated a female candidate,” Warren said. “I thought a woman could win; he disagreed.”

Sanders supporters have since rushed to his defense.

“I am NOT a ‘Bernie Bro,'” Amy Vilela, Sanders’s Nevada co-chairwoman, tweeted. “I am a woman in politics. I am strong & can think critically.”

I am NOT a “Bernie Bro”!

I am a woman in politics
I am strong & can think critically
I am highly capable to choose a candidate based on policy
I won’t be shamed to vote solely on identity

I proudly support Bernie Sanders 100%!#ITrustBernie#WomenForBernie #PresidentSanders https://t.co/fKUqFNJv5Z

— Amy Vilela (@amy4thepeople) January 14, 2020

Briahna Joy Gray, Sanders’s national press secretary, tweeted, “More women have given to Bernie’s campaign than any other campaign. We have the most diverse, least white collation.”

More women have given to Bernie’s campaign than any other campaign. We have the most diverse, least white collation. But the millionaires on the View openly smear the teachers, Walmart workers, and post office employees who form our base. Shameful. pic.twitter.com/WMLqso6PfU

— Briahna Joy Gray (@briebriejoy) January 14, 2020

With the Iowa caucuses less than a month away, tensions between the two progressive heavyweights have increased, particularly as Sanders surges in the polls.

Sanders and Warren, along with four other Democratic candidates, will take the debate stage Tuesday night in Des Moines, Iowa.