Campaign

Claire McCaskill: Young girls ‘are now aspiring’ to be like Warren, Klobuchar after debate

by Brooke Seipel - 12/20/19 10:04 PM ET

Former Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill (Mo.) said that young girls in the U.S. are “aspiring” to be like Democratic presidential candidates Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) after Thursday night’s primary debate.

“Both Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren did an amazing job. You could see they were both very presidential and strong,” McCaskill, now an MSNBC contributor, said on-air Thursday. “There are a lot of young girls who watched this debate tonight who are now aspiring.”

Her comments came after both candidates had show-stealing moments during the debate, with Klobuchar earning cheers amid a clash with South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Warren going viral for her comeback to a question on age.

A moderator had addressed Warren, saying: “You would be the oldest person ever inaugurated, I’d like you to weigh in.”

Warren, 70, replied: “I’d also be the youngest woman ever inaugurated.”

Klobuchar also had a stand-out moment when asked the same question. The debate moderators first asked Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and former Vice President Joe Biden to respond, drawing a mild rebuke from Klobuchar, who was posed the same question afterward.

“Thank you for asking a woman this question,” she said to cheers.

McCaskill said those comments were inspiring young women.

She also noted that the debate took place at the same time as the Miss America pageant, adding: “I hope there were more girls watching this debate tonight than watching Miss America.”