The Trump campaign called the night a ‘hot mess’ as candidates shouted and fought each other and the debate clock

Bernie Sanders emerges relatively unscathed

Early in the night, the Vermont senator Bernie Sanders – who has emerged as the current frontrunner in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination – was the main target of his opponents’ attacks.

The billionaire centrist and former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg used his first answer of the night to criticize Sanders over recent reports that Russia may be interfering in the 2020 election to aid his campaign, and even the Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren, a fellow progressive, used her time to insist she would be a better president who would “dig in, do the hard work, [and] actually get it done”.

But Sanders then seemed to fade into the background as the debate repeatedly devolved into bickering. The Vermont senator’s status as the one to beat in the nominating contest appears to be unchanged.

The debate format let everyone down

The CBS News moderators were sharply criticized for their inability to maintain control of the debate, as candidates descended into shouting over each other. Commentators also bemoaned the lack of questions on key issues such as climate change and immigration, and the lack of follow-up questions.

Former vice-president Joe Biden took Sanders to task for his record on gun control, specifically on voting for a 2005 bill that he said undermines efforts to hold gun manufacturers to account after mass shootings.