• The presidential candidate Tom Steyer found himself in the middle of what appeared to be a tense exchange between Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders after Tuesday’s night’s debate in Iowa.
  • Video footage appeared to show Warren rejecting a handshake from Sanders and engaging him in a serious conversation, while Steyer got in the middle and attempted to shake Sanders’ hand.
  • “It was one of those awkward moments where I felt like, OK, I need to move on as fast as possible,” Steyer told CNN.
  • While Sanders and Warren, the two progressive standard-bearers of the race, have refrained from attacking each other so far, their nonaggression pact appears to be breaking down as the Iowa caucuses loom.
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The presidential candidate Tom Steyer found himself in the middle of what appeared to be a tense exchange between Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders after Tuesday’s night’s Democratic debate in Iowa.

After the debate, video footage appeared to show Warren rejecting a handshake from Sanders and engaging him in a serious conversation when Steyer got in the middle and attempted to shake Sanders’ hand.

It was unclear what exactly they were discussing, but the moment came after several days of tensions between the two camps that spilled out onto the debate stage. Both candidates were asked about Warren’s claim that Sanders told her in a private December 2018 meeting that he didn’t believe a woman could win the presidency this year.

After the debate, Steyer told MSNBC's Chris Matthews: "I don't know what they were saying - all I was trying to say is, 'Senator Warren, Senator Sanders, it's been great to see you, thank you for participating in this.' And whatever there was going on between each other, I was trying to get out of the way as fast as possible."

He later described the handshake attempt to CNN as an "awkward moment."

While Sanders and Warren, the two progressive standard-bearers of the race, have largely refrained from attacking each other so far, their nonaggression pact appears to be breaking down as the Iowa caucuses loom.

Over the weekend, Warren said she was "disappointed" in a Politico report detailing a script for Sanders volunteers - from which his campaign tried to distance itself - emphasizing that Warren enjoyed greater support among "affluent" and "highly educated voters" and claiming she wasn't capable of bringing new voters into the party.

Then on Monday, CNN reported that Sanders told Warren in a private one-on-one meeting in 2018 that he didn't believe a woman could win the presidency in 2020. Sanders vehemently denied saying that, but CNN's reporting was later confirmed by The New York Times and BuzzFeed News.

After mounting pressure for her to respond, Warren went on the record backing the reports on Monday night. She said that when the two were discussing what would happen if the Democrats chose a female nominee, "I thought a woman could win - he disagreed."

When the CNN political correspondent Abby Phillip brought up Warren's statement on Tuesday night, Sanders again denied saying he didn't think a woman could win.

Warren then had one of the biggest applause lines of the night when she said: "Look at the men on this stage. Collectively, they have lost 10 elections." Referring to herself and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, she continued: "The only people on this stage who have won every single election that they've been in are the women: Amy and me."