Hot mic moments like Sanders and Warren’s are important – we deserve to know what our leaders are really like

When confronted with a story as priceless as the Sanders-Warren spat, the journalistic instinct happily coincides with the public interest

The two candidates exchange words last week

(Reuters)

What do you do if a politician says something unwise without realising that they’re being recorded?

The latest victims of a “hot mic” moment are the front-runners in the race for the Democrat nomination for US president. A few days after CNN’s televised election debate the other evening, the network released the audio of an exchange between Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, which they thought was off-air, about Warren’s allegation that Sanders had told her she couldn’t win against Donald Trump because she was a woman:

“I think you called me a liar on national TV,” said Warren. “Let’s not do it right now,” Sanders replied. “If you want to have that discussion, we’ll have that discussion.” To which Warren replied, “Anytime.” Sanders then continued, saying, “You called me a liar.”