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Warren Annoys Mika When She Says Democratic Party's Current Leader Is 'The Grassroots'

November 16, 2017

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) called "the grassroots" the leader of the Democratic Party on Thursday, annoying "Morning Joe" host Mika Brzezinski for not giving a specific answer to the question.

Warren was directly asked by New York Times reporter Jeremy Peters who the leader of the party is. Democrats have struggled  to answer that question since President Barack Obama left the White House.

"The grassroots," Warren said, leading Peters to chuckle. "I mean, you can either get in front of it and call it a parade, or you can stand to the side and be left behind."

Peters said he meant someone specifically to lead the party to electoral victories; Brzezinski implored Warren to "say me!"

Warren still didn't give an answer, however.

"Right now, we are fighting our fights," she said. "We're out there on this tax fight where they have glommed an unpopular tax bill together with an unpopular health care rollback ... We are in this fight. It is an intense fight. We need to fight this fight right now. We'll soon be in the '18 electoral politics but not today."

Brzezinski asked Warren if she thought it was an issue that the party lacked "inspirational leaders" and wondered—with a trace of irritation—why Warren wouldn't name herself.

"Look, there are a lot of us out there fighting, but my point is we really need people in this fight on the taxes right now," Warren said.

Brzezinski continued to look displeased, but Warren went on a lengthy speech about needing people "in this fight" to stop the Republican agenda on issues like tax reform and health care.

"We can talk about other issues later," she said.

Warren is rumored to be running for president in 2020, but she said again on Thursday that she was focused on her 2018 reelection bid to the Senate.