--- description: A top aide to Bernie Sanders denied that they argued with CBS executives over the shift to foreign policy after the Paris attacks. title: Sanders: No Problem With Debate Shift to Foreign Policy image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteb408c2845e46b16/6988711bbc6cfc03653da62c/democratic-debate-bernie-sanders.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Debates](/tag/debates/) ## Debates Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Sanders Campaign: No Problem With Debate Focus by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 14, 2015 11:39 PM CUT  A crewmember walks on the stage prior to a Democratic presidential debate sponsored by CBS at Drake University on November 14, 2015 in Des Moines, Iowa. A crewmember walks on the stage prior to a Democratic presidential debate sponsored by CBS at Drake University on November 14, 2015 in Des Moines, Iowa.Alex Wong—2015 Getty Images by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 14, 2015 11:39 PM CUT A spokesman for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders campaign said that they disagreed with CBS executives only over “minor technical issues” about the debate Saturday during a conference call earlier in the day. A [report in Yahoo News](https://www.yahoo.com/politics/sanders-aide-pushes-back-against-cbs-switch-to-215805298.html "undefined") said that Sanders strategist Mark Longabaugh objected to the shift from the debate to more of a focus on foreign policy during a conference call involving representatives from all three campaigns and CBS. A source on the call repeated that account with TIME. But Sanders spokesman Michael Briggs said that the Vermont Senator was looking forward to the debate and noted that “obviously what happened in Paris was going to be a major focus.” “Were there minor technical issues someone from another camp wanted to blow up?” he said. “Yes, but we worked through them.” Sanders will join former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, for a two-hour debate starting at 9 p.m. After terrorist attacks in Paris, which killed at least 129 people in half a dozen locations across the city, the network announced that it would shift the focus of the debate to include more time for national security, foreign policy and terrorism. That focus would most clearly benefit Clinton, who has more experience on foreign policy, and disrupts Sanders’ plans to criticize her economic policy. _With reporting by Sam Frizell in Des Moines_ **Read Next:** [_Democratic Debate to Shift Focus After Paris Attacks_](http://time.com/4112975/democratic-debate-paris-attacks/ "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4113377/democratic-debate-bernie-sanders-paris-attacks/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4113377/democratic-debate-bernie-sanders-paris-attacks/"},"headline":"Sanders Campaign: No Problem With Debate Focus","datePublished":"2015-11-14T23:39:51.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T12:37:55.804Z","description":"A top aide to Bernie Sanders denied that they argued with CBS executives over the shift to foreign policy after the Paris attacks.","url":"https://time.com/4113377/democratic-debate-bernie-sanders-paris-attacks/","keywords":["Debates","Hillary Clinton","2016 Election topic","Bernie Sanders","Martin O'malley","paris attacks"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteb408c2845e46b16/6988711bbc6cfc03653da62c/democratic-debate-bernie-sanders.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ryan Teague Beckwith","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteb408c2845e46b16/6988711bbc6cfc03653da62c/democratic-debate-bernie-sanders.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"A crewmember walks on the stage prior to a Democratic presidential debate sponsored by CBS at Drake University on November 14, 2015 in Des Moines, Iowa.","caption":"A crewmember walks on the stage prior to a Democratic presidential debate sponsored by CBS at Drake University on November 14, 2015 in Des Moines, Iowa.","creditText":"Alex Wong—2015 Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/debates/","name":"Debates"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4113377/democratic-debate-bernie-sanders-paris-attacks/","name":"Sanders Campaign: No Problem With Debate Focus"}}]}] ```