--- title: Democratic Debate: Bernie Sanders Pivots From Foreign Policy description: Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders quickly pivoted from the Paris attacks back to his domestic policy-focused stump speech. canonical: https://time.com/4113452/democratic-debate-bernie-sanders-opening-remarks/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-11-15T02:50:26.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:00:56.617Z article:section: Politics og:title: Bernie Sanders Barely Spoke About the Paris Attacks During His Opening Debate Remarks og:description: He went back to his domestic policy ideas. og:url: https://time.com/4113452/democratic-debate-bernie-sanders-opening-remarks/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf5ba575e30a26f52/69887124524fc0059fdf57b7/sanders-debate1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: US-VOTE-DEMOCRATS-DEBATE og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Bernie Sanders Barely Spoke About the Paris Attacks During His Opening Debate Remarks twitter:description: He went back to his domestic policy ideas. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf5ba575e30a26f52/69887124524fc0059fdf57b7/sanders-debate1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Bernie Sanders Barely Spoke About the Paris Attacks During His Opening Debate Remarks by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Nov 15, 2015 2:50 AM UTC  Bernie Sanders speaks during the second Democratic presidential primary debate in the Sheslow Auditorium of Drake University in Des Moines, IO on Nov. 14, 2015. Bernie Sanders speaks during the second Democratic presidential primary debate in the Sheslow Auditorium of Drake University in Des Moines, IO on Nov. 14, 2015.Mandel Ngan—AFP/Getty Images by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Nov 15, 2015 2:50 AM UTC Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders quickly pivoted from the Paris attacks back to his domestic policy-focused stump speech at the start of Saturday night’s Democratic debate. After a debate introduction began with a moment of silence, CBS debate moderator John Dickerson asked the candidates to comment on Friday night’s attacks, which left more than 129 dead. Sanders said he was “shocked” and “disgusted” by the attacks, for which ISIS terrorists have claimed responsibility, and vowed that the U.S. would lead the world to “rid our planet of this barbarous organization.” But immediately thereafter shifted back to his domestic policy. “I’m running for president because,” Sanders said, “what I hear is people’s concerned that the economy we have is a rigged economy.” His campaign, the Vermont Senator said, is about a “political revolution.” He also did not change his previous statements that climate change is the greatest threat to national security. Before the debate, the Sanders campaign argued with CBS about the format of the debate, with operatives from a rival campaign claiming the argument was in part about the shift to foreign policy—a claim the campaign denied. The debate focused on foreign policy and the response to the Paris attacks for the first 36 minutes. **Read Next:** [_Democrats Focus on Security in the Wake of Paris Attacks_](http://time.com/4112831/democratic-debate-paris-attacks-hillary-clinton/) ### See Photos of Candidates and Their Sweet Rides  Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks near his helicopter at the Iowa State Fair on Aug. 15, 2015, in Des Moines. Charlie Riedel—AP  Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's van, at left, is parked during a campaign visit on April 14, 2015 in Le Claire, Iowa. Clinton, at right, waves after an even on May 18, 2015 in Mason City, Iowa. From Left: Michael B. Thomas—AFP/Getty Images, Scott Olson—Getty Images  A campaign bus bearing the likeness of Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson is parked near a campaign stop in Jackson, Mich. on Sept. 23, 2015. Luke Sharrett—Bloomberg/Getty Images  Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina, center, rides a train to an event in Iowa City, Iowa on Sept. 26, 2015. Charlie Neibergall—AP  Republican presidential candidate John Kasich, at right, rides his campaign bus in Plymouth, New Hampshire on Oct. 14, 2015\. At left, the exterior of Kasich's bus is seen on Oct. 13, 2015, in Bow, N.H. From Left: Jim Cole—AP, Brian Snyder—Reuters  Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz speaks to supporters in front of his campaign bus in Newnan, Ga., on Aug. 8, 2015. Bill Clark—CQ-Roll /Getty Images  Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush gets off his campaign bus in Goffstown, N.H. on Nov. 4, 2015. Gretchen Ertl—Reuters ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4113452/democratic-debate-bernie-sanders-opening-remarks/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4113452/democratic-debate-bernie-sanders-opening-remarks/"},"headline":"Bernie Sanders Barely Spoke About the Paris Attacks During His Opening Debate Remarks","datePublished":"2015-11-15T02:50:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:00:56.617Z","description":"Vermont Sen. 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