He called on the country to come together. He warned of pain to come. And he deferred to the nation's public health experts while at least momentarily putting aside petty squabbling.

Former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders sought in the Democratic debate to cast themselves as best-positioned to lead the nation through a global pandemic, uniting in their criticism of President Donald Trump's response to the fast-moving coronavirus but diverging in how they would confront the spiraling public health and economic crisis.

Three days before the critical New Hampshire Primary, seven Democratic presidential candidates debated, with many of them fighting to survive in the race to challenge President Donald Trump.