Dem debate brawl: Biden faces withering attacks from Booker, hits Harris ‘double talk’

Good morning and welcome to Fox News First. Here's what you need to know as you start your day ...

Biden under fire from all sides on Night 2 in Detroit
Joe Biden seemed better prepared Wednesday in Detroit than he was last month in Miami as nine other would-be 2020 Democratic nominees took aim at his long record during the second round of the presidential primary debates. But he also found out that, not quite three years after he and President Obama left the White House, the Democratic Party of 2019 may no longer be the party of Obama. The former vice president tried keep his focus on President Trump and preview the general election battle he hopes to wage in 2020. But every other candidate quickly looked to score points by taking him out, and Biden spent the better part of the night fighting off their withering attacks.

The Democratic presidential primary front-runner sought to avoid a repeat of last month's damaging clash with Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., but he faced the additional challenge in Detroit from Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J. The two senators tore into Biden's record on everything from health care to immigration to criminal justice reform -- as other candidates including New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio also took aim at the former veep. But Booker, who has struggled for months in the polls, was arguably toughest this time around, calling out Biden at one point for ducking a question on what advice he gave Obama on deportations.

Surrounded by candidates demanding that illegal border crossings be decriminalized, Biden struggled to push back. After all, some critics often called President Obama the "deporter-in-chief." Booker dinged him for saying he wanted to "cherry-pick" the best and brightest immigrants, arguing it was pitting one set of immigrants against another. Uncensored, Booker elaborated to suggest it demeans some as being from "s---hole countries," in a reference to a comment Trump reportedly once made.