Top Democratic presidential contenders launched repeated attacks on President Donald Trump during a debate on Thursday, but for a second consecutive night there was sharp disagreement over the best way to boost access to healthcare insurance coverage. 

Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders trained their sights on Trump immediately as the second night of Democratic debates began. 

"The American people understand that Trump is a phony, that Trump is a pathological liar and a racist and that he lied to the American people during his campaign," said Sanders, a U.S. senator running second to Biden in opinion polls among Democrats vying to challenge the Republican president in the November 2020 election. 

Biden, the former vice president making his third run for the White House, said Trump's tax cuts for the wealthy and other economic policies were increasing economic inequality in the United States. 

"Donald Trump has put us in a horrible situation. We do have enormous income inequality," Biden said. "The one thing I agree on is we can make massive cuts in the 1.6 trillion U.S. dollars in tax loopholes out there, and I would be going about eliminating Donald Trump's tax cuts for the wealthy."

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Sanders and Biden shared the stage with eight other Democrats, including two other top-tier candidates: Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and U.S. Senator Kamala Harris of California. 

The debate also included U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and Kirsten Gillibrand, former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, U.S. Representative Eric Swalwell, self-help guru Marianne Williamson and entrepreneur Andrew Yang. All six are polling nationally around one percent or less. 

But like the Democrats who debated on Wednesday, the contenders disagreed on the best way to expand healthcare coverage. Asked who would back a plan that eliminated private insurance, only Sanders and Harris raised their hands. 

Like the previous night, the Democrats frequently talked over one another, shouting to get their points across as some of the lesser-known contenders tried to get noticed. 

"Americans don't want to witness a food fight. They want to know how we're going to put food on their table," Harris said at one point. 

Sanders defended his big-spending plans for a Medicare-for-All healthcare plan, saying it would reduce premiums for many but that some in the middle class might pay more. 

"Yes, they will pay more in taxes but less in healthcare for what they get," Sanders said. 

Representative Eric Swalwell, 38, urged Biden, 76, to pass the torch to younger candidates. 

"I was 6 years old when a presidential candidate came to the California Democratic convention and said it's time to pass the torch to a new generation of Americans," Swalwell said. "That candidate was then-Senator Joe Biden."

"He was right when he said that 32 years ago. He is still right today," Swalwell said. 

Biden responded: "I'm still holding onto that torch. I want to make it clear."

Trump knocks Democrats

During the televised debate, a moderator asked presidential candidates if their potential administrations would support covering healthcare for illegal immigrants.

All 10 candidates on the stage raised their hands in the affirmative.

Trump, who has made cracking down on illegal immigration a signature policy of his presidency, pounced via Twitter. 

"All Democrats just raised their hands for giving millions of illegal aliens unlimited healthcare. How about taking care of American Citizens first!? That's the end of that race!" the Republican tweeted. 

Trump has promised to build a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico and has declared a national emergency over the number of people crossing into the United States from the south.