‘I like Bernie.’ 2020 candidates and Trump chime in on Sanders after Clinton dig
Democratic presidential candidates are showing support for Sen. Bernie Sanders after Hillary Clinton said “nobody likes him.”
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard said on Facebook Tuesday that she likes Sanders along with the trending social media hashtag #ILikeBernie. Billionaire philanthropist Tom Steyer also said on Twitter he liked Sanders.
Entrepreneur Andrew Yang tweeted, “it’s 2020 not 2016,” an apparent reference to the tensions between Sanders and Clinton during the 2016 presidential election.
Their comments come after Clinton was quoted in an upcoming documentary as saying no one wanted to work with Sanders and “he got nothing done.” She declined to say whether she would endorse the senator if he won the Democratic nomination in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
“I will say, however, that it’s not only him, it’s the culture around him,” she told the publication. “It’s his leadership team. It’s his prominent supporters. It’s his online Bernie Bros and their relentless attacks on lots of his competitors, particularly the women.”
Clinton’s criticism comes shortly after Sen. Elizabeth Warren accused Sanders of telling her he didn’t believe a woman could win the presidential election, which he has denied.
When asked about Clinton’s recent comments that “nobody likes him,” Sanders told a CNN reporter “on a good day my wife likes me so let’s clear the air on that one.”
Sanders later said that his focus on Tuesday would be the ongoing impeachment trial of President Donald Trump.
Clinton responded to the backlash to her comments on Twitter Tuesday night, saying “I thought everyone wanted my authentic, unvarnished views.”
She continued: “But to be serious, the number one priority for our country and world is retiring Trump, and, as I always have, I will do whatever I can to support our nominee.”
Trump weighs in
President Donald Trump responded to the Clinton-Sanders animosity in an interview with Fox Business Network Wednesday, saying she lost the election because “nobody liked her.”
“She had this big machine behind her ... and it wasn’t even close,” he said. “She’s the one that people don’t like. If I had my choice in terms of personality, I might take him over her. But I would probably take neither.”
Trump later posted on Twitter, “they are taking the nomination away from Bernie for a second time,” a reference to a conspiracy theory that his impeachment trial was intended in part to keep Sanders away from the campaign trail.
This story was originally published January 21, 2020 at 6:02 PM.