Self-described socialist candidate for president Bernie Sanders has seen his polling improve in recent days, indicating that he has a good shot at capturing his party’s nomination — unless powerful Democrats like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) succeed in stopping him.
That’s what Donald Trump, Jr. believes, anyway. In his view, former Vice President Joe Biden is the Democratic establishment’s preferred candidate, and it may be employing underhanded means to help him. In particular, Trump Jr. accused Pelosi of “actively trying to keep Bernie off of the trail” by delaying the impeachment trial.
Rigging the system
“Obviously, it seems like there’s a good surge in Bernie and obviously a lot of support,” Trump Jr. told the Washington Examiner on Monday.
“I mean, Joe Biden’s had Iowa to himself for, what, three weeks because of the impeachment sham?” the president’s eldest son declared. “But whether that’s by design — I don’t know if you believe that, Kevin, or not, maybe — but Nancy Pelosi actively trying to keep Bernie off of the trail, so, I mean, I’d hope that with three weeks, unfettered access to Iowa in the primary, if Biden doesn’t win big, he’s probably in a lot of trouble.”
“If it ends up being Biden because they set it up — as I said, the last time they rigged a primary, it worked out really well for us,” he added.
Trump Jr. was referring to widespread claims that the DNC and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sabotaged Sanders’s candidacy during the 2016 campaign.
However, Trump Jr. wasn’t complaining. “We got the perfect candidate to run against,” he recalled.
Pelosi’s delay hurts certain candidates
Some have argued that the reason Pelosi delayed sending the articles of impeachment to the Senate for trial was to aid Biden’s campaign in Iowa. With the trial in progress, Sanders was confined to Washington, while Biden was free to campaign in the weeks leading up to the Iowa caucuses.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) advanced that theory in January. He was quoted by the New York Post as saying, “If there’s anyone who gained from this, it’d be anybody who’s running for president that’s not in the U.S. Senate.”
“With Iowa quickly upon us in early February, those four senators who are running for president will now no longer have a voice,” he added.
The congressman also suggested that Sanders was a particular target, predicting that he had a good shot of getting the nomination but would be foiled “now that Nancy Pelosi has held these documents.”
McCarthy and Trump, Jr. aren’t the only ones to express suspicion about the Democratic establishment’s tactics regarding Sanders and Biden. President Donald Trump called it last month. “They are rigging the election again against Bernie Sanders, just like last time, only even more obviously,” Trump tweeted.
No comments: