President Donald Trump has been a vocal observer throughout the Democratic primary race, often offering up unsolicited advice and stirring the pot among the electorate. And now, it looks like Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has had enough.
Apparently panicked that he may come off as Trump’s favorite for the Dems’ presidential nomination, Sanders blasted the president Monday during an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, rejecting the Trump-backed theory that the Democratic Party establishment may be working against him and warning the president to “stay out of the Democratic primary,” the Daily Wire reported.
A coup against Bernie?
Sanders was asked Monday about Trump’s tweets suggesting the primary process may be rigged against the Vermont senator. It has been suggested that the party establishment thinks a more moderate candidate, like Joe Biden, would have a better shot at beating Trump come November — and a round of endorsements for the former vice president that came in ahead of and following Super Tuesday didn’t help matters.
Cooper pointed in particular to two tweets from Trump, which came after former small-town Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar both threw in the towel and threw their support behind Biden.
“Pete Buttigieg is OUT. All of his Super Tuesday votes will go to Sleepy Joe Biden. Great timing,” Trump wrote Sunday evening. “This is the REAL beginning of the Dems taking Bernie out of play — NO NOMINATION, AGAIN!”
The president added in a tweet the next day: “They are staging a coup against Bernie!”
A deflection from Sanders
But Sanders seems to want to stay far away from Trump — and any suggestions that the two may be on the same side. Asked by Cooper if Trump is “right” about a coup, the Vermont senator quickly turned the question around on his would-be general election rival.
“You know what, I really wish that the president of the United States might, kind of, spend his time doing his job,” Sanders said, according to the Daily Caller. “Maybe, just maybe, he might want to worry about the coronavirus, he might want to worry about the stock market, he might worry about the 500,000 people in this country who are homeless or the massive level of income and wealth inequality that exists.
“So, President Trump, stay out of the Democratic primary,” he added, according to a transcript provided by RealClearPolitics. “Why don’t you do your job for a change as president? Stop lying. Stop running a corrupt administration. Pay attention to the American people, not just your own political aims.”
A perfect storm
Trump, for his part, didn’t seem bothered by Sanders’ remarks. Following primary battles in more than a dozen for Super Tuesday, Trump hit back with an assertion that “the Democrat establishment came together and crushed Bernie Sanders, AGAIN!”
The president also suggested that Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s choice to stay in the race is dividing up Sanders’ base, causing what he called a “perfect storm.”
The Democrat establishment came together and crushed Bernie Sanders, AGAIN! Even the fact that Elizabeth Warren stayed in the race was devastating to Bernie and allowed Sleepy Joe to unthinkably win Massachusetts. It was a perfect storm, with many good states remaining for Joe!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 4, 2020
Indeed, love it or hate it, it looks like President Trump has no plans to stop commenting on the Democratic primary race. He’s known for speaking his mind — and Bernie Sanders certainly isn’t going to stop him.
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