SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
Sanders and Clinton square off during the Democratic Presidential debate on, Dec. 19, 2015. (Photo: Disney/ABC Television Group/flickr/cc)
Bernie Sanders on Friday clarified comments he made earlier this week questioning rival Hillary Clinton's qualifications to be president.
"The Clinton campaign has changed its tone" after losing seven of the past eight presidential nominating contests in the lead-up to the New York primary, Sanders told NBC's Today show.
"I've know Hillary Clinton for 25 years. I respect Hillary Clinton. We were colleagues in the Senate, and on her worst day, she would be an infinitely better president than either of the Republican candidates," he said. Asked directly by host Savannah Guthrie whether Clinton was qualified to be president, Sanders replied, "Of course."
The fresh comments mark a contrast from what Sanders' take has been over the past several days, stemming from what he saw as attacks on his own qualifications from the Clinton campaign.
On Wednesday night, hours after Clinton repeatedly did not directly answer Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough's question on whether Sanders was qualified, the Vermont senator sparked a media frenzy when he said at an event: "She has been saying lately that she thinks I am quote, unquote 'not qualified' to be president. I don't believe that she is qualified ... if she is, through her super PAC, taking tens of millions of dollars in special interests funds."
"I don't think that you are 'qualified' if you get $15 million from Wall Street through your super PAC," he said. "I don't think you are 'qualified' if you have voted for the disastrous war in Iraq. I don't think you are 'qualified' if you have supported virtually every disastrous trade agreement."
And on Thursday, Sanders defended his remarks on Clinton's capability to hold the office. Though he did not say she is unqualified, he told CBS This Morning host Charlie Rose, "I'm responding to attacks that are being made against me." He later added," If Secretary Clinton is the nominee, I will certainly support her."
He doubled down on the comments at a press conference Thursday, saying of his rival's campaign, "They're going to question my qualifications, well I'm going to question theirs."
Also on Friday, ahead of his Today show appearance, Sanders spoke to Morning Joe and described what he framed as an increasingly negative campaign by his rival.
Clinton, for her part, spoke to the Today show on Friday and said "she never said" Sanders had done anything that disqualifies him from being president. "His response to me was a misrepresentation of what I've said," Clinton said, adding, "There are contrasts between us. That's fair game."
According to reporting by CNN this week, however, that fits in with the Clinton campaign's "three-part strategy before the New York primary on April 19: Disqualify him, defeat him, and unify the party later."
And as Kevin Gosztola, managing editor of Shadowproof Press, argued this week, "Voters have yet to see the full scope of what the Clinton campaign will sling at Sanders," and wrote that "the Clinton campaign and media outlets like CNN promote a false narrative that the campaign has not been in attack mode. Since September, she has used a network of surrogates and rapid response super PACs to push anti-Sanders talking points into the media."
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Bernie Sanders on Friday clarified comments he made earlier this week questioning rival Hillary Clinton's qualifications to be president.
"The Clinton campaign has changed its tone" after losing seven of the past eight presidential nominating contests in the lead-up to the New York primary, Sanders told NBC's Today show.
"I've know Hillary Clinton for 25 years. I respect Hillary Clinton. We were colleagues in the Senate, and on her worst day, she would be an infinitely better president than either of the Republican candidates," he said. Asked directly by host Savannah Guthrie whether Clinton was qualified to be president, Sanders replied, "Of course."
The fresh comments mark a contrast from what Sanders' take has been over the past several days, stemming from what he saw as attacks on his own qualifications from the Clinton campaign.
On Wednesday night, hours after Clinton repeatedly did not directly answer Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough's question on whether Sanders was qualified, the Vermont senator sparked a media frenzy when he said at an event: "She has been saying lately that she thinks I am quote, unquote 'not qualified' to be president. I don't believe that she is qualified ... if she is, through her super PAC, taking tens of millions of dollars in special interests funds."
"I don't think that you are 'qualified' if you get $15 million from Wall Street through your super PAC," he said. "I don't think you are 'qualified' if you have voted for the disastrous war in Iraq. I don't think you are 'qualified' if you have supported virtually every disastrous trade agreement."
And on Thursday, Sanders defended his remarks on Clinton's capability to hold the office. Though he did not say she is unqualified, he told CBS This Morning host Charlie Rose, "I'm responding to attacks that are being made against me." He later added," If Secretary Clinton is the nominee, I will certainly support her."
He doubled down on the comments at a press conference Thursday, saying of his rival's campaign, "They're going to question my qualifications, well I'm going to question theirs."
Also on Friday, ahead of his Today show appearance, Sanders spoke to Morning Joe and described what he framed as an increasingly negative campaign by his rival.
Clinton, for her part, spoke to the Today show on Friday and said "she never said" Sanders had done anything that disqualifies him from being president. "His response to me was a misrepresentation of what I've said," Clinton said, adding, "There are contrasts between us. That's fair game."
According to reporting by CNN this week, however, that fits in with the Clinton campaign's "three-part strategy before the New York primary on April 19: Disqualify him, defeat him, and unify the party later."
And as Kevin Gosztola, managing editor of Shadowproof Press, argued this week, "Voters have yet to see the full scope of what the Clinton campaign will sling at Sanders," and wrote that "the Clinton campaign and media outlets like CNN promote a false narrative that the campaign has not been in attack mode. Since September, she has used a network of surrogates and rapid response super PACs to push anti-Sanders talking points into the media."
Bernie Sanders on Friday clarified comments he made earlier this week questioning rival Hillary Clinton's qualifications to be president.
"The Clinton campaign has changed its tone" after losing seven of the past eight presidential nominating contests in the lead-up to the New York primary, Sanders told NBC's Today show.
"I've know Hillary Clinton for 25 years. I respect Hillary Clinton. We were colleagues in the Senate, and on her worst day, she would be an infinitely better president than either of the Republican candidates," he said. Asked directly by host Savannah Guthrie whether Clinton was qualified to be president, Sanders replied, "Of course."
The fresh comments mark a contrast from what Sanders' take has been over the past several days, stemming from what he saw as attacks on his own qualifications from the Clinton campaign.
On Wednesday night, hours after Clinton repeatedly did not directly answer Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough's question on whether Sanders was qualified, the Vermont senator sparked a media frenzy when he said at an event: "She has been saying lately that she thinks I am quote, unquote 'not qualified' to be president. I don't believe that she is qualified ... if she is, through her super PAC, taking tens of millions of dollars in special interests funds."
"I don't think that you are 'qualified' if you get $15 million from Wall Street through your super PAC," he said. "I don't think you are 'qualified' if you have voted for the disastrous war in Iraq. I don't think you are 'qualified' if you have supported virtually every disastrous trade agreement."
And on Thursday, Sanders defended his remarks on Clinton's capability to hold the office. Though he did not say she is unqualified, he told CBS This Morning host Charlie Rose, "I'm responding to attacks that are being made against me." He later added," If Secretary Clinton is the nominee, I will certainly support her."
He doubled down on the comments at a press conference Thursday, saying of his rival's campaign, "They're going to question my qualifications, well I'm going to question theirs."
Also on Friday, ahead of his Today show appearance, Sanders spoke to Morning Joe and described what he framed as an increasingly negative campaign by his rival.
Clinton, for her part, spoke to the Today show on Friday and said "she never said" Sanders had done anything that disqualifies him from being president. "His response to me was a misrepresentation of what I've said," Clinton said, adding, "There are contrasts between us. That's fair game."
According to reporting by CNN this week, however, that fits in with the Clinton campaign's "three-part strategy before the New York primary on April 19: Disqualify him, defeat him, and unify the party later."
And as Kevin Gosztola, managing editor of Shadowproof Press, argued this week, "Voters have yet to see the full scope of what the Clinton campaign will sling at Sanders," and wrote that "the Clinton campaign and media outlets like CNN promote a false narrative that the campaign has not been in attack mode. Since September, she has used a network of surrogates and rapid response super PACs to push anti-Sanders talking points into the media."