Politico ‘s May 24 cover story — “The Secret of Bernie’s Millions” — is an examination of Bernie Sanders’ wealth, much of which was acquired recently through book sales.
The featured image of the article is a graphic depicting Bernie Sanders standing next to a money tree, presumably meant to suggest that the senator’s estimated net worth of nearly $2 million is incompatible with his politics and beliefs, if not hypocritical.
In the article, an alleged friend of Sanders is quoted describing the senator as a “cheap son of a b*tch.”
“Today, he might still be cheap, but he’s sure not poor,” Politico ‘s Michael Kruse wrote.
The article also features three images of houses owned by Bernie Sanders, and a graphic showing the Democratic presidential candidate holding three mansions — two on his shoulders, one in his hands.
But Sanders is one of the poorer members of Congress, according to PolitiFact , which noted that the senator’s net worth ranks him “in the bottom one-fifth of the 100-member chamber.”
In comparison, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has an estimated net worth of over $100 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics .
Hillary Clinton, for instance, has a net worth of $45 million, according to Forbes . Former President Barack Obama’s net worth is estimated to be in the neighborhood of $40 million, according to Business Insider .
As The Intercept ‘s Lee Fang pointed out — while questioning the methodology Politico used to determine Sanders’ net worth — some of the other Democratic presidential candidates are worth far more than the Vermont senator.
Kamala Harris’ household owns a $2.7m home in Brentwood, up to $1.5-$4m in other savings/assets, and another home. I don’t understand why Politico is using this graphic above to claim Bernie is richer than Kamala.
— Lee Fang (@lhfang) May 24, 2019
According to some the Politico article — the language used in it, and the accompanying imagery — is not only dishonest but also anti-Semitic.
To write about Bernie Sanders — the only Jewish presidential candidate — as a “rich” but “cheap” man, and to juxtapose the writing with graphics of him standing next to a money tree is to traffic in anti-Semitic tropes, according to members of the Sanders campaign, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, progressive pundits, journalists, and others.
Ocasio-Cortez took to Twitter to accuse the publication of anti-Semitism, writing that accusations of such bigotry are “selectively enforced on the left.”
Can ? @politico ? explain to us how photoshopping money trees next to the only Jewish candidate for president and talking about how “cheap” and rich he is *isn’t* antisemitic?
Or are they just letting this happen because he’s a progressive politician they don’t like? pic.twitter.com/O9qvDBw4ib
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 25, 2019
Much like Ocasio-Cortez, journalist and Bernie Sanders’ speechwriter David Sirota blasted Politico for publishing the photoshopped image, reminding his followers that Sanders’ family was killed in the Holocaust.
“Here’s an idea — how about we not use anti Semitic tropes when talking about a leading Jewish candidate for president,” Sanders campaign Chief of Staff Ari Rabin-Havt wrote on Twitter .
“This seems pretty anti-Semitic to me, folks. Jewish candidate. Tree of dollars! C’mon. I am not a Sanders fan and I don’t think this is fair,” journalist Tom Watson posted on Twitter .
Daily Kos , a popular liberal blog supportive of the Democratic Party and frequently critical of Bernie Sanders, argued that while some news articles “inadvertently slip in an anti-Semitic trope or racial statement,” when it comes to the Politico article, “it’s hard to believe the attack was anything less than fully intentional.”
