After a CNN piece claimed Bernie Sanders told Elizabeth Warren in a private 2018 meeting that a woman couldn’t beat Donald Trump , tensions between the two campaigns have been high. Given that Warren has been accused of lying on multiple occasions, many suggested that she leaked the story amid her decline in the polls and Sanders’ rise. Progressive commentator and The Hill’s Rising co-host Krystal Ball, who appears to fall into this camp, blasted the Massachusetts senator during a monologue on Wednesday’s edition of the show, which is available on YouTube.
“Look, Elizabeth Warren isn’t the first one to try to play the victim card, to try to play the identity politics card in this race,” she said. “And it has backfired and failed every single time.”
“Because although the pundits love it, although the media eats it up, although there is a very online, ultra-woke base of support for this type of politics, by and large, overwhelmingly, the American people reject it as shallow, hollow, and disingenuous.”
Ball noted that the public ultimately sees Warren as a “privileged lady” trying to claim victimhood while “transparently” stabbing Sanders in the back for her own political gain.
“The American people see through it, and that’s why this attack is destined to fail.”
Ball speculated that Warren may gain a “little bump” from the gambit, but suggested it would be at the expense of Pete Buttigieg’s supporters as opposed to Sanders’. She noted that Sanders’ supporters have been “galvanized” by the attack, pointing out that the Vermont senator’s campaign raised more money from Tuesday’s debate than from any other to date.
Following Warren and Sanders’ post-debate interaction, in which Warren appeared to refuse to shake Sanders’ hand, #NeverWarren trended , with many echoing Ball’s general sentiments.
In a recent piece for Current Affairs , writer Nathan J. Robinson noted that it’s difficult to believe Warren’s claim that Sanders said a female could not beat Trump for two reasons: Sanders has a long history of saying the opposite, and Warren has a similarly long history of “saying untrue and distorted things” for political gain.
Robinson highlighted Warren’s attack on Buttigieg’s wine fundraisers, which she has held herself, as well as her false claim that her presidential campaign was entirely grassroots funded, among other reportedly untrue statements.
Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard also shed doubt onto Warren’s claims, noting that she, too, met with Sanders to tell him of her bid for the presidency. According to the Hawaii congresswoman, Sanders was respectful and encouraging.
I also met with @BernieSanders before announcing my candidacy. We had a nice one-on-one conversation and I informed him that I would be running for President. In that meeting, he showed me the greatest respect and encouragement, just as he always has.
— Tulsi Gabbard ? (@TulsiGabbard) January 14, 2020