Trump: I Don't Believe Bernie Sanders Said A Woman Can't Win, "It's Not The Kind Of Thing He'd Say"

[ehrnst]

PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP: Bernie and the radical left cannot protect your family and they cannot protect our country, nor do they want to, I think. According to Elizabeth "Pocahontas" Warren -- who has somewhat less Indian blood in her than I do, and I have none. Remember? We hit her hard, but I hit her to early, but she is not going anywhere.

But Bernie said -- according to her, Bernie said -- and I don't believe this. I don't know him, I don't particularly like him, he's a nasty guy, but I don't believe he said this. It's not his deal, you have to know what people say. She said, right, that Bernie stated strongly that a woman cannot win for president. A woman can win for president. Fortunately --

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Ivanka!

TRUMP: That could happen. That could happen, who knows? But she said that Bernie said a woman can't win and I don't believe Bernie said that. I really don't. It's not the kind of thing he would say. iI you want to keep America safe, just vote Republican, we are doing so well.

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2020/01/14/trump_i_dont_believe_bernie_sanders_said_a_woman_cant_win_its_not_the_kind_of_thing_hed_say.html

It appears Trump seems to have preference as to the Democratic candidate he would prefer to be running against.

[SunSeeker]

1. In a case of he said vs. she said, Trump will always go with the he.

And yes, he would love to run against Bernie.

[Cha]

21. +1!

[George II]

2. That's not an endorsement ANY Democrat would want.

[JustAnotherGen]

10. What is 45's game here - seriously

I think we (as a party) are playing three dimensional chess - and this dumb bastard keeps hitting itself in the head with this thing . . .

?v=1558174481

[Sloumeau]

3. I think Trump just would prefer to face Senator Bernie Sanders,

so he is saying whatever he can to help Bernie Sanders.

[Thekaspervote]

4. This...

[ehrnst]

6. Indeed. And not just Trump.

Republicans like their chances of keeping the Senate in 2020. But there’s one thing they think would all but seal the deal: Bernie Sanders as the Democratic presidential nominee.

Some GOP incumbents are practically cheering him on, confident there’s no way a self-described democratic socialist could win a general election against President Donald Trump and that he’d drag other Democrats on the ballot with him.


“It would be good for us to have a nominee like that,” said Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), who is up for reelection next year and sounded downright giddy about the prospect of Sanders representing Democrats at the top of the ticket.

Trump and the Senate GOP have explicitly designed their 2020 strategy around Sanders, beating the anti-socialism drum incessantly and attempting to tether every Democrat on the ballot to what they call a creep away from capitalism and toward collectivism.

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/07/bernie-sanders-republican-senate-1307296

[still_one]

19. Ding ding ding. We have a winner!!!

[Amimnoch]

25. The Russian propaganda machine prefers him as well. -nt

[LexVegas]

5. Why would Trump say this? That's strange. nt

[SergeStorms]

7. Knowing how Trump thinks....

this means he would rather face Bernie in the Presidential election than Ms. Warren. Maybe. Saying I know how Trump thinks is rather foolish, I suppose, because at this point I'm not sure Trump thinks at all. His reptilian brain may take over and he runs on pure instinct.

[JustAnotherGen]

8. Whoa

I don't pay attention to what MF45 says - just what that thing does.

Interesting he would mention that at all. I mean - does it have anything to do with him? Is he signaling to our party?

[sheshe2]

9. ...

[Bummfuzzle]

11. Trump is mouthy. He is just being mouthy. Shit stirrer. Then giggles.

[R B Garr]

13. Trump has a lot of CONCERN over Bernie.

Awww.

[OilemFirchen]

14. Gabbard, then Trump.

When Rosaenne Barr chimes in, Sanders has hit the trifecta!

[BeyondGeography]

15. Gee, and I thought he'd take Warren's side

[Apple Fritter]

16. *shruggs*

If women talk to much with ideas and such, then he hates them. That's why his wife is quiet.

[ehrnst]

18. Interesting that he stepped in at all, isn't it?

[BeyondGeography]

20. Very

Thanks for the thread.

[dlk]

17. If Trump said it, he's probably lying,

[myohmy2]

22. Bernie's...

...trump's worst nightmare...

"...I don't know him, I don't particularly like him, he's a nasty guy..."


...picture this...

...two on a debate stage, one's intelligent and serious with crushing facts while the other is flailing his arms in his world of make-believe...

...having an strong, no-holds-barred Progressive Jew kick your fat Nazi ass in public is not what the-donald wants to see...

...but I would...

[ehrnst]

27. ....actually his dream opponent...

....Biden is the target of all the Trump behind the scenes dealing...

....Bernie, however, is being defended by Trump...nothing has been found that shows Trump is trying to submarine Bernie....

...Certainly Karl Rove certainly isn't trying to discourage Bernie...

“If he is the Democratic nominee, Mr. Trump’s task will be to convince Americans that a socialist turn would be a ruinous change. Based on Monday’s town hall, that won’t be as easy as Republicans may think. Mr. Sanders is a real contender,” he added.
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/439489-karl-rove-sanders-could-win-presidency-in-2020

...Bernie has a bit of a fan club in these republicans...

Some GOP incumbents are practically cheering him on, confident there’s no way a self-described democratic socialist could win a general election against President Donald Trump and that he’d drag other Democrats on the ballot with him.

“It would be good for us to have a nominee like that,” said Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), who is up for reelection next year and sounded downright giddy about the prospect of Sanders representing Democrats at the top of the ticket.

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/07/bernie-sanders-republican-senate-1307296

...And it's not the first time he's been the Democratic candidate supported by the Right. The Mueller report found that Russia was backing him...

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/02/17/indictment-russians-also-tried-help-bernie-sanders-jill-stein-presidential-campaigns/348051002/

...and there's this...

“American Crossroads and Bernie Sanders helped Nevada caucus-goers see right through Hillary Clinton’s manufactured zeal on immigration reform after spewing virulent Trump-like rhetoric—and that one-two punch shaved Clinton’s 50-point lead a year ago to a slim, single digit win,” Steven Law, Crossroads CEO and president.

....American Crossroads is Karl Rove's dark money superpac....

[myohmy2]

28. nope...

"....Biden is the target of all the Trump behind the scenes dealing..."

...yes, because Biden and son are low-hanging fruit...

...it's going to be much more difficult for trump to defeat a fiery Bernie in today's polarized political climate when Bernie's fighting for the common-man with common-sense and real Progressive solutions to our intractable systemic problems...

...trump is the system, trump is corruption, trump is our problem...

...Bernie's our solution...

[ehrnst]

29. nope....

...Denial isn't just a river in Egypt...

....and it's certainly not any solution to Trump...

...There is plenty of low hanging fruit on Senator Sanders that won't be touched by the GOP unless he becomes the nominee....

...then they will take the gloves off..."Socialist!!" is the least of it....

As for Trump "being scared" to run against Bernie:

"Oh, would I love to run against Bernie. I mean, can you imagine when — remember, when they took the microphone away. ‘Get off the stage.’ They told him. This is our president. He goes like this, ‘Oh, excuse me.’ And everyone’s out there saying, ‘Get off the mic. We wanted to hear him.’ He walked back like a little puppy. This is going to be our president.”

“I would love, please, FBI please go after Hillary,” Trump suggested. “I want to run against Bernie. Oh, that’s a dream come true. This guy, he would make some president. Ninety percent tax, everybody. Does anybody mind paying 90 percent tax? Go with Bernie and you’ll have yourself a nice 90 percent tax. He wants to take it all away from you. You know, he’s sort of dampening it a little bit, he wants to keep it a little bit low key. He wants a big, fat, beautiful tax okay.”

“And I don’t think the people here are going to go for that very easily,” Trump claimed. “But I want to run against Bernie. That’s my dream. That’s my dream. That’s the one. That’s the one I really want. Okay, but Hillary will be fine and you know, the poll just said that we beat Hillary."

DJT - Windham, NH, January, 11, 2016


...I'm sure that Crossroads America is making this election's ad buys already...

First, Trump and McCarthy seem to believe Sanders' supporters can be manipulated -- a belief I suspect the Vermonter's backers will find insulting -- and intra-party divisions in Democratic politics can be stoked to ensure Trump's re-election. McCarthy's reference to superdelegates was especially notable: some Sanders supporters are under the mistaken belief that Democratic superdelegates derailed the senator's 2016 candidacy, which is not what happened.

Second, Republican attempts at mischief notwithstanding, the New York Times reports that Donald Trump's political advisers see Bernie Sanders as "their ideal" general-election opponent. To that end, the article added, members of the president's team "have been doing what they can to elevate [the independent senator's] profile and bolster his chances of winning the Iowa caucuses."

Which, naturally, helps explain why the president sided with Sanders last night, and why McCarthy seemed so focused on helping Sanders yesterday afternoon.

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/why-trump-mccarthy-seem-so-eager-side-bernie-sanders-n1116941

[myohmy2]

31. we'll see...

...Bernie's been very successful so far and I don't see any reason he shouldn't continue to be successful...

...unlike some, Bernie doesn't run from names, labels, enemies or fights, he embraces them...he meets them head on...trump can say whatever he wants, Bernie will smack trump down with facts, reality and truth...

...Bernie is more than capable of knee-capping his opposition without becoming flustered or flubbing...

...should it come to that...

[kwolf68]

23. Just like he wanted to face Bernie in 2016

!!!!

[ehrnst]

26. You said it. The Mueller report that Russia was clearly promoting Sanders and Trump.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/02/17/indictment-russians-also-tried-help-bernie-sanders-jill-stein-presidential-campaigns/348051002/

And conservative superpac American Crossroads spent millions in ads against HRC during the primary to boost his numbers in Nevada. They even claimed credit for his performance:

In the wake of Clinton’s close Nevada win, Crossroads claimed credit for driving her numbers down in favor of Sanders.

“American Crossroads and Bernie Sanders helped Nevada caucus-goers see right through Hillary Clinton’s manufactured zeal on immigration reform after spewing virulent Trump-like rhetoric—and that one-two punch shaved Clinton’s 50-point lead a year ago to a slim, single digit win,” Steven Law, Crossroads CEO and president, [link:In the wake of Clinton’s close Nevada win, Crossroads claimed credit for driving her numbers down in favor of Sanders.|said in a statement].

(Not re-fighting anything. Just citing historic events and statements.)

[brer cat]

24. What a recommendation!

That will probably lead to a surge.

[Gothmog]

30. Why Trump, McCarthy seem so eager to side with Bernie Sanders

trump and McCarthy really really want sanders to be the nominee. If sanders is the nominee, trump will win 45+ states and many downballot candidates will lose https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/why-trump-mccarthy-seem-so-eager-side-bernie-sanders-n1116941

All of this may seem bizarre -- and to a very real extent, it is -- but it's not accidental. There's a GOP strategy unfolding, and it's based on a couple of assumptions.

First, Trump and McCarthy seem to believe Sanders' supporters can be manipulated -- a belief I suspect the Vermonter's backers will find insulting -- and intra-party divisions in Democratic politics can be stoked to ensure Trump's re-election. McCarthy's reference to superdelegates was especially notable: some Sanders supporters are under the mistaken belief that Democratic superdelegates derailed the senator's 2016 candidacy, which is not what happened.

Second, Republican attempts at mischief notwithstanding, the New York Times reports that Donald Trump's political advisers see Bernie Sanders as "their ideal" general-election opponent. To that end, the article added, members of the president's team "have been doing what they can to elevate [the independent senator's] profile and bolster his chances of winning the Iowa caucuses."

Which, naturally, helps explain why the president sided with Sanders last night, and why McCarthy seemed so focused on helping Sanders yesterday afternoon.

It's likely that many Democratic primary and caucus voters will look past these tactics, which is just as well. But as these efforts intensify, at least we'll know the motivation behind them.

Postscript: It's worth emphasizing, in case this isn't obvious, that Team Trump may see Sanders as their "ideal" 2020 foe, but Republicans may very well be wrong. Plenty of Democrats saw Donald Trump as the weakest GOP candidate four years ago, and we now know those assumptions didn't work out especially well.

[betsuni]

32. K&R

[NYMinute]

33. Trump wants to run against Bernie

so it will be a cakewalk for him to win by eviscerating the opponent.

[MrsCoffee]

34. Fuck off Trump. No one asked you.

[Gothmog]

35. trump would destroy sanders

Trump had a two foot thick book of oppo research on Sanders http://www.newsweek.com/myths-cost-democrats-presidential-election-521044

They ignored the fact that Sanders had not yet faced a real campaign against him. Clinton was in the delicate position of dealing with a large portion of voters who treated Sanders more like the Messiah than just another candidate. She was playing the long game—attacking Sanders strongly enough to win, but gently enough to avoid alienating his supporters. Given her overwhelming support from communities of color—for example, about 70 percent of African-American voters cast their ballot for her—Clinton had a firewall that would be difficult for Sanders to breach....

So what would have happened when Sanders hit a real opponent, someone who did not care about alienating the young college voters in his base? I have seen the opposition book assembled by Republicans for Sanders, and it was brutal. The Republicans would have torn him apart. And while Sanders supporters might delude themselves into believing that they could have defended him against all of this, there is a name for politicians who play defense all the time: losers....

The Republicans had at least four other damning Sanders videos (I don’t know what they showed), and the opposition research folder was almost 2-feet thick. (The section calling him a communist with connections to Castro alone would have cost him Florida.) In other words, the belief that Sanders would have walked into the White House based on polls taken before anyone really attacked him is a delusion built on a scaffolding of political ignorance.

[ehrnst]

36. There has never been any thorough vetting of Sanders before now.

And he has pushed back, calling any results that don't flatter him "attacks."