Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks during a campaign stop at the Palace Theatre, in Manchester, N.H., on Feb. 8, 2016. (Photo: John Minchillo/AP)
BOW, N.H. — Two top staffers on the campaign of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders fired back on Monday after former Pres. Bill Clinton attacked the Democratic presidential contender.
At an event in Manchester, N.H., Sanders’ senior adviser, Tad Devine, told Yahoo News that President Clinton’s comments were motivated by the fact Sanders is “doing well” in the Granite State. Polls currently show Sanders leading Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire, where primaries will be held on Tuesday.
“It’s unfortunate that, you know, President Clinton has decided to launch a series of attacks against Sen. Sanders in the final days of the New Hampshire campaign. I think we know why those attacks are occurring. Things are very close here in New Hampshire. Bernie’s doing well, not only here but elsewhere,” Devine said. “We hope we can get back to a campaign that talks about issues that people care about, the issues that Bernie’s talking about right now when he speaks to voters here in New Hampshire.”
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President Clinton launched his offensive in a speech on Sunday in which he criticized Sanders’ policy proposals, including universal healthcare and free public colleges, as unrealistic. The former president alluded to the so-called “Bernie Bros,” Sanders supporters who have been accused of engaging in sexist attacks against Clinton backers online.
“People who have gone online to defend Hillary and explain — just explain — why they supported her have been subject to vicious trolling and attacks that are literally too profane — not to mention sexist — to repeat,” President Clinton said.
Bill Clinton campaigns for his wife during a campaign event at Milford Junior High School in Milford, N.H., on Feb. 7, 2016. (Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Sanders’ communications director Michael Briggs said he was disappointed by President Clinton’s remarks.
“We’re doing our best to stay focused on the issues that have attracted grassroots support all over this country, talking about wealth and income inequality, talking about taking on the rigged economy and the corrupt campaign system that props it up,” Briggs said.
Devine also addressed Clinton’s comments about the “Bernie Bros.” He noted Sanders discussed the issue on Sunday and denounced anyone who would do “sexist things” while supporting his campaign. Devine suggested Clinton was trying to “distract voters” by focusing on the alleged online attacks.
“Again, I think, you know, the tactics of trying to, you know, distract voters form the real issues in this country, you know, the economy’s rigged, it’s sending too much wealth to the top, it’s held in place by a corrupt system of campaign finance, that’s the message that we want to talk about,” Devine said. “We’ve said that, if people are out there doing things on the Internet that are inappropriate, you know we want that to be no part of our campaign. We don’t condone it in any way. Sen. Sanders has said he denounces it. So, you know, we encourage people to follow his lead and talk about the issues, talk about the positive side.”
