Bernie Sanders Blames Donald Trump’s Meteoric Rise On The Media: ‘They Love Bombastic Remarks’
Democrat Sen. Bernie Sanders has blamed the media for Republican front-runner Donald Trump’s meteoric rise to popularity over the last few months.
Speaking to CNN’s Chris Cuomo, Bernie Sanders further said that Donald Trump is a “master manipulator” who has expertly worked his way to unwarranted media coverage by making a series of “silly” and “bombastic” remarks. Referring to the recent data obtained by the Tyndall Report, which showed that Trump had received more than 81 minutes of airtime compared to Sanders’ meager 20 seconds on ABC Evening News, the Democratic presidential hopeful questioned the American media on what he sees as a prejudiced coverage of the presidential race.
“I think it has to do with the fact that Trump is very smart. He knows that media is not so interested in the serious issues facing this country. They love bombastic remarks. They love silly remarks. I think this is more of an indictment of the media than it is Trump.”
Later, Bernie Sanders blasted Donald Trump for his “inflammatory” antics, saying he was leveraging the fear of the American people to his own advantage in a discreetly manipulative manner, something he thought Americans should be wary about in the long run.
“I think creating and playing off the anxiety and the fears that the American people have, the fears about terrorism, the fears about our economy, and becoming a demagogue about that and then trying to get us to hate Mexicans or to hate Muslims — I think that is a strategy that is not what America is supposed to be about.”
Host Chris Cuomo attempted to push back, arguing that Donald Trump merited the coverage based on his lead, which puts him ahead of the other Republican candidates at 38 percent, while Sanders is in second place behind Hillary Clinton at 29.5 percent. According to Bernie Sanders, however, Trump’s lead was down to coverage he received from the mainstream media.
This is not the first time that Bernie Sanders has blamed the media for Donald Trump’s popularity, although this is the first time he has expressed it in so many words. Earlier this month, Sanders had mentioned the disparity in ABC’s coverage of their election campaigns, which elicited the following tweet from Trump.
"@BernieSanders: ABC News spent 81 minutes on Donald Trump and only 20 seconds on our campaign. That's because @ABC is smart!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 13, 2015
But the last couple of days saw Bernie Sanders being more outward in slamming Donald Trump’s antics. Sanders went on to label Trump a “coward billionaire”, according to the Washington Post, before mocking Trump for talking about Hillary Clinton’s trip to the restroom during the past presidential debate.
“He has discovered that women go to the bathroom, and it’s been very upsetting to him. This is a guy who wants to be president of the United States. He must have a very unusual relationship with women.”
Sanders was referring to Donald Trump’s statement about Hillary Clinton’s delayed return to the stage during Monday night’s Democratic debate. As reported by the Inquisitr, Trump had insinuated — in no ambiguous terms — that he knew where Clinton went.
“I know where she went, it’s disgusting, I don’t want to talk about it. No, it’s too disgusting,” Trump had said.
It appears Bernie Sanders’ war of words with Donald Trump will only get more bitter in days to come, but from what we have gleaned so far, Trump has found a rival who will refuse to back down — in front of the camera or elsewhere.
[Photo by Joshua Lott/Getty Images]
