Prominent Bernie Sanders delegate Nina Turner, in an interview with Mother Jones, said that her planned speech at the Democratic convention was canceled by the DNC without any explanation.
“Turner said that prior to Tuesday she had been asked by Sanders to be part of the nominating and seconding speeches for Sanders before the roll-call vote on Tuesday,” writes Mother Jones’s David Corn.
But, according to Turner’s account, when she arrived at the Democratic convention on Tuesday, she was told by Bernie Sanders that her appearance had been canceled by the DNC.
“The Clinton campaign did not want her on the stage,” Corn writes.
“No reason was given,” Turner told Mother Jones in response to questions as to why she would be so abruptly removed from the convention program. “I am still trying to figure out all that happened.”
According to Michael Briggs, Sanders’s communication director, Sanders wanted Turner to speak, but his efforts to make this happen were thwarted by the DNC, and apparently by the Clinton campaign, in particular.
“The senator wanted Senator Turner to second his nomination and was disappointed that it didn’t happen,” Briggs told Mother Jones. “She has been one of Bernie’s strongest supporters.”
This news comes in the midst of a week of heated conflict between Sanders supporters and the Democratic Party’s leadership. The adversarial relations intensified when WikiLeaks released thousands of DNC emails, some of which revealed a concerted effort on the part of the DNCf to oppose the campaign of Bernie Sanders.
Throughout the primary process, Nina Turner has been a powerful voice on behalf of the Sanders platform, arguing that his agenda is the one most prepared to address the crises facing the country, and the planet.
“I’m very attracted by his message and his style and that he has held pretty much strong on his beliefs and the world is catching up with him,” Turner told Cleveland.com when she first announced that she would be backing Sanders instead of Clinton.
This week, Turner has been at the center of controversy with the DNC. Common Dreams has reported that the DNC has, throughout the week, treated Turner terribly, and she is “mortified” by how the entire situation has played out.
Some are suggesting that Turner’s treatment by the DNC comes as a result of her refusal to formally endorse Hillary Clinton.
At the convention Tuesday, AOL News reports, high-profile Sanders backers expressed their discontent during a meeting outside of the convention.
“Sarandon, joined by Danny Glover, Rosario Dawson and Shailene Woodley, among others, spoke in support of Turner,” AOL News notes. “The celebrities stated that it was unfair to silence a major voice in the Democratic party and that many Bernie supporters are upset.”
Turner, for her part, has remained remarkably composed throughout the ordeal, and she has urged Sanders supporters to stay focused on the issues of concern to the American people.
“There are a lot of people that are discouraged,” she said, according to AOL News. “I want to keep the supporters knowing that the future’s still bright and that there’s still complicit energy towards making this work.”
Before the convention began, rumors were spreading that the Sanders camp was preparing to put Turner forward as the vice presidential candidate as an alternative to Tim Kaine, who was selected by Hillary Clinton as her running mate.
Turner has denied that she ever wanted the vice presidential spot, telling Sanders supporters that there are more important things to worry about.
“Sanders supporters… are very frustrated and upset,” Turner said in an interview with USA Today, discussing the primary process and the Sanders agenda.
Then, in response to the rumors that she was going to make a pitch for the vice presidential role, she told USA Today, “Any presidential candidate has the right to pick their vice presidential running mate. We’ve got to keep our eye on the movement.”
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