‘Politico’ Accused Of Using Anti-Semitic Language And Imagery To Smear Bernie Sanders
Politico‘s May 24 cover story — “The Secret of Bernie’s Millions” — is an examination of Bernie Sanders’ wealth, much of which was acquired recently through book sales.
The featured image of the article is a graphic depicting Bernie Sanders standing next to a money tree, presumably meant to suggest that the senator’s estimated net worth of nearly $2 million is incompatible with his politics and beliefs, if not hypocritical.
In the article, an alleged friend of Sanders is quoted describing the senator as a “cheap son of a b*tch.”
“Today, he might still be cheap, but he’s sure not poor,” Politico‘s Michael Kruse wrote.
The article also features three images of houses owned by Bernie Sanders, and a graphic showing the Democratic presidential candidate holding three mansions — two on his shoulders, one in his hands.
But Sanders is one of the poorer members of Congress, according to PolitiFact, which noted that the senator’s net worth ranks him “in the bottom one-fifth of the 100-member chamber.”
In comparison, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has an estimated net worth of over $100 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Hillary Clinton, for instance, has a net worth of $45 million, according to Forbes. Former President Barack Obama’s net worth is estimated to be in the neighborhood of $40 million, according to Business Insider.
As The Intercept‘s Lee Fang pointed out — while questioning the methodology Politico used to determine Sanders’ net worth — some of the other Democratic presidential candidates are worth far more than the Vermont senator.
Kamala Harris' household owns a $2.7m home in Brentwood, up to $1.5-$4m in other savings/assets, and another home. I don't understand why Politico is using this graphic above to claim Bernie is richer than Kamala.
— Lee Fang (@lhfang) May 24, 2019
According to some the Politico article — the language used in it, and the accompanying imagery — is not only dishonest but also anti-Semitic.
To write about Bernie Sanders — the only Jewish presidential candidate — as a “rich” but “cheap” man, and to juxtapose the writing with graphics of him standing next to a money tree is to traffic in anti-Semitic tropes, according to members of the Sanders campaign, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, progressive pundits, journalists, and others.
Ocasio-Cortez took to Twitter to accuse the publication of anti-Semitism, writing that accusations of such bigotry are “selectively enforced on the left.”
Can ?@politico? explain to us how photoshopping money trees next to the only Jewish candidate for president and talking about how “cheap” and rich he is *isn’t* antisemitic?
Or are they just letting this happen because he’s a progressive politician they don’t like? pic.twitter.com/O9qvDBw4ib
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 25, 2019
Much like Ocasio-Cortez, journalist and Bernie Sanders’ speechwriter David Sirota blasted Politico for publishing the photoshopped image, reminding his followers that Sanders’ family was killed in the Holocaust.
“Here’s an idea — how about we not use anti Semitic tropes when talking about a leading Jewish candidate for president,” Sanders campaign Chief of Staff Ari Rabin-Havt wrote on Twitter.
“This seems pretty anti-Semitic to me, folks. Jewish candidate. Tree of dollars! C’mon. I am not a Sanders fan and I don’t think this is fair,” journalist Tom Watson posted on Twitter.
Daily Kos, a popular liberal blog supportive of the Democratic Party and frequently critical of Bernie Sanders, argued that while some news articles “inadvertently slip in an anti-Semitic trope or racial statement,” when it comes to the Politico article, “it’s hard to believe the attack was anything less than fully intentional.”
