Hillary Clinton is renewing her attack on Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders . In a new interview on Friday, the former secretary of state attacked Sanders and his supporters, accusing the Vermont senator of not rallying behind her when she ran against President Donald Trump, according to The New York Times .
Speaking with Emily Tisch Sussman for her podcast Your Primary Playlist , Clinton accused members of Sanders’ 2016 campaign of urging the senator’s backers to abstain or vote third-party in the general election.
“All the way up until the end, a lot of people highly identified with his campaign were urging people to vote third party, urging people not to vote,” she said.
“It had an impact,” the 2016 Democratic nominee added.
Clinton said that she endorsed and campaigned for her 2008 primary opponent, former President Barack Obama, as opposed to Sanders, who supposedly didn’t offer similar support in the 2016 presidential election. She added that members of the Sanders campaign and his supporters relentlessly attacked her instead of backing her against Trump.
The former secretary of state said that Sanders’ “campaign and his principal supporters were just very difficult and really, constantly not just attacking me, but my supporters.”
Clinton also described the Iowa caucuses as “undemocratic,” stating that the entire process “just makes no sense.”
Sanders is leading the crowded Democratic field in Iowa. The senator appears to be surging at just the right time, with only days until the caucuses. According to the RealClearPolitics average of polling data, Sanders is in first place with 23.8 percent of the vote. Second place belongs to former Vice President Joe Biden, who is polling at 20.2 percent.
Former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg is in third place with 15.8 percent of the vote, and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren enjoys the support of 14.8 percent of Iowa voters. The rest of the field remains in single-digit territory, far below the 15 percent threshold, which suggests that voters’ second choices might play a key role in determining the outcome of the Iowa race.
Clinton’s latest attack on Sanders echoes the remarks she made in an upcoming documentary about her life. In the documentary, she said that “nobody likes” the senator, accusing him and his supporters of harassing female candidates.
The former first lady repeated the criticism in a recent interview, refusing to say whether she would back Sanders against Trump.
Clinton later backtracked on her remarks, stating that she will support the Democratic nominee. In response to her attacks, Sanders said that such “rhetoric” is unnecessary at a time when the Democratic Party needs to unite in order to win the 2020 presidential election.
