After Barack Obama endorsed Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump fired off a typical tweet, calling her “crooked Hillary” and declaring that no one else wants her as president. In response, the Democratic party’s presidential hopeful responded, “Delete your account.”
The race for the Democratic nomination has been contentious — not so much between the candidates, but between some of their followers. Meanwhile, the Republican race has been characterized largely by Trump insulting other candidates, and for a while, by them responding in kind. See, for example, NBC ‘s coverage of Marco Rubio’s counter-attack, in which he responded to the appellation “Little Marco” by declaring Trump’s hands undersized, and hinting that this somehow reflected more about his opponent’s body.
The Democratic race, however, has been absent such exchanges, sticking largely to debates on the issues. With the convention in just two weeks, President Barack Obama has let his stance on the nomination be known, releasing an official endorsement of Clinton.
Clinton told NPR she is “thrilled” with the endorsement .
“We started off as fierce competitors. We’ve ended up as true friends.”
“I’m with her, I’m fired up, and I can’t wait to get out there and campaign for Hillary.” — @POTUS pic.twitter.com/ptbhfpCooQ
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) June 9, 2016
Not everyone was so pleased with the endorsement, though.
Though he didn’t have anything to say about the President’s endorsement, Bernie Sanders, Clinton’s competitor for the nomination, has not closed his campaign, and reiterated this week that he intends to continue.
Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump, however, didn’t stay silent. He tweeted his disdain.
Obama just endorsed Crooked Hillary. He wants four more years of Obama—but nobody else does!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 9, 2016
Though Clinton has had plenty to say about Trump’s proposed policies, and his social stances, for most of the campaign, she has ignored the insults and names he has applied to her. In fact, Politico reported last month that she considered the insults beneath response .
“I don’t respond to Donald Trump and his string of insults against me. I can take care of myself.”
This time, though, she made an exception, quoting the tweet and responding with a disdainful directive popular on social media — one typically used to express a sentiment along the lines of, “Nobody cares, stop talking.”
Delete your account. https://t.co/Oa92sncRQY
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) June 9, 2016
The former Secretary of State has already expressed that she expects to be the Democratic nominee, and has begun to direct her social media campaigning as though she’s already running against Trump, tweeting more about him and his proposed policies.
Trump isn’t just incoherent; he’s dangerous. He’s not just unprepared; he’s temperamentally unfit to be Commander-in-Chief.
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) June 2, 2016
She has also warned that she is the only candidate who can defeat Trump in the general election.
“We cannot let Barack Obama’s legacy fall into Donald Trump’s hands. We can’t let all the hard work and progress we have achieved over the last seven and a half years be torn away. We have to move forward together. We have to bring our country together.”
Her “delete your account” tweet, however, represents a new level of “throwing shade” that hasn’t previously been seen in the Democratic camp for this race. If the Democratic convention does, as Clinton suggests, confirm her as the party’s nominee, this may be the first hint at what can be expected from the next few months of this presidential race.
Though he’s typically quick to pile on new insults when an opponent responds, Donald Trump has not yet addressed Hillary Clinton’s blatant dismissal of him.
[Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images]
