A Bernie Sanders rally in Phoenix, Arizona Thursday night was interrupted by an unidentified man shouting “Heil Hitler” and unfurling a massive flag depicting a swastika. Buzzfeed News reports that the man was also performing Hitler salutes as Sanders—a Jewish guy, in case anyone has forgotten—was giving a speech in front of thousands of supporters. This was just one of several disruptions during the event, but while miscellaneous Trump supporters might be common, a literal swastika is, well, not. Sanders said as much Friday afternoon during a press conference.
“It is horrific, it is beyond disgusting, to see that in the United States of America, there are people who would show the emblem of Hitler and Nazism,” Sanders said.
Fucked up! Also fucked up: How a few outlets decided to report the incident. USA Today used the headline “Sanders Campaign Condemns Swastika Flag at Phoenix Rally” which sounds a hell of a lot like Sanders chiding his own followers for being Nazis. This plays to the Bernie-is-just-like-Trump pretty well!
Meanwhile, The Hill appears to have deleted a tweet in which—according to several screenshots—couples this swastika story with a photo of Sanders making what looks like a Nazi-esque salute at a glance.
Of all the photos to use, this was a strange choice!
Meanwhile, on cable news, this incident seems to have received little coverage. Hm, okay!
Remember Michael Bloomberg? The dude Elizabeth Warren (metaphorically) murdered on national television? Well, it turns out that the $500 million campaign he ran really did start sinking as soon as Warren started nailing him on his history of sexism, alleged workplace discrimination, and decades long nondisclosure agreements. The Nation reports that staffers and volunteers were dropping one by one as soon as the receipts piled up and that their campaign efforts were often met with hostility from voters. Bloomberg’s terrible debate performance and a lack of enthusiasm behind his run led to him dropping out of the race
From The Nation:
“Ever since the first debate all of us faced a ton of hostility [when knocking on] doors…and could hardly get any volunteers,” one field organizer told me. “I once had a woman chase me back to my car demanding that I say you can’t buy the presidency.”
[…]
Bloomberg’s performance, specifically his handling of Warren’s questions, even alienated the campaign’s volunteers. Of the volunteers that quit, one campaign employee told me, “Just about every one of them said it was because of the debate performance or the NDA scandals.”
But what about all the cool perks? Well…
But despite an almost limitless budget, the Bloomberg campaign would learn that money can’t buy loyalty. Staffers described an almost total lack of belief in Bloomberg himself. “Most people knew this was a grift,” one campaign official explained, describing even leadership as being unwilling to fulfill basic campaign responsibilities.
[…]
Multiple people described elaborate schemes to undermine the campaign and help their favored candidates. As one staffer explained, “I would actively canvass for Bernie when I was supposed to be canvassing for Mike. I know of at least one team of ‘volunteers’ that was entirely fabricated by the organizers who had to hit their goals. It was easy enough to fudge the data to make it look like real people put in real volunteer work, when in reality Mike was getting nothing out of it.”
LOL, welp!
- Warren supporters need not worry about Bailey, who was thriving post burrito:
- The National Organization of Women is urging Warren to support Joe Biden, claiming that Sanders hasn’t done anything for women. Has anyone heard from Anita Hill lately? [Newsweek]
- The White House is making sure President Trump is safe from coronavirus, even if the Trump administration cannot promise the same when it comes to the American people. [New York Post]