For the past 6 years or so when I hear all of these supposed far-left pundits,
authors and podcasters trying to convince people that the Democratic party is
out to get Bernie Sanders and that we all should either not vote or vote
against the Democrats I have to ask myself who is lining their pockets? This
well written article makes it quite clear who is behind all of these far-left
attacks on the Democratic party.
Why Trump wants Bernie Sanders to win the Democratic nomination
President Trump
President Trump speaks at a rally in Manchester, N.H., on Feb. 10, the night
before the state primary. He urged registered independents in the crowd to vote
for the "weakest" Democrat. (Drew Angerer / Getty Images)
By Noah Bierman | Staff Writer
Feb. 28, 2020|4 AM
With Sanders hoping to lock down a clear delegate lead after the all-important
Super Tuesday contests on March 3, Trump also is playing a card that fires up
his own base, taunting the iconoclastic senator from Vermont as a "crazy"
socialist who would lead the country into economic ruin if elected.
Sometimes he combines the two messages. After Sanders won the Feb. 22 Nevada
caucuses, for example, Trump congratulated "Crazy Bernie" in a tweet, warning
"Don't let them take it away from you!"
On Tuesday in New Delhi, Trump claimed without evidence that Democrats had
leaked intelligence to undermine Sanders' campaign. Democrats "don't want him,
so they put out a thing that Russia is backing him," Trump said.
And in South Carolina, where registered voters can vote in either party
primary, Republican activists urged Trump supporters to vote for Sanders in
Saturday's Democratic primary - echoing Trump's instructions to New Hampshire
independents to "vote for the weakest candidate" before that state's primary.
"The only thing better for Trump than Bernie Sanders getting screwed out of the
nomination is if Bernie Sanders wins the nomination," said Michael Caputo, who
worked on the 2016 campaign and remains in touch with Trump's advisors. "It's a
win-win situation."
Many of Trump's allies see Sanders as the most beatable Democrat in November,
although there is growing debate over whether they are underestimating Sanders'
ability to galvanize a hidden bloc of disgruntled voters, as Trump did in 2016.
Sanders' thumping win in the Nevada caucuses, where he swept every voting group
except people over 65, stunned operatives in both parties. The results
suggested for the first time that he could build a broad-based coalition, as he
long has claimed.
Unlike in 2016, Sanders had a hand in crafting the Democrats' nominating rules
this year, giving him less room to argue that the process was designed to make
him fail.
But if he loses the nomination, Trump wants Sanders' impassioned supporters to
believe he was cheated so they will either stay home on Election Day or vote
for Trump. The two share some of the same raw populist rhetoric on trade and
elites, despite fundamentally different ideologies, grievances and solutions.
"The last time we had a lot of Bernie Sanders supporters," Trump told a TV
station in Arizona, which holds its primary on March 17. "If they take it away
from him like they did the last time, I really believe you're going to have -
you're gonna have a very riotous time in the Democrat Party, because they
really, they did a lot of numbers on him."
Stirring dissent in the opposition party "makes sense," said a Republican
operative with close ties to the White House, who requested anonymity to reveal
internal strategy discussions. "When the big man is already talking about it, I
can guarantee you it will be front and center" in the campaign.
If Sanders wins the most delegates but loses the nomination at a brokered
Democratic convention, "it will be seen as outrageous by his folks, and I know
our campaign and our party will gaslight that," the operative said.
It's a reboot of what Trump believes worked well for him in 2016, when he
capitalized on bitter disillusionment from Sanders' supporters during the
senator's first presidential run. Trump was aided by hacked Democratic Party
emails showing party leaders favored the ultimate nominee, Hillary Clinton.
Russian intelligence operatives stole and released thousands of internal emails
and other documents in an effort to boost Trump's chances, according to U.S.
intelligence and law enforcement agencies.
Political operatives long have mounted backroom efforts to disrupt opposing
campaigns, sometimes illegally. But Trump's overt calls to interfere in the
Democratic primaries, and sow doubt about the results, shows him bulldozing
another democratic norm from the Oval Office.
"It's terrible and it's very harmful as we try to have a nation where there's
true democracy," said Tad Devine, Sanders' chief strategist in 2016 and a
veteran of previous Democratic campaigns. "He's undermining it at every turn."
Trump likely will get help from a Republican party that is firmly in his
control.
Nate Leupp, who chairs the Republican Party in Greenville, S.C., is one of
several county leaders who publicly urged Republicans to vote for Sanders in
Saturday's primary. The Republicans canceled their primary in the state this
year.
Leupp cited several goals, including frustrating the Democratic establishment
and weakening Joe Biden, who is counting on the state to revive his flagging
campaign. Leupp has since pulled back from his official calls for cross-party
voting, saying party activists should lead such efforts.
Trump believes he can woo Sanders voters. In a secret recording of a 2018
dinner that was released last month, Trump claimed without evidence that he won
20% of Sanders' disaffected voters in 2016 after Clinton won the nomination in
a bitter primary fight.
"All those people that hated her so much voted for me," Trump said. Sanders
"basically says we're getting screwed on trade and he's right. I'm worse than
he is, and we can do something about [the trade imbalance]. I don't know if he
could have."
Pollsters did not find evidence that Trump won a sizable share of Sanders'
supporters. But they both draw from a similar set of male blue-collar workers
and others frustrated with globalization and eager to take down the
establishment.
"Populist sentiment drives both the Trump candidacy and the Sanders candidacy,
so it makes sense that there would be some overlap in their support," said Whit
Ayres, a Republican pollster who works for congressional candidates.
But Ayres argues that Sanders is Trump's ideal opponent in a head-to-head race,
noting that Democrats who helped win control of the House in 2018 mostly ran on
moderate platforms. Sanders, he said, is "exactly the wrong candidate" for
suburban women who are crucial to the Democratic base.
Some Trump allies worry he may be boosting a candidate who has created a
movement, exciting young people and other new voters, and see his broad-based
Nevada win as a possible red flag.
"Be careful what you wish for with Bernie Sanders," said Sam Nunberg, a former
Trump campaign advisor. "It's not as if the president got close to 50%
nationally last time."
Clinton won nearly 2.9 million more votes than Trump in 2016, but Trump won the
electoral college thanks to narrow wins in several swing states.
Noah Bierman
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Noah Bierman covers the White House in Washington, D.C., for the Los Angeles
Times. He previously wrote for the paper's national desk.