Hillary Clinton has torn open old wounds from her divisive 2016 battle with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), putting Democrats on edge about whether the party will be able to unite after a 2020 primary that has produced new fault lines between the center and the left.
Clinton’s attacks on Sanders — and her refusal to commit to endorsing him or campaigning for him if he wins the Democratic presidential nomination — infuriated progressives and raised new fears among Democrats about whether supporters for the losing candidates will turn out for the nominee against President Trump in November.
Those questions come as Sanders and his allies are ramping up their attacks against former Vice President Joe Biden, who they view as representative of the same “Clinton corporate wing” of the party that fumbled away the 2016 election to Trump.
Tensions are boiling over as polls find Sanders, Biden, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D) in a tight race in the final two weeks before the Iowa caucuses.
Democrats and progressives interviewed by The Hill insist that the party will rally behind whoever wins the nomination. But many view Clinton’s remarks as unhelpful and self-serving.
“You feel like looking Hillary square in the eye and asking, ‘What the hell are you doing?’ ” said one Democrat who has worked on presidential campaigns. “Donald Trump is president. Bernie on a bad day would be better than Trump on his best day. We need to win.”
Clinton, who has largely stayed out of the Democratic nominating process, unloaded on Sanders in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that ran on Tuesday, accusing him of fostering a movement that is abusive toward women.
“Nobody likes him, nobody wants to work with him, he got nothing done,” Clinton said. “He was a career politician. It’s all just baloney and I feel so bad that people got sucked into it.”
The former secretary of State refused to say whether she would support Sanders for president if he wins the nomination.
Story cited here.