CNN contributor Paul Begala questioned some Democratic presidential candidates’ strategies of attacking former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg during the party’s last primary debate.
Begala, a strategist for former President Bill Clinton, ripped the five presidential candidates who joined Bloomberg on the debate stage in Las Vegas Wednesday night for attacking him even though he is not participating in the Nevada caucus this weekend. When asked what he thought of the debate on CNN Thursday morning, Begala began by calling the event “a gift to Bernie Sanders,” whom he deemed the front-runner.
“It was a rough night for Mike Bloomberg,” he stated. “Man, Elizabeth Warren just gutted him like a flounder on Long Island Sound. It was rough for him. But Bernie — we are two days away from the voting in Nevada, and they attacked a guy who’s not on the ballot in Nevada. It was, I thought, tactically really dumb for the Democrats.”
“But Bernie is the front-runner. Bernie is very likely to win in Nevada,” he continued. “This was your one chance, other Democrats competing against Bernie, to stop him from winning Nevada, and I think they missed that chance. So, Bernie, the big winner. Then, of course, strategically, Donald Trump’s got to be happy with a Democratic demolition derby.”
In his first debate appearance after the Democratic National Committee changed its qualifying rules, Bloomberg was forced to defend his wealth and record on race, as well as a litany of sexual harassment allegations.
