Liberal economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman hit Bernie Sanders for the candidate’s controversial statement against the Democratic Party following a rowdy convention in Nevada over the weekend.
“It has been obvious for quite a while that Sanders — not just his supporters, not even just his surrogates, but the candidate himself — has a problem both in facing reality and in admitting mistakes,” Krugman wrote Tuesday night in a Times blog post.
“The business with claiming [in April] that Clinton only won conservative states in the deep South told you that; and even before, there were strong indications that he would not accept defeat gracefully or even rationally.”
The Democratic convention in Nevada erupted in chaos on Saturday when Sanders’ supporters protested for vote recounts and delegate reapportionment between Sanders and front-runner Hillary Clinton, who won the state caucuses in February.
Sanders responded to criticism of him and his supporters with a defensive statement on Tuesday that called on the Democratic Party to “fight for real economic and social change” or “remain dependent on big-money campaign contributions and be a party with limited participation and limited energy.”
Leaders within the party, including National Democratic Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, condemned Sanders and accused him of being irresponsible.
“I feel sorry,” Krugman wrote in his blog post, “for all the genuinely idealistic, well-meaning people who got caught up in this terrible mess.”
