Former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg renewed his attacks against Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
During an interview with MSNBC’s Chris Matthews, Buttigieg was asked if he thinks it is smart for the Democratic Party to nominate a socialist for president. “Most Americans and, for that matter, most Democrats don’t identify with a socialist who thinks thatcapitalism is the root of all evil. Capitalism has all kinds of failures, which is why we need a strong Democrat ready to ensure that we hold corporations accountable, support labor unions, raise wages,” Buttigieg said.
Buttigieg also brought up the ongoing feud between the Culinary Union and Sanders’s supporters, an issue he raised during Wednesday’s Democratic debate. “You’re the one who is at war with the Culinary Union right here in Las Vegas,” Buttgieg said before Sanders interrupted.
“We have the support of unions all across this country,” the senator responded. Buttigieg was referring to incidents where supporters of the Sanders campaign sent threatening messages to Culinary Union officials online, over email, and in phone calls.
On Twitter, union officials were called names such as “bitches,” “whore,” “f—ing scab,” and “evil, entitled assholes.” Over email, union officials were referred to as “corrupt mother f—ers” and were threatened that it was “time for people … to go after you.” Sanders has denounced the behavior and distanced himself from the incidents.
Matthews also brought up Sanders’s previous sympathies with Fidel Castro, the communist Cuban dictator. In college, Sanders said John F. Kennedy’s opposition to communism in the 1960 presidential debate made him “physically nauseated.”
