Sen. Harry Reid personally called Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., about the fight at Saturday’s Nevada Democratic Convention between his supporters and those who support Hillary Clinton, and has called on Sanders to denounce the actions of his angry backers.
Sanders’ supporters believe Hillary Clinton unfairly captured the most delegates on Saturday, but Reid said Sanders is about to take steps to rein in those actions.
“He said he condemns that,” Reid, D-Nev., told reporters Tuesday. “I’m confident he does. I’m confident he’ll be saying something about it soon.”
Reid called the matter “a test of leadership … and I’m hopeful and very confident Sen. Sanders will do the right thing.”
The Nevada convention, which was held in Las Vegas, erupted into chaos when Sanders supporters shouted in anger over last-minute rules changes that they believe gave Clinton an unfair advantage. Fighting broke out and chairs were thrown.
But in a statement issues after Reid spoke, Sanders downplayed the idea that the responsibility was on his side.
“Party leaders in Nevada, for example, claim that the Sanders campaign has a ‘penchant for violence,'” he said. “That is nonsense. Our campaign has held giant rallies all across this country, including in high-crime areas, and there have been zero reports of violence.”
Reid indicated that he told Sanders he needs to get his troops in order.
“I laid out to him what happened in Las Vegas,” Reid said, recounting his Tuesday afternoon phone call with Sanders. “I wanted to make sure he understands what went on there — the violence, all the other bad things that happened.”
Reid has been in frequent contact with Sanders. In addition to talking to Sanders in Tuesday, Reid spoke to him by phone on Thursday and Friday, he said.
President Obama’s spokesman wouldn’t interject the president into the hostile dispute between Sanders’ supporters and Nevada Democratic Party officials. Instead, spokesman Josh Earnest pointed to Obama’s most recent call for civility in political discourse.
Americans “have heard the president, on a number of occasions, talk about how political disputes can never justify an act of violence,” Earnest said. “And you know, the president talked about this in a speech at the Rutgers commencement ceremony just on Sunday, about the importance of good citizenship, about the importance of focusing on facts and evidence, and how the establishment of our political system was intended to resolve disputes among our citizens, to prevent violence from occurring in the first place.”
Earnest also said Obama expects the candidates to adhere to a non-violence policy.
“And the way that candidates in both parties address this question publicly is important; and I’m confident it’s something that people all across the country will carefully watch,” he said.
Nicole Duran contributed
