Trump woos Sanders supporters on eve of debate

“Bernie Sanders gave Hillary the Dem nomination when he gave up on the e-mails. That issue has only gotten bigger!” Trump tweeted Sunday morning.

Trump also said that many on Sanders’ team have been “treated badly” by Clinton’s campaign, and that many of them like his stance on trade, “a lot!”

Trump’s repeated suggestion that he and Sanders have similar views on trade, which include bashing the North American Free Trade Agreement, criticizing the Trans-Pacific Partnership and accusing China of currency manipulation, has been deemed “mostly true” by Politifact.

Trump’s play could prove lucrative, even if he only able to lure a fraction of the 12 million people who voted for Sanders in the primary.

As many as a third of Sanders backers are refusing to get behind Clinton, despite Sanders endorsing Clinton in July, just before the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, and urging his followers to join the former secretary of state in her fight to defeat Trump.

“Our job is to do two things — to defeat Donald Trump and to elect Hillary Clinton,” Sanders said at the convention later in the month.

“It is easy to boo, but it is harder to look your kids in the face if we are living under a Trump presidency,” he said.

Trump has sought the to attract Sanders ever since the endorsement.

“I am somewhat surprised that Bernie Sanders was not true to himself and his supporters. They are not happy that he is selling out!” Trump tweeted on the very same day as the endorsement.

The Sanders campaign tweeted out an immediate response to Trump, mocking him for being “too afraid” to accept a proposed debate between the two in California.