Bernie Sanders supporters, often nicknamed “Bernie Bros” online, are notorious as the most vicious Democratic fanboys, but Sanders maintains that he doesn’t have a Bernie Bro problem.
Pressing him on the issue at the Democratic debate in Nevada on Wednesday night, rival Pete Buttigieg charged, “At a certain point, you’ve got to ask yourself, ‘Why did this pattern arise?’ Why is it especially the case among your supporters?”
But Sanders said that’s not his problem.
“If there are a few people who make ugly remarks, who attack trade union leaders, I disown those people. They are not part of our movement.” – @BernieSanders pic.twitter.com/9MooBGB2aj
— Pod Save America (@PodSaveAmerica) February 20, 2020
“We have over 10.6 million people on Twitter, and 99.9% of them are decent human beings, are working people, are people who believe in justice, compassion, and love,” Sanders said. “And if there are a few people who make ugly remarks, who attack trade union leaders, I disown those people. They are not part of our movement.”
He continued, making the problem about trolls who target his own supporters:
Ohio state Sen. Nina Turner, who has been the victim of online attacks, promptly responded on Twitter, saying that Sanders was “providing important context for those calling our supporters too angry. Yes, zealous twitter exists across the board, and some should cool it, but ours are singled out bc the anger is against a corrupt system that benefits those already holding the [mic].”
.@BernieSanders providing important context for those calling our supporters too angry. Yes, zealous twitter exists across the board, and some should cool it, but ours are singled out bc the anger is against a corrupt system that benefits those already holding the ?#DemDebate
— Nina Turner (@ninaturner) February 20, 2020
Not content with his one attempt to pass the blame, Sanders also found another scapegoat for his virulent followers: Russian trolls.
He added, though he was “not being too paranoid,” that, because of Russian efforts to “try to interfere in our election and divide us up” in 2016, that kind of influence would not be out of the question in 2020. “I’m not saying that’s happening” again, he said, but why would anyone who supports him attack union leaders?
Lest we forget, some union leaders pointed out Sanders’s Medicare for All plan would end union healthcare plans, so it’s very reasonable to believe some Sanders supporters would attack union leaders.
Punting off the problems of his supporters onto a Russian conspiracy is not a good look.
When Elizabeth Warren later complained that Sanders’s “campaign relentlessly attacks everyone,” she was right.
As the Atlantic reported, Sanders speechwriter David Sirota has been attacking other Democratic candidates on Twitter, even before announcing that he was working with Sanders. Among other bombastic tweets, many of which have been deleted, Sirota said his critics “are deranged and/or running a deliberate disinfo campaign.”
Even Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who endorsed Sanders, has called out the Bernie Bros, saying they’re a “real problem” for the campaign.
Sanders has a Bernie Bro problem, and even his own party recognizes it. He can’t just explain it away by blaming Russian trolls.
