CNN’s Kirsten Powers, John Avlon Get Heated Over Bernie Sanders: You Basically Called Him a Demagogue!

As Bernie Sanders held his post-Super Tuesday press conference, CNN analysts Kirsten Powers and John Avlon got heated over Bernie Sanders’ rhetoric against the political establishment.

Avlon said he doesn’t like the kind of rhetoric Sanders engages in:

“The problem is where Bernie Sanders is quick to do the ‘us against them’ card. It’s very core to his campaign. That’s a calling card of demagogues through history. I’m not calling Bernie Sanders a demagogue, it’s something we hear a lot from the President of the united States, this one, and I think, you know, we can have a great disagreement without saying that everyone on the other side is an establishment corporate shill. That doesn’t reflect the coalition that Joe Biden’s put together that we saw on Super Tuesday last night and it’s insulting to his supporters. This whole idea of the establishment itself falls apart if you look at the folks who turned out for Joe Biden last night.”

Powers hit back saying, “You know, this ‘I’m not going to say he’s a demagogue,’ but you basically did.”

Avlon shot back, “No no no, I’m sorry, don’t put words in my mouth!”

“‘This is how demagogues behave,'” Powers countered.

“I specifically corrected that to say that that technique of us against them is the calling card of demagogues through history,” Avlon said. “People can use that technique without being a demagogue, but it’s something we’ve heard too much of in our politics recently. When folks use it as a calling card, it’s worth calling it out.”

Powers said he’s just arguing semantics and argued, “He actually didn’t say ‘us against them.'”

“His whole appeal is ‘us against them,'” Avlon shot back.

You can watch above, via CNN.