White House Says Bernie and Hillary Are ‘On Message’ About SCOTUS Pick

The drama surrounding President Obama‘s quest to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia continues to unfold, as Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders now says that while he supports Obama’s nomination of Chief Judge Merrick Garland, he would ask Obama to withdraw Garland if Sanders wins the election in November and he still hasn’t been confirmed.

At Friday’s White House press briefing, Press Secretary Josh Earnest used an odd turn of phrase to respond to a reporter who wondered if President Obama is dismayed at what the reporter called a lack of support for Garland’s nomination, a turn of phrase that appears to indicate a high level of coordination between the administration and the candidates:

Both of them have said that Chief Judge Garland is eminently qualified, that he would do a good job on the Supreme Court, and they have urged Republicans to hold hearings, an up-or-down vote, and they have urged the Senate to confirm him. My point is, they’re very much on-message.

The White House’s push for Judge Garland has included a sophisticated and overwhelming social media campaign, the President’s own strong media presence, and now, apparently, some fairly rigid message discipline for the two Democratic presidential candidates.

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.

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