Hillary Clinton Continues Criticism of Bernie’s ‘Rabid’ Supporters: ‘Relentless, Ruthless’ in Attacking Me

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Hillary Clinton stood by her criticism of former rival Bernie Sanders and his supporters in an interview Wednesday, after initial comments made in a documentary set off a controversy this week.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Clinton said she “absolutely” stood by the comments she made about Bernie and his “Bros” in the new Hulu documentary, Hillary.

“It wasn’t just him, it was his major supporters, his online advocates. They were relentless, ruthless, in not just attacking me but people who supported me,” Clinton told the Times. “Some of the groups of women that formed, like Pantsuit Nation, to support me during the campaign were so barraged with vile attacks that they made themselves private groups.”

“There was just something about what he, not only motivated but, accepted in how he talked about me, and how he allowed others to talk about me, that I found deeply offensive. And he seems to turn a blind eye, to approve, the same kind of behavior with respect to how other candidates, particularly women candidates, are being treated online by his rabid followers,” she said.

The former secretary of state had a bitter primary fight with the Independent Vermont senator in 2016. Clinton ended up winning the nomination, and Sanders campaigned for her in the general election. Many of his supporters held onto the grudge beyond their reconciliation, accusing the Democratic party of rigging the primary in her favor.

In Hillary, Clinton had some harsh words for Sanders: “He was in Congress for years. He had one senator support him. Nobody likes him, nobody wants to work with him, he got nothing done. He was a career politician. It’s all just baloney and I feel so bad that people got sucked into it.”

She said that assessment still holds in a new interview with the Hollywood Reporter, and even said she might not endorse and campaign for Sanders if he became the Democratic nominee to challenge President Donald Trump.

In a tweet addressing the controversy on Tuesday, Clinton said she would support the eventual Democratic nominee:

I thought everyone wanted my authentic, unvarnished views!

But to be serious, the number one priority for our country and world is retiring Trump, and, as I always have, I will do whatever I can to support our nominee.

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) January 22, 2020