Democratic Candidates Slam Clinton's Divisive Comments About Sanders

This week, a new interview with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton caused waves when she referred to Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., as someone “nobody likes.” Now, the former 2016 presidential candidate is facing backlash from her own party.

Speaking to the Hollywood Reporter, Clinton didn’t hold back on sharing her disdain for her former 2016 nomination rival. She claimed that Sanders has “got nothing done” during his time in Congress and said that his supporters frequently troll women who back other candidates online. Clinton also implied that she believed Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s, D-Mass., claims that Sanders once told her a woman cannot be president.

Clinton also said that while her main focus this year will be supporting the Democratic nominee and defeating President Donald Trump, she would be hesitant to support Sanders.

Since the interview was published, a number of prominent Democrats have come forward to condemn Clinton’s remarks as unhelpful and divisive.

Entrepreneur and Democratic nomination hopeful Andrew Yang said that her words do “not seem like a very helpful message.”

Another candidate, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, has also rebuked Clinton for her remarks.

“It’s time to grow up, you know? This isn’t high school,” Gabbard told WMUR-TV. There are more important issues to focus on, “not on what’s going on in Washington and the schoolyard cliques or whatever else it may be,” she added.

President Bill Clinton’s former labor secretary, Robert Reich, has also called Clinton out for her digs at Sanders. “He was an effective legislator, in fact, one of the most effective legislators. Because the more you work behind the scenes and don’t try to push yourself out there and don’t try to get the limelight, the more effective you can be,” Reich said in a video posted to Twitter.

A former political advisor to Clinton and other Democrats, Peter Daou, also condemned the remarks as “the erasure of his diverse coalition by pushing the ‘bro’ narrative” in an op-ed he and his wife, Leela Daou, penned for The Guardian. The “bro narrative” refers to the claims that have been made by Sanders’ opponents that his supporters are primarily aggressive young men.

As for Sanders himself, he’s taken Clinton’s harsh words with good humor. “On a good day, my wife likes me,” Sanders said.

Clinton seemed taken aback by the negative response to her interview and attempted a soft walk-back in a lighthearted tweet, writing that she “thought everyone wanted my authentic, unvarnished views!”