Election 2016: Bill Clinton Issues Verbal Tirade Against Bernie Sanders

Former U.S. president Bill Clinton unleashed his strongest attack on Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders and his supporters Sunday, reportedly portraying Sanders as hypocritical, “hermetically sealed” and dishonest. Bill Clinton’s nearly 50-minute stinging attack at an event in New Hampshire was markedly different from the milder language that he has used to attack the campaign of the Vermont senator until now.

With two days left to the primary election in New Hampshire, Bill Clinton shed his stump speech endorsing Hillary Clinton’s achievements and her power as a “change maker.” Instead, the 69-year-old lashed out at the Sanders campaign for what he described as inaccurate and “sexist” attacks on his wife. Without mentioning Sanders by name, the former president called out Sanders on many loopholes in his policy proposals that Bill Clinton had identified. He reportedly labeled Sanders as “the champion of all things small and the enemy of all things big.”

“When you’re making a revolution you can’t be too careful with the facts,” Bill Clinton said, deriding Sanders’ oft-mentioned call for a political revolution.

Sanders is leading the polls by double digits among Democratic candidates in New Hampshire, according to the latest CNN/WMUR tracking poll.

Bill Clinton credited New Hampshire for making him the “comeback kid” in his 1992 presidential bid and for handing Hillary Clinton a win in 2008. He criticized Sanders’ universal healthcare plan and free college for all proposals, calling them impossible to fund. “The New Hampshire I campaigned in really cared that you knew what you were doing, and how it was paid for.”

The New Hampshire I knew would not have voted for me if I had done that,” he added.

Bill Clinton’s strongest criticism was, however, directed toward some of Sanders' supporters nick-named “Bernie Bros,” who he alleged were using misogynistic and sexist language to attack Hillary Clinton’s supporters online.

“[Those] who have gone online to defend Hillary and explain why they're supporting her have been subject to vicious trolling and attacks," Bill Clinton said.