Michael Moore: Clinton comments about Sanders ‘divisive,’ ‘cruel’ and ‘a lie’

Award-winning documentarian Michael Moore on Saturday criticized former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for saying that “nobody likes” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and defended the 2020 presidential candidate’s actions in the lead up to the 2016 election.

“Hillary’s comments about Bernie … that only exists to help Donald Trump,” Moore said in an interview on MSNBC. “It was divisive, it was cruel and it was a lie.”

Moore, a Sanders supporter and surrogate, also rebuked Clinton’s claims that the senator didn’t do enough to unify the party to support Clinton before the 2016 general election. 

“He did 39 rallies on his own for Hillary. When Hillary lost to Barack Obama in the primaries of [2008], she did 12,” Moore said. “Bernie did 39, he supported her, I’ve never heard him say a negative word about her [Clinton]. 

The filmmaker went on to note Sanders’s success in the polls, citing the latest NBC/Wall Street Journal national poll that has Sanders with a one-point lead over former Vice President Joe Biden. He said that despite Clinton’s remarks, Sanders is “beloved” by the people in this country. 

Moore’s comments come amid several comments Clinton has made about Sanders, tearing open old scars from the 2016 election cycle. 

In a podcast interview released on Friday, Clinton blamed “a lot of people highly identified with [Sanders’s] campaign” for urging Sanders supporters to vote for third party candidates in 2016. An effort she claims, helped Trump win the White House. She went on to say that Sanders’s principal supporters were difficult to deal with and attacked Clinton and her supporters. 

Previously, in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Clinton asserted that “nobody likes” Sanders and that he has not been able to get things done during his long career as a lawmaker. 

Other Sanders surrogates besides Moore have criticized the former secretary’s remarks. During a live campaign event in Iowa on Friday, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), who has endorsed Sanders, booed along with supporters after the Clinton comments were brought up. 

After the moderator tried to quell initial boos from the crowd, Tlaib jumped in saying, “I’ll boo. Boo.”

“You all know I can’t be quiet,” Tlaib added. “The haters will shut up on Monday when we win.”

Following her comments, Tlaib apologized, vowing to “do better” and encouraged other Democrats to rally around whoever the Democratic nominee is at the end of the nominating process. 

Despite her recent attacks on Sanders, Clinton has said that she will fully support whoever wins the Democratic nomination.

Sanders has also underscored that he too will support the winner. 

The Iowa caucuses, the nation’s first contest, are Monday.