Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) called YouTube “the YouTube” on Sunday night during the Democratic debate, and his campaign quickly embraced the phrase when it began trending online.
Sanders was attacking former Vice President Joe Biden over his record on Social Security, an issue the two have clashed on several times during the 2020 presidential primary.
“Let me ask you a question, Joe. You’re right here with me. Have you been on the floor of the Senate — you were in the Senate for a few years — time and time again talking about the necessity, with pride, about cutting Social Security, cutting Medicare, cutting veterans programs?” Sanders asked.
“No,” Biden responded.
“You never said that?” Sanders asked.
“No,” Biden repeated.
“America, go to the website right now. Go to the YouTube right now,” Sanders urged, looking at the cameras at the audience-free debate.
“Go to the YouTube” quickly trended on Twitter, with some mocking Sanders for using the incorrect website name and others magnifying his attack on Biden.
The Sanders campaign embraced the phrase by repeating the line on his Twitter feed with a link to YouTube, while Biden’s campaign urged people to check PolitiFact rather than a video clip. PolitiFact said Biden’s position on cutting benefits has changed over time and called the Sanders ad “misleading.”