President Trump in an early morning tweet on Wednesday claimed that the Democratic establishment was working to “crush” Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-Vt.) presidential candidacy after former Vice President Joe Biden racked up a series of key victories on Super Tuesday.
“The Democrat establishment came together and crushed Bernie Sanders, AGAIN,” Trump said on Twitter, echoing comments he’s made during the Democratic primary.
He also targeted Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) over her continued presence in the race, asserting that it allowed Biden to “unthinkably” win in Massachusetts, which was previously viewed as a state that would go to either her or Sanders. In a separate tweet, he claimed that it was “selfish” for Warren to remain in the race, arguing she had “zero chance of even coming close to winning” and is only hurting Sanders.
“So much for their wonderful liberal friendship. Will he ever speak to her again? She cost him Massachusetts (and came in third), he shouldn’t!” Trump added.
Biden’s once-stalling campaign experienced a huge boost following a decisive primary victory in South Carolina over the weekend, and the momentum carried into many of 14 states where voters cast ballots on Super Tuesday. The former vice president, who experienced a wave of endorsements in the final days leading up to the primaries, won a handful of Southern states, including Texas, North Carolina and Virginia.
His strong showing helped cement a two-candidate race between him and Sanders for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Sanders, meanwhile, secured a significant victory in the delegate-rich California, in addition to wins in Colorado, Utah and his home state of Vermont. The wins are expected to maintain the self-identified democratic socialist’s delegate lead over the Democratic field, but they won’t be enough to push him into an insurmountable advantage. It remains unclear how many total delegates Sanders, Biden and others secured in California.
Trump on Tuesday night mocked Warren and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg over their poor showings, declaring each the “loser” of the primaries.
“The biggest loser tonight, by far, is Mini Mike Bloomberg. His ‘political’ consultants took him for a ride. $700 million washed down the drain, and he got nothing for it,” Trump tweeted, referencing the millions of dollars Bloomberg poured into his White House bid.
Trump has regularly weighed in on the Democratic presidential primary, often using campaign rallies to attack the various candidates in the field. He told reporters on Monday that he thought the race was “rigged” against Sanders after former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) dropped out of the 2020 Democratic race following the South Carolina primary.
Sanders, who has predicated his campaign around progressive policies like “Medicare for All,” is viewed by those in Trump’s circle as the weakest candidate the president may face in the general election.