‘Not My View’: Sanders Apologizes After Campaign Surrogate Calls Biden Corrupt
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) issued an apology to former Vice President Joe Biden after a campaign surrogate called him corrupt.
In an interview with CBS News on Sunday, Sanders apologized and said it is “absolutely not my view” that the former vice president is corrupt.
“It is absolutely not my view that Joe is corrupt in any way. And I’m sorry that that op-ed appeared.”
Sanders’ apology came after one of his surrogates, Zephyr Teachout, penned a scathing op-ed in The Guardian published on Monday that accused the Biden of being corrupt.
“Biden has a big corruption problem,” Teachout wrote, adding, “It looks like ‘Middle Class’ Joe has perfected the art of taking big contributions, then representing his corporate donors at the cost of middle- and working-class Americans.”
Teachout’s op-ed comes as Sanders’ campaign has ramped up its attacks on Biden’s record on Social Security and his support of the Iraq War as recent polls have found the two leading the pack for the Democratic presidential nomination.
However, on Sunday, Sanders called Biden a “friend” and vowed to focus on policy differences and avoid personal attacks.
“[Joe] is a decent person. He is a friend of mine. People like him. And we’re not going to make personal attacks on Joe Biden, but I think the record shows that Joe’s history in the Senate and my history in Congress are very different.”
Additionally, Sanders called on his supporters to “engage in civil discourse” and avoid “being hateful.”
“We can disagree with each other without being disagreeable, without being hateful. That is not what American politics should be about,” he said.
Biden thanked Sanders for his apology on the op-ed in a tweet on Monday.
“Thanks for acknowledging this, Bernie,” he said, adding, “These kinds of attacks have no place in this primary. Let’s all keep our focus on making Donald Trump a one-term president.”
Bernie’s “surrogate”* is correct that Biden is corrupt.
It’s also apparent that Bernie’s campaign has a bunch of loose cannons. q.v. Teachout and the guy preaching violent revolution.
Maybe it’s a good thing that the DNC, MSM, and now Hillary have the “fix” in to make sure that Bernie goes down. Again.
Zephyr Teachout is no loose cannon.
Blake his mom, who named him Zephyr Teachout.
Mark is confused about genders, and he is incurious.
Zephyr is female.
Zephyr Teachout would have made a very good A.G. for NY state. I am glad that Bernie’s campaign hired her.
Sorry, Bernie, but that is not MY view.
Biden IS corrupt. He IS willing to take money from donors and promised to do what they want him to do. How much more corrupt can one be?
They’re all corrupt. Big deal.
Obviously the op-ed was 100% correct. The entire Biden family (involving five members) have become multi-millionaires at the expense of others both in the US and abroad during quid pro quo Joe’s tenure as VP; according to an in-depth investigation by a Peter Schweitzer and detailed in his book. The Creep and his enabler – Marxist Barry – should have been impeached the day following their swearing in.
LOL, James, I bought Schweitzer’s book, but I have no intention of accepting his “in-dept investigation” as the only word. I read “Clinton Cash” and his assertions failed to be proven once again.—Schweitzer ADMITTED in 2016 he had NO PROOF to substantiate his claims. And his claims were DISPROVED by EVERY legal body assigned the task of investigation his conspiracies at taxpayer expense at House Republican insistence. So no charges for Hillary AGAIN. EIGHT Benghazi investigations disproving RW conspiracies and ZERO charges. I love that you evoke memories of my paternal grandmother, but they are memories of her die-hard partisan beliefs she repeatedly profess to believe to the eye rolling of everyone in the room. I don’t want your family and friends to laugh at your conspiracies decades after you have departed.