Sanders Snaps at Reporter After He Was Asked About the Future of His Campaign

As questions arose about when Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) will suspend his presidential campaign, he was not having it.

CNN’s Manu Raju asked Sanders on Wednesday when he would decide the future of his campaign. 

“I’m dealing with a f***ing global crisis,” Sanders shot back.

He added, “Right now, I’m trying to do my best to make sure that we don’t have an economic meltdown and that people don’t die. Is that enough for you to keep me busy for today?”

I noted he's running for president, and he said: “Well right now, right now I'm trying to do my best to make sure that we don't have an economic meltdown and that people don't die. Is that enough for you to keep me busy for today?"

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) March 18, 2020

Then @LisaMascaro asked what he's saying to his supporters, and he sidestepped the question, noting he's sent out a statement. Then, I asked about his timeframe — and he was furious

Afterwards, he mellowed out and answered questions about the crisis for about two more minutes.

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) March 18, 2020

Raju described Sanders as “furious” when he was asked about a timeline on when he would decide the future of his campaign. However, he said the senator “mellowed out” and continued to answer questions about the coronavirus crisis.

After former Vice President Joe Biden won primaries in all three of the states that held elections on Tuesday, the Sanders campaign said Sanders would “assess his campaign.”

On Wednesday morning, Lachlan Markay, a reporter for The Daily Beast, noted that the Sanders campaign had no active ads on Facebook, as IJR has previously reported.

Axios reported on Wednesday that Sanders was suspending his campaign, but Mike Casca — the communications director for Sanders’ campaign— said that the story was “absolutely false.”

That denial led to an apology from Axios, “Our incorrect report on the Sanders campaign was a big error, and we apologize.” 

Statement regarding earlier Axios story: pic.twitter.com/q4Vd8ZgBcK

— Nicholas Johnston (@AxiosNick) March 18, 2020

After Tuesday’s primaries, Biden appears to have built an insurmountable delegate lead over Sanders, leading many to wonder how long the primary will drag on.