GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump says he hopes Sen. Bernard Sanders keeps going in the 2016 race on the Democratic side, hinting that Mr. Sanders’ attacks on Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton could help Mr. Trump.
“Crooked Hillary — is there anybody more crooked than this woman? No, is there anybody?” Mr. Trump said at a Thursday rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. “You know Bernie Sanders, who in all fairness, and I have to tell you in all fairness, he said she has bad judgment, all right? She does.”
“He’s been tough on her,” Mr. Trump said. “In fact, I’d like him to keep going, because the longer he goes, the more I’m going to like it.”
“What he’s saying about her … he said she suffers from bad judgment,” Mr. Trump said. “Now, I don’t know. I think she’s qualified, I guess, but that doesn’t mean she’s good.”
“He said she’s not qualified to be president,” Mr. Trump said. “Now what he meant is because her judgment is so bad, so Bernie Sanders — not me — said she’s not qualified. So now I’m going to say she’s not qualified, OK?”
Mr. Trump did say later that he ultimately wants to square off against Mrs. Clinton.
“Now Bernie’s over, I guess, right? It’s over,” Mr. Trump said. “It’s over for Bernie.”
“And really, I want to run against Hillary. I don’t want to run against Bernie,” Mr. Trump said. “I want to run against crooked Hillary Clinton. We’re going to beat her so badly. I want to run against Crooked Hillary.”
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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