Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Tuesday said the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates flubbed last week’s debate by not going after Sen. Bernard Sanders of Vermont more directly.
“If there was malpractice in the political profession, four people would be sued right now,” Mr. Emanuel said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
“Everybody’s looking at a guy who’s not on the ballot and yelling at him. OK — that’s a lot of anger. And I get why,” he said, referring to former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
“The other guy who’s [the] front-runner — you’re in Vegas, where two years ago the worst mass shooting in American history [happened] and you never say the fact that he has got a pretty good vote with the NRA,” Mr. Emanuel said.
“He also had a heart attack and went to a Vegas hospital. Did he use ’Medicare for All’ or did he use his Senate government health care plan? Which one?” he said. “Nobody asked a single question, so he wins. Big shock.”
Mr. Emanuel said Mr. Sanders is the front-runner and if the dynamics of the race don’t change drastically, he’ll be the presumptive Democratic nominee.
Mr. Bloomberg’s campaign has targeted Mr. Sanders’ record on guns this week, though former Vice President Joseph R. Biden also tried that during the New Hampshire debate earlier this month.
Mr. Sanders said his past voting record on the issue was more in line with his largely rural state, but that the world has changed and his views on the issue have changed over the years.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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