President Donald Trump and journalist James O’Keefe hinted on Sunday that something big is about to drop on Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders as the 78-year-old socialist has surged in recent polls.
Trump tweeted, “Wow! Crazy Bernie Sanders is surging in the polls, looking very good against his opponents in the Do Nothing Party. So what does this all mean? Stay tuned!”
O’Keefe quickly followed up to Trump’s tweet, writing, “Stay tuned everyone. Something very big is going to happen. The first bombshell tape is going to drop this week.”
Stay tuned everyone. Something very big is going to happen.
The first bombshell tape is going to drop this week. https://t.co/BFGnoCeJE7 https://t.co/fJzoguHplM
— James O'Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) January 12, 2020
USA Today reported on Sunday that Sanders “is solidly second in most national polls behind Biden, and he either leads or is tied in recent polls in the first two states that vote, Iowa and New Hampshire.”
In a recent interview with Politico, Jim Messina, Barack Obama’s 2012 campaign manager, warned Democrats that if Sanders is the Democratic nominee that Democrats will struggle across the board in national elections.
“If I were a campaign manager for Donald Trump and I look at the field, I would very much want to run against Bernie Sanders,” Messina said. “I think the contrast is the best. He can say, ‘I’m a business guy, the economy’s good and this guy’s a socialist.’ I think that contrast for Trump is likely one that he’d be excited about in a way that he wouldn’t be as excited about Biden or potentially Mayor Pete or some of the more Midwestern moderate candidates.”
“From a general election perspective, socialism is not going to be what Democrats are going to want to defend,” Messina continued. “If you’re the Democratic nominee for the Montana Senate race, you don’t want to spend the election talking about socialism.”
Daily Wire Editor at Large Josh Hammer wrote the following about Sanders’ views on the economy and healthcare back in September:
- Economy: Sanders holds far-left views on economics that place him barely, if at all, to the right of an authentic European-style socialist. He supports punitive taxation and massive redistribution to mollify the purported scourge of wealth and income inequality in America. He has consistently supported substantial tax hikes on income, capital gains, and estates alike. Sanders supports substantial regulation of the financial services sector and large-scale government spending on infrastructure programs. He has generally opposed free trade due to reasons of labor protectionism. He has been critical of the Federal Reserve for allegedly empowering the wealthy. Sanders supports increasing the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15. He has taken a heavy-handed view of antitrust enforcement.
- Health Care: Sanders is a longtime support of single-payer socialized medicine, and in many ways is the intellectual progenitor for the current Democratic Party candidate trend of favoring “Medicare for All.” He has often been critical of Obamacare for not going far enough with respect to health care coverage for all uncovered Americans. Sanders has never indicated any willingness to structurally reform fiscally ruinous health care-related entitlement programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid.
This report has been updated to include additional information.