Trump tells South Carolina Republicans to vote for ‘crazy’ Bernie Sanders in the state’s open primary as crowds at his rally declare he will be easier to beat than Joe Biden
Donald Trump has urged his South Carolina supporters to vote for Bernie Sanders in the state’s Democratic primary, after his supporters declared the Vermont senator would be easier to beat than Joe Biden in November’s general election.
The Commander-in-chief made the declaration during a 14,000 strong rally at the North Charleston Coliseum on Friday night, ahead of the primary on Saturday – which is ‘open’ so that all voters can cast a ballot regardless of party affiliation.
Trump told the crowds he wanted to take a poll to see which candidate is the weakest, and then ask them to go vote for them
Donald Trump urged his South Carolina supporters to vote for Bernie Sanders in the state’s Democratic primary on Saturday after taking a ‘poll’ to find out which candidate they thought was weakest
Trump asked crowds at his Friday rally whether Joe Biden or Bernie Sanders would be easiest for him to beat in the general election. The crowd claimed Sanders would be best
He explained that he was going to take a ‘real’ poll, to counter all of the ‘fake’ polls that are pushed out by the media.
‘Who do I want to run against [in the general election]? Who the hell is easier to beat?’ he asked the crowds, before yelling out the names of the top two contenders.
‘Crazy Bernie?’ he asked, before the crowd cheered loudly.
‘Or Sleepy Joe?’ he quizzed, as the crowds reacted with less enthusiasm.
Reacting to the difference in volume, Trump asserted that Sanders would be the best contender to go up against in November.
‘I think Crazy Bernie has it!’ he laughed as the large crowd hollered and applauded.
Elsewhere during the energetic rally, Trump came out guns blazing against Democrats and the media, claiming the two entities are politicizing the coronavirus.
‘The press is in hysteria mode,’ the president claimed.
‘Now the Democrats are politicizing the coronavirus,’ Trump said. ‘They’re politicizing it. We did one of the great jobs you see.’
‘They have no clue. They don’t have any clue,’ he said of the other side of the political aisle.
‘They can’t even count their votes in Iowa,’ he said in reference to the fiasco in the first-in-the-nation caucus state, which failed to declare an official winner weeks after ballots were cast.
Donald Trump claimed to rally-goers Friday evening that the ‘press is in hysteria mode’ over the coronavirus, as he continued to downplay the threat
The president held his rally in North Charleston on the eve of the Democratic primary elections in South Carolina, where the state’s party will decided who they want to take on the president in November
Trump also took a poll if the crowd to see who they thought it would be easier for him to beat in the general elections: Bernie Sanders or Joe Biden
Trump brought both South Carolina Senators Lindsey Graham (right) and Tim Scott (left) up on stage to praise the Republican lawmakers
Trump said that since Democrats could not beat him with the ‘Russia hoax,’ they instead are trying to turn attention to the coronavirus, which Trump says is ‘their new hoax.’
The president held his South Carolina rally on the eve of the Democratic primary election in the state. He was joined by South Carolina Senators Lindsey Graham and Tom Scott – both Republicans.
‘All I can say is that the fake news just doesn’t get it. Do they?’ he posed to the thousands of rally-goers, referencing the hype behind his reelection campaign.
The president appeared testy as he came out on stage Friday evening as his administration faces backlash on its handling of the coronavirus outbreak and tumbling Stock Market to go along with it.
At one point Trump brought both South Carolina senators on stage and allowed them to step up to the microphone after showering them with praise – especially for Graham, who was one of the president’s biggest defenders during the impeachment proceedings.
When Graham stepped up to the mic, he thanked the president.
‘Thank you for the strongest economy in my lifetime,’ he said. ‘And thank you, more than anything else, for putting up with the never ending bulls••t you have to go through.’
The Stock Market saw its worst week since the 2008 crash as global markets continued to drop amid coronavirus concerns.
But Trump continued to downplay the situation, chalking it up to a bit over a dozen cases in the U.S. and boasting that there have been no deaths so far. He also compared the lack of deaths connected to coronavirus in the U.S. to deaths related to the flu.
‘We did something that’s been pretty amazing. We have 15 people in this massive country, and because of the fact that we won early – we could have had a lot more than that – we’re doing great, our country is doing so great. We are so unified,’ he asserted, clarifying that it was the GOP that was more unified and not the country as a whole.
Scott stepped up to the microphone to make some short remarks at the rally
Lindsey Graham also took the mic, and thanked the president. ‘Thank you for the strongest economy in my lifetime,’ he said to Trump. ‘And thank you, more than anything else, for putting up with the never ending bulls••t you have to go through’
South Carolina is the last of the four early primary states, and Democratic will head to the polls Saturday to vote for the candidate they want to take on Trump in November.
The Friday night rally marks the fourth time that president has presented counter-programming to the Democratic primaries, as he also held a rally in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada is the days surrounding the caucuses and primaries in those states.
Donald Trump won the 2016 primary election in South Carolina, earning 32.5 per cent of the vote in a crowded Republican primary field.
He also won South Carolina in the general elections that year by nearly 15 per cent, earning 54.9 per cent to Hillary Clinton’s 40.7 per cent.
The rally was held as concerns over the spread of coronavirus continues to plague the nation, especially after earlier this week when the Centers for Disease Control said an outbreak in the U.S. was inevitable.
Trump told reporters at the White House Friday before departing for South Carolina that he could even ban travel from Italy, and other developed countries, that have seen higher rates of coronavirus cases.
‘Well, we’re looking at that right now and we’re looking at a couple of countries – a few countries that have a little bit disproportionately high number,’ Trump said when asked about Italy. ‘And we’re going to make that decision very soon.’
Trump talked of tightening travel restrictions and at the same time he attacked the media and the Democrats over their reactions to the coronavirus outbreak.
He suggested that the hype and the criticism were over the top.
‘I think they’re doing everything they can to instill fear in people and I think it’s ridiculous and I think they’re very disreputable,’ Trump told reporters when asked if he believes the coronavirus situation was a ‘hoax.’
Trump said yes and referenced CNN ‘s coverage, calling it a ‘disreputable network.’
He continued his attack on the media at his rally, claiming the press coverage and Democrats’ reactions were creating the hysteria surrounding the coronavirus outbreak.
As Trump headed to South Carolina for the rally, Sanders slammed the president for leaving his post at the White House amid the growing coronavirus crisis.
‘He is here in South Carolina for one reason – to disrupt the Democratic primary – that’s why he’s here,’ Sanders told his own rally crowd in Columbia, South Carolina just a few hours before the president took stage.
‘He hopes he can get a little media attention taken away from the Democratic candidates,’ the Democratic socialist candidate continued. ‘How petty, how pathetic is that?’