A popular subreddit supporting Bernie Sanders titled, “r/SandersForPresident,” announced Thursday it would be “removing all content from CNN for the foreseeable future,” because “they have abandoned their journalistic integrity,” citing Tuesday night’s debate where a network moderator cited an unsubstantiated claim as fact.
“CNN has spent the previous four days using all of its media power to try to prevent Senator Sanders from becoming President,” the administrator of the subreddit wrote in a post.
This situation came to head last night when CNN hosted a Democratic primary debate. CNN’s debate has been criticized across the entire ideological spectrum of media today because their moderators spent the entire debate asking slanted questions obviously designed to weaken Americans’ confidence in Senator Sanders, the current frontrunner in the first three primary states.
CNN political correspondent and moderator in Tuesday’s debate, Abby Phillip, asked the most anticipated question of the night when bringing this week’s feud between Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren up for discussion.
On Monday, CNN published a story of four anonymous sources alledging Sanders told Warren in a 2018 December meeting that a woman could not win the White House. After the story was published, Warren repeated the accusations herself.
Sanders categorically denied the claims and has labeled them as “ludicrous.”
In Tuesday night’s debate however, CNN deemed Sanders guilty of making the comments despite Sanders’ denial of making the statements.
“Senator Warren, what did you think when Senator Sanders told you a woman could not win the election?” Phillip asked the Massachusetts senator on stage.
CNN: “Sen. Sanders, I do want to be clear here, you’re saying that you never told senator Warren that a woman could not win the election?"
SANDERS: "That is correct."
CNN: “Sen. Warren, what did you think when senator Sanders told you a woman could not win the election?" pic.twitter.com/BZ1NajmQE9— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) January 15, 2020
In 1988, Sanders once argued that a woman could indeed capture the Oval Office.
“The real issue is not whether you’re black or white, whether you’re a woman or a man. In my view, a woman could be elected president of the United States,” Sanders said. “Are you on the side of workers and poor people? Or are you on the side of big money and the corporations?”
“In my view a woman could be elected president of the United States.” — Bernie Sanders, 1988 pic.twitter.com/WJd847DdmA
— Meagan Day (@meaganmday) January 13, 2020
Immediately following the debate, Warren confronted Sanders for denying her allegations once again to the primetime audience.
“I think you called me a liar on national TV,” Warren said after refusing to shake the senator’s hand.
“Let’s not do it right now,” Sanders said. “You want to have that discussion, we’ll have that discussion. You called me a liar.”
"I THINK YOU CALLED ME A LIAR ON NATIONAL TV" pic.twitter.com/c7LWL5SLoh
— Ursula Perano (@UrsulaPerano) January 16, 2020
