Bernie Sanders Blames Media For Making Politics A ‘Beauty Contest’, Knocks NYT Focus On Donors

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) placed the blame for the political crisis currently engulfing President Joe Biden squarely with the media and accused news outlets of making “politics into a beauty contest” while ignoring kitchen table issues.

Speaking with CNN anchor Kaitlin Collins on Monday, Sanders grew frustrated as the host asked about concerns among Democrats about Biden’s mental fitness and attacked what he said was a disparity in coverage.

Collins asked Sanders what he was hearing from Democrats within his caucus.

Sanders began: “What I’m hearing from the people of this country, and I get around the country a lot, is what they want politicians to stand up for a working class and take on powerful special interests, who are in many ways running our country. I find it interesting that there have been five or six articles in The New York Times talking about the donor class, right? This is what the donors are thinking. Really? The last I heard, American democracy was supposed to be about what ordinary people think, not just wealthy people…”

In a lengthy rundown of Biden’s record, Sanders said that the president had “stood up for the working class of this country probably more strongly than any president in modern history.” Looking ahead, the senator said that Biden needed to focus on housing issues and Medicare.

The host attempted to steer the conversation back to concerns around Biden’s age and acuity: “You’re talking about the issues. But what about the age aspect of this conversation? And not just age but his ability to do…”

Sanders interrupted: “But you know, what else people are worried about. They’re worried about his age they’re worried about his mental acuity. But you know what else they’re worried about? Whether they’re able to afford to feed their families, to pay the rent.”

As Collins tried to intervene ,the senator rounded on the media: “What media does, to a large degree, is make politics into a beauty contest into a Grammy award-winning contest. You are voting for somebody on policy — who is going to improve your life? Do you want somebody who thinks the climate change is a hoax who takes away women’s right to control their own bodies, who was appointed extremely anti-union leaders to his administration, which is what Trump did?”

As Collins pushed back with poll data on policy issues that showed former President Donald Trump leading Biden by 13 points. As the conversation cycled round those issues again, the conversation fell back to voter concerns around “cognitive ability” and Sanders defended Biden once more, he blamed the media once again for pushing the age narrative.

The host asked: “But so far, voters have shown concerns about his age. What does he need to do specifically? What do you think would help? You’re not saying he needs to do a test. You are saying he needs to get out there. What does that look like? Press conference, interviews?”

Sanders said: “You keep talking about cognitive issues, and they’re real and legitimate…”

“I’m talking about voter concerns, not my concerns,” Collins countered.

Sanders continued: “I think what he has got to do is get out there, interact with people and turn off the teleprompter. People can make a judgment for themselves how well he is doing. But what I would also say is what we are not talking about, and this I would really fault media for – this [election] is not [about] who is the best entertainer. The truth is, Trump had a good TV show. He was a very good entertainer but do people really think and want to vote for somebody who thinks climate change is a hoax? Who wants to deny women the right to control their own bodies? I don’t think so. So what we have got to do is inject policy. The contrast between what Biden stands for and what Trump stands for. And then if you do that, I think Biden’s could do just fine.”

Collins responded: “And with all due respect, obviously, President Biden and Trump had 90-minutes side-by-side to draw those contrasts themselves. President Biden had every opportunity.”

In conclusion, Sanders threw his full support behind Biden as the nominee.

Watch above on CNN.

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