Bernie Sanders, Some Dems Commend Trump’s Politics; Conservative Media Spins Narrative

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) commended President Donald Trump for some of his politics this week, joining some Democrats in a potential shift away from political polarization and towards constructive criticism. Some media outlets – largely on the right – spun the comments to fit a more conservative narrative. Media on the left, on the other hand, largely omitted coverage.

Sanders' Comments: “He may be crazy. He may be a pathological liar. But he's not stupid. But what I mean by that is the message that he gives off – in one way or another – is 'the system is broken, and I alone can fix the system.' Well the truth is, the system is broken. He is making it worse. But the Democrats have got to acknowledge that the system is broken!” Sanders said on an episode of “The Daily Show” on Monday. During “The Tim Dillon Show” on Wednesday, he said, “So, has – historically – the United States done well under Democrats and Republicans protecting the border? The answer is no. Trump did a better job.”

Other Comments: Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said, after Israel and Hamas agreed to the first steps of Trump’s peace plan, “It's a really significant first step, and I really commend President Trump and his administration, as well as Arab leaders in the region, for making the commitment to the 20-point plan and seeing a path forward… I am very hopeful that we’ll be able to see progress. Today is a good start, but we have to keep going from here.” Gov. JB Pritzker (D-IL) said on Fox News (Right bias) on Thursday, “I asked President Biden and wrote a very public letter to deal with some of the problems at the border… And we weren’t getting any help, really, from the federal government… Since President Trump has taken office, we don't have the problem that existed before with people coming across the border.” However, Pritzker also criticized Trump's methods and called for “an actual bill that Democrats and Republicans can rally around.”

Conservative Spin: Daily Caller’s (Right) headline about Pritzker's comments stated, “Democrat JB Pritzker Admits Biden's Border Crisis Went Away As Soon As Trump Took Office.” A headline from Fox News asserted that Sanders “praise[d] Trump” and “slam[med] Biden” on border policies. Washington Examiner’s (Lean Right) headline similarly stated, “Bernie Sanders admits 'Trump did better' on the border than Biden.”

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