Bernie Sanders says Hillary Clinton 'not qualified' to be president

Bernie Sanders argues Clinton is not qualified to be president

(Image credit: CNN/YouTube)

published 7 April 2016

The Democratic presidential race is finally starting to approach the Republican one in terms of virulence. The fireworks on Wednesday started with Hillary Clinton questioning whether Bernie Sanders is even a Democrat, and ended with Sanders listing ways he believes Clinton is not "qualified" to be president.

Clinton "has been saying lately that she thinks that I am 'not qualified' to be president," Sanders told a crowd in Philadelphia. "Well, let me, let me just say in response to Secretary Clinton: I don't believe that she is qualified, if she is, through her super PAC, taking tens of millions of dollars in special interest funds. I don't think that you are qualified if you get $15 million from Wall Street through your super PAC." He also listed her vote to authorize the Iraq War and her support of "almost every disastrous trade agreement," specifically the U.S.-Panama free trade deal passed under President Obama, which Sanders said "gave the green light to wealthy people and corporations all over the world to avoid pay taxes owed to their countries."

In response, Clinton campaign spokesman Brian Fallon noted that, Sanders' air quotes not withstanding, Clinton never said Sanders is "not qualified" to be president:

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Clinton did, however, respond to a question about whether Sanders is qualified by arguing that "what he has been saying about the core issues in his whole campaign doesn't seem to be rooted in an understanding of either the law or the practical ways you get something done." It should also be noted that Sanders' list of disqualifiers would exclude Obama but largely endorse a President Donald Trump.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.