Trump, conservative think-tanker are very concerned that Warren is hurting Bernie, the 'progressive cause'

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published 5 March 2020

Some supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) complained after Super Tuesday that Sen. Elizabeth Warren's (D-Mass.) cost Sanders a handful of primaries because, as they saw it, she took votes from her fellow progressive candidate, allowing former Vice President Joe Biden some big wins. You know who else is angry at Warren for hurting Sanders? President Trump, apparently.

And Trump isn't the only conservative who thinks Warren's "stubbornness" is killing Sanders. Henry Olsen, a senior fellow at the conservative think tank the Ethics and Public Policy Center, made a longer version of Trump's argument in a Washington Post column Wednesday.

Warren, "effectively a niche candidate of the chardonnay left," could have "followed [Sen. Amy] Klobuchar's example and dropped out on Tuesday, endorsing Sanders," wrote Olsen, a columnist "focusing on politics, populism, and American conservative thought." "Dropping out then and endorsing Sanders would have meant she sacrificed her dream in the short run while uniting the progressive vote behind the clear leader," and her votes "would have easily given Sanders victories in at least Maine, Minnesota, Massachusetts, and probably Texas as well. Instead, Warren's votes were wasted" and "the progressive cause" is dead.

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There are a lot of assumptions packed into that argument, starting with that Warren voters would pick Sanders as their second choice. Also:

The Republican "plan A is a Sanders nomination (which they think would lose)," Washington Post political reporter David Weigel wrote Wednesday morning. "Plan B is a messy primary that leads to 'rigged!' bitterness."

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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.