Moments after Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) was declared the winner of New Hampshire’s Democratic primary, CNN’s far-left liberals like host and activist Van Jones were ecstatically gloating about how “this guy is on the march” just like President Trump in 2016. And they didn’t appreciate it when establishment Democrats such as former Obama advisor David Axelrod pumped the bakes by noting how well “moderate” candidates did by comparison.
Jones was the first panelist to speak after the race was called, and he wasted no time in praising the coalition Sanders had built and how he was on the raise:
VAN JONES: Listen, he's on track. It is true that he is -- he can get black support, he is winning Latino/Latina support right now. He's got young support. He’s got an army of donors who are willing to— He and Bloomberg have inexhaustible resources because he can get – So, this guy is doing it and, listen, I remember when Trump was on the march and everybody kept saying, “Yeah, okay, so he won this time but, of course, he'll be stopped, and let's figure out what Marco Rubio is going to do or what somebody else is going to do.”
“This guy is on the march. I think you're going to see the establishment freak out and try to stop him, but tonight you have to give him credit. It is very, very difficult to pull off what he's pulled off,” Jones declared. “He's never actually been a part of this party but he's transformed the party without joining it, and now the voters are coming with him.”
Host Anderson Cooper then marveled at “the small-dollar donations” to the Sanders campaign, calling it “extraordinary” and “something we haven't really seen.” Of course, that was a tee-up to former Sanders campaign staffer Alexandria Rojas, who proclaimed: “This is not some fluke. It is because of years of hard work and a movement that was led by, again, one of the most diverse coalitions of young people America has seen.”
Former Hillary Clinton campaign staffer Jess McIntosh could barely contain her excitement as she crowned Sanders the “new Democratic frontrunner.”
Of the establishment Democrats on the panel, Axelrod seemed to be the bravest since he spoke up to pop the far-left bubble. “But I just want to say, again, there are warning signs in these first two races here, too. We can say that he's bringing the people along with him, but 75 percent of them didn't come. And that's true in Iowa as well,” he argued, taking a clear shot at Jones’s comment.
Just as Axelrod reminded them that Sanders had previously won the state with 60 percent of the vote, his colleagues began to yell over him, causing Cooper to demand they let him finish.
“If there is a center-left candidate around whom people gravitate there is a majority of voters there to take him on, whether that happens is a big question. We've got two moderate candidates who have come out of this in very strong shape tonight in Buttigieg and Klobuchar,” Axelrod finally added as the far-lefties again raised their voices.
To accent the verbal battle, CNN weekend host Michael Smerconish speculated that the Democratic primary could be headed towards a brokered convention. “I'm not here to predict that will definitely happen, but I think that today, as compared to 48 hours ago, we're still closer.”
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
CNN’s American’s Choice 2020: New Hampshire Primary
February 11, 2020
11:19:33 p.m. EasternWOLD BLITZER: CNN projects Bernie Sanders is the winner in the New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary. Anderson, you've got to give Bernie Sanders a lot of credit.
ANDERSON COOPER: Yeah. No doubt about it, he has hung in there and for now he can say he got the popular vote in Iowa, and has won New Hampshire. Van Jones, where does it go from here?
VAN JONES: Listen, he's on track. It is true that he is -- he can get black support, he is winning Latino/Latina support right now. He's got young support. He’s got an army of donors who are willing to— He and Bloomberg have inexhaustible resources because he can get – So, this guy is doing it and, listen, I remember when Trump was on the march and everybody kept saying, “Yeah, okay, so he won this time but, of course, he'll be stopped, and let's figure out what Marco Rubio is going to do or what somebody else is going to do.”
This guy is on the march. I think you're going to see the establishment freak out and try to stop him, but tonight you have to give him credit. It is very, very difficult to pull off what he's pulled off. He's never actually been a part of this party but he's transformed the party without joining it, and now the voters are coming with him.
COOPER: And the support. I mean, the small-dollar donations that we—is what has been fueling his campaign, it is extraordinary. I mean, it is something we haven't really seen.
ALEXANDRA ROJAS: Yeah. Well, look, as someone who worked on the 2016 campaign and someone who helped start an organization that came out of that because we believe so much in this hopeful vision of what our country could be. You know, and to the -- that's huge, this night is momentous. And to the thousands of young people that are part of the most diverse generation of America, that America has ever seen, this is their victory tonight. This is not some fluke. It is because of years of hard work and a movement that was led by, again, one of the most diverse coalitions of young people America has seen.
COOPER: Governor, Jake Tapper made an important point, which is, of the top three people coming out of the New Hampshire it's really only Bernie Sanders who has support among African-Americans, and more diversity as you move into Nevada and South Carolina.
(…)
JESS MCINTOSH: I'm not sure at all that Mike Bloomberg is prepared that how much the Bernie Sanders movement is ready for a Michael Bloomberg opponent. That is literally what they have honed their message over the last four years to defeat and if he steps right in there, it could not give Bernie a better opportunity to use his message.
COOPER: Also, Bernie Sanders has been running for now this is the second time.
MCINTOSH: Yes, he has.
COOPER: Michael Bloomberg has not been running for anything in a while.
MCINTOSH: I’ve been saying all night that it’s just the first two states, but I think that we can say right now we have a new Democratic front runner. Bernie Sanders is the frontrunner for the 2020 race right now.
DAVID AXELROD: First of all, Bernie Sanders will be here until the end of this race. He is built for -- he is durable here, he's got renewable resources, a very committed base. But I just want to say, again, there are warning signs in these first two races here, too. We can say that he's bringing the people along with him, but 75 percent of them didn't come. And that's true in Iowa as well. So the fact is, he has not -- he won 60 percent in the state last time and yes it was a two –
[Crosstalk}
COOPER: Let him finish. Let him finish.
AXELROD (fighting against crosstalk): But if there is -- if there is a center-left candidate around whom people gravitate there is a majority of voters there to take him on, whether that happens is a big question. We've got two moderate candidates who have come out of this in very strong shape tonight in Buttigieg and Klobuchar.
Biden’s still has a -- he's still going to try and revive his campaign in South Carolina. If he goes into super Tuesday he's going to get some votes. So we'll see.
To your point, Anderson, Mike Bloomberg is a very formidable person, he’s got unlimited resources, he has never faced the pressures of a presidential campaign. He has never taken the kind of scrutiny that he will get as a candidate as they all do and it starts next week in that debate. We’ll see how he performs, but he has to step up from behind the—
COOPER: But you know what billionaires love? Scrutiny.
[Laughter]
(…)
MICHAEL SMERCONISH: I know that every four years there's this speculation and it's great fodder to talk about a brokered convention. I'm not here to predict that will definitely happen, but I think that today, as compared to 48 hours ago, we're still closer.
AXELROD: Yup. Closer.
NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON: Yeah. Yeah. It seems more likely this go around than any –
[Crosstalk]
(…)
