AP, Philadelphia
Bernie Sanders questioned whether Democratic rival Hillary Clinton is “qualified” to be president after she spent much of the day criticizing his record and his preparedness for the job.
Sanders also said Wednesday that Clinton is not qualified because of her vote on the war in Iraq and her support for trade agreements that he says are harmful to American workers.
“She has been saying lately that she thinks that I am quote unquote not qualified to be president,” Sanders told a crowd of more than 10,000 people at Temple University’s Liacouras Center in Philadelphia. “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.”
It’s the latest salvo in a war of words that has gotten increasingly heated as underdog Sanders has gained ground on front-runner Clinton, capped by the Vermont senator’s victory in Tuesday’s Wisconsin primary.
Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon responded quickly to Sanders’ comment, writing on Twitter: “Hillary Clinton did not say Bernie Sanders was ‘not qualified.’ But he has now — absurdly — said it about her. This is a new low.”
Indeed, Clinton did not say Sanders was “unqualified” or “not qualified” during a much-quoted interview Wednesday morning on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
In a discussion of an interview with Sanders that appeared in the New York Daily News, Clinton was asked if “Bernie Sanders is qualified and ready to be president of the United States.”