John Avlon on Bernie Sanders

“Donald Trump loves attacking Democrats as "far-left radical socialists." So why does Team Trump spend so much time pumping up Bernie Sanders? Spoiler alert: It’s a trap. But let’s look at the evidence. For weeks, President Trump has been rushing to Bernie’s defense and accusing Democrats of rigging the primaries against him. He accused Democrats of timing his impeachment trial to hurt Bernie Sanders’ chances, an allegation dutifully echoed by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Don Jr. The President was at it again on the eve of the Iowa caucus, tweeting that the Democratic National Committee was trying to "rig the election against Sanders," even as he called Bernie Sanders a "communist" in a pre-Super Bowl safe-space interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News. It’s been a repeated riff for months. Conservative commentator Hugh Hewitt on Meet The Press announced that he was voting for Bernie in Virginia’s open primary – because he wanted a clear contrast between an authentic socialist and Donald Trump. This isn’t subtle. Team Trump wants to run against Bernie Sanders. If you don’t believe me, just ask them.”

“But what about Bernie? Let’s give the man some credit. There’s no question he has an intense and enthusiastic following. He is an authentic ideologue – an avowed Democratic Socialist who has the courage of his convictions for decades and succeeded in changing the terms of the debate within the Democratic Party. If he wins Iowa, polls show that he could win New Hampshire – which he won in 2016 – and have a strong shot at the next caucuses in Nevada. But don’t forget that less than a quarter of Democrats call themselves “very liberal” – and in general, Democratic voters are older, more moderate and more blue collar than you might think if you gauge opinion only on Twitter, as Harry Enten has persuasively argued. Sanders’ support for ending private health insurance in favor of Medicare for all isn’t popular – while the public option backed by Biden, Buttigieg and Klobuchar is even supported by 41% of Republicans. And the very label "socialist" – along with Sanders’ record of defending the Castro regime in Cuba and the Chavez-Maduro regime in Venezuela – could seriously damage outreach to Hispanic voters in Florida and elsewhere. The Trump team has made it very clear that its campaign will be based on negative partisanship – demonizing Democrats as radical socialists to distract from the President’s broad unpopularity. The bottom line is that they can do that with impunity against an avowed Democratic Socialist such as Bernie Sanders. That’s why they’re pumping up his candidacy, trolling concern about a "rigged system" while also calling him "crazy" and a "communist."”