Jane Sanders: ‘Never had control over our supporters’

Jane Sanders on Monday night said her husband, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), never had control of his supporters — nor did he want to. 

{mosads}In an interview with NBC, Lester Holt asked Jane Sanders why there was a chorus of boos on the first day of the Democratic National Convention — aimed at both Bernie Sanders and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and their supporters. 

“I don’t think we’ve ever had control over our supporters nor have we ever tried,” Jane Sanders said in an NBC News exclusive interview.

“They weren’t booing him from a standpoint of anything but passion,” she continued. “They were booing what he said. They said, ‘We’re with you. Please run. Take it to the floor.’ They’re not willing to let go yet.”

Her interview came after a chaotic day in Philadelphia, where Bernie Sanders’s supporters booed any mention of Clinton’s name and interrupted many speakers with chants of “shame!” and “lock her up!”

The Vermont senator has fully endorsed Clinton and gave a prime-time speech Monday night, during which he thanked his supporters and called on Democrats to unite behind Clinton, who is expected to be formally nominated for president later this week.

“I think, though, they have a shared responsibility to unify the party,” Jane Sanders said about her husband and Clinton’s mission going forward.

“We can’t tell people what to do. We don’t want to tell people what to do. We want to engage them in the process. We want them to become involved and move for the issues that they care about.”