Trump revives ‘Crazy Bernie’ nickname one day after Sanders enters race

President Trump on Wednesday welcomed “Crazy Bernie” Sanders to the 2020 Democratic presidential primary one day after he wished the independent Vermont senator well in his newly launched campaign.

“Crazy Bernie has just entered the race,” Trump tweeted. “I wish him well!”

Crazy Bernie has just entered the race. I wish him well!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 20, 2019

{mosads}Trump, who occasionally derides Sanders as “Crazy Bernie,” first weighed in Tuesday afternoon on the senator’s decision to pursue the Democratic nomination for president.

“Personally I think he missed his time,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “But I like Bernie because he is one person that, you know, on trade he sort of would agree on trade. I’m being very tough on trade, he was tough on trade.”

“The problem is he doesn’t know what to do about it,” Trump continued. “We’re doing something very spectacular on trade. But I wish Bernie well. It will be interesting to see how he does.”

Sanders fired back at Trump’s tweet on Wednesday morning, saying it is “crazy” that the U.S. has “a president who is a racist, a sexist, a xenophobe and a fraud.”

“We are going to bring people together and not only defeat Trump but transform the economic and political life of this country,” he added.

What’s crazy is that we have a president who is a racist, a sexist, a xenophobe and a fraud. We are going to bring people together and not only defeat Trump but transform the economic and political life of this country. Say you’re in: https://t.co/rxqbjJJKv3 https://t.co/HoJG0Rlwq1

— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) February 20, 2019

Sanders announced Tuesday morning he will run for president in 2020, four years after his insurgent primary campaign garnered significant momentum. He eventually ceded the Democratic nomination to Hillary Clinton.

Sanders joins a growing list of candidates seeking the Democratic nomination in 2020. Among those to launch a bid are Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.).

Former Vice President Joe Biden and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) are among those who are expected to announce soon whether they will run in 2020.