Sanders urges campaign surrogates in the media to act respectfully

“As we engage with our opponents in the Democratic primary, we will forcefully present our views and defend ourselves against misrepresentations,” Sanders, who declared his candidacy earlier this month, reportedly wrote.

{mosads}“But, let us do our very best to engage respectfully with our Democratic opponents ― talking about the issues we are fighting for, not about personalities or past grievances. I want to be clear that I condemn bullying and harassment of any kind and in any space.”

Sanders’s campaign and supporters received criticism during the 2016 election from Hillary Clinton backers for attacking the eventual nominee’s character online.

 

In his email, Sanders said that divisive rhetoric would be counterproductive to defeating President Trump in the general election.

“The President we are running against is a pathological liar, a racist, a xenophobe, a sexist, a bully and a religious bigot. His goal is to win political points by dividing up the American people,” he wrote, according to HuffPost. “That is why we need to do exactly the opposite ― brings [sic] our people together. Men and women, black and white, Latino, Native American, Asian American, gay and straight, young and old, native-born and immigrant.”