Sunday shows – 2020 spotlight shifts to South Carolina

Discussions on the Sunday morning political talk shows turned to the South Carolina primary, after Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) won the Nevada caucuses one day earlier.

White House officials also made appearances to push back on reports that Russia is working to help President Trump’s reelection efforts.

Read The Hill’s complete coverage below.

Clyburn rejects claim that South Carolina voters won’t support Sanders’ democratic socialism By REBECCA KLAR   House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) said Sunday he does not think the label of democratic socialist will make South Carolina voters hesitant to choose Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in the state’s Democratic presidential primary on Saturday. Read the full story here

Murphy: No concerns with Sanders on gun policy By JUSTINE COLEMAN    Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said Sunday that he is not concerned about Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and the 2020 White House hopeful’s position on gun reform.  Read the full story here

Dean says he’s not worried Sanders would harm down-ballot Democratic candidates By JUSTINE COLEMAN    Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean (D) said on Sunday that he is not concerned that down-ballot candidates would be hurt if Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) wins the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. Read the full story here

Rahm Emanuel: Sanders is ‘stoppable’ By JUSTINE COLEMAN    Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D) said Sunday that although Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is “the frontrunner” in the 2020 Democratic presidential race, he is “stoppable.” Read the full story here

Poll: Biden lead over Sanders narrows to 5 points in South Carolina By JUSTIN WISE   Former Vice President Joe Biden’s lead in South Carolina continues to narrow as the state’s primary inches closer, according to a new CBS News-YouGov survey.  Read the full story here

Biden blames Steyer for drop in South Carolina African-American support By ZACK BUDRYK   “Former Vice President Joe Biden attributed his drop in African-American support ahead of the South Carolina primary to billionaire Tom Steyer’s spending in the state in a Sunday interview on “Face the Nation.” Read the full story here

Biden ‘suffered’ from not doing ‘enough’ in early debates, Clyburn says By REBECCA KLAR   “I’ve heard from a lot of people that they thought that Joe Biden could have done more to engage … during the debate, thought he could have done more to say why he would be deserving,” House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “So I think he suffered from that. He didn’t do enough.” Read the full story here

Steyer: ‘I do for sure’ have to finish in top three in South Carolina By ZACK BUDRYK   Billionaire Tom Steyer said Sunday that he has to finish near the top of the field in the South Carolina Democratic primary after prioritizing the state in his campaign spending and field organizing. Read the full story here

Clyburn: Nevada will have ‘somewhat of an impact’ on South Carolina By REBECCA KLAR   House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) said Sunday the results of the upcoming South Carolina primary “may not line up with” the results from the three prior early voting states. Read the full story here

Clyburn says Democrats spent ‘too much time on Bloomberg’ in Nevada debate By REBECCA KLAR   House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) said on Sunday that Democratic presidential candidates spent too much time attacking opponent Michael Bloomberg during the debate in Nevada last week. Read the full story here

Veteran Democratic political consultant: Bloomberg can recover from Nevada debate By TAL AXELROD   Veteran Democratic consultant Hank Sheinkopf said Michael Bloomberg can recover from his rocky debate performance in Las Vegas this week. Read the full story here

National security adviser: ‘I haven’t seen any intelligence’ that Russia is trying to help Trump By JUSTIN WISE   “I haven’t seen any intelligence that Russia is doing anything to attempt to get President Trump reelected,” Robert O’Brien told ABC News. “I think this is the same old story that we’ve heard before… We’ve been very tough on Russia and we’ve been great on election security. So I think it’s a non-story.” Read the full story here

Pence chief of staff: ‘There’s not intelligence’ saying Russia wants Trump reelected By ZACK BUDRYK    “I think there’s not intelligence that said the Russians are trying to help Donald Trump win [the] election,”  Marc Short said on “Fox News Sunday.” “We know that foreign governments have been trying to interfere in elections to sow chaos.” Read the full story here

Democratic senator: It’s ‘pretty clear’ Russia supports political right in US ‘over and over again’ By JUSTINE COLEMAN    Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said Sunday that it’s “pretty clear” that Russia has backed conservatives “over and over again” when interfering with American politics. Read the full story here

O’Brien claims Russians want Sanders to win because he would cut military spending By ZACK BUDRYK   White House National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien claimed Sunday that Russia was supporting Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) presidential campaign in hopes he would cut the U.S. military budget. Read the full story here

Maguire was not pushed out over Russia briefing, O’Brien says By ZACK BUDRYK   White House national security adviser Robert O’Brien in an interview broadcast on Sunday denied that former acting director of national intelligence (DNI) Joseph Maguire was dismissed because one of his appointees briefed the House Intelligence Committee on Russian efforts to interfere in the 2020 election. Read the full story here

Connecticut senator: ‘Trump policy on Iran has been a total disaster’ By JUSTINE COLEMAN    Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said Sunday that President Trump’s policy on Iran “has been a total disaster” after the president criticized the lawmaker for meeting with an Iranian official last week. Read the full story here