Nobody unites rivals quite like Donald Trump.
Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are contentious political competitors vying for the Democratic presidential nomination, but Clinton just retweeted Sanders on Twitter for the first time in 2016 in order to condemn Trump’s refusal to disavow Ku Klux Klan icon David Duke, who recently endorsed Trump for president.
America’s first black president cannot and will not be succeeded by a hatemonger who refuses to condemn the KKK.
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) February 28, 2016
Didja notice that @HillaryClinton just retweeted this Sanders tweet? 👀 https://t.co/2gNpNLyMOB
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) February 28, 2016
Is this the 1st time Clinton retweets Sanders? pic.twitter.com/QIIRJnwNdI
— Ken Thomas (@KThomasDC) February 28, 2016
Trump’s comments—he said he doesn’t know enough about the KKK and David Duke to disavow them—made waves immediately. But the Clinton-Sanders retweet amplified the controversy, a sign of a united Democratic front against the increasingly likely Republican nominee.
Trump’s Republican rivals haven’t been much kinder. Sen. Marco Rubio said the remarks make Trump “unelectable.”
Trump: bringing people together https://t.co/pBLo5P7Zhv
— Ron Cassie (@ron_cassie) February 28, 2016
Tuesday, March 1 marks the next big sweep of primary votes. A dozen states will cast ballots on “Super Tuesday,” marking a defining moment that will set the tone for the rest of the 2016 campaign.
Illustration via Max Fleishman