WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Donald Trump gleefully seized on party turmoil at the Democratic National Convention Monday, accusing Bernie Sanders of “folding” against rival Hillary Clinton, whom he attacked for using a “rigged” system to win the nomination.
In his second campaign rally since becoming officially becoming the Republican presidential nominee, Trump recapped the drama that has overtaken Democrats in recent days, including leaked emails that suggested officials at the Democratic National Committee tried to undermine Sanders during the Democratic primary.
The scandal forced Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz to resign as party chair, but Trump argued that Clinton had further betrayed Sanders and his supporters and showed “bad judgment” by picking Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine as her running mate, whom he described as “the opposite of Bernie.”
Pointing to Kaine’s support of free trade, among other things, Trump accused Sanders of selling out to Clinton and betraying his supporters by backing her as the party nominee.
“Crazy Bernie has gone crazy,” Trump declared. “He’s losing his legacy. He’s just sort of giving up.”
Clinton, he said, could have thrown Sanders “a bone” and picked someone more fitting with the ideals of the Vermont senator and his supporters. “Just not Pocahontas,” he said, referring to Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, one of his fiercest critics.
Trump’s comments came at the first of several events planned for this week aimed at trying to steal the spotlight away from the DNC in Philadelphia. Although presidential candidates typically lay low during their opponent’s convention, Trump has a full schedule of counterprogramming this week, including events in swing states like Pennsylvania and Iowa.
Trump is on the road for the first time with his running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, but the two barely shared a stage. The governor delivered a version of his roughly 10-minute stump speech before introducing Trump, who spoke for about an hour to a crowd of a few thousand people at a gym here.
In his usual freewheeling style, the celebrity businessman talked up his various policy ideas, including his proposal to build a wall among the U.S. border with Mexico. But mainly he riffed on Democratic Party drama, returning repeatedly to tensions leading up to the DNC.
“Would you rather be here or with Crooked Hillary Clinton? What a mess they have there,” Trump declared.
Trump did not mention the party bickering that overtook the Republican National Committee, including Sen. Ted Cruz’s refusal to endorse him — which prompted widespread anger among delegates, who booed the Texas lawmaker while he was on stage.
Rather, Trump said, the Cleveland convention was notable for its “love.”
At the same time, he mocked theories floated among some Democrats that the leak of DNC emails came from Russia who hacked the party to aid Trump’s campaign. “It’s one of the weirdest conspiracies,” Trump declared.
But, Trump added, “Wouldn’t it be nice if we could get along with Russia?” The two countries, he said, could partner and “knock the hell out of ISIS.”
“Wouldn’t that be nice?” he said._____
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