Bernie Sanders surrogate Rosario Dawson under fire again — this time for invoking Monica Lewinsky
For at least the fourth time in his presidential campaign, Bernie Sanders was asked over the weekend to address controversial comments made by one of his surrogates on the campaign trail. And for the second time this month, the surrogate causing the controversy was actress Rosario Dawson.
At a rally in Delaware on Saturday, Dawson invoked Monica Lewinsky’s name while saying that Sanders’ female supporters have been subjected to bullying by backers of Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton.
“We are literally under attack — not just for supporting the other candidate,” Dawson said. “I’m with Monica Lewinsky on this … bullying is bad.”
On CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday, Sanders was asked whether bringing up Lewinsky was appropriate.
“I have no idea in what context Rosario was talking about her,” Sanders said. “But I would hope that all of our people focus on the real issues facing working people and the massive level of income and wealth inequality that we have.”
At a rally in New York City this month, Dawson told the crowd that Clinton was “about to be interviewed” by the FBI about her use of a private email server while she was secretary of state.
“Shame on Hillary,” Dawson said. “Sorry, hold on, let me watch my tone … yes, she is under FBI investigation. That isn’t being promoted very much, but she is about to be interviewed in a little bit.” The Clinton campaign responded, saying no such interview was imminent.
Yet Sanders — who has repeatedly refused to attack Clinton on the email issue — declined to condemn Dawson.
“We have dozens of surrogates, and Rosario is doing a great job for us,” he said on CNN. “We have many, many surrogates who say many, many things. Many of these surrogates do not agree with everything I say. And I do not agree with every approach and everything that they say. And that’s the simple reality.
“She will say what she wants to say,” Sanders added. “That is not what I will be focusing on.”
Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley, who endorsed his Vermont counterpart earlier this month, said Dawson’s use of Lewinsky’s name in her attack on Clinton was out of line.
“This is individuals going off track on their own,” Merkley said on CNN Monday. “It’s not helpful to the campaign, and it’s certainly not in keeping with what Bernie wants to see.”
When it comes to Sanders surrogates speaking out of turn, though, Dawson is not alone.
At a rally in Atlanta in February, rapper Killer Mike, one of Sanders’ most visible supporters, stirred controversy while relaying a conversation he had with an activist who told him, “A uterus doesn’t qualify you to be president of the United States.”
In that case, Sanders defended the rapper.
“What Mike said, essentially, is that … people should not be voting for candidates based on their gender, but based on what they believe. I think that makes sense,” Sanders told reporters. “I don’t go around … no one has ever heard me say, ‘Hey, guys, let’s stand together, vote for a man.’ I would never do that, never have.”
But the Vermont senator quickly condemned a comment made by one of his health care surrogates who referred to “corporate Democratic whores” during a massive at a rally in New York City.
“Medicare for all will never happen if we continue to elect corporate Democratic whores who are beholden to big pharma and the private insurance industry instead of us,” Paul Song said before Sanders spoke at the April 13 event that drew some 27,000 to Washington Square Park.
“Dr. Song’s comment was inappropriate and insensitive,” Sanders tweeted the next morning. “There’s no room for language like that in our political discourse.”
