Sanders aide says the Clintons are showing their frustration

Hunter Walker
·White House Correspondent
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Jeff Weaver, campaign manager for Sen. Bernie Sanders, at campaign headquarters in Burlington, Vt. (Photo: Brian Snyder/Reuters)

Jeff Weaver, campaign manager for Bernie Sanders’ presidential bid in the Democratic primary, believes the Vermont senator’s opponent and her husband are on edge.

Speaking to Yahoo News after the Democratic presidential debate in Brooklyn, N.Y., Weaver said he believes there has been a certain “edginess” in the Clinton campaign in the last few weeks, given that Sanders has won eight of the last nine primary contests.

“I think that their campaign never believed that they would be in the position they’re in right now, having to contest New York. I mean, they clearly thought that they would have everything wrapped up by now. They clearly said it: ‘We’re going to have it wrapped up by February, we’re going to have it wrapped up by March,’” Weaver said. “And it’s not wrapped up, and I think they’re very, very frustrated about it.”

Weaver said this tension was evident in a confrontation Hillary Clinton had with a woman who questioned her at an event late last month and and a testy exchange her husband, former President Bill Clinton, had with Black Lives Matter activists on April 7.

“It was reflected in the secretary’s outburst at the young woman on the rope line. I think it was reflected in President Clinton’s outburst to Black Lives Matter activists. … There’s like an edginess to their campaign that’s sort of going all through it. And I think it’s a function of the fact that they are in a place they wish they weren’t,” Weaver said.

SLIDESHOW – The battle for New York >>>

Despite Sanders’ recent winning streak, Clinton’s victories earlier in the primary process have given her a pledged delegate lead so large that Sanders would need to win all the remaining contests by a wide margin to be able to beat her. The RealClearPolitics poll average shows Clinton has a 13.8 point lead in the New York primary, which will be held on April 19.

Clinton’s campaign manager, Robby Mook, told Yahoo News he is comfortable about her position.

“In terms of the race to get the nomination, it’s less a question of how much does Hillary win by, than how much should Sanders be winning by, if he has any hope of catching up to her in the nomination fight,” Mook said. “The fact is, you know, he would need to win New York by 20 or more points to even be in a position to try to capture the nomination. … If he loses, that path is really diminished quite a bit.”