During the first Democratic presidential debate on Tuesday night, candidate Bernie Sanders gained attention for saying that he was sick of hearing about rival Hillary Clinton’s “damn emails.”
However, what was left out of some news networks’ coverage from the night were Sanders’ comments criticizing media coverage of his campaign and issues such as poverty, inequality and trade policies, which were mixed into his comments about Clinton’s emails.
Clinton admitted to using a private email server for government business during her tenure as Secretary of State, in March, and since then questions have been raised about the security of the server, emails containing classified information and the content she claimed she deleted for personal reasons.
[RELATED: Hillary Clinton Apologizes For Email Controversy, Insists Emails Were Not Classified]
During Tuesday’s debate, Clinton was asked about how what she thought her admission that she “mishandled the email controversy” says about her ability to handle a crisis.
[pull_quote_center]This committee is basically an arm of the Republican National Committee. It is a partisan vehicle, as admitted by the House Republican Majority Leader Mr. McCarthy, to drive down my poll numbers—big surprise—and that’s what they have attempted to do. I am still standing, I am happy to be a part of this debate, and I intend to keep talking about the issues that matter to the American people.[/pull_quote_center]
Moderator Anderson Cooper interjected, asking why Clinton would call it a “just a partisan issue,” when there is an ongoing “FBI investigation, and President Obama himself just two days ago said this is a legitimate issue.”
[RELATED: Democratic Debate: Clinton, Sanders Clash On NSA Spying]
“Well, I never said it wasn’t legitimate. I said that I have answered all the questions and I will certainly be doing so again before this committee,” said Clinton, who went on to further criticize the House Benghazi Committee.
Sanders, a self-proclaimed democratic socialist and Independent U.S. senator for Vermont, responded. “Let me say something that may not be great politics, but I think the secretary is right, and that is that the American people are sick and tired of hearing about your damn e-mails,” said Sanders.
Sanders’ comment was met with applause and he continued to speak, criticizing the media’s coverage of not only Clinton’s email scandal, but also of issues facing American voters such as poverty, inequality and trade agreements:
[pull_quote_center]The middle class- Anderson, and let me say something about the media, as well. I go around the country, talk to a whole lot of people. Middle class in this country is collapsing. We have 27 million people living in poverty. We have massive wealth and income inequality. Our trade policies have cost us millions of decent jobs. The American people want to know whether we’re going to have a democracy or an oligarchy as a result of Citizens United. Enough of the e-mails. Let’s talk about the real issues facing America.[/pull_quote_center]
As shown in the video below, while MSNBC covered Clinton’s comments at length, Sanders’ response was edited to begin with his comments about being tired of hearing about Clinton’s “damn emails” and was immediately followed by his comment “Enough of the e-mails. Let’s talk about the real issues facing America.”
As seen below in Fox News’ Special Report with Bret Baier, Sanders’ comments about Clinton’s “damn emails” were also mentioned, while his criticism of overall media coverage was left out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hrvNkHKcww
The Intercept noted that when talking about the debate on Wednesday morning, CNN host Michaela Periera played an edited clip of Sanders’ comments about Clinton’s “damn emails,” and then commented on how Sanders used his time to defend Clinton.
“What’s interesting, many thought that he might have taken advantage of the fact that this was a big opening, but instead he essentially kind of defended her,” Periera said. “This moment really, really rang true to a lot of people online.”
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