[S]en. Bernie Sanders’ senior adviser criticized the media Monday for publishing what he said were flawed polls that show support slipping for the Vermont senator and for “declaring the Sanders campaign over” with six months to go before the first ballots are cast in the Democratic primary.
During a conference call with members of the media, adviser Jeff Weaver singled out CNN and MSNBC for airing inaccurate polling data and for unfairly writing off the Sanders presidential campaign.
Weaver said that during Sanders’ first campaign for president, in the fall and summer of 2015, the independent senator received a “Bernie blackout” from the media, and that during this election cycle, it is the “Bernie write-off.”
“There seems to be a direct correlation between media coverage of polls and Bernie Sanders’ specific standing in those polls,” Weaver said. “The better the number is in the poll, the less coverage it receives, and the worse he does, the more it receives.”
“That’s on top of headline after headline, in various media, declaring the Sanders campaign over. CNN’s headline ‘Bernie 2020 in big trouble,’ ‘Iowa is no longer feeling the Bern.’ The Washington Post, I mean, you know, it’s legion there, so,” he added.
Weaver underscored that the reason the campaign had scheduled the press call was to dispel the narrative that Sanders was doing badly and show that, since the last debate on July 30, Sanders has solidified his second-place position in the polls, trailing only former Vice President Joe Biden.
Throughout his political career, Sanders has had a prickly relationship with the press, refusing interviews with local journalists, complaining about national reports and choosing to use alternative methods to reach constituents.
Sanders has gone directly to his constituents with his “Hear the Bern” podcast — which offers a behind the scenes look at the campaign and is hosted by his national press secretary — and being interviewed on the popular podcast, “The Joe Rogan Experience.”
Sanders’ hour-long conversation with Rogan last week has been deemed a success, with more than 8 million views on YouTube alone.
Asked if the campaign is looking to forgo other mainstream media platforms for less established avenues, Weaver said he didn’t want to give away any “state secrets” but that the team is always looking for opportunities to reach a broader audience.
“Too often people in politics try to reach people through political channels, that’s not a criticism of anybody, but it is always good practice to try to reach folks outside of the normal political conversation,” Weaver said.
“The ‘Rogan’ format was very good for him and we always look for opportunities for another medium like that,” he said.
While the campaign has criticized the press, it is also trying to be more welcoming, as Sanders attempts to contrast his media relationship with that of President Donald Trump.
Last week, the Sanders team announced there would be a softball game between campaign staff and the press corps next Monday in Dyersville, Iowa.
“At a time when members of the media are demonized by the president, we hope to show goodwill and sportsmanship on the Field of Dreams,” said Faiz Shakir, Sanders’ campaign manager, in a statement.
On Monday, after Weaver criticized television news for coverage of the Democratic primary, CNN’s Ryan Nobles asked other reporters on the phone conference to make sure they were ready for the showdown between the campaign and the press.
“I would like to make a specific plea to everyone who wants to participate in the softball game on Monday,” Nobles said. “We need a really good team so we can beat the Sanders campaign.”
