Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders snapped at CNN’s Dana Bash Sunday during a heated segment of “State of the Union.”
Bash, hosting the show for Jake Tapper, began the interview by confronting Sanders with a recent poll that showed him losing his hold on second place in the 2020 Democratic primary. (RELATED: Joe Biden’s Lead Shrinks As First Democratic Debate Approaches)
2020 hopeful Bernie Sanders responds to his position in the latest CNN / Des Moines Register Iowa poll: “Four years ago, there were only two of us in the race … This time we have a whole lot of candidates. I don’t think anybody is going to reach 50%” #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/yciku0kPhF
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) June 9, 2019
Sanders explained away the drop in support by claiming that an increase in the number of candidates supporting far left ideals would split the vote.
Later in the interview, Bash pressed harder, challenging Sanders to explain how he claims to have always been against the Hyde Amendment — which bars federal money from funding most abortions — when he has voted for spending packages that included Hyde.
WATCH:
Sanders fired back, saying, “Well, look, sometimes in a large bill you have to vote for things you don’t like. I think my record has been literally 100% pro choice is absolutely correct. Look, if you believe, as I do, that a woman’s right to control her own body is a constitutional right, then that must apply to all women including low income women.”
Bash continued, pointing out several issues on which Sanders disagreed with the current frontrunner, former Vice President Joe Biden. “If you’re right on all these issues and Joe Biden is wrong, why is he in the lead?” she asked.
“Dana, that’s the poll of today,” Sanders explained.
“It’s not just one poll,” Bash pressed. “I’m not even talking about Iowa. National polls, all of them.”
Sanders fired back, “Dana, last I heard the election was eight months from today, when the first ballots are going to be cast in Iowa.”