Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) stood up for Hillary Clinton on Thursday, accusing Democratic presidential opponent Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) of being “extreme” and comparing his appeal to that of right-wing conservatives such as Pat Buchanan and Ron Paul.
In recent days, Sanders has received some favorable coverage from outlets like NPR and Bloomberg for his speeches, as well as polls showing nearly a quarter of likely Democratic primary voters support him in states Iowa and New Hampshire.
“I think that the media is giving Bernie a pass right now,” McCaskill told MSNBC “Morning Joe” co-host Mika Brzezinski. “I very rarely read in any coverage of Bernie that he’s a socialist.”
She argued Clinton’s poll numbers are so high that it’s hard to understand the media’s attitude of, “oh, Bernie, Bernie, Bernie!”
“I think Bernie is too liberal to gather enough votes in this country to become President, and I think Hillary Clinton is gonna be a fantastic President,” she said.
Brzezinski noted that the Vermont senator was still drawing large crowds and gaining in certain polls.
“Well, um, you know, Rand Paul’s father got massive crowds, Ron Paul,” McCaskill said, “Pat Buchanan got massive crowds.”
“It’s not unusual for someone who has an extreme message to have a following, and massive is relative,” she added.
Watch the clip:
