Sanders on Clinton’s ‘I’m with her’ slogan: ‘It’s so phony’

by Rebecca Savransky - 04/18/17 7:19 AM ET

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) called former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s “I’m with her” slogan “phony,” according to a new book.

In “Shattered: Inside Hillary Clinton’s Doomed Campaign,” The Hill’s Amie Parnes and Sidewire’s Jonathan Allen write that members of the Clinton campaign reached out to Sanders aides in late September to share a script of an ad they wanted the Vermont senator to record.

In the ad, Sanders would tout Clinton for her education, healthcare and minimum wage proposals.

{mosads}And he would talk about how then-Republican nominee Donald Trump was wrong about climate change and the economy.

At the end of the script were the words: “I’m with her.”

“It’s so phony!” Sanders said. “I don’t want to say that.”

Sanders did not use the slogan in the ad.

The Clinton campaign eventually decided not to use the ad on television after learning that voters had some doubts about whether the Vermont senator fully supported Clinton.

“People felt that it was him delivering his message, not Hillary’s,” said one Clinton aide familiar with focus group responses.

“People didn’t feel that it was an authentic pitch for her and what she wanted to do. It even had some backlash in folks saying that he’s not really supporting her.”

The ad was not used on television, but some of the shorter takes of Sanders were used online.

Sanders endorsed Clinton in July after running a long campaign against her in the Democratic primary.

Tags Bernie Sanders Donald Trump Hillary Clinton

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