For months former Vice President Joe Biden was touted as the front runner among Democratic hopefuls, but Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has soared passed Biden. The Iowa caucus was an epic disaster for Democrats after the smartphone app for reporting results failed, but it pushed former mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sanders to the forefront, with Biden coming in fourth.
A new poll released by Quinnipiac University, which surveyed more than 1,500 people, showed Sanders as a top candidate. When people were asked, “If the Democratic primary were today, who would you vote for?” 25 percent chose Sanders. Biden came in second with 17 percent of the vote, and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who hasn’t appeared in any of the DNC debates, came in third with 15 percent of the vote.
As Bloomberg has started to rise in various polls, he’s also become a target for President Donald Trump. According to NBC News, podcaster and Bernie Sanders supporter Benjamin Dixon unearthed a clip of Bloomberg reportedly talking about the controversial “stop-and-frisk” policy. "We put all the cops in the minority neighborhoods. Yes, that’s true. Why do you do it? Because that’s where all the crime is,” the former New York City Mayor reportedly says. “And the way you get the guns out of the kids’ hands is to throw them up against the wall and frisk them.”
Trump tweeted the clip and wrote, “WOW, BLOOMBERG IS A TOTAL RACIST!" He quickly deleted the message. The White House did not immediately respond to media inquiries about why the tweet was removed.
Trump removing the message didn’t stop Bloomberg from hitting back. “Trump’s deleted tweet is the latest example of his endless efforts to divide Americans,” he wrote. “The President’s attack clearly reflects his fear over the growing strength of our campaign.”
