Vermont Senator Says He Is ‘Responding to Hillary Clinton’s Attempt to Portray Him as Unqualified’ – but Did She?

Wednesday morning Hillary Clinton told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that Bernie Sanders “hadn’t done his homework” in response to a question about his interview with the New York Daily News Editorial Board.

“Do you believe this morning that Bernie Sanders is qualified and ready to be President of the United States?,” Joe Scarborough asked Clinton. 

“I will leave it to voters to decide who of us can do the job that the country needs, who can do all aspects of the job, both on the economic domestic issues and on national security and foreign policy,” was her ultimate response. 

Here’s the video:

.@JoeNBC: Is Sanders qualified and ready to be President?… @HillaryClinton: He hadn’t done his homework https://t.co/ZZWWko6hNy

— Morning Joe (@Morning_Joe) April 6, 2016

Here’ the full transcript, via Real Clear Politics:

JOE SCARBOROUGH: We’re going to ask about Wisconsin in a second, but we’ve been talking about Bernie Sanders’ New York Daily News interview. I want to start with that and ask you in light of the interview, in light of the questions he had problems with, do you believe this morning that Bernie Sanders is qualified and ready to be president of the United States? 

CLINTON: Well, I think the interview raised a lot of really serious questions and I look at it this way. The core of his campaign has been break up the banks and it didn’t seem in reading his answers that he understood exactly how that would work under Dodd-Frank, exactly who would be responsible, what the criteria were. And you know, that means you can’t really help people if you don’t know how to do what you are campaigning on saying you want to do. 

SCARBOROUGH: So is he — so is he…

CLINTON: And then there were other very…

SCARBOROUGH: Is he — I know there are a lot of examples of where he came up short and the interviewers were having to repeat questions. So the question, and I’m serious, if you weren’t running today and you looked at Bernie Sanders, would you look and say this guy is ready to be president of the United States? 

CLINTON: Well, I think he hadn’t done his homework and he’d been talking for more than a year about doing things that he obviously hadn’t really studied or understood, and that does raise a lot of questions. Really what that goes to is for voters to ask themselves can he deliver what he’s talking about, can he really help people…

SCARBOROUGH: What do you think?

CLINTON: Can he help our economy? Can he keep our country strong? Well obviously, I think I’m by far the better choice and…

SCARBOROUGH: But do you think he is qualified? And do you think he is able to deliver on the things he is promising to all these Democratic voters? 

CLINTON: Well, let me put it this way, Joe. I think that what he has been saying about the core issue in his whole campaign doesn’t seem to be rooted in an understanding of either the law or the practical ways you get something done. And I will leave it to voters to decide who of us can do the job that the country needs, who can do all aspects of the job, both on the economic domestic issues and on national security and foreign policy.

Clinton did not say Bernie Sanders is “unqualified” to be President. In fact, she refused to, when directly asked.

That was confirmed by several journalists:

.@JoeNBC pushed Clinton this AM on wether Sanders was qualified. At no point did HRC say Sanders was “unqualified.” https://t.co/TCEGdn2JN3

— Dan Merica (@danmericaCNN) April 7, 2016

She actually refused to say he was unqualified. THREE TIMES https://t.co/4SHy4GSzZS @brianefallon https://t.co/8ZW1ExQA2s

— Tommy Christopher (@tommyxtopher) April 7, 2016

Sorry. Clinton clearly didnt say Sanders ‘unqualified’ to be Prez. Refused to baited to say it. Willing to believe Bern was told otherwise.

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) April 7, 2016

Clinton refused to say Sanders not qualified. This am: “I will leave it to voters to decide who of us can do the job that the country needs”

— Jennifer Epstein (@jeneps) April 7, 2016 

Wednesday night, Bernie Sanders told a crowd that Hillary Clinton “has been saying lately that she thinks that I am ‘not qualified’ to be president. Well, let me, let me just say in response to Secretary Clinton: I don’t believe that she is qualified, if she is, through her super PAC, taking tens of millions of dollars in special interest funds. I don’t think that you are qualified if you get $15 million from Wall Street through your super PAC.”

Here’s the video:

.@BernieSanders lists his reasons why @HillaryClinton‘s not ‘qualified’ to be President https://t.co/97U9XXR1DR

— Morning Joe (@Morning_Joe) April 7, 2016

Sanders later followed up with a press release:

PHILADELPHIA – Responding to Hillary Clinton’s attempt to portray him as unqualified for the White House, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders linked her to a trade pact exploited by wealthy individuals and profitable corporations to avoid paying taxes.

An investigation by a team of journalists revealed that 214,000 entities throughout the world have used a law firm in Panama to shelter their incomes and profits to avoid paying taxes. The release this week of the documents on offshore financial dealings raised questions over the widespread use of tactics to avoid taxes.

Sanders cited the former secretary of state’s support of the trade deal as one reason she should not be the party’s nominee for president. “I don’t think you are qualified if you supported the Panama free trade agreement, something I very strongly opposed, which has made it easier for wealthy people and corporations all over the world to avoid paying taxes owed to their countries,” Sanders told a rally at Temple University in an auditorium packed with nearly 13,000 supporters.

Sanders five years ago led opposition to the Panama trade deal in a Senate floor speech. He predicted that the pact would make it easier for the wealthy and the powerful to stash their cash in Panama to avoid paying their fair share of taxes.

Clinton had opposed the deal in 2008 when she was running against then Sen. Barack Obama. But in an about face, she helped push the agreement through Congress when she was secretary of state.

“The American people are sick and tired of establishment politicians who say one thing during a campaign and do the exact opposite the day after the election,” Sanders said on Tuesday in a prepared statement. As president, Sanders said he would terminate the trade deal and investigate U.S. banks, corporations and wealthy individuals who have been stashing their cash in Panama to avoid taxes.

Sanders came to Pennsylvania fresh off a win Tuesday in Wisconsin, his seventh victory in the past eight caucuses and primaries. A new national poll release Wednesday put him ahead of Clinton by two points and also showed him ahead of Republican front-runner Donald Trump.

Clinton earlier on Wednesday questioned Sanders’ qualifications to be president. “Secretary Clinton appears to be getting a little nervous,” he shot back. “She has been saying lately that I am not qualified to be president.”

Sanders then ticked off his own list of reasons why Clinton isn’t qualified to be in the White House.

“I don’t believe that she is qualified if she is through her super PAC taking tens of millions of dollars in special-interest funds.

“I don’t think that you are qualified if you get $15 million from Wall Street through your super PAC.

“I don’t think you are qualified if you voted for the disastrous war in Iraq.

“I don’t think you’re qualified if you supported almost every disastrous trade agreement.

“I don’t think you are qualified if you supported the Panama free trade agreement, something I very strongly opposed, which has gave the green light to wealthy people and corporations all over the world to avoid paying taxes owed to their countries.”