Bernie Sanders Wanted To Play Softball With The Press. But His Campaign Got In The Way. [View all]

[lapucelle]

Sanders’ presidential campaign tried to put on a softball game with reporters amid weeks of fighting with the media. It didn’t go according to plan.

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On the eve of the game in Iowa, Sanders started selling the baseball card to raise money for his campaign — “It can be yours with a donation of any amount!” — and plans for the event began to fall apart.

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DYERSVILLE, Iowa — Bernie Sanders was warming up in shallow center field, launching balls toward the thick rows of corn that sweep across the perimeter of the “Field of Dreams” film site here in Iowa, when one of his press aides told a line of nearby reporters it was time for them to give the senator some space.

“They can stay,” Sanders snapped back, voice raised. “You guys want to stay, they can stay.”

His aides drew back and the reporters stayed put, watching the 77-year-old bat around, with all three parties looking like uneasy guests at their own event. Plans for the “Press vs. Staff” softball game, organized weeks ago and promoted by campaign officials as a public “show” of “goodwill and sportsmanship” toward the press at a time when “members of the media are demonized by the president,” collapsed late this weekend as Sanders both intensified his usual criticism of the “corporate media” and attempted to raise money off the outing by selling custom-made baseball cards. (His stats: “#46, Presidential Candidate. Home: Burlington, Vermont. Bats: Right. Throws: Right. Thinks: Left.”)

In the span of the last two weeks — as Sanders aides printed jerseys and hats, booked food trucks for the venue, and recruited the actor Susan Sarandon, star of the 1988 baseball classic Bull Durham, to make the long trip to Dyersville to serve as color commentator during the game — the Vermont senator and his aides launched a new campaign against the same reporters who were readying their Monday night roster.

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On the eve of the game in Iowa, Sanders started selling the baseball card to raise money for his campaign — “It can be yours with a donation of any amount!” — and plans for the event began to fall apart.

At CNN, where a reporter had been organizing the press roster for the game, higher-ups decided to pull out. They didn’t want to participate in an event connected to Sanders’ fundraising, a CNN employee said. (A spokesperson declined to comment.) Once informed, other outlets quickly followed: ABC, NBC, Bloomberg.

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After six innings of play, the Revolutionaires lost 14–8. Bernie and Jane shared a kiss near the on-deck circle. And with the media looking on in silence, the game came to a close.

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/rubycramer/bernie-sanders-softball-press