Bill Clinton talked down to Bernie Sanders supporters at a rally in New York Friday, characterizing their political outlook as a naïve desire to attribute all evil to Wall Street.
"Look, I really sympathize with a lot of these young people who are, you know, excited about being told that there is one explanation for the misery of America, and that is the greed of the Wall Street banks," Clinton said.
He went on to debunk this worldview by pointing to the diverse income in New York City, as exemplified by the reduction of Wall Street and the growth of other boroughs.
"But the truth is Wall Street is smaller, and New York City is growing like crazy, led by the Bronx and Brooklyn, and Queens, and entrepreneurs in New York that are in Manhattan that are diversifying the income," Clinton said.
Clinton has been painting Bernie Sanders as dishonest and Sanders supporters as idealistic and naïve for months.
Earlier in April, Clinton characterized young Bernie supporters as "desperate" to engage in activism.
"When you see these young people, just desperate, to–you know, they say, ‘what the heck, let’s just protest, let’s be mad,’" Clinton said.
In February, the former president slammed Sanders supporters for perpetuating "sexist" and "profane" attacks against his wife.
"When you’re making a revolution, you can’t be too careful with the facts," Clinton said, mocking Sanders’ call for a political revolution, a central tenet of his campaign.
Hillary Clinton has also said that she felt "sorry" for young Sanders supporters who are provided with "a list of misrepresentations" by the Sanders campaign. Former Obama adviser David Axelrod called Clinton’s characterization of Sanders supporters "patronizing."