Washington Free Beacon managing editor Aaron MacLean said the timing of the Democratic National Committee email leak couldn't be worse Monday for Hillary Clinton and her party as they get set to gavel in their convention in Philadelphia.
The DNC email leak showed what Sanders complained about for months during the primary: clear favoritism for Clinton and outright disparagement and even conspiring against the insurgent Bernie Sanders campaign by party officials. Under mounting pressure, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D., Fla.) announced Sunday she would resign as party chair at the conclusion of the convention.
Sanders offered Clinton his endorsement on July 12, although it was noticeably half-hearted, and he's set to speak at the convention Monday night. In an appearance on Fox & Friends First, MacLean agreed with host Abby Huntsman's assertion that the focus was on party disarray as the DNC gets set to begin.
"It's terrible timing for the DNC," he said. "It couldn't possibly be worse. This move to make Wasserman Schultz the sacrificial lamb to mollify Sanders and his supporters and the progressive wing of the party in the aftermath of this email leak will probably work as Bernie himself is concerned ... That by no means requires all of his supporters or the real left wing of the party to fall in line, and I think it's perfectly acceptable for us to expect some more blowback this week in Philadelphia."
In his earlier Fox appearance, MacLean said another thing to look out for was Schultz's surprising move to gavel in the convention Monday, in spite of also losing her speaking appearance, likely to avoid an outcry of boos.
"What's going to happen behind me on the convention floor when that happens?" MacLean asked. "Are Bernie delegates going to applaud politely? Is there going to be some kind of unrest or dissatisfaction? Who knows? I think the potential for more blowback is certainly there."
MacLean, who covered the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, noted there had already been a bigger protest in Philadelphia than anything he'd seen at the RNC.
"This party is such a big tent that includes a lot of people for whom the highest priority is not electing Hilary Clinton as president, but achieving progressive change in America, right? And there are a lot of those people who are going to be on the floor behind me, a lot of those people here at the convention," MacLean said. "Who knows what they're going to do?"