Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., departs Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, March 18, 2020, after the Senate passed a second coronavirus response bill. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Well, it looks like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has dropped out of the race, and former Vice President Joe Biden is now the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. President Donald Trump wasted no time in capitalizing on the move. He recently posted a tweet aimed squarely at Sanders supporters who have become increasingly disaffected with the Democratic establishment.

In the tweet, he blamed Sen. Elizabeth Warren and the establishment wing of the party for Sanders’ failure to defeat Biden. He then extended an invitation to supporters of both candidates:

Bernie Sanders is OUT! Thank you to Elizabeth Warren. If not for her, Bernie would have won almost every state on Super Tuesday! This ended just like the Democrats & the DNC wanted, same as the Crooked Hillary fiasco. The Bernie people should come to the Republican Party, TRADE!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 8, 2020

“Bernie Sanders is OUT! Thank you to Elizabeth Warren. If not for her, Bernie would have won almost every state on Super Tuesday! This ended just like the Democrats & the DNC wanted, same as the Crooked Hillary fiasco. The Bernie people should come to the Republican Party, TRADE!” Trump tweeted.

During the primaries, Sanders and Warren were each competing for the far-left progressive crowd whose voters are fed up with the establishment. Trump echoed the sentiments of others on the left, who blasted Warren for not dropping out of the race sooner, believing that enough of her supporters would have switched to Sanders to defeat Biden.

While Sanders has suspended his campaign, he has refused to give up the delegates he has won so far. It seems that the socialist Senator seeks to continue exerting his influence on the Democratic Party. Trump slammed the former presidential candidate for his stubbornness. “Wow, Bernie is unwilling to give up his delegates, and wants more of them! What’s that all about?” he tweeted. He continued, noting that he couldn’t “see” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) supporting Biden.

Trump’s campaign also took the opportunity to seize on the rift between the progressive and establishment factions of the Democratic Party. Brad Parscale, Trump’s campaign manager, released a statement that said: “With Bernie Sanders suspending his campaign, it’s all but official that the Democrat establishment got the candidate they wanted in Joe Biden, as well as the candidate President Trump will destroy in November.”

Parscale played up the DNC’s prior treatment of the Senator: “Democrat elites shoved Bernie Sanders to the side for a second time, leaving many of his supporters looking for a new home.”

This was a smart move on the part of President Trump. Now that the presidential election has essentially become a two-man race, it makes sense that he would make overtures towards Sanders supporters. In 2016, about 10% of those who supported the Senator ended up casting their votes for Trump. It seems likely that he might be able to peel off even more of those who have become disenchanted by the Democratic Party.

Let me know what you think in the comments below!

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