Are the gloves coming off? Sanders campaign ratchets up the rhetoric (and snark) as Biden surges in primaries

After a poor showing in the latest primaries, Bernie Sanders’ campaign has adopted a more aggressive approach to highlighting Joe Biden’s shortcomings – ahead of what could be a make-or-break debate for the Vermont senator.

Biden scored victories in Idaho, Missouri, Mississippi, and Michigan on Tuesday, knocking the wind out of Team Sanders, which has billed itself as a political movement serving working-class Americans. The tough race appears to have motivated Sanders’ staff to take up a more combative strategy when it comes to pointing out their opponent’s foibles. Campaign manager Faiz Shakir fired off a series of snarky tweets on Tuesday that shared the common theme of mocking Joe Biden.

“Wait wut,” Shakir joked in a tweet that included a video of Biden saying he would veto a Medicare for All bill if it ever reached his desk.

Reacting to Biden’s bizarre interaction with a man in Michigan, in which the former vice president said the voter was “full of sh*t,” Shakir dryly commented: “Oh no.”

Follow-up tweets expressed amazement at how Biden never apologized for the uncouth exchange, choosing instead to accuse Sanders of “joining” US President Donald Trump.

Sanders now seems set on turning the tables during Sunday’s debate, with his press secretary Briahna Joy Gray stating that Americans will “finally get to see Biden defend his ideas, or lack thereof,” during the one-on-one verbal match-up.

The Vermont senator has focused on Biden’s lackluster record on foreign policy and healthcare – but it’s looking more and more likely that he’ll be packing more aggressive punches come Sunday.

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