What appeared to be an initial defense mechanism by Hillary Clinton supporters, the #HillarySoQualified trend on Twitter became dominated by Sen. Bernie Sanders’ fans by Thursday morning.
The hashtag began trending after Sanders said Wednesday night that he does not think Clinton is qualified to be president because she benefits from a super PAC, voted in support of the Iraq war and has supported “disastrous” trade agreements — including the Panama Free Trade Agreement.
“And she has been saying lately that she thinks that I am, quote unquote, not qualified to be president,” Sanders said at a Temple University rally. “Well let me just say in response to Secretary Clinton, I don’t believe that she is qualified if she is … through her super PAC, taking tens of millions of dollars in special interest funds.”
In response, Brian Fallon, Clinton’s press secretary, tweeted Wednesday night, “Hillary Clinton did not say Bernie Sanders was ‘not qualified.’ But he has now — absurdly — said it about her. This is a new low.” Clinton’s campaign also sent out an email blast to her supporters Wednesday evening, continuing to deny that she has ever directly called Sanders unqualified. The email also asks supporters to donate $1 to “show Bernie Sanders there are consequences for this kind of attack.”
Despite the Clinton campaign’s immediate defense, #HillarySoQualified took a sarcastic turn with about 129,000 tweets trending around the topic on Twitter as of Thursday morning. The tweets from Sanders’ supporters range from critiques about Clinton borrowing Sanders’ platform, her super PAC politics to a quote by her former communications director, Howard Wolfson, who said the campaign doesn’t believe President Obama could pass the “commander-in-chief test“ before the 2008 election.
Here are some of the trending #HillarySoQualified tweets between both Sanders and Clinton supporters:
#HillarySoQualified she gets to call others unqualified but is outraged when others do the same to her. pic.twitter.com/BQC26ZnY2x
— Samantha (@samhwils) April 7, 2016
#HillarySoQualified That she is receiving many of these tonight to show our support. #ImWithHer ALL THE WAY pic.twitter.com/iKY18Wsmqn
— Kavin (@stylistkavin) April 7, 2016
#HillarySoQualified
— Jon Stall (@JonStall2009) April 7, 2016
She supported $15 minimum wage way back in April 2016
Angers me that a woman can still be told she's not qualified, even after accomplishing so much in life. @HillaryClinton #HillarySoQualified
— Sergio Grant (@sgrant525) April 7, 2016
#HillarySoQualified that she's under FBI investigation and has the nerve to call Bernie unqualified.
— Navjot (@NavjotPal_) April 7, 2016
#HillarySoQualified that her supporters make hashtags that end up not really helping her.
— Andrew Jerell Jones (@sluggahjells) April 7, 2016
