On his third campaign trip to New Hampshire, former President Bill Clinton did not hold back on his criticism of Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is currently holding a 27 point lead over Hillary Clinton and polling at a 91 percent favorability among voters in the state, according to the most recent WMUR/CNN poll.
Bill Clinton didn't mention the senator from Vermont by name but regularly referred to him as "her opponent." He struck hard on Sanders, attacking him on calling Planned Parenthood part of the “establishment." The Clinton campaign, who has the endorsement of Planned Parenthood, pounced on this.
“If you elect Hillary president, it will be a great day when you stop her from defunding Planned Parenthood,” Bill Clinton said today. “Hillary Clinton does not consider Planned Parenthood a member of the establishment.”
The former president then dove in on health care, a topic that daughter Chelsea Clinton tackled last week in New Hampshire when she said that Sen. Sanders wants to “dismantle the Affordable Care Act."
Sanders Narrows Clinton's National Lead in New Poll Bernie Sanders Opens Up 60-33 Lead Against Hillary Clinton In New Hampshire Poll Bill Clinton Question 'Annoys' Bernie Sanders“On health care, Hillary thinks we should remember how important the Affordable Care Act is,” began the president. “Her opponent says, no, we should scrap that and go into a single-payer system.”
The president was referring to Sanders’ plan to pay for a single-payer system that he release released moments before the last Democratic debate. The president called the senator’s plan unsustainable, saying it encourages “overcharging and inflation.”
The president quickly shifted gears to the college students in the room, a demographic that has been leaning heavily toward Bernie Sanders. “Both of these candidates want to make college affordable,” said the president. “Hillary recognizes the burden on people after they graduate.”
A talking point of Hillary Clinton’s college affordability plan is that college should not be free for everyone because that includes the very rich, often saying that Republican front-runner Donald Trump’s children should not go to school for free. Today, Bill Clinton brought the argument a bit closer to home, pointing at himself, saying, “The one place she disagrees with her opponent is that she thinks people like us should pay to go to college,” said the president. “We can afford it, and the budget can’t.”
Bill Clinton will take his campaigning to Las Vegas Thursday night. It will be his first campaign stop in Nevada, and it comes just days ahead of the Clinton Foundation Health Matters Annual Activation Summit, which will feature another prominent Hillary Clinton surrogate, Abby Wambach.