Sanders looking better to Trump voters.

[The Barbarian]

That Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., went on Fox News for a town hall Monday night was controversial among Democrats. As Sanders told hosts Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, “Not everybody thought I should come on this show. Your network does not necessarily have great respect in my world, but I thought it was important for me to be here and have a serious discussion about serious issues.”

What Sanders painted as a magnanimous gesture was really a calculated move to boost his presidential prospects: He needs Fox viewers to win the White House.

According to the massive Cooperative Congressional Election Study, about 12% of Sanders primary voters cast their ballots for Donald Trump in the 2016 general election. These Sanders voters appear to have given Trump the margin of victory in the three states that handed Trump the White House. The Fox News town hall was held in Bethlehem, Pa., in a state where some 16% of Sanders supporters — about 117,100 people — voted for Trump; Trump won Pennsylvania by 44,292 votes. It was a similar story in Wisconsin, where about 9% of Sanders supporters — about 51,317 people — voted for Trump; Trump won Wisconsin by 22,748 votes. And in Michigan, about 8% of Sanders voters — or about 47,915 people — cast their general election ballots for Trump; Trump won Michigan by 10,704 votes.


If Sanders wants to win the Democratic nomination, he needs these Trump voters to support him in the primaries. And if he does win the nomination, he needs them to stay in his column and vote for him instead of Trump in 2020.

Can Sanders separate his former supporters from Trump? Going on Fox News and making his pitch that Trump has failed them is a smart way to do it. Indeed, Sanders not only participated in the Fox town hall, he published an op-ed on the Fox News website, in which he declared, “When Donald Trump ran for president he made a lot of promises to working families. He told them that he would protect their interests while standing up to the Establishment. Unfortunately, he did not tell the truth.”
Bernie Sanders Needs Fox News To Court Trump Voters

The message is pretty easy; "I'll do for you what Trump promised to do, but can't or won't do."

 

[The Barbarian]

Trump seems to be aware of Fox News hedging their bets:

Donald Trump has turned on Fox News after the right-wing news channel hosted a town hall with Democratic presidential contender Bernie Sanders.


“Many Trump Fans & Signs were outside of the @FoxNews Studio last night in the now thriving (Thank you President Trump) Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, for the interview with Crazy Bernie Sanders,” Mr Trump tweeted on Tuesday evening.

“Big complaints about not being let in – stuffed with Bernie supporters. What’s with @FoxNews?”


The president’s claim his supporters were barred from the event was contradicted by local media, who reported a range of political groups were in the audience, including Trump supporters.
Trump angrily turns on Fox News after interview with Bernie Sanders

Suzanne Scott apparently is pretty good at detecting weakness.