He mentions Sanders all the time, but Trump has never had an actual strategy for recruiting the supporters of the man he once deemed “Crazy Bernie.” Instead, he’s settled on incoherently trolling them. Here, for instance, are a few things Trump tweeted on Friday:
Looks like the Bernie people will fight. If not, their BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS was a total waste of time. Kaine stands for opposite!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 24, 2016
An analysis showed that Bernie Sanders would have won the Democratic nomination if it were not for the Super Delegates.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 24, 2016
Sorry folks, but Bernie Sanders is exhausted, just can't go on any longer. He is trying to dismiss the new e-mails and DNC disrespect. SAD!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 24, 2016
He continued the Bernie bashing at a rally in Virginia on Monday afternoon. Instead of finding an angle on the Democrats’ email scandal, he opted to fire indiscriminately. He blamed Hillary Clinton for not being loyal to Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Debbie Wasserman Schultz for being corrupt and thwarting Bernie, and Bernie for being too weak to go after either of them.
Trump knows at this point that Sanders’s supporters are not going to flock to him in any meaningful number. But he doesn’t need them to—he just needs them to not vote for Hillary Clinton. Trump’s incoherent prodding of Sanders and his supporters is also him sticking his finger in a wound, reminding the larger world that the Democrats do not have their house in order either.