Mainstream outlets are so determined to derail Bernie Sanders’ campaign, they’ve dug up a 2016 interview of his wife with RT's late host Ed Schultz – shot before the “collusion” was a thing – to smear both as Russian stooges.

A clip of the Democratic presidential hopeful’s wife Jane Sanders complaining on RT America about the unfairness of closed primaries – in which only registered Democrats can vote for the party’s nominee – was trending on Wednesday morning, boosted by smug blue-checks crowing some variation on “I told you so.”

Bernie Sanders’ wife went on Russian TV to explain why open primaries — like the SC Democratic primary on Saturday — are more “democratic” because they allow REPUBLICANS to vote for who the Democratic nominee should be. Sorry, Jane — THIS IS JUST WRONG! 😡pic.twitter.com/wnAkDSmekf — Jon Cooper 🇺🇸 (@joncoopertweets) February 26, 2020

But the clip dates from the 2016 primaries, before the Russiagate hoax made speaking to Russian media the 2020 equivalent of “palling around with terrorists.” This was the era of Barack Obama’s “Russian reset,” when he smirkingly told election rival Mitt Romney that “the 1980s are calling to ask for their foreign policy back” after the billionaire Republican declared Russia the US’ top geopolitical threat.

Worse, the anchor interviewing Sanders, veteran newsman Ed Schultz, died in 2018 – and, more tellingly, claimed he had been railroaded out of MSNBC for daring to support Sanders. That didn’t stop the flood of recriminations against both Sanders and his wife, however. Even tweeters who knew the year were seemingly of the belief that she should have known the Russians would be accused of meddling in the elections later that year – this was a “red flag,” full stop.

I’m sorry, but no Democratic candidate nor any of their surrogates or family members should be anywhere close to Russian TV. Much less their fucking spouse. pic.twitter.com/V6tXISlM7F — Santiago Mayer (@santiagomayer_) February 26, 2020

🚨🚨BREAKING NEWS🚨🚨@BernieSanders wife on Russian TV. This is a major red flag 🚩 https://t.co/34gZShAea4 — Belkiss Obadia🌊🌊🌊 (@BelkissObadia) February 26, 2020

The myth of the nonpartisan news(wo)man has been thoroughly busted by the four years of “Orange Man Bad” emanating from all mainstream networks, but promoting Sanders is still seen as beyond the pale. Doing the opposite is fine – MSNBC’s Chris Matthews has clutched his pearls until his knuckles were white implying a Sanders presidency would see executions of journalists, and was even forced to apologize for comparing his victory in Nevada to the Nazis overrunning France. Other pundits have done their part to make it clear to viewers that a vote for Sanders is a vote for Satan (who, if it wasn’t clear, is a dirty commie).

Hi. Jew here. The Nazi occupation of France lead to the murder of 72,500 Jews. Bernie Sanders, me, and millions of other Jews grew up w/ nearly no extended family in traumatized household because of the Nazis. This comment by Chris Matthews is disgusting. pic.twitter.com/L2ybnPVAiI — Abraham Gutman 🔥 (@abgutman) February 23, 2020

After @msnbc's 1)@chucktodd compared @BernieSanders supporters 2 "brown shirts" 2) @HardballChris warned of assassinations in Central Park if Bernie wins3) Matthews equated Bernie Nevada victory w/ Nazis toppling France@JoeNBC equates Bernie momentum to hijacking a plane pic.twitter.com/KaCUgCwX6I — Jordan (@JordanChariton) February 24, 2020

For all you MSNBC viewers who are pretending they can’t see the anti Sanders bias coming from MSNBC analyst.. pic.twitter.com/veRFPraYX3 — Anti-Establishment🔥 (@ChrisFrancis54) February 8, 2020

There were some voices of reason asking Democratic Party operatives to let Schultz rest in peace, pointing out he had only joined RT America because MSNBC wouldn’t allow him to cover Sanders, and debunking other smears.

For crying out loud. This was from 2016. The host of that program, Ed Schultz, has since passed away. You @joncoopertweets should apologize and take this down. https://t.co/qDXG50bV3n — David Shuster (@DavidShuster) February 26, 2020

*long exasperated sigh*That was Ed Schultz who Jane Sanders was talking to. Ed Schultz, who used to be on @MSNBC and was a strong progressive. He was the only one who was fair to Bernie and MSNBC fired him for it. That's why in 2016 she talked to Ed on RT Russian TV, you hack. https://t.co/Q4lGGXdNY9 — beth, purity test enthusiast (@bourgeoisalien) February 26, 2020

The hysteria of the anti-Sanders narrative is rising in step with the democratic socialist’s own rise in the polls. Sanders won the popular vote in Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada, the only three states to vote thus far, and he is currently polling ahead of former vice president Joe Biden by an 11-point margin in South Carolina, which holds its primary on Saturday. Biden, apparently panicking, released an ad earlier this week claiming Sanders had sought to primary former president Barack Obama and had to be all but physically restrained by then-Senate majority leader Harry Reid, but that transparent bid to scupper Sanders’ black support (Biden, despite his association with old-school segregationists, enjoys strong support among black voters) flopped when Reid denied the incident. Now, other candidates – and their backers – are freaking out.

Russia knows which candidate will lose against Trump - that's why they're helping Bernie. #DemDebatepic.twitter.com/ekCnKYtbCi — Team Bloomberg (@Mike2020) February 26, 2020

Billionaire Michael Bloomberg has devoted all of his resources to March’s “Super Tuesday” primary, in which 14 states will cast their votes for the Democratic nominee, pouring over half a billion dollars into pushing his name down voters' throats (more than the rest of the candidates, including Trump, combined). Tuesday’s debate charged upwards of $3,000 in some cases for a seat, ensuring a favorable audience. But his spending has been seen as less egregious than campaigning on a democratic socialist platform – or *shudder* going on “Russian TV.”

Interestingly, other Democrats who’ve appeared on RT America don’t get the “Russian collaborator” treatment. Adam Schiff spoke to the outlet about unconstitutional NSA surveillance back in 2013, before he became the #Resistance hero he is today, yet no one has thought to accuse him of working for Putin.

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