For indispensable reporting on the coronavirus crisis, the election, and more, subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily newsletter.





On Wednesday morning, the day after the first Democratic debate, Donald Trump unleashed an ISIS-themed attack ad against Bernie Sanders on Instagram. “We need a strong leader—and fast!” Trump wrote in the caption of the video.

We need a strong leader- and fast! A video posted by Donald J. Trump (@realdonaldtrump) on Oct 14, 2015 at 8:29am PDT

Trump live-tweeted last night’s debate and praised the performance of both Sanders and Hillary Clinton. But his video questions Sanders’ national security bona fides — in Trump’s characteristically controversial fashion. The video juxtaposes a clip of ISIS militants with the Black Lives Matter activists who interrupted Sanders during an August campaign event in Seattle, and it argues that if Sanders cannot “even defend his microphone,” then he is also unfit to defend the United States. Trump has previously criticized Sanders for allowing the protesters to interrupt his speech.

Does Trump’s targeting of Sanders mean he views him as a formidable rival? Or does he just enjoy trolling his fellow presidential candidates? Perhaps it’s both.