Bernie Sanders spokesman Michael Briggs has been blasting out emails all night, fact-checking his opponents. Some subjects include: “Hillary Clinton on the Keystone Pipeline” and “Hillary Clinton Positions on Guns.” Another quotes Hillary Clinton calling the TPP, which she recently came out against, “the gold standard in trade agreements”.

It’s a weird move for a guy who’s made positivity (read: not attacking Hillary Clinton for the supposed greater good of the party) central to his brand. But after running on a positive message all election long, Sanders found himself in a precarious position: Bernie had to be the face of positivity, even as defended himself against attacks from his opponents and went after Clinton.

Sanders managed to balance staying true to his brand and attacking Clinton, at the same time. When Anderson Cooper raised questions about Clinton’s private email server, for instance, Sanders dismissed them energetically, saying: “Enough of the emails. Let’s talk about the real issues facing America!”

But offstage, the emails from his spokesman sang a different note.