So now the very prospect of running against a woman for president makes someone sexist, according to ABC News chief political analyst Matthew Dowd.

On Tuesday, prior to the presidential debate, Matthew Dowd suggested in a tweet that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is a sexist because he “keeps trying to defeat women running for president,” as reported by Fox News.

“You know one clear way to demonstrate that you believe a woman can and should be president? Don’t try to defeat a woman running for President,” Dowd tweeted.

You know one clear way to demonstrate that you believe a woman can and should be president? Don’t try to defeat a woman running for President. — Matthew Dowd (@matthewjdowd) January 14, 2020

The tweet came in response to a Monday report that alleged Bernie Sanders told Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) in an exchange back in 2018 that a woman could not win the presidency against Donald Trump.

“The two agreed that if they ultimately faced each other as presidential candidates, they should remain civil and avoid attacking one another, so as not to hurt the progressive movement,” reported CNN. “They also discussed how to best take on President Donald Trump, and Warren laid out two main reasons she believed she would be a strong candidate: She could make a robust argument about the economy and earn broad support from female voters. Sanders responded that he did not believe a woman could win.”

Elizabeth Warren later clarified that the exchange took place while the noted socialist senator from Vermont denounced it as “ludicrous.”

“It is ludicrous to believe that at the same meeting where Elizabeth Warren told me she was going to run for president, I would tell her that a woman couldn’t win,” Sanders said. “It’s sad that, three weeks before the Iowa caucus and a year after that private conversation, staff who weren’t in the room are lying about what happened. What I did say that night was that Donald Trump is a sexist, a racist and a liar who would weaponize whatever he could. Do I believe a woman can win in 2020? Of course! After all, Hillary Clinton beat Donald Trump by 3 million votes in 2016.”

Bernie supporters and non-Bernie supports alike did not take well to Dowd’s tweet and called out him out for insinuating that Bernie is some kind of sexist.

“I’m not a Bernie supporter at all. But I think this Sanders & Warren controversy is completely overblown. Bernie is not a sexist,” one user told Dowd.

Dowd responded by dogging Sanders for even running against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. “What I find fascinating is that he keeps trying to defeat women running for president,” he said.

Another non-Bernie supporter said Dowd was wrong to suggest that women should be unopposed to earn the presidency.

“Look I also am not a Bernie supporter and I really hope he does not win the primary. But if he feels he wants to run for president and there are women who oppose him so be it. I don’t think we should hold that against him,” the user said.

Dowd replied, “Point is if you really believe a woman can be and should be president then why are you trying to defeat women.”

In sum: the very act of defeating a woman is itself a sign of sexism.

What I find fascinating is that he keeps trying to defeat women running for president. — Matthew Dowd (@matthewjdowd) January 14, 2020