Independent Vermont Senator and Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders got snippy with a local reporter in Washington state, repeatedly interrupting her as she grilled him about online abuse from his supporters, and suggested those supporters are impostors.

KCPQ’s Brandi Kruse scored an interview with Sanders before his rally in Tacoma, WA Monday night, and asked him about the mounting attention being paid to abusive behavior by Sanders supporters online, which has sparked demands by other candidates for Sanders to put a stop to it, and was the focus of a Mike Bloomberg ad this week.

“Your campaign has taken some flack in recent weeks for the behavior of your supporters,” Kruse said, adding “There was a Michael Bloomberg ad that came out today, I don’t know if you saw itm but it’s basically things your supporters have said, they’ve called Elizabeth Warren a snake, they called Pete Buttigieg a rat.”

Kruse then read a statement in which Sanders called for respectful discourse, and said “our campaign is building a multi-generational multiracial movement of love, compassion, and justice.”

“So if that’s the movement that you’re building, if that’s the campaign you’re building, love, compassion, justice, why is it that your campaign is attracting people who are doing something so antithetical to that?” Kruse said, as Sanders cut in to interrupt her.

“First of all, first of all,” Sanders said, talking over Kruse, “do you know how many supporters we have?”

Kruze replied “A lot.”

“Two and a half million, I think, who are involved in this thing,” Sanders said, adding “And no campaign can control two and a half million people.”

“Let me also tell you something, the people on our campaign, often our African American women leaders, are receiving incredibly abusive and ugly responses, that is the nature of the internet today, and that’s unfortunate,” Sanders continued. “So I disavow any of these ugly personal attacks. But again when you have two and a half million people out there, supporters all over the country, some people are going to say stupid things.”

“And by the way also, as you well know, the internet today is kind of the wild West, and somebody can say something in your name, you know? …which may not have anything to do with you,” he added, then went on to predict his message and agenda will win the presidency.

“So you don’t think that there’s an issue with vitriol that’s specific to your base, or special to your base?” Kruse pressed.

“Look I just said to you, I just said to you,” Sanders said as Kruse tried to finish her question, “that I don’t know that they’re even coming from my campaign. All right?”

“Well not your campaign, nobody is accusing you of it coming from your campaign, but supporters,” Kruse said.

“When you have two and a half million supporters, people will say things, and maybe these are people who are not supporters of me,” Sanders said, then asked “Do you know for a fact that they are?”

“So they are people posing as Bernie Sanders supporters?” Kruse asked.

“That could well be the case. that could well be the case,” Sanders said, and again told Cruz that people on his campaign have been attacked, and that “my wife has been subjected to incredibly ugly stuff,” but added “Now we don’t make a big deal about it, but that is what happens out there, it is bad, I reject any ugliness from any of my supporters.”

“But anybody who knows me and what our campaign is about, don’t tell me that you’re supporting Bernie Sanders if you’re making ugly personal attacks on other people. We don’t want your support,” Sanders said.

Watch the clip above via Seattle Fox station KCPQ.

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