MSNBC host Chuck Todd caught himself using an unfavored term for supporters of Independent Vermont Senator and Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, and joked about several alternatives to avoid the ire of said supporters.

On Tuesday night’s edition of MSNBC’s MTP Daily, Todd led a panel discussion on the state of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary race.

Todd noted that while Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren has “stabilized” in poling after a lengthy slide into third place, Sanders has “settled” into the strong second place that he held for a long time before his heart attack, and has regained since then.

But Todd, waxing poorly poetic, said “I have a feeling that’s his ceiling,” and noted that Sanders and Warren have yet to make President Donald Trump the focus of attack ads like former Vice President Joe Biden and South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg have.

Former Jeb Bush aide Michael Steel (“No, the other one”) agreed that Sanders may have already maxed out his support because he began the race with the highest name recognition. “There is no room for growth, in that sense,” he said, and argued that Sanders and Warren are poor choices to win over midwestern working class voters.

Todd wondered why the Sanders doesn’t make the argument that “All you smarty people [in the media] tell us that the Bernie voter and the Trump voter are the same or similar people, …why aren’t I actually considered the best Democrat, because I’m the one…”

Then in an aside, Todd said “I’m going to finally get some of these Bernie Bros to say ‘Well, at least he…'”

“Don’t say ‘Bernie Bros,’ they get upset at that, too,” panelist and Democratic strategist Joel Payne cracked, in a surreal cable news reenactment of the Theme From Shaft.

“What do we call them, Bernie siblings? Bernie people?” Todd asked, his one shot at approval from Sanders fans slipping away.

“Bernie supporters,” Payne suggested.

“Bernie Bros” is a derogatory term for Sanders supporters that was coined during the 2016 presidential campaign to describe certain of Sanders supporters who used crude and sexist attacks on opponents.

But Chuck may have redeemed himself by then declaring “But if it’s about winning over Trump supporters, Bernie’s the guy!”

Payne also pointed out that Sanders and Warren have largely not campaigned against each other, and wondered if that might change.

Watch the clip above via MSNBC.

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