Sanders Defends Calling Clinton Unqualified

(7 Apr 2016) RESTRICTION SUMMARY: AP CLIENTS ONLY AP TELEVISION – AP CLIENTS ONLY Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – April 7, 2016 ++SOUNDBITES SEPARATED BY WHITE FLASHES++ 1. SOUNDBITE (English): Sen. Bernie Sanders, (D) Presidential Candidate: "So when you have headlines in the Washington Post, quote, 'Clinton Questions Whether Sanders Is Qualified To Be President,' my response is, well, if you want to question my qualifications let me suggest this: That maybe the American people might wonder about your qualifications, Madam Secretary, when you voted for the war in Iraq – the most disastrous foreign policy blunder in the modern history of America. People might want to wonder about your qualifications when you supported virtually every trade agreement, trade agreements which have cost the American worker millions of decent paying jobs. And the American people might want to wonder about your qualifications when you're spending an enormous amount of time raising money for your super PAC from some of the wealthiest people in this country and from the most outrageous special interests. I don't think I have to explain to the American people what Wall Street did to this economy, and yet in her last filing report for her major super PAC, one of several, she raised $15 million from Wall Street. Are you qualified to be president of the United States when you're raising millions of dollars from Wall Street, an entity whose greed, recklessness and illegal behavior helped destroy our economy?" 2. SOUNDBITE (English): Sen. Bernie Sanders, (D) Presidential Candidate: "But let me also be very clear: If Secretary Clinton thinks that I just come from the small state of Vermont we're not used to this, well, we will get used to it fast. I'm not going to get beaten up and I'm not going to get lied about. We will fight back. But I do hope, I do hope, that we can raise the level, and I do hope that now and then the media will choose to talk about real issues." 3. SOUNDBITE (English), Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders: "She has attacked me for being unqualified. And if I'm going to be attacked for being unqualified, I will respond in kind. So I would hope that we can get away from this. I do have respect for Secretary Clinton. I don't know who in her campaign comes up with these brilliant ideas. But all that I'm saying is, I am not going to go into New York – I know that they're nervous. They've lost seven out of the last eight caucuses and primaries, and I know every day they develop a new approach to the campaign. I gather their approach is, and again, this is a quote from CNN, quote: 'Disqualify him, defeat him, and unify the party later.' That sounds to me like they're ready to run a very negative campaign. That is not what I want to do. I don't want to do that. But if we are going to be attacked, and my qualifications for president – after being in Congress for 25 years, supporting working people throughout my entire career, standing up to virtually every special interest in this country – they're going to question my qualifications? I think I have a right to question theirs. " STORYLINE: The race for the Democratic nomination took a negative turn, with front-runner Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders exchanging criticism over each other's qualifications for the presidency. In press conferences, the rivals addressed the accusations, with Sanders vowing to fight back. "This is not the type of politics that I wanna get in," he told journalists in Philadelphia. "But we'll get used to it fast. I'm not gonna get beat up. I'm not gonna get lied about." Clients are reminded: Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...