Clinton, Trump Trade Jabs as 2016 Front-Runners

Hillary Clinton speaks during a Democratic presidential primary debate on Saturday, December 19, 2015, at Saint Anselm College in Manchester.

Presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders said in a television interview that the Democratic National Committee deliberately scheduled debates at times when viewership would be low in an effort to “protect” the party’s front-runner, Hillary Clinton.

Machester, New Hampshire (CNN)After holding former President Bill Clinton behind-the-scenes and on the fundraising trail of her presidential campaign, Hillary Clinton announced Saturday night at a post-debate meet-and-greet that her husband will be hitting the campaign trail in January. “And if I find anybody else involved in this, they will also be fired”, Sanders said. “So really, no, I don’t think we quite have [gotten where we need to be]”.

Just 48 hours after news that Sanders staffers had searched through Clinton’s private voter data, it seemed like both candidates were ready to move past it.

Clinton recommended more direct action than her competitors, calling for a no-fly zone over part of Syria and insisting that the US must seek to remove Syrian President Bashar Assad from power. “What somebody like a Donald Trump is doing is playing on the fears and anxieties of the American people”, he said. Both the Clinton and the sanders teams claiming victory. “They are going to people showing Donald Trump insulting Islam and Muslims in order to recruit more radical jihadists”, Clinton said.

As a result, Sunday morning also saw Clinton campaign manager John Podesta and spokeswoman Jennifer Palmieri work to walk Clinton’s statement back.

“What am I gonna say, he’s a weak leader?”

“There are very few analysts who have watched all of IS’s videos”, said counterterrorism analyst Daveed Gartenstein-Ross. “You have to get rid of ISIS first”. After months of pivoting to the left on domestic issues to compete with Mr. Sanders for her party’s base, she is now talking about security and safety far more than Mr. Sanders – and solidifying her lead in opinion polls.

The rising tensions between Clinton and Sanders, who have largely refrained from attacking each other, occurred at a crucial moment for Sanders, a democratic socialist who is trying to close the gap in the race six weeks before Iowa holds the first nominating contest. Clinton challenged Sanders on how he would pay for those proposals, suggesting he’d pass on the costs to states and middle class Americans. “To hear presidential candidates address drug addiction at a rehab center for recovering drug addicts was very special”, event co-host Christine Pelosi said. “I mean, Donald Trump has fallen out of the headlines, rightfully”.