据勒夫·帕纳斯的法律团队发布的一段对话录音显示，唐纳德·特朗普总统表示，如果希拉里·克林顿选择参议员伯尼·桑德斯作为竞选伙伴，他相信在2016年击败前民主党总统候选人将会“更加艰难”。
将近90分钟录音对话据报道，特朗普私人律师鲁迪·朱利安尼的助手帕纳斯参加了2018年的私人晚宴，帕纳斯的律师释放了帕纳斯。
帕纳斯去年因竞选经费指控而被起诉，他对总统和朱利安尼提出了谴责性的指控，指控他以前的同伙对乌克兰的行动，他声称在乌克兰是一个关键角色。特朗普声称他不认识帕纳斯。然而，新发行的磁带和多张照片表明情况并非如此。
“如果她选择[·柯林顿]伯尼·桑德斯，情况会更糟。他是我唯一不想让她挑的人，”在录音中可以听到特朗普这样说。总统此前曾指出桑德斯在贸易问题上的立场，暗示这些立场会引起选民的共鸣。
2016年2月4日，新罕布什尔大学MSNBC民主党候选人辩论开始时，民主党总统候选人前国务卿希拉里·克林顿和参议员伯尼·桑德斯握手
“你知道他基本上说我们在贸易上搞砸了。他是对的，”总统指出。
特朗普在2016年以相当大的优势赢得选举团，尽管许多民意调查显示克林顿在竞选中处于领先地位。然而，这位前国务卿的确赢得了普选，获得了比特朗普多近300万张的选票。
桑德斯在2016年民主党初选中与克林顿竞选，赢得了大量支持，并赢得了许多关键的初选胜利。但是克林顿设法获得了更多的代表，赢得了她的政党的提名。桑德斯的支持者认为这一过程对他们的候选人不利，而佛蒙特州参议员继续走遍全国，为他的前对手竞选。
尽管如此，克林顿似乎仍然对桑德斯怀恨在心。在上周报道的一部新纪录片中，克林顿说“没人喜欢他”，指的是她以前的对手。
“他在国会任职多年。他有一名参议员支持他...没有人想和他一起工作，他什么也没做，”克林顿争辩道。“他是职业政治家。这都是胡扯，我感到很难过，人们都被卷进去了。”
随着民主党总统候选人在全国初选和早期初选中激增，这些言论引起了桑德斯支持者的强烈反弹州级民意测验。标签#ILikeBernie上周二在推特上流行。
当被问及克林顿的评论时，桑德斯置之不理，讽刺道:“在美好的一天，我妻子喜欢我，所以让我们澄清一下这件事。”
特朗普也有表示出兴趣桑德斯最近在民意测验中的上升。
“哇！疯狂的伯尼·桑德斯在民意测验中飙升，在无所事事的政党中与他的对手相比看起来非常好，”总统在1月12日发推说。“那么这一切意味着什么呢？敬请关注！”
桑德斯不久后回复说:“这意味着你会输。”
然后上周四特朗普在推特上写道:“疯狂的伯尼在民主党初选中领先，但看起来民主党越来越不允许他获胜了！困倦的乔能在终点线绊倒吗？”
DONALD TRUMP SAID IT WOULD'VE BEEN 'TOUGHER' TO WIN IN 2016 IF CLINTON HAD PICKED BERNIE SANDERS AS VP: LEV PARNAS TAPE
President Donald Trump expressed his belief that it would have been "tougher" to win against former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016 if she had picked Senator Bernie Sanders as her running mate, according to recordings of a conversation released by Lev Parnas' legal team.
The nearly 90-minute taped conversation, which reportedly took place at a private 2018 dinner attended by Parnas, an associate of Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, was released by lawyers for Parnas.
Indicted last last year on campaign finance charges, Parnas has turned on the president and Giuliani, laying out damning allegations about his former associates actions towards Ukraine, in which he claims to have been a key player. Trump has claimed he did not know Parnas. However, the newly-released tapes and multiple photos suggest otherwise.
"Had she [Clinton] picked Bernie Sanders it would've been tougher. He's the only one I didn't want her to pick," Trump can be heard saying in the recording. The president had previously pointed to Sanders positions on trade, suggesting that they resonate with voters.
Democratic presidential candidate former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders shake hands at the start of their MSNBC Democratic Candidates Debate at the University of New Hampshire on February 4, 2016 in Durham, New Hampshire
"You know he basically says we're getting screwed on trade. And he's right," the president noted.
Trump won the electoral college in 2016 by a significant margin, despite numerous polls showing that Clinton was the front-runner in the race. The former secretary of state did win the popular vote, however, by garnering nearly three million more votes than Trump.
Sanders had run against Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primary, building significant support and winning numerous key primary victories. But Clinton managed to secure more delegates, winning her party's nomination. While Sanders supporters argued that the process was rigged against their candidate, the Vermont senator went on to travel across the country and campaign for his former opponent.
Nonetheless, Clinton has appeared to remain bitter toward Sanders. In a new documentary, which was reported on last week, Clinton said that "nobody likes him," referring to her former opponent.
"He was in Congress for years. He had one senator support him...Nobody wants to work with him, he got nothing done," Clinton argued. "He was a career politician. It's all just baloney, and I feel so bad that people got sucked into it."
The comments drew intense backlash from Sanders' supporters, as the Democratic presidential candidate has surged in national and early primary state-level polls. The hashtag #ILikeBernie trended on Twitter last Tuesday.
When asked about Clinton's comment, Sanders brushed it aside, quipping: "On a good day my wife likes me, so let's clear the air on that one."
Trump has also expressed an interest in Sanders' recent rise in the polls.
"Wow! Crazy Bernie Sanders is surging in the polls, looking very good against his opponents in the Do Nothing Party," the president tweeted on January 12. "So what does this all mean? Stay tuned!"
Sanders responded shortly later, posting: "It means you're going to lose."
Then last Thursday, Trump tweeted: "Crazy Bernie takes the lead in the Democrat Primaries, but it is looking more and more like the Dems will never allow him to win! Will Sleepy Joe be able to stumble across the finish line?"
