Bernie Sanders supporters lashed out on Twitter with the hashtag #ToneDownForWhat after Hillary Clinton's top strategist said Clinton's campaign would be open to a new Democratic debate before the New York primary in April if Sanders toned down his campaign's recent negativity against her.
Joel Benenson, a top strategist for Clinton, said Monday on CNN's "At This Hour" that Clinton's campaign was more reluctant to permit another debate before the April 19 New York primary due to Sanders' increased animosity. Benenson added that the Democratic presidential campaigns need to begin to focus on the future Republican nominee instead.
"Sen. Sanders doesn't get to decide when we debate particularly when he's running a very negative campaign against us. Let's see if he goes back to the kind of tone he said we going to set early on. If he does that then we'll talk about debates," Benenson said.
Since the Democratic Nevada caucuses, Sanders has upped his attacks against Clinton, though he has yet to release advertising that directly attacks his Democratic opponent. Sanders' campaign showed signs of confidence Monday on a conference call after his three wins in Washington state, Hawaii and Alaska this past weekend.
Here’s how people on social media engaged with the trending hashtag #ToneDownForWhat.