‘Cringeworthy’ Biden attack ad ahead of South Carolina vote says Sanders didn’t back Obama’s 2012 run, Twitter collectively groans

Hoping to sink Democratic frontrunner Bernie Sanders ahead of the South Carolina primary, a new ad from former VP Joe Biden accused the Vermont senator of a plot to run against Obama in 2012 – but netizens had trouble buying it.

Biden's latest attack ad takes Sanders to task for “seriously thinking about” a 2012 primary run against the former POTUS – but never acting on it. It also warns that the socialist stalwart “can’t be trusted” to build on Barack Obama’s legacy. Critics soon came out in droves, however, many insisting that Obama’s record is nothing to run on, containing a long list of policies that are anathema to 2020’s Democratic voters.

Though Biden is currently out-polling Sanders in South Carolina, his status as frontrunner has steadily diminished in recent weeks, performing poorly in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada as Sanders surges to the front of the pack. The two candidates will now compete for the top spot in the South Carolina primary later this week – as well as the state’s all-important African American demographic – in what is expected to be a tight race.

With Biden apparently looking to ride Obama’s coattails all the way to the nomination, some netizens responded to the new ad by asking when the candidate would make an argument for why he – not Obama – deserved to be elected.

Despite attacking Sanders for allegedly planning to oppose Obama’s 2012 presidential run – which never came to fruition even in Biden’s retelling – critics were quick to note that Biden actually did run against his beloved former boss in 2008 before dropping out and endorsing him.

Others pointed out that Obama, meanwhile, has yet to return the favor in the current race, failing to endorse Biden or any other candidate.

Some also called the factual basis for the entire attack ad into question. While a recent story in the Atlantic reported that Senator Harry Reid – then the Senate majority leader – had to convince Sanders to abandon his supposed 2012 presidential run, Reid has since responded to the report directly, suggesting none of it happened.

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