Bernie Celeb Surrogate Knocks Obama

Actress and activist Rosario Dawson, who has become a vocal supporter of Bernie Sanders’s presidential campaign, criticized President Obama’s ability to sustain early momentum in his administration during a town hall in Harlem on Friday. “They all organized and they thought that they had their guy, their one person,” Dawson said in response to an audience question about inclusion in the administration.

“But within two months of him becoming president, people lost faith. And to his due credit—Twitter only just had its 10-year anniversary—I don’t think he really fully appreciated the organizing that was possible that could have continued after getting him the seat. To say that was all obstructionism is a complete fallacy because he had presented to the House. So he lost that afterwards because he didn’t continue with the momentum that got him there.”

Dawson later responded to a question from The Daily Beast, explaining that she was basing this opinion on low voter turnout in the 2014 midterm elections. She has also been particularly vocal against Sanders’s opponent Hillary Clinton, saying “shame on you” at a rally in the Bronx on Thursday, in response to Clinton questioning Sanders on abortion.

Audio of Friday’s exchange is posted below:

During an interview on CNN on Sunday, Sanders himself responded to controversial comments Dawson has made. "As you know, Rosario is a very well-known actress. She has been kind enough to stand with me. She will say what she wants to say. That is not what I want to be focusing on and I would hope my surrogates would not focus on that issue."

—Gideon Resnick