search
Sick Bern

Alex Jones tries, fails to ambush Bernie Sanders at LA airport

Conspiracy theorist and internet troll chases Vermont senator through LAX, calling him ‘the living embodiment of communist and socialist evil’

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., talks on his phone as he departs after a vote on Gina Haspel to be CIA director, on Capitol Hill, Thursday, May 17, 2018 in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., talks on his phone as he departs after a vote on Gina Haspel to be CIA director, on Capitol Hill, Thursday, May 17, 2018 in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

JTA — Alex Jones, the right-wing conspiracy theorist, wanted to cause a spectacle by debating Sen. Bernie Sanders at Los Angeles International Airport — but Sanders wasn’t having it.

Jones is the host of “InfoWars,” a show known for promoting conspiracy theories such as the false claim that the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School was a hoax. He has also called figures such as Rahm Emanuel and George Soros part of a “Jewish mafia” that controls the United States, and claimed that Jewish actors posed as neo-Nazis at the Charlottesville rally last year.

Armed with his cellphone on Sunday, and followed by a cameraman, Jones ambushed the independent Vermont senator and 2016 presidential candidate while he was waiting for a flight.

An aide quickly blocked Jones from reaching Sanders.

“Dude, no, come on, not right now,” the aide said, recognizing Jones.

https://twitter.com/RealAlexJones/status/1003717895770107904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jta.org%2F2018%2F06%2F05%2Fnews-opinion%2Falex-jones-failed-ambushing-bernie-sanders-airport

Sanders remained silent throughout the whole ordeal, but the aide kept stonewalling Jones, cutting him off every time he tried to make an end-run toward Sanders.

That didn’t stop Jones from repeatedly challenging Sanders about a statement he made during a 2016 primary debate: “When you’re white, you don’t know what it’s like to be living in a ghetto. You don’t know what it’s like to be poor.”

Undated screen capture of InfoWars host Alex Jones. (Screen capture: Vimeo)

The statement, which Jones called “racist,” was part of Sanders’ answer to a question about his racial blind spots as a white person.

Jones also called Sanders “the living embodiment of communist and socialist evil and failure,” and compared him to former Soviet dictator Josef Stalin. Sanders self-identifies as a democratic socialist, but does not support communism.

Later on in the chase, an onlooker bashed Jones for his false conspiracy theories about the Sandy Hook shooting.

“Why don’t you stop being an idiot for a second?” he said to the camera. “I’m mad you’re a Sandy Hook denier… You deny Sandy Hook, and you’re giving him a hard time?”

When Jones claimed (again, falsely) that Hillary Clinton edited tapes of the Sandy Hook shooting, the man responded, “You’re an idiot! You win.”

This isn’t the first time Sanders has ignored a right-wing journalist trying to put him on the spot. In 2015, Fox News’ Jesse Watters followed Sanders down a hallway, but the senator responded “I don’t do ambush interviews.”

read more:
Never miss breaking news on Israel
Get notifications to stay updated
You're subscribed
image
Register for free
and continue reading
Registering also lets you comment on articles and helps us improve your experience. It takes just a few seconds.
Already registered? Enter your email to sign in.
Please use the following structure: example@domain.com
Or Continue with
By registering you agree to the terms and conditions. Once registered, you’ll receive our Daily Edition email for free.
Register to continue
Or Continue with
Log in to continue
Sign in or Register
Or Continue with
check your email
Check your email
We sent an email to you at .
It has a link that will sign you in.