Bernie Sanders Flounders When Confronted About Democrats’ Failing Message Machine

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I–VT) faced an uncomfortable moment during a CNN town hall Wednesday night when a young voter asked a question that cut to the heart of the Democratic Party’s ongoing communication crisis.

The event, hosted in Washington, D.C., and featuring Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D–NY), was meant to rally Democrats around the issue of the government shutdown. Instead, it revealed how far the party has fallen behind Republicans—especially under President Donald Trump—when it comes to speaking to ordinary Americans online.

The turning point came when college student Nicole Plewicka asked why Republicans, led by President Trump, “seem so much more effective” in reaching young voters through social media. Sanders, visibly caught off guard, stumbled through a rambling answer.

“That’s a great question… uhh… I think the Republicans are effective; they have learned a lot about social media,” Sanders said haltingly. “And by the way, it doesn’t hurt that they have friends on all of the social media platforms. You know, Bezos owns Twitter or X… Zuckerberg owns Meta, Facebook, and Instagram.”

The senator’s confusion—mixing up Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who owns The Washington Post, with X owner Elon Musk—elicited laughter and groans from the audience.

Sanders went on: “Uh, Larry Ellison is going to own you pretty soon; I think he’s going to take over CNN, not to mention CBS.”

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The awkward exchange spread rapidly across X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok, prompting ridicule from both sides of the aisle. Conservative journalist Ian Miles Cheong summed up the reaction bluntly: “It’s embarrassing that Bernie doesn’t even know who owns the world’s biggest social media platform. These are the same people lecturing everyone else on media literacy.”

The viral blunder reinforced a growing perception among voters that Democrats are out of touch with the digital generation, while conservatives, under President Trump’s leadership, have mastered how to connect directly with the public—without corporate media filters.

Sanders’ misstep wasn’t the only tense moment of the night. Later, during a heated discussion about the ongoing government shutdown, he clashed with another student who questioned whether Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D–NY) shares blame for the stalemate.

“I think it reflects more on Mike Johnson’s leadership and President Trump’s leadership,” Sanders said, trying to shift responsibility toward the Republican side. “This is a leadership that said it’s okay to give a trillion dollars in tax breaks to the richest people and then make massive cuts to healthcare for working-class people.”

The student pushed back, noting that Schumer himself had voted for earlier stopgap measures but was now refusing to negotiate. Sanders grew visibly agitated: “They need 60 votes in the Senate. That means you have to talk to the other side. Mike Johnson is not talking. John Thune is not talking. President Trump is not talking. That is the problem.”

The fiery exchange underscored Democratic disarray as the shutdown drags into its third week. Republicans argue that Schumer engineered the impasse to demand even more spending, while the White House insists conservatives are obstructing for political gain.

Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez attempted to frame the crisis as part of a Republican effort to “dismantle government” and strip healthcare from working families. But the evening exposed something deeper: a party increasingly unable to communicate with younger, more independent-minded voters who find authenticity and strength in President Trump’s unapologetic populism.

Even the White House joined in the mockery, posting a meme of Sanders wearing a giant sombrero after his remarks.