Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) denounced the man who unfurled a swastika flag at his campaign rally Thursday night, calling it “unspeakable” during a press conference on Friday.
“I speak not only as a Jewish American; I think I can speak for the families of some 400,000 American troops who died fighting Nazism, fighting fascism, that it is horrific,” said Sanders, who would be the first Jewish president if elected.
“It is beyond disgusting to see that in the United States of America there are people who would show the emblem of Hitler and Nazism, and I was shocked to learn about that later,” he continued, calling it a display of “the most detestable symbol in modern history.”
Sanders was speaking at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Thursday when the man unfurled the flag with the swastika, sparking boos from the crowd.
Former Vice President Joe Biden, whom Sanders is running against for the Democratic nomination, also denounced the incident.
“I don’t care who you’re supporting, attacks like this against a man who could be the first Jewish President are disgusting and beyond the pale,” Biden tweeted. “Hatred and bigotry have no place in America — and it’s up to all of us to root out these evils wherever they’re found.”