Democratic Primaries

Bernie Sanders' 2020 campaign has been quietly getting advice from journalist David Sirota for months, even as he relentlessly attacked other Democratic candidates, and now he's the senator's speechwriter

Sen. Bernie Sanders' new speechwriter for his 2020 campaign has been attacking other 2020 Democratic candidates nonstop for months as an unofficial employee, The Atlantic reported.

David Sirota, a journalist known for his unabashed progressive politics and vicious Twitter-takedowns, has been slamming candidates like Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, Kirsten Gillibrand, and Beto O'Rourke, on social media, his website, and in columns for the Guardian. All the while, he was advising Sanders' campaign in an unofficial capacity while helping him write early campaign speeches, according to The Atlantic report.

Sanders' campaign manager, Faiz Shakir, confirmed to The Atlantic that Sirota was working for the campaign in an undisclosed role in a test trial of sorts to see how the journalist and senator got along. Shakir said this role began on February 20, after Sirota had left a position at the Capital and Main website on February 14, and before he officially signed on with the campaign on March 11, according to CNN.

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Meanwhile, old tweets from Sanders' new press secretary Briahna Joy Gray on Russian election interference, a journalist whose role with the campaign was also announced Tuesday, have gained attention on social media. In one such tweet from September 2016, Gray said, "@realDonaldTrump is right. The dems pushed the 'Russia did the hacking' angle b/c it was politically advantageous for them. #debatenight."