President Trump’s re-election campaign fired back Wednesday at Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders for arguing that convicted Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and other violent criminals should be allowed to vote from prison, calling the idea “deeply offensive.” "The extremity and radicalism of the 2020 Democrats knows no bounds,” Trump campaign press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told Fox News. “Giving imprisoned terrorists, sex offenders, and murderers the right to vote is an outrageous proposal that is deeply offensive to innocent victims across this country, some of whom lost their lives and are forever disenfranchised by the very killers that 2020 Democrats seek to empower." BERNIE SANDERS SAYS BOSTON MARATHON BOMBER, SEXUAL ASSAULTERS SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO VOTE The statement offered a preview of sorts of the battle to come between Trump's campaign and the still-evolving Democratic field. Sanders remains a front-runner in that crowded primary race, though former Vice President Joe Biden is expected to jump in the race on Thursday -- and polling consistently shows him at or near the top of the field. Sanders' statement about voting rights for inmates drew in the Trump campaign after generating controversy all week. During a CNN town hall on Monday night, a Harvard student asked Sanders if his position on expanding voting rights to felons in prison would support “enfranchising people” like Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev as well as those “convicted of sexual assault,” whose votes could have a “direct impact on women’s rights.” Sanders first responded by saying he wanted a “vibrant democracy” with “higher voter turnout” and blasted “cowardly Republican governors” who he said were “trying to suppress the vote.” The Vermont senator then argued that the Constitution says “everybody can vote” and that “some people in jail can vote.” KAMALA HARRIS BACKTRACKS, NOW SAYS CRIMINALS LIKE BOSTON BOMBER ‘SHOULD BE DEPRIVED’ OF RIGHT TO VOTE “But, I think the right to vote is inherent to our democracy," Sanders said. "Yes, even for terrible people.” Fox News’ Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.<doc-sep>Rep. Ro Khanna Rohit (Ro) KhannaSenate panel approves bill that would invest billions in tech GOP downplays Jan. 6 violence: Like a 'normal tourist visit' House conservatives take aim at Schumer-led bipartisan China bill MORE (D-Calif.), one of the co-chairs of Sen. Bernie Sanders Bernie SandersSenate competitiveness bill includes B authorization for Bezos space company Sanders wants government to get 'piece' of US semiconductor companies in exchange for aid Poll: 51 percent oppose Sanders-led resolution to block weapons sales to Israel MORE's (I-Vt.) presidential campaign, broke with the presidential candidate Wednesday on giving voting rights to the Boston Marathon bomber. “California has a compromise where felony convictions, those who are nonviolent in county jails have the right to vote, but those who have committed violent felonies, like the Boston Marathon, don’t have the right to vote," Khanna said CNN's "New Day." “That to me seems like a reasonable way forward, where you’re enfranchising people but not giving someone like the Boston Marathon bomber the right to vote.” ADVERTISEMENT Host John Berman pressed Khanna on whether he was disagreeing with Sanders, who during a CNN town hall Monday defended Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's right to vote. “I think that I wouldn’t go that far," Khanna responded. "He should have the right to be treated for cancer if he has cancer, and he should have certain human rights, but I wouldn’t go that far in terms of giving him the right to vote.” “I wouldn’t go that far” in giving the Boston Marathon bomber the right to vote, co-chair of Bernie Sanders' 2020 campaign Rep. @RoKhanna tells @johnberman in response to Sen. Sanders’ position that the right to vote should be extended to felons in prison https://t.co/xxuElMPn9N pic.twitter.com/7kRTlSxnAc — New Day (@NewDay) April 24, 2019 Sanders's comments Monday have drawn some backlash. South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg Pete ButtigiegThe Hill's Morning Report - Presented by Uber - One year later — has George Floyd's killing changed the world? Bipartisan infrastructure talks on life support Buttigieg acknowledges 'daylight' between White House, GOP on infrastructure MORE (D), who is also running for president, made clear in a town hall later that day that he does not believe convicted felons should be able to vote while incarcerated. Rep. Seth Moulton Seth MoultonLabor secretary faces questions from Democrats in police chief controversy Overnight Defense: Iran talks set up balancing act for Biden | Pentagon on alert amid Russian saber rattling | Lawmakers urge Pentagon to be pickier about commanders' requests for more troops Is it okay to waste infrastructure dollars? MORE (D-Mass. ), who announced his 2020 candidacy earlier this week, also pushed back on giving felons voting rights, saying, "You're in prison, that's not a provision that we have." Khanna on Wednesday defended restoring voting rights for at least some of those who are incarcerated. “Sen. Sanders is talking about this because mass incarceration is an issue of racial disparity, one of out every three black men are in jail or find themselves convicted of a felony," he explained. "We have a country that has gone from incarcerating 500,000 people to 2.2 million people and this is disenfranchising for many people of color."<doc-sep>Several Boston-area Democrats pushed back on U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders’ comments about allowing marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to vote from prison — as the Vermont senator raced out the door in Cambridge Tuesday to avoid questions about his controversial comments. Sanders, in response to a question at Monday night’s CNN Town Hall, said people locked up for crimes like murder or sexual assault — including the Boston Marathon bomber, as the questioner asked — should be given the right to vote. Sanders, an independent from Vermont who’s a self-described Democratic Socialist, is one of the top-polling candidates for the Democratic nomination for president. Tuesday afternoon, he didn’t bring the issue up when speaking at Club Passim in Harvard Square, less than 3 miles from the site of the bombings. And then he left, darting out the door, avoiding questions from the press as he ducked into a black SUV. His supporters didn’t shy away from the controversial comment, however. The loyal backers agreed that felons, even the Boston Marathon bomber, should be allowed to vote. “He (Tsarnaev) should be in jail for the rest of his life, but there are certain fundamentals of American citizenship that you just don’t take away from people, regardless of the circumstance,” said Sam Pelletier, 28, of Allston. Mayor Martin J. Walsh didn’t agree, saying “you lose your right to vote” when you go to prison. “I think that people that get out of prison — we should have conversations about that, long-term. But I think when somebody takes somebody’s life, they lose the right to vote,” added Walsh, who is expected to back Joe Biden in the Democratic primary. U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, a Salem Democrat who announced a run for president this week, said, “People in prison don’t vote, but when you get out then you should have those rights restored.” And U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch, who is also a Biden backer, said, “I don’t believe that individuals incarcerated for serious crimes should be allowed to vote. Period.” U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, who represents the rest of Boston, declined to comment, and the rest of the Massachusetts congressional delegation, including presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, didn’t respond to requests for comment. Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins also declined to comment. Dic Donohue, a former MBTA cop who was seriously injured in a shootout after the bombing, tweeted, “All I have to say today is that it would be nice to talk to @BernieSanders in person since he’ll be in my home state. We can talk about his comments from last night and more. I don’t live too far from Cambridge.” Brooks Sutherland and Lisa Kashinsky contributed to this report.<doc-sep>Dana Bash: This is so telling about where the Republican party is NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 24: Trump Tower stands on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan on August 24, 2018 in New York City. Following new allegations over hush money that former Trump attorney Michael Cohen paid to an adult-film actress, the Manhattan district attorneyÕs office in New York City may seek criminal charges against the Trump Organization in the coming days. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) Why GOP is standing in the way of Capitol riot investigation WASHINGTON - NOVEMBER 08: US Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner (R-VA) remarks on the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld at the US Capitol November 8, 2006 in Washington, DC. Warner said he supports President George W. Bush's nomination of former CIA Director Robert Gates for Secretary of Defense. Warner said he anticipates Gates' confirmation before the end of the year. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), joined by Senate Assistant Minority Leader John Thune (R-SD) (L) and Senate Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO), speaks following a Senate Republican Policy luncheon at the Russell Senate Office Building on May 18, 2021 in Washington, DC. U.S. Senator and Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders is seen during a live CNN Town Hall moderated by Chris Cuomo at Saint Anselm College on Monday, April 22, 2019, in Manchester, N.H. Elijah Nouvelage for CNN (CNN) — Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said he thinks everyone should have the right to vote – even the Boston Marathon bomber. Asked at a CNN town hall Monday night if he thought felons should be allowed to vote – even while they’re incarcerated, not just after they’re released – Sanders said the country needs more people to vote. “This is a democracy and we have got to expand that democracy, and I believe every single person does have the right to vote,” he said. Sanders started his answer by pointing out the low rate of voter turnout in the United States when compared to other major democracies around the world. He said one of the primary priorities of his campaign is to make the US a “vibrant” democracy with a much higher voter turnout. And, Sanders said, enfranchising people like Dzhokhar Tsarnaev – the US citizen who helped bomb the Boston Marathon in 2013, killing three and injuring hundreds of others – is a part of that. “Yes, even for terrible people, because once you start chipping away and you say, ‘Well, that guy committed a terrible crime, not going to let him vote. Well, that person did that. Not going to let that person vote,’ you’re running down a slippery slope,” Sanders said when asked by a student if sex offenders, the Boston Marathon bomber, terrorists and murderers should have voting rights. He added: “So I believe people commit crimes and they paid the price and they have the right to vote. I believe even if they’re in jail they’re paying their price to society but that should not take away their inherent American right to participate in our democracy.” Later on Monday, Sen. Kamala Harris in her own CNN town hall said that she is open to allowing currently incarcerated people to vote, giving a noncommittal answer to Sanders’ proposal. “People who are convicted, in prison, like the Boston Marathon bomber, on death row, people who are convicted of sexual assault, they should be able to vote?” asked CNN’s Don Lemon. Harris said, “I think we should have that conversation.” Her answer was vague and left open the possibility that she could eventually not support the plan. “I agree that the right to vote is one of the very important components of citizenship. And it is something that people should not be stripped of needlessly, which is why I have been a long been an advocate of making sure people formally incarcerated are not denied the right to vote,” Harris said. “In some states they’re permanently deprived of the right to vote.” South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg unequivocally said felons should not be allowed to vote while serving their sentences. “No,” he said during his CNN town hall Monday. “I do believe that when you are, when you have served your sentence, then part of being restored to society is that you are part of the political life of this nation again and one of the things that needs to be restored is your right to vote.” He went on to say losing the right to vote is part of the punishment when someone is convicted of a crime. “You lose your freedom and I think during that freedom it does not make sense to have an exception for it the right to vote,” Buttigieg said. This story has been updated.<doc-sep>
2020 presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders on Monday defended his stance for granting voting rights to criminals in prison, including the Boston Marathon bomber and convicted sexual assaulters. During a CNN town hall on Monday night, Harvard student Anne Carlstein asked if his position would support “enfranchising people” like Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who she noted is a “convicted terrorist and murderer,” as well as those “convicted of sexual assault,” whose votes could have a “direct impact on women’s rights.” Sanders first responded by saying he wanted a “vibrant democracy” with “higher voter turnout” and blasted “cowardly Republican governors” who he said were “trying to suppress the vote.” The Vermont senator then argued that the Constitution says “everybody can vote” and that “some people in jail can vote.” 5 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT SEN. BERNIE SANDERS “If somebody commits a serious crime- sexual assault, murder, they’re gonna be punished. They may be in jail for 10 years, 20 years, 50 years, their whole lives. That’s what happens when you commit a serious crime,” Sanders elaborated. “But, I think the right to vote is inherent to our democracy. Yes, even for terrible people, because once you start chipping away and you say, ‘That guy committed a terrible crime, not gonna let him vote. Well, that person did that. Not gonna let that person vote,’ you’re running down a slippery slope. So, I believe that people who commit crimes, they pay the price. When they get out of jail, I believe they certainly should have the right the vote, but I do believe that even if they are in jail, they’re paying their price to society, but that should not take away their inherent American right to participate in our democracy.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP CNN anchor Chris Cuomo pressed the Democrats' frontrunner, asking him if he was “sure about that” since he effectively was “writing an opposition ad.” Sanders dismissed such concerns, saying he'd written “many 30-second opposition ads” throughout his life. “This is what I believe. Do you believe in democracy? Do you believe that every single American 18 years of age or older who is an American citizen has the right to vote?” Sanders continued. “This is a democracy. We’ve got to expand that democracy and I believe that every single person does have the right to vote.”