PHILADELPHIA — Bernie Sanders delegates had waited for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention to offer some kind of apology or an explanation for what appeared to them to be a rigged primary.
They left the arena Thursday evening disappointed.
“We were hoping for something in the speech that would address the systemic problems and fraud that have taken place during his primary,” Oregon delegate Jason Allen said.
Clinton’s address was enthusiastically praised by most delegates leaving the arena. She outlined her agenda, talked about her personal life and included a heavy dose of criticism of the Republican nominee, Donald Trump. Clinton also reached out to Sanders supporters, promising to address their agenda and work closely with Sanders, an U.S. senator from Vermont.
“I thought it was fantastic,” Deborah Gibbs, of Mississippi, told the Washington Examiner. “I think it inspired America. I also feel she was trying to bridge the gap.”
But her address was delivered at the conclusion of a convention clouded by anger from the party’s left, most of them backers of self-declared socialist Sanders, who Clinton beat in the primary.
The convention kicked off just days after leaked Democratic National Committee emails showed an apparent months-long effort to undermine Sanders’ campaign. His delegates arrived in Philadelphia angry and ready to contest her nomination.
Montana delegate Carl Donovan said the split in the party this week was significant.
“I have been to five conventions and this is the most divided,” Donovan said.
Sanders supporters said they felt they were cheated out of a fair primary by the party, led by Clinton, who in their view did nothing to mend the rift during her Thursday address.
“The main problem is the lack of trust and it hit a peak with the the DNC emails,” California delegate Alex Calleros said. “She said everything we want to hear right now, but why should we believe it? A lot of the hard-core Bernie Sanders people believe she’s telling us what she needs to tell us to get elected.”
Sanders supporters wore neon yellow shirts that glowed in the dark. Many lifted oppositional signs during Clinton’s speech and shouted occasionally during her address. But they were always drowned out Clinton supporters who outnumbered them in the arena.
Some Sanders supporters rushed out of the arena after the speech to join protesters near the arena.
“I understand they are upset,” Donovan said. “But I feel like nothing we do will please them at this point. I think they are the looney Left.”
