#HillarySoQualified backfires after hijack by Clinton critics

A social media hashtag aimed at underscoring Hillary Clinton’s presidential credentials has backfired spectacularly, after Bernie Sanders supporters hijacked it to point out her ‘flip flopping’ on policies.

The #HillarySoQualified tag began to emerge on Twitter after White House rival and fellow Democrat Bernie Sanders suggested Clinton’s Wall Street backers made her unqualified to take presidential office.

“She has been saying lately that she thinks I am ‘not qualified’ to be president,” the Vermont senator told a Philadelphia rally Wednesday night.

“I don’t believe that she is qualified if she is - through her Super PAC - taking tens of millions of dollars in special interest funds.

“I don’t think that you are qualified if you get $15 million from Wall Street through your super PAC. I don’t think you are qualified if you have voted for the disastrous war in Iraq,” he added.  

Jumping to the former secretary of state’s defense, her supporters sought to push Clinton’s relationship with world leaders and apparent popularity among voters across Twitter.

Others took umbrage at Sanders’ attack on a fellow Democrat, including Clinton’s press secretary who tweeted that her rival had reached a “new low”.

However, the fight-back was short-lived. Sanders supporters and Clinton haters quickly commandeered the hashtag to attack her past stance on foreign policy, the email scandal, as well her foundation.

READ MORE: Clinton Foundation received up to $3 mn from fossil fuel giants in 2008-09 – report

Others joked that she was only qualified to work with Republicans on policies like war and destroying the environment.

Clinton currently leads Sanders in the race to secure the Democratic Party’s nomination with 1,749, including super delegates, to Sanders’ 1,061, despite the latter securing six primary wins in a row.

READ MORE: Sanders easily won Wisconsin, but Clinton’s delegate lead barely shrank