Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders
© REUTERS/Brian SnyderFormer Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders debate at the Democratic 2020 U.S. presidential candidates debate in Manchester, New Hampshire, U.S., Feb 7, 2020.
Hoping to bounce back from dismal early election results, former VP Joe Biden chastised Senator Bernie Sanders for not disowning supporters that harassed members of a Nevada Latino-majority union - except he did.

In an interview on NBC's Meet the Press to be aired in full on Monday, Biden unleashed a scathing attack on Sanders, who is currently riding high in the polls in Nevada, which holds the next Democratic Party contest.

Referring to instances in which supposed Sanders supporters hurled online abuse at members of the Nevada Culinary Workers Union (NCWU) after it distributed leaflets voicing concerns about Sanders' Medicare for All plan, Biden said the Vermont independent should do more to distance himself from "vicious, malicious, misogynistic" attacks.

"You know me well enough to know if any of my supporters did that, I'd disown them. Flat disown them," the former VP said.

While Biden implied that Sanders all but embraced his aggrieved fans who took out their anger on the NCWU, that is not exactly true. As recent as Thursday, Sanders told PBS NewsHour that "anyone making personal attacks against anybody else in my name is not part of our movement."

Sanders, who won the popular vote in the Iowa caucuses and emerged victorious from the New Hampshire primaries this week, expressed doubt that the online "harassers" were part of his support base at all.

In addition to that, Sanders released a statement calling on "supporters of all campaigns" to stay clear of online bullying. "Harassment of all forms is unacceptable to me, and we urge supporters of all campaigns not to engage in bullying or ugly personal attacks," the statement read.

Biden, who has failed to live up to the expectations of being the frontrunner in the race, was expected to be the endorsement choice for the NCWU, but it decided to not take the risk, Politico reported, citing sources. The powerful union, which represents over 60,000 workers, ultimately refused to endorse any of the hopefuls.

Biden's swipe at Sanders did not sit well with pro-Sanders netizens, who wasted no time in reminding the establishment darling about his own faux pas, while accusing him of double standards.

Several commenters asked why Biden has not "disowned" one of his own supporters who referred to Bernie Sanders activists as "gypsies" in a since-deleted tweet


Some pointed out that it is virtually impossible to "disown" online trolls roaming Twitter.


Others argued that self-confessed "gaffe machine" Biden, who recently called a woman at a rally "a lying, dog-faced pony soldier," is not the one to lecture Sanders on the issue.