PHILADELPHIA — Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders on Wednesday said that he does not believe Hillary Clinton is qualified to be president based on her acceptance of special-interest money, her support of free trade and her vote for the Iraq War.

Sanders’s blunt assessment at a raucous rally here came at the end of a day of testy exchanges between the two White House contenders in a race that Sanders has prolonged by continuing to win nominating contests, despite Clinton’s formidable lead in the delegate count.

Earlier Wednesday, Clinton launched a fierce two-pronged attack on Sanders, questioning her persistent challenger’s qualifications as a Democrat and for the presidency — although she stopped short of saying he was unqualified for the job.

Appearing at a rally at Temple University, Sanders told supporters that “Secretary Clinton appears to be getting a little bit nervous.”

“She has been saying lately that she thinks I am quote-unquote not qualified to be president,” Sanders said. “Let me just say in response to Secretary Clinton, I don’t believe that she is qualified if she is through her super PAC taking tens of millions of dollars in special-interest money. I don’t think you are qualified if you get $15 million through Wall Street for your super PAC.”

“I don’t think you are qualified if you have voted for the disastrous war in Iraq,” he continued, referring to Clinton’s 2002 vote as a U.S. senator from New York.

Sanders also criticized Clinton’s past support of trade deals, suggesting that that also undermines her ability to be president.

Responding late Wednesday night on Twitter, Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon said Sanders had reached “a new low.”

Counting down to what has become a make-or-break Democratic primary in New York on April 19, the two campaigns traded other zingers Wednesday via speeches, interviews and social media.

“If you want to vote for me, I think you should know what I want to do, not just a lot of arm-waving and hot rhetoric,” Clinton said during a visit to a job-training program here.

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Source: Anne Gearan and John Wagner, washingtonpost.com