Martin Shkreli Just Took His Feud with Bernie Sanders to a New Level
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The feud between Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders and Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO Martin Shkreli took a curious turn over the weekend. After receiving a $2,700 donation from Shkreli, the Sanders campaign said that it would donate the money to Washington D.C. HIV clinic, and the former hedge fund manager isn't happy.
"We are not keeping the money from this poster boy for drug company greed," Michael Briggs, a representative for Sanders campaign, told the Boston Globe.
In a confusing turn of events, Shkreli trolled Twitter on Sunday, saying that he was "SO ANGRY" at Sanders that he could punch a wall.
Two hours later, he followed up. "Ugh, does anyone know how to treat a wrist fracture without going to a hospital?" he asked.
Another two hours later, Shkreli posted an x-ray scan, suggesting that he had, in fact, punched a wall so hard that he fractured his wrist. But there has been some dispute on social media as to the authenticity of the image. An online medical photo gallery appears to have the same x-ray scan in its database, and when this was brought to his attention by a number of Twitter followers, Shkreli said that he couldn't explain the coincidence.
"[T]hats what the doc sent me IDK," the 32-year-old pharmaceutical executive wrote.
As ATTN: recently reported, Shkreli had signaled his support for Sanders in the days leading up to the first Democratic debate, confirming that he'd donated the maximum individual contribution to the candidate despite the fact that Sanders has publicly condemned Shkreli for raising the price of Daraprim, a lifesaving drug used to treat cancer and HIV patients, from $13.50 to $750 per pill.
RELATED: After Martin Shkreli Promises Decrease, Daraprim Price Still Up 5000%
Shrekli came under fire for the price hike and vowed to lower the price of Daraprim nearly a month ago. He's yet to do so, however. And after Sanders issued a statement criticizing Shkreli for failing to keep his word, the Turing CEO took to Twitter, posting a series of memes and messages that took aim at the candidate's policy proposals.
Though Sanders Tweeted part of his press release on October 9, he has not directly engaged Shkreli any further on social media.
"On behalf of the American people, we are sickened by these actions," Sanders wrote in a statement. "Mr. Shkreli is holding hostage the patients who rely on this lifesaving medication, as well as the hospitals that administer it, by charging unconscionable prices for a drug on which he has a monopoly—just because he can."
Asked whether or not he could verify that he had broken his wrist as his Tweets indicated, Shkreli told ATTN: "fuck you!!!!" in a direct message on Twitter.
