Bernie Sanders says Americans ‘have a right to be angry’: Full interview

[0:00] Senator Bernie Sanders issued a scathing statement after the vice president's loss [0:04] in what he called a disastrous campaign, saying, quote, [0:08] it should come as no great surprise that a Democratic Party, which has abandoned [0:12] working class people, would find that the working class has abandoned them. [0:17] And Independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont joins me now. [0:20] Senator Sanders, welcome back to Meet the Press. [0:24] Thank you for having me. [0:25] Thank you for being here on this Sunday after Election Day. [0:28] Let's start right there. Your criticism, incredibly direct. [0:32] You say you think the Democratic Party has, quote, abandoned the working class. [0:37] How exactly do you think Democrats have abandoned the working class, Senator? [0:42] Look, the working people of this country are extremely angry. [0:47] They have a right to be angry. [0:50] In the richest country in the history of the world today, the people on top are doing phenomenally well, [0:58] while 60 percent of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. [1:04] And millions of families worry that their kids are actually going to have a lower standard of living than they do. [1:10] You've got the top 1 percent owning more wealth than the bottom 90 percent. [1:15] We're the only major country on earth not to guarantee health care to all of our people. [1:20] Twenty-five percent of our seniors are trying to live on $15,000 a year or less. [1:26] We have the highest rate of childhood poverty of almost any major country on earth. [1:31] And the gap between the people on top and everybody else is getting wider and wider. [1:36] And then, Kristen, on top of all of that, we've got a corrupt campaign finance system which allows billionaires to buy elections. [1:44] So if you're an average worker out there, you're saying, hey, I'm working longer and longer hours, going nowhere in a hurry, worried about my kids, [1:53] and yet the people on top have never had it so good. [1:55] Where is the Democratic Party? [1:57] Are they prepared to stand up to these powerful corporate interests, raise the minimum wage, fight for health care for all people, [2:06] make sure that all of our kids get the quality education that they need, expand Social Security? [2:11] Are they prepared to do those things? That's the issue that we have to address. [2:16] Well, as you know, your statement was met with some sharp reaction as well. [2:21] This is what Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi had to say. Take a look. I'll get your reaction on the other side. [2:26] Bernie Sanders has not won. Let me, with all due respect, and I have a great deal of respect for him, for what he stands for, [2:34] but I don't respect him saying that the Democratic Party has abandoned the working class families. [2:40] Senator, how do you respond to Nancy Pelosi? [2:45] Well, Nancy's a friend of mine, and we've worked together on many issues, but here is the reality. [2:49] I have to say to Nancy, in the Senate in the last two years, we have not even brought forth legislation [2:57] to raise the minimum wage to a living wage, despite the fact that some 20 million people in this country [3:04] are working for less than $15 an hour. [3:07] In America today, we have not brought, in the Senate, we have not brought to the floor the PRO Act [3:12] to make it easier for workers to join unions. [3:16] We're not talking about defined benefit pension plans so that our elderly can retire with security. [3:22] We're not talking about lifting the cap on Social Security so that we can extend the solvency of Social Security [3:30] and raise benefits. Bottom line, if you're an average working person out there, [3:34] do you really think that the Democratic Party is going to the max, [3:37] taking on powerful special interests, and fighting for you? [3:41] I think the overwhelming answer is no, and that is what has got to change. [3:45] Senator, let me zoom out and just ask you about these results. [3:49] You've heard some of the reaction throughout the Democratic Party. [3:53] How much do you personally blame President Biden for this loss? [3:57] President Biden, when he came into office, said that he would be the most progressive president since FDR. [4:05] And I think on domestic issues, not foreign policy, on domestic issues, he has kept his word, [4:11] and the agenda that he has pushed through has been an extraordinarily strong one. [4:15] But that agenda has got to be placed within the overall context of American society today. [4:22] And that American society today is one in which tens of millions of working families and elderly people [4:30] are struggling while the people on top have never had it so good. [4:35] But, Senator, should he have gotten out of the race more quickly, as some are arguing? [4:39] I'm not going to. I supported him because I think his agenda was a strong agenda, a working class agenda. [4:45] I'm not going to look backwards. [4:47] Kamala ran a strong campaign. [4:49] She did everything that she could. [4:50] She decisively won the debate. [4:53] So, to me, it's not just about the campaign. [4:55] It's about what does the Democratic Party stand for? [4:59] Do ordinary people say, yeah, that is a party that is fighting for my interest [5:03] and prepared to take on the big money interest who control the economic and political life of the country? [5:08] That's, to me, what the issue is. [5:10] Yeah, we're talking a lot about the economics. [5:12] You've talked about how the Democratic Party is out of touch when it comes to economic issues. [5:16] Some Democrats are saying it's not just economic issues, it's cultural issues as well. [5:22] Here's what Democratic strategist James Carville had to say. [5:24] Take a look. [5:26] What killed the Democrats and what killed Biden was a sense of disorder. [5:33] And part of the sense of disorder was the unfortunate events of what I would refer to as the woke era. [5:41] Has the Democratic Party's focus on identity politics gone too far, Senator? [5:47] Let me answer it this way. [5:52] I think you, if the Democratic, the Democratic Party must continue to stand up against all forms of bigotry. [6:00] And Democrats should hold their head high in saying, [6:03] we led the fight for women's rights and to protect the woman's constitutional right for abortion. [6:10] We led the fight for civil rights, for gay rights. [6:13] That is something we should be proud of. [6:15] But it's not either or, Chris. [6:18] And this is the problem. [6:19] You can do both. [6:21] You can say that I'm for raising the minimum wage to a living wage, [6:25] guarantee health care for all people, expanding social security. [6:28] And by the way, I also support a woman's right to control her own body, etc. [6:34] It's not either or. [6:35] It's going forward in both directions. [6:37] You know, I've been speaking to some Democrats who are concerned because now President-elect Trump [6:42] has beaten two women candidates. [6:45] And their concern is that it will make it more difficult to nominate a woman candidate in the future. [6:52] Do you share that concern, Senator? [6:55] No, I don't. [6:56] I think it's not a question. [6:58] Look, I'm not going to deny that there is sexism in this country, that there's racism, there's homophobia. [7:03] It's there. [7:04] But on the other hand, I think what the American people want to support, whether it's a woman, a man, a black or a white, or a Latino, whatever, [7:14] is they want to support somebody who is standing up, Kristen, and fighting for them. [7:19] People are in pain. [7:21] People are hurting. [7:22] They can't afford to go to a doctor. [7:24] They can't afford to send their kids to child care or to college. [7:27] They're worried about future generations and what kind of standard of living they will have. [7:31] Here is the bottom line, and it has to be dealt with. [7:34] You've got an economy today doing phenomenally well for the people on top. [7:39] It is not working for the working class. [7:42] All right? [7:42] How do we address those issues? [7:44] And in the richest country on the history of the world, create an economy that works for all. [7:49] That is the issue. [7:50] And by the way, what Trump did in his election is to say, I know that you're hurting, and the reason is they've got millions of people coming across the border illegally. [8:00] They're eating your dogs. [8:01] They're eating your cats. [8:02] He gave an explanation. [8:03] It happened to be a pretty crazy explanation. [8:05] Yes, we ought to strengthen the borders, but that is not going to raise wages for working people or provide health care to all people. [8:11] The Democrats need an explanation, and that explanation is corporate greed and the power of the billionaire class. [8:20] I know that's uncomfortable for people in the Democratic Party, some people, but that is the issue we have to address. [8:25] Senator, quickly before I let you go, I do want to ask you about the Supreme Court. [8:29] Some Democrats behind the scenes, quietly talking about the possibility, should Justice Sotomayor step down to allow President Biden to appoint someone who's younger? [8:40] She's only 70 years old. [8:42] Is that something that you would support? [8:44] Do you think she should step down? [8:47] No, I don't. [8:50] Have you heard any talk of this? [8:54] A little bit, yes. [8:55] I don't think it's a sensible approach. [8:58] And you don't think it's a sensible approach? [9:01] Correct. [9:02] All right. [9:03] Senator Bernie Sanders, thank you very much for your time this morning and your perspective. [9:08] We really appreciate it.