Bernie Sanders Asked Why He Believes The Democratic Party Has 'Turned Its Back" On Working Class

Speaking to CNN's Dana Bash, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) was asked why he believes the Democratic Party has "turned its back" on voters.

Transcript

00:00You said the Democratic Party has turned its back on the working class.

00:04You'd said something pretty tough when you were speaking to this crowd about Kamala Harris.

00:10One of the reasons, in my view, that Kamala Harris lost this election,

00:14is she had too many billionaires telling her not to speak up for the working class of this country.

00:21Ouch.

00:22Well, no, I think, I mean, I don't think that that's, I like Kamala, she's a friend of mine,

00:26but she was, her core consultants, you know, were heavily influenced by very wealthy people.

00:33How do you run for president and not develop a strong agenda,

00:40which speaks to the economic crises facing working families?

00:45You know, more income and wealth inequality today than we've ever had.

00:48You have 60% of our people living paycheck to paycheck.

00:51You got a healthcare system which is broken and dysfunctional.

00:55And despite spending so much, we're the only major country not to guarantee healthcare to all people.

01:00How do you not talk about those issues?

01:01She talked about affordability.

01:03Well, but in a vague, I don't want to rehash that campaign.

01:06But I think, I think the clue to democratic victories is to understand that you got to stand

01:13unequivocally with the working class of this country.

01:17You need an agenda that speaks to the needs of working people.

01:20Is it a radical idea that we join every other major country on earth and guarantee healthcare to all

01:26people? Is that a radical idea? You tell me how many people are talking about that.

01:30Is it a radical idea to say that we're going to raise the minimum wage to $17 an hour?

01:35Is it a radical idea to say that in the midst of a competitive global economy,

01:40we need to make sure we have the best educated workforce that all of our kids, regardless of income,

01:45should be able to get a higher education? These ideas exist all over the world.

01:50They don't exist in America, and they don't exist because of the power of the oligarchs

01:54economically and politically. All right, let's be clear. In my view, the current political system

02:00in the United States of America is broken and corrupt. Does anybody think that it makes any sense at

02:07all that Elon Musk can spend $270 million to elect Trump as president and then become the most important

02:15person in government? Billionaires should not be able to buy elections. And by the way,

02:19that's not just a progressive perspective. Conservatives understand that too.