Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders repeatedly dodged questions about what makes his socialist policies different from those of his Democratic primary competitor Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday.
“I want to talk about how you describe yourself, which is as a democratic socialist,” CNN’s Brianna Keilar said. “You have said, ‘unfetterred capitalism is destroying the moral and economic fabric of this country.’ It’s one of the things that draws a lot of your supporters to you.”
“But your 2020 opponent, Elizabeth Warren, who agrees with you on most issues, says that she’s a capitalist down to her toes. She’s not a democratic socialist, like you describe yourself. How do you explain that to voters who are wondering what’s the difference here?” she asked.
“Okay, well I will let Senator Warren speak for herself but I will tell you what I believe…” Sanders responded, launching into his typical stump speech about income inequality. (RELATED: Bernie Sanders Tells Union Worker: I’d ‘Absolutely’ Take Away Your Health Care Plan)
“I know what your pitch is on that,” Keilar said, continuing to probe him, “Is it possible for two candidates who see eye to eye, but one is a capitalist and one is not?”
“I’m not quite sure what that question is about. All I know is Senator Warren is running her campaign. I’m running my campaign,” the Vermont politician responded.
Keilar again asked, “I mean, the labels are very far apart and yet some of your policies are much closer together than those labels would indicate. How do you make sense of that?”
“We’ll let the American people make those decisions,” Sanders said, before again launching into his usual lines about his policies. (RELATED: ‘End Of Discussion’: Bernie Sanders Says We’re Going To Stop Using Coal, Gasoline)
Sanders continues to hold onto the second place spot in the race for the Democratic nomination, while Biden is the front runner.
The 77-year-old is running on a platform of Medicare for All and banning the use of private insurance plans. He also claims that his health care plan will “absolutely” include illegal immigrants. Sanders also wants the United States to stop using gasoline and coal altogether and switch to totally renewable energy sources.
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