Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday that Democrats need to focus on policy because President Joe Biden is “older” and “can’t be as eloquent as he once was.”
A partial transcript follows:
Robert Costa: We’re joined by Senator Bernie Sanders from Burlington, Vermont. Senator Sanders, good morning. We just heard from Democrats in battleground states, and you’re a leading voice on the left in this country. Does President Biden now have your full support?
Sanders: President Biden can clearly defeat Donald Trump, who is the most dangerous president in the history of this country. And the choice is very clear. Trump is someone who wants to take away women’s right to control their bodies, who thinks climate change is a hoax, who has turned his back on the working class of this country. And on the other side, we have Joe Biden, who is the first president in American history to walk a picket line. We are putting more money into fighting climate change than any other time in the history of this country, rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure. But the reason I’m critical of the Biden campaign is that it’s all well and good to talk about the track record over the last three and a half years, but the American people are suffering. 60% of our people are living paycheck to paycheck. 25% of our seniors are living on less than $15,000 a year. The American people want policies for the next four years that address the needs of the working class of this country. So frankly, I don’t think the president has brought that forward. The President must say he is prepared to stand with the working class of this country against corporate greed, against gross income and wealth inequality, and if he does that, he will win, and he will win big.
Costa: So that’s your advice to President Biden. You want President Biden to stand up for working voters and talk about issues like labor and minimum wage. But politically, can we count on you to campaign for President Biden this summer and fall? Can President Biden count on your support?
Sanders: I’ve already done six events in Wisconsin, I’ve been to New York, I’ve been to Ohio. And, Bob, maybe the most important thing I want to say this morning is that we’re not talking about a Grammy contest for best singer. Biden is older and not as eloquent as he once was. I wish I could jump up the steps of Air Force One, but I can’t. What we have to focus on is policy. Whose policies have benefited and will benefit the majority of people in this country? Who’s the one who’s brave enough to stand up to corporate America? Who’s talking about expanding Medicare to cover dental, hearing, vision? Who’s talking about raising the cap on Social Security taxes and increasing Social Security benefits and extending the life of Social Security to 75 years? Who’s talking about a permanent child tax credit to reduce child poverty in America by 50%? These are the issues he’s been talking about. He has to get in Congress to make that case. If he’s given a Democratic Senate and House and he’s re-elected, he has to promise the American people that he’ll get it done within his first 100 days in office, and I think that’s what the American people want.
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