He’s the presidential candidate that got away but hasn’t lost hope for the future of America.
Speaking with Late Show’s Stephen Colbert Monday evening (Nov. 14), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) explains how President-elect Donald Trump pulled at the heartstrings of America for votes, his new book Our Revolution and the future of the Democratic party.
The former presidential candidate was welcomed with a standing ovation and plenty of love from the audience. When asked about his thoughts on the outcome of the election, Bernie didn’t hold back as he slammed Trump for pandering to middle American. “Above and beyond incredible bigotry of the Trump campaign, what he did is he tapped into a lot of pain and anxiety and angst the American people are feeling, which is rarely reported in the media, or understood by the punditry,” Sanders explained. “The fact is there are millions of people in this country whose life expectancy is lower than their parents; they are living in despair. They are turning to alcohol, drugs, and suicide because they see no future for themselves. You’ve got 60-year-old workers today who are facing retirement” with zero savings. At the end of the campaign, Trump was posing as a hero of the working class of America. I happen not to believe him,” Sanders said. “I hope I’m wrong, and he does follow through on some of his ideas about creating jobs sand raising wages.”
Sanders ran a grassroots campaign that tapped the values of the middle and lower class with glowing policies. It wasn’t enough to snag the nomination, which was taken over by Hillary Clinton. Pointing out Clinton’s popular vote stance, the 75-year-old questioned how the Democratic party could flourish in a Trump presidency.
“Something is fundamentally wrong and what I’m trying to do right now is bring about structural changes in the Democratic Party so that it becomes a grassroots party,” he said. “When millions of people stand up and fight back we will not be denied.”
Check out the rest of Sanders take on the Democratic party below.