Sen. Bernie Sanders denied that he and “Squad” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are looking to form a new political party — but ripped into Democrats for lacking an inspiring “vision for the future.”
Sanders (I-Vt.), 83, said that he is largely on the “same page” with Democratic efforts to push back against President Trump’s agenda but wants to see the party think beyond simply playing defense.
“No, we’re not trying to start a third party,” Sanders told NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday. “What we’re trying to do is strengthen American democracy, where faith in both the Democratic and Republican parties right now is extremely low.
“What Democrats lack right now is a vision for the future. How are we going to provide a decent standard of living for a younger generation, which, everything being equal, will be poorer than their parents?”
The self-described democratic socialist rattled off some of his go-to policy goals, such as a higher minimum wage, his desire to reform campaign finance and to repair a broken healthcare system.
Sanders’ comments come after he and Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) have swung through the country holding town halls in traditional Republican stronghold places as part of their “Fighting Oligarchy Tour.”
Sanders has blasted the Democratic Party for abandoning the working class and said that was one of the reasons that former Vice President Kamala Harris lost to President Trump in the 2024 election.
Democrats such as Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) have argued that progressives should ditch language like “oligarchy.”
“Well, jeez. We had 36,000 people out in Los Angeles, 34,000 people in Colorado. We had 30,000 people in Folsom, California, which is kind of a rural area,” Sanders shot back. “I think the American people are not quite as dumb as Ms. Slotkin thinks they are.”
Sanders also acknowledged that he is a fan of targeted tariffs despite disagreeing with Trump’s strategy of slapping broad-based ones on foreign imports.
“You’re talking to somebody who helped lead the effort against NAFTA [North American Free Trade Agreement], against PNTR [Permanent Normal Trade Relations] with China,” the Vermont senator said.
“I understood back then that these were trade agreements written by corporate America,” he went on. “If you have selective tariffs, carefully thought out to protect American workers, yes. What Trump has done is, in my view, is very, very wrong.”
Trump has slapped a 10% baseline tariff rate against virtually all foreign imports, a 25% automotive tariff, 25% tariff on steel and aluminum, and 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico that don’t comply with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
The president has also levied 125% across-the-board tariffs against China with limited carve-outs. He is currently trying to negotiate lighting trade deals with foreign countries in lieu of customized rates he’s planning to enact on July 8 if talks don’t pan out.
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