Extract from ABC News
Bernie Sanders doesn't blame ordinary Americans for succumbing to the appeal of Donald Trump.
"I want the people of Australia to understand it's not because everybody who votes for Trump is a racist, or a sexist or a homophobe," US Senator Sanders told 7.30.
According to Senator Sanders, the leader of the US progressive movement who campaigned twice for nomination for president, much of the response to Mr Trump is driven by economic conditions.
"Millions of people are hurting, they're suffering," Senator Sanders said.
"They're working for inadequate wages. In America, our health care system is a disaster. [People] can't afford to send their kids to college, housing costs are off the chart … and they're looking at the government, they're looking at what Democrats have done for years and not much has happened to improve their lives."
The American middle class has been shrinking for decades.
"The average American worker today, his or her wages are lower than they were 50 years ago, parents are worried about their kids who might have a lower standard of living than they do," Senator Sanders said.
"People are feeling that government does not listen, does not understand their pain. And they are turning to somebody who says: 'Forget all of that. I've got the answer. Don't worry about democracy. I'll take care of it for you."
While Senator Sanders doesn't blame ordinary Americans for putting their faith in former president Trump, he says the consequences of a Trump victory would be dire for the entire world.
"Everything is at stake … If the United States moves in an authoritarian way, it will certainly send a signal to every country on Earth that, that's the future of politics." Senator Sanders said of Donald Trump.
"He's a phoney, he's a pathological liar. But I'm afraid his appeal is working."
'Extreme level' of inequality
Fighting inequality in the United States has been central to Senator Sanders's political career, in his home state of Vermont and as a federal politician since 2007.
But he says the crisis has now reached an "extreme level."
A recent study by Deloitte's Global Economist Network found that in just two years between 2019 and 2021, the net worth of America's top 1 per cent of earners went up by a staggering 23 per cent.
According to analysis of pay scales by the Economic Policy institute, in 1965 the ratio of pay between a typical CEO and a worker was 20-1. By 2018, the ratio was 278-1.
The gap has continued to rise.
"It is absolutely true that we've always had inequality in America," Senator Sanders told 7.30. "But you have not had a situation where three people own more wealth than the bottom half of American society.
"You've not had a situation where three Wall Street firms are the major shareholders in 95 per cent of the major corporations in America happen. So, you're seeing concentration of wealth and power."
In 2023, Senator Sanders wrote a book called It's OK to be angry at capitalism, condemning what he calls the excesses of "unfettered capitalism" while offering a road map for the Democratic party to win back its traditional voters among America's working class.
"Too many Democratic leaders have kind of given up on the working class of this country," he said.
"And, certainly, one of my missions now is to create an agenda and a platform for Democrats to take on powerful special interests, and to improve lives for ordinary Americans."
In the race for the 2020 presidential nomination, Democratic party leaders urgently closed ranks against Senator Sanders's campaign, ensuring victory for a struggling Joe Biden, but Senator Sanders's success in the early primaries (following a similar pattern against Hilary Clinton in 2016) meant the Democrats were forced to adopt more of his progressive platform, including increasing the minimum wage, lowering prescription drug costs and expanding access to medicare.
Senator Sanders told 7.30 progressive ideas are crucial to Mr Biden's chances in the 2024 US election.
"Biden is not going to win if young people do not vote in large numbers, if working class people do not support him," he said.
"And I think it makes sense to him, I know it does make sense to him. The truth is the progressive agenda is an enormously popular agenda. This is not a fringe agenda."
Senator Sanders provoked a furore during his last campaign by declaring, "I don't think billionaires should exist".
According to him, the existence of a billionaire class isn't just about wealth inequality but also its impact on the political system.
"The result is that in every election, the people on top are spending more and more money to elect the candidates they want to see … so what you're seeing is a political system which is increasingly controlled by billionaires. And that is true in both political parties."
Biden and the American gerontocracy
The 82-year-old politician is yet to announce whether he will recontest the Senate seat he has held since 2007 (prior to that he had held a Congressional seat since 1991) but he acknowledges the challenge of US politics being dominated at the highest levels by older people.
"We have made progress in recent years in terms of more Blacks in positions of power, more women, certainly in positions of power … I think we still have a long way to go to bring young people into the political process."
But asked about whether Joe Biden should stand aside for a younger candidate, Senator Sanders refused to comment.
"I don't want to speculate about the what-ifs, what should have happened, Biden is the candidate and our job is … to make it very clear that Biden has done some good things … I think he's not getting the credit for what he has done."
"What we have got to make clear to ordinary Americans is 'you may not like everything that Biden has done, maybe you think he's too old … but you know what? The alternative is a hell of a lot worse'."
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