Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a former Democrat turned Independent, admitted that his former party was a threat to American democracy, agreeing with podcast hosts who disapproved of Hillary Clinton as the party’s candidate for the 2016 presidential election.
Sanders appeared on the Flagrant podcast Monday, hosted by comedians Andrew Schulz and Akaash Singh, on Monday, where they discussed Sanders’ participation in Democratic Party primary elections.
“Could we not also say, ostensibly, there hasn’t been a fair primary for the Democrats since 2008, are they not also a threat to democracy?” Schulz asked the senator.
Sanders replied, “yes,” before adding, “I’m not going to argue with that point. And that’s why I’m proudly an Independent.”
Sanders has been traveling the nation with Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on their “Fighting Oligarchy” tour in the wake of President Donald Trump’s election. The tour has drawn massive crowds, with some speculating that the New York representative intends to run for the nation’s highest office in 2028.
“Over the last four elections, Democrats, we felt that we didn’t have a say on who could be president,” Schulz said. “We talk a lot about the Republicans being autocrats and oligarchs and taking over democracy. But from the Democrat perspective, and I’m a lifelong Democrat, I felt like the Democratic Party completely removed the democratic process from its constituents. And I think they need to have some accountability of that.”
“No argument here,” Sanders said, echoing Schulz’ sentiment.
Schulz continued to describe his disappointment at the party’s selection of Clinton as the presidential candidate in 2016, stating that he believed the nomination should have gone to Sanders, who narrowly lost.
“And I’ll be honest, it broke my heart when you supported them,” Schulz continued.
“In the world that I live in, you’ve got a choice. And I know a lot of people, including my wife, agree with you, but you’re down to a choice,” Sanders said. “Is it going to be Hillary Clinton? Or is it going to be Donald Trump? Not a great choice.”
Originally published on Latin Times
