Bernie Sanders made a shocking admission about President Obama on the internet news show “The Young Turks.” He finally admitted that he believes Obama is a member of the establishment, at least partly.
On Wednesday, following a fan-made petition that gained over 10,000 signatures in a matter of hours and a lucky opening in Sanders’ schedule, the Democratic Socialist made his way to Rebel Headquarters for an exciting interview. The interview marks the first time TYT has interviewed Sanders since they became a show on MSNBC.
The answer given by Bernie was historic because, up until now, Bernie has completely side-stepped coming out against Obama in any way. He likely fears losing some Democratic voters who support Obama. Cenk Uygur, host of TYT, asked Bernie if he believed President Obama is a member of the establishment. Sanders answered:
“I think probably both. Do I think he has real views and real concerns, deeply felt? I think he does, you know, unlike some people who will go with the wind all the time.”
Good on Sanders for taking the opportunity to take a dig at Donald Trump there, a man who seemingly has no specific policy positions of his own. The statement could have also been a light dig at Clinton, who some believe is shifting more to the right now that she thinks the primary is locked down. Sanders went on to add:
“But on the other hand, as Hillary Clinton reminds us, he got more money from Wall Street than she did.”
In that statement lies the central belief of Sanders’ campaign: get money out of politics. Sanders believes, as many do, that those who take millions in corporate money are certainly bought and are working for corporate interests rather than the interests of the American people. In that sense, he believes Obama is of course working for the establishment, but he also has a strong moral character.
Sanders also criticized his Supreme Court pick, Merrick Garland, citing a vote he made to extend corporate buying power under Citizens United. Sanders has previously proposed a “litmus test” he would use to nominate justices who would be in opposition to Citizens United.
Check out the full half-hour interview:
Featured image from AFGE, available under a Creative Commons 2.0 license.
