U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), during an interview over the weekend, tried to praise President Joe Biden, but, instead, Sanders ended up revealing just how poorly America is doing under Biden's leadership.
This all happened on Sunday, during an interview that Sanders participated in on CNN's State of the Union.
The show's host, Dana Bash, began by asking Sanders about some recent comments that Sanders made.
In the comments, Sanders, with the 2024 elections in sight, urged Democrats to make it clear whose side they are on with regard to the working class. Bash asked Sanders what he meant by this.
Sanders began his reply by saying, "The president has a right to be very proud of many of the accomplishments that we’ve achieved in the last three years."
Sanders, here, went on to list some of these so-called "accomplishments."
Sanders said, "Unemployment, very, very low. We’ve brought inflation down. We’re investing in clean energy. We’re rebuilding our infrastructure. We have made real progress in a number of years."
It was at this point that Sanders inserted a "but" - a "but" that would appear to undermine his previous claim about Biden's "accomplishments."
Sanders said:
But, the reality is that today, 60% of our people are living paycheck-to-paycheck. We have massive levels of income and wealth inequality. Our health care system is a total disaster. Eighty-five million people uninsured, underinsured, while the insurance companies make huge profits. The cost of pharmaceutical drugs, precipitation drugs, sky high.
Here, Sanders felt the need to reiterate his praise for Biden, saying, "So, the point is, in my view, the president should tout his very good record."
Yet, Sanders also reiterated his "but," saying, "But, we have to deal with the reality of life today." And, then, Sanders went on to list more of those realities.
He said, "And, that is to understand that we have massive levels of corporate greed in every part of society. The very rich are getting richer, working people are struggling."
Sanders was clearly trying to pull off a rather sophisticated juggling act here, attempting to put forth a positive message of support for Biden while at the same time criticizing the current state of the country under Biden's leadership.
It is hard to see how these two positions are compatible. But, it must be remembered that this took place on CNN.
