Bernie Sanders doubles down on claim Democrats ‘abandoned’ working class amid criticism from Nancy Pelosi
Sen. Bernie Sanders said he stood by his comments that the Democratic Party ‘abandoned’ the working class – despite back lash from former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi – on a recent appearance of the State of The Union.
The Vermont Senator faced scrutiny among fellow dems after posting a heated message on social media that alleged the Democratic party ultimately failed to support Vice President Kamala Harris in her bid for the White House.
In the scathing letter posted the day after the election, Sanders blasted the Dems for “abandoning” the working class and seemingly acting surprised they didn’t show up at the polling booths.
“It should come as no great surprise that a Democratic Party which has abandoned working class people would find that the working class has abandoned them,” the Democratic socialist, 83, said in a fiery statement on X.
“First, it was the white working class, and now it is Latino and Black workers as well. While the Democratic leadership defends the status quo, the American people are angry and want change. And they’re right,” the Democratic Socialist said.
Pelosi didn’t take kindly to the Vermont independent senator’s remarks, rebutting Sander’s claim and doubling down that the Democratic Party didn’t abandon the working class.
“I have a great deal of respect for him, for what he stands for, but I don’t respect him saying that the Democratic Party has abandoned the working-class families. That’s where we are,” the 84-year-old California Rep. told the New York Times podcast “The Interview.”
Pelosi was pressured to reveal what went wrong in Harris’ campaign, but could not admit it was the vice president’s fault for losing the presidential election to Donald Trump.
“Well, I just completely disagree. And, in fact, Kamala Harris ran ahead of Bernie Sanders in Vermont,” Pelosi told the podcast.
“It tells you that the fact is, what we do, what our purpose is in the Democratic Party, is for America’s working families,” she added.
“For example, under President Biden, you see the rescue package, money in the pockets of people, shots in the arm, children in school safely, working people back to work.”
But Sanders was unphased by Pelosi’s call out – he was asked about the former speaker’s remarks on an appearance of CNN’s ‘The State of The Union’ and said he ‘absolutely’ stands by his original sentiments.
“Here’s the reality – the working class of this country is angry, and they have a reason to be angry.” Sanders told host Dana Bash in response to blowback on his comments.
“We are living in an economy where the people on top are doing phenomenally well, while 60% of our people are living paycheck to paycheck,” the Vermont Senator argued.
“We need an agenda that says to the working class we’re going to take on these special interests and create and economy and a government that works for you.”
Pelosi took aim at President-elect Trump, as the octogenarian seemingly forgot his name for a moment.
“What did, what’s his name? What did Trump do when he was president? One bill that gave a tax cut to the richest people in America,” she said.
Pelosi, who was seen as the mastermind in getting Joe Biden to drop his reelection campaign, said cultural issues were the reason Trump was backed by the lower classes.
“Well, there are cultural issues involved in elections as well. Guns, God and gays — that’s the way they say it,” she added.
During her conversation with Luu Garcia-Navarro, released Friday, Pelosi admitted it was a mistake to allow Biden to stay in the race for as long as he did before ultimately dropping out in July and handing the reigns over to Harris.
“Had the president gotten out sooner, there may have been other candidates in the race,” Pelosi said. “The anticipation was that, if the president were to step aside, that there would be an open primary.”
Later in the podcast, Pelosi called Harris’ loss “heartbreaking.”
“The American people deserve the best we can give them. The election was disappointing, heartbreaking in some ways because of not seeing what was really at stake. But we don’t blame them for that,” the longtime Congresswoman said.
Pelosi said she is willing to work with Trump and the Republicans, who are looking to keep their majority in the House, after regaining control of the Senate last week.
“We always try to work with Republicans. That’s a responsibility that we have,” she said.
When asked about her disdain towards Trump, Pelosi revealed she is holding out hope he is successful in his second term in the Oval Office.
“I’m not an admirer of his lack of patriotism and the rest, but I’m not here to go into that. He’s the president. We all want the president to succeed,” she added.
