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Bernie Sanders: I'll 'Vigorously Oppose' Trump If He 'Pursues Racist, Sexist, Xenophobic & Anti-Environmental Polices'
By
Jen Chung
Published Nov 10, 2016
Modified Nov 12, 2016
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AP
By
Jen Chung
Published Nov 10, 2016
Modified Nov 12, 2016
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Senator Bernie Sanders, whose message launched him into a surprisingly fierce battle with Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination, issued a statement about President-elect Donald Trump last night. In his remarks, the Brooklyn native noted how Trump captured the imagination of voters who might have voted for Sanders.
Sanders acknowledged, "Donald Trump tapped into the anger of a declining middle class that is sick and tired of establishment economics, establishment politics and the establishment media. People are tired of working longer hours for lower wages, of seeing decent paying jobs go to China and other low-wage countries, of billionaires not paying any federal income taxes and of not being able to afford a college education for their kids - all while the very rich become much richer.
"To the degree that Mr. Trump is serious about pursuing policies that improve the lives of working families in this country, I and other progressives are prepared to work with him. To the degree that he pursues racist, sexist, xenophobic and anti-environment policies, we will vigorously oppose him."
Many Sanders supporters never liked Clinton—the "never Hillary" crowd—and some of their favor may have shifted to Trump in the end.
Last month, the Daily Beast spoke to Sanders supporters who weren't very enthusiastic about the treatment they received from establishment Dems.
For many of this Sanders cohort, the experience of attending the Democratic convention in July was profoundly souring. “What bothered me most about it was that these were people who spent over a year registering voters for the party, and we were so disrespected,” Tascha van Auken, a Sanders delegate from New York, told me. She founded a volunteer group called Team Bernie NY in the summer of 2015, working tirelessly to sign up new Democrats in advance of the state’s closed primary the following April.
Van Auken described a series of slights, affronts, coordinated stifling attempts, and even outright attacks on Sanders delegates at the convention, which in aggregate caused her to wonder whether the Democratic Party itself was fundamentally broken, and ever worth attempting to work within. The feeling hasn’t gone away.
“I think what was ultimately surprising to me about my experience was not the ridiculous spectacle or even the excessive patriotism,” she said of the convention. “But that Democrats clearly had no interest in welcoming this new progressive component into their party.”
Guess Trump's push worked.
Tagged
bernie sanders
donald trump
election 2016
hillary clinton
president-elect trump
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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