When asked on CBS’ “Face the Nation” what he thought of the Republican presidential debate, Democrat candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., replied: “Not much.”
“What amazed me is not just the answers that I heard, it’s the answers I didn’t hear,” said Sanders. “Not one word” on climate change, “no discussion” of income inequality, or Citizens United, the Supreme Court decision that allows unlimited contributions from corporations and unions.
Sanders’ answer Sunday echoed what he wrote on Twitter during Thursday’s debate, “It’s over. Not one word about economic inequality, climate change, Citizens United or student debt. That’s why the Rs are so out of touch.” The self-described socialist senator’s tweet was retweeted over 20,000 times, the most retweeted tweet of the debate, according to The Hill.
“I’ll tell you what I did hear [during the debate,] and what disturbs me very much,” said Sanders. “Apparently most of the candidates up there don’t remember the consequences of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan … [the] easy feeling, the kind of non-consequential talk about going to war … disturbed me very much.”
Sanders said he thinks most of the Republican candidates “do not know” what the war in Iraq did to our veterans “and how many of our folks came back wounded and dead.”
A clip of Donald Trump saying that wealthy donors “control” Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, former Florida governor Jeb Bush, and Wisconsin governor Scott Walker was played, and the host asked Sanders if he agreed with Trump.
Sanders smiled a bit, but instead of saying he “agreed” with Trump, he pivoted to the Citizens United decision.
It “allows billionaires, as Trump mentioned, to pour huge amounts of money into campaigns,” said Sanders. “I think … it is a disaster for American democracy. And do I think the people that the people who make these … huge contributions do it out of the goodness of their heart, or do they want something? Of course they want something!”
“The logical consequence is that the only people that can run for office in America that don’t have to curry favors are billionaires themselves,” said Sanders, pointing to Trump’s wealth and candidacy as an example.
“I am trying another way,” said Sanders, who claimed the average donor to his campaign donated $31. “We’re running a people-oriented campaign,” he said, adding that he thinks they can “prevail” over the billionaires.
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