Can Bernie Sanders win over Donald Trump supporters?
Bernie Sanders has made a gutsy claim.
In an interview broadcast Sunday, the Democratic presidential candidate said he could win over the supporters of none other than Donald Trump, the current GOP frontrunner.
鈥淟ook, many of Trump鈥檚 supporters are working-class people, and they鈥檙e angry,鈥� Mr. Sanders said on 鈥� 鈥淎nd they鈥檙e angry because they鈥檙e working longer hours for lower wages. They鈥檙e angry because their jobs have left this country and gone to China or other low-wage countries.鈥�
The self-declared Democratic socialist and his businessman opponent are both outsiders in their respective political parties. Sanders currently trails behind Hillary Clinton, but instead of appealing to voters among fellow Democrats in his television appearance Sunday, he鈥檚 looking across the aisle.
By tapping into the frustration of Mr. Trump鈥檚 voters, the Vermont Senator said, he would court them with shrewd economic policies instead of impudent rhetoric.
鈥淲hat Trump has done with some success is taken that anger, taken those fears which are legitimate, and converted them into anger against Mexicans, anger against Muslims,鈥� he said, 鈥渁nd in my view that is not the way we鈥檙e going to address the major problems facing our country.鈥�
Sanders went on to suggest that Trump鈥檚 proposed tax breaks to the wealthy would be counterproductive for his supporters, a .
鈥淭he real issues are not Donald Trump鈥檚 vulgarity 鈥� and he is vulgar. It is the fact that Donald Trump thinks we should not be raising the minimum wage,鈥� Sanders continued. 鈥淗e believes that wages in America are too high. This guy wants to give hundreds of billions of dollars in tax breaks to the top three-tenths of the one percent, and meanwhile what he wants to do is divide our country between Latinos and Americans and Muslims and everybody else.鈥�
鈥淚n fact,鈥� Sanders added, 鈥渉e has said that he thinks wages in America are too high.鈥�
To this point, Trump objected in response on Twitter.
Bernie Sanders, 鈥渨ho blew his campaign when he gave Hillary a pass on her e-mail crime, said that I feel wages in America are too high," Trump tweeted after Sanders鈥� interview aired. 鈥淟ie!鈥�
He reiterated his position 鈥� that wages, in fact, are too low 鈥� in a series of tweets Monday. But in previous interviews, the real-estate mogul聽.
"We have to become competitive with the world. Our taxes are too high, our wages are too high. Everything is too high. We have to compete with other countries,鈥� he said in a November interview on MSNBC鈥檚 Morning Joe.
But does Sanders really have a chance in swaying the votes of Trump鈥檚 sturdy base of supporters? Considering of Trump supporters consider themselves 鈥渕oderate鈥� or 鈥渓iberal,鈥� Sanders might have a chance.
"For his working-class and middle-class support," Sanders said, "we can make the case that if we really want to address the issues that people are concerned about ... we need policies that bring us together, that take on the greed of Wall Street, the greed of corporate America, and create a middle class that works for all of us rather than an economy that works just for a few."
