Socialist Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders blasted former Vice President Kamala Harris, accusing her of allowing billionaire donors to control her 2024 presidential campaign messaging — leading to her landslide loss to President Donald Trump.
Even a broken clock is right twice a day.
During a rally in Wheeling, West Virginia, on August 8 as part of his “Fighting Oligarchy” tour, Sanders told the crowd that “one of the reasons, in my view, that Kamala Harris lost this election is she had too many billionaires telling her not to speak up for the working-class of this country.”
Sanders repeated his criticism during an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union” with host Dana Bash, who reacted to a clip of his remarks by saying “ouch.”
“I like her, she’s a friend of mine, but her core consultants, you know, were heavily influenced by very wealthy people. How do you run for president and not develop a strong agenda which speaks to the economic crises facing working families?” Sanders asked.
Far more billionaires backed Harris than Trump during the election. Harris’s wealthy supporters included film director Steven Spielberg, Google’s Eric Schmidt, Laurene Powell Jobs who is the widow of Apple founder Steve Jobs, and Melinda French Gates, former wife of Bill Gates.
“You know, more income and wealth inequality today than we’ve ever had. You have 60% of our people living paycheck to paycheck. You’ve got a healthcare system which is broken and dysfunctional — and despite spending so much — we’re the only major country not to guarantee health care to all people. How do you not talk about these issues?” Sanders continued.
Sanders said the Democratic Party’s needed a new path forward that was less elitist.
“I think the clue to Democratic victories is to understand that you’ve got to stand unequivocally with the working class of this country. You need an agenda that speaks to the needs of working people,” Sanders said.
The 83-year-old senator called the American political system “broken and corrupt” because of an oligarch influence. “Is it [a] radical idea to say that in the midst of a competitive global economy, we need to make sure we have the best educated workforce that all of our kids, regardless of income, should be able to get a higher education? These ideas exist all over the world. They don’t exist in America, and they don’t exist because of the power of the oligarchs, economically and politically,” he said.
When asked about his own potential 2028 presidential ambitions, Sanders finally ruled out another run.
“Oh, god. Let’s not worry about that. I am going to be 84 years of age next month, as a matter of fact. So I think that speaks for itself. But right now, what is more important in my view — and I want to see, obviously, the most progressive candidate that we can have — is to rally the grassroots of America,” he said.
Harris announced on July 30 that she would not run for California governor, leaving the door open for a potential 2028 presidential campaign.