Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. and former President Donald Trump might as well be oil and water. They don’t mix.
But in the aftermath of the attempted assassination against the former President, it was Sanders who was one of the first in line to vocally condemn the actions against Trump.
During an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Sanders told host Kristen Welker that political violence was “un-American.”
“I think everybody in this country, no matter what their political views, wishes former President Trump a rapid and speedy recovery, mourns the loss of innocent lives and those who are wounded, and understands that political violence of any kind or shape or form is unacceptable. It is un-American,” Sanders said. “And we’ve got to put an end to it. I think in this traumatic moment, it’s time for all of us to take a deep breath, remember what this is about and what political campaigns are about. And they’re about serious discussions of serious ideas as to how we address the serious problems facing this country. So let’s use this moment if there’s any silver lining in this tragedy. It’s to figure out how do we go forward peacefully, constructively and intelligently?”
Sanders continued by slamming the notion of radical rhetoric that may have contributed to the attempt on Trump’s life.
“The bottom line is what we need as a nation, what a democracy is about is not radical rhetoric,” Sanders told Welker. “What it is about is a serious discussion of where we are as a nation and how we go forward, forward. You know, and in a certain way, Kristen, politics should be kind of boring. You know, our health care system is dysfunctional. How do we fix it? Well, it’s kind of a boring discussion, but we need a health care system that guarantees health care to all people. We have massive income and wealth inequality. Well, maybe a boring discussion. Should three people own more wealth than the bottom half of American society? So I think what we have got to see is serious discussion of serious issues, and not this kind of harsh rhetoric that we have heard for the last number of years.”
Predictably, Sanders did end his appearance by saying that he fully supports President Joe Biden and reiterated that he is the best candidate for the job.
Check out the entire Sanders interview: