Bernie Sanders on Kamala Harris’ Flip-Flops: She’s Being ‘Pragmatic’ and Trying to Win the Election

WELKER: “You have described Vice President Kamala Harris as a progressive. She has previously supported Medicare-for-All, now she does not. She’s previously supported a ban on fracking, now she does not. These, Senator, are ideas that you have campaigned on. Do you think that she is abandoning her progressive ideals?”
Sanders: “No, I don’t think she’s abandoning her ideals. I think she’s trying to be pragmatic and doing what she thinks is right in order to win the election. My own view is slightly different. I think that in America today, there are a lot of people, rural people, working class people, who no longer believe that the United States Congress and government represents their interests — too dominated by big money interests. So I think that there is something wrong, personally, when we are the only major country on earth not to guarantee health care to all of our people, despite spending twice as much per capita. That is why I support Medicare-for-All. She does not. She has another approach toward moving toward universal health care. But again, I think on issues like expanding Medicare, by expanding Social Security and lifting the cap on taxable income that the rich put in so we can raise Social Security benefits, the need to raise the minimum wage from a starvation $7.25 minimum wage to a living wage — I think if you campaign on those issues, raising taxes on billionaires, you know what? She’s going to win. And I think she could win big.”
WELKER: “Well, let me just ask you, then, big picture. Do you still consider Vice President Kamala Harris to be progressive, Senator?”
Sanders: “I do. Look, she and I — she is not where I am. But I think, for example, when she talks about making the child tax credit permanent, and, you know, we did that in the American Rescue Plan, we lowered childhood poverty by 40%. Kristen, we should not have, as the richest country on earth, one of the highest rates in childhood poverty in the world. When she talks about building 3 million units of affordable housing, that’s a big deal because we have a major housing crisis in America. You know, when she talks about passing the PRO Act to make it easier for workers to join unions, that’s a big deal because we have to expand the union movement so that workers get decent wages. So yes, her views are not mine, but I do consider her progressive.”