Bernie Sanders distances himself from fellow Democrat Elizabeth Warren, saying she is a 'capitalist through her bones'
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, on Sunday, dismissed his Democratic 2020 presidential rival Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren by calling her a "capitalist." Warren, over the recent weeks, has become a popular candidate amongst progressive voters.
The self-proclaimed Democratic socialist, while making an appearance on ABC’s This Week, said: "There are differences between Elizabeth and myself. Elizabeth I think, as you know, has said that she is a capitalist through her bones. I’m not.”
Sanders' comments come as the Democratic Party has seen a rise in socialism with more candidates willingly embracing it over capitalism. The senator's comments come in the wake of polls showing that Democrats now view socialism in a more positive light than they perceive capitalism.
Warren, last year, had reportedly said: "I am a capitalist to my bones," when she was asked whether she was a capitalist or not.
The Vermont senator, during the segment, explained that he is not a capitalist because he "will not tolerate for one second the kind of greed and corruption and income and wealth inequality and so much suffering that is going on in this country today, which is unnecessary."
According to a Gallup poll results released this year, around 43 percent of Americans thought socialism would be good for the United States, while 51 percent of the respondents did not agree, and thought it would be a bad thing. The poll also noted that according to a Roper/Fortune survey in 1942, 40 percent of Americans described socialism as a bad thing while only 25 percent called it a good thing.
The polling data reflected the changing attitudes of Americans toward socialism along with the evident popularity of socialist figures in the Democratic Party like Sanders, and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who also calls herself a Democratic socialist.