Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) said on Friday that history will likely remember this week’s protests as “pivotal moments,” comparing them to monumental historic moments like the Civil War, World War II, and the Great Depression.
“I’m very proud of the people standing up for justice and taking to the streets,” Sanders said in a Friday tweet.
“When we study history we look at pivotal moments — the Civil War, the Great Depression, World War II. People will look back on this time as one of those moments,” he added alongside a clip of his recent appearance on The Tonight Show, articulating the same point:
I'm very proud of the people standing up for justice and taking to the streets. When we study history we look at pivotal moments — the Civil War, the Great Depression, World War II. People will look back on this time as one of those moments. pic.twitter.com/WzpH7i3fyD
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) June 5, 2020
“You know, Jimmy, it is a crazy, crazy time for our country and, in fact, the world. You know, when we were kids, we study history, and we look at pivotal moments — the Civil War, the Great Depression, World War II,” he said.
“Well, you know, people are gonna be looking back at this moment as just an unprecedented, extraordinary moment in history in this country because so many different things are coming together,” he continued, referencing the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent economic fall, as well as “people’s consciousness regarding police brutality.”
People are “responding appropriately to that,” he added.
Sanders on Wednesday addressed the ongoing protests sweeping the nation and used the opportunity to promote some of his key political agenda items, including Medicare for All, the Green New Deal, and a federal jobs program.
“But it’s not just police department reform. It’s not just criminal justice reform. As we speak right now, as a result of the pandemic and the economic collapse, some 20 percent of our people are unemployed,” Sanders said, adding that there is “enough work to be done rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure, transforming our energy system, dealing with child care, dealing with education, [and] dealing with health care.”
We also need to “continue the fight for a Medicare for All, single-payer program,” the Vermont socialist added.
The former presidential hopeful also echoed the positions of his far-left allies, like Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), declaring that Trump is moving the country “more and more” in an “authoritarian direction.”
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