Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union,” while discussing leaked audio of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton saying the supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) live in their parents basements, Sanders said, “Well, I agree with her,” adding the claim that he was making “false promises,” to them bothers him.
Partial transcript as follows:
TAPPER: What was your reaction when you heard that, calling your ideas indefensible, saying that you were selling them false promises?
SANDERS: Well, two things. If you listen to the whole discussion that she had, a very important point that she made is that a lot of young people who went into debt, worked very hard to get a good education get out of school and can’t find jobs commensurate with the education that they received. And there’s a lot of unhappiness about young people. And this is an issue that we must address. But the bottom line here is that I think that what Secretary Clinton and I have done since the election, since the primary nominating process, we have worked together in a number of areas…And, by the way, apropos to Donald Trump not paying any taxes, she’s come up with an estate tax proposal which will ask the very wealthiest people in this country, wealthiest families in this country to start paying their fair share.
TAPPER: Yes. I get that, Senator. But she’s calling other ideas you pitched, not the ones that you two are working on together, but she called other ones false promises and said what you were doing was indefensible. That must bother you.
SANDERS: Well, look, we’re — of course it does. But we’re in the middle of a campaign. And I — trust me. If you go to some of the statements that I made about Hillary Clinton, you can see real differences. So we have differences. There’s nothing to be surprised about. That’s what a campaign is all about.
TAPPER: She also said this about your supports and also I should remind people they should go and listen. Go to the The Washington Free Beacon website they have the whole comments. You should listen to them all. But here is what she said about your supporters.
(AUDIO CLIP) CLINTON: Some are new to politics completely. They are children of the great recession, and they are living in their parents’ basement. So, if you’re feeling that you’re consigned to being a barista or, you know, some other job that doesn’t pay a lot and doesn’t have much of a ladder of opportunity attached to it, then the idea that maybe, just maybe, you could be part of a political revolution is pretty appealing.
TAPPER: What was your reaction to that, sir?
SANDERS: Well, I agree with her. What she’s saying is what I suggested a moment ago. There are young people who went deeply into debt, worked very hard to get a good education, and yet they are getting out of school and they can’t find decent-paying jobs. And that’s a major problem. They are living in their parents’ basements. And that’s the point there. So, I personally do believe we do need a political revolution, that we do need to transform the society, create decent-paying jobs, make sure that Donald Trump and his billionaire friends start paying their fair share of taxes, do what Donald Trump does not want us to do, address the crisis of climate change, transform our energy system, do what Donald Trump does not want us to do, raise the minimum wage to a living wage, and have pay equity for women. So, I think that Secretary Clinton — and, by the way, as I said, I just talked to her a few days ago — she’s prepared on all of those issues to move forward within the first 100 days of her administration…
TAPPER: Senator, what would you say to a Bernie Sanders supporter who listens to that tape and thinks, that sounds condescending, to call me a basement-dwelling barista that’s buying false promises from Bernie Sanders, and I think she’s just using Bernie Sanders to get elected? What is your message to that Bernie Sanders supporter?
SANDERS: This is what the message would be. Take a hard look, not at Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. Take a hard look at the needs of the American people. And issue by issue, whether it is climate change, whether it is Citizens United, the need to overturn that, whether it is pay equity for women, whether it is raising the minimum wage to a living wage, rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure, a tax system that says to Trump and his friends they are going start paying their fair share of taxes, look at Clinton’s positions, look at Trump’s positions, understand that one or the other of those two will be the next president of the United States. And after you take a hard look at those two candidates and their issues, I think the conclusion that the vast majority of people will reach is that Clinton is far and away the superior candidate.
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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