Bernie Sanders Inadvertently Promotes Capitalism After Revealing He's a Millionaire
Self-described Democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders made an inadvertent plug for capitalism in a Tuesday interview with The New York Times while defending his millionaire status.
The presidential candidate has long accused the United States of having a rigged system to serve the interests of “millionaires and billionaires.”
Sanders, 77, told The Times that he planned to release the last 10 years of his tax returns on Monday, but said they would be “boring” when compared to President Donald Trump’s.
“Not being a billionaire, not having investments in Saudi Arabia, wherever he has investments, all over the world, mine will be a little bit more boring,” Sanders said.
The Times reminded the Vermont independent that he is a person of means, as well.
“I wrote a best-selling book,” Sanders said. “If you write a best-selling book, you can be a millionaire, too.”
The Times reported that the lawmaker used to be among the least wealthy members of the Senate until the former Democratic presidential primary rival to Hillary Clinton authored “Our Revolution: A Future to Believe In,” which was released in November 2016 shortly after the general election.
According to his 2017 Senate financial disclosure form, Sanders earned roughly $1.06 million, which his salary as a senator and $885,000 from book royalties.
Like Trump, Sanders did not release his taxes during the 2016 election cycle. So far, the president has resisted releasing his taxes, explaining that his filings are currently being audited by the Internal Revenue Service.
CNN’s Chris Cillizza argued that Sanders’ response to The Times’ reporter may hurt his brand of being the champion of the working man or woman fighting against the evils and excesses of capitalism.
“(T)here is the broader problem of Sanders’ wealth as it relates to his core campaign message that ‘millionaires and billionaires’ have cornered far too much wealth and power in this country — and need to be reined in by a more activist federal government,” he wrote.
“Now that Sanders is one of those ‘millionaires and billionaires,’ it could complicate that message — and his appeal as the underfunded outsider taking on the monied interested in Washington.”
Faiz Shakir, Sanders’ campaign manager, seemed to make a plug for capitalism, as well, in a statement to CNN on Tuesday, contending the candidate wants others to have the chance to succeed like he did.
“(Sanders) believes in opportunity for all, and the fact that he is somebody who has personally benefited from that opportunity is something that he feels should be a shared opportunity with everyone else,” Shakir said.
“He’s made some money off a book. And I think that the opportunity that he has had is evaporating for so many others. He feels that strongly.”
According to the RealClearPolitics average of polls, Sanders is one of the frontrunners in the large field of declared Democratic presidential candidates, garnering approximately 21 percent support.
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